Patrick Farley
Encyclopedia
Patrick Sean Farley is a freelance illustrator and Web page designer working out of Portland, Oregon
.
cites him as an early pioneer of the webcomic
s movement. He is the author of a semi-autobiographical webcomics graphic novel The Guy I Almost Was and of several other Web based comics or stories, listed below.
In addition to the traditional strip format Farley has presented work in the infinite canvas
mode peculiar to the more innovative web comics, and he has done many stories using 3D tools such as Poser and Bryce
.
The Web Comics Examiner wrote a story about Farley's work in December 2004 titled "Patrick Farley, Apocalyptic Utopian".
's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
". It was originally hosted at the domain e-sheep.com, but the domain registration lapsed, and after being offline for 2 years, the site was restarted in August 2009, at a new domain.
One unusual project from this collection is Apocamon: The Final Judgement, a satirical, stylized presentation of the Book of Revelation
in a graphic style similar to the Pokémon
trading card game and a writing style similar to the comic book tracts of Jack T. Chick.
Patrick S. Farley for his website, Electric Sheep Comix. The comic traces an alternate history
of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
, where Al Gore
is President of the United States
, and ordinary civilian
s can view the war through web cams carried by roving robotic "spiders" dispersed into Afghanistan
by the U.S. Army.
Unlike most webcomics, the comic is displayed in an "infinite canvas" format, where each page of the comic has the individual panels lined up in one continuous strip
, viewable in full by scrolling
with the horizontal scrollbar
of the reader's web browser
. Occasionally, the pages of the comic deviate from the format for storytelling
effect, usually in the form of a fiction
al web page
created for the story.
There are currently three episodes, with a fourth one said to come out in Autumn 2004.
page in order to raise $6,000 to support him in making more comics for his website. On May 1, 2010 the fund raiser was successful. From June 2010 until December 2010 Farley continued The Spiders with a chapter titled Prologue. Since the end of 2010, Farley has once again vanished from the internet.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
Biography
Patrick Farley is the creator of comics under the anthology "Electric Sheep Comix". Scott McCloudScott McCloud
Scott McCloud is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium...
cites him as an early pioneer of the webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s movement. He is the author of a semi-autobiographical webcomics graphic novel The Guy I Almost Was and of several other Web based comics or stories, listed below.
In addition to the traditional strip format Farley has presented work in the infinite canvas
Infinite canvas
The infinite canvas is the idea that the size of a digital comics page is theoretically infinite, and that online comics are therefore not limited by conventional page sizes. An artist could conceivably display a complete comics story of indefinite length on a single "page"...
mode peculiar to the more innovative web comics, and he has done many stories using 3D tools such as Poser and Bryce
Bryce (software)
Bryce is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation program specializing in fractal landscapes. The name is taken from Bryce Canyon—a rugged region with many of the same landscapes that were first simulated with the software.- History :...
.
The Web Comics Examiner wrote a story about Farley's work in December 2004 titled "Patrick Farley, Apocalyptic Utopian".
Electric Sheep Comix
Electric Sheep Comix is a Web-based anthology of Farley's work. The name was taken from the title of Philip K. DickPhilip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick first published in 1968. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids, while the secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-normal intelligence who befriends some of the...
". It was originally hosted at the domain e-sheep.com, but the domain registration lapsed, and after being offline for 2 years, the site was restarted in August 2009, at a new domain.
One unusual project from this collection is Apocamon: The Final Judgement, a satirical, stylized presentation of the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
in a graphic style similar to the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
trading card game and a writing style similar to the comic book tracts of Jack T. Chick.
The Spiders
The Spiders is a webcomic written and illustrated by cartoonistCartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Patrick S. Farley for his website, Electric Sheep Comix. The comic traces an alternate history
Alternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, where Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
is President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, and ordinary civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s can view the war through web cams carried by roving robotic "spiders" dispersed into Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
by the U.S. Army.
Unlike most webcomics, the comic is displayed in an "infinite canvas" format, where each page of the comic has the individual panels lined up in one continuous strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, viewable in full by scrolling
Scrolling
In computer graphics, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display. "Scrolling", as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures, or but incrementally moves the user's view across what is...
with the horizontal scrollbar
Scrollbar
A scrollbar is an object in a graphical user interface with which continuous text, pictures or anything else can be scrolled including time in video applications, i.e., viewed even if it does not fit into the space in a computer display, window, or viewport...
of the reader's web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. Occasionally, the pages of the comic deviate from the format for storytelling
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
effect, usually in the form of a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
created for the story.
There are currently three episodes, with a fourth one said to come out in Autumn 2004.
Electric Sheep Reloaded
In March 2010 Farley started a KickstarterKickstarter
Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.-Model:...
page in order to raise $6,000 to support him in making more comics for his website. On May 1, 2010 the fund raiser was successful. From June 2010 until December 2010 Farley continued The Spiders with a chapter titled Prologue. Since the end of 2010, Farley has once again vanished from the internet.