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Camilla d’Errico

I met Camilla at a Vancouver Comic-Con very early in the year. She had her table set up and was selling prints. Manga inspired but with a unique character. I was enthralled by her work and I wasn’t the only one. When Dr. 4est showed up to visit, he asked Camilla to do a sketch of a cyborg with a coffee. My friend Sean (creator of the legendary Puppy Luv) also picked up a few prints.

A few months later Camilla and I met up again at the Emerald City ComicCon. Camilla caught a ride back with us and we became fast friends.

Camilla is an inspiration for many reasons. Ever since her first Comic-Con she’s been completely focused on her goal of becoming an artist. She regularly exhibits in Vancouver, alongside graffiti and urban artists. Her work has appeared on snowboards, magazine covers and hopefully her indy comic, Burn, will be done soon.

Through it all, her love of life and wonderful spirit have prospered. At the recent BRAVEart opening in Vancouver, it wasn’t surprising to see Camilla kneeling on the floor in front of a huge canvas, talking to two little girls as she painted the night away. While other artists and scenesters were mingling, Camilla was painting and asking children what she should paint next. I almost felt bad when I interrupted to say hi.

Camilla is more than just a great artist, she is a great friend whose values, passion and integrity are true inspirations.


Avatar: The Last Airbender

Imaginitive, accessible and appealing to all ages. The show is a result of a team of passionate and talented people coming together to do something new.

While most animation is event and plot driven, Avatar is character driven. Each character overcomes their own fears and personal challenges to discover their path and power. The only waterbender from the Southern Tribe, an exiled Fire Nation prince, a blind earthbender, a warrior seeking to prove himself when surrounded by benders with incredible powers and The Avatar himself: the last surviving Air Nomad, who, at 12 years old is fated to master all four elements and save the world. If you can’t find inspiration in these characters, you have no soul.

Serialized animation is a rarity in western animation, and the fact that a high profile, high budget show like Avatar was green lit is a big surprise. But it is out there, it’s great and it represents the type of experience I would love to be able to create one day.

Amazing writing, lovable characters, a fantastic world and stellar animation - after you mix in flying bisons – how can you go wrong?

Dustin Sacks

I met Dustin very briefly at a NewMedia BC presentation I was doing on DIY distribution early in the year. The funny thing is that Dustin should have been at the front of the room instead of me.

Dustin is the man behind Lux, a Risk inspired video game that has developed into it’s own unique experience and has a very dedicated following. The most recent release, Ancient Empires Lux has been sucking my gaming time ever since its release a few weeks ago.

Now great DIY game makers are always motivating, but it’s the total Dustin Sacks package that is truly inspiring. Dustin moved to Vancouver and immediately began experiencing everything the city has to offer. I’ve lived here for a decade and in one year, Dustin has done more cool things in Vancouver than I have in ten. He’s always up for a new experience, whether it’s a peace rally or a pillow fight, Dustin will be right in the middle of it.

Follow Dustin’s adventures on his blog.

Warren Ellis

Warren Ellis: writer, Red Bull addict, boundary breaker.

While I love Warren’s books and religiously buy everything he writes, it’s his ability to consistantly go beyond expectations and create new experiences that I find truly inspiring.

It seems like every few weeks Warren tries something new. Sometimes it sticks and sometime it doesn’t, but where other people are afraid to go for it, Ellis ducks his head down and dives in head first.

In 2006, Fell, the 22 page comic for 2 bucks came into its own and continued to prove the pundits wrong. The Engine, a community for comics creators and fans of Ellis’ work is rolling right along. Warren discovered Second Life and began exploring how he could distribute micro fiction to Second Lifers. DiePunyHumans.com became a place to explore futurism and Ellis’ blog continues to explore technology, creative process and the media world as a whole. Ellis also played around with the wonderful world of television and managed to finish his first novel in addition to writing a ton of comics. Not a bad year for a bitter Brit.

Brooke Burgess

WAY back in the day, Brooke and I were designers/assistant producers on the Need for Speed team at Electronic Arts. While he was working on Beetle Adventure Racing, I was clocking hours on NFS: High Stakes. Frustrated with the EA way, Brooke sold his stocks and went on a retreat to a remote island in Fiji. In Fiji, he birthed the core concept for what would soon become Broken Saints.

The story of Broken Saints in best chronicled in other places, so here’s the abridged version: world’s first online graphic novel, wins bundles of awards, gets a bunch of fans, series wraps up, Brooke gets funding to make a DVD, DVD sells really well with indy distribution, Brooke makes deal with Fox Entertainment for global distribution. Eight years after the original concept, Broken Saints is available all over the world on DVD and has sold over 60,000 copies.

Brooke is a visionary who knows what he wants. He is opinionated, driven and adamant. Broken Saints isn’t a commercially minded project. It’s slow, deep and demanding – the exact opposite of what everyone tells you succeeds online. It’s exactly what Brooke wanted to create.