KASHCHEI THE DEATHLESS

Here's a little digital sketch for a project. I started to really enjoy where it was going and took it a little father than a sketch, really. I love the looseness. I wish I had the chutzpa to hand in something like this. Maybe I will. Nah. But. Mm. Well. Noop. Maybe. Ngh.

Gotta fix those braids...

Get at me:

Get at me:

INK

Get at me:

RE.KALI.BRATION

Get at me:

TURN IT UP

Get at me:

Get at me:

GET YO SHIT

... by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears.

"R-O-X-A-N!"

Get at me:

BIRDS

Get at me:

KALI

Oy. What with my computer's battery and power adapter both kicking the bucket, and the internet being down at home, I've essentially been offline for the last couple weeks. Schools on now, and I'll start posting some work - first is a rough of the Goddess Kali and some different background color trials.

Get at me:

GEOF DARROW

... is a maniac. He's done comics with Frank (Sin City) Miller and concept art for the Matrix movies and a bunch of other stuff. He's known for obsessive detail. In 2004 he started doing his own comic, Shaolin Cowboy. It came out hells slow, managing 7 issues in 3 years. It's gorgeous, and the writing is completely bonkers. Below I posted 10 pages from issue #1 that make up one single giant panel in which our protagonist realizes his enemies have gotten the drop on him. The fight that follows beggars description, and is eventually halted by the leader of the gang, a talking king crab (you can see him behind the car), due to so many people getting super dead. I tried to post this as one huge image, but Blogger wasn't having any of it.

Get at me:

ODYSSEUS IN HADES

... by William Russell Flint (1880 - 1969).

Nice use of black and white on a neutral background.

Get at me:

BATWOMAN

So, Batwoman was a shitty character that was created in the 50's, then clumsily reinvented a few years ago and forgotten about. Last year, proving the adage that there are no small roles, only small actors, the creative team of Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III got ahold of her and made something awesome. Their run won a grip of awards and landed the book on the New York Times bestseller list earlier this summer. I finally got around to picking up the hardcover collecting their first 7 issues (below, left) and it's really good. Check this:

Oh, man. The book is in amazing color by Dave Stewart, but the above black and white images are J.H. Williams' original art (sans word balloons). You can click on all the above for a larger image (you have to see Williams' art up close), but if you go to his Flickr page you can see huge versions - I'm talking 6000 pixels (also, a bit of his process). Gorgeous. As well, the story is pretty compelling, delving into her childhood and her expulsion from the military due to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The comic book industry is like, 90% superhero books, and 90% of those are unreadable. This is a gem. Buy it or take it out from the library.

Get at me:

HALF FULL GLASS OF WINE

... by Tame Impala.

I think this might be my official summer 2010 jam.
Be sure to fullscreen!

Get at me:

MAILER

I did this for a postcard type mailer. I composed it to accommodate some text and things, but this is the image sans whatnot. 

Get at me:

YOUR FRIEND THE RAT

Featuring Patton Oswalt. There's a funny shout-out to Alberta in there, too.

Get at me:

WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?

It isn't. Not according to 1950's Hanna Barbera cartoons, anyway. They were cheaply made, with very limited animation and quickly painted backgrounds. Making up for those limitations was a mad strong design sense and unique color choices.

click to enlarge 

Gorge on eye candy at the mind-bogglingly researched Yowp.

Get at me:

SORCERY

Julie Taymor (responsible for visual feasts like Frida and Across the Univese) is directing Shakespeare's the Tempest, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera (rather than Prospero). How awesome is this picture? Can't wait for this one!

It reminded me of Waterhouse's the Magic Circle (l).

And, while we're tangentially on the subject, check out Departure of the Witches by Luis Ricardo Faléro (r). There's a great in-depth article about it here.

Get at me:

BOK CHOY

Get at me:

CHUCK JONES

I found this Chuck Jones documentary in 9 parts on YouTube. If you're an animator, illustrator or designer, there's some valuable stuff to learn here. Plus, funny.

Get at me:

WAYFINDING

Calgary is basically set up as a grid. To find most addresses you need to remember 2 things; 1) the city is divided into 4 quadrants, and 2) avenues run east-west and streets run north-south. For example, to find 1201 1st street SW, go to the southwest quadrant (lower left on a map) and find the intersection of 12th avenue and 1st street. Easy.

With so many people I know spending time in New York, it reminded me of one of the only frustrating things about navigating Manhattan; trying to find a specific address.

click to enlarge:

it's just that simple!

Get at me: