The Frog's Bull

My Blog Has Moved

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:30:00 +0000

The Frog's Bull is growing up. I'm switching from thebulfrog.blogspot.com to Frogsbull.com. A direct link to the new RSS is feed://frogsbull.com/feed/. I've set it up to automatically redirect people when they get to the site. Hopefully that doesn't cause too much of a delay. I'm making the switch from Blogger to Wordpress in order to get more control. It's been a relatively painless move, and figured I should do it before I had that many readers.

Also, I've started to Twitter, primarily to stop myself from blog posts that are a single link. I'll save those for the twitter feed. The hope is to make everything that shows up here a higher quality, while still getting to share other links I think are worth seeing.

These changes are all in honor of the new laptop I got. I figured a fresh start all around was called for. Here's to the New Year.

Neil Gaiman's Statuesque

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:58:00 +0000

Click to watch Statuesque by Neil Gaiman

This will stay on the internet for about a day and a half, so watch it while it's still there. It's Neil Gaiman's first foray into directing, and has the sort of ending you'd expect from that variety of genius - a good one.

Also in This Week in Videos, something from the Groundling's. About 26 million people have seen it before me, so apparantly it's been around. That doesn't make it any less hilarious.

This is in contrast the all of the crap that can be found on Crackle, the Groundling's personal video site. If the Groundlings can't pull off a good video, what chance do the rest of us have? The gulf between good improv and good videos is larger than most are willing to admit. I can't think of a better demonstration of that fact than Crackle. Good sound, great editing, and 100's of past failures is a different set of skills than comedy.

To end on a high note, Derrick Comedy is one group that absolutely gets it. Here's an amazing example clip:

Derrick Comedy found via The Sound of Young America

Hopefully those 3 videos can sustain you till next year. Happy New Year.

Rodrigo Blaas’s “Alma”

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:40:00 +0000

I wasn't going to post this, as it's floated all around the blogosphere, but four days after seeing it I'm still thinking about it, especially that one shot towards the end. Rodrigo Blaas took time off from Pixar to create this.

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

I've been pretty swamped in work recently which is why all of the recent posts have been video related. New sketches and the sort to come soon. The madness that is my current schedule should all come to a head in a couple weeks which will free up some time for more writing and drawing. I'm sure my ten readers will be relieved to know this.

Admission test for Gobelins

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:33:00 +0000

A great discussion on Cartoon Brew debates the merits of individual student films verse large group projects. Look at the comments below Electropolis for the meat of the post. Weighing in is this piece from Eric Riewer found via floobynooby.

The admission test for Gobelins sounds incredibly challenging and a fantastic way to separate the budding brilliant animators from the cheap hacks.

One thing that strikes me about the program is how this is exactly what I was looking for when I signed up for Animation Mentor. Where Animation Mentor was all about 3d animation, and nothing but 3D Animation, this program uses animation as a technique to visually experiment. It's no wonder that some of the best independent animations and animators are coming out of this school. It's that difference in attitude between making Creators who can contribute on every level and making brilliant Tradesmen who's trade is animating.

Past sketches

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:14:00 +0000

A gallery of some older sketches, ones I'd uploaded to photobucket and later posted on conceptart.org, a site I should really head back to. There's so many inspiring artists there. As far as I'm concerned, it's the center of the most interesting and influential artistic movement currently around.

Face Morphs

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Doing what I do best, I'm currently in the thralls of delaying getting any real work done. Apparently there was an internet meme for a while that completely passed me by: face morphs. In no other form have a seen a better example showcasing the difference between facial structures. As someone frequently sketching faces of all sorts, it's fascinating to watch the changes in the cheekbones, the space between the eyebrows, the slant of the eyes, the size relation between skull and face, the five places on a nose that are different from person to person and a slew of a dozen or so other features juxtaposed. While I was aware the differences existed and have studied them a lot, seeing them like this really puts the differences in a new and fascinating light.

I ended up watching a bunch of these. Time well spent. Face structure are so cool.

And now to spend the next 12 hours rotoscoping.

Second City 50th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Collected via Daily Beast.

Recent Doodles

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:03:00 +0000

Not being able to sleep, I decided to write a quick post instead. Recently life's been a completely unbalanced mix of work and more work. The fact that the work consists of making animals talk, creating a parody title sequence of Cowboy Bebop, and recreating a car crash moment frozen in time is entirely beside the point. The point is that I just got out of work a half hour ago, and have managed to skip most forms of improv and figure drawing for the last three weeks. It's just not healthy going that long without doing what I draw my life force from.

With that said, I really do enjoy having an external deadline. It makes me much more productive than when I dream up my own arbitrary goals and assign funny "deadlines" to them. With others dependent, I actually need to finish, and I love that. While it might be killing me now, it's making me stronger in the long run. At least I hope so. Here's a couple of pictures, because what's a blog post without?
I don't know what this page is, but it was in my sketchbook and now it's on my blog.
Waiting to head in to a film shoot for the talking animal project I'm working on. Most others called someone and figured out the address was wrong right away. I ended up hanging out there sketching, and losing track of time, eventually finding my way to where I was supposed to go from the start.
Waiting for a live Q&A with Tarantino. 600 people in a private theater watching Inglorious Bastards followed by an interview with Tarantino for the price of nada? Worth the wait.

Classic Muppets

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:24:00 +0000

With the fervor of Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody going around the web recently, I thought I'd post some classics because they make me oh-so-happy.

Jeff Griggs talking about Del Close

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:54:00 +0000

Interview with Ian Roberts and Anthony King, two of the creators of UCB. They talk about learning under Del, starting up the Del Close Marathon and starting UCB.

Also, an interview with Jeff Griggs, writer of Guru, a biography of Del Close and his time with the man. All of this on a Del Close themed episode of The Sound of Young America

The Sound of Young America

A must listen if you're in to improv.

The Height of Literature

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:34:00 +0000

I'm sorry folks. This was the absolute height of literature. It's been downhill since. There's no two ways about it. Hardy Boys and Tom Swift in an ultra thriller with aliens? It does not get any better. From the back cover:

A Deep Secret From Deep Space Puts Frank and Joe and Tom Into The Deepest Trouble Imaginable...
Tom Swift has caught a falling star---a visitor from outer space who is as beautiful as she is strange. But his secret encounter has set off alarms at the highest levels of government. A top-secret intelligence agency believes he's involved in an espionage and smuggling ring. To check Tom out, the Network sends two of its top operatives: Frank and Joe Hardy.
But when the alien is kidnapped by a sinister industrialist, Frank and Joe and Tom realize that they have to work together. They're dealing with a conspiracy that stretches from the farthest reaches of space into the deepest recesses of their own government. The fate of the country and the planet could rest on uncovering the shocking truth about the girl from another world!

What really gets me about this story is it's obvious simplicity. How did no no one ever think to write this before? And just when people thought those three had jumped the shark...

Figure Drawing Sketches

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Have I mentioned my love of charcoal? It makes everything pop.
1-5 minute quickies.
Pencil.
Charcoal.
On a bunch of these the model was wearing a mask. I wasn't too lazy to draw the face, just too lazy to add in the mask.

The contest with this 20 minute pose was to make it as busy as possible. This could have been busier.
There were masks. I swear.
I need to switch to charcoal full time when doing these, as I'm improving there, where with pencil I more or less stay with what's safe. It's a shame, as there's so many places I need to push myself in. Movement, legs, proportions, expression, emotion, and weight to name a few.

Uta Hagen on Acting

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Apparently Improv is real acting, and getting better at the latter leads to getting better at the former. Visa versa as well, but I could care less for that. With that said, I've been attempting to beef up on my acting skills and turned to my greatest source of inspiration, youtube. Youtube, after many false starts, told me Uta Hagen was a hell of an acting teacher. With over 60 years of doing it and a couple Tony's to boot it makes sense. I was blown away by the hour lesson I watched of hers.

Here's Part 1 (of 10)

To Hear a Good Story

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:08:00 +0000

Last night The Elephant Engine High Dive Revival came to town. It was a collection of a half dozen of the greatest Spoken Word Poets alive today. They're currently on a two month tour taking them across the US, and it's unfortunate just how rare the traveling story teller has become. With movies and music, no one has time for a simple poem or story. I wasn't able to go, but wanted to take this chance to write a bit about where to go online to find real stories.

I'm here to tell you a few tales of passion. There's a Jewish saying that I love. What is truer than truth? Answer: The story. I'm a storyteller. I want to convey something that is truer than truth about our common humanity. All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them.

Quote from Isabel Allende at 2008 TED Talk

The Moth Podcast is a brilliant source for 15 minute stories about everything from Mafia Relations to long lost siblings.

This American Life is consistently the top podcasts on iTunes and top show on NPR for stories unlike anywhere else.

While books on tape are nice, too often they fall into the trap of someone mechanically reading another's words. A brilliant exception available for free online is Neil Gaiman reading The Graveyard Book, winner of the 2009 Newberry Medal and Hugo Award.

Two other books that stick out are Jim Dale reading Harry Potter and Live from New York read by the cast of SNL and Lorne Michaels.

Getting back to the motivation of the post, I first heard Slam Poetry on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.

If that's not an option, the best source for hearing Spoken Word Poetry online is Indiefeed's Performance Poetry. It's hit or miss, but when it's on, it's amazing. Listen to this clip here. If you haven't heard of Buddy Wakefield or Derrick Brown before prepare to have your mind blown.

Drawing Reel, First Draft

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:08:00 +0000

I don't know if having a bunch of drawings in a reel is a thing (as apposed to a portfolio) but I can't imagine it hurts. Considering how little time it takes to put together, how could I resist not doing it? This is a first draft. The next one will probably have a different song, cut out some of the worse drawings, not zoom in so far on some of the others, and add in a bunch that weren't in this one.

The song, for those interested, is by RJD2 and called "Smoke and Mirrors"

Regardless, I am learning the best formats to upload for youtube (640 x 360 at as uncompressed as possible.)

Random Recycled Ridiculousness

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:33:00 +0000

For the five of you out there who haven't already seen these two completely unrelated works of genius.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Five Minute Sketches - Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Final installment in this five minute sketches run. All of these are in charcoal and done stupid quick. I dare say, it shows. The bride/groom theme was explained in the last post, so I'm not going over it again.
Ah, my classic horse face. I'm good at those.
Despite the skewing, I liked this.
Feels free. Still need so much work on hands. Also, has a very flat feel. I need a better feeling of volume in these. That's largely due to my willy nilly way of throwing lines around.

You'd think I'd also post the good stuff...you'd be wrong.
The most unique thing about this one was my attempt to get into the habit of signing my work. It's a nice thought.

The bride looked a bit too much like she did in the photograph. I dare say, not a good thing, but who am I to judge?

I'd love if this blog consisted of posts entirely like these last four. It's not going to happen, and I'll continue posting whatever I please, but I was very happy with these for 2 day's worth of output.

5 Minute Sketches - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:13:00 +0000

So one of the reasons I was doing all of these sketches was to prep for a wedding I'd been hired to sketch at. I was very honored, and aware that I'd have no more then fifteen minutes to get a good drawing out. I needed to make sure I could do it. With that said, I decided to draw a bunch of wedding couples to see that I could capture the emotion, the likeness, and more then anything make sure to stop making female faces look too manly, and all faces less grimacing, a tendency I have.
Also I was experimenting with using charcoal. There's a bit less control, but the end result speaks for itself. It's much more free.

Same face drawn twice. Not ecstatic with the second, but a whole lot better then the first.
Struggling to get a grip on charcoal.
More struggling with charcoal.
Starting to get more of a feel for charcoal.
Faces are a bit elongated, but I like it.
One of the pieces I would have loved to have spent more time on.

Starting to dig the charcoal.
Ah...proportions...
To be fair, the bride was not that great of a looker in the first place. With that said, it's my job to fix that.
I felt I really got the expression with this one.
A bit dark, tried the technique of erasing out the parts I wanted from a sheet covered in charcoal. It was fun. Didn't work out quite as expected, but not a complete loss.

This man could eat her head in a single bite with the size of his mouth.
After doing all of these I got an itch to spend a nice long time on a single image. Something to look forward to in a future post.
What? Full body? Not just shoulders and head? Pure madness. Pure madness
A quick dip into ink.
Charcoal.
Charcoal.
Pencil. Boo ya. I can do a likeness with the expression. Good times.
I was happy with this one, even if it's a prime example of me attempting a piece and taking no risks. At some point I'll start focusing on not wasting a single line.
One of the first charcoals I attempted.
Decided I was getting sick of pencil around this piece. It turned out all right, it's just pencil wasn't forcing me to challenge myself with every stroke.
Still need work with my quicky pen and inks.

Five Minute Sketches Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Some more sketches done in an attempt to improve my speed at drawing. I went between drawing people I knew personally and famous people. Otherwise it was hard to tell if I got a likeness.

I was a really big fan of the drawing above. Those heads were a big breakthrough for me.

To be fair, some of these pieces were closer to 15, rather then 5 minutes. On most of them I wanted to keep going, but the hardest part for me is getting those initial lines right, so spending time on detailing seems like a waste from a learning perspective.

More to come in the next post.

Five Minute Sketches Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:34:00 +0000

I was curious how far I could get by limiting myself to no more then 5 minutes per figure. In order to sketch them out quickly, I could only rough in the most basic of gestures before refining. On most of them, I started with the nose to get the tilt and angle of the head, moved to the left eye, then the right, put in the hair and the mouth, and then shaped out the rest of the head structure. Once that was in place I loosely drew out the body, building the clothes on top. For the most part I didn't get to the hands, and when I did, I didn't have nearly enough time to spend on them.

There were three main points I tried to emphasize in doing these:

A likeness
Their expression/emotion (which included getting the tilt)
Correct Proportions from one figure to the next

These are all skills I need to refine much more. In doing these I did some ink washes, some charcoal, mostly pencil and didn't let myself get into color, as the two times I tried were a horrible disaster with the five minute time limit.

What I loved about this exercise is I ended up with roughly 80 drawings over the course of 2 and a half days, and I really could feel myself improving. Knowing that this is exactly the sort of schedule that any professional illustrator, comic artist, concept artist, or animator need to keep up on a daily basis makes me happy.

Family Guy's Take on Improv

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:48:00 +0000

So I just cut this video together on youtube. I figured by including no keywords on it like 'Family Guy' there'd be a better chance of it staying up for longer. It also means no one will find it, but that's a risk I'm willing to take for the sake of this blog. And as a closing thought, I've worked with far, far too many Peters.

How to get on SNL

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:49:00 +0000

I had this notion that people got acting jobs through sheer luck. You got on SNL through being at the right place at the right time, knowing the right people, and mostly getting very, very lucky. It came as a real eye opener that there's a process behind all of it.

When I got into improv, acting was new to me, and after a year in it, it still feels that way. Until recently, the process of going from improv to elsewhere was completely foreign, so I was blown over when I heard how someone I know made the transition to full time acting and even auditioning for SNL.

I was at iO and this chipper red head turned to me.

"Hey!" she said.

I paused, looking at her, trying to register who this was. Before I could figure it out she said, "It's me, Dana."

"Oh my God," I said, "How are you?"

This was my Level 1 coach, Dana Powell, who I hadn't seen in over a year.

She said, "Good. Good seeing you," and headed off to prep for her show. It all came back to me. She was the first one to open my eyes to improv. She revealed improv to me in some Red Pill-Matrixesque reveal of this is how the world actually works. Not to overstate it, but she changed my life.

After the show I told her as much, if with less flowery language. "I've been more and more involved/obsessed with improv since you first gave me the taste for it. And it's all thanks to you," I said, which trapped her in a conversation for at least another couple minutes.

We talked for a while about what the various people in that Level 1 class were up to (5 of them dropped off the map, 1 is on Jonny Whiteboard with me, and we couldn't think of who any of the others were.)

"So what have you been up to?" I asked.

"Well, I've been doing a lot with the Groundling's Sunday Company."

"Oh," I said, "What's that?"

"It's a show over at the Groundlings every Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday I'm writing. Wednesday we pitch. Then Thursday through Saturday it's practicing. It's been really great. This is actually the first year that I managed to make more money through acting rather then anything else."

"Wow. That's great," I said.

"Yeah, I was actually asked to submit some writing samples to SNL a couple of weeks ago."

"No way. When do you hear back?"

"Oh. I did. I didn't get it, but one of the other people on the show made it in."

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah, we're all really proud for her."

"How were all of you asked to audition?"

"Oh. Well, Lorne came to one of our shows. I actually didn't know it at the time, which is probably a good thing. Apparently the whole audience knew. A whisper went through the crowd the moment he stepped in."

"That's so cool," I said.

I talked about how I knew one other person who'd auditioned, someone named Jen who had done Boom Chicago, and Dana knew her. We talked about the team I was on for a while, and then the conversation moved back to Dana. On my provocation, she took me through how she got on the Sunday Company in the first place. After graduating (in acting, of course) she did years at iO, filling in a lot of gaps waiting to get into the next level of Groundlings classes.
"This was my home," she said, referring to iO.
There was nearly a year wait between each Groundlings class as she made her way through it. After graduating Level 6 at the Groundlings she got into the Sunday company and it took over her life. Recruiters are constantly going through, as is a packed house.

"It took seven years at Groundlings to get to this point," she said.

I don't want to say it takes a decade in the craft to even get an audition on SNL, but that's not too far off. It's reaching a point where you're one of the best performers at the best show at the best venue (Groundlings, UCB, Second City or Improv Olympic, depending on the city). While on the one side, this seems daunting, on the other side, it's reachable. Rather then some random strike of luck, it's a clear path that anyone with the right level of stamina and dedication can get to.

Of course, once you make it to the audition it helps to be a comedic genius like Phil Hartman or Dana Carvey were in theirs.

Best of luck.

How to Draw Mind Numbingly Beautiful Trees

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:38:00 +0000

The best place to go online for a complete rundown on how to draw trees is Squidoo's Tutorial on How to Draw Trees. It goes through the basic principles, the key artists to look at, and some books for further information.

He starts with basic sketches like this one.

And then gets into elaborate trees like this.

He shows Leighton's Lemon Tree, highlighted as the most beautiful tree ever drawn. As well as showing examples from other artists, such as Jan Wijnants

Instead of repeating such a brilliant tutorial, what I have is a series of images to inspire and hopefully push you to up your game when drawing trees. At the end are some places to go for photo reference, as well as others' tutorials littered throughout.

Here's some inspiration of beautifully rendered trees that one up reality.

Concept art for Dreamfall.

This piece, due to it's quick nature, shows the process of how to set up the initial lines of laying in good trees.

Two works by Alex Toth, untouchable works of genius.

They demonstrate just how far we all have to work towards.

Midsummer by Willow Arlenea.

Something different then the usual tree, experimenting with the idea of spirituality.

Now on to the classics.

The 6 Images below are all by Maxfield Parrish.

Hilltop

Jason and the Talking Oak

Girl with Elves

Dreaming October

Solitude

Birches in Winter

A biography of Maxfield Parrish and his process.

Tree Spirit by James Fodor.

Cover to Stardust by Charles Vess

Companion to the Moon by Charles Vess

A tutorial by Charles Vess on how he painted the image above.
Charles Vess at Comicon surrounded by his beautiful tree paintings.
The Tree Girl by Virginia Lee (inspired Mythic Journeys short, voice acting by Tim Curry, with art by Brian Froud. Go check it out.)

Little Red Riding Hood by Arthur Rackham

He's the undisputed master of tree illustrations in the world of fantasy. The term 'Rackham Tree' is a recognizable description of any gnarled oak or the ilk.

Midsummer Night's Dream Fairies by Rackham

Rackham

Midsummer Night's Dream by Rackham

You can never have too many Rackham Trees.

I was inspired to write this after reading an article in the NYT about this 600 year old tree getting cut down:

Here's a few photographs of trees to inspire you to go shoot some of your own for reference:

Major Oak from Garden Action.

Holm Oak by Rory Francis

Oak Tree by Bobby8

From Elderwood Cradle

Bois Mang Tree, Dominica

By Chris 9, posted on a fantastic Flickr thread on Indian trees.

Most tree tutorials look like this simple tutorial on drawing trees, and while that might be enough for those first getting started, it's not enough to understand their real beauty. It doesn't capture the spirit of the tree.

Some bonus links:

For a wonderful gallery of tree photography with artful nudes, head to Tree Girl / Tree Spirit.

To get what a specific tree/plant looks like if google is not getting the job done, go to ForestryImages.

Check out searching Flickr for 'gnarled oak tree' and comb through the'Gnarly Trees' picture pool on Flickr.

Why Photoshop is Dead

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:26:00 +0000

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

Admittedly it's doubtful this works nearly as well as the demonstration makes it seem, so Photoshop will always have its place. Still, this has the potential to be a game changing technology. It could redefine how we search for images on the web, and help immensely for those of us looking for images in composites. Also, in searching for reference for illustration this is on exactly the right track.

While it's doubtful its selections and image finds are perfect, it indicates that one day they will be. Just when I thought Photoshop featurewise was plateauing, needing to dip into the well of 3d and video to help itself along, a concept for a program like this comes along with the abiltiy to change the fundemental way of how people approach photo manipulation.

Found via ZDNet by way of Techmeme.

100 Ways to Waste your life

noreply@blogger.com (thebulfrog) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:43:00 +0000

I'm debating on finishing comments for posting this video. Here's some choices:

"I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for anything that quenches my four second attention span."

"...but at least I don't watch tv...."

"Just in case anyone thought this blog had any semblance of a thematic tie in other then things I like and things I make."

And as long as I'm posting videos I love that have nothing to do with anything-here's one everyone must see. Michel Gondry being his awesome self:

Ooh! This post is discovering a theme. So in the realm of videos to watch your life away here's one I'll be seeing the whole series of:

So here's the question. Do my trusty readers like when I post randomness like this, or should I stick to the animation/humor/drawing posts that I've done up to this point?
Answer? Meh-I'll post what I want. Phooey on you.
Other question: Do I have readers or is it mostly just people I know in real life? To be honest, I'm fine either way. This blog is for me. If people happen to be amused by it, all the better.