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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley

@alisonsampson.bsky.social

6.5K followers 2.5K following 2K posts

Artist, writes + draws comics in London UK. Image, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW/PRH, Oni, Boom, AWA, DSTLRY, Mad Cave, Tiny Onion & more. Open 4 writing, covers Multiple Eisner nominee on team books Contact alissamp at gmail Portfolio: www.alisonsampson.com

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Hi #PortfolioDay, I'm Alison, an artist and sometimes writer working from London UK, drawing comics, book covers, editorial, and whatever you need. I like making imaginary worlds which could be real, emotional storytelling, nature and ideas. Open for covers and writing.
www.alisonsampson.com

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 2h

Loving the casual dismissal of making entertainment as a job. He's trying to appeal to idk. Really old people who think farming is a job but making a game isn't? What are people going to do in all that free time you promised them, Sam? ... Sam?

Steve Farrugia @fasterandworse.com · 2h

Sam Altman is a farmer of plastic display fruit

“If you’re, like, farming, you’re doing something people really need,” Altman explained. “You’re making them food, you’re keeping them alive. This is real work.” But the farmer would see our modern jobs as “playing a game to fill your time,” and therefore not a “real job.”

“It’s very possible that if we could see those jobs of the future,” Altman said, we’d think “maybe our jobs were not as real as a farmer’s job, but it’s a lot more real than this game you’re playing to entertain yourself.”

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Reposted by Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley

Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 3h

Very interesting piece on why ‘free speech’ might have become the stick the American right has chosen to beat the British left with.

Zoë Grünewald @zoegrunewald.bsky.social · 3h

"Until now, public knowledge about the relationship between Reform U.K. and the A.D.F. was limited to a single quote Mr. Farage gave to the group, which they pushed out in a press statement. But the A.D.F. has quietly been courting the party since at least 2024."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...

They Helped Topple Roe v. Wade. Now Their Sights Are Set on Britain.

www.nytimes.com

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 3h

Also, Bernini. This one is referenced from an angel on the bridge that goes over to Castel S'antAngelo

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Reposted by Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley

Chechula @chechula.bsky.social · 6h

Mean Gandalf and poor Bilbo ♥
I drew this one few years ago (but it suits the Hobbit storyline of my posts :D )

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 15h

will buy.

Reposted by Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley

Adrian Tchaikovsky @aptshadow.bsky.social · 15h

If people fancy seeing the sort of fantasy stuff I'm doing for Warhammer, my novella "On the Shoulders of Giants" has its paperback preorder starting next Saturday. If you don't know Warhammer, you don't particularly need to. Just the story of a man with a gun who lives on top of an ogre.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 17h

If there's one place you might use an old school tour guide book for the churches, like a Blue Guide, this is it.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 17h

and as has been mentioned, the gelato (the big place by the pantheon is adequate), the street food, the Vatican *dome* tour (you go up very narrow stairs between domes) and i think also the Piazza Navona. I think a good move is to find a place to orientate yourself from, would suggest P de Fiori.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 17h

yes, i have also recced St Eustachio.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 17h

Sant' Eustachio Cafe, Pantheon, Piazza de la Fiore, St Carlo Alle Quatre Fontane, Trastevere (generally, its also a nice place to stay) St Peters Sq and church of St Peter, walk alongside the Tiber, as many baroque churches as you can get into, Tivoli, the Villa D'Este, don't hang round at Termini.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 17h

thank you

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 18h

There's always ppl (me for example) who will come in and make a really really good job out of something that...needs a bit of interpretation. But it's the idea that AI is "correct" or "workable" that is the problem. The polish hides facts like it might just be entirely the wrong idea.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 18h

I know from experience that principals often do not care too much. I drafted a very large office building that was based on a painting of a cloud. One of the best jobs I've ever had. He didn't know and he didn't care.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 19h

can vouch for these.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 19h

I know I am not great at maths, but nothing made me feel worse than the almost certainty of a fuck-up using one of those things. It was the interchangeability of possibles that was the worst. You might have well have scaled with a bit of string with knots in it.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 19h

Also, famously, US architecture students are more rounded in this kind of thing than others. I learned precision at school (two top ones, even), for sure, but I learned about consequences, tolerances and how to draw professionally on the job from old guys in a drafting office. Prob a European thing.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 20h

I really hope so. I worry when I see Architecture people kind of cuddling up to AI without thinking, and it helps make the gap wider between ideas people and those actually who have to execute. If you are going to execute (as you do), you've gotta have all the skills. I still hate rotrings, tho.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 20h

A last word on this. Back before digital drafting, i had, for a blessedly short time to work with Americans, who used *inches*. Me, a metric person, had to use an inch scale rule. Really. I say a prayer now to the drafting gods- thank you for digital drafting that i never have to see one ever again.

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Reposted by Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley

Kieron Gillen @kierongillen.bsky.social · 2d

Ran out of words and not tagging @imagecomics.com and @stephaniehans.bsky.social. Also, appreciate any spreading of this. It is that time.

Kieron Gillen @kierongillen.bsky.social · 2d

October 20th is the order cut off for DIE: LOADED, sequel to the three-time Hugo-nominated DIE. I've pulled together a short primer it with all the info you need on it - what it is, previews, full cover details (check out our sketch variant!) and more. Go nose! Join our party. It's an experience.

DIE: Loaded

The sequel to the three-times Hugo-nominated, award winning dark fantasy comic, DIE.

bindings.app

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 20h

There is a whole field in construction of 'tolerances' where you build in slack for human and machine tool error, and there is no doubt this would have been part of that process. And I'd hope still is. Infinite precision is impossible. You'd always measure and correct after construction, even now.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 20h

#AIIsASkillIssue there i said it

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 20h

We can fetishise our tools now and use them by choice, but technological disruption happens and it is Really important to see it for it is, when it does happen and roll with it. But I just don't see this with AI. Workflow gains nothing. There is no specificity, no care. Literally, a skill issue.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 20h

AI has nothing on the improvements that this made to the workflow, to construction efficiency, to getting things done, to sharing. Lots of people left the workforce and everyone else had to retrain or find training or a job they could learn on. It was very hard.. but I don't think anyone regrets it.

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 21h

With the advent of digital drafting (minicad, autocad, microstation etc.) things like excel, exact precision could be baked in and it could also be shared, manual dexterity gave way to keyboards and screens, we could put down our expensive rotring pens, set aside the stress of an accidental fudge..

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Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 21h

For example, drafting manually required some extremely precise manual skills, scale rulers, drawing boards, huge drawings, drawing storage and rooms full of people like me scraping them with razor blades doing corrections. It could be fudged and errors could get baked in. Digitally, none of this.

Alison Sampson A-21 MCM London Artist Alley @alisonsampson.bsky.social · 1d

Also, no one who was there when digital drafting came in in the early 90s, who experienced the incredible disruption would say AI is the same. So called AI has not got a killer application.

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