Dogs don’t see in black and white

By MartiAnimals, Dogs

The irony in the making of this cartoon, is that dogs can indeed see in colour, but not within the red and green spectrums. In fact, dogs can see yellow, grey and blue – this is equivalent to the human red-green colour blindness. Dogs only possess two colour receptors (commonly called cones), whereas humans have three, allowing them to see a broader spectrum of colours.

What can we learn for this? Well for one thing, you might be better off buying yellow or blue coloured toys rather than red or green, making it easier for the dog to distinguish it from the green grass.

Why not test the theory and throw two toys simultaneously – one blue/yellow, the other red/green – See if there is a preference.

September 21, 2018

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10,000 steps to success

By MartiThat's life

Are you up for fun fact?

What filament material was used for Edison’s light bulb?…Drum roll…

Carbonized bamboo. If you’re like me, you probably were way off the mark, but I welcome the good company.

In the race to develop the first practical lightbulb for home use (electric street lights were already in use), inventors were using all sorts of materials to find the ideal luminescing substance. According to records, Edison’s research factory tested over 6,000 different materials before it discovered a material with the superiority of long life – when the Japanese bamboo was cut to the proper dimensions and carbonized, it incandesced for more than 1,200 hours when electrified. Nowadays, tungsten wire is used, but the average running time is about the same – 1,000 to 2,000 hours.

PS. This was a fun thinking exercise. Why not take 1 minute and scribble down as many ideas as you can think of to design a new light for the 21st century.

July 27, 2018

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Living in a bubble

By MartiThat's life

This cartoon was inspired by my daily train trips to work. I remember there was a time when some passengers would strike up casual conversations, or make eye contact with regular passengers to simply say ‘hi’ to a familiar face. But now, it’s very different. Over 90% are glued to some form of technology; it’s silent and all heads are down. I sometimes think if I came in dressed in a clown suit, no one would notice.

What’s your public transport experience like these days?

June 1, 2018

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This way up

By MartiAnimals, Dogs

We own a beautiful golden retriever called Ollie. He’s our 3rd golden and what I’ve always enjoyed about owning a pet is watching their personality develop from puppy to adult. Ollie is possibly the most tolerant, playful and goofy of our goldens. How many dogs would sit and pose for their owner in a shot like below?

What do you enjoy about your pet?

April 20, 2018

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Cat got your tongue?

By MartiAnimals

Has the cat ever stolen your tongue?

April 13, 2018

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Feeling flat?

By MartiThat's life

When a balloon pops unsuspectingly in real life, it can be a bit a shock to system. However, balloon popping in slow motion is really, really cool and pleasantly satisfying to watch.

Interestingly, there’s a bit of science behind how a balloon pops and it depends on how stressed it is before being popped – low stressed balloons pop along a crack line but highly stressed ones shatter into tiny pieces. Watch these two videos to simultaneously show you the difference and then watch this one (start at 1 min 30 sec mark to avoid the slow build up) to see a colourful high resolution version.

March 6, 2018

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When cartoonists humour themselves

By MartiThat's life

speech bubble vs thought bubble

Sometimes I can’t help myself and play with the notion that the cartoon is real. I think it stems back to my childhood days where I spent hours watching Looney Tunes with the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. One of my all time favourite cartoons was Duck Amuck where Daffy was brought to life as a living and breathing animation that could converse with his animator – or should I say tormentor, who subjected the poor actor to animation trickery. So if you have 7 minutes to spare, do yourself a favour and watch this classic.

So, did you enjoy Duck Amuck?

February 23, 2018

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It’s the elephant

By MartiAnimals

I was involved in a three day workshop this week where we tackled the elephant in the room head on. Much to all our surprise after ten minutes of open discussion, he quietly left the room, pleased to be released out into the open at last.

Have you ever confronted the elephant?

February 2, 2018

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Holidays can be fun…

By MartiAnimals, That's life

…but sometimes they go to the toilet – literally

Luckily for me and my family we all managed to avoid a bout of gastro this holiday trip to Myanmar. Having been a former girl scout in my younger years I was fully armed with a medical kit and was just about prepared for any holiday sickness. Bugs must have seen it and decided to attack another tourist instead.

So, did the holiday bug visit you these holidays?

January 19, 2018

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William Tell

By MartiThat's life

Hear the words ‘William Tell’ and probably the first thing that comes to mind is the apple on a head and Tell shooting his arrow through its centre. Well, at least, that’s how it is for me. But after drawing this cartoon I realised I knew very little of this Swiss folk hero.

Tell was a 14th century crossbow marksman who assassinated Gessler, the tyrannical Austrian bailiff of Habsburg (royal house of Europe). Gessler’s demise unwittingly started with the very first action he took when first placed into power. Symbolically, he put his hat on a tall pole and demanded all that pass bow to show their respect. When William Tell and his son visited the town, Tell refused to bow. Outraged, Gessler set a punishment. A choice of execution or Tell could shoot an apple from the top of his son’s head. Tell suceeded and was granted pardon. However, the plot thickened, as Gessler was curious as to why Tell had two arrows, instead of one. Tell indicated it was a spare, should the first miss, but later the truth was revealed. The second arrow was marked for Gessler, in the event Tell missed the apple and killed his son instead.

Upon hearing this, the pardon was overruled and Tell was captured. A ship was to take him to the castle Küssnacht dungeon. However, a storm broke and the seaman fearing their own safety allowed Tell, an accomplished sailor to steer the ship to safety. Naturally, he chose to return to a ‘dungeon free’ shoreline, where he jumped ship. Gessler tried to hunt him down, but was assassinated by Tell. This spurred others to start a rebellion to the Austrian rule. Eventually, the Swiss won and formed the Old Swiss Confederacy.

So, a rather long preamble, but I’m interested in understanding…

How far would you go to save your phone?

December 1, 2017

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