National Draw A Pirate Day

Not really, but I drew one, so let's pretend.



The pirate is the one with the sword, not the one with the beak.

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My Job

If you'd like to know what I do in my current job, this pretty much says it all:



The kicker is that I didn't even go to the school listed above.

Oh... and our recliners are actually made of solid gold.

Guess I just got lucky.

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Guitar Animation Blocking Pass

Here is my blocking pass for the animation I'm working on at Animation Mentor.



Just to be clear, the string on the guitar breaks. This will be animated in the final version, but it's a bit confusing as it stands.

As I mentioned, this is just the blocking pass, so the timing and some keys need to still be worked on a bit, but you get the idea.

I've got an illustration I'll be posting very soon as well, but just didn't have time to finish it up tonight.

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Dog Walks Man

Just throwing things at the sketchbook today, and this one stuck.



Kind of hard to tell who is actually walking who here.

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Reference Video

Shot some video reference for my next animation project at Animation Mentor.



While it's safe to say that this idea was somewhat inspired by my recent obsession with "Guitar Hero 2," I should also point out that I have played an actual guitar for close to 18 years now, so I didn't just go out and buy one to emulate the game. In fact, some might say that the game is emulating me.

Those people would be wrong.

Sorry for the video being wonky for the first second or so... no idea what happened there.

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The Guitar Hero Kid

Yes I know I said I wouldn't post another Guitar Hero blog thing for a while, but someone at work knew I was addicted and sent me this:



To put this into perspective, the kid is playing on Expert, using all 5 buttons on the guitar, and turns his back for parts of the song, yet still manages a 5 star rating.

In comparison, I play on Medium, using only 4 buttons, face the screen the entire time, and have only managed 4 stars. This after playing the game for almost a week straight.

On one hand, I have to give props (that's what the kids say these days right?) to the little bugger, but on the other hand I have to wonder what kind of parent lets their kid spend this much time on a game.

More Vids of the Kid Shredding On Other Songs

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Happy Easter

Just whipped up a quick drawing to wish you all a Happy Easter!



If you don't celebrate Easter, I hope you still have a great Sunday! If you are in a different part of the country where it isn't Sunday today, then I hope you have a great non-Easter-non-Sunday day!

In other words... have a great day!

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Guitar Zero

I promise this will be my last "Guitar Hero 2" post for a while.



One thing that a tiny plastic guitar doesn't do like a real guitar is hide the 20 extra pounds I'm carrying around with me.

I said 20.

Okay... maybe 30.

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Lars Umlaut

I really do have to get help for my newfound addiction to "Guitar Hero II."



I find myself having a blast playing songs that I don't even like. My only real beef with the game is that at times I don't feel like I'm playing a song, but more like I'm using a typewriter or some other mechanical device. Outside of that, I ask that each and every person who reads this gives the game a shot. I have seen it turn people who would never even play games into instant fans, and I think it will probably do the same for most (if not all) of you.

Now... I've got to go try and master "War Pigs" on medium.

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Guitar Hero II Ad

It has consumed my very soul...



I even played it this morning before I left for work. I thought to myself, "Self... I could play one quick song." Five songs later, I was running for the door, late for work, with the final notes of "Sweet Child O' Mine" still ringing in my ears.

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Guitar Hero II

I just picked this up today for my Xbox 360.



I'm not positive on this, but I think it may consume my life in the way that "World of Warcraft" has consumed countless lives. If you haven't heard from me in a week or so, would you please have the authorities come to my house and rip the guitar controller from my cold, lifeless grip? Tell them the smile is okay (though a little creepy) and that they can play a couple of rounds before carting me away.

Thank you!

UPDATE: Sweet jumpin' pajama pants, I had no idea what I was getting into! This game is like crack put on a disc and then stuffed directly into my very brain via my handy Xbox360 (and about the sweetest plastic guitar this side of the tracks).

A few stats:
My band's name is "Riptorn."
I'm playing on medium.
My chosen character is Lars Umlaut.
I'm playing a Gibson Les Paul (the guitar I play in real life), with the Zakk Wylde finish.
I almost wet my pants when I was asked to play my first encore and it was Motley Crue's "Shot at the Devil."
I'm a massive nerd.

Have you played it on the 360 or PS2? If so, let me know what you think/thought, and feel free to share your setup like mine above.

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Kitty N' Fishy

Looks like cats and fish really can get along after all...



This happens to be especially true when the fish has tapped into the cat's brain and now has him under total mind control.

I have no idea what the goo in the end of the gun is...

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Class 3 Begins Today

My third session/quarter/term began today at Animation Mentor, and I found out that my new mentor is Mr. Ryan Donoghue.



Ryan works for Rhythm and Hues and has done work on "The Chronicles of Narnia" and TV shows like "Futurama." I'm sure I'll learn a great deal from him and can't wait to get started with both my first acting shot as well as my first dialogue shot!

Should be loads of fun... if not oodles.

Ryan's Art Blog

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Bowler Hat Guy

Whipped this up while he was still fresh in my mind...



I may color it, but I actually kind of like it as simple line work.

"WHY AREN'T YOU SEIZING THE BOY?!?!?"

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Meet the Robinsons

I took in "Meet the Robinsons" with my lovely bride tonight.



We arrived at the theater to find that they were showing alternate showing of "MTR" and every other one was in 3D. I wasn't too excited to see the film in 3D (I'll take my talking pictures in 2D, thank you very much), but our time was for one of said 3D showings, so I figured I'd give it a shot. The film is in 3D (glasses provided), but it isn't the constant in your face 3D that you find in many films. It was subtle enough that after a while I almost forgot it was there.

I like to keep my reviews short and sweet, so I'll just say that I liked the film a lot. At times it really feels like they're just throwing whatever they can at the film strip to see what sticks, but they do a pretty good job of eventually tying it all back together again.

I will say that The Bowler Hat Guy is easily the best film villain to come around in the last 10 years.



He was absolutely awesome, and I got excited every time he was on screen. Just a really well done character, and I hope that if they decide to make a short for the DVD release that he is the featured character.

The rest of the cast is good, and the visuals are really well done. The film is worth seeing if you have the time, with or without the 3D glasses.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Anyone else see it? Drop me a comment and let me know what you thought!

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Bang, Bang, You're Dead!

Just doodling around with a little sheriff.



While I was drawing this, I started to think of an old rhyme that my sister and I would randomly bounce back and forth to each other that went like this:

Bang, Bang, You're Dead!
Fifty bullets in your head!

If this was said to you, the retort was:

Bang, Bang, You're Dead!
Brush your teeth and go to bed!

I have no idea where this rhyme came from, or if we just made it up, but the fact that the person who has just been shot and killed tells the other person to brush their teeth and go to bed, tells you just how horrific brushing teeth and sleeping are to a kid.

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The Fools of April

You know... I thought about posting something for April Fool's Day, but a couple of things stopped me...



The first is that around 3 people visit this site each day, and I'm not so sure that's worth the effort that an April Fool's joke requires.

The second reason is that the whole idea is really just kind of dumb. Nobody believes anything on this day anyway, because everyone is prepared for it. So if I posted on here "I got a job at Pixar!" everyone would know that it was a load of bull.

Here's what I think you should do today...

Nothing.

I mean you should eat and pee and all of those other things you normally do, but outside of that, just hang out and be yourself. Nobody is going to fall for your shenanegans today anyway.

Now... I've got to run. My sister just called and said they're giving away free money at Wal-Mart all day today if you show up without pants on. I'm glad she tipped me off, because I hadn't heard a thing about it!

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