Supa Slacka

hooray!

2009-05-06T11:00:00.004-04:00

Ok, it's been awhile since the last post, alot of stuff has happened... especially at work. Busy, busy, busy... like a bee running around (not necessarily pollinating) but trying to get information and other tidbits for new tasks that have been handed to me. I have to depend on others to get off their collective keisters in order to make progress... UGH!! Annnnndddddd... I'm going to South Korea later in the summer to support a project, which I have to come up to speed on and has nothing to do with the project I'm already working on *sigh*

Man, I wish I had a job drawing or something creative at least I'd feel I had more control over the process. I have to admit that while I understand science and technological stuff, I'm not an innovator in that field at all. I get too bored with it to dig deep enough to be able to create technically. Artistically, yea, I can be innovative, it just seems to come easier and it melds with my personality much better, too bad I can't find a job that pays enough for me to jump ship from my science job to an art job. Sadly, the conformity of the concept of a 'job' clashes with the concept of being an 'artist'. Even Michelangelo took 'jobs' to pay the bills, so I guess I wouldn't be able to complain... too much :)

'nudder page

2009-04-07T22:24:00.002-04:00

cleaned up a little:

i can tell i haven't drawn in awhile by the differences in style from the previous page... they're slight and some may not notice, but i do...

original:

DA graphic novel page 2

2009-03-28T20:21:00.001-04:00

scanner works, here's page 2:

Plug

2009-03-24T13:04:00.005-04:00

Well, haven't posted in awhile, been busy moving into my house. So many things to keep track of and maintain... and new bills to pay!

Anyway, just thought I'd mention how much I like the show Top Gear out of the UK.

I'd say it's the best edited/produced show on television, whoever edits the segments is a visual genius and I would love to be a location scout for some of their features. If you have BBC America you can catch it on Monday and I think Thursdays and Saturday for repeats. The hosts: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hamilton and James May

are gear heads who test drive all sorts of cars (especially the expensive ones: Ferrari, Maserati, etc), but they don't just do regular road tests, they find hilarious and nuanced ways to test these cars... racing a fighter jet for example. They do other segments where they do endurance drives like driving across an African desert or driving to the North Pole. You kind of have to experience it to appreciate it. Their banter is often very humorous and they don't take many things seriously. They aren't usually fond of American cars, i.e. they're blunt... although they just tested a Ford Fiesta by having a car chase inside a mall versus a Corvette and used it during a military beach landing as personnel vehicle. Very funny.

Feel Like I'm on 'Pause'

2009-01-14T16:09:00.002-05:00

Ugh.

It's been a long couple of weeks. I feel like I'm constantly waiting on something and a lot of unfortunate things have happened that aren't tragic but inconvenient. For instance, losing internet access... my ISP stopped providing service unless it's wireless, I didn't realize how much I relied on the internet for keeping informed. I'm not about to start reading newspapers, watching the news or going to the library, so I'm stuck waiting. I can't move yet or even get things ready in my new place because I have to have some work done to the house... why start something when it might get undone? Right? Even my workout is out of whack, I'm splitting time between two gyms, two sets of equipment/weights keeps me adjusting and off balance which is good for progressing training but not for my sanity. I haven't been able to work on the graphic novel either because I was expecting to be moved already and my stuff is mostly still packed away.

Everything seems disjointed and I don't like it.

I kind of feel isolated and in limbo... maybe it's a good time to disappear. No one will notice :P

Back to werk

2009-01-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

Well, my "vacation" is over... and I'm almost sad to say 'thank goodness I'm at work'. It wasn't the time off from work that I had expected, I was off from December 12th to January 5th and I slept in only one day... the rest of the time I was running around being busy with finding a new place, helping other people get their stuff done either for the holidays or whatever, trying to be helpful while complaining about fatigue later. It mostly sucked and the 'high points' aren't really worth mentioning. I'm tired, I'm back to work and I'm moving again so it's no rest for the weary nor respite from the happenings in life and no one to vent to... grrrrr :P I've got a lot of things on my plate that I need to get to, hopefully soon after I'm moved.

Scanners

2008-12-09T09:56:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-12-01T20:58:00.004-05:00

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...

2008-11-12T09:05:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-11T11:57:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-04T12:21:00.002-05:00

I thought this was fairly clever and creative.

Tired of this campaign crap...

2008-10-31T12:33:00.003-04:00

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

2008-10-23T19:45:00.007-04:00

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!!

2008-10-20T14:08:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-07T17:24:00.002-04:00

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....

2008-09-17T15:26:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-09-15T12:30:00.003-04:00

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

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

slicin' n dicin'

2008-09-02T12:29:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-26T14:15:00.002-04:00

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...

2008-08-13T10:11:00.004-04:00

...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

2008-08-05T23:42:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-29T14:29:00.005-04:00

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

1)

2)

3)

4)

The Foo

2008-07-25T00:09:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-22T12:48:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-12T18:02:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-11T10:43:00.002-04:00

...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?!?!?

2008-07-07T17:46:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-07T10:57:00.011-04:00

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!!

2008-06-26T19:13:00.004-04:00

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

2008-06-08T02:42:00.003-04:00

Oh, the humanity!

Car

2008-06-03T07:47:00.003-04:00

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...

2008-05-19T13:26:00.003-04:00

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

2008-05-08T16:20:00.001-04:00

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

Bone to Pick

2008-04-09T14:04:00.004-04:00

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

2008-04-03T13:36:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-18T23:19:00.002-04:00

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

Feeling Bleh

2008-03-18T13:20:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-03T16:21:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-06T10:34:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-01T10:29:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-22T09:42:00.001-05:00

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

2008-01-09T15:29:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-01-09T12:10:00.000-05:00

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

It's LIVE!!

2007-12-10T23:54:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-11-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-11-15T13:05:00.001-05:00

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

2007-11-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

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

Hilarity

2007-11-03T11:54:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-10-31T15:19:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-21T17:29:00.001-04:00

Mad!

Do nothing...

2007-10-16T18:14:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-08T14:33:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-10-04T12:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-01T17:16:00.000-04:00

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

drawring

2007-09-27T13:34:00.000-04:00

Concept sketch

2007-09-16T21:40:00.001-04:00

This is why it takes so long...

2007-09-12T18:44:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-09-04T14:06:00.001-04:00

Sketch o' the Day - 4

2007-08-22T18:25:00.001-04:00

Sketch o' the Day - 3

2007-08-21T23:45:00.000-04:00

Sketch o' the Day - 2

2007-08-17T16:03:00.000-04:00

Sketch o' the Day - 1

2007-08-15T23:06:00.000-04:00

Plastic Humans

2007-03-13T10:57:00.000-04:00

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.

Separated at... acting school?

2006-06-09T09:02:00.000-04:00

Why are people so afraid to state the obvious or even ask questions about subjects most would consider taboo? Sometimes it only takes one person with the guts to broach the subject... and I am that person. I am, of course, speaking of the uncanny similarities between William Shatner and Adam West. As you can see from the image below, they are not too pleased with this inquiry.

At times, I would make the joke that Adam West is a poor man's William Shatner, their mannerisms are the same, they both have W's in their names and their career paths are eerily similar... they starred as pop icons on TV in the late 60's and have survived on the kindness of strangers and friends with couches ever since. However, Mr. West has yet to reach the pinnacle of popularity or afforded the superstar status of one Mr. Shatner. Why? One word: Subterfuge.

I recently realized that I had never seen the two together! EVER! I started to wonder if they were, in fact, the same person using special effects and mind control to appear as if they were two individuals. Through some very superficial investigative research I found the following excerpt of an interview with Mr. Shatner (from ugo.com):
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Interviewer: I just read about an Alexander the Great pilot you did for television with Adam West.

Mr. Shatner: Was Adam West in it?

Interviewer: Yes.

Mr. Shatner: [very thoughtfully] Huh.

Interviewer: Do you remember it very well?

Mr. Shatner: I remember doing the pilot. It was basically a pilot on Alexander the Great, a great subject matter. We rode fast horses without a saddle, which is a skill in itself. Had some wonderful moments making that picture.

Interviewer: So you don't remember Adam West?

Mr. Shatner: I don't remember Adam being in the series, but if you say so, he was.
--------------
The very elusive William Shatner, ladies and gentlemen.

Did you notice how he cleverly parried the damaging assertion that they were actually separate people? He let the interviewer believe that he was acknowledging the existance of footage containing himself and Mr. West. However, I wondered about that supposed television pilot and found this evidence:

Is this the 'smoking gun'? If this one small image does indeed reflect reality, then I have saved humankind from an uncertainty that I'm sure would have plagued the planet for millennia to come. However... can we ever truly be sure... Adam West has a Batcave and William Shatner has traveled through time in a spaceship... their natural charm, resources and powerful form of 'delayed acting' may be too much for the truth to overcome.