Alex Toth, 1928-2006

So sad. Though we all aspire to his greatness we are less with his passing.

EGGSUCKAH

My dear friend Derek Thompson and some of his new cronies over at Pixar are putting together the second AfterWorks volume (with Image this time). The first volume boasted some heavy talent from over there and Derek assures me the second will be even more amazing and in color to boot! Derek's contribution is a story called Eggsucker and it is cute and wonderful little piece. He got the likes of Scott Morse and Steve Purcell to do pin ups and I guess he felt like he needed some one to make those guys look even better then they are. So here's my humble little contribution. Look for AfterWorks Vol II at the San Diego Con this year!!

boards lots of boards

There are alot of different kinds of boards, and I've had the priveledge to do most of them. The only thing that makes a difference is the story. I was going through some archives and found some of these lying around, thought I would share. I have some examples of commercial boards,bid boards for F/X, overly rendered story boards,F/X boards,toned story boards, a glorious key frame (the grand poobah of storyboards!That one shot that captures the essence of a scene) and key frames for an animated fiasco(color direction by the fantastic Steve Purcell the rest by little ol me). Storyboards are a lot of hard work and alot of drawing alot, alot of drawing and in reality NOT always fun to do or easy. But can be one of the most rewarding jobs in the industry. Sadly I work with alot of people who feel like storyboards are a thing of the past and choose to do 3-D previs instead. I think the best work I've seen, use previs as layout(workbook) as well as storyboards. I even did storyboards for a movie who's producer proudly stated that no boards were used ( OUCH!!). Needless to say storyboards will always be here and some of the best directors( Hitchcock,Spielberg) and studios(PIXAR) use them proudly!

key frames

Son of John

I love art, science, nature, fantasy and sci fi. All of it inspires me to get into my imagination. Sometimes work comes out of it some times play and sometimes it's just a big waste of time. Speaking of time, I got hooked on a internet personality who's name is John Titor. I spent probably a day and a half on him and what he made me think about. If your into time travel and have a few hours to "spend" look him up. This is his descendant Nicholas(Nick). This piece never went anywhere but I felt under pressure to post something new. Since this and a few other projects( not completed yet) have been keeping me busy I thought this should be good enough for now.

God Kong

By this age I had seen King Kong ( the original) back to back with Mighty Joe Young ( the original) on TV, and had read about Koko in Natl. Geographic. I knew I loved gorillas. At this time the much hyped remake of King Kong had been out for about 2 years. I think this was my attempt to blow up the poster from one of the ads in back of comics. The original poster was done by the amazing John Berkey. I also fell in love with ball point pens at that time. This image was just an excuse to tell you guys that I have added to the inspiration section, a link to a Kirby monster blog( AWESOME) and to the site links I have added the illusive and awesomely hip and talented Ippei Gyoubu ( Monkey Business). Check them out as well as John Berkey if you haven't heard of him before ( he is better known for his spaceships I later found out, but that is another story).

A Time Of Robots

It's important to be open to new things. In my job I am lucky enough to "have to learn new programs". It's always humbling and sometimes very hard and frustrating. These were done with Sketch Up and Vue 5 in two days( over 150 images in all). Two excellent programs that are incredibly easy for the technologically challenged such as myself. As I started doing them a story started to happen with the images, at least for me. I didn't finish the robot model till half way through so try to imagine all the torso's as whole robots. The computer is a tool and not the crutch, so I view these as "sketches". If I were to continue with any of these I would use them to draw from and not as a final render. Honestly it made me feel like a kid doing these, you know press a button or two and whammo a photo reality!!! Wow computers can be fun!

TROGS

Just some sketches from the sketchbook. Just letting the pen go some times can yield some good things. The last one on the page turned into a little study that I liked and later into a few good pieces. Try to listen to your instincts, it's hard at first, but it gets easier the more you do it. When your creating it's imperative.

GORRILAZILLA ANGRY!!!

This is for my friend Jamie Baker. One of the characters that jumped outta his wacky head was Rocket Rabbit, and I luv him!! If you have a sec or so go to his site( found on the right) and wade through the jungle of his fertile imagination! If you're at a convention try to get him to tell one of his stories and if you have cash to spend, buy one of his comics,...they're funny!!

Some Say in Fire

...Some say in Ice. Life can really smack you in the face and it did. Sorry for being out of the loop so long but some crappy smacking in my face was happening. This is for another project I'm attempting, let's see where it all goes. This is a WIP.

Oh Yeah! New Blogs and sites and stuff. Check them out!! And more coming!!

ALIEN GIRLS

Aliens and girls I should say. From the sketchbook. If you've ever seen my sketchbook it's all about visual regurgitation, and exploring and practicing. Being an artist I know that sometimes our ego gets in the way and keeps us from sharing our mistakes. I know alot of great artists who's sketchbooks are a bunch of beautiful finished drawings. I want to see the exploration and mistakes. Sometimes the journey is more exciting than the finish. I remember an illustrator in LA showed me his sketchbook, when I was a student, and it floored me. In it were a million ideas, all wonderful, he had an amazing mind as well as being an amazing artist! I also know a bunch of people who live in there sketches and are afraid to do finished pieces. All things are OK to do, as long as you are drawing. I want to walk the line between them and keep pushing ideas as well as finished pieces.

LOOK INTO the MONKEY'S EYES

I figure I needed another image here. This was done as a concept for a crew gift. It wasn't chosen. I think we got a pair of shorts( since the project was a short). I like the monkey.

INTRO to those BLOGS

First off let me say, I wish I knew all the people I have links to, sadly I do not. But all of them have influenced me and we are all lucky that they have a web presence at all, many of my influences don't. I'll be adding to this list as well as doing an intro to the site links .

Brian McDonald-One of the few amazing story artists out there. If you tell stories in any medium, you should check out his blog, take his class or find a way to contact him. I've never met a someone so passionate about story! I was lucky enough to have met Brian many years ago and that meeting changed my art in such a positive way. I feel for anyone who chooses writing as an art. Unlike most art forms so much is up for interpretation. Where as drawing has more tangible rules( an arm needs to look like an arm etc,) and even music and photography, unless you get into abstract forms. Sadly writers of both good and bad calibers get lumped together because so much is up to the reader and what they bring to the work.

Denis Bodart-I am a recent convert to Denis' work, only because I was not aware of it for so long. My friend Jamie Baker made me aware of him and I haven't looked back since. Unfortunately his work is hard to get here in the "states", but if you can get your hands on any of his works do so! Classic comic storytelling at it's best. He has such a beautiful line quality that reminds me of Moebius at his best on "Blueberry". Truly a master at clarity and economy. Lucky for us all he has a blog with updates on his current piece "Indeh". I can't wait!!

Sparth-Such beautiful style! Once you look at is work you will be hooked! I would love to meet this guy!

Oscar Grillo-HA! Oscar came to work at ILM during "Men in Black" as an inspirational concept animator or some such thing. I believe he was sent here to drink our beer and make our most talented artists and animators feel inadequate. Many people still hang his doodles up in there cubes as if blessed by Bacchus himself. His artwork is effortless and a joy to look at.

James Jean-It is always humbling to be around someone so young and so talented. If he only rendered well or was able to put pretty colors together, we might pass him up, but James has a voice of a fine artist yet uses our common language of illustration so that we might all enjoy his conversation. Truly inspiring work.

Ashley Wood- What can I say, I'm addicted to his stuff. His strong sense of design grabs you, that and his particular subject matter, I just can't get enough of (Robots and Girls). Just when I think I've had enough he comes out with yet another book, or cover, or statue (man is this guy prolific! I feel lazy just looking at his work) and out comes the wallet.

Neil Campbell Ross-Another one of the guys I've never known and would like to meet. Apparently from animation, but his work is transcendent. His art looks flat but their is a depth and maturity to it that is amazing.

Gabriele Pennacchioli-Man oh man! Simplicity and energy! I always smile when looking at his work. His character sheets or so much fun!

Chris Minos-I was lucky enough to work with Chris a few times. He was always fun to work with and amazingly talented! I learned early on that not all computer animators are drawers so I was surprised one day when Chris showed me his stuff! Wow! Not only can he draw but he has a FERTILE imagination!!

Giant Monster-Ummmm, I have a friend who is a giant monster, this is his site.

Like I said earlier I will be adding to this list but wanted to let you all know about these strangers over in the right column. Please visit their sites!

Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays

Now to get sappy. However you spend this Holiday Season I hope you are surrounded by good people and good cheer. May the new year find us all rejuvenated and ready to take on a new one. Share your good fortune and be able to see your own prosperity. Alright that's plenty of that crap. This card took way too long but I always feel compelled to do one no matter my schedule. Until next time,....er year?

Yet Another,....

Yet another card. I'd prefer to do a card and not a caricature( which I think at the heart are a bit mean spirited) but I don't always get to art direct these things. My version would have had the girl and a bunch of spaghetti armed mice, wearing pants, dancing around!! That's it for finished pieces for awhile. I'm gonna keep posting but it's gonna be outta my sketchbook, hope that's ok with you all?!

ATTACK!!

The ancient battle between the Tiki Atlanteans and the subversive Lemurians, who used the beatnicks to break down and appropriate cultures, rages on.-OR- I did this piece for a friend of mine who left work to become succesful. I hate doing cards because it means that I'm saying goodbye to a friend, but on the other hand it is an opportunity to try something fun and/or new and push your skill set.

Violent Ends

I don't "like" any kind of gangster glorification movies as a rule. Partly because the violence is so seductive. But even I find some inspiration from the genre. Here are a few frames I did after I heard that they where making Sin City into a movie. I tried to do these from the memory of Frank Miller's comics. I think it is just as important to draw from memory and feeling as it is from life.

Trying Something New

I'm trying this blog as an experiment of sorts. As soon as it becomes work and not fun it will stop. I hope to share my inspiration and to be inspired by any who care to share. I'll try to post at least once a month if not more. Please be patient.Thanks!!!