Two new pages done

I've got two more days left of vacation time this week. Hope to finnish at least one page a day,

but with the challenges getting more & more intense I'm not sure if I can or not. We'll see.

Got to get as much done before Comicon as I can.

Time off for family camping.

Took the advise of all the successful people I've been listening to and I took the sketchbook on vacation. we went camping at San Simeon state park sunday & monday night. Tried sketching the family.  
James and his toasted marshmallows , quick 30 sec sketches, not real accurate but close enough for quickies.  
even got the teenager to sit for me. actually he didn't realize it. another 30+ sec sketch.

I think I caught his "coolness" don't you? 
other campers walking the dog, birds picking the campsite clean of breadcrumbs, trees around the site. The ancient cypress trees there are amazing. Took some video too. hope to put a short piece together to share. had a good time, but now back to business! I hope to work into the next section of GREW before the week I have off is out.      

Mac's interview is up and ready to view!

Well it's finally June and my interview with Mark McDonnell is posted on my web site.

Check it out by clicking on the link bellow. It turned out good I think. I still would like to figure out a way to record his inbound audio better. It is recorded in Garageband Via Skype

and the audio is picked up by the built in mic. Sure would like to find out how to record the incoming audio from skype direct & not through the mic.

Anyway check it out! hope you find it encouraging!  

Mac's Interview

 

intensity developing

To demonstrate the value of a good critique group. As individuals, we can just so much. With the aid of several sets of eyes and various aesthetics, we can really start to see changes that will make a difference in our work.   
The closer I get to Comicon in july, the more intense and hopefully numerous my posts will get. It would be great if I could have this thing finished By then, but I can't rush it either. Creativity ebbs and flows. I know there will be other dry spells. I hope to take a couple of weeks as a leave of absence to try and get closer to completion. I just hope a dry spell doesn't come during, so that that needed time isn't wasted. It's just something you can't predict or do much to control. Just go with it and try to muscle through if it does happen. Anyway, the story is getting better.           

The Wretched Wife of the Mayor of GREW

It is such an intriguing thing to create a world and the characters that inhabit it. You can quite literally have anything happen. What is important is finding the sequence of events that will lead an audience to empathize with and identify with those involved. You want the audience to follow you on this journey and sometimes it is a struggle within to keep it interesting. I've found more and more that the story has to grow as the illustrations progress. Different directions can be taken, but in order to get a clear direction you have got to stop and think, STORY! STORY! STORY! Taking the time to work on the text has given new life to my illustrations. It's weird how intertwined they have become. I've decided that this work has to be done in such a way that neither can exist independent of  each other. You can't understand the story with out the pictures, and vise-versa. So this is the renewed direction to produce a unified whole and not a collection on disembodied chunks of creativity. This is the challenge!          

podcast interviews

If you haven't checked out the podcast interview page on my web site, I encourage you to do so.

David Colman is an Emmy award winning character designer who has worked with many of the best in the field of animation. From Sony pictures to Disney and practically everyone in between. He was gracious enough to agree to an interview for us to post through the VSS web site. His book is truly worth picking up. The Art Of Animal Character Design.

As it turns out, David's Friend Mark Mcdonnell Who is an artist working with Disney caught Davids interview and well, one thing leads to another, and My interview with Mac will be posted for June.  Needless to say I do hope this could lead to interest in my own work.   

Im having a blast in doing them. I'm getting to ask questions of professionals in the field that I have always wanted to ask. I find for myself that nuts and bolts questions about how to break into the field, present your work, and just how to "Hang in there," are the most helpful. If you have any questions that you would like me to ask Mac drop me a response to this post and we'll see what we can do. Stay tuned! this could get interesting!   

Grew is growing slowly

There are not enough hours in the day.

This one illustration has take me almost three weeks to complete. Built up from 32 layers.

All this time though has allowed the story to develop and mature in my mind. I can only imagine how it might seem from what's been posted so far but there is a story here.

The main premise of GREW is; The Inevitability of Paradise. No matter what mankind has done to the Earth, it will heal in time.