Scanners

No, not the movie! I recently found a very simple technique using Photoshop to make penciled drawings look like they've been inked. I've been struggling with the idea of how to handle inking or even if I wanted to ink the pages for Darkness Aftermath. Therefore, I just purchased an oversized scanner to handle 11x17 inch pages which (hopefully) will allow me to avoid having to ink all the pages and cut the production time in half. Whew! I haven't hooked it up yet, but I'm hoping it all works out.

Initial panels...

Ok, I started drawing the Darkness Aftermath graphic novel while watching the new Indiana Jones movie (not really relevant, just setting the scene).

Here is a partial scan of the first panel where the Caretaker is speaking with Gwenn:

A closeup shot in panel 2 of the Caretaker:


I didn't intend to do all the crosshatching... that's my 'default' drawing style, I was hoping to do a more delineated interpretation.... *sigh* I think I left enough room for the word balloons.

On your mark...

I've started laying out the pages for the first book of Darkness Aftermath. The first page is essentially the top of clouds... they're not as easy to draw as you'd think! I skipped page two, it's more clouds with a shot of a small hut. I want to get an idea of how the caretaker's hut is situated with regards to the cliff before I sketch it in. I have the first page with dialog blue-penciled in and I kind of like how it's turned out so far even though I haven't drawn in almost two months! It's difficult for me to draw people as they are, not sensationalized like in most comics, I have a tendency to lean towards dynamic poses and muscular figures, I'm doing my best to keep it realistic yet fun. I'll probably have to sketch in a few more pages before I trust my hand-eye coordination to do finished drawings.

Funny, after all these years

I have to say, one of my favorite movies has always been Clue (1985). I just watched it again the other night and it still makes me laugh out loud. It's not a typical funny joke movie, all the humor is in the character interaction, facial reactions, innuendo and subtle changes in dialogue... it's hilarious. It's set in a really cool mansion, so it's also nice to look at.
The ensemble cast is fantastic (l to r): Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean, Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd and Eileen Brennan play the main characters. I highly recommend it for fans of subtle/slapsticky humor or fans of the board game.

Ship Head

I thought this was fairly clever and creative.

Tired of this campaign crap...

So here:


Awwww SNAP!

Honestly, I'd like to punch every single candidate for insisting that I see or hear them every 5 seconds on whatever form of media I'm paying attention to. Especially a certain presidential candidate who is overdoing it, GET OUT OF MY FACE!!

There's probably a very special place in hell for anyone who makes their decisions based off of commercials... which means I'm probably heading there, I've decided that, I too, am cuckoo for cocoa puffs!

I See the Rope's End

Musings

Ok, no musing, I deleted them. Sometimes I write things when I'm not in the best of moods and think better of them. Not that they're bad, just easily misconstrued... it's happened too many times for me to write how I 'feel' openly. It doesn't take much to guilt me into changing things... because I care... but if you tell anyone you will need to be fitted for a body cast!@!!#!

Ok, gotta run

Found It!!

Ok, so everyone's experienced having a song stuck in their head and have been frustrated not being able to pinpoint who sings it or whatever... This happens to me too, but I'm a bit odd and have had a portion of a song stuck in my head for the past decade or so that I could only recall was a song from the 80's. I couldn't recall any lyrics just a series of ascending notes that were either from a saxophone or a keyboard, which narrowed it down to every song released between 1980 and 1989.

Well, I was randomly rooting around youtube the other day and found that damn song!!! Anyone remember the band 'Haircut 100'? Well, they had set up shop in my noggin and refused to leave!

The notes that were stuck in my head are the one's being played during the chorus where the singer repeats the word 'Ring' over and over about 1:04 into the song. Actually, I think they were on VH1's 'Bands Reunited' not too long ago which probably further cemented them into my psyche.

Love Plus One by Haircut 100... apparently they all liked to hike their pants up pretty high in the early 80's (shades of Ed Grimley).

Away

ok, so i'm in chicago this week... specifically Schaumburg, where the good money is on IKEA being the most exciting thing in the area. my friend suggested i go to chinatown even though she couldn't tell me where it's at (i'm assuming it's not near IKEA)

so far i've given $10 to some dude desperate to buy gas for his car, been bored, almost was run down by a little korean girl in a bride's dress and her maid of honor (the reception was at the hotel i'm in), gone to training, drove 30 miles to another suburb to go to a gym, been bored, another day of training, been bored... rinse, repeat for another two days. i'm sure i'm easily within 30 minutes of something fun to do... but, it is probably accompanied by jail time.

i'm hoping they don't ask me to present anything back at work about this conference... how many slides can you have that say: Needs more chase scenes and explosions for the excitement impaired.

It'll cost ya....

The other week I was on my way home and decided to stop at a gas station to grab a protein bar and a water after a workout. I walk to the cooler and just happen to notice a man looking around as if he lost something or dropped something. When I get up to the counter he's there feverishly digging into pockets for change to buy his items. After he let's another customer go in front of him he steps in front of me to continue his cash scavenger hunt in his shirt and pants pockets. At this point I'm starting to get annoyed and just want him to leave, whether he leaves the items or just runs out with them.

I pay a little more attention to what's going on: he's buying 3 little novelty rings for his girls he has in the car and he's about 60 cents short.

Now I start to feel bad because of the semi-violent thoughts I was having about twenty seconds earlier. He's just trying to buy little gifts for his kids which I'm sure he promised to them and they're probably excited to receive when he exits the station. Just imagining the look of disappointment on their faces made me feel even worse (I don't know what they look like, but I imagined three adorable little girls with pig-tails and big doe eyes starting to tear up). So, I volunteered a dollar to pay whatever he was short. He instantly had a look of relief on his face and says: "Thank you so much, sir." To which I reply: "You're more than welcome."

After he leaves, the cashier gives me the leftover change and says: "What goes around comes around, huh?" As if me doing a good deed is going to net some good karma. What the cashier doesn't know is that karma has never paid off for me, besides it never really occurs to me to think past doing the right thing... I just know that I helped a man bring a little happiness to his kids, that's good enough. "Do unto others..."

Countdown!

I decided to add a countdown til my b-day:




Notice anything? (hint, check the other counters on the right)

slicin' n dicin'

Soooooooo.... I finally took a stab at parsing the first part of Allen's Darkness Aftermath script into comic page sized chunks. Currently: 28 pages. Now, that is approximately 6 pages more than a typical monthly comic book (Batman, etc.), but it is about 19 pages less than book 2 turned out to be. I haven't checked whether the division of the script was done by script sections or by content, but since Sally's book 2 was finished last spring, there isn't much I can do to match its size and there's only so much content that I'm willing to stretch over several pages of art.

There is a ton of content in the portion of the script Sally chose to tackle, which easily explains why it turned out to be such a large volume of work. The first part of the script seems bare in comparison, not due to quality but solely because so much of the story is taken up in the second book. Segmenting the story into pages is kind of a artistic/scientific process in and of itself, and it differs per person. I try to split dialogue/scenes in logical pages where one would expect to turn a page or place a 'surprising' occurence in the story on the next page so that the reader does not see it unless their line of sight changes pages. I could probably write an entire post on my personal ideas on script-to-page dissection, but I'm lazy.

Sketching 'n stuff

Recently, my closest friend has asked me to help her sketch a few ideas that she has for some personal pieces. I'm not actually drawing them for her, but just laying out some ideas for her to render further and finish to her heart's content. It's really endearing to see her enthusiasm for learning to draw, she's really interested in expressing herself in a visual aspect. It's great because we get to do a bit of drawing and spend some time together which we rarely get a chance to do. She's learning by mimicking my sketches and my approach to layout, I'm not perfect by any means and she has very little time to devote to drawing, but it's nice to be able to help give her a new creative outlet.

I hate Cake...

...and Nickelback and The Offspring...

Every time I hear a song from one of these bands I want to vomit. Also, any hip-hop song where 99% of the lyrics is 'uhn-uhn' or some other grunting sound made while trying to stand up from a seated position, it's like they're not even trying.

*sigh*

With that said, here's some good music: "New Way Home"



One of my favorite Foo Fighters songs. It gets quiet half way through... then Dave gets angry.

Lyrics
Have you found your way around the down and out?
I know it must seem long, so long

Im still trying to keep this time from running out
Head down, always moving on and on and on

I never heard this warning, another early morning
Takes me, wakes me into

If you could manage me, Ill try to manage you
But lately its all I ever do

I felt like this on my way home, Im not scared
I pass the boats and the kingdome, Im not scared

Ill never tell you the secrets Im holding
I know these things must bore you but I cant find another way
Ill never tell you the secrets Im holding
I love this leash that holds me, when I try to run away

Im not scared, I felt like this on my way home
Im not scared, I pass the boats and the kingdome
Im not scared, I felt like this on my way home
Im not scared, I pass the boats and the kingdome
Im not scared, I felt like this on my way home
Im not scared, I pass the boats and the kingdome
Im not scared, I felt like this on my way home
Im not scared, I pass the boats and the kingdome
Im not scared, Im not scared, Im not scared

(Note: Remember, Dave was the drummer for Nirvana who got their start in Seattle where the Kingdome is, which is why it's mentioned in the song)

Quick DA sketch

Figured I'd do a quick sketch of the heroine of Allen's Darkness Aftermath movie, Gwen, with her wooden sword. I know the clothes are a bit off and the hair should go under the blindfold... and I haven't drawn in awhile, but here it is:



Still can't figure out if it's my scanner horizontally squishing the image or if it's blogger's uploading of the image, either way the actual drawing doesn't have her that 'thin'.

A vote

This post is just for KLCP... you know who you are. Pick the one you like the most:

1)

2)

3)

4)

The Foo

The Foo Fighters came to Indy on Wednesday...

Holy Shizz, it was phenomenal! Those boys can play. My seats were on the opposite side of the floor as the stage... however, half way through the concert they dropped a second stage from the ceiling on our side of the arena!! Hellz yea! I NEVER go to concerts, but I've seen fit to add the Foo to my list of concerts... which only includes Robert Plant and Jimmy Page back in '95. That is hallowed ground, my friends.

Darkness Aftermath

I didn't realize my friend Allen had intended to do a graphic novel version of his movie. I guess I didn't pay enough attention when one of his students (Sally) actually did a manga style book of his storyline, the middle third of the movie I think. So, my brother and I are going to hopefully start working on the first book of the three... I think I can still draw like this:

Hate being sick

Bleh. Thursday and Friday sucked. I woke up Thurs morning feeling like I swallowed a knife. I'd have flashes of delirium and throbs of pain in my stomach while I was trying to get up. Through the morning the pain moved around and lessened enough that I could get to work around noon but I didn't eat much the past two days. Most of the pain was gone by friday, but every once in awhile I'd get a punch to the abdomen to remind me I wasn't well.

I'm feeling better today... usually I get sick on the weekends when I don't have to work, so I guess that's a silver lining :P

Right now I'm working in photoshop going over the line work of the two little girls I posted awhile ago, adding some background and other stuff too. Should be done soon so I can post it.

Rambunctious

...no more sugar for you!!!



That's the 'Do Re Mi...' song from Sound of Music if you couldn't tell. Remember when you used to do stuff like this? Ha! Her smile at 26 seconds and at the end always makes me laugh.

WHAT?!?!?

Apparently, I need to apologize to any ethnic group who includes cauliflower as a main ingredient in their native dishes. Read this idiocy.

i are tired

Shant complain, things are dandy... but I feel the need to punch someone:

A fist is a hand that hugs itself.

I should write greeting cards.

On another note, I just added about 40 songs to my mp3 player for when I go to the gym, nothing special... ranges from 'Guess Who' to 'Tegan and Sara' to 'The Roots'. I'd had the same short list of songs for about a year now, just goes to show that when I like something I stick with it for a long time.

Also, who knew that the French tend to be the worst tourists?!? I'm shocked!! SHOCKED, I tell you!

Wheeee!!

Just another drawing attempting a cartoon style. I don't really draw much anymore and I don't practice this style much, it's starting to become more consistent though (see the flower picking girly below). I still need to adjust a few things... like the hair and face... I'm almost pleased with the rest of it as you actually get the sense that she's moving through the air.

I just noticed that my scanner 'squished' the image a little horizontally. Sweet.

Flower Killer

Oh, the humanity!

Car

This is my car:



Well, not really. I just bought a car exactly like this one (except for the shiny paint job) from my uncle's estate. I'll post an actual photo hopefully soon. It's a 1980 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am, and it's fun to drive! I've always wanted to own either a Jeep Wrangler or a Pontiac Firebird, preferably newer, but this one is damn cool.

...almost not kidding...

When I looked at my reflection in the mirror this morning, I noticed that it had been awhile since I had a haircut and trimmed my beard. I'm starting to look like Non from Superman II...

Cool Old Stuff

You ever wonder or imagine how stuff got done... waaaay back when, like how these Moai were created and moved about?

Bone to Pick

I recently heard an interview with Dee Dee Myers (former Willy Clinton press secretary) pushing her new book "Why Women Should Rule the World"... apparently, everything would be soooo much better if more women held powerful positions. "Women tend to be better communicators, better listeners, better at forming consensus,"

I offer Exhibit A to prove her point. Hmmmm......

Both genders are equally capable of atrocious acts. I've noticed that women also tend to remember mistakes and insults longer and 'more clearly' than men, not sure if that would bode well for world peace.

Deletion

I wrote a separate entry earlier, but I deleted it.

Sometimes people take things too personally, so I removed the post before anyone could read it.

It was about when to decide if something/someone is still worth your time and effort... and when to let it go and possibly throwing away years of effort. Stuff like that...

I even humorously mentioned the Cubs and Pop-Tarts, it was a real winner!

'Tude

Don't let the flip-flops fool ya...

Feeling Bleh

I stayed home yesterday. I just felt like 'bleh', literally.

Everything just seemed off all day, from my head to my toes, serious fatigue and lethargy had set in and I was just: bleh. I started feeling better around 5 in the evening.... just about the time I'd normally be getting off of work, hmmmmmm.....

'Blah'-gging

I don't blog much... so what?!? But, people are still kind enough to visit anyway... from all over the world!!

I get most of the hits to my blog from the post I had written about the Body Worlds 2 exhibit I saw in Chicago a year ago... people searching for "Plastic Humans" find a link to that post.

Now, I can assume that they are looking for information on the exhibit, or I can be realistic and acknowledge that they are probably really lonely and want some automaton lovin'.

Another post that gets quite a few hits is when people search for the words "jungle sketch", they end up clicking on the drawing I did as a concept sketch for a video game a few months ago. It's not a bad drawing, but people are probably looking for something worthy of being a desktop background which should have more detail.

It's nice to have visitors, most of them wipe their feet, which is admirable.

Letter Writing Campaign

I'm writing a letter... well a couple actually. It's not a letter to a representative or presidential candidate but to an individual. When I was in college I used to write letters to this person all the time, mostly just ramblings and humorous thoughts and I know they were appreciated. However, over the years we've grown apart through (I feel) nefarious circumstances which I am going to correct. My initial letter will begin my campaign to get back what's been taken from me. The cool thing is I only need 1 vote to win... which I'd better get!!!

I feel like I should be standing on a soapbox.

Four Kicks

This is a rough visual presentation of how my brain handles information... chaos one second then it freezes for awhile... only to begin again. Keen, huh?

Above the Fray

Well, doomsday came and went yesterday. I'm still employed, thank goodness, but I'm still going to look for other opportunities outside of the fields of technology and science.

Last Friday, my immediate manager guaranteed me that my name wasn't on the layoff list, I'm not sure whether he was just trying to put me at ease or not. He said his proof was that our boss' boss talked to him about how they can make me 'happy' in 2008, essentially they think I have too much talent that's being wasted just doing technical work. So, if the big cheese is mentioning me by name in reference to future work at the company then I'll still be here by the end of the year, how nice.

I spent a lot of time at work over the last two months saving people's arses with my artistic skills, needless to say. There's a technical conference this week for which they needed posters designed... I designed them... everyone loved them... corporate took them and hired an ad agency to tear them apart... they f'd up... I helped fix them the best I could... and this week they'll be presented. The company treats all the employees like this it seems, good work isn't trusted so they get other people to turn gold into crap and then require the work to be redone... so that they can take the credit when it works out in the end... when it doesn't they lay people off.

$3,014,170,389,176,410

This is the dollar amount being sought against the U.S. Gubberment for damges caused by Katrina.

Rediculous. These people will be the first to claim that you can't place a price tag on their losses... but they're more than willing to try. No one is going to deny that they need help, but this shows that they're going to hold their fellow citizens responsible for an act of nature. Sue the government for living in a flood plane that... OMFG... flooded. What the hell did you expect to happen when a massive hurricane hits the mainland, picnic weather? Citizens of Mississipi were affected by the same storm, yet they seem to be recovering faster.

I'm less and less inclined to sympathize when crap like this happens.

For fun...

My pirate name is:

Iron John Rackham

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you're a tough person. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network