Not my urban design art, but that of others...

...in a group called ParLUGment, Ottawa-based Lego enthusiasts. When I saw this at RailFest 33 here in Ottawa this past October, I was amazed at the range of props and the creative design skill of the people who built this...

U of O=Gotham U?

U of O=Gotham U?
Originally uploaded by dwight_ew

Some parts of Ottawa just put me in mind of that other city I know too well. Such as parts of the University of Ottawa campus. Doesn't this front entrance to the computer science building put you in mind of stuff that Furst would design?

A Taste of Summer in Midwinter

Something I did for practice a couple of years ago. You've likely seen a smaller version on my website on NCF for the last couple of years, right under the sidebar menu column.

And if you live in Ottawa, you may recognize it as one of the landmarks of Confederation Park's northern side, abutting the Mackenzie King Bridge...

Urban SF Humour - X-Files and the Ottawa Streets

You might think this was a joke. But it ain't. The city of Ottawa really did this.

Local Hero: Urban Design

Official disclaimer time: I'm not an architect. Never been one. Fantasized about it on occasion, though. And when you see the design work by the likes of Anton Furst going into Gotham City for either the first Burton-directed Bat-movie or the comic books, or Tony Harris' work on Opal City in the second Starman series, you might begin to understand why I'd feel that way.

So, when Ian Gould sent me the initial scripts and background material for what's now Local Hero, you might understand another of the lures that got me on board as his artist of record.

I wanted to get right into it, complete with maps. I figured that between assorted graphic design and CAD packages in my collection, I could do a reasonably competent job of it. Not in Rick Sternbach or Eliot Brown's league, obviously, but still competent.

I wish I could recall a particular path of evolution in terms of how the place comes together, but there's no real path at all.

So for the time being I'm going to leave you with a sampling of artwork culled from my sketchbooks. Some of it's going to show up as parts of Shuster, others...for different places, I expect, as Local Hero continues beyond its first arc.

Enjoy.