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Saturday, December 23, 2006
Cranberry?
Friday, December 22, 2006
Blizzard and comics???
Every three years (it seems to be) Colorado gets hit by a blizzard that causes several feet of snow. The last couple of times it's been during March or February, but this year it's a Holiday Blizzard.
We got about two feet, but I'm still stuck at home due to lack of huge SUV lol. This one wasn't as bad as 2003, but with the holidays approaching, I'm worried the airport is going to be hellish. Be careful Bemmie!
My Squidworks compadres persuaded me to sign up for a Comic Space account. They just opened a few weeks ago and, it's a very cool site. Much more appealing than myspace. It will soon have the capability to show comics. Depending on how easy and pretty the comic page will be, I might upload my "Breakfast at Tivoli" comics. If it is really awesome, I'll re-upload "DayDream" on there and make that site it's new home.
Happy Holidays everyone and be careful when traveling to any destination ^^
Monday, December 18, 2006
Rest in Peace Joseph Barbera
I found out from the Nightly News with Brian Williams that Mr. Barbera. I'm glad they found out and reported this on the air.
He died quietly with his wife by his side. Jeff Harris has a wonderful thought about his passing.
http://www.thexbridge.com/joebarbera.html
Thank you Mr. Barbera
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Comic on sale!!!
UPDATE!!!
I hope Enoch didn't buy too quickly, but my comic is available on the Squidworks website here. It's a lot cheaper and helps out the group a bit. :D
Hurray! My 24 hour comic is available for sale through Mile High Comics! A tad pricey for my meager plunge into insomnia.....
I'm going to post the link up anyway, but I believe later on the Squidworks website will have it with cheaper shipping (Is it okay to say this lol?). $6.00 is a bit too much for my taste. If you're in Colorado, swing by and bug them.
And if you are really low on cash...
I might put up a smaller version up on the internet :D
Here's the link:
http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=list&title=37962938842&snumber=1
I'm just really happy I have a shopping cart for my comic. Novice happiness....^^
I hope Enoch didn't buy too quickly, but my comic is available on the Squidworks website here. It's a lot cheaper and helps out the group a bit. :D
Hurray! My 24 hour comic is available for sale through Mile High Comics! A tad pricey for my meager plunge into insomnia.....
I'm going to post the link up anyway, but I believe later on the Squidworks website will have it with cheaper shipping (Is it okay to say this lol?). $6.00 is a bit too much for my taste. If you're in Colorado, swing by and bug them.
And if you are really low on cash...
I might put up a smaller version up on the internet :D
Here's the link:
http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=list&title=37962938842&snumber=1
I'm just really happy I have a shopping cart for my comic. Novice happiness....^^
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Realism?
Really terrible quote:
“And even though we are featuring live-action characters, it still had to be done the Cartoon Network way. Re-Animated has proven to be that kind of project.”--Michael Ouweleen, senior vice president, programming and development for Cartoon Network
From Toonzone:
"The Hollywood Reporter states that Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D earned $3.3 million in its opening weekend, raking in $291,000 at the El Capitain Theatre in Hollywood to break the house record previously held by Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Buena Vista distribution president Chuck Viane was quoted as saying, 'There is no question now that digital 3-D is having an impact on the box office.'"
These two quotes were just some of several that made me slap my forehead. I swear I have bruises for slapping so hard. Today, I found a quote (more like a paragraph) that made my animation soul flicker.
"Representational art has a place, but it's not for me. I'm more interested in drawings as psychology and expression, a subjective way somebody might see the world. I like little flaws in art because they reflect the flaws in life. I like children's drawings, not just the freedom and imagination in them but the painstaking struggle in the lines. There's conflict and tension there. There's so much richness and personality going on before you even get to what the story is.
CG models and perfect life drawings leave me cold. All that a realistic, representational drawing of a bicycle tells me is, "bicycle." There's so much more mood and psychology to bring to the film if your artwork communicates more than just nouns. It's why photorealism in animation is usually so boring and pointless. It's all nouns. Ninety percent of CG animation is all nouns. I can't feel anything going on behind the image.
The point of this medium is you can do literally anything, you can show us amazing things we've never seen before. I want to see animators change the language of cinema! Seriously, we have the means. Push animation deep into the wild new places where the surrealists took their reaction to photography. Rock the damn boat. If you're going to strip animation of all its subjective power and just show me what things look like in real life you might as well be shooting live action."--Don Hertzfeldt
Don just said everything I ever wanted to say about the animation industry and the educational system in a couple of paragraphs. Heck, this quote can reflect life in general. People always strive to be perfect when it is not necessary to be. I hated my high school self because all I cared about was to have perfect academics in all subjects. Only in college did I realize challenging yourself and building yourself was what mattered.
In art especially, you wonder if talent out weighs hard work? I've been struggling with this for quite a while. I could never draw realistically without pulling my eyes out. Maybe I wasn't meant to be an artist. The one thing I could do well was gesture drawings and drawings in brush pen. My professor John Hull helped me figure this out and told me Hokusai can never do Rembrandt and Rembrandt can never do Hokusai because that wasn't their style. I really thank him for such wonderful advice.
In a round about way, animation may have room for someone who can't draw realistically.
Sorry for such a weird and long winded post.....I better end with a Happy Thanksgiving!
“And even though we are featuring live-action characters, it still had to be done the Cartoon Network way. Re-Animated has proven to be that kind of project.”--Michael Ouweleen, senior vice president, programming and development for Cartoon Network
Jaw droppin stupid quote...
From Toonzone:
"The Hollywood Reporter states that Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D earned $3.3 million in its opening weekend, raking in $291,000 at the El Capitain Theatre in Hollywood to break the house record previously held by Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Buena Vista distribution president Chuck Viane was quoted as saying, 'There is no question now that digital 3-D is having an impact on the box office.'"
These two quotes were just some of several that made me slap my forehead. I swear I have bruises for slapping so hard. Today, I found a quote (more like a paragraph) that made my animation soul flicker.
"Representational art has a place, but it's not for me. I'm more interested in drawings as psychology and expression, a subjective way somebody might see the world. I like little flaws in art because they reflect the flaws in life. I like children's drawings, not just the freedom and imagination in them but the painstaking struggle in the lines. There's conflict and tension there. There's so much richness and personality going on before you even get to what the story is.
CG models and perfect life drawings leave me cold. All that a realistic, representational drawing of a bicycle tells me is, "bicycle." There's so much more mood and psychology to bring to the film if your artwork communicates more than just nouns. It's why photorealism in animation is usually so boring and pointless. It's all nouns. Ninety percent of CG animation is all nouns. I can't feel anything going on behind the image.
The point of this medium is you can do literally anything, you can show us amazing things we've never seen before. I want to see animators change the language of cinema! Seriously, we have the means. Push animation deep into the wild new places where the surrealists took their reaction to photography. Rock the damn boat. If you're going to strip animation of all its subjective power and just show me what things look like in real life you might as well be shooting live action."--Don Hertzfeldt
Don just said everything I ever wanted to say about the animation industry and the educational system in a couple of paragraphs. Heck, this quote can reflect life in general. People always strive to be perfect when it is not necessary to be. I hated my high school self because all I cared about was to have perfect academics in all subjects. Only in college did I realize challenging yourself and building yourself was what mattered.
In art especially, you wonder if talent out weighs hard work? I've been struggling with this for quite a while. I could never draw realistically without pulling my eyes out. Maybe I wasn't meant to be an artist. The one thing I could do well was gesture drawings and drawings in brush pen. My professor John Hull helped me figure this out and told me Hokusai can never do Rembrandt and Rembrandt can never do Hokusai because that wasn't their style. I really thank him for such wonderful advice.
In a round about way, animation may have room for someone who can't draw realistically.
Sorry for such a weird and long winded post.....I better end with a Happy Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Zutara fans are crazy....
Man, Avatar as of late is just getting so crazy....but so addictive :p
I wasn't too sure why at the beginning fans were already pairing Zuko and Katara. They barely meet except in fight scenes.
Aww poor Aang....he better not kill Zuko for this.
I'll blog above the very hilarious Avatar shipping panel at Comic-Con. I'm still rooting for Foamtara lol.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Seat is waiting
Right now, I'm currently waiting for my chance to see "Brief Encounters of the Animated Kind" at the Starz Film Festival. It sold out...so I'm waiting if somebody doesn't show up. This year their main focus is Canadian films. What's better than the wonderful NFB!
I struggled through my flu this weekend to participate in the Norman Mclaren: Animation Workshop. He's really quirky and a wonderful animator. All of these techniques are no walk in the park. He really had talent. I got to take clear film and draw animation on them with colored markers. Then, at another table I got to scratch and color on regular film, which was really difficult. Finally, I got to do pixelation or stop-motion with a camera. They used a device called a "lunchbox" connected to a digital camera to take single frames.
I was thinking to myself..."my god! This is the solution to my animation problems. I've been trying to find a single frame camera."
I found out the box cost roughly $7000.....><
I made approximately 3 seconds of film lol. They screened it the next day, but I was too sick :( It was of my Xiao Bao too....can you imagine him on the big screen XD I have pics of the film strip that I will later post. Sadly, I didn't get to keep the film.
Oh yes and I'm also seeing a short later tonight by Chel White. Gosh I hope I get a seat. On one hand...a sold out show for animation is awesome! On the other....I want to see it.
Here's some Mclaren:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dNzefjYxeEI
The oscar winning and favorite film "Neighbors":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=X6x-Hf9GSfc
I struggled through my flu this weekend to participate in the Norman Mclaren: Animation Workshop. He's really quirky and a wonderful animator. All of these techniques are no walk in the park. He really had talent. I got to take clear film and draw animation on them with colored markers. Then, at another table I got to scratch and color on regular film, which was really difficult. Finally, I got to do pixelation or stop-motion with a camera. They used a device called a "lunchbox" connected to a digital camera to take single frames.
I was thinking to myself..."my god! This is the solution to my animation problems. I've been trying to find a single frame camera."
I found out the box cost roughly $7000.....><
I made approximately 3 seconds of film lol. They screened it the next day, but I was too sick :( It was of my Xiao Bao too....can you imagine him on the big screen XD I have pics of the film strip that I will later post. Sadly, I didn't get to keep the film.
Oh yes and I'm also seeing a short later tonight by Chel White. Gosh I hope I get a seat. On one hand...a sold out show for animation is awesome! On the other....I want to see it.
Here's some Mclaren:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dNzefjYxeEI
The oscar winning and favorite film "Neighbors":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=X6x-Hf9GSfc
Friday, November 03, 2006
Finally NDK 2006 Report
I'm trying a new thing here. I use to just upload pics on Imagecave, but this time I created a Flickr photo album of my photos from NDK. I couldn't upload all the pics because of a limit ><. If you get confused with all the name blurting, here's the guest list and also the slideshow gives more info.
I had a wonderful time this year! I didn't get to go on Friday to see Opening Ceremonies because of printmaking craziness. I think they showed a trailer of Satoshi Kon's Paprika.
Saturday
I started off with the Madhouse Fan Panel (little did I know they would be there lol). For some reason, I had the courage to yammer my head off as to why Madhouse animation represents such quality work. Not to many people came so Umehara-san asked us to bundle together. I got to sit right next to him 0.o. We mainly talked about whether Japan will slowly go to 3-D like the U.S. Mizushima-san said they're so use to flat images like manga that it won't likely happen. We also discussed the difficulty of the transition to cel then digital to make the work. I like how they described missing the air between the cel and the camera so the color was much different. Also we asked if their studios had any rivals. In reality for Japan, animators work at multiple studios and often collaborate with each other. I guess no Pixar and Dreamworks rivalries lol.
I quickly went to see Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerer of Shambala movie. I had to leave 10 minutes before the end for my panel :( thankfully my sister stayed for the Mizushima-san questions. She said the best part was when Umehara-san slowly came up and said in broken English "Please would you have an anime in Denver?" Mizushima-san cracked up and said no more questions lol.
I was part of the 24 hour comic panel where we retold the comic kinda like a storyboard meeting. A lot more showed up this year and I think people enjoyed it.
Then I went to the Piano Squall concert. Great musician with a great cause.
Sunday
This day was mainly for getting autographs and waiting for the closing ceremony auction. We were lucky enough to win the auction for Mizushima-san's signature with Al. Meeting Madhouse this year was one of the most rewarding experience I've had. Although I bet meeting the Animation Show crew will soon top that lol.
The auction was awesome. They raised around $4000 for Piano Squall's MS charity and $7000 for breast cancer. Umehara-san's sketch went up to $2000. It was a really cute sketch. I was right behind him and he was shaking and sweating lol. He came up to each person who bought his sketch and bowed.
This was a group shot with the two people who auctioned to $2000 each.
This is the banner the guy bid on. As a thank you gift for both they got the entire library of Manga Entertainment and lifetime pass to NDK. They both looked pale lol.
This is Sato-san, Mizushima-san, and Umehara-san
All of the guests...Spike Spencer (va for Shinji from Eva) is the one with the sunglasses lol.
My goodies!
Top: Piano Squall poster
Left to right per row: Umehara-san's sketch of me, Mizushima-san's Al, Stan Yan's sketch he gave to me
2nd row: CCS dvd Sat0-san signed, FMA dvd Mizushima-san signed, CD Lisa Furukawa signed
3rd row: PSME dvd Michael Dobson signed, Samurai Champloo dvd Darrel Guilbeau signed
My sister got he Eva figure signed by Spike Spencer which is not present in photo lol.
Check out my pics with Madhouse and more in my Flicker set.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32106219@N00/sets/72157594359328314/
What a great year! I missed you Will if you're reading!
Can't wait for next year.
I had a wonderful time this year! I didn't get to go on Friday to see Opening Ceremonies because of printmaking craziness. I think they showed a trailer of Satoshi Kon's Paprika.
Saturday
I started off with the Madhouse Fan Panel (little did I know they would be there lol). For some reason, I had the courage to yammer my head off as to why Madhouse animation represents such quality work. Not to many people came so Umehara-san asked us to bundle together. I got to sit right next to him 0.o. We mainly talked about whether Japan will slowly go to 3-D like the U.S. Mizushima-san said they're so use to flat images like manga that it won't likely happen. We also discussed the difficulty of the transition to cel then digital to make the work. I like how they described missing the air between the cel and the camera so the color was much different. Also we asked if their studios had any rivals. In reality for Japan, animators work at multiple studios and often collaborate with each other. I guess no Pixar and Dreamworks rivalries lol.
I quickly went to see Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerer of Shambala movie. I had to leave 10 minutes before the end for my panel :( thankfully my sister stayed for the Mizushima-san questions. She said the best part was when Umehara-san slowly came up and said in broken English "Please would you have an anime in Denver?" Mizushima-san cracked up and said no more questions lol.
I was part of the 24 hour comic panel where we retold the comic kinda like a storyboard meeting. A lot more showed up this year and I think people enjoyed it.
Then I went to the Piano Squall concert. Great musician with a great cause.
Sunday
This day was mainly for getting autographs and waiting for the closing ceremony auction. We were lucky enough to win the auction for Mizushima-san's signature with Al. Meeting Madhouse this year was one of the most rewarding experience I've had. Although I bet meeting the Animation Show crew will soon top that lol.
The auction was awesome. They raised around $4000 for Piano Squall's MS charity and $7000 for breast cancer. Umehara-san's sketch went up to $2000. It was a really cute sketch. I was right behind him and he was shaking and sweating lol. He came up to each person who bought his sketch and bowed.
This was a group shot with the two people who auctioned to $2000 each.
This is the banner the guy bid on. As a thank you gift for both they got the entire library of Manga Entertainment and lifetime pass to NDK. They both looked pale lol.
This is Sato-san, Mizushima-san, and Umehara-san
All of the guests...Spike Spencer (va for Shinji from Eva) is the one with the sunglasses lol.
My goodies!
Top: Piano Squall poster
Left to right per row: Umehara-san's sketch of me, Mizushima-san's Al, Stan Yan's sketch he gave to me
2nd row: CCS dvd Sat0-san signed, FMA dvd Mizushima-san signed, CD Lisa Furukawa signed
3rd row: PSME dvd Michael Dobson signed, Samurai Champloo dvd Darrel Guilbeau signed
My sister got he Eva figure signed by Spike Spencer which is not present in photo lol.
Check out my pics with Madhouse and more in my Flicker set.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32106219@N00/sets/72157594359328314/
What a great year! I missed you Will if you're reading!
Can't wait for next year.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Tumbleweed
Yup....sorry for the abscence. This weekend I'll try to post up my pics from NDK and if willing and not lazy my 24 hour comic.
I'm not sure if I announced this officially yet, but the cool opportunity that happened is...
I'm now an internet intern for The Animation Show!!! One of my jobs is to write about animators' upcoming works. I posted the first one on Jonathan Nix ("Hello" 2006).
It's all to get ready for Year 3!
http://animationshow.com/journal1.html
I hope everyone bought the Bitter Films Vol 1 dvd. It was truly awesome to behold ^^
I'm not sure if I announced this officially yet, but the cool opportunity that happened is...
I'm now an internet intern for The Animation Show!!! One of my jobs is to write about animators' upcoming works. I posted the first one on Jonathan Nix ("Hello" 2006).
It's all to get ready for Year 3!
http://animationshow.com/journal1.html
I hope everyone bought the Bitter Films Vol 1 dvd. It was truly awesome to behold ^^
Thursday, October 05, 2006
300 NDK
Martial art Spartans...awesome graphics...and Frank Miller...
What more could you want?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/
NDK is this weekend...although I may have to compromise in order to finish my printmaking project, but I'll definitely be there for Saturday and Friday. Come see my participation in the 24 hour comic presentation.
I'm a little sad my friend Will won't be there. Everytime we try to meet it is foiled lol.
I'll give a little report on the con.
And a report on DAM....it was so beautiful. Let me just say 3 Damien Hirsts, Janine Antoni's famous "Lick and Lather", and a very sophisticated installation "Engi."
http://www.ucdadvocate.com/media/storage/paper538/news/2006/10/04/PhotoEssay/Dam-Good.Art-2331775.shtml?norewrite200610060017&sourcedomain=www.ucdadvocate.com
I will say nothing about the exploding anime chick. :p
What more could you want?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/
NDK is this weekend...although I may have to compromise in order to finish my printmaking project, but I'll definitely be there for Saturday and Friday. Come see my participation in the 24 hour comic presentation.
I'm a little sad my friend Will won't be there. Everytime we try to meet it is foiled lol.
I'll give a little report on the con.
And a report on DAM....it was so beautiful. Let me just say 3 Damien Hirsts, Janine Antoni's famous "Lick and Lather", and a very sophisticated installation "Engi."
http://www.ucdadvocate.com/media/storage/paper538/news/2006/10/04/PhotoEssay/Dam-Good.Art-2331775.shtml?norewrite200610060017&sourcedomain=www.ucdadvocate.com
I will say nothing about the exploding anime chick. :p
Saturday, September 30, 2006
24 hour marathon
Updated throughout marathon:
9:30 pm-Start time of course after Avatar
11:47 pm- Couldn't resist petting Xiao Bao
12:16 am- Geez I have about four pages penciled. For the first time, my story might be too short to fit 24 pages. I feel like I'm already stretching it lol. So watch out for monologues!
1:37 am- On 8th page....man I'm bad at this. I already have the urge to sleep.
2:30 am- 9th page....I'm starting to think in gibberish. I'm definitely a dinural animal. I'm beginning to think I have a disadvantage since I started at night. I'm taking a snooze til 7:30 am. I'll be behind about 3 pages, but I'm hoping my inking skills won't fail me.
9:50 am- Well, past the half mark.....I'm really behind now. I'm on the 10th page. I had to drive with my sister to an interview. Hopefully, I can get some work done before I get to the gallery. Now working on 4 hours of sleep ....><
11:01 am- On page 14,I finally picked up some speed. Geez, I'm sure making a damn depressing story, such a drama queen lol.
11:34 am- Only 11 pages to go....seems a lot but the last couple of pages are going to have wider views...yes cheating. this might be my last post for a while. Don't know how tied up the computer will be at the gallery.
.....
10:00 pm- included driving time
hehe I finished! I was very exhausted and had to bring in my sister to erase lol. Thanks to the Squids for such a great time. I'm prinitng my comic for NDK, so if your there buy!!! I might also be doing a powerpoint narration presentation on the comic on Saturday at 4pm. Don't worry...I'll post it after mid-terms :p
On a final note...best memoriam to a voice actor...look above.
9:30 pm-Start time of course after Avatar
11:47 pm- Couldn't resist petting Xiao Bao
12:16 am- Geez I have about four pages penciled. For the first time, my story might be too short to fit 24 pages. I feel like I'm already stretching it lol. So watch out for monologues!
1:37 am- On 8th page....man I'm bad at this. I already have the urge to sleep.
2:30 am- 9th page....I'm starting to think in gibberish. I'm definitely a dinural animal. I'm beginning to think I have a disadvantage since I started at night. I'm taking a snooze til 7:30 am. I'll be behind about 3 pages, but I'm hoping my inking skills won't fail me.
9:50 am- Well, past the half mark.....I'm really behind now. I'm on the 10th page. I had to drive with my sister to an interview. Hopefully, I can get some work done before I get to the gallery. Now working on 4 hours of sleep ....><
11:01 am- On page 14,I finally picked up some speed. Geez, I'm sure making a damn depressing story, such a drama queen lol.
11:34 am- Only 11 pages to go....seems a lot but the last couple of pages are going to have wider views...yes cheating. this might be my last post for a while. Don't know how tied up the computer will be at the gallery.
.....
10:00 pm- included driving time
hehe I finished! I was very exhausted and had to bring in my sister to erase lol. Thanks to the Squids for such a great time. I'm prinitng my comic for NDK, so if your there buy!!! I might also be doing a powerpoint narration presentation on the comic on Saturday at 4pm. Don't worry...I'll post it after mid-terms :p
On a final note...best memoriam to a voice actor...look above.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
24
A lot of craziness has been going on lately. This weekend the Squidworks crew is having a 24 Hour comic Marathon at Capsule Gallery. It is a week ahead of the official date due to NDK being on that same weekend. So if you're in Denver come and watch me become a zombie. The sad thing is I have to start earlier than everyone else due to DAM opening. Pedestrians will get to see the side effects in advance. I'll post my comic ASAP after the event.
The Denver Art Museum opening is a gigantic event. I heard the new contemporary wing is fantastic. Who knew Clyfford Still and De Kooning was in storage this whole time? I'm really curious to see how the slanted walls affected some of the paintings. As you can see it is rather slanted :p
In addition, you may see some design changes on this blog. An awesome opportunity has arised that requires me to post on another journal. So this one may become experimental to improve and work out anything on the other blog. I'll tell you the good news once I make my first post ^^.
The Denver Art Museum opening is a gigantic event. I heard the new contemporary wing is fantastic. Who knew Clyfford Still and De Kooning was in storage this whole time? I'm really curious to see how the slanted walls affected some of the paintings. As you can see it is rather slanted :p
In addition, you may see some design changes on this blog. An awesome opportunity has arised that requires me to post on another journal. So this one may become experimental to improve and work out anything on the other blog. I'll tell you the good news once I make my first post ^^.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Scream with glee
Word came across all art classes around the world...The Scream is found! A lot of people thought this artwork was truly gone, due to the fact this painting was made on cardboard. Oslo police recovered close to two years from the date it was stolen.
It's quite rare for a piece of art to be recovered. What is rarer is the irony and just bizarre coincidence that follows this recovered work.
It's quite rare for a piece of art to be recovered. What is rarer is the irony and just bizarre coincidence that follows this recovered work.
Just last week M&Ms made a promotion to give 2 million dark M&Ms to the person who recovers the stolen Munch. Many thought this promotion was just for show and a guarantee for the Mars corp. to never have to deliver their promise. Then boom...the work is returned lol.
M&Ms is keeping their promise. If it is truly the missing Munch, Oslo police gets to have lots of M&Ms.
See...there is a sweet reward for bringing back artwork....now give me back those Rembrandts!!!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Rejoice!!
Whoo hoo! Here's my entry for Nan Desu Kan's Anime Artistry contest. Not sure if I can beat last years, but I really had fun with this. I used watercolor pans to create the color.
I haven't named this image yet....and yes Heidi is a terrible name for it. I got inspired by Earthsea...lots of goats in that book lol.
Back at school as well. I have a little cart with me to help move my art supplies. I look dorky, but my back is very pleased. For those who care, I'm taking Printmaking I, Watermedia I, Advance drawing, Intermediate Life drawing, and Contemporary Art History.
Great things are starting to happen in Denver. We FINALLY have our own Claes Oldenburg sculpture! http://www.amnnews.com/press.jsp?id=2842
Monday, August 14, 2006
Earthsea/ Gedo Senki
When I heard the next Ghibli movie was going to be based on The Farthest Shore part of the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, I picked up the first book The Wizard of Earthsea after I got off work. Coincidently, this was around the same time my back gave out and I became bedridden for a couple of days. I was expecting nothing special in particular, but what I found was a beautifully crafted world built on history, languages, and culture.
There wasn't a theme of good vs evil or an overuse of "crazy magic" like in Harry Potter. The character Sparrowhawk/Ged has to literally face himself showing how human beings carry their own good and evil. Throughout the whole six books there is no one who is truly evil, just people with basic human yearning for power and control over death. Magic in fantasy is often a gift that can be used without regret. In Earthsea, magic is based on balance such as if a wizard creates rain for an area, it could cause a drought where the rain was destined to be. Magic is used when absolutely necessary. The power of word is more powerful than magic itself. Every element is governed by their originally name. Each character have different aliases to protect them.
I don't even think I accurately expressed the profound and beautiful affect this series has brought to my mind. I feel greatly ashamed I only found this series just because it was turning into a movie.
Gedo Senki came out at the end of July in Japan. Reviews have been mainly good. From what I hear people are most disappointed because it is quite different from the book, the style, and that the characters' mannerisms and skin color aren't the same. I believe I will enjoy the movie when it comes out in the US. This movie is darker than most Ghibli films and IT IS NOT a Hayao Miyazaki movie. I think Goro Miyazaki should get applause as a first time director. Adapting a book to a movie is a difficult process and I heard the movie was made quite quickly compared to other Ghibli films. I hope he makes more movies and understands that the movie is his own now and shouldn't feel terrible if the author didn't like the outcome.
I made this excrutiatingly long post because Le Guin finally saw the movie and posted her feelings on the web. I read forums and read some negative feedback toward her opinion. People need to understand this series has been always misrepresented which made her very protective of her work. Her characters have darker skin and are never represented in this way; on book covers, crappy Sci-fi mini series, and even Gedo Senki.
The makers of the American TV version, while boasting that they
were "color blind," reduced the colored population of Earthsea to one and a
half. I have blasted them for whitewashing Earthsea, and do not forgive them for
it.
The issue is different in Japan. I cannot address the issue of race in
Japan because I know too little about it. But I know that an anime film runs
smack into the almost immutable conventions of its genre. Most of the people in
anime films look — to the American/European eye — white. I am told that the
Japanese audience perceives them differently. I am told that they may perceive
this Ged as darker than my eye does. I hope so. Most of the characters look
white to me, but there is at least a nice variation of tans and beiges. And
Tenar's fair hair and blue eyes are right, since she's a minority type from the
Kargish.
I'm glad Ms. Le Guin stated this. Japanese animation often has characters that are Japanese but have attributes of Europeans. This might have been because of World War II. It may also be the yearning to be white. I've heard of surgeries on Asians to make them look more European or normal. Whatever the reason, I do believe Ged is dark in the movie, but Arren is not(he has a bronze shade to his skin in the book). It is not completely obvious which might have been a major disappointment. The only main problem I could see from the character designs is Therru wasn't more scarred or mangled, but that might scare too many people.
I recommend anyone to read Le Guin's whole opinion on the movie.
And to also read Goro's journey through this film with the translated blog.
Sadly due to Scifi holdings on the rights, the movie won't come out until 2009.
Read Earthsea, Watch Gedo Senki and thank you for reading this incredibly long post.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Xiao Bao's Birthday
His first birthday, which we celebrated on July 27th after my birthday. He was probably actually born earlier in July.
Sorry for the high pitched singing. I go into cutsy mommy role when ever I see him. And yes, he practically ate all of it (parsely, carrot, cucumber, green pepper, and a critter berry treat) and then slept in his fancy new polka dot pouch.
His first birthday, which we celebrated on July 27th after my birthday. He was probably actually born earlier in July.
Sorry for the high pitched singing. I go into cutsy mommy role when ever I see him. And yes, he practically ate all of it (parsely, carrot, cucumber, green pepper, and a critter berry treat) and then slept in his fancy new polka dot pouch.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Farewell Mako
So depressing....just checking on Comic-con reports on Toonzone when I stumbled upon this news. Mako Iwamatsu died of esophageal cancer at the age of 72 on Friday.
He's known for his voice work of Aku (Samurai Jack) and Uncle Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender). Also he played as the wizard Akiro in Conan. Notably, he recieved an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in The Sand Pebbles. He has such a bold, deep, dragon-like voice that sounds strict yet endearing.
He will be greatly missed.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Up to date
I am turning 20 in 5 days and yet this happens....
1 month ago I quit my job due to back pain and problems bending. I thought it was an irritated sciatic nerve. Just two weeks ago my mom suggested to have an MRI....oh boy do I hate MRI's...well I found out I have a herniated disc between L5 and S1 (for all you medical buffs out there) with an extrusion through a wall that protects my nerves. Remember kids...picking up frozen bake goods can be quite deadly.
I'm quite fine. I'm going to see a neurologist to check again if I need surgery.
The good news I get to spend more time with Xiao Bao. Enoch, I really need to find a pimp outfit lol. Although this site has...a fez lol!!!!
Currently I'm obssessed with You Tube. They have rare cartoons and bizarre things to share on the web. Joecool85 posted Grimm's Fairy Tales that use to be part of the Special delivery block on Nickelodeon. I watched this when I was in kindergarten yet it still beats the crap out of any kids show shown today.
Sorry, I knew this post was going to be long, but I really need to say this as well.
I have an odd attachment to the country of Lebanon. I did a project about this country in middle school and ever since then I wanted to try tabouli, a famous dish of Lebanon. This country was going through reconstruction and seemed to be building itself back together. It is just heart breaking to see what is happening to this country right now. Whether both sides are guilty, the innocent always suffer. Mazen Kerbaj's blog is a real outlook of the current situation through drawings. Sadly, all we can do is read and wait.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Their workplace
I'm not surprised Mokona is wearing a kimono lol. In press pictures and in their art, she always wears a kimono. And well the bottles of wine.....that's CLAMP alright.
CLAMP
The goddesses of manga are coming to Anime Expo this year. I can only imagine the attendance this year will triple and fans are lining outside just to see this quartet.
I'm extremely jealous to those who get to meet them. I have almost every manga that is available in the US. Their work is an addiction. From their lavishly drawn works to their intriguing storylines, it is nop wonder CLAMP is known throughout the world. The most miraculous aspect is that for more than 15 years four women worked together (without any assistants) to create such work. To accompilsh this for most of their career they lived together and only just recently moved out seperately.
I hope CLAMP has a nice time and visit the US again soon. Maybe in Colorado?
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Cars
Sadly I agree completely with this review:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jun/09/animated_cars_lacks_drive/?arts
Something was really missing from the film. The main meaning of the film was to step back and enjoy the journey in life. It's hard to really feel this when cars represents humans. All I could think of during the movie was "Man, they must have higher gas prices than us." and "Can you imagine how much pollution they have? An average 14 farts a day from these cars would be disasterous."
Go see the movie to support Pixar, but there is something missing, and it bugs me.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jun/09/animated_cars_lacks_drive/?arts
Something was really missing from the film. The main meaning of the film was to step back and enjoy the journey in life. It's hard to really feel this when cars represents humans. All I could think of during the movie was "Man, they must have higher gas prices than us." and "Can you imagine how much pollution they have? An average 14 farts a day from these cars would be disasterous."
Go see the movie to support Pixar, but there is something missing, and it bugs me.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Three in a row
Bad things usually happen in threes.
My summer drawing class was cancelled leaving me with no model for the summer until I can find a substitute class. I'm really tempted to yell at my Dean about this since they cut nine classes.
I injured myself doing lifting at work. I feel like Hank Hill in the "diminished glutes" episode. Yes, sitting can be difficult lol.
Thankfully the last one wasn't too bad. My car got egged. It may have been a large swooping bird, but I doubt it lol. If anybody has any remedy to getting this stuff off, my guinea pig will do a dance.
Now the dreadful three has passed. Hopefully something good will come up next. Maybe I should buy some lotto lol.
My summer drawing class was cancelled leaving me with no model for the summer until I can find a substitute class. I'm really tempted to yell at my Dean about this since they cut nine classes.
I injured myself doing lifting at work. I feel like Hank Hill in the "diminished glutes" episode. Yes, sitting can be difficult lol.
Thankfully the last one wasn't too bad. My car got egged. It may have been a large swooping bird, but I doubt it lol. If anybody has any remedy to getting this stuff off, my guinea pig will do a dance.
Now the dreadful three has passed. Hopefully something good will come up next. Maybe I should buy some lotto lol.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Crunch time
I finally put up the FCBD 2006 pages I did. I feel really bad how much I neglected my webcomic. I'll try my best to update during the summer, but the looming portfolio will keep me busy.
http://manganese.comicgenesis.com
Everybody have a safe summer. I'll update this blog as soon as I get started on the portfolio. I have a major task of cleaning my work area first lol.
Note: I am so getting a Nintendo Wii. It would take me five paychecks to buy a PS3. I'm just glad God of War II is on the PS2.
http://manganese.comicgenesis.com
Everybody have a safe summer. I'll update this blog as soon as I get started on the portfolio. I have a major task of cleaning my work area first lol.
Note: I am so getting a Nintendo Wii. It would take me five paychecks to buy a PS3. I'm just glad God of War II is on the PS2.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
FCBD 2006
Although this year's Free Comic Book Day is the weekend before finals (the agony!), I will make it out there. Comicgenesis sent me five free copies already. My comic looks a little stretched, but I feel happy it came out alright. The only problem in the table of contents they spelled my user name Magnese o.0 I will post my un-altered comic after finals are over lol. So hopefully I'll get more people reading my comic. If not, it's just a neat idea someone on Saturday will read my comic.
I might enter this juried show at Space Gallery. My chances of getting in is practically zero, but it's nice to try anyway. The best in show gets their own exhibition in 2007.
http://spacegallery.org/JuriedShow.html
hehe My sister is currently part of this livejournal group called "rate your piggy." Well Xiao Bao is currently winning the theme Gross looking piggy lol. You can see the pic here: http://community.livejournal.com/rateyourpiggy/267050.html
It's amazing. He's still adorable even when he's eating poop lol.
Final note:
Well the last post I made a huge mistake. I mistakened Goro for Nayochin lol. I was wondering why Mr. Miyazaki looked so young lol.
I might enter this juried show at Space Gallery. My chances of getting in is practically zero, but it's nice to try anyway. The best in show gets their own exhibition in 2007.
http://spacegallery.org/JuriedShow.html
hehe My sister is currently part of this livejournal group called "rate your piggy." Well Xiao Bao is currently winning the theme Gross looking piggy lol. You can see the pic here: http://community.livejournal.com/rateyourpiggy/267050.html
It's amazing. He's still adorable even when he's eating poop lol.
Final note:
Well the last post I made a huge mistake. I mistakened Goro for Nayochin lol. I was wondering why Mr. Miyazaki looked so young lol.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Bizarre fun!
*Update correction: I knew I didn't understand Japanese lol. The guy who I mistakened as Goro is Nayochin, he does ads for Ghibli. You can read about him in Goro's blog (Nayo also updates for Goro now.) His nickname is pretty hilarious.
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/earthsea/blog/blog61.html
I'm beginning to think until summer my blog is becoming "the bizarre and fun facts" blog lol. I just keep coming across interesting stuff that other news sources haven't emphasized yet(cough Cartoon Brew).
This one blew me away. Bill Plympton is teaming up with Kanye West....again! In Time Magazine:
"ANIMATED KANYE
Scoop up a few Grammys? Check. Rant about the President on live TV? Check. Launch a line of preppy duds? Check. The next item on rap star KANYE WEST'S to-do list is to create a book in the style of Japanese manga comics with animator Bill Plympton. Plympton, best known for short films that appeared on MTV in the '80s, met West when drawing the raw, smudgy animation for the hip-hop star's video Heard 'Em Say. After the two hit it off, they decided to collaborate on a book based on West's lyrics for Simon & Schuster. Can a Kanye West line of baked goods be far behind?"
I'm a little scared and intrigued at the same time. Bill doing a manga? I mean if it was just a comic sure, but a manga....with Kanye West? I mean something like his regular comics such as the one in the new Flight 3 book. http://www.flightcomics.com (Sorry little ad there. I just love this anthology too much!)
And last but not least,
The website http://www.ghibliworld.com is just too awesome. They have insider information on Gedo Senki and just some really great videos and pictures.
Yikes my mistake this guy is actually Nayo-chin. He's a really funny guy. I swear if I ever met him I'll give him Pringles to ease his pain. I'll find a picture of Goro Miyazaki later. (Yeesh, even the video knew. I'm such a nutcase.)
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/earthsea/blog/blog61.html
I'm beginning to think until summer my blog is becoming "the bizarre and fun facts" blog lol. I just keep coming across interesting stuff that other news sources haven't emphasized yet(cough Cartoon Brew).
This one blew me away. Bill Plympton is teaming up with Kanye West....again! In Time Magazine:
"ANIMATED KANYE
Scoop up a few Grammys? Check. Rant about the President on live TV? Check. Launch a line of preppy duds? Check. The next item on rap star KANYE WEST'S to-do list is to create a book in the style of Japanese manga comics with animator Bill Plympton. Plympton, best known for short films that appeared on MTV in the '80s, met West when drawing the raw, smudgy animation for the hip-hop star's video Heard 'Em Say. After the two hit it off, they decided to collaborate on a book based on West's lyrics for Simon & Schuster. Can a Kanye West line of baked goods be far behind?"
I'm a little scared and intrigued at the same time. Bill doing a manga? I mean if it was just a comic sure, but a manga....with Kanye West? I mean something like his regular comics such as the one in the new Flight 3 book. http://www.flightcomics.com (Sorry little ad there. I just love this anthology too much!)
And last but not least,
The website http://www.ghibliworld.com is just too awesome. They have insider information on Gedo Senki and just some really great videos and pictures.
Yikes my mistake this guy is actually Nayo-chin. He's a really funny guy. I swear if I ever met him I'll give him Pringles to ease his pain. I'll find a picture of Goro Miyazaki later. (Yeesh, even the video knew. I'm such a nutcase.)
They have a video where it shows he's a pretty quiet guy and seems to get along with Producer Toshio Suzuki very well (almost like a father figure).
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Squidworks comic Jam!
Friday I had a really nice and eccentric time with the Squidworks crew. We were guinea pigs to a new idea Stan created "Improv Cartoon Jam." It was really fun and got my creative juices flowing. You can check out the rules and what I contributed. Stan put who did what panel at the bottom of the comic. Be warned some of it is pretty raunchy lol. What do you expect from three guys and a girl?
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/StanYan/jams/series.php
I also learned how to make mini published comics by using cheap paper. Ingenius idea that I might use to sell my comic later on.
May 6 is Free Comic Book Day where you can get free stuff and support local comic shops. This year is a little special. I will actually be in one of the comics they are giving out. I'm part of the silver sponsor Comic Genesis: Generation booklet. Mind you, I have no idea how my comic will turn out in print. I made this special two page DayDream comic, but I had to smoosh it to make it fit. I will post the unsmooshed version on my website after FCBD.
The Disney Vault TV Funhouse spoof...(I hope you were able to see it)
And yes, half of it is true and half isn't (I'll let your imagination think about it lol)....keep extra close attention to the images in the back. One is from:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit of Jessica's oops
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096438/alternateversions
The other is the unknown, but interesting Fantasia censorship.
http://calvincrowe.tripod.com/fantasia/
Also Jeff has a much better description and post about the subject.
http://thoughtnami.blogspot.com/2006/04/truth-hurts.html
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/StanYan/jams/series.php
I also learned how to make mini published comics by using cheap paper. Ingenius idea that I might use to sell my comic later on.
May 6 is Free Comic Book Day where you can get free stuff and support local comic shops. This year is a little special. I will actually be in one of the comics they are giving out. I'm part of the silver sponsor Comic Genesis: Generation booklet. Mind you, I have no idea how my comic will turn out in print. I made this special two page DayDream comic, but I had to smoosh it to make it fit. I will post the unsmooshed version on my website after FCBD.
The Disney Vault TV Funhouse spoof...(I hope you were able to see it)
And yes, half of it is true and half isn't (I'll let your imagination think about it lol)....keep extra close attention to the images in the back. One is from:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit of Jessica's oops
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096438/alternateversions
The other is the unknown, but interesting Fantasia censorship.
http://calvincrowe.tripod.com/fantasia/
Also Jeff has a much better description and post about the subject.
http://thoughtnami.blogspot.com/2006/04/truth-hurts.html
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Noteworthy
Interesting stuff to look at during the week...
I love, chef and writer, Anthony Bourdain sarcastic and jaw- dropping travels on the show "No Reservations." He eats anything except he has not tried the greatly smelly and feared durian fruit. My god, I only ate a cookie that had the taste of durian and it was awful. I swear it smells like gasoline lol.
I love, chef and writer, Anthony Bourdain sarcastic and jaw- dropping travels on the show "No Reservations." He eats anything except he has not tried the greatly smelly and feared durian fruit. My god, I only ate a cookie that had the taste of durian and it was awful. I swear it smells like gasoline lol.
Well, in Monday's episode he visited Peru....and well he ate guinea pig. I'm a little surprised it actually looked like a pet store guinea pig not a wild one. They were so cute...before they were eaten. Yet, I'm still okay with it. It's part of their culture and is a much better life than in some lab getting experimented on. I hope Xiao Bao isn't reading this.
I saw a really awesome "Frontline" on PBS about Tiananmen Square and the famous Man in front of the tank. They will have the program online to watch. It shows the emotion and integrity of the people and the cruel tactics the government used (probably still today).
I was going to write more tidbits, but the Frontline program pretty much blew everything away. Oh well, just a slight mention then:
- CLAMP (all four I believe!) coming to Anime Expo (so close yet so far :(
- Ramen Rube Goldberg...those crazy Japanese http://youtube.com/watch?v=1kvdq8cRNBM&search=ramen%20goldberg
- Death Cab for Cutie...you wouldn't believe this guy got away with it http://youtube.com/watch?v=wl3S64qUn34&search=death%20cab%20turnstiles
And a special thank you to my readers! Jeff, I'm very honored to be linked to your blog. I'm not worthy! Enoch, you're a much better writer and you still read my blog lol. I promise the California trip will be up...soon.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Strike! You're out!
Now a public service announcement (sorry I need to blurb about this):
Baseball opened yesterday and so did our RTD bus strike. It's odd how something so unrecognized and unappreciated could create such a mess for Denver. People usually hate being behind buses because of frequent stops. Now they realize how important buses are.
Our buses mainly comprise of downtown workers, school kids, and the poor. It's the cheapest transportation ($1.25) considering downtown parking fees ($5.00-$7.00). Traffic is heavy and most of my school parking lots are full. The light rail which cost millions to build is now shutdown. Thank goodness I have a car. I started driving to school mainly this year due to my late classes.
I support the strike in a way. The standard of living is so high that people need more money. On the other hand, where I work they make $7.00 more than the average employee. I have to do more physical labor, but they have to keep 50 people's lives safe.
Strikes are problematic and any problem always kicks the poor first. I hope this thing ends soon. So if you ride the bus, thank the bus driver. Please break and be courteous to buses. They're more important than you think.
Baseball opened yesterday and so did our RTD bus strike. It's odd how something so unrecognized and unappreciated could create such a mess for Denver. People usually hate being behind buses because of frequent stops. Now they realize how important buses are.
Our buses mainly comprise of downtown workers, school kids, and the poor. It's the cheapest transportation ($1.25) considering downtown parking fees ($5.00-$7.00). Traffic is heavy and most of my school parking lots are full. The light rail which cost millions to build is now shutdown. Thank goodness I have a car. I started driving to school mainly this year due to my late classes.
I support the strike in a way. The standard of living is so high that people need more money. On the other hand, where I work they make $7.00 more than the average employee. I have to do more physical labor, but they have to keep 50 people's lives safe.
Strikes are problematic and any problem always kicks the poor first. I hope this thing ends soon. So if you ride the bus, thank the bus driver. Please break and be courteous to buses. They're more important than you think.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
California Dreamin'
Yay! I'm back from California. I got to visit many things on this trip such as:
CalArts
Frank Gehry's Disney Music Hall
Getty Art Museum
Chinatown
Monterey Park
I'm going to post a better review of the trip with pretty pictures later this week.
I had a great time (my first artsy oriented trip).
But I've decided....CalArts is the school I want to be in. So on this blog I'm going to try something out. Over the course of the summer I'm going to be drawing my butt off. I'll post my sketches here and in the end I'll have I guess a comment poll on which sketch should go into my portfolio and which sketch should be re-worked. I need all the help I can get.
I'm trying to apply for Fall 2007 as a transfer student. In the more likely case that I don't make it in the first time, I still have my drawing degree to finish.
Thanks everybody for your support.
CalArts
Frank Gehry's Disney Music Hall
Getty Art Museum
Chinatown
Monterey Park
I'm going to post a better review of the trip with pretty pictures later this week.
I had a great time (my first artsy oriented trip).
But I've decided....CalArts is the school I want to be in. So on this blog I'm going to try something out. Over the course of the summer I'm going to be drawing my butt off. I'll post my sketches here and in the end I'll have I guess a comment poll on which sketch should go into my portfolio and which sketch should be re-worked. I need all the help I can get.
I'm trying to apply for Fall 2007 as a transfer student. In the more likely case that I don't make it in the first time, I still have my drawing degree to finish.
Thanks everybody for your support.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
CalArts baby!
Hooray! On Sunday I'm flying over to California for a week of pure relaxation....lol not really.
I made an appointment on Monday to go to Calarts and visit their film department :D I'm really excited. It's quite odd when you already decided your dream school without ever being there. Everything will be great until we get to the topic of.....financial aid....and crappy portfolio lol.
Yeah...my portfolio isn't great right now. I still have huge problems with proportion and anatomy. Oy, even my art critique in class pointed this out 0.o
I still am not sure whether to transfer or finish my degree. I will probably figure it out this summer when I cram and make my arms bleed. I have a plan...if I don't improve this summer greatly I will finish my degree.
I shall: take summer drawing classes, get a pass for the zoo, do "master" studies of cartoon stills, draw people until they are annoyed, and break dance :P
And now random stuff that is happening in Colorado currently.
HOV lanes and Tilly
http://9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=fa783fbc-0abe-421a-0004-f1a90731c39c&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf
Poor Tilly at auction lol
http://cgi.ebay.com/TILLIE-THE-DUMMY-HOV-LANE-PASSENGER-TILLY_W0QQitemZ7751812682
And morbid but intriguing Body World: I'm bringing a barf back to this.
http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/home.asp
Oh and before I forget :D
New Avatar: The Last Airbender tomorrow
I'm still debating whether to buy the dvds because I wonder if there will be a season pack someday.
I made an appointment on Monday to go to Calarts and visit their film department :D I'm really excited. It's quite odd when you already decided your dream school without ever being there. Everything will be great until we get to the topic of.....financial aid....and crappy portfolio lol.
Yeah...my portfolio isn't great right now. I still have huge problems with proportion and anatomy. Oy, even my art critique in class pointed this out 0.o
I still am not sure whether to transfer or finish my degree. I will probably figure it out this summer when I cram and make my arms bleed. I have a plan...if I don't improve this summer greatly I will finish my degree.
I shall: take summer drawing classes, get a pass for the zoo, do "master" studies of cartoon stills, draw people until they are annoyed, and break dance :P
And now random stuff that is happening in Colorado currently.
HOV lanes and Tilly
http://9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=fa783fbc-0abe-421a-0004-f1a90731c39c&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf
Poor Tilly at auction lol
http://cgi.ebay.com/TILLIE-THE-DUMMY-HOV-LANE-PASSENGER-TILLY_W0QQitemZ7751812682
And morbid but intriguing Body World: I'm bringing a barf back to this.
http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/home.asp
Oh and before I forget :D
New Avatar: The Last Airbender tomorrow
I'm still debating whether to buy the dvds because I wonder if there will be a season pack someday.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Gendo Senki
I'm enthralled with the production and family disagreements with Studio Ghibli's new film Gendo Senki or Tales from Earthsea. The film is based Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" series. I've looked up summaries of the books (I will read them soon :p) and the movie will focus on "The Farthest Shore." It will have bits and pieces from the other books.
The most interesting part about this movie is that it is directed and storyboarded by Miyazaki's son Goro. Hayao Miyazaki is against his son's directorial debut and they haven't talked since production. At the beginning, I thought it was because he had no previous animation experience (he's actually an architect), but after reading Goro's blog http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/earthsea/blog/ you begin to realize how much he loved the books and how he is careful at every step of the process. He has the whole Ghibli staff helping him. My goodness look at that image...simply beautiful.
Pages 39-41 of his blog reveals his relationship with his father. Goro practically didn't have a father. With animation production consuming Miyazaki, he barely spent time with his family. Goro watched his father's films to discover more about him. This is a problem that happens to a lot of people involved in the industry. I often thought of the sacrifices I will make to pursue my dream and whether it's worth it?
I have full faith that this movie will be a masterpiece. It will definitely be a better adaptation of a book than Howl's Moving Castle. The animation is reminiscent of Nausicaa. I think the movie would have less spectacular action scenes and focus on the teaching and relationships of the characters. The first trailer is available on-line. http://www.catsuka.com/news_detail.php?id=1140663861 Click on the link and keep refreshing until it downloads.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Oscar 2006 Quickie
I was at work and only got to see the last half. Wallace and Gromit and John Canemaker winning was no surprise to me. I wish Corpse Bride could have won something. After watching it a second time, I realized I enjoyed it a lot more than W&G (gasp). I was fortunate enough to see all of the short animated nominees (thanks to Starz Film Center.) My family loved the gothic Jasper Morello while I thought it was a bit slow at the beginning. I did like the Moon and the Son a lot better than last year's winner Ryan, but too long. Alas, my favorite was the one that wasn't nominated Fan and the Flower by Bill Plympton. I swear someday they better give this man an Oscar. Badgered and One Man Band was cute and enjoyable. 9 was okay, but really this shouldn't have been nominated.
hehe everybody in Taiwan cheered when Ang Lee won the Oscar. The whole news the next day was just about him winning. Poor guy. They interviewed his school teachers and they brought in the..... grade book lol. He was an average student while they thought his brother was going to be famous.
Crash winning wasn't too surprising since the day before Ebert predicted Crash would win.
Thank goodness they got rid of presenting the awards in the crowd and bringing them on stage for the minor awards. That was such a bad idea last year. I was also glad the recipients can now see how much time they have for their speech and that they cut off anybody.
hehe everybody in Taiwan cheered when Ang Lee won the Oscar. The whole news the next day was just about him winning. Poor guy. They interviewed his school teachers and they brought in the..... grade book lol. He was an average student while they thought his brother was going to be famous.
Crash winning wasn't too surprising since the day before Ebert predicted Crash would win.
Thank goodness they got rid of presenting the awards in the crowd and bringing them on stage for the minor awards. That was such a bad idea last year. I was also glad the recipients can now see how much time they have for their speech and that they cut off anybody.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Guinea Pig Randomness
Here are some random guinea pig fun that is odd and may cause cuteness seizures:
Nick Jr. has a new show starring a guinea pig. Very annoying singing show, but the guinea pig is quite cute.
http://www.nickjr.com/home/shows/wond_parents/index.jhtml
In the UK, they have created a robot guinea pig that recharges from the remote carrot you give it. It has it's own hut and interacts with other robots. Guspi.....the robot of the future
Sooty the guinea pig who is defined as the pimp of all guinea pigs. Xiao Bao...thankfully hasn't learned his skills yet.
Read more here:
http://usera.imagecave.com/HBThingy/1137373097214.jpg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1048327.stm
And the icing on the cake from "Cute Overload"
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/03/prepare_for_you.html
The cuteness....the cuteness
Nick Jr. has a new show starring a guinea pig. Very annoying singing show, but the guinea pig is quite cute.
http://www.nickjr.com/home/shows/wond_parents/index.jhtml
Sooty the guinea pig who is defined as the pimp of all guinea pigs. Xiao Bao...thankfully hasn't learned his skills yet.
Read more here:
http://usera.imagecave.com/HBThingy/1137373097214.jpg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1048327.stm
And the icing on the cake from "Cute Overload"
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/03/prepare_for_you.html
The cuteness....the cuteness
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Numb
I'm a little distraught this morning, and I have been for the past couple of days. One of the people I admire the most might be very sick. He's currently taking medical examinations to see if he has Lou Gehrig's disease. This is a terrible disease that causes the body to slowly lose all function in movement and soon breathing. The hardest part is the person is completely aware that all of this is happening since intelligence isn't affected. Once diagnosed half of the people die within 2-3 years.
http://www.alsa.org/
I have been pretty numb since I found out that he might have this disease. I thought I could cheer him up by getting him a "don't give up" card, but he was out again today. I'm really worried. He seems to have given up. Before I knew, I never noticed the constant phone calls causing him to leave class or sitting by himself during break times. I thought he was just getting ready for an opening or something or he was absent because of the commute.
I hope to have a follow up post exclaiming all the tests are negative. I really do hope.
http://www.alsa.org/
I have been pretty numb since I found out that he might have this disease. I thought I could cheer him up by getting him a "don't give up" card, but he was out again today. I'm really worried. He seems to have given up. Before I knew, I never noticed the constant phone calls causing him to leave class or sitting by himself during break times. I thought he was just getting ready for an opening or something or he was absent because of the commute.
I hope to have a follow up post exclaiming all the tests are negative. I really do hope.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
2-D animation at Disney?!?
Okay quick post. I hope this is true.
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=22456
This is a dream come true. I might have a job after all lol.
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=22456
This is a dream come true. I might have a job after all lol.
My Valentine
Your little squeaks
And partial smile
Greets me perfectly when I wake
You jump with utter glee
Then you chew on my sleeve
While I just smile at the nibble
Long hours away
Yet you always wait for me
I love you and kiss you everyday
Cuddle and hold you close
You're my manly sassy Xiao Bao
My true valentine
Happy Valentines Day little cream puff!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Sleep Sleep
I've been so busy lately that I think my brain is about to melt.
Finished the rough sketch of Free Comic Book Day thing. It's four pages= $100 :( The sad thing is it's not my best work. The hard part is it's about 30 pages after of what is online right now. I want to get the in-between pages online before Free Comic Book Day. Otherwise people will get an unintentional spoiler. I'm very tempted to trash the whole idea and just create a little skit for the freebie. Well, I have until Monday.....
I'm very tempted to buy the debut pack from this software.
http://www.e-frontier.com/go/mangastudio_hpa
It seems to be great for creating manga, but I'm still thinking of diverging from that style. I really should just stick to traditional materials. I bought some Ph Dr. Martin's ink to try and start learning to paint in the character in oh mighty color. I'll tell you how it turns out.
Yay! During Spring Break, I'm going to California to visit my relatives and finally see CalArts. I'm really nervous because my work is nowhere near their caliber. Plus, the tuition can make babies cry.
Finished the rough sketch of Free Comic Book Day thing. It's four pages= $100 :( The sad thing is it's not my best work. The hard part is it's about 30 pages after of what is online right now. I want to get the in-between pages online before Free Comic Book Day. Otherwise people will get an unintentional spoiler. I'm very tempted to trash the whole idea and just create a little skit for the freebie. Well, I have until Monday.....
I'm very tempted to buy the debut pack from this software.
http://www.e-frontier.com/go/mangastudio_hpa
It seems to be great for creating manga, but I'm still thinking of diverging from that style. I really should just stick to traditional materials. I bought some Ph Dr. Martin's ink to try and start learning to paint in the character in oh mighty color. I'll tell you how it turns out.
Yay! During Spring Break, I'm going to California to visit my relatives and finally see CalArts. I'm really nervous because my work is nowhere near their caliber. Plus, the tuition can make babies cry.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Punxsutawney Phil and more
Well knowing how sometimes little old Phil can get the forecast wrong, I checked out my own little critter.
I woke up and saw Xiao Bao hiding under his gate. Xiao Bao saw his shadow!
which means....as my sister said....
12 more weeks of Xiao Bao (I have no idea what that means lol)
Watched the Asian Excellence Awards on AZN last night. Pretty wacky award show. I mean the honor awards given were quite weird.
"The Remy Martin® X.O Honors were presented for Inspiration to renowned AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, for Visibility for actress Lucy Liu and for Bridge (bridging cultures) to writer/director Quentin Tarantino."
Dr. Ho getting the award for his research is very respectable.....but Tarantino and Lucy Liu? Even Quentin felt terribly embarassed because he didn't save millions of lives lol.
Stephen Chow won for best movie performance and best movie. (Now I know why I thought this year's Oscar noms was missing something...they didn't pick Kung Fu Hustle for best Foreign Film. The atrocity!!!!!)
Linkin Park won for best live performance. Fort Minor did a performance at the show. It was not intentionally hilarious, but when rappers in long jeans and gear play the violin, it's just too bizzarre lol. Pretty fun show for....asians I guess lol. Final thought....Bai Ling is very slutty.
http://www.i-channel.com/axa/
I woke up and saw Xiao Bao hiding under his gate. Xiao Bao saw his shadow!
which means....as my sister said....
12 more weeks of Xiao Bao (I have no idea what that means lol)
Watched the Asian Excellence Awards on AZN last night. Pretty wacky award show. I mean the honor awards given were quite weird.
"The Remy Martin® X.O Honors were presented for Inspiration to renowned AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, for Visibility for actress Lucy Liu and for Bridge (bridging cultures) to writer/director Quentin Tarantino."
Dr. Ho getting the award for his research is very respectable.....but Tarantino and Lucy Liu? Even Quentin felt terribly embarassed because he didn't save millions of lives lol.
Stephen Chow won for best movie performance and best movie. (Now I know why I thought this year's Oscar noms was missing something...they didn't pick Kung Fu Hustle for best Foreign Film. The atrocity!!!!!)
Linkin Park won for best live performance. Fort Minor did a performance at the show. It was not intentionally hilarious, but when rappers in long jeans and gear play the violin, it's just too bizzarre lol. Pretty fun show for....asians I guess lol. Final thought....Bai Ling is very slutty.
http://www.i-channel.com/axa/
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Happy Chinese New Year
I can't draw dogs. He looks like a puddle lol. Have a great New Year....and eat a lot of dumplings :)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Topic of the week:Pixar
If any of you are animation buffs, this week Disney might negotiate with Pixar again....
I have an uneasy feeling about this deal. Sure I'm glad Pixar will finally have a distribution company again, and Toy Story 3 may be stopped...thank god. This might means for sure Miyazaki films will be released in the US.
I'm worried Pixar will lose it's uniqueness. Lasseter might head both CG animation departments (I have no idea how that would work out.) Oh and the possibility Pixar may do 2-D animation is pretty slim.
I can't figure out who is groveling to whom. Disney needs Pixar and vice versa. So there is no way in the next 10 years they're going to open up a 2-D studio again. It's too costly and well they have to figure out the two CG studio problem. Plus, I have a feeling the American public doesn't care about 2-D anymore. They just want high-tech graphics. I only get this feeling because of how the public ignored Iron Giant.
Unless Curious George starts a renaissance of new traditional animated films or someone else does, I doubt 2-D will be back. So John Lasseter and Steve Jobs....the state of animation are in your hands.
Phew, now I feel better about spilling my guts on that topic :p
College has been fine. The reading material is interesting this semester, but it is just too much!
The highlight of my week was my Painting Class with Stefan! He actually showed us his mixing technique. Pretty amazing stuff. The mixture of colors are undefinable but do define a feeling or setting. hehe I feel bad he's telling us most of his secrets since he discovered it for himself.
You can check out his paintings here:
http://robischongallery.com/html/exhibresults.asp?exnum=1269&exname=Stefan+Kleinschuster%3A+New+Paintings&offset=0
He does most of it through palette knife and some brush work. I feel exhilarated to start painting again.
Oh and I have decided to pay the Free Comic Book Day offer. I think I will go for 3 pages. I can't afford any higher lol. It will be a recap/sidestory just so new readers won't get confused. Maybe I'll hide my little guinea in the comic just for good luck lol.
I have an uneasy feeling about this deal. Sure I'm glad Pixar will finally have a distribution company again, and Toy Story 3 may be stopped...thank god. This might means for sure Miyazaki films will be released in the US.
I'm worried Pixar will lose it's uniqueness. Lasseter might head both CG animation departments (I have no idea how that would work out.) Oh and the possibility Pixar may do 2-D animation is pretty slim.
I can't figure out who is groveling to whom. Disney needs Pixar and vice versa. So there is no way in the next 10 years they're going to open up a 2-D studio again. It's too costly and well they have to figure out the two CG studio problem. Plus, I have a feeling the American public doesn't care about 2-D anymore. They just want high-tech graphics. I only get this feeling because of how the public ignored Iron Giant.
Unless Curious George starts a renaissance of new traditional animated films or someone else does, I doubt 2-D will be back. So John Lasseter and Steve Jobs....the state of animation are in your hands.
Phew, now I feel better about spilling my guts on that topic :p
College has been fine. The reading material is interesting this semester, but it is just too much!
The highlight of my week was my Painting Class with Stefan! He actually showed us his mixing technique. Pretty amazing stuff. The mixture of colors are undefinable but do define a feeling or setting. hehe I feel bad he's telling us most of his secrets since he discovered it for himself.
You can check out his paintings here:
http://robischongallery.com/html/exhibresults.asp?exnum=1269&exname=Stefan+Kleinschuster%3A+New+Paintings&offset=0
He does most of it through palette knife and some brush work. I feel exhilarated to start painting again.
Oh and I have decided to pay the Free Comic Book Day offer. I think I will go for 3 pages. I can't afford any higher lol. It will be a recap/sidestory just so new readers won't get confused. Maybe I'll hide my little guinea in the comic just for good luck lol.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Comic pain
Well, it officially happened. Keenspace is finally gone for good, which means my comic domain name has changed. What a pain!
I only found out because a friend e-mailed me about the "author missing" problem on the website. I'll try to get it fixed.
So "DayDream" is officially http://manganese.comicgenesis.com
Longer name lol. I will try to buy a domain name to something smaller.
hehe and I'm thinking about publishing in the Free Comic Book Day anthology from them. It would be nice to see my comic finally published. $25 per full page....so it might just be a special introductory comic...or should I dish out the dough for a short story...roughly 4-8 pages?
Well, finally back at college. I'm taking way too much stuff this time lol.
Intro to Biological Anthropology (Monkeys!)
Art History II (Renaissance-Modern I believe)
Art History III Non-Western art (Really excited about this one)
Intermediate drawing (Probably more still lifes :(
Painting II with Stefan Kleinschuster (This should be interesting)
Everything but painting is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Painting is on Saturday. Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday I work.
Gee look at that list. There is going to be a lot of reading this semester.
I only found out because a friend e-mailed me about the "author missing" problem on the website. I'll try to get it fixed.
So "DayDream" is officially http://manganese.comicgenesis.com
Longer name lol. I will try to buy a domain name to something smaller.
hehe and I'm thinking about publishing in the Free Comic Book Day anthology from them. It would be nice to see my comic finally published. $25 per full page....so it might just be a special introductory comic...or should I dish out the dough for a short story...roughly 4-8 pages?
Well, finally back at college. I'm taking way too much stuff this time lol.
Intro to Biological Anthropology (Monkeys!)
Art History II (Renaissance-Modern I believe)
Art History III Non-Western art (Really excited about this one)
Intermediate drawing (Probably more still lifes :(
Painting II with Stefan Kleinschuster (This should be interesting)
Everything but painting is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Painting is on Saturday. Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday I work.
Gee look at that list. There is going to be a lot of reading this semester.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Ughhhh.....
2006 is not starting out good. Panic attack and a cold just sucks. Figures, it is still the year of the Rooster.
So I'm going to just start talking for no reason lol.
Cartoon Network is really becoming a let down. I thought Genndy was crazy for leaving, but he jumped ship before it exploded.
Anime fans are so fickle. I think Turner Classic Movies is doing a superb job in presenting the Miyazaki and Takahata movies. They're showing it in English and Japanese. What more can you ask? They are even showing "Only Yesterday" and "Whisper of the Heart" which isn't available on dvd yet. Also TCM isn't straying from their roots...they still show great cinema.
Bill Plympton is just too cool.
I finally saw Narnia, and I thought it was better than the book. It gave more depth and that turkish delight looked tasty.
Why can't I finish Prince of Persia 2? Gah!
I'm having a creative slump with my comic. I have pages done, but it doesn't look right to me. I feel like I'm trying to rush the story just to get to the important part. So it might be a while before another comic comes up.
Back to college on Tuesday and I'm tired already lol.
So I'm going to just start talking for no reason lol.
Cartoon Network is really becoming a let down. I thought Genndy was crazy for leaving, but he jumped ship before it exploded.
Anime fans are so fickle. I think Turner Classic Movies is doing a superb job in presenting the Miyazaki and Takahata movies. They're showing it in English and Japanese. What more can you ask? They are even showing "Only Yesterday" and "Whisper of the Heart" which isn't available on dvd yet. Also TCM isn't straying from their roots...they still show great cinema.
Bill Plympton is just too cool.
I finally saw Narnia, and I thought it was better than the book. It gave more depth and that turkish delight looked tasty.
Why can't I finish Prince of Persia 2? Gah!
I'm having a creative slump with my comic. I have pages done, but it doesn't look right to me. I feel like I'm trying to rush the story just to get to the important part. So it might be a while before another comic comes up.
Back to college on Tuesday and I'm tired already lol.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Xiao Bao dandelion!
Here's a special drawing as an apology for the late comic. Plus, I just really wanted to draw him with his new favorite food, dandelion!
I mentioned under the updated comic that I was thinking about making a comic set in Ancient China. For now, I'm going to start researching references such as clothing, buildings, and events at that time. I really want to make this one special. The only character I finalized is a "Desperado" type character that slings a guzheng instead of a guitar to hide his weapon....so it won't be historically correct, but a guy having that huge instrument on his back is hilarious.
Guzheng
On a side note: Holy Shit! I'm on Squidworks website!. I'm actually a creator! :D
Sunday, January 01, 2006
2006 or is it?
Sorry for the comic lateness. My work has been keeping me away. A new comic probably won't be up until Tuesday.
Happy New Year! However... if you want to be in the "in-crowd" it is not even 2006.
January 29, 2006 is the Chinese year 4704. This year is the Year of the Dog. Predicted to be a better year than the rooster, thankfully. A symbol of rebirth and destruction =Xiao Bao being born :D and Katrina :(
So around Jan. 29 go see if you can see the Lion Dance at a local festival.
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html
Happy New Year! However... if you want to be in the "in-crowd" it is not even 2006.
January 29, 2006 is the Chinese year 4704. This year is the Year of the Dog. Predicted to be a better year than the rooster, thankfully. A symbol of rebirth and destruction =Xiao Bao being born :D and Katrina :(
So around Jan. 29 go see if you can see the Lion Dance at a local festival.
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html
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