Who Needs the Moon

I NEED the next Half Life Installment

2011-02-16T13:58:00.002-05:00

In the meantime I have played and finished the game again, including episode 2. I didn't really care for episode 1 at the time. But maybe this is a good time to revisit it and see if I was wrong about it.
I've played some good mods too.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/research-and-development

http://www.moddb.com/mods/mission-improbable

Forgot Some

2011-02-09T12:33:00.001-05:00

Alchemy

Harmony

great sketching tools. Which you may already know about.

Spread the Open Source Love

2011-02-04T19:23:00.001-05:00

So it's come to my attention that I should probably let people know what apps I use.
If you happened upon this blog, you might be under the impression that I use expensive software to get this done. Maybe you think, he should have!

I used to, when I worked for other people. And I imagine, should I get hired on full time again, I'll be using it again.

But it doesn't need to be that way.

I currently work with open source software.

All 3D work I do is done in the amazing program provided by the Blender Foundation.

BLENDER

All digital paint work I do is done with the awesome, MyPaint.

MyPaint

All image manipulation work I do is currently done using the GIMP. It needs help to get to the next version!

GIMP

All virtual lighttable work I do, is currently done using Darktable.

DARKTABLE

Video Editing is done using Kdenlive.

KDENLIVE

Openshot looks promising though.

OPENSHOT

And yeah. I work in a free operating system environment.

UBUNTU

But there are other nice looking linux distros out there that are starting to catch my eye.

The Power of Good Colour Choices

2011-02-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

I feel it might be re-hashing a whole lot of stuff that other poeple have gone on and on about over the years.

They've talked about the importance of colour and I have ignored the advice every time.

Recently though I smartened up.

I was going through Nick Cross' Blog reading about his process after watching his fantastic short - Pig Farmer

The Pig Farmer from Nick Cross on Vimeo.

He mentions to, "Never underestimate the value of using gray." It finally got me thinking hard about how I paint and use colour.

So I created a palette with a whole lot of grey values, and threw in more saturated versions and other tones.

It has made a world of difference. Until you start working with greys, you don't realize how colourful they can actually be. What's more, when you add a more saturated value over top, you can start to play light more easily, direct the eye better, make your image more dynamic and create interest.

I, personally feel that it has made a big difference in my paintings already. As I become more comfortable it, I can only get better at it.

2011-02-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

Fate of the World

2011-01-31T08:15:00.001-05:00

I had the opportunity last week to work on 20 achievements for the up and coming game "Fate of the World". Prior to getting the work, I didn't know all that much about the title.

After getting some descriptions for the achievements and learning a bit more information on what the game is about, I am now very intrigued.

It's due out next month. So keep your eye on it.

Fate of the World

Posing test

2011-01-21T13:46:00.000-05:00

Learning to RIG better

2011-01-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of once again switching directions.

The comic is on hold. But not indefinitely. As I've gotten again familiar with the science of rigging a character and familiarizing myself with Blender's animation tools I've become more interested in turning the comic into an animated work.

That being said I still want to work on it in comic form. It's something that I just NEED to do.

The story needs to be improved anyways.

So for now, it's all about Lampy and his encounter with this big dumb schmuck.

Background Painting

2011-01-15T13:34:00.003-05:00

I'm trying to figure out what process I'll be going through in order to complete my short. I am also trying to figure out how I will be working on things in the future. It looks as though a godd mix of 3d and 2d is a great way to work on things when you work alone.

Sketch 6

2011-01-15T13:34:00.001-05:00

start of a storyboard

Sketch 5

2011-01-15T13:33:00.003-05:00

Quick pencil sketch brought and painted on in MyPaint

Sketch 3 & 4

2011-01-15T13:33:00.001-05:00

Guess this is more difficult to keep updating than I thought.

This is for a short film I am working on.

My 22 month old son and I did this one together.

Sketch 2

2011-01-15T13:32:00.002-05:00

Sketch 1

2011-01-15T13:32:00.001-05:00

Back to One Blog

2011-01-15T13:30:00.001-05:00

It's too much damn work to have multiple blogs when I'm not even making that much new stuff.

I am finally resurrecting Lampy from the dead. I think he's looking great!

And here Lampy is in his previous glory.

Sketch a Day: Sketch 5

2010-12-15T16:18:00.000-05:00

Sketch a Day: Sketch 5: "Quick pencil sketch brought and painted on in MyPaint"

This is related to this blog.

Do I Miss This?

2010-12-13T23:16:00.000-05:00

You bet I do.

I chose to put this book and story on hold for a bit while I try to figure out a way to actually make money in the short term.

That has meant that I have started working on a short animated film.

To earn money I had to take a job at Future Shop. It appears that nobody is interested in hiring me at the moment.

That being said I think about this story on a weekly basis and would very much like to juggle both projects instead of focusing only on one.

I do think that this has given me the opportunity to refine my story.

What Recession?

2010-09-01T14:05:00.000-04:00

Oh!
You mean that thing that is making me dirt poor?
Or maybe it's just me.

Anyways... Freelancing isn't working out so well for me. Seeking full time work right now and haven't been able to focus on this at all.

Hopefully things will change.

Werewolf Concept 1

2010-08-08T13:50:00.001-04:00

Still working on fleshing out the characters of the world when I can. I have very little time at the moment. While I'd like to work on this more, I am currently on the search for work.

I'm also trying to be the best dad I can be.

American Werewolf in London is having a pretty big influence on me at the moment. Are there no other great werewolf movies out there?

Don't say Teen Wolf. ;)

In the Meantime

2010-08-04T20:48:00.001-04:00

While I am working on more pages I thought that I should maybe post something else.

This guy is me trying to get a feel for the world that I am creating. Fleshing it out more so that the thing hopefully writes itself.

Hope you like it.

Prologue

2010-07-13T20:07:00.001-04:00

Pages 1-6 are available.

This is definitely a work in progress though.

To view this as a slide show

Troubles

2010-07-13T10:50:00.000-04:00

I'm having problems trying to get a version of the line work that I am happy with.

While this comic is coming here as a web comic I would eventually like to bring it to print. And right now I think that my lack of experience is making it difficult to convert the line art into an acceptable print ready B&W copy.

I think what is difficult for me too, is seeing the original with its variations in black ink (I really should try to get markers that are all the same value) and seeing the print version.

Another Weapon of Choice

2010-05-28T21:17:00.000-04:00

I'm running low on special black ink for my Copic sketch marker work horse.

Going to have to order more online, which means a slight delay in posting the first 6 pages. In hindsight I should have ordered it sooner.

In the meantime here is another weapon of choice post.

I like coffee. I like it a lot.

This thing makes my brain as a sharp as a knife! An old school Salton espresso machine found at Value Village for $8. Weeks later newer models from other manufacturers showed up on shelves. But I was happy with my purchase since the quality didn't seem as good for a higher price.

She's not the prettiest thing around, but if you like coffee, there is only one way to drink it and she does a good job. The press doesn't even compare. As for drip? Are you crazy? Get that crap away from me.

Fooling With Styles

2010-05-25T20:06:00.000-04:00

So...
I'm developing a graphic novel and at this current point in time I've produced 3 pages.

You'll be able to read it here. Free.

It will most likely be considered a horror book, but I hope that it comes across more as a study of a man.

I was recently very inspired by the works of Yoshihiro Tatsumi and his inspiring ink work. I've pretty much decided that I want to go in the same direction with my own book.

There is something deeply traditional in reading black and white ink work on paper that I feel can really make the reader connect more deeply with a book.

I think it was something I loved about Jeff Smith's Bone and Jim Woodring's Frank too. There is just this sort of simple graphic appeal to the contrast between black ink on paper.

That's not to say that I am not inspired by colour works though. Ben Templesmith's art is very moving too.

Below I sort of did a quick monochromatic experimentation with his work as inspiration to test the waters.

What do you think?

My Weapons of Choice

2010-05-23T12:29:00.000-04:00

So I thought I'd start things off by showing you what I have been using to make comics with recently.

I've tried quite a few things over the last few years and read about what others are into using.

For me though, this seems to work best for now.

The 3H is used for roughing in the page and figuring out the details.

The Chinese brushes are for any wet ink work I plan on doing. Or maybe if I plan on doing watercolour for illustration purposes.

The Copic Sketch marker is my true work horse, I guess. Pretty much 85% of the line work I do is currently done with it. I love the variable widths I can get with the brush tip. The Copic marker is for borders and any sort of detailing I want to do with less variable width.

The Marsmatic700 is for text and fine details. The Uniballer is for fine details and cross-hatching. I am probably going to replace it with a finer pen tip for the Marsmatic.

And for filling in black areas, I've decided to stick with my Pilot Super Color markers that I use in my fine art work. They stink and it might not be the best for my head, but I love how utilitarian they are.

I'm happy with these right now.