The Amazing Colossal Movie Art Blog

Huge-Ass cartoon crowd shot! Engagement photo take TWO!

2011-05-09T23:30:00.001-07:00

Well,.....THIS one took me a while! :p

And I still don't think I'm quite done tweaking it but I think if I don't abandon this piece right now so my poor fiance' can finish getting our "save-the-date" cards printed up she may end up a widow before we even reach the altar. ;)

In other words,....she'll wring my neck.

But I figured we're only doing this once so why not do it with some style,......and style takes time. One cannot rush style,.....one must obey it. ;)

So in the continuing trend of our Who Framed Roger Rabbit inspired engagement photos comes,.....THE BIG ONE.

The Grand Central Station, (if you'll pardon the pun), of cartoon crowds for this series.

There's a whole frame load of about thirty or so characters who at any given point in time, occupy a special place in my heart. It's late so I'm not gonna enumerate the crowd just yet but while I may not have a prize to give, you will have my eternal respect if you can pick out some of the more obscure-er ones.
There's a few of them,.....and I still ran out of room for the penguin who cries ice cubes. ;)

Oh well,....we'll get him in the next one. ;)

The Engagement Photo! FIRST ONE!

2011-03-30T01:21:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with my fiancé at Disneyland.

No joke. It was completely and totally unexpected but for two animation nerds, there couldn’t have been a more perfect first date.

It was in line for the Finding Nemo ride. By the time the ride was over, I realized she was the one. My heart knew before my head and my poor head’s been racing to catch up ever since.

You see, I must make a confession that perhaps only the closest to me may have ever suspected but no one ever really knew and that’s that I had given up. I’d given up on things like fairy tales and true love and magic,….all the things , ironically enough, that led me into my career of choice,…..animation.

As I hit thirty-seven with Forty rearing it’s ugly head, a kind of fateful pragmatism settled upon me. A sort of reverse midlife crisis where instead of breaking away from life, I was convinced that I’d missed it somehow. True love wasn’t always true and wasn’t always love. The type of happiness so lavishly rendered in the animated movies I loved was just "Hollywood Magic"and as I was getting ready to settle into, as Henry Higgins may have put it, “Confirmed old bachelorhood!” and trying to figure out exactly how I was feeling about my dubious new role, I turned around,….and there she was.

When I realized Kelly was the one I wanted to first shout “YAY!” and then ask, “Where the Hell have you been and couldn’t you have stopped to ask directions?” Truthfully, I could have been the one who was late but it’s funnier the other way ;)

So there we were, at the Magic Kingdom, with a jaded former dreamer who didn’t believe in wishing on stars contradicting himself by saying…”we’re both animation nerds so I guess we SHOULD go.”

So we went.

And it was the most perfect date ever. The weather was perfect, the crowds were thin, the lines were short! It was easy, it was effortless, I was more myself than I’d ever felt with anyone. It was just so,….different.

It just fit.

While waiting for Space Mountain to open up, we wandered into The House of Tomorrow, and shortly after that into the living room of tomorrow where a gigantic widescreen TV was playing the restored print of our favorite Disney film of all time,…Sleeping Beauty.

I’d never seen the film so big and beautiful! Every frame a work of art! Kelly and I had the place to ourselves. We settled in on the big leather couch and began to try to one up each other on the films trivia and animation knowledge in general. By the time we were done, we had drawn a crowd, including a few cast members who left there that day a little better informed about the medium that built the park they work in.

Continuing our tour of cloud nine “Disney-style”, we walked right into the Blue Bayou restaurant, without a reservation mind you, for a late dinner,…watching fireflies dance over the heads of the people in the boats,…sailing off to rougher waters and perhaps a glimpse of a pirate or two, (“dead men tell no tales!”).

We ended the night holding hands roaming the back alleys of Roger Rabbit’s Toontown wishing the real world was a lot more Toony and a lot less gloomy. After the lazy train ride back, we caught the fireworks from the parking lot before driving home as I realized that the Magic Kingdom had given me back my magic.

I couldn't have been more surprised,...or delighted.

When Kelly suggested we have our engagement photos taken in LA’s Union Station and in forties period costume, I knew I was marrying the right girl. We arrived with antique suitcases in hand and once we got a good look at ourselves I said, “My God, we look like we stepped out of Who Framed Roger Rabbit!”

We both smiled,….both thinking the same thing at the same time. So there were a few photos we selected for,…alterations.

Not sure how many I’m gonna do but this first one was our proof of concept and it’s a doozie.

When I proposed to Kelly, I told her I wanted to build her a fairy tale one dream at a time. I’m starting with these photos, because I am sensible of how rare it is. What we have together.

As rare as true magic, or fairy dust,….or wishing upon a star.

If you sat through this whole story,…I appreciate you taking the time, and I wish the happiness I’ve been blessed enough to experience upon you a thousand fold, and if you just came to look at the picture,…well , same to you lazy bastards.

I kid because I love.

But seriously, you are a little lazy. ;)

MORE LOONINESS TO COME!

Note: The amazing photography you see in these pics is courtesy of the killer husband and wife team at Callaway/Gable.

Check their stuff out here! http://www.callawaygable.com/

Engagement Photo Progress!

2011-02-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

Like anyone but a handful of people even care! LOL!

But SOME do so,.....on I go! ;)

To tell you the truth,....this engagement photo retouching is the only thing Amazing, Colossal, movie or art related I have right now! Busy year and it's not even mid-February yet!

Besides, the whole purpose of this blog is to keep the artistic gears lubed by drawing animation style stuff from my favorite cartoons and films, right?

No better candidate for that than good ol' Roger Rabbit! Besides,....I love drawing these characters. It's good for my tiny fun-starved soul! :p

Now originally it was just supposed to be Roger, Kelly and I in one or two shots,.....but now, as most projects I seem to take on, it is growing beyond my control.

Jessica,(seen above in this test shot), is now appearing in some of the shots as well as Baby Herman,......later on you may see the likes of Benny the Cab, certain Bunnies and Mice,.....a few penguins perhaps and possibly a rogue flying elephant,.....

Can't help it! Sometimes our art grows beyond even the confines of our minds.

Stay tuned for more "loony selections for a bunch of drunken reprobates", as ol' Judge Doom would say.

The Engagement photo shoot story!

2011-01-20T10:16:00.001-08:00

So,...

As I understand it,....once a male, (surprisingly even this one), is able to secure a mate, (or in my case stumble accidentally into one), you get married, build a life and, God willing, live happily ever after.
But before one gets married, one must get engaged and apparently along with said engagement, (along with the notoriously expensive ring that's supposed to cost you three months salary according to retailers), comes PHOTOS!
Well, fortunately for me, I'm marrying a woman who is, (and even I cannot believe this), even more of a cartoon and animation nerd than me. She also loves vintage, and she loves to play dress up so when she suggested we get our engagement photos done in downtown LA at the beautiful and historic, (built in 1939), Union Station, I was like,...."Uh,.....okay." ;)
Union station looks like something out of a 1930's Superman serial. It's like walking into another time. Everything Deco and streamline and just astonishing to the eye. One of the few remaining examples of the old Los Angeles. The LA I mourn never having known.
So when we walked into the joint dressed like something out of LA Confidential and dragging vintage luggage and steamer trunk, you can imagine the looks we got.
Now, because I'M a nerd as well, I start to notice, over the course of the shoot, that we bear a striking resemblance to one of our favorite films and I may or may not look like a young, (youngER?), Eddie Valliant.
So every so often, I notice that both Kelly and I are leaving "space" between us in some of the shots. Perhaps an empty chair here,.....some room between us there,..."Space for what?" we may have thought, (as if we weren't onto eachother's game already), while the photographers clicked away. ;)
So with my crappy cell-phone camera photos as a base plate, I did a few "test-shots" just as a proof of concept.
I showed em' to Kelly who immediately authorized me to do more.

...........I think I'm marrying the right girl! LOL!

Now, just so you know,....we're not complete morons. The album and the majority of the photos we have will NOT have animated cartoon characters cavorting through them. They're gonna be straight, (albeit thematic), photos,.....

But there's a few shots,......just a few that scream for,....."additional material". :p

Judge our nerdiness not too harshly, my friends. You know this madness is somewhere in you! I say embrace it.

I shall lead by example,....

Here we see a behind the scenes shot as Kelly "strikes a pose in vintage clothes", just after an enthusiastic friend wandered into the shot.

That is, most definitely NOT all, folks,....

Stay tooned for more,......Looniness.

And that about uses up my bad pun quota for 2011. ;)

......The train to Toontown is boarding! God forgive me,.....Hop on! ;)

The only TRULY scary thing about this Halloween...

2010-10-18T13:42:00.001-07:00

...Is my schedule.

It seems to happen every year now that I'm older! There just aren't enough hours in the day and when it comes to my favorite month containing my favorite-est holiday of all time I'm especially bummed because I've got no time to draw and decorate! :(
Now I had a whole slew of illustrations planned for this month. I even briefly entertained the notion of doing a "drawing a day" for the month.
Then I thought I'd do one per week,....showcasing my favorite Halloween movies like Ghostbusters, Nightmare on Elm street, Gremlins, The Addams Family, etc.
But now I'll be lucky to get ONE done so here's a sneak peek at Bette Midler as Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson from the VERY under-rated popcorn Halloween flick Hocus Pocus.

More to come. Maybe I'll even get this thing finished by NEXT Halloween. ;)

Venky.

Tis' the season,...

2010-09-20T14:19:00.001-07:00

Well if the department stores can get into the Halloween spirit early, (Hell, I saw Christmas trees up at Lowes yesterday!), so can I!
My favorite religious holiday is fast approaching so to kick off the Halloween 10' season, I revert back to my "go-to" source material,....Ghostbusters!
Here's a little family portrait featuring an uncharacteristically tolerant Peter Venkman and "Slimer", (known to we purists as "Onionhead").
More to come as the 31st races toward us!

:)

It's a jungle out there!

2010-09-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

So as promised, (like I really believe any of you were running to the computer saying, "Oh God! When will the next blog post be up? He promised!"), here are some storyboard selects from Disney's The Legend of Tarzan!
I think,...and don't quote me on this,...I think this was from the pilot episode as the camera pulls back from Kala to reveal the rest of the apes. As the family watches, you eventually see Tarzan tree-surf his butt past the group doing his Tarzan thing.
I really, really enjoyed drawing the apes. I loved their varying designs but I still lament that they killed off Kerchack in the film. I mean, it makes sense and it's a great story beat but MAN would I loved to have drawn him! :)
Click on the pic for a bigger image!
More to come later!

A blast from the past,....or perhaps from BEYOND.

2010-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Like that joke? See what I did there? That's called being ironic. Now I am in my late thirties, (ugh), and I am of the classification of human male and that means I will exhibit a few behavioral constants while functioning as said male unit.
A few of these include an unhealthy obsession with The Godfather, secretly wanting to be as insane as the cast of Jackass, uncontrolled childish giggles at certain trigger words, (like "poop" and "boobs"), and last but not least, a deep appreciation for Batman.
Nuff' said!
Now I know it's fashionable for others of my kind, (ie: animation/storyboard artists), to participate in the backlash against this Warner House style but I have no problem admitting my absolute adoration of the original Batman: The animated series, ( as well as Superman that came later, and was, to ME a continuation of Donner's characters from the 1978 film).
I don't think there's many of my gender that would disagree that Bruce Timm and his crew, both in look and content, elevated that show to the pinnacle of those characters in their finest form, and hit the industry with a stylistic equivalent of an Atom bomb that, even today, is still spawning imitators and wannabes.
Show's like On leather wings, Clayface: part 2 and Two Face: part 2 and a host of others, blew my mind, ( and Hamill,...GOD Hamill as the Joker!), so much so that if someone came along and told me that if I bludgeoned a kitten by hitting it with a puppy that I would be able to board on the show I would have had to stop and think about it for a second.
Now eventually I DID make it out here and through the simple ebb and flow of the industry I became friends with a LOT of the amazing artists that worked on the original show. So when I got the opportunity to do a freelance board on Batman Beyond I dove at the chance.
Honestly, I wasn't that into Beyond. I watched it peripherally because I loved the original but it was kinda like watching Bewitched with "the other Darren",....it was kinda the same,...but not, (although their Return of the Joker special is an absolute masterpiece).
I wanna say I did this board for Dan Riba, who I remember being a sweetheart of a guy, and I must admit, (somewhat shamefully), that don't remember the name of the episode but I sure as Hell remember the FUN I had DOING it.
I was honored to have been afforded the ever so tiniest of places in the mountain of talent that birthed this whole craze and I think it shows in the work.
Interesting post script to this little story. A short while after I finished this freelance, I was in the comic store with my buddy who recommended me for the gig and Bruce Timm came in. My buddy introduced me as the guy who did the board and to my complete surprise, he commented on having really liked it and that I had done a good job. He left and my buddy turned to me and said, "He hardly ever does that."
I dunno if he was pulling my leg or not but I certainly appreciated the kind words. It was a little cherry on top of the sundae. A nod from the Godfather of Gotham. See that? It always comes back to The Godfather and y'know why?

Cuz I'm a guy. ;)

Thanks fer' lookin'.

Oh he's the king of the swingers! The jungle VIP!

2010-09-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

As much as King Louie would love to claim that title I think it has to go to his Disney cousin, Tarzan here.
The feature had, in my opinion, the greatest animation seen in a Disney film since the jungle book, (Kerchack, oh how your performance haunts me), and the most awesome Disney heroine, (Jane, not Terk), I think ever, ("And Daddy! he took my BOOT!").
So when I had the good fortune to end up working on The Legend of Tarzan at Disney television, I dove at the chance.
Now as a crew, we knew we were gonna be limited to what we could do but we still pushed the envelope as much as a television budget would allow, up to and including some innovative digital techniques for casting a variety of canopy shadows on the characters.
There were a lot of tiny cheats afforded us by digital technology that would not have been possible ten years ago and for this reason, I think Tarzan stands out in the Disney stable as far as it's most ambitious feature-based series.
The image above, while not from the series itself, was done while I was on it. I loved drawing the characters and I think Jane and Tantor were my stand out favorites.
I was also fortunate enough to direct, (sort of), two episodes of the series.
Tarzan and One-punch Mullargan and Tarzan and the Rogue Elephant.
I never saw either of them when they aired and I think I went onto House of Mouse before the shows even came back for post but thanks to the magic of the internets,.....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPvvEqo3MCs
Though I must admit, when I saw my name as directed by I shrieked like a tiny child.
I was a small part, but I got to be a part! :)
Storyboards from Tarzan and the Rogue Elephant to come,........for no other reason than I went to the trouble to scan em' in so they're gonna go up somewhere! :)

Have a great weekend everybody!

Son of man look to the sky!

2010-09-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

My last post said something akin to "where did the time go?" and all I can do is echo that times a thousand. My original intent with this blog was an exploration of my favorite films through the medium of what can only be described as "animation art".

So while this may be the ever-so-slightest of deviations from that theme,...I recently found, (in the great reorganization of 2010), a LOT,...and when I say a LOT I mean a LOT,...of storyboards from my approximately six years of employment at Disney television animation and direct to video.

Now while I was there, I worked on damn near everything that came through there at one point or another. From The Mighty Ducks, to 101 Dalmatians: the Series, Mouseworks, House of mouse, Mulan II, The legend of Tarzan, and on, and on, and on,....so in cataloging everything, (and for the sake of putting something up till I can find a spare second to do some new material), I'll be putting up some selects you fellow animation nerds may find interesting.

Starting with Tarzan, because he's the man and while the show itself had hit and miss for animation., the pre-production and storyboards were the bee's knees, (as they say).

Stay tuned for more!

Where does the time go?

2010-03-08T17:56:00.001-08:00

Well where oh where have the first few months of 2010 gone? Incidentally, for you anime fans out there, this is supposed to be the year the Macross lands if you believe in Robotech mythos, LOL!
I, myself, will be sitting somewhere in the South Pacific on a yacht watching intently through my binoculars with baited breath, but I digress.
I finally checked back with this dusty blog and was surprised to see some comments on the good Doctor Jones piece as well as a few requests for color.
I thought, "well, it's not anywhere NEAR to being done but why not oblige and show the process, "warts and all".
This is a color sketch and nothing more. The background color is a tonal placeholder so the other colors have something to play off of, albeit temporarily.
It's only a portion of the bigger piece but here it is in lieu of a finished illustration!
Back at work after a long, "at home" vacation so now I will be able to work back in on this Indy piece and finish it before the next film comes out,....which should rightly be titled Indiana Jones 5,...the apology. ;)
Happy 2010 everybody! More drawings to do!

And without further adieu,...

Step two!

Dare I?

2010-01-11T17:31:00.001-08:00

This one's giving me the shakes a little bit.

I mean,....there are few movies in the world of geek-dom that inspire such reverence as the original Raiders of the Lost Ark. Something tells me there's no middle ground on this one. You either capture it or you don't.

But if I put it up HERE then I HAVE to finish it because the sketch bears witness to the drawing to come and so I guess I'm gonna do Indy,...scars and all,....and perhaps I won't make too poor a showing for the old boy.

I was pleased enough with the initial sketch that I didn't throw myself off of a cliff like a screaming Nazi in a jeep but this one's got me on edge.

If I'm able to pull this one off then I'll HAVE to do one with Marion,....("I always knew one day you'd come walking back through my door", springs immediately to mind),...and trying to translate Karen Allen to an animation design and still retain her Karen Allen-ness is gonna rob me of sleep! LOL!

Wish me luck, readers! Some Indy-style, not-dying-in-a-hail-of-angry-Bible-ghosts kind of luck!

I think I'm gonna need it. :p

Venky

A very,(belated),Christmas Story!

2010-01-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

Awright, so I'm late!....

I feel bad. I really do, (not that any of you are gonna fall down crying because I didn't make the Christmas Illustration on time), but it's year-one of this silly experiment known as my art blog so I'm still working out the kinks!

Merry Christmas everybody! Several weeks late but now that I am back in town and finally have access to all mah drawin' things, I was able to finish this little tribute to one of my favorite Christmas films of all time!

A Christmas Story. Based off of Jean Shepherd's charming little story In God we trust, all others must pay cash and directed by the saintly, (rest his soul), Bob Clark.

You know the scene! Randy jams his little face into his food with Melinda Dillon coaxing him on with her infectious laughter as the rest of the family looks on in horror.

It took forever to get the feel of the Parker's kitchen right and while I cannot say I am 100% pleased with it, (though I think my learning curve is getting shallower), I felt okay with abandoning, (works of art are never finished), it at this point.

So here is "Mommy's little Piggy!" until next Christmas when, I assure you my dear blog readers, I WILL have an illo done on time. ;)

Stay tuned for a peek at a certain whip-cracking archaeologist as well as a new bunch of studies that I think I will call, The Amity Series.

No,....not the house in Long Island but rather an island that is long.

"Amity, as you know,...means friendship."

Venky

...Tis' the season!

2009-12-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

Greetings fellow blog-lookers!

A few things,....

First, a big thank you to all who participated in the Hey You Guys charity auction. Those of you that showed interest helped make it, from what I understand, the most successful one they've ever done and I am personally speechless at the response to the Ghostbusters piece. I cannot thank you folks enough.

Second,... It's been a busy end of the year but I am working feverishly before my sabbatical to do my first annual Christmas illustration!

It's entitled, "Momma's Little Piggy" and for all you fellow nerds out there,.....I'm sure that's clue enough. If not,.....perhaps I will go sketch the rest of this piece by the light of my leg lamp,...which, as we all know,...is a major award!

Ghostbusters!

2009-11-20T16:02:00.001-08:00

That's right, Movie lovers!

Took me a while but I finished the illustration for the Hey You Guys charity event my buddy Josh is participating in!

http://www.heyyouguyscharity.com/

I believe the piece will go up into an art auction and while I dunno if this image will actually get sold off, it was a blast to participate in the process and a great reason to dip my feet into the GB pool, get the old motor revved up and do a bunch more illustrations of the boys in grey cause God knows, there are enough moments in that film worth drawing to keep me going till kingdom come! ;)

This series is still "evolving" stylistically and I'll be working out the kinks as I go along.

Hope you all enjoy! Thanks for looking!

Venky

More sneak peeks!

2009-11-10T21:03:00.000-08:00

Did a little more work on the illustration today. It's actually for my buddy Josh's charity art auction in December! I dunno if the piece will sell but I'm gonna do my level best to produce a nice piece of movie-related nostalgia, which, as luck would have it,...happens to be the theme of the auction this year.

They're also gonna have a screening of a little film called Ghostbusters, which I've heard of,...

I think I'm in the ballpark with this one. ;)

More to come as I slowly progress on this!

Lunch times and late-nights! ;)

Venky.

A little tease,...

2009-11-09T19:12:00.001-08:00

I was happy enough at a first pass of this scene to put up a little WIP,...(that's work in progress, for the uninitiated).

Now, I'm sure it aint' gonna take a rocket scientist to guess what I'm working on but for those who may not be as rabid film-geeks as the miscreants in the circle I travel in, I'll give you a little hint,...

"Well,..Most of the original staff knows about the twelfth floor,...the disturbances, I mean!"

That's all you're gonna get but most of the folks I know who'll be seeing this guessed it before they read a single word! LOL!

I've been meaning to do these drawings for years.

I'm completely psyched that I'm finally starting! LOL!

This one may take a while but I promise, it'll be worth the wait! ;)

Venky

For my fellow finheads!

2009-11-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

I apologize to those of you who may have seen this image a kajillion times but now that I have an "official" place for my movie/toon related junk this is where it's gonna live!

Besides, though this image has made an appearance on a few boards nobody has seen the high-res version of it, (click-a-the-pic!)

I waffled on posting this one for a few reasons,...first, it's old! LOL! Old as dirt. I did this thing a thousand years ago when I still drew on paper! (been all-digital for six years now).

Second,...it's not a great drawing but I think it's a case of the whole being bigger than the sum of it's parts kind of thing.

This of course, is the movie version of the Rocketeer with the graphic novel version of "Jenny" aka "Betty" which was NOT supposed to be Jennifer Connelly but rather, (and to you finheads I know you already know this one), cult pinup queen Bettie Page.

Stay tuned for more scenes from this amazing, brilliant film inspired by the work of the late, (rip, sir), VERY great Dave Stevens.

I know Disney dicked you over on the film and wouldn't release the rights back to you but screw em, man. You'll still get the last laugh.

Oh! And incidentally,.....finhead is the term Rocketeer aficionados refer to themselves as.

Take a peep at the helmet and it all makes sense! ;)

Hood ornaments,....they all look like hood ornaments. Fear not, fellas! The new illustrations will put this here lil' fella to shame! ;)

More to come!

Venky

2009-11-07T19:21:00.001-08:00

We all know the scene! George McFly frantically tracks down Marty, (who is struggling with ancient bottle-cap technology), and begs him for help in winning the hand of the fair Lorraine! This was actually the second illustration, (yes, I'm aware I am hopping around chronologically! ;p), I did when I started the BTTF series.

This was an exercise focusing primarily on static and background elements like the Pepsi Machine and the vintage Texaco pump, building them up from a series of color shapes to simulate form.

(click on the pic for super close-up action!)

I was particularly pleased with the idealized Pleasantville/Toontown quality of the Hill Valley town square, right down to the, (rather exaggerated), puffy clouds that are about as rare as hen's teeth here in Southern California.

Boy, did Zemeckis and his crew luck out THAT day when they were filming! :)

You wouldn't believe how many George's I went through just to get to this one that I am only still partially happy with! I figured that because Crispin Glover had such amazingly severe sculpted features that he would be easy to caricature but it couldn't have been further from the truth! LOL! Crispin made me work for it!

On a related and serendipitous note, (serendipity is very big in my world), a few weeks after I did this piece I was up in Pasa Robles attending a friend's wedding and found this in an amazing antiques store up there!

A perfectly restored Texaco pump exactly like the one in the film. Hell, from it's condition I wouldn't be surprised if it was the one from the film. If I had a spare $3,500 it would be in front of my garage right now! LOL!

More to come! ;)

Venkman71

Welcome, film-lovers

2009-11-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well hello there everyone and welcome to THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MOVIE ART BLOG!

If you're here it's not by accident! I have either sent the address to you directly or I've lured you here by baiting a link somewhere else! ;)

Regardless of the delivery method, it is excellent to have you here to witness the genesis of my little,.....exercise? Experiment? Perhaps it's a little bit of both!

"What the heck is this?" You may be asking yourself and it's a fair question. This is the end result of something that started out as an artistic exercise and grew into a tiny movement but the concept behind it is simple enough.

What if some of the greatest films of all time had been ANIMATED rather than LIVE ACTION?

And I mean from Citizen Kane all the way up to Oh Brother Where Art Thou and everything inbetween. The reason behind this seemingly useless exercise is simply an attempt in artistic growth.

In my chosen career, (very blessed), as an artist, (storyboard/writing), historically, I have been given all the material I need to do my job before I even start drawing!

I'd get prop model sheets, backgrounds, color sketches, character designs, you name it, before I ever put pencil to paper! Now after fifteen years of this I felt,....rusty.

Artistically fat and lazy is what I felt and I thought if I am ever going to produce/write/draw my own material, (books, graphic novels, prints), I needed to get off my duff and learn how to do all the stuff that I was getting handed to me.

I needed to know how to replicate textures, create lighting effects, blend and contrast color palletes, draw backgrounds, cars, props, characters, buildings, cities!......I thought,..."This is sounding a LOT like work."

Now I KNOW me and if it was already starting to feel like homework and I REALLY needed to see this one through so I started searching for a pastry to wrap this pill in!

Enter the film angle! Now I am a maniac when it comes to movies. I love damn near all of em' and even some of the horrendous ones, (That's right, Showgirls, I'm lookin' at you), and I thought,...well I don't feel like drawing just a boring old city but what if it was KONG on the Empire State? What if it wasn't some boring old textbook town square but Hill Valley in 1955? What if it wasn't simply a dark room but Vito Corleone's study?

What would animated versions of these characters look like? Quint from Jaws? George Bailey? The "Dude"? Ralphie Parker?

What about The Ghostbusters Firehouse or Delta House or even Marion Ravenwood's tavern in the freezing mountains of Nepal?.....The Freeling's house from Poltergeist?

NOW I was INTERSTED! The great films of our age are the best teachers of composition, staging, lighting and the purveyors of all manner of lush visual concotions that create moving paintings on canvases of light.

Now THAT is something I wouldn't have a problem staying interested in but where to start?

So I went deep into my childhood well, (those that know me know I didn't have to go TOO deep), and I picked a film that is very close to my heart and very big in my head. A film that first gave me a taste of that same intangible magic that I've been trying to find my own version of ever since.

It needs no introduction, it has no rivals and you'll be seeing a great many more pieces inspired by this film in,.....the future. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon!

Venkman71

Testing,...Testing!

2009-11-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

Testing out fonts-n-pics-n-links-n-stuff!

MEEF! MEEF! MEEF!

http://www.offto55.com/

Testing the layout,.....out.