Zheph Skyre Page 143 is Finished!

Here's page 143 of Zheph Skyre in full color! I am very close to finishing this chapter and the Kickstarter crowd-funding project is ending in about three weeks! If I get the tablet, these pages will come out much quicker and in better quality!

Here we see Zheph using his grappling hook to get out of the dragon's stomach. How could this happen? My explanation is that the hook didn't have anything to penetrate into, and since the dragon's throat is coated in saliva, the hook just slipped with the curve of the dragon's throat until it finally exited the dragon's mouth. I had an alternate idea for this scene, but this is more interesting and funny compared to my previous idea.

If it seems that Vanessa appears powerless in this situation, I want to point out that Zheph is just about as powerless. He may have gotten out of the dragon's stomach, but in what condition is he to continue fighting?

Polarity Breach: The Divine Spark

The book "Polarity Breach: The Divine Spark" by Frankie Stevens is now available to order on Amazon for the Kindle. As I have stated in the past, I had been working on illustrating the cover for this book. I do not know when the paperback version will be available, but when I am notified I will write another post.

I have not read the series as of yet, but I will purchase a paperback as soon as it is available. The description sounds interesting though. The publishing company is Ravenwood Press, and they have listed me as one of their illustrators on their web page. I am so very excited at these recent developments!

"After a tragic event, Prince Ablias went from being the last born prince to being the crown prince of the wizards. As he is on the cusp of manhood, he is still deciding which type of magic to pursue for his studies. As he does this, he meets and befriends a tribal girl who shares his interest in plants and makes his life a little sweeter. Meanwhile, the man who massacred most of Ablias’ family has triplet nephews who each have unique ways of finishing what their uncle has started. Once his friend’s tribe becomes threatened by one of the brothers’ plans, Ablias must decide how to use his magic in order to save both the tribe and the royal family."

Page 142 of Zheph Skyre is Finished

Here's page 142 of Zheph Skyre! This had taken more time than it should have to complete. I know, but as I have stated before, I do not have a working drawing tablet which is why I am still running my Kickstarter crowd-funding project.

Zheph has been flung into the air by the dragon. Zheph figures his only chance to survive this ridiculous height is to use his grappling hook. Unfortunately the dragon just opens his mouth right under Zheph's falling path and catches him in his mouth.

I love how the solar glare came out as we see the silhouette of the dragon. I think it helps give the gravity of the situation.

There are only four pages left I have to finish coloring before I begin chapter 5, but I just wanted to assure you, I have been working on chapter 5 by hand for a while now, so new pages should be available soon!

ParaNorman

SPOILER WARNING!

(This image is from http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjA1OTU1NDM3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjYxNTg0Nw@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg)

I was finally able to watch the movie ParaNorman on ABC Family last month. I heard good things about this movie, but I never got around to seeing it in the theaters. At first, I had doubts that this movie was going to be nearly as good as Coraline considering both movies were made by Laika, but I was surprised! For one thing, the animation was very good, which is no surprise from what this company has produced.

This movie has a lot of really funny jokes throughout it! I thought the scene after when they total the van, it falls apart, and the jock kid just presses the car alarm was just hilarious. There were various other humorous scenes mostly about ghosts and zombies.

This movie also had a very strong story which at times contained some very heavy moments. That surprised me as this movie was intended for children. It contained references to the witch trials in Early American history, and the fact that anyone could have been accused of practicing witch craft. The fact that this young girl was accused for practicing witch craft even though she just had a special ability like Norman's was very sad. It made a lot of sense for her to raise the dead as a curse. The curse wasn't intended for the town, but it was meant to force the villagers that hanged the girl to live as living monsters that were to be feared and hated just as she was. It was very deep.

I highly suggest watching this movie around the Halloween season. After all, it is the season of the dead, and this movie highlights certain aspects of life and death that speak a certain truth.

Guardians of the Galaxy

SPOILER WARNING!

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

Recently I went to the Elm Drought House Theater in Millbury, MA to watch the Marvel movie "Guardians of the Galaxy." I thought it was an awesome movie. The computer graphics were amazing considering one character was a talking raccoon and another was tree with sentience. I have barely read any of the comic books with these characters, but after seeing this movie, I have to admit, I am a little interested in reading more. I am also looking forward to more movies featuring these characters!

I was confused at first when the movie began with a young boy watching his mother die of cancer in the hospital. It seemed like a much different tone than the trailers led the movie on to be. It made sense as the movie progressed though, and it reminded us that the Guardians each had their own sources of despair that they could relate to one another.

I have not read many comics with Thanos, but I have a copy of the "Silver Surfer" where Ronan makes his first appearance! He didn't seem too interesting in the comic, but I knew before watching this movie that if this character could go up against the Silver Surfer, the Guardians of the Galaxy would have a difficult time, and it was very entertaining to see their struggle and their methods to defeat this foe.

What really surprised me was watching Micheal Rooker playing Yondu. It seemed funny seeing him painted in blue alien face makeup after seeing him as a human on "The Walking Dead". At first I thought he was just going to be a side character villain that would be killed off very easily, but he turned out to be very interesting with a ridiculously powerful weapon!

The only problems I had at the movie theater were the theater itself. I did not enjoy listening to country music and watching game shows before the movie started. Also, the sound quality of the movie itself could have been better. At times I had a difficult time hearing, and I find that weird because I have watched movies for free there before and the sound has been better then. Still, the prices for the tickets and food were very reasonable. I had a good time!

Connecticon 2014 Masquerade

Here is a video of the Connecticon 2014 Masquerade I filmed for WCCA TV13. These are some very good skits that fans came up with on their own and practiced beforehand before performing on the stage at the convention. These people had to also make costumes as well as record and edit audio clips because microphones are not available for every skit. I bet it would be fun to perform in one of the Masquerades at a convention, but I am far too busy with making art to participate in such things.

Also, the last performance was awesome! It was not competing against the other skits, but it was still an amazing choreographed dance group!

This video is also available to watch on my web comic series, Zheph Skyre.

Invader Zim Q&A at Connecticon 2014

Here's a video of Richard Horvitz and Rikki Simons at Connecticon 2014 that I filmed and edited for the local TV station WCCA TV13. These two are voice actors who played as Zim and Grr from the Nickelodeon cartoon show "Invader Zim." Ever since the show had ended, Richard has been other characters from other cartoon shows like "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" as well as "Angry Beavers," and Rikki has been writing.

These two were hilarious at the Q&A as well as the Press Junket. I loved the "Invader Zim" as well as the other shows Richard has been in. These two just kept everything ridiculously funny, even to go as far as delaying the audience's questions with singing from Le Miserable! I can't believe they brought a ukulele to the convention, and the songs they made up! It is an experience I suggest everyone who is a fan of theirs to experience.

They did answer some very well deserved questions, including "Why was the show canceled after such a short run?" The answer is that this show was surprisingly the most expensive show Nickelodeon ever produced, which is surprising because Avatar the Last Airbender seemed to look quite expensive to make! "Invader Zim" did have one of the cleanest looks to any cartoon show I have ever seen and it contained both 2D and 3D animation combined together, which explains it. These two did say that if the network did have more money, they would have gladly continued the series because they enjoyed making it.

This video can also be seen on my web comic site Zheph Skyre.

Doug Walker at Connecticon 2014

Here's a video of Doug Walker at this past Connecticon I filmed for WCCA TV13. He is known as the Nostalgia Critique as well as many other humorous characters in various videos on That Guy With The Glasses. I have this video also posted on my web comic site.

I stopped by a few panels he attended and I went to the Press Junket where he was more than willing to answer questions. It is always cool talking to this guy because he gives you his honest opinions on things, and he doesn't judge others on their opinions. He might make fun of you for your tastes, but he respects people's opinions nonetheless.

He was not the only person from That Guy With The Glasses to make an appearance at the convention. He also brought his brother, Rob Walker, along with him. Rob has written a bit for Doug's videos as well as acted in them. There was also Lindsey Ellis, also known as the Nostalgia Chick, made an appearance with two of her friends from Team NChick. Lindsey and her friends provided some very intelligent opinions about feminism in today's world.

Connecticon was an awesome time with the help of these great people and the very well planned events!