Shane, Look An Alien!

I was encouraged by my friend Ethan Nicolle to contribute a Buzz Lightyear themed drawing for this BLOG.  There is a concept I plan to execute soon but another idea came to mind that is more personal and follows the theme with my last couple of posts.

When I think of Lightyear I usually think of my friend Shane Mulholland.  A tall-drink-of-water with just as much heart as his stature, Shane is a hard worker and a strong family man.  Aside from being a lover of cinema, Mr. Mulholland is also one of the biggest animation fans I know and has proven that passion by working in said industry (currently at DreamWorks).

To infinity and beyond!

The Bearded Cowboy Monkey

If there is only one guy out there who knows how to draw a monkey, it's Ryan Agadoni.  
I've loved Ryan's work ever since I was in college. I would see his drawings here and there and even visited his Senior show, but I was not aware of who was making them. It wasn't untill sometime after college that I actually got to know Ryan, and became as much a fan of him as I was of his art. Being Ryan's friend and being a fellow artist, is like having a good cup of coffee ready and waiting to give you a boost. Ryan is an artist's artist, in that he is a fan and supporter of his fellow artists. We have mutual friends who work as professional illustrators and he is just as eager to buy their work as he is with other pros he admires. He brings value to his fellow artists' work and it makes them also feel valuable.
Mr. Agadoni is also a good art critic and is very helpful in giving honest feedback regarding your work. He's just as critical of the art of others as he is of his own. Ryan's not a guy who rushes through a piece. He's great at thinking things through and performing the necessary prep work to make a final piece strong.

Ryan knows Westerns as much as he knows monkeys and is a great resource to turn to if you're ever curious about such culture.  If you want to get more into this guy's head, check out his BLOG.

In tribute to this Dude, I whipped up this drawing.  In case you're confused, I gave him the ears and body of a monkey.  One thing about Ryan that  I'm envious of, is he can look in the mirror and will himself to grow a beard.  His facial hair is constantly changing, so instead of locking down one style of trim, I decided to give you the option of what fur you want on Ryan's mug.

Comic Heroes

I thought it might be fun to create a few posts talking about individuals that I admire in their craft, in the hopes of supporting and promoting them.
The webcomic world has grown to be very vast over the years, and I don't pretend to be an expert on them.  There have been a couple that I like but none that I follow consistently.  That might be changing due to an exposer to this world from personal attachments.  This is mostly due my friend Ethan Nicolle and now Doug TenNapel.  Over the past couple of years I've gotten to know Ethan as a friend and as a respectable artists.  After getting to know him and really enjoying his company (mostly due to the fact that we are both Misties), I found out that he did drawings.  I didn't realize until he handed me a couple graphic novels he made called Chumble Spuzz and told me that he was nominated an Eisner for them, just how much of a "Drawer" he was!  About a year ago, he came back from his Christmas break with funny stories about playing with his kid brother Malachi, and how they created a character called Axe Cop.  I and other friends witnessed how this fun little idea exploded in a cultural phenomenon!
My friendship with Doug TenNapel came about in the opposite way.  I was a long time fan of his work, ever since the video game of Earthworm Jim.  Over time I got to talk with Mr. TenNapel at various points, but it wasn't until a mutual friend (Ryan Agadoni) gave me an opportunity to know Doug more personally.  (Doug and Ethan are also close friends, which was one of the reasons I met Ethan.)  Doug's latest project (his body of work is EPIC) is a brand-spanking-new webcomic series called Ratfist.  This is Doug's first webcomic and I hope it will gain the same success as Ethan's first webseries.
I admire both of these men for their body of work, the ethic for their craft, and the ideals they live by.  They are also great guys to work with, as I've experienced helping each of them on a couple of projects.
In celebration of and first year anniversary of Axe Cop and the launch of Ratfist, I decided to do a little sketch of these great guys.  Even though I haven't met him yet, Malachai is in there to give credit where credit is due.

A Clock Of Astronomical Proportions

My wife and I have wanted to visit the city of Prague for as long as we've been together.  One site I long to see is the famous astronomical clock tower, located at the Old Town Square in the center of Prague.

Recently, there was a celebration of the 600 year anniversary of this old ticker and here is some really cool footage.  This video is a live recording of what is called digital projection mapping on the face of the tower.

The 600 Years from the macula on Vimeo.

I did a quick little sketch of one of the Saints that appear at the clock's windows when it chimes.

I love how these wooden figures are proportioned.  The have large tops of their heads that narrow down at the base, along with large hands, and no legs. They're designed that way due the distance and angle they are viewed from the street level.

I'm ready for my head shot, Mr. DeMille.

Let's see if anyone gets this reference:

If you haven't yet, watch the film Sunset Blvd.

I'm Such A Dick . . . Tracy Fan

Being a big movie fan, there are various films that I watch on a seasonal bases.  For that short time between Christmas and the New Year, Katie (my wife) and I have 3 films that we feel fit that period just right: Sunset Blvd., Hudsucker Proxy, and Dick Tracy (1990).  All revolve around and/or climax at New Years Eve.

The addition of Dick Tracy to the movie list is mainly my idea.  OK . . . here goes (deep breath) I'm a really big fan of this movie, but I'm not ignorant or naive about it.  I'm well aware of the criticisms against it and the issues in property rights.  Regardless, I personally love this film and I'm fine being the only one who does.
One reason being, that I grew up a big fan of the Chester Gould comic series it's based on.  One of my treasured birthday presents I got when I was in grade school, was a large book titled the Celebrated Cases Of Dick Tracy.  I still read through that collection every now and again.  The character cameos and make-up effects in the movie are perfect in bringing these classic villains to life.  It's obvious that the make-up and costume design team put great craftmanship into paying tribute to the art of Chester Gould.  What I also love about this film is it's Production Design.  The world is wonderfully stylized to fit the feel of the classic comic design and color palette.  Every red is the same red, every blue the same blue.  The production team adjusted the world to fit the look of the comic instead of vice versa.  In a way, Dick Tracy was way ahead of it's time in doing this.  Now we see it all the time in comic book movies, such as Sin City, 300, Watchmen, etc.  I love that even the elements in the backgrounds (buildings, skylines, etc.) become more stylized and simplified in detail as they are "further away".  Aside from the look I enjoy the casting, music, and editing.  Very fun and aways a joy to watch every New Year.
To follow up my New Year's Resolution, I've decided to christen my blog with a couple new sketches of this New Year's Film.  I chose my favorite Dick Tracy villain, Littleface Finney (who has a very short cameo in the film).