Category Archive: fantasy

Jan
06
2009

Interesting Posts

So, instead of posting lots of separate posts with interesting links (and making my blog seem really cluttered), my goal for 2009 is to post them in groups. Sometimes they will have a common theme, but a lot of the time they will not.

Tips for making an animated film (via CartoonBrew.com) “Jim Capobianco, Pixar story artist and director of the short Your Friend the Rat, is nearing the end of production on Leonardo, a personal short of his own. He’s been documenting the production on a production blog at leoanimation.blogspot.com. Last week Jim started a series of blog posts called ” 10 things I’ve learned in making a short film.” The advice in these posts is wonderfully informative and in-depth. Jim openly shares his experiences and offers case-specific examples in every blog entry.” I have been reading Jim’s notes and he gives good advice for any sort of creative project. Really a fun read and his film looks really fun.

Komar & Melamid: The Most Wanted Paintings Artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid decided to use market research to find out what kind of paintings that people all over the world liked and the results showed that most people have a lot in common. Check out the results. The artist also did the same experiment with music. I heard about the experiment on the most recent episode of This American Life (88:Numbers – act two).

Mickey Mouse in Mousepotamia The Classic Cartoon blog has posted a rare Mickey Mouse comic strip from 1950 that features a tie in to the then current film release Cinderella and features the mice Jaq and Gus. In the comic they kidnap Mickey and take him to a kingdom of mice who need help dethroning “The Iron Mask.” The art is really great; clean and fresh and looks more like a comic book then a newspaper strip.

Cool web games Try the cool flash web adventure games from Amanita Design. Cleaver with high quality art. I really liked the Quest for the Rest game.

artist Alec Séverin I have seen the work of Belgian artist Alec Séverin before, but did not connect who he was till recently. The work is really really good. This is an artist I want to see more of, but I also found on lambiek.net that “In early 2008, Alex Séverin announced his departure from the comics profession.” So now I am feeling bummed that we might not see anything new from Mr. Séverin. I searched the internet when I saw Al’s drawings of horses on Comic Art Fans and fell in love with the incredible work. Check out HERE, HERE, and HERE. I also really like his tributes to Flash Gordon and Tin-Tin. There is also some art samples, via annoying java script animations, at exposalecseverin.free.fr.

Well, maybe I will be able to meet Mr. Séverin if I visit his home country of Brussels. And if I do I can visit the Belgian Comic Strip Center. I really hope I can make it to Europe in the next few years (and the economy gets better)

Nov
22
2008

Artist process – Craig Thompson and Manuel Arenas

Two artist I am very fond of are posting how they draw in their comic.

First off Craig Thompson posts some behind the images from his hit comic GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE which is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary.

European artist Manuel Arenas has been working on a new comic with his character YAXÍN the FAUN. The book is painted in watercolor and looks amazing. Check out his behind the scene images. Manuel has a piece in the Totoro Forest Project show at the Cartoon Art Museum.

You can pick up Craig Thompson’s book at Amazon:


Sep
12
2008

The Totoro Forest Project at the Cartoon Art Museum

to-to-ro

The Cartoon Art Museum has a multi-faceted art exhibit coming up starting on September 20th. The show will actually appear in segments with the fist one opening in a week. So by December the show will encompass 1/3 to 1/2 of the museum. The art work was created as part of a fund raiser for the Totoro Forest Project.

Now you might be asking yourself, what’s a Totoro?

Totoro is a mystical forest creature that appeared in the delightful Japanese animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki, my neighbor Totoro. Here is a clip from the movie:

The Totoro Forest Project is an a group who have set out to protect the forest that inspired the movies setting and story. To help raise money many of the artist who have been inspired by the movie and it’s talented director donated original art for an auction that was held at PIXAR animation studios a week ago.

Sayama Forest is one of the most remarkable urban forests in Japan, located just outside of Tokyo. This forest is said to be the inspiration for legendary animated film My Neighbor Totoro. With Japan’s rapid urban development in the 1970s and 1980s, the forest has been diminished to a small fraction of its former self. In 1990, Miyazaki helped set up a national trust, Totoro no Furusato National Fund, to preserve the park and promote awareness of environmental issues.

It is estimated the PIXAR art auction raised about $201,236.00 to protect the forest. Much of the artwork will be on display for the museums show. You can see all of it at the official website, Totoro Forest Project.

I will be teaching the drop-in cartooning class at the Cartoon Art Museum on the same day the show officially opens, Sept 20, 2008 and I am trying to create an art project to tie into the exhibit. My idea is to take a painted blog and turn it into our own version of the Totoro. Here are some experiments I did below, inspired by a kids art lesson where they turned fingerprints into people.

What do you guys think?

As a bonus, here are some short animations made from the art that was part of the fund-raiser…

Jun
08
2008

Fiend Folio, Tarzan, and John Carter art

Spiderwick artist Tony DiTerlizzi has posted a cool retooling of a monster from the original D&D Fiend Folio. Tony is an amazing artist and his blog is worth reading, so check them out.

Mr. Door Tree has posted some classic art from books of Tarzan HERE and HERE and John Carter of Mars HERE and HERE.

Mar
11
2008

The Wizards of Ur

The Wizards of Ur is a new artist blog that features artists James V. West, A.P. Furtado, Nate Piekos and Chuck Whelon. I will be looking forward to seeing what new stuff these gents produce.

The work below is by Chuck Whelon.

Feb
15
2008

Creig Flessel graphic

Flessel card for Phil Frank

I recently did the logo design for the Cartoon Art Museums retrospective of Creig Flessel. I translated his distinctive signature into a vector file and then modified it. I really like how cool this one turned out.

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This month, February 2008, Creig Flessel turned 96. To celebrate his life and art, there is a showcases of his work from early superhero comics, comic strips, Playboy Magazine, and beyond. He is the creator of The Sandman from Detective Comics as well as the Shinning Knight, both reside as part of the DC comics universe now. The show does have some ‘adult’ content, but is worth a see. Just be warned if you bring along some young kids.

I find it inspiring that Creig is still drawing, and drawing well this late in his life. If only I can be so lucky.

As a bonus, below is the card Creig created for Phil Frank last year when he was in the hospital. Great drawings and wonderful painting skills too.

 

Flessel card for Phil Frank

Feb
11
2008

Lots of Art Links

Watercolor paintings of Warner Bros. Cartoon Characters by Scott Seeto for the Warner Bros. Store. Great stuff. LINK

Blue Sky Disney has reported the loss of movie poster artist John Alvin who is best know, to me, for the beautiful moody preview poster for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. LINK

He also worked on: Aladdin, Pocahontas, Atlantis, Quest for Camelot, Hunchback, Lion King, Harry Potter, Hercules,  Tarzan, StarWars, etc. He did all the serious Disney movie posters vs. the happy kids posters.

Felix Lorioux’s Puss In Boots at the ASIFA Archive. Great illustrations. LINK

Charles Vess shows progress photos of a painting commission. Some amazing stuff. LINK

Dinotopia artist James Gurney has posts on doing a painting with a limited pallet. Great idea for illustration as well maybe the color of comics. LINK

A lucky lady has won to be immortalized (for a year) as a pirate in the line for Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Check out the beautiful watercolor here. LINK

Jan
19
2008

Phoenix and Dragon

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(click for bigger image) 

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