G.I.Gramps

So this is the new project I am a part of for one of my classes whos name escapes me at the moment. Basically we had to make a commercial for some kids thing. That was it, the whole class collaborated and we came up with this season's hot new toy; G.I. Gramps! He's basically a G.I.Joe who's way past his prime. I mentioned a joke I remembered from MST3K where Mike and the robots have a Hamlet action figure with one of those pull-chords that makes the doll talk. Mike pulls it, and it's REALLY long, and the doll recites Hamlet's famous speech over the credits. Well, that idea paired with an old man doll who recites war stories was pure gold.

So anyway, I am one of the character designers for the commercial. If I had to guess why this is, I would have to say that I was either vastly underqualified compared to my peers to do anything else or because I threatened to leave the class if I was put on the 3D team...

Anyway, the class loved my initial designs for the toy itself, and I am going to show them to you.

This first one is my favorite personally. Originally, he was in a more classic wheelchair because I thought the sillouette was much more interesting with the handles on the chair, but when I got to working he seemed to fit better in a power chair (which almost got tank treads).

Ultimately this design -though popular- was passed over because he looked too much like a former president and not enough like a generic war veteran. Personally, I love the face. The expression is great.

This is the design we went with, though there are going to be a few modifications before it's done -we added an oxygen tank, corncob pipe and slippers instead of loafers. I still like this one, though personally I think it's a little too generic, it's also pretty much exactly what I pictured the first time we began talking about this.
What really seemed to sell this one to the group was the pull-string...they REALLY like that pull-string idea. However, I am personally happy again with the face, especially the glasses which took quite awhile to get right.
Eventually this will be a 3d model (thankfully, I am not in charge of making it) which will be rigged along with the children for the commercial which will be completed hopefully by the end of next quarter.

I will of course add more on this project as it becomes available. And now for your viewing enjoyment, the children I designed for the commercial. The only thing that survived to the final design (headed by my vastly more talented teammate) was the curly hair from the middle kid.I hate that middle kid. He looks creepy, unrealistic and the pose was half assed, mostly because originally it looked like he was groping the kid in front of him. He is the byproduct of one guy on our 3D team who will only design realistic characters and the fact that I watched Honey I Blew Up the Kid the other day. Yeah... That first kid on the other hand, I really like his design.

"You cheap bastard! You moved the headstones but you left the bodies!"
-Craig T. Nelson

I can finally close that tab...

Another cute cat video. Yeah, I'm gonna post everyone I find here. Deal with it.



"It's become the Museum of Brundle History. Do you want to see?"
-Jeff Goldblum

Kioko at the Beach

For those of you who don't go to DeviantArt, I finished this a few days ago. I like it, I think it might be going in my portfolio for the sake of anatomy.

It is called Kioko at the Beach and features...well, Kioko at the beach. I used a lot of reference for this one, and it really shows in both the pose and the water. I am VERY happy with the way the water came out.

You can see a larger version here:

http://ayameexgoddess.deviantart.com/art/Kioko-at-the-beach-161092494

Is it groundbreaking? No. But it's pretty good and I am proud to have created it.


"Sold Out? They must have run out of Canceled stickers."
-Tom Servo

Totally Awesome!

I love stop motion animation.

"And the Steves are there!"
-Tom Servo

Bringin Back the Cute!

This blog I can use for anything that catches my fancy, well, to in light of the material, lets instead say that I can post videos that I think are cute or funny. This one is both.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Also, planning a few site upgrades as soon as I get around to them. Posting some writings and such.

"They say it's a suicide mission. I intend to prove them wrong."
-Commander Shepherd

A Day Off

Well, today I started the final version of the new website artwork. No, not every page is getting new art just yet, but the main page certainly is. I've been working on this piece on and off again for some weeks now, and I finally got what I wanted today thanks to my new scanner, some old markers, and a sense of purpose. Also, several hours of movies.

So here's a taste of today's process:

The project was simple; for the main page of my website, I want a picture of all my characters. Obviously, this is impossible. So I boiled it down to just the main ones. Sort of a collage of sorts. Whatever -you know what I mean. You've seen them before. This project isn't about originality, it's about showing off my different styles...STOP STARING AT ME!

Anyway, I'm not gonna show you all the rejected nearly-finished pieces because scanning them would be a tremendous waste of my time, so here's the concept sketch for this current one.


This was the one I finally went with. If you can't tell who all the characters are at this point, that's fine because I can. This is just a thumbnail and I know whats what.

In case you were wondering, and are unfamiliar with all my stuff, I'll tell you who they all are on the next piece.

So yeah, this is the concept. It finally crammed everyone I wanted in there and showed them all off pretty well. This is the first time I've successfully pulled this off.

So yeah, I spent all day working on the final one, and I forgot to scan it before I started inking it, so here it is partially inked:


I think it came out pretty good, and when I finish coloring it, I think it's gonna be a nice addition to my current and future web page.

This one is done with pencil -mechanical of course- and surprisingly, no non-photo pencil this time. I have reason to believe some of the ingredients in them were causing my markers to smear. Since I wanted to do this today instead of experimenting, I just removed it from the equation.

Now, as promised, a who's who of this picture. Who they are, what series they hail from etc.

(from top to bottom, left to right by series)
Lady Nightheart (Nightheart)
Dromar Evincar and Eolande Saillune (Eternal Sun)
Sean and Jake (The High Life)
Nienna Orntier, T.B. Ryerson, Kioko (Newscast)
KC Connor, Aiko, Raye McKeever (Tales From the Satellite)
Jimmy (T3: Time Traveling Toaster) Kat (Untitled 2D project)
Kaikoura (Newscast Expanded Universe)
Pickles T., Guid-O-Lizer, and Spit (The Adventures of Guid-O-Lizer and Spit)

I started coloring it tonight, but I remembered I have work in the morning so I had to stop. Hopefully, it'll be done by Sunday. If it's not up on the main page, I'll post pictures of it here first.

Oh, and I decided to learn Na'vi. So yeah. Eat it.

"I know it's her. We were......partners..."
-Chris Redfield

New Arts

I have had Avatar on the brain lately, and because of that I have been working on the Rai'ku race as featured in the Newscast Expanded Universe RPG (NCEXURPG). Specifically, I have been reworking their history a bit, and also their former culture. You can of course, read all there is to date right now here, but you know, it's purposely pretty vague.

Anyway, like most of the characters I design, I usually revert to Asian cultural influences because, well, I like them. I love Chinese clothing and I think it works especially well for Kaikoura when she's in slave attire though in the future, I will be reworking them a bit to look a little more space-ish. However, I have become entranced with Indian culture -no, not Native American, but like...Indian. From India. Yeah...

So I began working on this:

This is Kaikoura, the slave girl from the above link and my character for the NCEXURPG. In this picture, she is older and much braver and also you see a lot more of that Indian influence.

This is only a quick concept piece I did for fun but I think I am gonna turn it into a finished piece when I get some time.

To be continued...

And now, the exciting conclusion of this post...

Now, what was I saying? I probably should have checked before I started writing...hmmm, hold on a moment... okay, I think I've got it now. Ahem, so what I was getting at is you can expect to see a cleaned up and colored version of this in the not-too-distant future. And with the rate I've been working lately, I would expect it to be sooner rather than later. Nothing like a new scanner (pics on Saturday after I get paid) to revitalize the urge to post artworks on the interwebs for all to criticize.

Oh, by the by, if you haven't seen James Cameron's Avatar yet, stop what you're doing, find a show time, and go see it as soon as possible. No, this is not a friendly suggestion or simple recommendation, this is a direct order. Go on, I'll still be here when you get back, and then we can giggle about it together.

Seriously though, this is the first movie where I have not been disappointed by the CG effects. In every movie I've seen to date, I can pick out what is real and what isn't with a very small degree of....incorrectitude? Incorrectness? Whatever. However, this movie...I just, I mean, I know the Na'vi aren't real (weep) but they look real, and more importantly are the ships and robots. I've always felt that CG models lack a certain weight that practical special effects (i.e. miniature models) bring to a shot. However, this time, I must admit that it can be done in 3D.

This is a huge blow to my ego as a proponent of practical special effects. I have to go lie down.

"Kìyevame ulte Eywa ngahu."
-The Na'vi

The first official day of vacation!

Well, I have finally completed Christmas quarter and soon, will also have completed 2009. I spent 10 hours yesterday driving through a blizzard to get back up to Salt Lake City, where I am vacationing for the remainder of the year.

I have some projects in the works for my break, mainly, I am writing a script for an upcoming comic project that has been in the works for several years called Darkness Comes. I can't say much about it right now, other than it's the story of four old friends reunited by zombies.

I also plan on updating the website this week. It depends on how well I can get Photoshop to work with my laptop. Historically, the two have not gotten along.

Other than that, I spent the entire day relaxing, I think I have earned a little reprieve.

Have a Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate.

"Over? Why my dear, delusional Dark Knight. It hasn't even begun."
-The Joker

OH. MY. GOD.

I need to make sure I always have access to this, so I am posting it here. By the way, website and deviant art updates coming soon. Maybe tomorrow.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS....HOLY SHIT! Where's the Tylenol?!"
-Clark Griswold

Pie day

This is a test. I'm showing my mumzie how to set up a blog.