Mechner of Persia!

Blogger was down last night, that means today is another double post! I think I'm finally starting to get a little faster at Preston Blair's great walk cycles. I just love how over the top and fluid he makes his characters move.

Gilligan practicing his best Question Mark Pose.


Gilligan, frankly, being quite rude.


After a lot of fighting Claude and his turtle call a truce.


Well now, that didn't last very long.

Pirate a Day

Pirate a Day part deux


Our little hero managed to squeeze two of his fingers out of the ropes and hurriedly tried to use the fork to cut himself free.


The enraged, vile pig beast seemed to have grown twice in size since being burned with the hot liquid and was not happy to see his dinner attempting an escape.

This last weekend Rhys and I went out to see Prince of Persia The Sands of Time! Prince of Persia was probably the most influential piece of media in my young life, and I still love it to this day. Every day after school I would head home and pop on my Mac LC III and immerse myself in the most wonderful Arabian fantasy I'd ever seen. To me it wasn't about beating the game it was the characters and the atmosphere. Back then there was no game that compared to the amazing movements of the prince. He could run, jump, drink, walk up stairs, sword fight, and every single one of his movements was so smooth and lifelike. The beautifully rendered images, perfectly arranged music, and true to life sound effects reeled me in even more. As a kid what could beat watching the prince get cut in half, land in spikes, get stabbed, chop down your foes, jump from high platforms and of course save the princess. The new movie is about as close as you could get to having that same experience, even with Jake Gyllenhaal. Jordan Mechner was like a god to my 9 year old self, and he's managed to do it again 18 years later. Thanks for the inspiration!

Check out Jordan Mechner's old journal that follows the journey he took to make Prince of Persia! I spent most of my afternoon today reading it. It's so insightful and a great story. Most of all he includes some of his old concept images and idea sketches.

Always Tryin' to be a Wild and Wooly Sheep

There are so many different artists I love, and tons of beautiful completely unique styles that just amaze me. On top of that you've got to decide which of the thousands of mediums you want to use. Why is my little eye attracted to so much!

Gilligan stubbed his giraffe toe for the fifth time today!


Claude's turtle's response to finding out Claude ate the last of the Reese's Pieces.


Pirate a Day

Thinking quickly and with even faster reflexes our little hero spotted the flying fork and positioned himself to exactly where he hoped the sharp object would land, and fate being what she is, of course, the pointed utensil stuck in just the right spot.

While out looking for a new shower curtain today (don't ask), I perused the DVD section for any old animated classics that might be on sale. Nothing was really that great of a deal, but I did come across Fox and the Hound which I haven't seen in ages. Between listening to the Animation Podcast and watching the Disney family album I've been absorbed into Disney history lately. Especially the after Walt passed, 9 old men films or the 1967-1985 era. I find it so fascinating to see how the studio struggled, evolved and succeeded during this period. Anyways, on the back of the Fox and the Hound DVD, there was a list of bonus features, and that's when I was reminded of one of my absolute favorite and most memorable Disney shorts, Lambert the Sheepish Lion.



This cartoon is a perfect example of what the appeal of animation is. The characters are aesthetically pleasing and lovable, the story is cute and heartfelt, and the song is catchy as hell. What a great reminder of what makes this medium really shine. Thanks for the inspiration!

Have fun!

Sometimes while drawing I'll get lost in my head and my own thoughts. A lot of the time this will lead to frustration with myself if I can't get a line to go exactly how I think it should go, other times it seems as though the drawings just flow out and almost without thinking and just feeling. Those are the times I like. I've got to figure out how to get that more often. When I'm roughing out a drawing, or just sketching someone or something it seems that its way more fluid, easy, fun and creative. Then my critical perfectionist mathematical brain kicks in when I wanna do cleanup and that takes about 5x as long as the original rough. I'd like to put both of those aspects in a blender and keep just the good parts of each one.

Gilligan waiting for the next trolley.


Claude's turtle getting a well deserved shake.


Pirate a Day


The beast thinking his meal was just about perfect went to rotate his spit one last time. The moment he reached for the handle our little hero spewed the overflowing mouthful of hot marinade he had been holding in his gullet. The wave of liquid caught the monster completely off guard and caused him to jump back in surprise and horror which subsequently led to the sharp fork he was previously wielding getting thrown out of his hand.



I finally got a chance to listen to this weeks Art and Story podcast, and the special guest Dan Mishkin gave a quote from the great Walt Kelly, that got my little ear burning. When asked why he created his comic Pogo he said he wanted to have fun and make money at the same time. Mr. Kelly I think beautifully stated what everyone's ideal goal in life is. Thanks for the Inspiration!

Draw as much as possible.

Such an interesting day today. None of it really went like I had planned, but looking back I really can't complain. I gotta say though I did suffer a bit from distractionitis. I was gonna I procrastinated, but that's really not true. I just found so many great things today that were hard to pull myself away from. The looming stroke of midnight though definitely kicked me into gear. I think I might have to completely shut off my computer, but that's where all my good music is stored, and the bulk of some of my favorite pictures. I'll have to find a good compromise.

Gilligan doing some manual labor.


Claude and his turtle slowly tipping...

Pirate a Day


Just when he thought it was over, our little hero had a great idea, so he filled his cheeks with as much of the sticky, sweet liquid as they could hold.

I got an email back from Elyse Pastel! She seems so lovely. I really appreciate that she took the time to respond! The best part was she offered up some great advice. "My advice is to draw as much as possible. I teach at an Arts High School. The most advanced kids are the ones that draw all the time and keep their minds open to all forms of art and expression. They never say, " That's just not my thing". You can say that in 10 or 20 years, but not now." Thanks Elyse. I think that advice is applicable for almost everyone in any career or walk of life, but I know I for one will definitely take it to heart and strive to adhere to it. Thanks for the inspiration!

Don't be intimidated!

A lot of artists I've read or heard talk about the intimidation of the blank page. For some reason that hasn't effected me yet. Now there are definitely days where I'll sketch a lot of random creations until my brain decides where I want to go with one of the drawings I want to make, but I never would say I'm intimidated by it. Although, I might get frustrated while I'm drawing or after the image is "done". Staring at an empty blog entry though, now that's a different subject.

Gilligan caressing his food baby.


Claude and his turtle doing the hula hula hula.


Pirate a day


Having been without nourishment for what seemed liked weeks, our little hero gulped up as much of the marinade as he could.


Last night I finally got around to starting the Illusion of Life that trekkiebek got me for Christmas (thanks again!).

What a great book! Now don't get me wrong I've poured over the pictures in the book a few hundred times at least in my lifetime, but to be honest, I'm really not that big into reading. That being said it feels like this book was written for me. Every page has such insight, ideas and knowledge that I find myself reading and rereading the same page and I still feel like I haven't gotten everything out of it that's there. On top of that, every other page or half a page has a beautiful image that perfectly depicts the point that they are trying to get across. You can really tell how much Frank and Ollie loved animation and wanted to share their love of the medium with everyone. They took such care with the book, hell they even include flip book style animations in the corner of practically every page. I love this book. If you like animation, Disney, or just want to drool over some of the most beautifully rendered images you've ever seen, buy this books now! Thanks for the inspiration!

Yo ho, yo ho!

Lately I almost have to be listening to music in order to really get into the drawing zone. Something about the rhythm helps me to focus and free me up at the same time. I wonder if other people get this same way about drawing. That being said I wonder how that translates into people who work for large studios. I hope they all get a set of headphones when then get the job.

Claude and his turtle cycling.


Gilligan getting ready for his next boxing match.

Thinking our little hero was dead already, and smelling delicious, the odorous swine coated his meal in a sweet marinade.


Pirate a Day


I'm pretty sure as a little kid the first thing I wanted to be when I grew up was a Pirate. Not much has changed. Except that I now know being a pirate isn't as respectable as it once was. That still hasn't stopped me from being fascinated with all things piratesque. You can imagine how much I loved the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. I used to go to Disneyland on a fairly regular basis, and after I got over my childhood fascination with It's a Small World (I loved Mary Blair's style even back then), I would always make sure I could go on the Pirates ride and the Haunted Mansion. Marc Davis' style is irresistibly appealing to me, and to that end the style used in the pirates movies. Thanks for the Inspiration!

Off the Beaten Path

I wish I had more time to draw lately. Hopefully the next few days will a lot me a bit more free time. I'm finding just drawing roughs to be so much more fun and exhilarating, while I still like the look of the cleanup, but that tends to drive my perfectionist side a bit batty.

Gilligan hitting the road.

Claude and his turtle flexing.


Our little hero soon awoke to find him self in an extremely heated situation.


Pirate a day


I've been trying to think recently about why I really get inspired by Milt Kahl. Of course he's a great animator and his drawings are remarkable, but something about his personality and presence really makes me like him above all of the other godfathers of animation. It came to me today while I was listening to Clay Kaytis' Animation Podcast Valt which was a lecture Milt Kahl gave that was recorded and preserved by another great animator Ron Clements. From what I've read about Mr. Kahl and the interviews I've seen by himself and others he never would admit he was any good, yet he always pointed out the flaws and things he didn't like in others work. I believe it was Richard Williams that said in an interview that Milt Kahl was honest maybe a little too honest, and that he always stuck to what he believed in and what he liked. Towards the end of the lecture he talked about The Black Cauldron, which having researched a bit about Disney history was kind of a dividing film. Milt seemed to have left Disney over some disagreements over how the Black Cauldron was being treated vs what he thought it should have been. Tim Burton another one of my art hero's was an animator at Disney at the same time and he presented a lot of story board and concept designs for Cauldron as well, which were eventually thrown out cause they were too out there. Though both of these amazing men have completely different styles, yet they both stuck to what they liked and what they believed in. I really aspire to keep those traits alive in my life and my work. Maybe even one day I'll win a Winsor McCay award like my heroes. Thanks for the Inspiration!