KYLEidescope!

sketchy dragon

2012-01-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

Year of the dragon, trying out some mash-up design.

a fishy story

2011-10-19T16:35:00.001-07:00

I was curious to find out why that fish was in the tank from my previous boring story, so here's some insight, part 1:

Arg, Dinosaur!

2011-09-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

My belated "Talk-Like-A-Pirate" Day post.

Epic true lunch stories, part 1!

2011-09-27T11:23:00.001-07:00

warm up

2011-09-08T20:11:00.001-07:00

Comic Con 2011 is here, and I'm unprepared

2011-07-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

I'll have a small number of prints and original paintings for sale at my table this year.
Table E01, row 700 in the west side of the main hall. The table is officially called James Burks, whom I usually (always) share with. This year's special guest: Dan Santant! Yeah, that's right!

Oh, I'll have packages of my collector fossil series:

Now you're curious! Curious like a fox! Oh, we also do caricatures and fortune telling. No one has complained yet.

Why I bike to work

2011-07-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Dentar, the barbarian dentist

2011-07-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Inside joke ... inside your mouth!

Monday Mourning

2011-07-11T19:15:00.001-07:00

Nick Gallery Show

2011-07-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

I was going to post pix of me flexing in front of a mirror, but instead I found an unflattering shot of me and my artwork. Crew gallery show at Nickelodeon for a little show I work on: Robot and Monster.
This is a clock. It's called "High Noon."

Robots! In case you'll be at comic-con, there's going to be a bunch of small, original paintings of robots for sale at my table. Very reasonably priced.

Other fun pieces from the show from Carrie, Daron, Valerie and many others that I can't immediately get links to.

don't want to finish

2011-07-08T23:48:00.001-07:00

Here's an unfinished piece that I just lost love with. So what's better than to show the world my personal defects. Enjoy!

2011-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

help bot process

2011-06-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share some process with you all:Inked a quick sketch. I don't use waterproof ink; I sometimes like the bleed so I can block in tones.
Blocking in some bg color for contrast.
Laying in some more color. I'll end up hating that red dirt hole in the foreground ...
And hours later after painting many many mistakes that I'll never post, you have a finished painting. I like to use gauche, BTW.

robot boy cooks with gas

2011-06-22T18:01:00.001-07:00

color sketch of the day

2011-06-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Saw this guy walking down the street this morning. I guess summer has officially begun.

wolvers

2011-05-06T17:10:00.001-07:00

I don't usually fanboy-it-up, but cooldown artwork from a hot day

storyboard doodle

2011-04-05T17:40:00.001-07:00

2011-03-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

I promised to do something with a lizard and a dandelion.

kitten knittin'

2011-03-25T02:56:00.000-07:00

For a friend of a friend of a friend ...

St. Patty visits Santa again

2011-03-17T19:10:00.001-07:00

Ladybird season

2011-03-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

2011-03-07T00:41:00.000-08:00

Weekend in the mountains.

Cobbler vs. the Thief

2011-02-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm re-adapting the classic. This is a quick sketch, but I assure you, there will be espionage, international drama, and shoe-guns.

making a splash

2011-02-23T19:20:00.001-08:00

Another morning, another warm-up color comp

Where it's warm

2011-02-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

Drenched

2011-02-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

morning warm-up

A versus V

2011-01-28T19:31:00.000-08:00

coming soon.

I gots warm ups galore

2010-09-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my brain decides to work on other things than what I'm supposed to be working on. Then I start doodling in the corners of my board panels without realizing it. So, I began to save them to see if they meant anything. What do you think these mean?

Vampool

2010-09-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

more warm ups.

color comp warm up

2010-08-26T16:59:00.001-07:00

Destiny, in a nut shell

2010-08-23T20:01:00.001-07:00

RockIt Ship

2010-08-16T01:39:00.001-07:00

A series of shorts that will never be seen, Joe, Aaron and I are intergalactic super sleuths who also rock hard! Someday, maybe, Joe will release this footage.

Harry Potter and the half baked painting

2010-08-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, apparently, there's this book series called Harry Potter. I've been listening to the audio books which are delightful. And Kristin challenged me to a 30 minute art off. So here's installment #1: paint a Harry Potter with his owl Hedwig. Check out Kristin's offering here!

How To Steal a Millionaire

2010-05-11T04:24:00.000-07:00

Audrey Hepburn has some cool threads in this classic.

Characture dump

2010-04-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

When I was working at Renegade (Mr. Men and Little Misses, respect!), people would pass by the designer's windowed room constantly. So it gave me opportunity to do 10-15 sec. sketches of them. I'm not saying who's who, but these are from the class of 09.

Happy St. Patty's!

2010-03-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patty's everybody!

Holiday Card #03

2009-12-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Hanukkah!

Kristin, because she cares about you, is sending out X-mas cards. I usually have nothing good to say (BA-HUMBUG!), so I decided to paint stuff instead. I don't know who's getting these cards, so if you get one, let me know!

Day of the Turkey

2009-11-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

A quick color comp for Thanksgiving.

Office Mythology

2009-11-22T01:52:00.000-08:00

working out ideas ...

bot understands

2009-11-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

angry lady

2009-11-08T04:13:00.001-08:00

Sometimes having your significant other mad at you can spark a little inspiration ...

Ciao Travels

2009-10-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

Hey! So I've been doing a bit of traveling. Every time I go somewhere, I say, "Goshdarn, this time I'm gonna do some art on location! It's going to be brilliant!" But I don't. Assigning myself homework has predictable consequences ... I don't do it. But I did manage to do the bare minimum while I was in Italy, so here are some pages from my tiny moleskine:

I don't know why Italian birds speak French, but that's the sound they made ...
The brown-red color is from a Tuscan Chianti. I'm not much of a wine drinker, I'd rather paint with the stuff.

A fantastic trio was playing bossa novas in the Santa Croce piazza

Haha! Them rooftops! Urban sprawl upwards!

The Wonder of Life

2009-08-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

During the Oktoberfest season of 2008, I received a purple potato from a very nice gentleman whose name I can not recount. That potato and I had many great adventures together, and until recently, shared a close relationship. Well, as a joke, I presume, another potato was given to me during the winter holidays of 2008. This potato was said to be a purple potato, but it was obvious that it was not. I also received a package of fruit gummy strips that mimicked the appearance of pork bacon, a package of terrified pickle charms, and some wine vacuum stoppers because I rarely drink the stuff and now it won't turn into vinegar as quickly in my fridge.

Now it's May 2009, and I find a bag in my always-tornado-stricken apartment. I open it up, peer inside, and find a number of holiday cards. "Hey," I say to myself, because I talk to myself a lot ... and I mean a lot, "it's my bag of holiday cheer! It's like finding Santa's bag of toys in my house! Oh joy!" I pull out some vacuum wine stoppers. Neat! I pull out my terrified pickle charms. Cool! I pull out gummy bacon. Um, OK! And I pull out a plastic bag with a little heft to it. Huh? I look inside, and this is what I see:

Potatoes will grow anywhere. Without light, without water. I don't think they're of this world.

Speaking of which, I live in a city called Sherman Oaks. I think it's over rated. But I love to walk to all the local conveniences, so I shouldn't complain. But one night, walking back after a late excursion, I passed something on the sidewalk. It was super dark, and I couldn't tell what it was, but I had a hunch at what it could be.

Now, some of you might already know. But I'm the curious type, and luckily I was close enough to the place I call home that I could grab my camera and go back to this unknown form on the ground. So, after switching on the flash, I got up real close-like, leaned in, hovering over the spot, trying to steady my horrible, picture-taking hand, and FLASH!
I didn't even look at the picture, what I saw for that quarter of a second that the flash illuminated on the curb was enough for me to freak out and dance around as if the whole ground were made of red-hot coals. That's why I now call this place Sherman Roaks.

comic con back lash!

2009-08-06T23:45:00.000-07:00

So I get an email the other day from an amazing artist named Shawna Dinnen who picked up our "Rock Paper Scissors" book at the Con. She drew her own take on Scissors in a speedo! ~~She promised me, she'd have a blog up by now, but she doesn't, so I'm calling her out!~~ Thanks again for the awesome art!
And check out her blog!
If anyone out there is interested in picking up a copy, you're gonna have to go straight to Frank or myself for one. So far, we're too lazy to get them out to any local shops, but I'll let yall know when we do. Thanks!

Comic Con tastes great, less filling

2009-07-28T16:53:00.001-07:00

Comic con was good times this year. I'm still exhausted. But go to Joe's blog to find out more details. He has a good run-down on what happened, as well as a hilarious set of Twitter postings on what he overheard ...

Fish and Chip in Publishing Land!

2009-07-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Joe and I were privileged enough to have the beautiful, talented, and witty Kristin Donner paint our cover for us for our upcoming children's book: "Fish and Chip in Mistaken Identity." Here's the front cover without any of the text. In it's raw, untouched form. If you can't make it to the Con, click the Store link to the right and buy the book! Or see a preview!. Or do both!

Be a fan of Fanboy

2009-07-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

Brush your teeth, kids! A design I did while freelancing for Fanboy and Chumchum for Nickelodeon. I saw a screening over there recently ... this is one crazy show. 3D that acts like super stretchy 2D. Check out the Frederator blog and look at the amazing cast of people they have working on this sucker.

Happy Belated 4th of July

2009-07-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

Fish and Chip in: Mistaken Identity!

2009-07-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

Fish and Chip are back in their second book! This is spread 32 and 33 in the book. Yes yes yes ... it's yet another comic con post. This is another amazing collab with the mighty Joe Olivares. Check out his cop designs for the above enforcer-of-the-law. They're pretty hilarious.

I'm just a big tease!

2009-06-24T00:36:00.001-07:00

I just keep on throwing up teasers! Gross. Well, this is some development for Joe's secret project. Wish I could tell you about it, but I can't. It's secret. He made me sign a non-disclosure agreement, and paragraph 33, section 4b had something about penalties including piranhas.

RockPaperScissors Cover TEASE!

2009-06-14T17:15:00.001-07:00

Here's another tease. It's from the cover. I know, you're so excited, you're spilling your cup of tea all over your fancy linen table cloth. And linen stains so easily, too.

Rock Paper Scissors, page 1

2009-05-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

Rock Paper Scissors. Frank Rocco had an idea that I couldn't refuse. Look for the comic at this year's San Diego Comic Con 09!

More El Tigre Emmy Nominations

2009-05-19T23:57:00.000-07:00



What?!?  More Emmy nominations for El Tigre?!?

Click here to go to the El Tigre blog for more info.

sketchy sketches

2009-04-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

Can't seem to concentrate, been sketching a lot without finishing ...

Thanks!

2009-03-30T00:20:00.001-07:00

Hey! I just wanted to say thanks to all those who purchased my shirts and art from the LA Myth show in February. I was able to donate $200 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research from all of my proceeds! Every little bit counts!

Monstroville

2009-03-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Hey! That silk tongued Von Kreep has lured me into his inspired production called Monstroville. Here's a little design process for a gattling gun design.

Updated!

2009-02-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who came to the LA Myth show this year. It was good fun. For those of you (like Andria) who are interested in buying some Optimus Picante shirts, they're still available at Meltdown Comics. Rumor has it, they'll be online to purchase, too. But heck, if you want to buy them through me, you can do that also, just email me (kyle@chuckleheadproductions.com). If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll put a cool paypal link so you can buy them online through me ... let the internets do all the hard work! I'll even send along one of my signed booklet prints of Optimus.

BTW, a big shout out to the guys who printed those shirts: ThreeApparel.com

LA Myth Art Show, Year 2!

2009-02-03T03:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! Here's a taste of what I'll be having at the show. They've come to save Los Angeles ... the Angelinobots!

A new year, a new look

2009-01-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, I change the template to my blog without considering all the links I end up losing. In any case, it's still nice to be out with the old and to start new agian. I recommend checking out this image site called FFFFound. I've found myself looking at images for hours.

The last unicorn is the best ...

2009-01-03T01:52:00.000-08:00

It's the best, because it's not a unicorn. It's UNICRON! Haha! I nerded this one up with some Transformers action. I kept it simple -- I think I really captured my planet eating side.

Ok, I'm done with these stupid unicorn self-portraits.

Unicorn portrait, the third

2008-12-28T20:18:00.001-08:00

I'm a centaricorn. Inspired by an early Frazeta piece, or perhaps a piece that inspired one of his. Embarassing self portrait, number 3.

Unicorn, numero dos

2008-12-25T02:40:00.001-08:00

If there was ever an absurd superhero, enter "THE UNICORN!" Now you all know my secret hero identity! Embarassing self portrait #2, and yes, that is my real physique.

unicorns, why'd it have to be unicorns ...

2008-12-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

There was a blogger lunch I attended last friday, hosted by Dee and Chris. And somehow, someone had an idea that we should each do self-portraits, but as a unicorn. For some reason, and not because I'm narcissistic (am I?), I did like 5. And so I present to you, the first in my personal "Unicorn Show." I get the strange feeling that I'm the only one from the lunch who did this assignment ...
I wouldv'e done more to this -- much more -- but even I realize the absurdity of it all (I wanted to put some crows in there). I still think the best unicorn picture I've ever seen is this one done by Jerry de Jesus.

Rejected!

2008-12-17T23:17:00.001-08:00

I'm taking special pride in this one. I'm doing some prop design for Nickelodeon's upcoming "Fanboy and Chum Chum" show. It's all 3D, and everything I've seen looks awesome. Created by the well-dressed Eric Robles. Anyways, I had to design a club, and for some reason, the idea of re-bar sticking out of chucks of concrete that I've seen at construction sites popped into my head, so I went with it. As it turns out, the network turned this design down because they thought it was "too violent" looking. Sweet!

New Project Tease

2008-11-17T09:38:00.001-08:00

What is going to happen in the bottom right? What?!?!

art dump cont'd ...

2008-11-07T01:42:00.001-08:00

Hey lookie! It's a Slacker Cats painting I did! Color key by Jesse Silver.

Character Design and Layout in Flash for a Ritz Commercial for Acme Animation, directed by the great Dave Wasson.

More art dump

2008-10-31T12:10:00.001-07:00

You all remember Knuckles McGee, right?A bad-ass bull ...
and some memory sketches from the park. No, really!

October Sketch Crawl

2008-10-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Went to Marina Del Rey last weekend to crawl with the other sketchers. Beautiful day. Ok music. Bad hot dogs. Here's a poorly scanned page of stuff.

Need a gift for the Holidaze?

2008-10-15T01:58:00.000-07:00

Check out our store on Etsy.com! We have our book and plush for sale! At least the few that are left from Comic Con. If you're not the soft and cuddly kind, then head over to Lulu.com to get the book instead. Good reading guaranteed!*

(*no guarantee actually exists)

I'll post anything

2008-10-15T00:37:00.001-07:00

So I was looking through many of the unfinished images on my hard drive, and this is what I found:
This is an unfinished idea for our "Fish n' Chip" book. We decided to go a completely different direction. We'll call this development art. Compare it to the other unused piece I posted earlier.

I'm not sure what the heck this was. Definitely late at night. I believe he was eating juicy, ripe berries.

Video Installation by Vendabot

2008-10-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

SHORT NOTICE! Vendabot will be presenting a series of experimental short films tonight, Thursday Oct. 9, at the Spring Arts Collective. The series is entitled "Robot Dreams." It's about the dichotomy and notions of mechanics and technology, and the actuality of the primitive shape and the natural textures of living everyday life. Or maybe its just things robots might dream about. And it just happens to be the Downtown LA art walk, so come by and check out the dozens of galleries that'll have their doors open.

Did I mention that I'll be featured in a zoetrope mounted on an old turntable, and I'm doing the robot? That should be enough to peak your interest.

The Real Con Story

2008-08-02T03:32:00.001-07:00

Okay, so, against everything W.C. Fields believed in, I used a cute dog for advertising. I made about 15 of these plushes (with help from Kory and Kristin, of course) for the Con. And Wicket, just before she threw up, posed with the Peanuckle Plushes. Peanuckle, if you don't know, is the narrator of our recently self-published book, "Fish n Chip Love to Fly."

And, because Joe is lame, I have to post an image of his shirt. It has become my favorite shirt. No, not because I freaking work with the dude all the time ... it's genuinely my favorite shirt now. I have a nice collection of Gama-Go t's, a cool Martin Hsu shirt, and my Angel-Devil shirt, pictured above (and for sale, if interested). But Joe's has shown up in the rotation more than the others recently. I like it for it's simplicity, it's not overly artsy-trendy-hipster, it's cartoony, simple color harmony, it's printed on American Apparel, and it makes me laugh. And he's selling it for only $15. Cheaper and cooler than any threadless.com T! Click on his link to the left, and ask him about it; the story of the characters is great, too.

Yours truely. I hate posting pix of myself. This was our table at the Con. James blew away the competition with his orange orange orange. And that's an original painting behind him, on canvas and everything. If you missed us, it's your fault. Books I picked up: Ben Balisteri's opus (part 1) is awesome, everything you'd expect from that guy, in large format no less; Gabriele Pennacchioli's usual amazing stuff ... but if you meet him in person, ask him to pitch it to you ... he is a magnificent salesman ... ; Donnachada Daly's new visions in 3D, his usual beauties, but he's done the magic-eye-stereoscopic thing with them, and he gets points for stepping outside the usual sketchbook boundaries; Who is Rocket Johnson book by the story artists from Disney .. yadda yadda awesome; Martin Hsu's sketchbook, dude can draw like nobody's biz, but he's in my biz, so I care; a plush from Scott Wright that was scary-adorable; and honorable mention (because I met him and picked it up at Wonder Con), Joey Chou's "Crazy by the Letters" book that is straight up cool, as is he. I know I got some others, and apologize for not mentioning them here, but that's what I can remember, and the books are still taped shut in our storage box from transporting them back. And I swore this year not to buy ANYTHING! Oh, here's one more jem for you guys ...
That lucky Peanuckle!

Comic Con Patooie!

2008-07-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's over. Done. Five days of glory put to rest. Recovery mode now begins. Time to sift through the ashes, breathe a sigh of relief, and go on. A big thank you to all who came by, including mi familia, who saw comic con for the first time and survived the hordes of costumed fanatics. I'll post some pictures and some of the stuff I picked up later ... now I go back to work ...

Fish and Chip Love To Go to Comic Con

2008-07-09T16:37:00.001-07:00

Well, we done it again! Last minute, we put the book together, and now it breathes! It's a book about a fish (named Fish) who can fly, and a bird (named Chip) who can't. Brilliant you say? And you haven't even read it yet! This is our new offering for Comic-Con. Find it there, or you can buy it on Lulu.com.
Hey, don't forget about Knuckles McGee! If you haven't picked that up yet, we still have a scant few copies you can get your eager hands on. See you in San D!

New and Improved

2008-07-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Joe and I are hastily finishing our book for Comic Con so we can get it off to the printers on time. Thank the gods for print-on-demand, eh? So our booth is in section E0, as in eeee zero. I think we're listed as James Burks. He's always stealing our thunder.

The website is finally up, and (kind of) running. All the cool roll-overs don't work, but the links do. Check out our cool youtube podcasts of our comic book, or my awesome portfolio. Actually, some of the links also don't work, and I don't know why. I told you, I really don't know about this stuff. And here's something weird on my first use of Painter:

As if the Joker went on safari. Can't wait for that Batman movie.

Vampires on the Brain

2008-06-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

There's a thousand things I should be doing other than sketching vampire heads. But I did. So sue me, Joe.

Interview

2008-06-16T12:04:00.001-07:00

I had an interview a while back. They wanted a lot for very little. In general, very unprofessional. I even wore a tie for them.

Comic-Con, she be upon us agian!

2008-06-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, brace yourselves! San Diego Comic Con is quickly approaching. And of course, Joe, James, and I are already totally prepared and ready for the upcoming event. NOT. So, as we do the mad dash toward the finish line, here's another sneaky peek at stuff we're working on.

My photoshop painting over Joe's quicksketch. But what the heck is a dragon and knight doing in a story about a fish and a bird? Why does that insignia on the Knight look eerily familiar?! Is the mystery killing you?! Stay tuned!!!

Nrrt -- Syntax Error -- Redirect

2008-04-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! If you're looking for Vendabot.com, you've come to the right place ... sort of. While I'm trying to get the site up and running, I've put a redirect to my blog over here. That's right, I'm sooo tech savy, that I managed to completely screw up my website, and had to put a redirect on it so that you can see the under construction logo here. God bless those funny little furry people who know all about that crazy language we call "html."

Sneaky Preview

2008-02-29T03:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, here's a peak at a new project Joe and I have been working on. Look for the book at this year's ComicCon in San D! We have some cool things planned, so stay tuned ...

WonderCon or Bust

2008-02-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

We're making preparations to head out to San Fran for a weekend of WonderCon action! Joe and I will be in the small press section pushing our books, and if you stop by, you might even see a little peek at titles in the works for the San Diego ComicCon ... tee hee hee.

The Hard-Knock Audio Commentaries!!!

2008-01-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

Our comic book "The Hard Knock Life of Knuckles McGee" now has audio commentaries available for your listening pleasure on YouTube! We will soon have them available on iTunes, and I'll make them available to you as soon as they are available to me! So, in the meantime, enjoy the ones on YouTube. Don't be afraid to subscribe! There's two up now, and we'll release one or two more every week. Why, you ask? Because we can.

www.youtube.com/vendabot

Who what? What?

2007-12-18T00:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know where I've been. So here's a bunch of stuff for the random surfer that accidentally finds my page in an ill fated internet search. A bunch of old designs for pitches and comic books ... Oh, and a Knuckles McGee podcast will soon be on its way! If you haven't heard of Knuckles McGee, click the link to the right and find out more. He's awesome. Really. Saved my life once.

Knuckles Goes to WeHo!

2007-09-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is the West Hollywood Book Fair in (you guessed it) West Hollywood. Joe and I will be sitting there all day selling our comic book, sketchbook, shirts, and whatever else I couldn't get rid of at my yard sale. Friends Llyn Hunter and Ira Sherak will also be there in the "Comics Scene" tables. So if you're reading this, and it's Sunday, you should get out for a breath of fresh air, take a walk, buy a book.

mythtastic!

2007-08-16T01:15:00.001-07:00

Here's one of my pieces from the LA Myth show from last weekend. In my subtle bid to make work harder for myself, I did a five-parter piece called "The Day Angel's Trolley Took Flight." It's a nod to the Angel's Flight train in downtown LA (apparently the shortest railway in the US) and the Hollywood western. Soon, I'll have a Flickr page up with photos of the event: there were cameras suspended about the gallery that anyone could go and take a picture. So I'll post a link to them here, and there'll also be a link on the myspace page for the show.

Oh, and soon our comic book and associated merch will be avialable on line! I was having weird computer problems getting it all to work, but it should be available soon! Check out Knuckle's Blog to see it grow in glory!!!

LA Myth Show this Saturday!

2007-08-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a little detail of my tiki themed painting for this upcoming kickass show (excuse the bad photography, lighting, and color). I hear there's free booze, so I might even be there. If all the rumors are true, and I think they are, the list of people is actually twice as long as what's listed here on the flyer. Awesome!!!

Sketch book

2007-07-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is a page of mine from the sketchbook we had at comic con. I still feel like I'm recovering ...
Oh, and the LA myth show is coming up! August 11 at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood on Sunset! In my next post, I'll give you some more info, and maybe a teaser ... oh boy!

Comic Con do it!

2007-07-17T21:38:00.001-07:00

You get it? Comic "Conduit," like it's means for us to launch ourselves into the public! Nice! Hey, come visit Joe Olivares, James Burks and ME at booth O8. That's Oh-eight. All I know is it's in the Small Press area. We'll have our new Knuckles Mcgee comic for sale (including a limited edition bound-and-colored version with art of!), along with a sketchbook, shirts, plushes, buttons, maybe a poster or two, and some drawings, if you ask us real nice like. Looking forward to it! Just don't look forward to any more posts here until after it!! Thanx!

Morbund

2007-06-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

History in a Flash, pt. 2

2007-06-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

While at WB working on Mucha Lucha, I was priveledged enough to meet the talented crew and find out more about the process of Flash for TV animation. As Mucha was ending, many in the crew were moving over to Disney. I tested for a background design spot and was lucky enough to get it. Check out the awesome crew over there!

What isn't listed on the IMDB page was that Roman Laney supervised the bg department, and Katrien Verbiest was the core. Dave Wasson directed and gave us a lot of creative control which helped us spread our design wings. With a little outside help, we designed, inked, and painted backgrounds and props for a whole season. Pretty impressive. Roman, always the innovator, incorporated a lot of texture into the designs, which hadn't really been done with Flash based design before. By simply "sponging" in symbolized vector textures, or, later, by adding a Photoshop layer of paint, a painterly sense of depth came out of the cartoony colored shots. A lot of fun, and a lot of work.

History in a Flash, pt. 1

2007-06-08T00:27:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking back the other day about my career in animation. Not to long ago, I was totally anti technology, and refused to get a computer. I wanted to fight the good fight, stay traditional. And then I realized I needed to eat. So I taught myself some Flash, and with the help of some good friends, jumpstarted my animation career again. Here I present to you a random sampling of design work done in vector based programs. I'm posting it because I'm astounded by the range of style you can accomplish using Flash and Adobe Illustrator. This simple web program has become a hub of animation, and for better or worse, it's the tool of my trade.

Here's some design I did for WB's online series of shorts called "Cartoon Monsoon." This was my first design job using and drawing directly into Flash. Considering it was a quantity with quality job (aren't they all?), the results were pretty good. Animation was done in house by Six Point Harness and the series was produced by Aaron Simpson. They both were awesome to work with, and gave me all the freedom to design how I wanted, a luxury and a learning experience that I'll never see again! From there I went to a little show called The Buzz on Maggie ...

Princess Assassin

2007-05-24T00:21:00.000-07:00

She's an impowered female from royal lineage beating up on a bunch of monsters whom are minding their own businesses.

WarmUps

2007-05-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Finally, a true warm up. Having to slog accross the valley everyday to work, I usually get a lot of ideas from the people I see in cars around me or walking on the street.

Spidey times

2007-05-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Before I went to the midnight show, I was all excited and drew some Spiderman action.

Kat Koncepts

2007-04-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Kat designs for a pitch. She's saucy. And as soon as Joe posts his, I'll link to it!
UPDATE!!! Joe answered the call on his BLOG

My Big Hand

2007-04-26T00:20:00.000-07:00

This is a concept for a character in one of our storylines for our pitch. I thought I'd balance all the cuteness from my last post with some wierdness in this one. I'll try to post something really weird next time. This guy is the infamous Big Hand. He's a Sasquish, roaming the wild, leaving nothing but mysterious handprints and blury images on film.

My softer, plushier side

2007-04-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

So here's my attempt at making something soft and fluffy for someone special. I remember my mom teaching me how to sew pillows as a craft when I was growing up, but this ended up being no pillow I ever sewed. My clumsy hands took one whole weekend trying to put this together, and finally I had to have my sister sew a few legs by machine. The yarn face, done ala Anna Chambers style, permanently dented my fingers forcing it through the pleather material I used. In all, the thing is like 14 inches tall, and soft like a furry, short-haired baby's bottem.

The Hard Knock Life

2007-04-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is the city of Appleton. It was for a pitch that will soon be debuting as a comic book. And speaking of comics, I'll be sharing a booth at Comic Con with James Burks and Joe Olivares. Excited and nervous about it all at the same time. It'll be interesting to be on the other side for a change, but I'll be in good company!

Another warm up ...

2007-03-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, I lied again. Not a warm up, but stuff I do in between shots when my mind wanders. There's something fishy going on around here, and this inspired me ... perhaps I'll show what later.

My Warm-Up sketches

2007-03-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

... and the whole thing only took me 2 minutes to do! Ok, not really, but I'm so enamored by everyone else who does these things super quick. And that whole drawing with a lasso thing is pretty darn sweet.