hope...

Back in November, I was approached to see if some characters I'd created could/would be animated for a ministry. It seemed to stall and I've been frustrated.

I did take some animation classes, did okay, and a few weeks ago saw a glimmer of hope that the thing may yet get off the ground. One of those involved, who does some animation, took some of my art and worked up a test. We have since talked of working up a second test--something that may convince the "powers that be" to put it on the front burner.

Here's a clip/test. It's only about 6 seconds. Animation by Jake Johnson. Character created and designed by me. Oh, and voice by Jake for the test, too.

Enjoy!



Leilah Tov!

things...

2011 continues to be a year of discontent. Spent it pretty much by myself. There was a family situation, of which I'm not going to comment on further, and Becky was needed for that.

I did go to the Mutchler/Clark family reunion. Got lost because the road I was on was closed about half way. Spent a good 45 minutes on some gravel roads to nowhere trying to get to Tarkio. Found out later on that I-29 isn't closed at Rockport, and that I could've taken the easy route. Time to quit listening to Katey Horny at channel 5.

We did go over to the Dewalt's for Fourth of July evening. It was good. Some homemade pizza. Watched their neighborhood turn into a warzone with all the fireworks going off.

Was listening to the radio, and was amazed at all the memories that came flooding back depending on the song that was playing. Loggins and Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" came on and I remembered the cutest brunette who walked into the gym my senior year at the winter dance...and how I didn't "man up" and try to talk to her.

Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes" reminds me of a mini-roadtrip I was on in Northeast Kansas. Saw some old friends that summer who would've been my classmates had we not moved to Maryville, MO from Effingham, KS.

Some song from "Dirty Dancing" came on and it reminded me how much I hate that damned movie. Still like the song, though.

Feels like I'm "marking time."

I've been wanting to take some kind of self-defense class. I think I'll try to find one, right after I go work out.

...and much of Madness, and more of Sin...

Haven't blogged in a looooonnnnnggggg time. My bad. And I need to. Right now it's 5 in the morning. Woke up at 3, tossed and turned for an hour. Decided to get up and try to wind back down.

We were assigned in the figure drawing class I took, to do our own self portrait. Here's what came out of it...

I have to admit, that it both shocked and creeped me out. Don't know where this came from.

It wasn't quite what the teacher had asked for, but I'm not sure I could've come up with anything else. It kinda reflects how things have been of late. I think she wanted all sorts of symbols and stuff, but that isn't me. Don't know if I'm really that "artsy-fartsy."

I got some "cool" comments from some. Others expressed a certain unease. Some even expressed preferring it without the quote and without the color. John Romita once told me that all drawing is trapping light with shade...hence the black and white.

Only my daughter saw sadness in it.

All in all color can be what you want it to say. Red certainly reflects rage. Even blood as I have to prick and stick myself to test my blood sugar and take meds. Could represent passion? Dunno. Been a bit passion-less of late. Green, for all the happy "life" things it is suppose to rep, is also the color of horror. One little tidbit I found out when researching horror movies, is that the original 1931 "Frankenstein" was tinted green to amp up the fear factor. The blue...I got no clue. Other than I do have blue eyes.

Gonna see if I can catch a few more zzzz's.

the long and winding road...

Dear Bloggie,

I've missed you. Been a long hard winter. Have been in school trying to retool. Will be better about posting. Here's a model sheet to one of the characters for my final animation project in "Introduction to 2D Animation."



Enjoy!

Yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life...

Couldn't post, though. Too busy trying to scoop out of all the white stuff coming down. The downside is that it causes school to be cancelled, and means I have to find other things to fill my day with. BID...

Sorry, my bloggy, that I've been neglecting you. Been that kind of year. But to get things back on track, I'll start with a short diddy.

My daughter, fondly known as "Satan," wanted a drawing of a four-leafed clover a while back. Take that back...demanded a drawing. "Just draw the damned thing!" was what I remember in pressing her for why when it would be an easy matter to find clipart on the internet of clover images. Finally it came out,...she wanted it for a tattoo. (For the record, her sisters, Megan and Emily, disapproved of their older sibling "scarring" herself.) But I finally relented. I got the "greatest father on earth routine" when I'm being compliant. In another post, I'll have to tell you about becoming "scum of the earth" another time. BID...

So here's what I designed...


I found out it just wasn't for her, but for her and a girlfriend as they were both going to get the same tattoo. (Nothing like compounding my sin by scarring someone else's kid.) So her friend, Erin, aka "E.W.T.N.A."(no, I'm not explaining the initials, or what they truly say. Sorry.) got the tattoo as well, and here's how it turned out...


My daughter, who lives by the credo that children were put on the earth to kill their parents, further scarred me by telling me where said tattoo is presently located. Megan and Emily were mortified. I was horrified. What can I say? I'm just not into tattoos!

My dad has a tattoo...the Marine Corps emblem, on his shoulder with his ID #. When I was a kid and asked him about it, he told me never to get a tattoo, claiming it was the stupidest thing he ever did. And when I hear a lot of stories about escapades involving getting tattoos, they usually start with some version of "...and I was drunk..." It seems like tattoos, having your eyebrows shaved, and getting the "clap" all begin with that short phrase. Not a ringing endorsement.

Which brings me to the modern age and being requested to design a tattoo for someone. I guess some people don't get drunk before getting a tattoo, but have carefully thought it out. (And no, I'm not starting a new career in body decoration.) But I have been flattered that Taryn has wanted me to design a tattoo for her foot. She asked me this well over a year ago, and I've drug my feet. One, for some personal reasons...it seems that in Judaism, which I've been studying, frowns on tattoos, mirroring similar comments from Rabbi Paul of the "body being the Temple of God" The second reason is the permanent factor...it's there for a lifetime. And lastly, because I would really hate to do a design for her that would be disappointing to her.

So we've been doing some brainstorming, going over things that might work versus things that don't. She wanted a particular quote from a favorite song incorporated into the design, something that means a great deal to her. Here's a rough of where we are with it. Still needs some refining, but I haven't posted for a looooooonnngg time, and needed to...


After I told her of a quote I'd recently discovered for myself, she asked if I'd considered getting it tattoo'd. Probably the closest I've come to doing it.

My "quote," by the way, is something written by Peter Ham of Badfinger fame..."Don't let tomorrow be just any day..."

Incidently, today is my dad's birthday even though he denies being born on Groundhog's Day.

"Erev Tov!"

...special love I have for you, my baby blue...

One of my favorite childhood memories is of the "Beatles" cartoon show produced by King Features Animation. Love the designs to the point that I don't feel a need to caricature them myself. I did, however, get interested in the "heir apparent" band signed to Apple Records, "Badfinger," formerly "The Iveys."

Badfinger is the greatest band that never was. And so screwed over by the music industry. Three of them are deceased now, and only one remains. So without any more introduction, here's my version of them done as close as I can for a first draft, in the style of the "Beatles" cartoon show.

Here's lead singer, composer, and guitarist, the late Peter Ham...


Bassist, composer, and singer, the late Tom Evans...


Drummer, the late Mike Gibbins...


And guitarist and singer, Joey Molland...


The knock on them was how much they looked and sounded like the Beatles. Ironically, as they progressed they developed their own sound. I also see a lot of myself in Pete Ham.

"Tell me the day and I'll set you free, what you wanna be
Show me the way and I'll let you see what you do to me
Well, it's not enough to live
If you're gonna take, then you have to give
We're for the dark, mm-baby, you and I..."(from "We're For The Dark," by Peter Ham)

What I did for my summer vacation...

Hard to believe it's been so long between posts. As usual, this particular part of the year is rough. This year has been no exception, and in many ways, much worse. Mostly from readjusting. I lost weight over the summer and it's played havoc with the blood sugar. I'd like to lose more, but at present things are "plateau'd." But I've added some exercising, and some other things, which I'll discuss in another post.

So what did I do this summer? Not a whole lot of drawing or creating. Not a whole lot of "Mike" time for that, it seems. But I'm proud of one thing in particular...the booth at Oceans of Fun. I remember Jacob, my assistant mgr at the time, and I going over there to do some recon. I don't have any pics from that time...they're probably somewhere on a disc I can't find...but I wasn't very happy. Later on, I was given the tour of Oceans of Fun by Gena, one of the photographers from the previous season, and I was struck by how pretty the place was and is. One of the WF people commented on how it needed some blowups and signage, and it did. Guess in a roundabout way, it became my "baby" of sorts. Mostly because no one really wanted to deal with it. It took all summer and was a work in progress 'til the last weekend Oceans was open, but here's how it turned out...


We added some lock boxes over the viewing stations to secure them, and to also not have to assemble and disassemble each day. Here's what it looked like open in all its glory...


I guess one thing I got tired of hearing real fast was what couldn't be done there. Some things were simple...make it look like a place people would want to approach. Get working equipment. Recognize the windows of opportunity and business flow. Add a second cash register. Lastly, we had some really good kids who worked hard. They took a lot of photos. Here's Gena in action...


She's the best at the underwater pics, and did a lot to teach the others. We had some "go-getters"...Emily, Laura, Jessica, Pat, Derek, Jake, Taryn, Kayla, Linda, Lauren, and probably a bunch I'm not remembering at this time. When it came time to pull it down for the season, I gave Taryn the power drill while I ran folks to their cars. By the time I got back, she'd taken it pretty much taken it all apart with extreme prejudice. Probably a good thing, as I tended to get too sentimental.

I'm signing off on this subject. Going to get back to what I do best, which is drawing and cartooning. But I don't have any regrets regarding how Oceans operated this season. I had a lot of fun with something "the suits" really had written off. I will miss it. And give my farewell to my time at Oceans of Fun with a pic of me there at closing time. I was really happy there.