matanuki

My name is Tyson Steele, and I am a conceptual designer with six years experience working in print and digital media development. I was employed by small design firms and a large educational institution while I attended school, in addition to lots of freelance projects varying in size and scope. Currently, I’m working for a game studio focused on social games for the Facebook community. I’m interested in branching out into 2D/3D modeling, animation, and game design.

My main expertise is in print and digital graphic design, semantic web design, and user interface development. I also have experience with technical drafting (AutoCAD/Inventor) and Flash/Captivate development.

However, my real passions are 2D and 3D animation, motion graphics, and interactivity. Most of my recent work involves 3D modeling and game programming. While I would not describe myself as an expert yet, my current focus is proficiency in 3D Studio Max, Flash, and the Unity development environment.

In May of 2010, I will graduate with a BFA in Time Arts.

What Can You Do?

My main expertise is in print and digital graphic design, semantic web design, and user interface development. I also have experience with technical drafting (using programs like AutoCAD and Inventor) and Flash/Captivate development. However, my real passion is 2D and 3D animation, motion graphics, and interactivity. Most of my recent work involves 3D modeling, video composition, and basic programming. While I would not describe myself as an expert yet, my current focus is working with 3D Studio Max, Processing, and the Unity game development environment.

What Is Matanuki?

When registering this domain, I wanted something meaningful but unique, so if I ever made something of it getting to the front of Google wouldn’t be an uphill battle. Around that time, I was reading Hagakure: Book of the Samurai, a collection of sayings and anecdotes by 18th-century samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

In the first chapter, Tsunetomo laments the decline of the modern samurai:

Forty or fifty years ago, when such things as matanuki were considered manly, a man wouldn’t show an unscarred thigh to his fellows, so he would pierce it himself. All of man’s work is a bloody business. That fact, today, is considered foolish, affairs are finished cleverly with words alone, and jobs that require effort are avoided. I would like young men to have some understanding of this.

The term is only mentioned once, and there is little secondary literature to explain it. Breaking down the roots of the word (which may have been coined by Tsunetomo), it’s a practice thought to have involved piercing one’s own thigh with a sword or some other sharp object as a demonstration of courage.

I was amused by the concept of reverse-vanity; embarrassed by their lack of wartime experience, they would cut themselves to appear tough or seasoned. It’s the kind of self-destructive, self-deprecating behavior we practice today in order to give credibility to our perceived suffering. There’s something absurd and hilarious about pride so shamelessly run amok.