Jasin With An I

Oh Yeah, My Blog. Yeah.....

2011-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

I did not forget about my blog, I swear. Determined to buck the annual fall depression I seem to latch onto every year, I have been working my butt off on some Really Bad Movie opening credits! Working so much to the extent that said credits are FINISHED credits!

That's just the cards themselves. Without giving too much away, there are giant robots, giant squids, slime monsters, flying saucers on string, zombies, and oh so much more. Next up on the production slate? The 5 scenes that make up our official trailer! Till then, enjoy the credit sequence eye candy!

Giant Robots Make a Crap Month Somewhat Better

2011-08-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well there isn't much good I can say about the past month. Only halfway in and I can honestly say it's been the most challenging month of the year so far. All in all, my life has changed in a pretty big way and as far as the future goes, only time will tell. I'm still pulling for a positive and grown up outcome to the whole situation, though I sadly fear things will never be what they once were.

With chaos swirling around me, I have managed to get quite a few things done and learn a few things I've needed to pick up to complete the project. First of those things being Google Sketch-Up. Keeping in mind, this would mark my first experience with 3-D, as to this point I've been a staunch and hard lining 2-D man. Thinking in full 3 dimensions is far different than thinking in 3 dimensions for 2-D and I am proud to say I've made it through the other side. Needless to say there were nights where even a sailor would have blushed at the language I was using.

The green windows are for compositing purposes of course, and though this background is simple, it was the one that gave me my 3-D crash course. I followed this one up with a damn near authentic recreation of the White House's Eisenhower hallway. Heavily intricate and detailed, as it will be the background of 2 very long moving shots.

Next up, I'm getting reacquainted with Flash, and it's new toys. Now prior to the use of CS4, the last version of Flash I was using was MX 2004. A lot has changed, and thankfully one of the things that hasn't is the program's basic interface. Long and geeky story short, the bone tool works wonders, and the ability to move items with a bitmap fill without Flash crashing on you non-stop is a godsend.

Here is a test shot from my new opening credit sequence. All items drawn in flash with bitmap and texture fills. When it's done and composited in After Effects the whole thing will have a far more stop motion/paper cut out feel, but for now you can surely get the point.

As usual I will keep things short and sweet. Back with more as "Really Bad Movie" continues rolling, albeit slowly, along.

Here Comes a Quickie!

2011-08-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

Quick update, as it's late and I need to go to sleep. I'm very excited for this, as it's the first time I get to see my characters against one of my 3-D backgrounds. This is just a test for right now, but I figured I would share.

If the final product looks this sexy, I think I got something here! Anyway, that's all for now. Another update soon. Thanks for looking.

And Then There Were Five

2011-07-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah lack of posting again, so shoot me. I've been busy trying to get the latest "Really Bad Movie" into animation ready shape. Final animatic edit, done! Main character Flash libraries as of tonight, done! I still have 6 to 7 other secondary characters to do, and hands for every character. Got my hands full that is for sure. (pun intended)

Anyway! Enough yapping! Onto what you're really here for:

Pretty snazzy, right? They all came out great this attempt. I've sure learned a hell of a lot about building libraries in Flash over the last year. These are fully workable Flash puppets, ready for some animating! Now to blast through the last of the busy work and get to the fun stuff!

The Case For "Paper"

2011-04-09T13:22:00.001-07:00

Taking the time to ponder other contributing aspects of this new short film version of Really Bad Movie while awaiting opportunities to record with all my actors; I decided the updated version of this project needed an equally updated version of opening credits. So when our gifted new composer Ryan Brawders signed on to help transform the musical side of this short film, I took many angles into thought. Since this short is a celebration of the classic 50's b-movie, I wanted to incorporate as many b-movie monster scenarios as I could. Alien abduction, flying saucers, giant sea creatures, zombies, giant robots, slime creatures are what I set on and in passing this information onto Ryan I was totally blown away by what he returned with. Instantly I set to storyboarding and what I ended up with is far better than what I had envisioned. Still 2 weeks after completing the animatic I watch over and over in total amazement.

That being said, I must now set out to establish the visual aspects of my new credits. Currently I take inspiration from the classic early 60's paper animation credits from directors Bill Justice and X. Atencio. Their work can be seen in the opening credits of such Disney films as "The Mis-Adventures of Merlin Jones" and "The Parent Trap". Their style has come to find new found popularity with kitch artists of today.

Now there is no way I will have the time to do old school stop motion animation because, well if I'm gonna make 2012 film festival deadlines I've gotta have this thing in the can by December at the latest. What I am considering is using bitmap fills with my already constructed Flash animation character components. I played around with this idea all morning today and this is what I came up with:

Not finalized yet, but most assuredly in the running. Flash hates working with bitmap fills, and animating with them would prove to be a program crashing nightmare. The image you see above as a matter of fact is a second attempt as Flash crashed on my first attempt. Small update, but an update none the less. In a few short weeks I should have all my actors recorded, and a locked animatic in place. At that point it will be onto animation. A process that will consume at least the summer.

I Tried, and Now It's Bah! Humbug!

2010-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

It officially set in last night. The holidays have severely slowed my progress on the latest installment of Really Bad Movie. It was at that moment I sunk back into my loathing for the holiday season. Till then I was doing great. Listening to the obligatory Christmas tunes, downing some egg nog when the chance presented, and shopping like a trophy wife with sugar daddy's credit card.

In the past I had been spoiled with numerous 1 day, all cast included recording sessions. This time around I've had to work within everyone's schedules, not to mention the holidays and set multiple sessions. I am VERY thankful for the wonderful Chris Kooreman at Beat Royalty who has already given up his studio space twice so that I may have cast members come in when time permits. So far the cast has performed with perfection and I look forward to getting the rest of the gang in to do their thing in early 2011. To that note I also have a theme song in the works and it's coming out great! Much thanks to my composer Ryan Brawders on that front! Next year is gonna be a lot of fun and I look forward to sharing my progress with you all.

Merry Christmas, Happy belated Hanukkah, Funky Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year to everyone.

When Fall Hits, It's Always Complicated

2010-10-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't know what it is about this time of year but everything, and I mean everything about my life just wants to hit a wall and stay there till temperatures get back to normal. I'd equate it to depression, and in the past I believed it was because it has all the same traits; But this year has me very confused. I know I'm not depressed because to put it quite simply, I'm not. I can't even wrap my head around what this is, but it's seriously messing with a mojo I was gaining back in a major way.

Adding to the complication, this situation has me feeling guilty about the lack of progress on Really Bad Movie. 2 weeks ago I would work for hours, now I just pick at what I need to be doing like the carcass of a post-meal Thanksgiving turkey.

Needless to say, since the animation test below, I don't have much work to show for myself and in my mind and in my bones I know this means trouble if I do not act immediately. This weekend I will focus on getting my head back on straight. This can not stand and I need to get back to work soon.

Shaking Off the Rust

2010-10-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I've updated, I know. At least this time my disappearance has been for pre-production reasons. Since finishing the first pass animatic about 3 weeks ago, I've been taking some time to A) Try out, develop and continue honing some new techniques, and B) shake off the rust that's accumulated over the last couple years in which I have been damn near close to inactive.

This is what I consider the fun time, all out trial and error. I touched upon it in my last post with that 10 second video of the scary, disembodied head of Professor Waxington: Now I get to use what I learned from those series of tests and apply them to actual character animation. This is all on a practice level of course, as I have not gotten my cast together to record just yet. (Though I was fortunate enough to have one of my cast members offer their services by way of crappy quality recording session on my MacBook Pro. Thank you Carlos!) Nor have I gotten my crew together to start animating. Before I can do either I have to figure out exactly what I want this show to look like. What to do, what not to do, and how to do it, will be much easier to explain to those involved once I get a clear understanding of what it is that I want this to be.

The video clip below has been how I've spent the day. It's not without it's issues, I know. (And yes the background I used is from the show "Archer". I in no way intend to use it beyond this test footage, nor do I claim to have had anything to do with it's creation.) All in all it's a very solid first attempt, and man does it have me excited to try out more things!

Again, it's not a finished piece, it's just a test. A very sexy test if you ask me!

Slight of Hand, Foot in Mouth

2010-09-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'd be lying if I said the initial rough animatic editing process is moving along right on schedule. Fact of the matter is it's starting to drag on longer than I had hoped. I guess it's the way it goes when you've got a small handful of gags and one-liners to rework. Don't get me wrong, this is a solid project. Though like any project, some of my jokes just did not work in front of an audience. With rewrites and their corresponding storyboards behind me, I can at least say progress has been made in the last month. For the time being it's about as tight as it's gonna be till I can get my cast in the studio. It's been a bit of an internal up hill battle, and fatigue is setting in. I am very anxious to get onto the next step, but alas once the final dialogue track is recorded I will have a whole other edit to get though. The one edit I quite frankly hate the most. The final timing edit, and all the math and frame counting that applies.

As with all my posts I try to provide some eye candy. Though I don't have much by way of entertaining tidbits of production work to show quite yet, I have been playing with some new techniques in Flash.

Above you will see the quite stylish head of Really Bad Movie's very own Professor James Waxington. (Though his design may change in the months to come, lets just use this as a teaching example.) Subtle head turn not that exciting you say? Well you're right, BUT! This simple head turn will do wonders for the previously VERY limited animation I once used while pushing out past incarnations of this project. See, when doing limited animation, subtle usually translate to uncreative suit and money bozos as "time consuming" and therefor, expensive. Not so much here though! Notice the head never actually changes shape, but still gives the illusion of movement. That is because there are 4 moving parts that force your eye to think that the character is ever so slightly turning his head. In reality, it's only one drawing. Therein lies the magic of the whole thing. 1 drawing broken into multiple parts, moving together to give the illusion of full and subtle movement. I know it's not much, but damn it has me excited to get onto animation!

Where The Hell Have I Been?

2010-08-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

I took my crap and went home! That's what I did! When I say home, I mean I moved back to North Hollywood and boy does it feel good to be back! I'm in a neighborhood I know inside and out, and more importantly I'm within blocks of nearly all my creative cohorts. Needless to say I have had quite the full plate over the last 2 months, but on the plus side I did manage to get a hell of a lot of work done on the current Really Bad Movie while maintaining a workout routine and dealing with a pretty hectic professional workload. Mind and body seem to be in tune right now and I'm feeling as productive as ever!

In trying to maintain a "by the book" style of production on this one, I completed an animatic with temporary audio track. With this I did some re-writes and adjusted my storyboards accordingly. My next to last test before recording with the cast comes Sunday when a group of my trusted few will view said animatic and provide notes. Barring any blaring issues with story, and the adjusting of a joke or two, I should get an idea of when I can record very soon. From there it's timing sheets (my least favorite part of production involving lots of math) and onto animation!

The picture at the top of the post you ask? Well that happens to be my new loft/home office in my brand new 2+2+loft! That's right for the first time in years I have NO creative work related paraphernalia in my bedroom, living room, or dining room. What has this meant to me? Well I have started reading a bit before bedtime again, and I have been getting solid nights sleep. Both of which do wonders for a guy who can only be described as "not a morning person".

All in all, things are good and always getting better. Now all that's left is to live up to my end bargain with the universe and finish this cartoon over the next year!

Scanning? What Scanning?

2010-06-22T23:06:00.001-07:00

It took me longer to set up the new scanner, than it did to scan the ENTIRE FREAKING SHOW!

What I thought was at least 2 days worth of work turned out to be about 40 minutes worth, thanks to my brand new Brother MFC 7340.

In a word, I'm shocked. This machine made all other scanners I've had till now look like steaming piles of crap!

(Cue the cheesy announcer voice) That's right kids, the Brother MFC 7340 not only scans at lighting speeds, it can also print 21 pages per minute at a whopping HQ1200 dpi (laser) and fax those important documents with the same precision and quality you've come to know and love in the scanner you've had for all of a week. (clears throat)

Honestly I can't say enough about this machine so far and tonight was it's first night out of the box. It's going to make things move a lot smoother in the weeks to come, that is for sure!

Now we're on to cropping. Time to limber up those old key pad working fingers!

This Is How We Do it!

2010-06-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

8 weeks

3 acts

459 pages in total

310 scenes in total

2 weeks ahead of the goal

Right hand, right thumb completely numb

Feels good. As a matter of fact, I'm going in for more! Next stop, ANIMATIC!

The Nubbins of Progress

2010-06-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

The photo above will demonstrate the level to which I have been drawing. The nubbin pencil was once as long as it's brand new counterpart exactly 1 month and 1 week ago when I started this massive endeavor. The odd way in which I work requires 1 very sharp pencil and one very dull. The nubbin you see above is what is left of the sharp one. The dull one is about an inch, maybe inch and a half bigger. (Yes, size does matter)

Now the moment you've all been waiting for; This week's numbers!

4.5 weeks down

137 pages total and counting for Act II

134 scenes boarded

A total of 182 scenes of 308 completed.

And as of today I have one month left to complete the rest of Act II and all of Act III.

Um...holy crap I did 134 scenes in a week and a half! Jesus! Hadn't crunched the numbers till right now! I'm kinda stunned! I mean that's like pre-union, Uncle Walt with a whip, golden age of animation level of output! No wonder my hands hurt! haha

Till next week you can just refer to me as Amazing. Thank you universe.

Tony Clifton, Hospitals, Stress and Adversity

2010-05-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

How to describe the last week in so many words. For one, at this point Andy Kaufman is probably dead. None the less his former protege Tony Clifton can still put on a great show. (And do one of the greatest covers of "Rhinestone Cowboy" since Dolly and Sly) Truly a great show with more boobs and vagina than I have ever seen in person in my entire life.

The week rolled on and we get to Wednesday when once again my father lands himself in the hospital. Why you may ask? Oh well when you're diabetic, go figure, blood sugar levels become an issue. When you stop taking your meds and stop checking your blood sugar on a daily basis, things health wise can go south. Harsh tone you say? I make no qualms about the less-than-fantastic relationship he and I have, but the reverse father/son relationship we have always had has gotten old.

And this would be where the adversity comes in. Between the B.S., and everything else that went down this week, I have once again stayed far ahead of my self established schedule. As of tonight the storyboarding process remains 6 days ahead of schedule. From Sunday to Sunday I find myself in another self fulfilling position. I don't think in the last batch of boards I accomplished what I did this week.

And your count for the week: ACT II Storybaords

3 weeks down

74 pages done

48 scenes boarded

137 of 308 scenes completed.

Not bad for what a shitty week it was. Gripe and grief over. Next week will be a better week.

14 Days of Drawing = Results and Ego

2010-05-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

14 days is all it's taken me to get 1/3 of the way though this monumental task.

14 days straight in which I woke up, picked up a pencil, and sat my ass in a chair all day doing what I once did best. What I once did best, and what I will once again strive to do better. Feels good to be myself again. I'm trying to keep my ego in check, but it does have a way of sneaking up on me once in a while.

136 pages of pure, unadulterated gold in recycled paper form, my people:

To quote the great Bender Bending Rodriguez: "I'm back, baby!"

The Feel Good Blog Posting of the Year

2010-05-09T18:29:00.001-07:00

Oh no lets not let the bottle of Walker Black fool you. The photo above are just the simple tools of the animation trade and I for one am a slave to tradition. So folks, let me tell you about this past week. Page 100 has officially been hit. We're well on our way to double digit scene count, and as of this afternoon, half of Thursday's boards have been done. By Thursday, I mean this coming Thursday. Thursday the 13th...of May. That's right, I am 4; Count them 4 days ahead of schedule. This is a good thing considering next weekend's schedule looks like I've climbed the ranks of the social elite. But alas current status still remains. So without further delay, I present to you this week's count:

2 weeks down

12 weeks to go

70 of 308 scenes done

100 pages completed so far

Not bad considering I was near panic attacks last weekend being half a day behind. My task this week, KEEP THIS TRAIN A' ROLLIN!

More to come. Happy Jasin. Happy, happy Jasin.

Update Quickie!

2010-05-03T21:58:00.001-07:00

The above picture is where the magic happens. Although I normally reserve short comments for Facebook and Twitter, I promised to keep up with posting here and dammit that's what I'm gonna do!

The count so far:

1 full week down

13 weeks to go

308 scenes total

30 scenes done as of tonight

2 scenes behind right now of the pace I need to keep but my right thumb is a constant shade of purple and the writing callus on my right middle finger has an odd blister/hardened coating over it. Painful, yes. But I am fighting through the pain.

That is all for now. More to come.

The First of Many Pages

2010-04-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

So I know I disappeared again. I promise to get over this insensate believe that without visual work to show, my blog isn't worth updating. Unlike in the past, this time my disappearance meant results. Serious results in the form of an entire short film/pilot script and it's corresponding shot list! This may just be the fastest I've ever turned page around, and I am dedicated to doing so with the storyboards. Boarding deadline set at July 1, I am well on my way. The shot list presently contains 308 scenes. Starting April 26 and going to June 30, that means I must complete 4.5 scenes a day if I am to keep on task. That may sound like a piece of cake, but in some scenes we could be talking up to 15 drawings. I'm already starting to sweat, but I view this as my only way back to the road I want to be on.

I apologize for the crappy phone pic ahead of time, but with that I give you the very first storyboard page!

Yeah I know it's no masterpiece by far, but it's a storyboard. It's not suppose to look finished. Not bad for a guy who hasn't drawn anything in over six months. By the end of today I'll be on page 12 of god knows how many pages.

On the casting front, we've had a bit of a shuffle and change about. Taking over for me as the voice of Professor Waxington, (the fine chap sipping his coffee on the page you most recently saw) is venerable actor of stage and screen, and former Henson Muppetteer, Carlos Larkin! Taking over the role of Jenna Knockersworth is Las Vegas' own 98.5 KLUC Morning Zoo member Lauren Michaels! And in the role switch and change department, actor Curt Clendenin (of former Dirk Malone fame) will be taking the part of brand new character, General Principle; And actor Layton Matthews will be assuming the part of Dirk Malone, allowing filmmaker Tyrell Ventura to assume the role of the legendary Dr. Tikiforaheadwithafez.

So as you can see I presently have my work cut out for me. Feels good to be back to work on a project. Especially one that has finally found it's voice after having taken so many forms over the last few years. I promise I will try to update as I work through the gazillion pages of boards spewing out of me at the moment, but in all likelihood your next update on this particular project will come in video form, with rough audio track.

In other quick update news, Kids Eating Paste is in the midst of a technical upgrade. New camera, new lights, website 2.0, the works. Good stuff from there forthcoming, and Bowie! You'll know more shortly. And in the mean time you need to buy one of these fine KIDS EATING PASTE SHIRTS!

Thanks for reading. And if you're one of those lame Twit kids, you can follow me on Twitter @JasinAmodeo.

The Long Awaited Kids Eating Paste PSA, Starring ME!

2010-03-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

On my way to the nut house I've decided to start turning all the random thought in my head that I find funny, (luckily my writing partner Brandon finds them funny too, so at least I know I'm not all crazy. That or Brandon is total bat shit crazy. Either way...) into comedy sketches. Those sketches have turned from fun, into yet another business endeavor of sorts, in the form of www.kidseatingpaste.com. This also means I'll be taking turns in front of and behind the camera as needed. I've found doing wacky shit like this has been a great way to blow off the steam that so often prevents creativity from easing out in animated form.

So with that, I am proud to present not just my newly posted PSA, but also a sketch we shot last August, starring me and the multi-talented NoHo legend Curt Clendenin.

Is This Thing On?

2010-02-18T22:39:00.001-08:00

Wow where has the time gone since I last updated?

SWAG Entertainment is no more and has morphed into the new creative powerhouse Delicious Mayhem Productions. The new company was formed with former SWAG parter Andy Smith and my long time writing partner Brandon Alexander.

Here is our logo goodness:

Want to know what we're up to? Go to www.deliciousmayhem.net for more info.

Yeah I know this update is half assed. I'm just brushing you off to a site with more info, but what do you want from me? Oh, a proper update, right. Well sit tight. I'll have one for you soon, and I promise it will be a lot sooner than this update was in relation to the previous.

Jackie

2008-07-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

A book I've read a few times becomes a movie I've seen close to a thousand times. Quentin has yet to top the work he did here. Sure his more recent work has been top notch, but none of them come close to showcasing the sheer understanding of the cinematic craft that this man has.

Honestly I have no idea what is behind this. For some reason this film always gets my brain back to work. On my greatest creative roll, I fell asleep to a warn out VHS copy of Jackie Brown every night for a year. During that period I completed a number of scripts, animatics, and even my first and only live action screenplay. To date, I've not been able to match the output I had during that period.

It's been a rough week for me. One to cap off what has been a couple months of internal struggle. I have missed 2 days of work this week, and I am on the fence about ever going back. Mind you, I still feel this way after having a total of 10 days off over 3 weeks of June. This year so far has been one of disappointment, and delay. For a year that started with so much promise, I find myself questioning where things may have gone wrong. I am just plain exhausted and when I'm not exhausted, I'm depressed. It's absolutely killing my creative output. Tonight I've gone back to square one. Watching the movies and listening to the music that inspire me to get back to the table and tackle those blank pages.

I pushed out 4 pages worth of storyboards tonight. I know it's not much, but it's a start.

The Trouble With Blogs

2008-06-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my absence as of late. I have been storyboarding and writing a lot. Nothing I can really post quite yet. I'll be posting some works from my archives in the coming days. I'm currently in the midst of a reorganizing.

Sit tight, I'll be back shortly.

Danger Bobby Thompson! Danger!

2008-04-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Today I bring you another prime example of drawing inspiration from something well beyond my years. I am a pretty big "Lost In Space" fan. Not so much the movie from the mid-90's, the original 60's television show with Jonathan Harris. I remember staying home sick and watching re-runs as a kid, and it's because of that, I think I find comfort in old television. As a kid, during the day if you stayed home, that was all that was on television. Back in the days when morning TV was not full of talk shows who's hosts are content to talk over each other just to get themselves heard. Networks ran great old TV shows. It was here my love for Lucy bloomed. I found fun in the antics of the evil Doctor Smith, and laughed at the zany physical comedy that was Jack Tripper, aka the late, great John Ritter.

So enough old man banter. Here in all his "Will Robinson-ness" is Ace Fernando's trusty young ward, and venerable side kick, Bobby Thompson!

The Monk Stays In the Picture

2008-04-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some older designs of The Monkster and his friend Jimmy. If you notice, the design of Monkster's feet have changed. Now that I am actually designing cartoon characters to be turned into toys, there are certain guidelines I have to keep in mind while designing. His feet in previous incarnations provided what I was told could be a "choke hazard" in toy form. Meaning if the feet on a toy of the Monkster were to break off of said toy, a child could choke on the busted parts.

So on the newer renditions below, you'll notice he's got regular looking chicken feet, as opposed to the retro cool, 50's modern design above. The irony here being that when I set out to give the character an overhaul a year ago, the sturdy feet you see below were the first thing I placed on the chopping block. They were the one thing that always bothered me about the character, but now with Monkster's new properly proportioned body, they give the character a unique look. I can't wait to get him in motion and see those little chicken legs flying!

Now Jimmy here had quite the long and arduous journey to get to the sleek and fun design you see above. I do feel he needs one or two more redesigns before we hit animation. I would like to lessen some of the hard angles on his midsection and get to something a bit more rounded in some places. I was going for a hybrid Jay Ward-esk look for our boy here. He's part Peabody's boy Sherman, and part Timmy Turner of "The Fairly Odd Parents" with maybe a bit of Hanna-Barbera rolled in for good measure. I'll be posting some exploratory expression work I've been doing with Jimmy and Monkster shortly.

What I'm Listening To (With a P.S. of What I Saw)

2008-04-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Time yet again for another installment of this classic weekly series in which I tell you what you should be listening to, because I'm listening to it. You all know how amazing my taste in music is. What's wrong with you? Go buy the stuff I tell you to.

Don't get me started on how things would be better if I ruled the world. Lets just get into the musical selections of the week shall we?

So have we all finally accepted Jack White of the White Stripes as our personal lord and savior? I know I have!

Jack is back again with singer/songwriter Brendan Benson and the rest of The Raconteurs for another stellar album. Their sophomore release "Consolers Of The Lonely" shows just what happens when 2 cosmically stellar musical forces combine for not just a first, but a SECOND album. Solid all the way through, and yet, only came close in dethroning Air Traffic's "Fractured Life" for my favorite album of the year so far. God, (aka Jack White) may strike me down for saying so, but right now the race for album of my heart ('08 edition) belongs to them Brits.

Specifically, the tracks "You Don't Understand Me", "Salute Your Solution", "Old Enough", and "Many Shades of Black" are my faves. I'm listening to the album as I write this. Pick it up, you will not be disappointed in the least! The tracks that are even mixes of Jack and Brendan are nothing short of beauty.

Oh, Stephen Malkmus. (admirable sigh) How I remember rocking out to your now legendary 90's-college-radio-friendly band known as Pavement. Then how after when I got out of high school, lost everything I owned, couch hopped all over the North Hollywood/Studio City hood, drove around in my piece of crap car rocking out to quite possibly the best song ever written about Yule Brenner called "Jo-Jo's Jacket" from your solo album; I would smile and want to get home to watch the movie "West World". Yet sadly, I am a bit disappointed in your new album. Well, disappointed may be a harsh term for the moment. I'm a bit preoccupied with the now broken out street war between Air Traffic and The Raconteurs. Never the less, when my ears can take no more of either of the champions for my heart, I'm listening to "Real Emotional Trash" from Stephen and his new band The Jicks. I'm on the fence about it now, but I'm sure when my ears clear, and Jack White has laid waste to what was once the band Air Traffic, I will listen to this album and like Stephen's past releases, enjoy them with a passion. For right now, my heart belongs to Jack, and not in a gay way.

Now we end this week's feature with a bit of the unusual. In accompaniment with what I've been listening to, I would like to bring to light, what I recently saw at my local cineplex. It's now firmly been established that I will go see anything Simon Pegg is in. (With the exception of the forthcoming Star Trek movie. I just can't do it. I've had far too much sex in my life to be able to sit through a Trek film, no matter who's in it, or who helmed it) Simon Pegg, you may or may not know as Shawn of "Shawn of the Dead" and the Fuzz, of the film "Hot Fuzz", in which he played Sargent Nicholas Angel. Not only does he star in the film, he co-wrote it with MTV's "The State" alum, Michael Ian Black. Oh but wait, it gets better! It stars quite possibly one of the most underrated actor/comedians of our time; One Mr. Hank Azaria. Now the bad news is, it was directed by David "Ross from Friends" Schwimmer, who you all know we had to forgive at some point for the whole Ross and Rachel debacle. Finally we are now able to do so and David may return to the rest of society. He turns in a fine directorial debut in this film. A film that is full of heart, and laughs, and even a few shots of a very unattractive British man ass. Go see it, and listen to The Raconteurs on the way to the theater.

Mommy's Little Monkster

2008-03-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep the gears moving has become priority. Ace provided a nice way to restart the machine that is my brain, now it's time to start moving around the other pokers in the fire too. Potential work is afoot, and I need to get sharpened back up asap. I pulled out a few exploratory Monkster sketches from the later part of last year. At a certain point I hit a great stride with this character. Drawings were constantly on model, and he was starting to come to life. In a lot of ways he's my Mickey Mouse or Kermet the Frog. Just like Walt and Jim thought of their creations, I think of Monkster as a living being. I find myself singing in the car with his voice quite frequently. It just kind of happens. When I struggle with his facial features, I look in the mirror and make faces of my own. Monkster is the personification of my mischievous side, and the troublemaker that I was always afraid to be. He's everything I'm not, just as I am everything he's not.

It's been interesting doing research on this design. Coming across interviews of former Disney animators like Fred Moore and Frank Thomas, who are 2 of the draftsmen responsible for the sleek lined and well proportioned Mickey Mouse we know today. Both men were responsible for redesigning Mickey at key points in his career. I found resonance in Fred Moore's redesign of Mickey in 1939 in particular. Fred was in part responsible for Mickey during the production of "Fantasia" and the first person to give Mickey pupils in his eyes.

Can anyone tell why this redesign was necessary?

Expression. Pie eyed Mickey was not able to emote enough emotion for Uncle Walt's liking and for Mickey's movie star debut, acting was key.

Now compare 1930's Mickey to the Monkster sketch above. Pie eyes.
I ran into a lot of the same problems they had to have run into at Disney's in the late 30's. Trying to get Monkster to emote more has been quite the task. Why not just redesign Monkster? Well, I'm stubborn and I like Monkster the way he is. He came out of my head with pie eyes, and pie eyed is the way he's gonna stay. The design flaw doesn't mean the character is to be given up on, no. I just view it as a challenge.

In trying to find contemporary characters to mimic, "The Animaniacs" were a huge help in my studies. I know the mere mention of those characters makes any animation historian cringe, but say what you will. Their design flaw was a huge help in trying to overcome Monkster's. It's so far so good I think. Take for example the 2 quick sketches below (Forgiving the flipper hands on the one on the right):

I see thought, organic thought. You can see wheels turning as if he's a living, breathing thing. Particularly on the left. Look at the stretch, and gesture that is going on there. I can hear him talking already. Any moment he's gonna try and trick me out of the pudding snack from my lunch, I can feel it.

More of these sketches to come. I'm trying to dig out some of my sketch pads from last year on Monkster and The Canopy as we speak.

Learning to Logo

2008-03-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Every time I sit down to work on a logo for a new show I can't help but remember the hundreds, if not thousands of tips and tricks my friend Cliff Galbraith taught me over oh so many summers spent sweltering in a North Hollywood garage. Balance, focal points, original font design, etc. The keys to an eye catching and original logo. It is also every time I sit down to do a logo, that I miss his guidance more and more. He's living on the other coast now, and it may as well be Mars.

Anyways, enough of my old man ramblings and on with tonight's artwork!

The official logo for Ace Fernando: Space Commando!

It's gonna make one hell of a shirt if I do say so myself. Line up to the left and have your $12.95 in hand and ready. No checks please.

What I'm Listening To

2008-03-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Diverse listening habits this week for me, as is usually the norm.

I learned long ago to make soundtracks for what ever project I'm working on. I put the mix on in the background while I work and it seems to really help me exude the desired vibe I want for the show. Example, with "The Monkster" I like to listen to Ska and modern Punk. With "Really Bad Movie!" it was all classic lounge and swing tunes.

Latin lounge music helps in all the "Ace Fernando" work I've been doing. Guess it gets me in the mood to work on this character. Ace is suave, but quite cheesy. Just like the musical selections I've made on his behalf.

I downloaded this pretty cool Xavier Cugat album from iTunes the other night. Not having been too familiar with his music, but having heard plenty about the man from my grandmother Delores while I was growing up; I figured I'd finally dive into his catalog for Ace's sake.

About half the tracks made it onto my Ace playlist. Each song on the album is named after a drink. At some point I plan on drinking those drinks while listening to their corresponding songs. Not really because I have to, but I feel like I should. After all, if you plan to listen to music from this period, one must learn to drink like your grandparents did. With some class, sophistication and with the knowledge of what kind of glass goes with what kind of drink. Do your homework, listen to this album, and get back to me for a quiz.

The album cover of this album on iTunes is different from the one to the left, but the title of the album remains the same. From legendary arranger/composer Juan Garcia Esquivel, aka Esquivel, comes this amazing auditory oddity. This is the man who invented "Space Age Bachelor Music", for without him I fear most of our grandparents would never have gotten laid, presenting the problem of our lack of existence. One ponders the amounts of martini drank to the sound that this man provided and promptly goes cross-eyed. Esquivel provides an amazing escape to the early 1960's for me that no other composer has even come close to providing. Though I was not there in person, I believe my soul was. You will find his rendition of "Harlem Nocturne" as the theme for "Really Bad Movie" and if I get my way about it, his music will also provide the theme for our friend Ace.

Downloaded this album from iTunes as well. An Irish group called Bell X1. Though the album is a couple years old, it's one that slipped by me at it's time of release. A solid album all the way through. If you like "Franz Fernanand" and "Keane", you will probably adore this band. Their sound can be similar at times but I found Bell X1 to have a more rich and deep sound. The track "Eve, the Apple Of My Eye" will sound familiar to you, as it does to me. I just can't place what movie and/or film I remember it from. They use so many random tracks of music in promotion of forthcoming television seasons these days, it's hard to keep tabs on which sappy promo had which sappy song in it. See promos from season 2 of "Gray's Anatomy" with The Fray's "How to Save a Life" for an example. The promo prompts almost all men into believing they've had their ovaries removed, yet you still want to watch.

More great music from the UK, and a blaring reminder of how SHITTY the music scene here in the states has become. "Fractured Life" from UK's Air Traffic has been playing musical chairs on my iPod since it's purchase at the end of last month. When I'm not working, I'm listening to this album or, Bell X1.

This is by far my favorite album of the new year, and with the way things are shaping up, it may be my favorite album of the year.
At this point the only album on the horizon that could dethrone this one is the new one from The Raconteurs.

This is the album I recommend you pick up asap. You will not be disappointed.

So there you have what I'm listening to right now. More Ace related artwork to come tomorrow. I have cleared most of the evening to work on some of the sketches I recently completed. Check back soon.

Color Commando

2008-03-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

Finishing now the components of the logo for Ace Fernando: Space Commando. All that's left for me to do is finish up the other text elements and it will be complete. For now, here is Ace himself, in full color glory.

Pretty cool huh? What a douche bag he's gonna be!

Not sure yet who's next. I got Ace's trusty young ward, Bobby Thompson and his sister Susy drawn, along with the butch-lesbian-robot Nurse Click. I'll get to them and get them up asap. Stay tuned.

Going Commando

2008-03-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Working on the development of characters from square one is my favorite part of the job. While working on the currently-in-limbo-but-still-looking-promising-show "The Canopy"; My writing partner, and all around genius in the field of writing, Brandon Alexander, asked if I'd be interested in helping develop one of his properties to the ready. That property, "Ace Fernando: Space Commando" about a self absorbed latin space commando saving the world in the futuristic year of 2003.

The pilot is on the way. Writing has commenced, and it's coming along well. Along with the pilot, I've begun preliminary character design. This is a relatively tough phase in the process. Lots and lots of wasted paper, and wasted time. In the end though you when you get the result you wanted, you quickly get past the annoyances of your own limitations. Ace in particular gave me quite the struggle in designing. Of course when dealing with a character of such ethnic persuasion, and in this case, a conceded attitude to boot, you tend to ware down pencils to a nub. Finding the right mix of fun and annoyance is a hard thing to do.

For the first post in the coming slew of Ace related posts, here is Ace himself.

Not too bad for this being the 5th attempt at nailing the design, right?

More to come this week. I've got some personal deadlines to hit on this series in the coming days. Stay tooned.

Hey! Over here! Look at me!

2008-03-16T01:51:00.000-07:00

Yeah so I finally caved and got one of these blog deals for myself. I find inspiration in the blogs of other artists out there, so it's time I gave back. I have no idea who the hell could find any spark from one of my doodles, but it's worth a shot.

Maybe I'm not getting enough attention these days. Maybe it's my recent move to the boonies, or maybe it's another Saturday night and I'm home alone, bored. What ever the case may be, I will be posting things here from time to time.

Check back soon, check back often.