It's LIVE!!

omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg.....

Led Zeppelin!!!!!!

It finally happened and by all the accounts I've read it was SUPERB!

I wish I could have gone!

We celebrate the oddest things...

Ahh, yes it's that time of year again. The time when (at work) we celebrate the leaving of one Mr. Wilson... a nefarious miscreant whom we are glad left the company. This is the sketch I did which accompanied the invitation to lunch at Senor Wilson's least favorite restaurant while he was here, it's not a bad restaurant... he was just a complete ass about everything (hence the celebration).

On another note: I'm almost done moving... I can't believe how much crap I've accumulated over the years, it's taken almost two weeks of non-stop work (even on Thanksgiving) to get everything "organized" and moved out. I'm hoping I'll finish up today and then slip into a coma to recover.

Where it all began...

I don't draw much anymore, which is a shame because it's one of the few things I like to do which I find fullfilling at all. I'm at a point where I'm conflicted about what style I'd like to have, I've always wanted to have a cartoony style like the image of the little girl I posted earlier but the consistency of that type of style has always eluded me, although it's more fun than the comic book style I've developed over the years. Speaking of which, I was wondering (to myself) what it was that prompted me to want to draw in the first place and I've narrowed it down to this:

The cover to X-Men #1 drawn by Jim Lee (ca 1991-92). This was only one part of the full cover:

I was never really into comics until I saw that cover, it just captured my attention, I was enthralled by the art style. Everything was dynamic, the men were stoic and the women were sexy and strong. I studied every panel of that book just looking at the stylized anatomy, character blocking, architecture, backgrounds, layout and pacing of the story. Simply amazing! It was the reason I bought my first sketchbook and drew every day from the beginning of my sophomore year in high school until graduation trying to mimic Lee's style and in doing so develop my own. I followed other artists since then, specifically Travis Charest, but Lee's work will always be my favorite... and he is still producing kick ass stuff like this:

I think I just need to start sketching again. More as a way to de-stress than anything and as much as I'd like to find a job where I can be creative all day, it seems as though I'll never be able to afford to leave my current job... no matter how much I want to. I'm still working toward getting my website functional, but with having to move in the next two weeks and wondering about my job status I haven't been able to work on that or the Drifter model (insert frown here).

I'm Moving

Inconvenient? Yes, especially this time of year, but it has to be done... at least for now.

Hilarity

Watch this clip of a new cartoon called 'Chowder' on Cartoon Network (created by C H Greenblatt of Spongebob and Billy & Mandy fame). I just happened upon this episode last night... when I saw this part I laughed for about five minutes!

You might have to wait for it to load, but it's soooooo worth it.

FYI: I'm starting a new website for my resume/portfolio. I only have an opening image so far, I'm building the site in Flash and will hopefully have something up soon.

Officially bad news...

Well, it finally happened, the CEO of the company sent out a mass e-mail declaring there will be voluntary 'separation from the company' (read layoffs) and voluntary early retirements starting now and then involuntary 'separation' starting next year. Happy Halloween!

I don't think my job is in danger, but I'm not going to take a chance. Starting today my main priority is finding a new job and everything else has to be put on hold. However, since I'll be putting my portfolio on a website soon I'll probably work the stuff I'm doing into the site, which means I'll probably still be working on a few things as I go along (mainly the Drifter model since it's close to being finished).... I just hope my parents haven't turned my old room into a storage closet...

Wave

Mad!

Do nothing...

Doing nothing is really nice! This is the first day since Friday since I've used my laptop... granted I was out of town over the weekend, but last night I chose not to use my computer and it was nice to finally do nothing. Of course, my best friend would remind me that doing nothing is a luxury and that I shouldn't pat myself on the back. I appreciate where she's coming from because I know working for yourself and being a good parent leaves alone time in the dust... you never really get down time because you always have to be prepared for your kids' needs as all good parents know. I'm not a parent, so I'm just guessing.

Anyway, I don't think people realize the effort necessary for me to do creative/artistic things when I've been forehead deep in science and mathematics all day. It's equivalent to driving in one direction all day, then half way through the day you have to turn completely around and try to get past where you began before it's time to stop for the day. I make a 180 degree turn every day to try and work on projects and it can get stressful at times. My mind just isn't in creative mode when I leave work. It happens every day and I get tired, so doing nothing was nice for a change. It would be really nice if my profession and hobbies were in the same realm. I'm not complaining, I like being able to handle the technical and artistic, I just wish everyone was aware that it's not like flipping a switch on command, it's more like Sisyphus rolling a boulder up hill all day just to have it roll to the bottom again and again, I may make a little progress but I'm actually always starting over.

Job Search

Crap, things aren't looking too rosy at work. There may or may not be alot of work to cover all the employees for 2008. Nothing is certain, good or bad, but I'm getting the impression that if I found a new job tomorrow that it would probably be a good idea to take it. I'm sure I could find enough projects to work on at my job to make it through next yea, but I'm going to step up my search for new employment and see what I find within a 3 hour radius. If you know of any jobs that will pay me lots of money to draw and create stuff, let me know :D

Stuff Added

I added three counters and a calendar on the right side. I added counters for the next three major Holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why? Well, when October hits I literally make a calendar and countdown the days until Christmas. It's probably a remnant of my childhood but also I really enjoy the Christmas season, I even plan a trip for my family to a huge Christmas store in northeast Michigan... I almost never buy anything there, I just like to go! Maybe I'll write more on my Christmas-itis later.

Where are my keys?

Have you ever seen an action movie where at some point in the story two people need to turn two keys simultaneously in order to activate something, launch a missile or some other plot device? I have and I can see how that applies to everything in life. Everything you want to do or want to accomplish in life usually takes one other person willing to turn the key with you in order to move ahead.

Hmmm... strange analogies seem to be one of my strengths.

This could apply to a job, even if you're self-employed, someone needs to purchase your ideas or pay for your time which means they have the second key. If I want to get a new job then I have to find someone willing to employ my skills. This can apply to relationships too, if one person turns the key and the other one does too then all is well... however if only one person turns the key then it can lead to disappointment and pain... another option is to make the other person turn the key, but I'm pretty sure that's a felony anywhere you go.

Granted, in a military sense two keys are required so that someone doesn't accidentally freak out and start nuking places, but I guess the analogy still applies. Who do you trust to turn the key in most (or all) situations with you? Can you rely on them to acknowledge their share of the responsibility if things go bad or share in the accolades when things go well?

Anyway, the point is almost everything in life needs two keys to be turned willingly otherwise you'll probably need a lawyer. I'm fairly law abiding and thus don't necessarily need a lawyer, but I really want one (based on personal experience).

Busy Saturday

This last Saturday was a really busy day for me. Among other things, I spent 10-12 hours on a flash animation for a friend of mine, it turned out ok although it could be better. The basis for the animation is a game called 'Puzzle Pirates', my friend's group is called 'Morgan's Marauders' or 'MM' hence the visual reference to m&m's in the animation, they wanted an animation for a planned attack on a Brigand King and his island and I agreed to do it for free. The end shows the main officers of the group conquering the Brigand King Take a look, if you wish.

Cleaning house

Adjusted the look of the blog and got rid of a bunch of stuff.

drawring

Concept sketch

This is why it takes so long...

This is an image of the Drifter mesh. I need to straighten out all the lines. It's going to take forever.

This is what I had to start with:

In case you were wondering...

Sketch o' the Day - 4

Sketch o' the Day - 3

Sketch o' the Day - 2

Sketch o' the Day - 1

Plastic Humans

If you have a weak stomach and have eaten recently or plan to in the near future, you may not want to look at this post!

Monday I took the opportunity to go to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry with my brother and sister to go see the Body Worlds 2 Exhibit.



This is not for the squeamish as the entire exhibit is dedicated to the work of Dr. Gunther von Hagens who invented the technique of plastination in order to replace the water and fat in tissue for preservation of anatomical specimens. They show EVERYTHING, if it's a part of the human body it's in the exhibit... from lungs and brains (both healthy and diseased) to genitalia and fingernails. Entire bodies are shown (minus the skin, of course) in various positions of standing or motion, men and women (even a pregnant one), there are even whole bodies which have been sliced both vertically and horizontally. Here is a picture of the veins in a human hand (stolen from the MSI website):

They had a full vein version of a chicken (only slightly disturbing) and there is even a full grown camel, with it's head sliced into three parts, along with it's offspring which had been given the plastination treatement.