Discovered The Goon

Just this weekend I discovered the Goon. Now I can't get enough. I'm only a couple of anthologies away from having all of it.

About the only parallel I can think of for wackiness might be Herbie.

I think someone here a year or more ago suggested I check out the Goon. I did, you were right, I like it a lot.

I've made the headline a link to the Chris Sanders strip that Scott recommends in the thread

Dok took his hat off for this picture

Good shot. But not worth losing your hat for.

Go to my other Blog for a shot of the old Candy Factory. The TAG headquarters so long ago.

Horton Plaza Panoramas

Shots from Horton Plaza on Friday morning of the San Diego comicon 2008.

San Diego is slowly giving up its sky

San Diego, The Old Candy factory

Home to TAG for a fun time period.

Used to look out onto a fenced in vacant lot. With an slow moving army of bums in motion between there and Market street.

Now it looks into the Petco park outfield. Sigh


Miraculous it still exists. Must have been historic preservation.

All The Flesh-Eating Horses

Went to LACMA yesterday and drew some stuff. Thought Ellis would enjoy horses eating eat other.

This should have been a funny party post. But I haven't done any funny party drawings yet.

Uh-Oh!

Somebody forgot these last night.

Anybody know whose they are?

Turns out they were Dok's as Rick said.

Thanks TOM!

From my desk blotter. We had a great time. Great to see everyone. Tommy, thanks again for going to the trouble (and expense) of hosting our motley crew. At the rate this party is growing, next year will see us break the 100 people barrier....

I pushed this post behind your "Uh-oh!" post so not to crowd out the comments of gratitude that are beginning to pile up there.

Awesome Sketchbook

As Buncake signed the cover and completed writing my name, I said, "no funny stuff." So instead he wrote something heartfelt.

Note all the sketches that we have enjoyed on this blog

See you guys at the Con!

I'll be out the door in about 4 hours.

Rock N' Roll Lifestyle (Conclusion pt. I)

The BIG FINISH is over at Brush Pen Breakfast.

I think it is over-long, and that robs the punchline of its punch. Also, the real ethos behind the "Rock N' Roll Lifestyle" strip idea doesn't quite come through in this one. I've got another coming.

Also, I agree with you, Rick, that the buildings are weak. I think the architecture gets better in the last four panels where I try to make it more specific. But point taken (thank you). But the biggest problem or weakest element is the narration. I'll get the hang of it.

And my ersatz BenDay Dots came from the "pointilize"(?) filter in PhoSho--it just creates a regular grid if you use a middle grey to be "pointilized"--I saved out a big grid of this, then I scale to suit, and change transparency (which is a cheat). I'd like to find an even better way of imitating BenDay goodness, Goodson.

I'm still in Oregon. This is being posted from a Starbucks. The free WiFi comes from buying a Starbucks card (just a giftcard, not a Visa/MC) and registering it online. You are then allotted TWO FREE HOURS ONLINE EVERYDAY. Plus free syrup for all your drinks, and complimentary refills. That's service!

Virtual Set for Reality Quiz Show

Here are a couple of pics of a set I am designing for a reality game show called "The Web Ring" or possibly just "The Ring" ... It's been a lot of fun to design and execute in 3D ... and I'm getting to do a lot with lighting that I never much messed with in the world of 3D modeling for games ... (since other people are in charge of lighting the stuff I make). The premise of the show is that 12 uber computer geeks are selected to take part. Each sits at a workstation and the host gives them increasingly difficult tasks to accomplish, including, but not limited to, trivia, interactive videogaming, puzzles, searches, etc. Contestants will be judged on quickness and correctness. I will continue playing with the lighting, texturing, and other details ...

TAG Dinner Poll

Before everyone gets busy during Con week I just want to get an updated idea of who's coming over Saturday. So far I have Rick and Family, Tom Carroll and Family, Ellis, Jim, Kali and Marty for sure.

Marty, is Blair coming too? Jim, is Henry going to come? Ellis, do you know for sure if Scott is coming (late)? Jeff must be very busy. Has anyone talked to him? And how about Brent Anderson? Any other Taggers coming into town?

Marty, I have a Con pass for you. I'm taking off Thursday and Friday of next week, so e-mail me at home or post on the TAG board to get ahold of me.

Tomorrow at 9:30 SOE is taking us to see the Batman movie. I'll post all the spoilers here after lunch.

Finished my First Maya build

HELLBOY II screening

Ellis and Jeff (and anybody else--everybody else--interested), we must make a date to go see this flick.

Also: thanks mucho to everybody for the comic comments--a huge help. I am readying the final panels for posting.

Rock N' Roll Lifestyle

Hey, here's a new strip I've finally completed. THis is the first page (of 2.33 total) in two tasty bites.

Check out Brush Pen Breakfast for Page 2.


COMMENTS AND CRITICISMS WELCOME. No need to butter me up--I'll lend you money anyhow.

I <3 The Calligraphy Brush In Illustrator

I've really taken a liking to inking in Illustrator (only about half a year ago I hated said program so much!) Knowledge is power!


Fixing up a new computer, one must surround themselves with familiar decor. My current aim window bg:


And for a cow:

a shiny eyed gryphon greets a woman on hills burned by the sun

did an edit. Damn colorblindness

New book by Eric Goldberg

Disney animator and director Eric Goldberg has been giving lectures and handing out notes on animation for years... he has now compiled all that info into a new book (click on the title of this post for the Amazon link). Included in the book is a DVD with animations that include timing sheets with notations on things like Key frames, so you can study the anims frame by frame. Sounds like a pretty cool package to me.

Goldberg is going to be at the Con signing the book. I heard about this on the Animation Podcast... which is another pretty cool resource.

How to Download Youtube video

Click the Headline for Keepvid.com
If you see a youtube video you'd like to have for ref. Or to play with in your own aftereffects project.

Copy the youtube url, paste into keepvid. It even gives you the option of different resolutions




If you're watching youtube and want to real time watch a higher rez version, add

&fmt=18

at the end of the url and hit enter. If there is a high rez version it will play.

100 Photoshop Tutorials

Click the Header

Some of them pretty good. Check out the one on "levels'.

It will be the one with the robot art to my left.

Basically showing how to get a great scan clean up result using the eyedroppers instead of the sliders. I tried it. works great

Spock Fight

Inspired by Tom C.'s thought that my last Ellis looked like Bones. I had a more elaborate lineup planned, but this'll have to do...for today!

Tommy, I should have done a better job on yr likeness. Next time.

Tuesday nonsense

Some crazy art for a Tuesday.

Latest SDCC status FYI

ADDED ON 7/14/2008.

WHOA!

http://www.comic-con.org/






ADDED ON 7/92008.
Oh man....this will probably be sold out by the weekend

Digi Painting Lunch (and Sketch)

an amphibian cannibal cephalopod with useless beak and bulging head

AND my Tuesday Sketch

title is link to other (funnier) takes

TAG Dinner (More)

So, same deal as last year. It looks like the Con closes at 7:00 on Saturday night. Come on by around 7:30-ish. If you would, let me know if you're coming; drop me a line at tomandpatty@cox.net, say by July 19, the weekend before the Con so I'll know how much food to get. I'll send you back instructions on how to get to my place from the Con. Let Mr. Ranjo know about the plans, and anyone else who needs to get the word. Maybe Brent or other TAGgers who may be in town? Look forward to seeing you all.

Michael Turner, Gone at 37!

Had you guys heard this? Title is a link to the article. Young man of 37. I remember when he visited our studio in San Diego to show his portfolio to Mike Christian, Ben Herrara, Scott Benefiel, Mike Miller. Because they were all going guns blazing on Malibu comics.


Straight from that meeting in a couple of months he was working for Image (Top Cow) and soon after that it was Witchblade...then Fathom.

What a shocker. When we saw him he was an iron chested body building martial artist. I guess about 1995. Yeesh . Barely 13 years of getting to use those skills.

Own a little Ellis

Click on the link to find a comic that Ellis worked on!

Cartoonist search

I got this email from a NCS memeber... a message he received from someone looking for a particular cartoonist. I thought I would pass on this message to see if there is anyone in TAG who might know of this person:
"I am trying to locate a friend whom I have lost contact. I met Michael (Mike) Diaz in Tulsa, OK in 1983. He is a cartoon artist originally from Boston, MA (I think!). He graduated from Rhema Bible Training Institute in Broken Arrow, OK in spring 1983, and after a fall 1984 motorcycle accident left him with a back injury, he moved back to MA in late summer or fall 1985. I don't know where he studied art, but he was heavily influenced by Hanna-Barbera.

Mike had a four or six-poster set of prints out in the mid-'80's that were all Christian themed - martial art style figures kicking the devil's butt. Each poster had a matching mini-cartoon coloring book planned for production, but I think he ran out of money before they were actually printed. I recall Mike had a black or brown belt in karate. The characters were martial art-type experts wearing Biblical fighting armour. When Mike left Oklahoma, he intended to make a career as a cartoon artist.

Have you ever heard of Mike, or know anyone who might possibly know him? If you have any sources that I might be able to use to find him, I would sure appreciate any leads you might be able to provide."

Mongols Need Laws

I couldn't resist posting an Ellis study.

I call this one "Intensity."

We (Ellis, Jeff and I) saw "Mongol" last night. Let me just say, you haven't lived until you've heard Mongolian Speed Metal.

I'm not kidding.

Krayonzilla Added: 7/03/08

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha.

2D/3D Artist Needs Good (Working) Home

Say, sympathetic TAGgers ... Chul Shin, a recent graduate of the Art Institute down here in San Diego, is needing to explore the job market more fully. I've gotten his foot in the door here at Rockstar San Diego, but the closest thing they can offer is an internship, and that's still going to take a while to get going ... I've sent his stuff to numerous contacts at Bottlerocket and I think they're looking at it and evaluating it, etc. But perhaps some of you will check his work out and offer advice, or if you thinks it's good, recommend one or more places to approach ... ones looking for worker bees.

His email is: chulwookshin at gmail.com

Chul collaborated with me on the project pictured above: a fusion of a Harley, a tank, and some big ol' guns. I think it turned out well, especially considering I gave him the briefest of concept hints, mashed up from existing photographs in Photoshop. And he modeled it in a couple of days (off and on, of course) ...

So, that's is.
Here is his site as a LINK.

TAG Dinner

Hi TAGgers. It's July, ComicCon month, like I had to tell you. So I'm here to ask if people would be interested in getting together after the Con, say on Saturday night, at my house again for the TAG dinner?

Return of the Model Aryan

Going for the K.O. on Sweet Lad o' Liberty.

This is the original sketch that gave me these characters. Felt tip markers are on my mind. And this comic.

Croc on Tuesday