to see if you were waiting

Closing up shop

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:59:00 +0000

Well, after a lot of years of being sorely neglected, it's time for this site to close down.

But my blogging days are not over! Nor are my websiting days!

Willstrode.com is now open and redesigned to incorporate a real-deal blog. Come visit to get new comic news, sketches, and pointless, self-serving ramblins!

Just Strode By will be going fully private in a few days, so make sure to update your bookmarks. Thanks for hanging with me folks, we've got a lot of fun left yet!

Inkin Away My Blues

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Ok I love to ink, but I have always considered myself not a great inker. Really, that's understating it. I considered myself a ruinous inker. I have destroyed at least a hundred great pictures with shoddy pen work. But sometimes I saw those fleeting moments of greatness the old ink quill could offer. So I went out on a search last week and found this excellent tutorial over at the MAD blog. It's pretty simplistic, but it does what most tutorials don't, it gets down to the bottom line technical details. How close to the paper to hold your pen-type of stuff. I followed his advice, went to sketchin, and came up with some characters for a webcomic I'm writing up.

I was pretty darn pleased with how well this came out. There are a few technical problems here and there, but the overall effect is visually pleasing. Most importantly, it showed me I could take this into a comic and ink it up without a lot of hassle.

So I did a little color test, to see what the kids would look like all colorfied. I'd say my absolute favorite thing in both pictures is the girl's hair on the right. I just really like how soft that turned out.

I used a crow quill for most of it, then painted in with a thin brush, all using some craptastic Waterman Ink I had sitting around. When i really get into this comic, I'll definitely use a thicker ink for the painting, but the Waterman actually worked out pretty well for the small nib I was scribbling with.

SIDE NOTE: Make sure to go check out Goodbye Blue Monday! It's being updated weekly and you'll like it as long as you aren't my mom.

Webcomic!

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Hey. If you're reading this, you probably already know via Facebook or the Flux or some other digital vacuum, but in case you don't know....

I'm writin a webcomic!!

Goodbye Blue Monday

Go read it! It's got dirty words!

SITE NEWS: Gallery's up!

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:03:00 +0000

Hey the gallery is up and running!

No other news at the moment...back from visiting my dad in Arkansas and doing some comic work with Lindsey and working on another Battlerock cast picture.

And did y'all see Little Man? It's a Swedish short about an awesome little pervert. Well done Swedes.

slavin away for the wandering king

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:45:00 +0000

I've been working on the first piece of Battlerock art all weekend and now it's all finished up. I even saved some screens along the way to explain my process cause that's always fun and ego boosting. Let's get right to it!

Sketch:

Here's the original scan...all...murky lookin. I hate my scanner.

Color Blocking:

I started scrubbing in some skin tones and got carried away with One Horn, so he ended up with pants and boots and the whole kit n kiboodle. I added a yellow to purple gradient in the background to give myself some color reference. I also blew up the canvas by about 5% just to give myself some wiggle room since my original scan was hitting the side of the page.

More colorblocking:

When I got back to it, I finished up putting in the colors for the Snake Giant. This was basically just another batch of scrubbing with opacity gitter on in Photoshop. I also added some ground shadows and light and filled in the fortress in the back.

Texture and light:

Now the fun stuff, effects! I added a lot of texture with a sponge brush on the ground. I also added some different color layers on top to give it depth. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with the gap between them and the tower when I started, but I found this mist detailing to be pleasing so I ran with it. The boys got some treatment as well, with a few layers of color and shading.

More lighting:

More minor shading to get them to pop and add weight. I went darker on the shadow to add more drama.

FINISHED:

So there were a lot of changes at the end. The blue ground color was detracting from the fight and the Serpent Tower needed some serious touching up. I removed the outlines and colored in with shadow, then took it all down a notch so as not to pull focus. Also added in a wicked cloud ring to be all ominous and such. And, of course, I added the all important battle-blood just to spice it up.

That was a great project for me, expect to see more in the coming weeks!

SITE NEWS: The gallery on my site will be functional within a week or so...I've finished it up, I just need to edit a couple of buttons and make sure it's not going to break. The Open Hand art will be up (it's all finished) as well as some old favorites and new to come. Aren't you happy I kept you up to date? I knew you would be.

Returns

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:09:00 +0000

I've returned from Texas a new man in a new year.

Hope you all rocked it hard.

See?

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:15:00 +0000

We'll probably have to do something a little different since the text gets cut off, but I wanted to post this because i believe it to be awesome.

You should agree with me.

A Turkeyless Holiday

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:32:00 +0000

Back from the void of time that is the Thanksgiving holiday. I picked up some rad new jeans and gloves and a couple of shirts...I doodled a bunch but forgot to scan...and I came up with the next BattleRock story. And 3 other comics for Lindsey.

So it was pretty productive between Fallout sessions. I guess it's actually a really good thing I got Linds hooked...that way I don't play it nearly as much.

The album art got a little stalled due to some scheduling/motivation/deadline moving issues. I'm getting back to it tonight...it's time to get the damn thing off my plate so I can focus on comics again. At least until the poster campaign gets moving.

That's all for now folks, thanks for tuning in.

A little step forward

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:21:00 +0000

Open Hand album art update!

After a lot of ho-humming and figurin, I came up with a package idea for the album to incorporate all the thematic elements we were going for. I wanted to present farmland Europe/Americana clashed with the backdrop of an encroaching warzone. The bee elements are coming in on more subtle levels, though there's still little details to add to each piece that will bring the whole thing into one cohesive package.

First up is the C-Card insides...this is where all the text will go. All the record label jargon, any lyrics we decide to drop in..all that jazz. The map is a really old layout of the front near Warsaw. I wanted to create something that would fold out and feel like a tactical hex-based map for tabletop gaming, but also call out the honey theme. I'll be adding in some bee elements and maybe some fake tabletop pieces to complete it before the text goes in.

Next up is the back cover of the cd case. I wanted this to be a continuation of the front piece (see the album art down a couple of posts) so that it would seem like a turnaround of the shot...but maybe at a later date. This thing is culled together from about 30 different images and I painted the blast marks on in PS.

And finally...the inside leaflet. When you pull the c-card out and open it up, this is the flap that you'll find. I hand stenciled this for the most part...using the Threshold method, I came up with the basic outline, then chipped away at it with a marker brush until I got the shapes i wanted. After that, it was all hand coloring. I've got a few more elements to add to this as well (some sky stuff and text), and then it will get mounted on the c-card template and cut out. As you can see, I ALMOST stuck to my color palette, but then I kind of wandered off.

I should be done by the week's end...as soon as we get a sample printed, I'll scan it all to post here.

A World With No Mirrors

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:48:00 +0000

The show last night was...transcendent for lack of a less fruity word.

Edward came out like the doomsaying prophet we all know and love, torn between heaven and hell like an anguished transient. He showed us moments of humility and sadness, and brief moments of joy and humor...but mostly he showed us something otherworldly and horrible.

Silverman was absolutely driving his synths, a little topknot of white bobbing on his head as he rocked the keyboards. He looked like a samurai, focused and deadly.

Martijn was on point with the washed guitars, smearing a tapestry of dirty waves over Silverman's thumping bass. The sounds were coursing through every person there, Edward smashed away at crackling static noise and Neils was out in the crowd almost as much as he was on stage.

I would not call this the absolute best Dots show I've seen, but overcoming the first time I saw them play Brightest Star live is going to be pretty much impossible to achieve.

We got to talk with Neils after the show, he's working on a new solo album with David J from Bauhaus and a dozen other random folks he rattled off to me while we were talking. He was his usual jovial self and it was great seeing him again. Silverman was jovial as could be, and gave us a hearty laugh when I ribbed him about Frostie. He remembers Ben's cries well, and seemed really happy to have his Texas fans in tow.

I picked up Plutonium Blonde from the merch stand, dropped my money and wandered around for half an hour...but when I got to the car...NO CD!! We popped it open and it was empty. Lindsey went on a mad scramble to get back inside, and after a few goth kids helped us out, we managed to get in. Martijn and the merch girl were there luckily, and they fixed us up right quick with a new copy. I jibed him a little about the lack of fiddle, but he gave me an airplane excuse and I let him off the hook.

I'll be counting days until they come back...as always, it was an experience more than the sum of its parts. A good soul cleansing before the New Year.

Oh and the new album is great, mellow and moody like the Whispering Wall, but cleaner. Definitely worth picking up!

We have a pact, don't turn your back

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:10:00 +0000

Sorry I haven't posted the album art stuff yet. We went for a little direction change yesterday to make it like 3 million times more amazing, so I've been hard at work making new things. Rather than the traditional front/back artwork stuff most albums have, I'm crafting up a die-cut package with all sorts of bells n whistles. I got the layout put together last night, but the artwork won't be done till this weekend.

I've been researching propaganda posters for the art, and I've found some pretty incredible public domain resources (for propaganda and all sorts of other goodies), should anyone need them. Check it out!

The New York Public Library
American Memory
Old Book Illustrations
World War II Poster Collection

We're going to see the Dots tonight. I haven't gotten to go to one of their shows since before Ben left us for the eastern shores, so this is going to be a real treat. They've got a new album out, which I will definitely be picking up. I just hope they play Pain Bubbles, Soft Toy, or Brightest Star. Any of those would pretty much make my week.

And lest I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRE!!

Productive Weekendery

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Open Hand's new album is coming out soon. Last I heard, they were talking early next year for the release.

I've been working on the album art over the last few weeks and I'm getting pretty close to finished. The front cover is an image from one of their friends. I did some color correction and dropped in a new sky (and cleaned up some stuff). There's optional text, but I think it's just going to be the picture right now with all the text on the back of the case.

It's been a fun project and great to work with my close friends. I'll post the back cover stuff when I get it done tonight. We've also got an ad campaign planned that'll be next up on the agenda, so keep an eye out for that.

Also on my gigantic list of things to do is the next Battlerock script. I've been struggling for the past couple of weeks with how I'm going to present scripts online. Pics are easy to put online, but writing presents a different challenge. If anybody comes up with something, let me know and I'll post scripts!

Oh and the Big Geezers show was RAD. Good show lads!

Many Happy Returns

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:07:00 +0000

It's time for a restart.

The new site is up and running, albeit a little light on content, but now that the dust has settled and life is returning to normal I can get back to doing what I love.

Let's talk about art!

This weekend, Chaz and a crew of street artists are throwing a big gallery show at the Scion Gallery in Culver City. The Big Geezers show will consist of The London Police, Flying Fortress, Galo, and a bunch of other European folk I don't know. And Gary sure as hell better show up or I'm not going to know what to do with myself.

The work should be pretty impressive. Watching the boys lay down beautifully rendered clean lines at the Black Maria was awe inspiring to say the least, so I can' t wait to see what they can do with a little space. Chaz also said he'll be devoting the whole show to our good friend Joel, so if you knew him, you should definitely roll out with us.

Here's the site with all of your information needs:
http://www.scion.com/space/

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 8, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Free Valet Parking & Open Bar

Scion Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Avenue (at National)
Culver City, CA. 90232
310.815.8840

J-Starr

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:33:00 +0000

My very close friend Joel passed away in Brazil yesterday.

I already miss you buddy.

medieval motivational techinques

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:31:00 +0000

I made another blog! And this one isn't just for posting things I like...or being my...I honestly don't even know what this thing's real purpose is. I guess it'll turn into a brain dump when I've got the new site up and running.

OK BACK TO NEWS

I made another blog! And it's a draw-every-day blog. So you can check over there to see some rough sketches of stuff that may or may not have anything to do with my comics. Not only will this keep this blog free of sketchy stuff, it'll also make sure I'm drawing every freaking day.

So go look at it now so you can see how much I've improved 6 months from now. See how that works?!

With stiff legs and a heavy heart

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:09:00 +0000

I return from the Southland. Comic-Con was fun, got to talk to a lot of great people and I walked around so much that my boots almost broke my left middle toe.

Before the con i put together a few preview pages for El Segundo Diablo to show around the con. I plucked out a few that I like so y'all could check it out. I gray-scaled these just to give an idea of what the text and color would look like, and I'm working on actually coloring them and adding sound effects and the like now.

So enjoy this totally out of context set of pages!!

Page 7 was definitely the favorite...with the wittiest line of dialog I'll ever put on page.

And I always say I don't have time to scan things...

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:06:00 +0000

Oh crap it's 2 in the morning and I'm just done scanning....

I haven't really ever posted my thumbnailing before because...well it's kind of a sad and sloppy sight. Manwich sloppy.

Well I'm making an exception this time because I liked the page a lot. Plus, I accidentally drew El to look like Moe and I like Moe. So I drew Moe too.

Lindsey has also been encouraging me to bring back some of the old favorites lately and I've happily obliged...

Turkey's back in full screamin force!

I threw in a couple of layout panels for the cover in there if you really look hard (directly at the big ass layout panels in the middle of the picture). Hell, even our good buddy Haas is making an appearance.

I bet when I read this tomorrow I'm going to be embarrassed and edit it. You should've seen what I had for the sloppy follow-up line earlier...

G'night

If only I'd waited a day...

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:09:00 +0000

If I'd waited 1 day it would've been the semi-anniversary of my last post.

But I am not a man known for his waiting prowess. Or his ability to maintain a website. But I am really good at Guilty Gear so that's got to count for something.

Well just to offer you, the internet, a little token of apology for my absence, I've decided to drop an abomination of ink and photoshoppery on your little digital brains.

This will mark the web debut (didn't that sound fancy?) of my newest venture....

EL SEGUNDO DIABLO!

You'll notice a gap in the middle of the image...well that's where the spine goes, I just took it out for web presentation...it's so pretty as one big CONVENIENTLY WALLPAPER SIZED image. For real...stick that shit on your desktop.

All those sketches down below were preliminary work for this monstrosity of an undertaking, so expect more sloppily drawn messy haired guys on this site in the near future! I'll post panels as I get them finished, and maybe if you're real lucky I'll put up a whole page.

Keep an eye out folks, I've got new links to the right and a new design on the way that features more of my scribbles and less pictures of people that are probably dead now.

I said less, not none.

WAY LATE EDIT:
I messed around with the cover some more and came up with an alternate version I'll be taking to the con. I think it's got a little more design to it, and I enjoy the way it makes the background look so illustrated. That, and I get to show off my big design :D

Toys!

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:01:00 +0000

I hope you're not offended that I don't feel like making a pretty, well-laid-out post.

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES PIIIICCCCTTTUUUURRREESSSSS

We went to the Vinyl Network Toy show this weekend and blew a whole bunch of money on some delightful little figures. I tried to restrain myself, but...

Well you know. We took some pictures as well, you should hit that link up above and check. them. out.

Oh and here's a shout out to the Open Hand, hope you make it to KC and rock their hillbilly socks off.

Do I do creative work? I forget...

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:58:00 +0000

It feels like ages.

I've been working my tuckus off at work trying to get myself promoted to a position that isn't total hell on my creative schedule. And it seems to be paying off! I've got an interview on Thursday and a bunch of high up folks in the company behind me for the position. So let's all take a collective second to CROSS OUR FUCKING FINGERS.

Thanks. I'm glad we could get together on that.

I've updated some links over there on your right. Specifically, I've added Hey Show Me Your Knits and Open Hand to the list of rockrageous folks you should be aware of. They're a couple of fantastic humans I've been wanting to know for a long time and we finally crossed the friendly borders into the grand homiedom of Brosville. Good fucking people. Honestly some of the most down to earth folks I've met in this town and I can't tell you how heartening that is. It's certainly restored a bit of my faith in my ability to find excellent bags of meat to interact with.

On top of gaining some friends, I also got myself a gaming buddy and Red Orchestra has been blowing holes in my evening ever since. It comes on like some sort of beastly bangalore placed directly over the tender reinforced walls of my manhood's Central Control Room. World War 2 runs through my woman-raised veins as it does every other human on the planet with dangly bits betwixt their legs. Also it's all in Russian and German so every death scream is instantly that much more hilarious.

The 3 of you still reading at this point are probably going to give me some flak (lol ww2) about not posting any drawings to my drawings blog where i usually post drawings. Well fuck you judgemental bastards. No not really please keep reading. I've honestly been in a hell of a rut lately, due mostly to that ever-so-present need for income to continue living in an apartment and not behind the hydroponics store down the block. I wonder sometimes if this is an excuse, but working 1-11pm almost every night does not put one in the best headspace for getting some work done.

And where's the inspiration lately? I went through an amazing run of artists last year that really brought my creativity to peaks it had never seen. But I feel like everything I've seen as of late is really stale. Music, movies, art...nothing's doing it for me. I guess my tastes are changing again. Or maybe I've just spent so much time revising other peoples' work at this point that I'm overly critical. Either way it ain't doin it fir me.

So if y'all have got any media recommendations (really of any kind), let me know. I gotta get my creative brain going strong again. I've almost got this corporate thing to a comfortable spot, now it's time to concentrate on things I actually enjoy.

Which will not include writing this shitball serial killer movie I need to start writing.

<3's

My laziness knows some bounds

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:23:00 +0000

I scanned stuff....here it be.

Some sketches:

First up, CRITTERS! Rhino beetle is my favorite on the page.

I've been designing a supervillain type character for a comic, he started out looking pretty realistic. I mean as realistic as I get. And no he's not that rad 70's guy that's about to bust some kneecaps.

Then he changed a little... and a little more. And then one time he looked a whole lot like me (bottom). Notice the fun tattoo arm...that's part of his powers. Oh and him waxing demonic in the bottom corner is a personal fav.

Here he's summoned a demon in his bathrobe for some reason. I guess it bit him. Don't summon demons when you get out of the shower or they get all over the floor and you have to step on them and it's gross.

What would a good supervillain be without a minion? He'd be lonely that's what. So he has a minion named Milkis. Who is raiding the fridge and trying out a new ensemble in these pictures. And i guess our villain guy is reaching under an invisible couch.
Last night, I went a step further and decided to color some shit!

Here's Milkis looking fashionable:

And here's a usual day in our villain's life:

He decided to let Milkis draw things with HILARIOUS RESULTS. Hilarious....

Ok I'm done writing like a retard, back to the grind. I've got a pilot coming up that's probably going to cause me a few anuerisms so don't get mad if I forget to scan things. Loves.

Oh, and I made a Facebook account. You should add me.

Worrisome at best

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:50:00 +0000

Last night my scanner attempted to poop out on me.

It was a little scary.

I'll be scannin stuff tonight, I've drawn a ton since the con and I've got a great new story to work on involving a guy that sort of looks like me doing stuff. I'd like to say I'm being all original, but mainly Who Wants To Be A Superhero? got me past my previous stigmas against the genre.

There...I just admitted that on the internet and I'm not the least bit ashamed.

Who neeeeeeds it?

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:22:00 +0000

I do. I really do.

So Comic Con was dope, obviously. Let me just get that one out of the way. As a first year, it was pretty much everything I'd imagined. Next time I'll be set for a full weekend of shenanigans and tomfoolery. There are pictures...they are made of good times and warm nostalgia and more than a little ham-faced mugging. Bigger than a breadbox I'd say. My ego I mean. Just go look at them.

I met some truly cool folks at the con as well, as evidenced by the new links over to your right. They're all original and highly indicative of the incredible talent our new online art culture is bringing to the surface, so get your ass to lookin. And buy a book or something while you're there. Seriously look at this stuff.

That's some fuckin nice art right there.

I'll scan some stuff tonight if I'm not too busy drawing. I've had a pencil to paper since I left the con and I'm nowhere near done. Seeing all these amazing talents and taking an analytic eye to their pieces has definitely improved my own technique tenfold. It's like art by osmosis. Except there's no water involved...so not really like osmosis at all.

Oh! And after a long dry spell, the screen writing's about to pick up the pace with a vengeance. I've got an original feature I'm writing, a comedy pilot I'm working on with my buddies, and the ever-in-the-distance psychological horror flick that will someday come out of contract hell. Maybe this will mean I can actually quit my dayjob this year! Shit I may do a comic just to make sure I don't have any freetime whatsoever!

Back with more later! And no more month long dry spells ok? They make my blog sad and it cries little electric tears made of equation strings and the souls of orphans.

Can I just say...

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:26:00 +0000

That I love this guy? He's like a Cambodian Ralph Steadman. Something about his slightly tilted expressions, the way everything seems to lean into each other, is very appealing. That sort of warped artistic vision is the closest we'll ever get to seeing something through another person's eyes. So soak it up while it's available.

Much could be said about the world, about life, and about what I'm doing. But there isn't much of importance. I've been drawing quite a bit lately, but the task gets a little daunting when there's no real goal in sight. The writing's on hold, the drawing's treading water, where does that leave the vessel? On the couch, watching Reno 911.

I'll scan and color some stuff this weekend. It's been too many weekends wasted on trips to the consumerism capitols and I need a definitive lockdown on SOMETHING to do. Sometimes you can just feel the time slipping by.

Happy birthday wendy! See you tomorrow.

We're back in action.

noreply@blogger.com (grizzle) — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:07:00 +0000

I drew again! With the wealth of writing work I've had to work on, as you all know, the drawing went second banana on me. But no more. I've got time to do both, I just have to play less God Hand or KoToR2.

Here's a sketch page from yesterday, which I stayed up all extra late to color. I mainly focused on form during the drawing, basically just a set of practice faces. I also tried to do a lot of different color styles to see if there was one I liked. I liked all of them.

And I drew and colored what will almost assuredly be the most impressive cheeseburger I ever put on paper. I peaked early.