11 Second Club: May 2012 Submission

Unfortunately I did not finish this month's animation like I planned. I am glad to see my own progression at least. I guess this concept was too complicated as well. Perhaps I need to simplify things even more. Considering I am working with flash, that should be rather easy, hopefully.

Sketch for Title: Part 3

Here is another sketch that will become part of the title sequence for my redo of the Zheph Skyre webcomic. In this sketch I have Jahovac and Jaques. As you can see, both characters have had a few little details changed about them. I sketched some real life armor to make a more convincing look to them. I was hoping that these changes would make more sense constructively.

I also have the head of an important monster in this story within this sketch.

Toonami Returns

(This image is from http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/adult-swims-toonami-releases-new-lineup/)

I had heard that Toonami, the Anime section of Cartoon Network, has been brought via requests by the nostalgic fans. I know I grew up with some Toonami. It introduced me to Ruroni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, Zoids, and numerous other cartoon shows both American and Japanese that were awesome. This time around, Toonami is on Saturday nights instead of weekdays. I think this is much better, because after school on weekdays Toonami could only show shows after they had been censored for a younger audience. Now they are only censored to a degree where adults can view it with blood and some foul language. Honestly, it helps most of the themes of Anime shows out there not to be censored.

I know Bleach is still being shown on Saturday nights, but I don't care as much for that series anymore. Many fans have been abandoning the manga and the show due to the inconsistent plot, the repetition of certain plot points, and how only certain characters develop while others are completely forgotten. This is an example for me what not to do with my own story.

(This image is from toonzone.net)

One of the new shows they began showing on Toonami is called "Deadman Wonderland." I was surprised at how much blood, violence, and censored swearing this show had with just the first episode. Even with all of those questionable points, it still seems like an interesting story. A young boy being framed for killing all of his classmates and he is sent to this very questionable juvenile prison called "Deadman Wonderland."

(This image is from hulu.com)

There was this show called "Casshern Sins" that was on a little bit too late for me to stay up because I had work the next day, but I have began to watch it on Netflix. It is a very interesting show of a mysterious robot who is responsible for the apocalypse for all robots, and he is constantly being targeted by robots. Casshern doesn't remember anything though, which is a common theme for many Anime protagonists. This show appears interesting because it has excellent fight scenes and some interesting themes, like robots who used to live forever suddenly being faced with immanent, unavoidable death. It makes me think.

There are other Anime being shown on Toonami now, but some of them are just repeated series.

Earth Dragons Image

I am glad I finally got this sketch done of these two Earth Dragons from my Zheph Skyre series. I do realize that this drawing is much like the water dragons image I have posted earlier, but hopefully when I make more successful drawings, they will be different. Perhaps two different type of elements for the dragons in the image and possibly more of the evil dragon in the image. Maybe I'll have three or four dragons in the image. Who knows.

38 Studio Fails

I was truly surprised to find out as I read an article on the Escapist website called "Entire 38 Studios Staff Laid Off, Effective Immediately." This article caught my attention because this company was one of many game design companies I have applied to for a job. I applied to Curt Schilling's company based on the premise that this was a new company and they were looking for employees to hire. I just wonder what would have happened if I were working at 38 Studios and I discovered numerous odd coincidences occurring: that employees weren't getting paid, executives fleeing, and eventually receiving an email saying that you were laid off. I think I would be really agitated, and I hope that whatever company I do end up working for won't fail like this.

On a side note, the Julien Hudson exhibit is officially closing tomorrow at the Worcester Art Museum. It was an interesting small exhibit, but it has lived up to it's potential in popularity here in Massachusetts and not as many people will be around to see it during the summer.

Netflix is Back

My Wii had not been getting Netflix recently, so I haven't been able to watch any anime series or whatever. I probably could have watched stuff on my computer, but it needs as much rest as possible due to how out of date it is. The other day Netflix returned, most likely it was the Wifi, so I started watching some series.

(This image is from http://www.mangareader.net/825-40152-1/dance-in-the-vampire-bund/chapter-27.html)

I started watching the first four episodes of "Dance of The Vampire Bund." Some parts of it seemed interesting, like the animation, action sequences, and the funny clips at the end of the credits. The majority of it wasn't that good though. Throughout each episode, the editing was just ridiculously more complex than it had to be. I kept getting confused as to what was happening and what was important. Also, there is this inappropriate relationship going on. I don't care if the vampire princess is really centuries old, showing these images of a girl less than twelve behaving this way with a teenager just seems creepy. I know there are certain groups of people who enjoy this for some reason, but I didn't.

(This image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chobits)

I did however like the first two episodes of "Chobits". This series is funny so far, and I foresee some interesting situations going on in the future. I at least heard of good reviews for this particular series. I look forward to watching more of it.

I watch other things besides Anime on Netflix, but I just didn't feel like it recently.

Zheph and Netheus Title Page Draft

Here's the picture for my Zheph Skyre web-comic title page so far. So far I have just been putting the main colors on in the areas where there is mainly one color. This is different from my usual dragon pieces where I only have one main color in the background. I didn't want that this time around. I wanted certain colors to stick out. I will still add layers of black, white, and other colors, but these specific colors need to come out more.

The Avengers Movie

I saw "The Avengers" in 3D the other day and it was an awesome movie. There were action sequences in this movie that would usually only be done well in the comic books or cartoon shows for super heroes.

I completely understand that this movie isn't for everyone and that there may have been a few miniscule details that could have been improved upon, but this is a very big step for comic book movies and for all movies in general. Never before have four separate movies and one sequel been tied in together into one movie universe. And it was done very well!

I didn't get to see the 2 extra movie scenes as the credits rolled, but I will try to look them up as soon as possible. I have heard that this studio is going to possibly make more sequels to these super heroes and to this specific movie in general, but with the possibility of adding Spider-Man and Wolverine. All of that would be cool, but I think they might just end up making a sequel to this movie with some additional super heroes, because there won't ever be another movie this big and successful.

The Genesis Club: Tour

Today I took a tour of the Genesis Club in Worcester, MA.I had no idea that there were multiple Genesis Clubs around the world, but now I know. I also found out a lot of things about the Genesis Club. For instance, they help its members find jobs, they make food at discounts, they help the members if there is no response whatsoever for too long in their homes, and they are all very close. It seems like a nice community.

I came back to the club a few hours later for the Art Community. I wish I got there earlier because I missed quite a bit and the meeting was short, but I will definably be back. Besides the two coworkers I already new, I met some friendly artists. I look forward to working with them.

I saw the Avengers this past weekend, but I will blog about that tomorrow.

The Old Timer

Tonight after work I went to an Irish restaurant and bar called The Old Timer Restaurant. It is located in Clinton MA. Mostly they seemed to have fried food, fish, steak, and alcohol. I tried the sirloin steak tips and they were exquisite. I also had a strawberry daiquiri which was good.

What my mother found strange was that the entire theme of the restaurant was Irish, but the food was not as much. Still, it is an interesting little restaurant with live music and rustic scenery. Just remember, the restaurant is closed to the public on Tuesdays, so the bar is only open for food. We found this out the hard way.

Slow Day

Sorry, but today was a slow day. I do not have much material to blog about, so this will be brief.

It was 3rd Thursday today at the Worcester Art Museum. Tonight's live music centered around the opening of the Japanese gallery, so the museum got a group of Japanese drummers. I have heard Japanese drummers before for First Night Worcester, and I have enjoyed it.

I have been reading the Trigun manga lately. I have already seen the Anime series and I have thoroughly appropriated it. I have heard that Americans like both the Anime series and the manga, but the Japanese only liked the manga series.

Japanese Exhibit Reopened at WAM

Today I was scheduled to guard the first floor at the Worcester Art Museum, and I was surprised to find out that the Japanese gallery was reopened after over a year of being closed off. It was being used for storage space for the longest time after the only piece in it, two screens with the twelve animals of the zodiac, were taken out. It was an interesting piece and I was wondering what they would get to replace it. I was pleased to see what they got instead.

Much like the Chinese rooms, the Japanese rooms have porcelains and some wooden statues. It is interesting to see how similar cultures are similar and different when they are separated by an ocean.

The Japanese gallery now also has first edition impression prints of A Tour of Waterfalls by the famous artist Katsushika Hokusai. These prints of waterfalls are exquisite and I suggest whoever can to check them out.

My Etsy Store

Yeah, I ended up just adding the ice blade to one of my dragons right before I redeemed my Groupon to have it on a gallery wrapped canvas and shipped to my address. So far I have set this up in a small shop on Etsy, but this is only one of two items it has so far. I will see if I can sell my chocolates in my store.

I have also been trying to redo my web-comic and work on the next 11 second animation. Both will be impressive when I get them done. The 11 Second animation will be done before the end of this month. The web-comic will be out shortly after that, and up above is the sketch for the title page so far...

Vanessa & Monsters Sketch

Here's a sketch of Vanessa and some monsters in silhouette from my Zheph Skyre series. I am planning to use these sketches along with the one of Zheph and Netheus I posted not too long ago for that new title cover. I have Vanessa in a fencing pose, which will help establish what sort of character she is. I don't want to give too much away about the monsters, so I wish to keep them in the shadows until they appear in the web-comic.

Happy Mother's Day

Tonight my grandparents and my uncle came over in order to celebrate Mother's Day before my grandparents have to go back to the Cape. My grandmother brought her homemade lasagna, and my mom made a Boston Cream Cake. Tonight went very well with all of the delicious food.

My sister and her boyfriend are coming over this Sunday and we will give my mom her cards and gift for both her birthday and Mother's Day! It really makes it simple!

I just wanted to wish all of those mothers who treat their children with love, respect, and help them become well developed people a Happy Mother's Day! We wouldn't be who we are without you.

Netheus Redesign

I have been redrawing my initial concept for Netheus, one of the most important main characters in my Zheph Skyre series. I looked up some pictures of lions, eagles, and oxen in order to draw forth ideas for this sphinx. I know the top sketch of him was just a quick one, but I am glad the bottom picture turned out very goodin my opinion.

Here we have a picture of Zheph and Netheus together. I will use this sketch for part of a final picture soon, most likely the title. I think this picture really shows how the relationship of the two are at the beginning of the story.

A Few Things Worth Mentioning

I got around to reading this graphic novel book, and I was surprised to see two other short stories in it. A short story of Hoggle from Jim Henson's "Labyrinth," and Jeremy Bastian's Cursed Pirate Girl was also in here. I also read the back, and it mentioned that Archaia Entertainment is an award winning graphic novel company. I saw that quality as I read the stories!

I know this past weekend "The Avengers" has come out, but I have not seen it yet. I tried finding people to see it with, but no such luck. This is one movie I can not wait to see. I don't want to wait until it comes out onto DVD to see it.

This was going to be a t-shirt design of mine for my web comic series "The Legacy of Zheph Skyre." I am only showing this because I am thinking about redoing the cover. The characters may look a little different.

Last Saturday, the 5th of May, was Free Comic Book Day. It was a day where you could walk into just about any store that sells comic books and select up to six comic books to get for free. There were designated, short comic books as part of larger series that were being given away for free, but this was a great way to get new readers for comic books. I stopped by That's Entertainment in Worcester and picked up a specific six comic books. I had to go after work, so there were few choices left, but there were still some pretty decent comic books. At the store, there were also some illustrators, like David Wenzel, sitting at tables in the room where you could get the comics. I found that to be a neat surprise!

There was one comic book that had two main stories with the title posted on both the front and back of the comic book.

I originally was just getting the comic book because of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comic within it. I watched quite a bit of the series after my sister got addicted to it. Seriously, she has the whole entire DVD collection! This comic was pretty funny despite the serious tone of the series. I think the people behind this took advantage of their freedom for the storyline.

The other comic was "The Guild" which I was surprised to find out it was hilarious! It is a story about a group of online RPG players who meet up in the game and sometimes in real life. I think all World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, and even World of Darkness players can relate to this in some ways!

Here we have a "Mega Man" comic book. It appears to follow the storyline of the original game and the 1994 television show. It appeared pretty nostalgic to me. I have played "Mega Man Legends I & II." I have heard of good things for "Mega Man X," so I will have to find a way to play that at some point. This comic book is definably for a younger audience.

I think this was appropriate since the movie just came out this weekend! This "Avengers"comic seemed interesting even though it was just a fraction of a larger story. I have yet to see the new movie, but I will try as soon as possible!

Here we have a "Justice League" comic book. It reminded me of the television shows on Cartoon Network, both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, and even Young Justice. All three have different stories going on with the same characters, and it appears to be the same in comics. This comic has a few other stories in it of other superheroes as well. The main one appears to be too short though.

I have not seen either movie nor read the book of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." I figured that if I read this comic book, it would help me determine whether or not to get invested in the story. It appears that this is the prologue from the recent movie, and it appears there isn't much besides a lot of talking. The last page appears to promise something very interesting though.

I was surprised that one of the free comic books was a hardcover! It looks as if it should be a children's book! So far I have just glimpsed through it. It appears promising with four different stories each with a different style. The cover is of "Mouse Guard" by David Peterson, there is also "Rust" by Royden Lepp, "The Dapper Man" by Jim McCann and Janet K. Lee, and there is "Cow Boy" by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos.

Water Dragons: Post Final

Here are two water dragons from my Zheph Skyre series. I am not entirely sure if I completely finished with this illustration. I am thinking of putting more bubbles in the water and I am thinking of putting more ice on various parts on the body of the evil water dragon. Feel free to leave me any feedback about this piece. I will have this and my Wind Dragon piece available on my webpage to view and on Etsy. I will have various types of prints made for each piece.

Demon and Armor Sketch

Here is a random sketch for my web comic series. I was sketching based on pictures from online of leather and metal armor. I also sketched some parts of random creatures in order to create this weird composite creature/demon.It is just a random idea based on the demons called a glabrezu from the "The Legend of Drizzt" novel series I have been reading. I have introduced different animal body parts, but it was just a random idea. I hope to have more original ideas for my mystical creatures.

(This picture is from Wikipedia.)

The glabrezu is a demon from the Dungeons and Dragons universe with the head of a horned dog, two huge pincers arms, and two smaller human arms that can weave spells. In the Drizzt series, a glabrezu serves the powerful demon, a balor or tanar'ri, named Errtu. The glabrezu was a fearsome opponent, and it inspired me for creature creations of my own.

Storyboard: 11 Second Animation May 2012

Here is the storyboard for my animation so far. As you can see, I am trying a few different things this time. For starters, I have the beginning picture throughout the scene despite the fact that the drawn frames because I want to keep the characters proportionate throughout the animation. I think that was one of my major flaws with my previous work. I have the back of a head in the foreground in order to help provide some space where I don't need to animate. This head is supposed to be a character who is also in the scene, but he is only sitting in place. I have made more frames within this storyline because I want more of a flow throughout the animation, so I will need to know what movement I will make despite how small the movements might be. I might work on these frames a little more.

I don't know why, but the timing is off from when I exported this into a flash file. Hopefully that will be fixed when I draw more frames in.

11 Second Club May Sketch

Here is a sketch I drew for the beginning frame for my next animation for the 11 Second Club. I only drew one drawing this time because I plan to draw the rest of the frames entirely on the computer. It should be easier to draw everything in proper proportions on the computer than in separate sketches.

The 11 Second Club automatically uploads the next audio clip for the next month's competition onto their website just as the deadline for the previous month's competition ends. In a way this is very convenient and gives everyone the most amount of time possible to complete the animation.

I am a little disappointed that the next audio clip has two voices in it. I know the first audio clip I worked with had two voices in it, but I treated them as one because I didn't understand the foreign language. This audio clip is in English, so I can't make any cheap cuts really. Hopefully I can actually complete this challenge this month.