Building the Cheers office: Part Two!

Test fitting the bar was a hoot! On a VERY warm Southern California day, I set aside the normal build day I might do for a "couple's hang out day" and a leisurely test fit of the bar on my VERY uneven backyard asphalt.
Now as I said in the first installment of this silly saga, the bar was designed to be modular and fit snugly around a raised, two-piece platform which would also serve to lock the post beams in place. The beams support the lightweight glass rail above and feature six beautiful track lighting fixtures that after an exhaustive search, are the closest, present-day equivalent to the ones they had in the show!

http://www.lightinguniverse.com/products/view.aspx?sku=270949&cid=t885

Here's a shot of it at night! Using low-key forty watt bulbs!

After a successful proof of concept, I was ready to move everything into the office! There was just one thing holding me up! The floor! Now with the floor, it  took me even longer to find a close match than the lighting fixtures did but I was finally able to find a very close match in some Armstrong cushion step, (who's stock number escapes me at the moment), and as luck would have it, my 12x14 foot piece came in right before a long weekend. Leaving me the perfect window to come in and set up the space like it was Christmas!

Here we see, (after trimming two feet off of the twelve), the floor in all it's reddish-tinged glory as I fine tune the fit over the carpet!

And the platform is in! With my Swain's desk in place and all my computer stuff back up and in place! I know it look like I don't have a lot of room but I really don't go far. Besides, I have the drop-down to keep me from sliding too far back, (in theory. Assuming I don't go for a tumble one day).

Reverse shot. You can see the fake paneling next to the door that will lock in the partition to come later.

With the platform in place, the bar goes around it like legos. The bar bodies sliding into the bases and the bar-tops sliding into the bodies and all working together to hold the posts in place. At the end of the day, the bar is all dialed in, posts in place and glass rails waiting to be mounted.

But MAN, was I tired! So off home I went, working over in my brain what I could get done the next day!

More to come!

Building the Cheers office: Part one!

It was a show about a "nice little neighborhood bar" that SET the bar for ensemble character comedy and has has every show that came after it trying to beat it at it's own game.
For me it was a point of pride that I was from the town where Cheers took place and when I first moved out here to LA it was my go-to show for an instant remedy for homesickness.
So last year when I found myself, for the first time in ten years, at a new job, in a new place, where I didn't know a lot of people, I was feeling a little,...well, a little unsure.
Like doing a tightrope walk without a net. But fortunately, the people I work for are all about embracing creativity and love to nurture the crazy creative streak.so when we were told, (inspired by some of the elaborate environments the creatives at Pixar transformed for their workspaces), that we were free to transform our offices in a similar fashion I thought,...."AH! Now THERE'S something that'll make me feel at home! I'll create a nest!"
I immediately thought a mini-pub would be a hoot of an idea To transform the office into a convivial outpost of warm conversation and laughs simply for the sake of creating an extraordinary environment. A second later I thought,..."NO! Wait!......Cheers."
Now for those that know, I love replicas and movie props of every kind and I've always pipe-dreamed about having a big ol' cellar someday that I could transform into a brick-by-brick perfect replica of the Cheers set because,....well, because why wouldn't I? :-)
So I thought,....that's it,....it'll be a little proof of concept! So I asked "Can I turn my office into Cheers?" Which turned several heads and raised several eyebrows and smirks. But good on em' for entertaining my crazy. So I went away and started researching. I dug out my old research photos and started researching things like flooring and light fixtures and bar stools and photographs.
In fact I spent SO much time on research I think people forgot I ever said i was gonna do this but as the pieces came together, the test builds began!

Here we see a rough test fit of the initial bar. The office was roughly 10x14 feet with a 9ft.ceiling so I designed the bar to sit in the rear left corner of the room.

My desk would sit on a raised platform, (so those on the stools and I would all roughly be at eye level), behind the bar and the posts would support a small lightweight glass rail above.

Here we see the gorgeous brass I ordered. Here in So-Cal we're lucky enough to have enough of the movie industry that you can get just about anything, especially for set design so when I found out that one of the metal places I go to out here has "bar parts" I made a beeline for it.

And finally, after a year of planning, I was able to test-fit the bar on one very hot summer night!

More to come in part two!

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

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!

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!

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!

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...

...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.