Thought I’d share this with you all! Since about the end of summer of last year, a friend of mine invited me to an event called an Art Jam which is held at Krypton Comics in Omaha, Nebraska. Ever since then I’ve been going faithfully, the third Saturday of every month. About 3 art jams ago There was a photographer from the Omaha World Herald there who was taking pictures for the paper as well as the website. An art jam later an interviewer named Josefina Loza came by and was talking to various artists including myself about our work processes and how we came to know about the art jam. A few weeks later they published the article in the Omaha World Herald which can be viewed in the paper or online under the Living Section.
(hint hint there’s a photo of me in the “more photos” tab next to the article’s banner image)
Omaha Artist Jam Feature!
Day of Uterine Freedom!
22 years ago, this day, I was pushed out of my collective uterus and into the world where I began to live!!
It’s really weird that I’m 22 now, I’m pretty sure i’m still 16 mentally though. Being young at heart is great!
Today I’m gonna go out for sushi and see Avatar! This will be my third time seeing Avatar, it’s such an amazing and inspiring movie! I think it’s my new favorite movie, and sorry to say Square Enix, as much as I LOVE Advent Children Complete, I think you’ve been schooled by James Cameron, who I think if he keeps this up he’ll be the next George Lucas! In a way he kind of already is, since he’s revolutionized 3D technology in such an incredible way.
I couldn’t really sleep last night, but felt much too creative to not do anything, so I made this little birthday present for myself. Not that I’m not getting any gifts but I felt rather inspired to make something. And of course I’d like to share it with all of you!
Mission Complete and Inspirations Engaged
This past Sunday I completed my work for Author and Publisher Scott Appleton, for a novella written by P. M. M. Green called the “Fairy’s Ruby Cage”! I thought you all would be interested in seeing my work! I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to tell me what you think!
A little something that spawned from my imagination was this guy here. I was kinda thinking elephant, walrus, lion, alien creature, and then I suppose a little inspirational flare from Avatar, By the way is an incredibly amazing movie! First I’ll show you the pic then I’ll give you my thoughts on Avatar.
Ok, so back to my thoughts on Avatar, jaw dropping, stunning, revolutionary, beautiful!
This is definitely one movie that I could watch over and over there’s so much to see and such amazing detail! There wont be any spoilers here just to let you know first off if you haven’t seen it.
I’m a CGI kind of guy and I really appreciate the work that goes into making these characters and creating everything from scratch as I took a 3D modeling class a couple years ago. So I’ll sit there and observe every little bit of a film analyzing it for the technical things like the way something is animated or how the lighting is or how a performance carries out. Let me tell you, Bolt for example, a kid’s film right? People get excited over the cute doggie, I get excited over the transparency of the skin of Bolt’s ear and how the light shines through it. I appreciate the little things like that. So this movie, Avatar was just amazing for me, I got this sense of pure character from Jake Sully in his Na’vi form and from the Na’vi themselves. I didn’t sit there and think “oh this is a CGI character” I thought Wow this IS Jake Sully, this is Dr. Augustine, this is Neytiri. It’s amazing how much animation went into these characters for pure performance and the visuals definitely backed it up. I must say I love how they modeled Jake’s Na’vi face, his expressions to me are priceless especially the scenes where he’s first trying out his new body. The way his face looks when he says “this is great!” and when he bites into the fruit and the juices leak and drip down his face, it’s incredible and looks like its something very delicious and flavorful!! I must admit I think it makes my own mouth water. I loved the way they animated the tails of the Na’vi as well. Very expressive and perfect to the emotions presented by the characters. One of my favorite scenes would be when Jake goes to claim his Banshee and the flight scenes after wards, those were incredible! And I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it! There definitely wasn’t a dull moment in the film. I ended up seeing it in both 2D and 3D! I’d highly recommend seeing it in 3D if you can! the added depth and hi-def experience is incredible!! I could go on but it would probably end up writing a novella. Definitely a must see movie of the year. However while it’s PG-13, I’d leave the kiddies at home for this one due to some of the language, a brief sex scene, and if tribal near-nudity really bothers you. This one’s definitely a buyer in the future, I’m already looking forward to the bluray release and all the amazing hours of special features!”
Well till next time enjoy the art and happy drawing!
Happy Belated CHRISTmas!
Well I did mean to put up a post for Christmas but unfortunately I didn’t get around to it.
It’s been a crazy Christmas weather wise this year! We got tons of snow, probably a foot and then some! Personally I can’t stand the cold so it’s really no fun for me, but visually it can be quite nice from time to time. The feeling of silence, the cold air, large snow flakes floating softly to the ground, your warm breath penetrating the air making small cloudy puffs, being bundled up under layers of coats and scarves and extra layers of clothes. It can be pretty serene at times yes. I suppose you could say I enjoy winter in my own private way like that.
As for the holiday aspect of Christmas my grandparents came up from Alabama and spent a few days with us, unfortunately because of the storm they had to leave early to escape the storm. I was able to see my uncle again after many years of him doing missions work in the Philippines. Tuesday he’s due to ship out to Peru so in order to hopefully get there in time, they needed to beat the storm. Christmas eve we decided to open presents of which I got several movies on bluray, art supplies, and I had gotten some of them early such as a new TV and PS3 so I could watch all my bluray movies! Definitely exciting! I also got the complete Farscape series on dvd which I burned through in a couple weeks. Totally cool!! I’m a big Farscape fan, definitely a great series. I wouldn’t say it’s a family kind of series since there’s some risque content from time to time, the only downside of the series but other than that it’s great humor, great characters and acting, epic encounters and just an over all great series! The Jim Henson workshop worked on the creatures, sets, and make up so you know it’s gotta be good!
Christmas day, I went with my cousin out to his parent’s house where we spent the afternoon and most of the evening. We opened gifts, had dinner, and enjoyed each other’s company. A big surprise that occurred was my friend Anna who is my cousin’s sister was proposed to by my friend Daniel! So that was quite the excitement of the evening! What do you know, She gets a husband and he gets a wife for Christmas! It was a fairly simple proposal, but that doesn’t make it any less a proposal. Marriage is definitely cool! Can’t say I see myself getting married any time soon, but I’m very happy for my friends!
Something I can’t forget to say is Christmas is a great reminder of the gift God has given to us, that being His Son. It’s unfortunate that it’s taken for granted all too often and seen as some religious whatever, but it’s not just that. Christ came so that He could die for our sins and allow us salvation and everlasting life if we repent of our sin and turn to Christ and give ourselves to Him. The Ultimate Gift He could ever give. In terms of gift giving, that should be a reflection of Christ’s generosity and giving towards us. It’s too bad though that we can’t be just as giving or willing to give to others all year around. Doesn’t mean we have to give gifts all the time but just being in the spirit of giving and willing to give instead of being selfish and only wanting to gain.
So may you have a blessed Christmas season and a Happy Holiday as you reflect on the past year and consider the things to change and the new resolutions to be made and make for 2010!
On an artistic note, it’s been a pretty inspirational year for me! Right now I’m finishing up work for a novel being published by Scott Appleton’s publishing company called Flaming Pen Press, the novel being “The Fairy’s Ruby Cage” by author P. M. M. Green. I’m really excited and grateful to participate in this project. The book’s release will be in the spring of 2010!
I’m definitely going to try to make it a point to create several new pieces this year on my own. it’s difficult sometimes with classes going on but I know I can do it. Things like holidays are good motivators for me, especially if I want to give hand made gifts for people. Which I think I will do primarily from now on. Or at least a major part of what I will do for the many Christmases and birthdays to come for friends and family.
So to start off, here’s a portrait I did of my friend’s pet Titus, a siberian husky. It’s a 3″x3″ mini canvas, painted with Acrylics.
OmaHoth
Well I got to do something super cool this past Tuesday!!
Anyone want to take a guess? Has to do with the title of this entry.
I got the outstanding privilege to attend Star Wars In Concert!!
It was a BLAST! Myself and Lindsay got VIP tickets which granted us early access to the museum where they displayed official movie props and costumes that were used IN THE FILMS! along with some conceptual art work. The tickets also allowed us line free access to the merchandise kiosks so we could load up on Star Wars in Concert memorabilia without all the pushing and shoving of crowds or any waiting. We were also entreated to refreshments before the show as well as during the intermission which was quite the treat since the show started around dinner time. Getting there wasn’t too difficult but it had just snowed and quite a bit to where schools and colleges were canceled that day and all the snow ploughs were out clearing the streets and highways. Lindsay and I took my car to the concert and thankfully traversed the snowy roadscapes of ”OmaHoth” as a fellow fan put it on Face Book. We arrived a bit early but better early than late and there were no late admissions either. I personally had to get into the spirit of it all so i wore my black Sith costume to the show. How could I not?
When we arrived we had to wait a while since everything hadn’t quite opened up just yet. There were a few other that had also arrived a little before us and at the same time. During that time it was really nice because we were able to strike up a conversation with them. That’s one of the perks I think there is about being a Star Wars fan. A majority of the fans are really kind spirited and are willing to socialize and talk Star Wars and about life in general. I’d say you can see yourself making a lot of friends and connections. I think since it’s very family oriented and there are no perverse or overly violent themes in Star Wars it’s something everyone can enjoy without any shame. Definitely something I appreciate about the Star Wars fandom.
The museum display was spectacular! The entire even was held at the Quest Center so the museum display was spread out around the upper floor of the arena in which the concert was performed. For myself and Lindsay you could say we were kids in a candy store! I think we both had the biggest grins out of everyone there checking out the incredible props and costumes. They had some of the classics there such as Darth Vader, Chewbaca, C3-PO, some Ewoks and Han Solo in Carbonite! Some of the newer displays included Queen Amidala’s Senate gown worn in Episode 1 along with some of her handmaidens, Palpatine’s costume when he’s captured by General Grievous in Episode 3, and a Nemoidian Mustafar Guard. It was definitely cool seeing these things in person and knowing they were the actual things used in the movies!
After oogling our eyes out over all the Star Wars props and costumes we headed downstairs for refreshments which were served in a really nice buffet style in a small lounge/dressing room area. We joked that it might be some closet with a table of snacks but it was a very nice setup with round tables with red cloth that reminded us of the fabric used on Queen Amidala’s Sentate Gown, little R2 D2 and Yoda Christmas lights and a plush Yoda. the food was fancy, kind of like what you’d expect to find at an art gallery. Shrimp shooters, crackers with cheese and jam, chicken skewered on little sticks, thai noodles, veggie plates, brownies and massive cookies were all offered as well as a refrigerator full of various softdrinks, water, etc.
The 501st made an appearance as well, along with a few members of the Rebel Legion. That was great fun and for sure the kids LOVED it! well everyone really. A few friends of mine are part of the 501st, Rebel Legion and the R2 Builders. It’s definitely neat having some connections and good friends like that!
The performance of the concert itself was absolutely AMAZING! Something else we were able to enjoy with our VIP passes was we had incredible seats! Second Row seats 23 and 24 which was nearly dead center! The set up was incredible and very vibrant. They also had some amazing super Hi-Def cameras on cranes that would hover over the stage and show the orchestra on this massive Hi-Def LCD screen. It made me really want one of those cameras!
The amazing Anthony Daniels, the voice, performer, and soul of C3-PO was the narrator for the show and it was so neat only being in about 10 feet from him! Before each song he would come out on stage and give a brief summary of the events of Star Wars and some brief commentaries on characters like Anakin, Padme, Luke and Leia. During each song they would play edited segments of the scenes spanning all 6 movies and it really was quite seamless! It was almost hard to concentrate on one thing, Also with the massive screen It was hard to tell you were listening to a LIVE orchestra, I had to tear my eyes away from the screen and watch the orchestra from time to time, but that was also the brilliant idea in using the cameras that would hover over the performers letting us know they were also just as much part of the show. During some of the songs there were lazers and even flames that were synched up with the music at parts that played along beautifully with the rest of the performance! It was really a blast when the flames shot up during “Battle of the Heroes” you could feel the heat and it was quite intense!! it was definitely a surprise! There were some kids in front of us and I think the little girl got scared when the fire shot up. It was pretty close and for sure you could feel the heat. It happened with a few songs, and I think after the first round, she and her mother decided to sit a little further back. I wouldn’t blame her really.
The show was spectacular, and it really was a great night, at the end Anthony Daniels and the conductor came back out, and said “You’re not ready to go back out into the snow just yet are you, how about one more!” and the conductor took his place at he podium for an encore of “The Imperial March/Darth Vader’s Theme”
The only downer about it all would have been the weather, since unfortunately some fans weren’t able to attend due to the weather and weren’t able to get refunds for the show. Rules are rules. But I’m thankfully the show wasn’t canceled due to the show. Even if they would have only had 5 people or 100 they’d still go on with it since it took them 3 days to set it all up and they’re on tour still which means they have a schedule to keep and can’t afford to delay a show. So if you’re next on the list, and to see if you are check out the Star Wars In Concert Official Site. I think Indiana is next up!
Here is a link to my Face Book album of the Star Wars in Concert event!
Hopefully that works out ok.
In other words, I’ve been finishing up work for Scott Appleton
Also you might enjoy some sketch cards I’ve done recently.
In other news I’m on the road to recovery due to a small hole that didn’t heal from my wisdom teeth removal. So I went in yesterday to get it sewn back up. So looks like i’ll be out of it for a little while, not long I hope. But the doc wants me to stay indoors for the time being to avoid catching a cold or infection that could hinder or interrupt the healing process. Which isn’t too bad this time around, thankfully I can still work on art projects!
Anyhow, that’s all for now, till next time!
November Stuff
Very original title as you can see! I’m at a bit of a loss for a title name right now.
Sorry I’ve neglected to update in a while. I’m sure many of you or those of you who actually do check out my blog are wondering where in the world did he go?! No worries. I’m still here. Just been semi busy and haven’t really set aside the time to put up a new post. So here it is! So last I left off with Where the Wild things are, not bad but not great sadly.
My exhibition at Blick Art Materials went great! I didn’t get any business that i know from it but just showing made me quite content! For the month of November I finished up a class I was taking called Flash II which involves action script and coding, Which after taking the class I found I really don’t want to do that sort of thing, just not for me and my mind doesn’t quite work that way. It’s not bad, it’s great stuff but I can’t wrap my mind around it, I’m an artist not a mathematic person. I did make some very cool projects though of which I am fairly happy with. I ended up getting an A in the class which was an added bonus after wracking my brain on how to do anything. It’s like a whole new language to me and I just don’t understand it. I may dip into action script in the future but not any time soon.
I don’t think I mentioned earlier but in October I was offered a job to work on a cover art and inside illustrations for a novel called “The Ruby Cage of Fairy Rae” written by P. M. M. Green which is to be published by Scott Appleton’s company called Flaming Pen Press. I was hired by Scott through recommendation via Eric Reinhold author of the Ryann Watters series whom I’ve done work for previously!
So this is a great honor! Also something exciting is a favorite artist of mine Amber Hill has worked with Scott Appleton so it’s exciting know she’s working on a project for him as well.
Earlier this month I attended a convention called Anime Nebraskon which is an Anime convention.
This year it was conveniently MUCH closer than it was in past years. It was at a holiday in close to where I live. It was much easier for me to travel this year to the con rather than all the way out to lincoln.
Being one who loves costuming there were a TON of people in costume this year and a great variety too! What was also cool was that there were cosplayers from different generes of main stream culture movies, games or series. For example Batman and the Cookie monster made an appearance, as well as some rather special guests the Darth Vader’s 501st Legion of storm troopers of which this garrison included a few Stormtroopers, Scout Troopers, a couple Jedi, and R2-D2 and Patches who was also an R2 unit. As for myself I wore a sith costume that I had made a long time ago for Star Wars Celebration II which was, 6 years ago! Wow! However for this con I added some extra straps of fabric to make it look more sithy and I do believe I succeeded! I also got a new lightsaber to go along with it which was Darth Maul’s battle damaged lightsaber, which is one half of his double blade. Not long ago I ordered the other half. I ended up hanging out with the 501st most of the time, as well as a couple furries who had some great fursuits! One who goes by Snap E Tiger wore a white tiger suit with colored stripes, another named Foxplay who wore Kiv the Cheetah and Bowtie who wore a Cougar. It was quite fun bunch. And no nothing disturbing happened.
Still continuing the con talk, it was a bit disorganized this year, I think in part because it was a new facility. They seemed to start all the events late which was a bugger. They did cosplay chess again this year which was great and they had more than one round and anyone could join in which was great. Sorry Ouran Highschool Club no more hogging the board this time. I went to a few panels, a couple in particular were on how to create a web comic and one by a friend of mine Kim of AppleBunny Studios who did How Not To Create A Web Comic which was highly entertaining and good info.
I saw several artists I met from either the Art Jam or from Nuke con as well at the convention. Also ran into some old classmates and friends from my time at Metro and even from junior high! It was quite a nice surprise and I handed out business cards here and there so that was good!
While there I bought a few things as I always like to do, a couple pieces of artwork by Abi who is the daughter of Jeff and Jean Campbell of Ragin’ Images who made the decal of my logo for the back of my car. Some origami crane earrings for a friend, an Aerith Gainsborough Play Arts figure, and some sort of tiger hat thing, it’s rather odd. They had a cosplay contest at the con as well which was ok…it was poorly set up and they put us behind some very large and unused speakers. So most of the time we couldn’t see a thing unless they moved to one side of the stage or the other. So it was a real bummer, and also they must have had some guy who didn’t know what he was doing hanging out next to the stage’s curtain controls. During the contest the curtains opened and closed unintentionally, either that or someone was having fun, perhaps letting their kid push buttons. who knows really. but it was rather unfortunate. Overall though I had a great time strutting around in my costume with my lightsaber!
Some other good news is I recently got a new entertainment center, rather large scale flat screen samsung tv, and a new PS3. By the way I’m not a gamer by any means, it’s actually my new Blu Ray player! I’m quite happy with it all because now I can finally watch Advent Children Complete when ever I like without freezing to death in the den! I also got some new bedding which is quite comfortable and it’s hard to want to get up in the morning I will confess. So yeah it’s a big adjustment rearranging things and so on. I picked up Star Trek the other day but I’ll leave that for another post!
Also went to this month’s Artist Jam and had a really good time! I was meaning to work on my projects but ended up giving art lessons to some fellow artists there but itw as quite enjoyable actually and I had a great time teaching! A fun note about that was there was a photographer there from the Omaha World Herald who was taking a ton of pictures, and most of them happened to me of me and another artist. So hopefully expect to see me in the Omaha World Herald sometime this December!
Well I would love to go one but I can imagine you’re feeling like you’re reading a novel so I’ll spare you the next chapter for next time! Oh yes and hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! My apologies for not saying so ON Thanksgiving. As far as I know, no one was killed this year during Black Friday. I stayed home as I usually do and let the lionesses go out and collect their kill.
Jared Over and Out till next post, which will be very soon!! You can expect to hear my thoughts on the new Star Trek BluRay, more things I’ve collected, and perhaps the latest movies if I see any, which I’m sure I will.
Where the Wild Things Were
WARNING SPOILERS WILL BE GIVEN IN THE LATER PORTION OF THIS POST!!
Well I just got back from the midnight showing of Where the Wild Things Are!
And this, is my review.
I found myself driving out to Oakview Mall around 8:30 or so and made it out there first stopping at the theater and grabbed my ticket for the midnight show and then headed over to Barnes and Noble for a while will it closed. Only problem then was were to go afterwards, so I headed over the the Theater and waited there for the movie to start. I thought there might be a line but there wasn’t. Thankfully they let everyone in the theater a couple hours early so I found my spot and amused myself with my iphone for a while then decided to catch a quick cat nap. I placed my scarf over my face occupied two seats only to be “woken” later to the sound of a buss load of high school girls or whatever they were and lots of camera flashes. I think they took some pics of me while I was “asleep” which was rather funny I thought. After a while I finally “woke up” or sat up if you will and waited a little longer for the movie to begin.
Now for the review.
The story opens, and Max is seen causing some chaos like in the book, chasing the dog and what not.
Then it cuts to him playing in the yard making his snow igloo. From what the story outside of the book tells, he’s a younger brother who’s been “left in the ditch” by his sister so to say and has no friends to play with. From what it appears his family life is perhaps in shambles, the dad is no where to be seen, I suppose either he died or divorced because later on we see his mother with a male friend over for date and enjoying some wine. Max usually ends up getting into trouble because he wants to play and makes obvious his disapproval or after playing, something bad happens and he gets upset over it.
Unlike the book, he ends up running away instead of being sent to his room, and in running away he finds a boat and sails off into the world of Where the WIld Things Are. I’m personally feel this could have been done a little more subtly or “realistically” I suppose say via dream sequence or something but it wasn’t bad, just a bit abrupt I suppose. So he reaches the Island or whatever the world is, and encounters the WIld things in a bit of a mess, where Carol is smashing huts and all of them are sort of mindlessly watching him do so, but in part helping and in part wanting him to stop. Max reveals himself and busts out of a hut and makes friends with Carol. He declares himself King and the fun begins. They build forts, smash through forests, have a monster pile, Carol shows Max a sweet model he made, it’s quite fun.
Now here’s where the spoilers start. So be warned if you don’t want to see them, then don’t bother reading this portion.
About half way into the story things start going down hill, relationship problems start to occur and some of the monsters don’t get along well with each other. Max listens to the monsters talk about their problems but doesn’t really offer any help. At this time I was routing or Max hoping that he’d help save the day and solve some of the relationship issues. Sadly he didn’t. He tries at one point with the suggestion of a dirt ball fight which ends up unfortunately further causing pain and hurt feelings among the group. The character KW seems to be a bit of an outcast from the group and ends up befriending some strange Owls which the Carol shuns and dislikes. Apparently Owls are the reason KW and Carols don’t like eachother because Carol feels KW is spending to much time with the owls. On one sense I can completely understand this friendship conflict as I’ve been in similar myself, it’s just kind of odd it’s in this movie. So things progress but sadly don’t get better, things start going down hill for the group and Max.
Towards the end Max reveals he’s not a king after all ends up leaving the Wild Things on a rather sad and depressing note, nothing resolved, and it’s supposedly a bitter sweet ending.
Max sails back home and comes back to the shore he found the boat from and runs back home where his mother greets him, embraces him and gives him chocolate cake and milk.
So for my own thoughts, I really, really, really wish I could have said I LOVED this movie, but I kinda liked it. The story was lacking in there was no feeling of satisfaction. Max’s character is weak and doesn’t change as I believe it should in classic story telling. He never undergoes any kind of “hero’s transformation” he doesn’t solve the problems of the monsters, he doesn’t leave them on a happy note either. Also as say if I were a parent this kind of seems like it’s saying “your kid can be a turd and it’s not his or her fault, they’re just that way because life sucks, but in the end when he ends up crying we coddle him/her and give them cake.” The cake is a lie! just kidding lol. or is it? video game reference. back to the story, I’d say it’s not that this film strayed so much from the book it’s just that it failed to feel completed even with little to go off of.
Sure Max goes home but it’s rather sad the monsters feel more disconnected and at odds with each other than say a family and missing their loved one floating off into the distance.
From a visual standpoint it’s beautiful! The monsters look dead on and sound great and it’s really quite charming! I think Alexander (goat), Judith (long hair and horn on nose), and KW are my favorites visually. They’re really brilliant creatures to look at! The world of where the wild things are is quite interesting and different too! A stretch from the book but beautifully done!
When the credits rolled there was a sputter of applause but then it limped a bit as if trying to be full.
I noticed the guy next to me had shifted into several positions each slouchier than the next, I can only assume he wasn’t impressed. Even walking out the doors amidst all the High school and younger college students, I heard some rather colorful language in what I would assume was a response to the film. I hope this movie isn’t too big of a “downer” but sadly it’s a downer nevertheless.
I really hate to say I didn’t Love this movie. I’m still trying to love it but I think it will have to suffice for a like. To me it really was a matter of just tying up loose ends and finishing your story or adding that bang at the end of the story. I feel the book left so much to be open that one could insert a more fulfilling ending to top it all off with, I’m a bit disappointed it didn’t have that.
Over all I’d say this movie isn’t worth the 9 bucks to get into the show, but it’s worth the visuals. So it’s definitely a wait for DVD movie.
In terms of the next book made movie remake, I’m hoping Alice in Wonderland will NOT disappoint in any way!
In other news, I thought I’d push for my little Tiger Poo toy on PatchTogether!
A tiger seems to have left this little guy behind. As they say for Poops and Giggles, you can have your very own little tiger turd occupying your desk! No smell, no mess, just a crap load of cuteness!
http://www.patchtogether.com/designs/designs/view/id/1877
What you need to do if you would like to have one of your own is create an account on Patch Together, Vote or my design, then once it goes into On Demand status you will have to preorder it if you want one and I think it needs quite a lot to go into production. I want to say 50 or so. Perhaps less or a smaller design. Also this little guy I imagine wont cost too much being that it’s very simple.
Please vote for my design!
Cons, Shows, Inspirations, Wow Yeah!
Nuke-Con has ended and I showed 6 new pieces at the Art Show, all of which I created or finalized specifically for the show. It was a smaller convention, nothing big like Comic-Con or AnimeNebraskon which is coming up in a month or so. It was mostly an RPG gaming convention with dice, figures, cards and the like. How I first heard of the con was through being invited to an Artist Jam by my friend Kenneth, that meets every 3rd Saturday of the month at Krypton-Comics, which I believe is one of the larger comic shops in Omaha. I enjoyed the con and especially being able to show and get my name out there! I’ve really loved attending the Artist Jams as well! They’ve been really motivational and help keep me in the flow of inspiration as I work.
Another opportunity to get my name out there has been via the local Blick Art Materials. For the entire month of October, 8 of my paintings and illustrations will be featured there. What you will see if you are in the area and care to drop by, are the mixture of various mediums that I work in. Four pieces are from the work that I did for Eric Reinhold’s “Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith“, and the remaining four are personal pieces in charcoal, oils, and a colored digital piece that was featured also at Nuke-Con.
Something else that’s been quite inspirational to me is participating on Bobby Chiu’s Chiustream on UStream. You’re probably wondering who’s Bobby Chiu, well he’s a concept artist who recently had done work for the much anticipated Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland. Lately he has been streaming his creature sketches for a book produced through a French company and will be out I think later this year or next. Something he began doing while streaming was he would choose a topic to draw and those who would like to participate could and we would draw for an hour whipping out whatever the topic was. At the end of the challenge Bobby would choose one of the drawings and redraw it in his style. It’s a great promotion and very inspirational! What’s cool is it’s all very positive and clean. Even if you don’t “win” it’s still a wonderful opportunity to further your art skills. No matter your skill level I would encourage you to participate! I’ve attended probably close to 10-15 sessions by now. So head on over to Schoolism.com sign up for an account and I look forward to seeing you in the chat! I go by the alias BlueBengal there. Tonight there’s another stream going on and Peter De Seve will be interviewed live on the Chiustream!! He’s a big time character designer who has worked on many films such as Disney’s Mulan, Pixar’s Finding Nemo, and Blue Sky’s Ice Age! So when is this? Tonight at 11:00pm(New York time/EST), 11:00pm(-5GMT), 8:00pm(LA time/PST), 10:00pm (Chicago time/CST)! Sadly I won’t be able to attend due to class. Bummer eh? Well as they say, you can’t always get what you want. Either way I feel privileged to participate in the Chiustream!
On an end note here are some images of my work that were featured at Nuke-Con and at Blicks!
Also some extras!
These were featured at Nuke-Con! A few prints were even sold!
Here are the pieces that are being featured at Blicks! The tiger and cub canvas photo prints didn’t go into the show nor did the wolf. The wolf didn’t go because I had originally thought I had ordered it with a black boarder, it’s now being framed for future presentation.
The tiger painting that is also featured at Blicks, this one is part of my private collection.
Here’s a Sketch Card I did at Nuke-Con. Some Nurses from the game and movie Silent Hill. Done on a 2×3 inch bristol card.
FEATURED ARTIST
Hello everyone!! Sorry I’ve been so long in posting back. I usually try to update more often but it’s been crazy busy the last couple months.
I apologize for the last minute notification, If you happen to live in the Omaha, Nebraska area at the local Blick Art Materials you will be able to view my work both digital and traditional. Some of my work will include a few select pieces from my Ryann Watters illustrations.
the information is this if you would like to stop by.
Start Time:
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 9:00am
End Time:
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 12:00am
Location: BLICK ART MATERIALS
Beverly Hills Plaza 7829 Dodge St, Omaha, NE 68114
This event lasts the WHOLE MONTH of October so if you have time drop in and check out my stuff!!
A Second feature and this is a real treat as well, I will be showing at a convention in Council Bluffs, Iowa at the Mid America Center as part of the Nuke-Con Art Show!
This event takes place TODAY!
Here is how you get to the MAC.
Nuke-Con 2009 goes from October 2nd-4th,
Friday: Doors open at 3pm, gaming from 4pm-2am
Saturday: 8am-2am Sunday Morning
Sunday: 8am-6pm.
There is an admission fee to get in however which is $17 for Friday, $20 Saturday, and Sunday $17, Children 12 and under with paid adult $6.
Or if you choose to go all weekend it’s $39.
I will have several new fantasy related pieces making their debut at Nuke-Con!
Hope to see you at one of these events!
Road to Recovery!
Well I’d admit, it’s been awhile once more since I posted last.
I got my wisdom teeth removed a full week ago and I’m doing well! I’ve been a little sore from time to time, but Asprin and I are good buddies! The bleeding stopped pretty much the first day, at least all the major bleeding that occurs when they first wheel you out of “O.R.” after that occasionally I would have minimal bleeding. The taste of blood I can tell you, is not pleasant at all. Thankfully I have the stomach to not gag at the taste but it sure is nasty!!! Why anyone in their right mind would want to be a vampire is out of their mind. It tastes and smells like dead carcass and rusted metal, that paired with your own case or bad breath is enough to kill a horse! Not that I ever tried to kill a horse with my breath but really, it is disgusting! So all you vampire wannabees, just forget it! If there ever was a vampire I’d surely hope they’re brushing their teeth and using Listerine before and after each bite. Yuck! Ok enough of me ranting about vampires and blood tasting.
Anyways during my down time I’ve been able to do a little art which has been great! I did a wolf painting not too long ago which you can see here. I’m considering turning it into a tshirt, but first i gotta figure out how much that’s going to be to put into production. Hopefully not too much but who knows.
I’ll have to go ask around town and see what people quote me. I’ll make sure to notify you all here if they become available!
I’m still working on some images for my showing at Nuke-Con. I’m also prepping for the Blick Art Materials showing as well. That will probably set my back a bit just to get some of the pieces framed. But it will be well worth it for sure! I’m getting a little concerned about being able to show at Nuke-con having to rest for a week. Hopefully I can get all the things done that I would like to. I suppose we’ll see!
I thought I would share this as well, the folks at Ragin’ Images also made these for me, about 100 of em! They’re car applique stickers, and they turned out awesome for how small they are with out loosing any detail. They are 3″x7″, and must be applied with water. You can put them on the window, or on any other part of the car body! I made sure to order them with a clear background so it doesn’t look too unnatural against your car.
Feel free to ask me about one of them, but please only inquire if you KNOW for SURE you’re going to use it! They are going to be for free and I will be giving them away also at Nuke-Con!
Oh yeah and I just made this! If you would like to have a visual link to my site on your web page feel free to snag the coding!