Friday Freak! Banana Wolf!

I'm working on a dancing game, using monsters.....WHICH I LOVE!
Here is the Werewolf set-up. Click on him too see him bust a move.
(Do the kids still say that?)

09/11

I took this picture from Ellis Island on 08/07/1992. The copper panels in the foreground, they form a low wall surrounding the plaza outside of the Statue of Liberty, are stamped with the last names of those huddled masses who had come to America looking for a better life. Please take a moment out of your busy day to reflect on the ideals that make America such a great country, and to remember those that lost their lives in these towers, just doing their daily routines.
And those on Flight 93.
None but the radical Muslim terrorists knew that this would be the last day that they would brush their teeth,
read the paper, or talk to their loved ones.
I'm thankful that I have this picture.

Make A Wish!

This is the skateboard deck design I created for the art auction benefitting the Make A Wish foundation.

The auction is part of a big event the Woodward Skatepark is having on 09/27/08.

There will be free food, live bands, give a ways, all sorts of stuff. A $5 donation covers it all.

Go have fun, and bid on the boards to raise some money for a great cause.

Spelling Bee!

USA Testprep wanted me to create a new series of illustrations for another version of their on-line quiz game.

The theme was to make fun of the very popular, " World of..." oops, I meant to say that the theme was to poke fun at the MASSIVE MULTI-PLAYER ON-LINE ROLE PLAYING GAME .....

( you know what I'm talking about...)

This was the the third winning screen that you would see if you answered the question correctly.

It was a lot of fun to do.

Friday Freak: Captain Stern

I've been animating Miley Cyrus all day, and am just too fried to do a sketch, so I will post a cel from one of my all time, favorite animated movies, " Heavy Metal ".
The film came out in the late summer, early fall fall of 1981, which also happened to be my first year at the Kubert School. Seeing this movie while going to the Kubert school was an incredible rush.
It was one of those rare instances in my life where everything was in sharp focus, and I knew that I had made the right decision to leave Minnesota to study cartooning and animation in New Jersey.
I love this klunky film! If I only I had a time machine, I would go back and edit the Tarna sequences to make the action scenes faster. There are some scenes, like when she cuts off a guy's head, that move so slow you would swear you were watching " Raggedy Ann and Andy".
( I kid, I kid...I admire Richard Williams).
This is a cel depicting that famous Berni Wrightson character, Captain Stern. It's a two piece set-up, where the body is on one layer, and the eyes are on another. That way they could animate the eyes blinking, etc., without having to redraw the body.
Hanna Barbera developed this technique to be a cost effective way to create animated content fast.
This cel is from a portfolio of " Heavy Metal " cels that I bought at a comic book show for....FIVE BUCKS!
I gave the girl my money and ran for it, in case she was on medication and was supposed to be supervised while she was working the register.
The portfolio contains cels from almost every vignette , except for the ending with the little girl and the bird.
Some memorable quotes from the Captain Stern sequence:
" He never did... anything that was... illegal... unless you count all the times he sold dope disguised as a nun. "

'' He's nothing but a low-down, double-dealing, backstabbing, larcenous perverted worm! Hanging's too good for him. Burning's too good for him! He should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive! "

" Take it easy Charlie. I've got an angle."

Tips on finishing a sketchbook

This morning, I finished another sketchbook. I had started this one on 09/22/07.
It's kind of beat up. I have taken it on vacation with me, to the DMV while I was waiting on line, just dragging it where I was going to be spending time so instead of reading old magazines and stuff, I would draw.
I have also posted a random drawing , and the drawing on the last page.
The great thing about filling a book with illustrations is that years from now, I can page through it and see how I was drawing, what kind of media I was experimenting with, etc.
When I look at my old stuff, it almost works like a diary. I can remember what was happening in my life at the time my pencil was hitting the paper
Here are a few tips that may help you to fill your sketchbook:
1. Buy a book you want to grab everyday.
It's very important to get a book that feels good in your hands, something that you want to pick up,
because you'll be picking it up everyday until it's filled with your creations.
The book pictured here is a Paperchase brand book that is filled with grid paper. I didn't care for
the grids, but I did like the feel of the covers, the heft of all that paper in my hand, and the fact that it
was on sale at Waldenbooks for three bucks and change.
2. Relax and let go.
Every drawing doesn't have to be a masterpiece. To be completely honest, there are some real
crappy drawings in this last book, but there are also some that I really like. I have liked some of
these drawings enough to use them as inspirations for finished pieces, either animated or as
cartoon illustrations.
That's the beauty of letting your critical self sit one out while you draw.
3. Be consistent, ( or as consistent as you can be).
Try and set a time everyday that you can sketch in your book. I get up early, and like to draw while
the family is still asleep. Sometimes I have missed days drawing in the book, but it seems that I
made up for that on other days, cranking out up to 10 sketches in a session.
The key is to establish a habit, but not to beat yourself up if you miss a day or two.
4. Above all, have fun.

Ultimate Arcade

In June, I was contacted by Ultimate Arcade, and offered a position with them as an animator for their Flash games.
They really want me to go wild and be really creative in terms of character design. Above are a few characters for one of the games.
I'm really excited to be part of their team!