Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the Fourth Dimension?

Here's a quick sketch I produced last night. I've a recent fondness for coloured pencils on black card. It certainly makes drawing space a lot easier! Here we have William Hartnell as the First Doctor:

Any suggestions for others?

FINISHED! Oh at last I have completed the Native American Animation and here it is for all you lucky viewers:

Native American 2: Judgement Day

Not all sequels are worse than the original! I am currently working on the Native American animation v.2. The first was too shaky to fix, so I decided to start over and it has given me the opportunity to re work some scenes and backgrounds. I think it is going to be better. Here are some pics of the animation process:

Riff: Do's and Don'ts of Dating

In this I tear through a 1950s PSA on the rights and wrongs of dating. Will I be able to say "Goodnight" correctly? Find out:

By the by I do not own this Public Service Announcement. It is made all for the purpose of entertainment, so get a sense of humour.

The Lament of Dr. Maniaco

 I made a film today with my new camera and edited it on Final Cut Pro. As you can probably tell, it was totally improvised, but that gives it a charm, I think. The character was supposed to be a pathetic super villain, which comes across in his stalled speech. I applied some Snazaroo face- paint (other brands are available), a bluey- brown around the eyes, which helped to define him as villain and made the white in my eyes stand out. The Pictures on the left make him seem more Count Orlok-like, which is interesting since I had the Bela Lugosi coachman from Dracula in mind when I created him (only not in attitude). My brother told me I looked like Gargamel.


 The editing is a bit awkward in places and I am aware that lighting changes quite drastically, but it was just to try out my camera and final cut and for that, I think, it is not bad. So here it is, the first film of Dr. Maniaco. Lights, camera, ACTION....

I HATE THIS FILM!!

I found an old VHS tape of Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin and the rest is just a blank- I went nuts!

Hey Big Spender!

I spent a heck-load of money today, purchasing an iMac, printer and video camera and I still had time to finish my museum project- truly I am great! 


I'll make a little test film with my new camera- what's that?! Why yes, it is HD, thank-you for asking. I was even given a free lens which allows you to make 3-D films- if I had a a 3-D t.v. that would mean something. I'm someone who actually hates 3-D, but even I think that's absolutely awesome!


See Ya!

I Love Lovecraft

Our illustration group is creating a "zine"- yeah I don't know what it is either- Maybe its a small magazine that hasn't quite reached the MAGA part- anyway, the theme was 15 which covers a lot of ground and, lucky for a geek like me, was the date of the death of author H. P. Lovecraft (I did say lucky for me).

I first read Lovecraft when I was fifteen and it was incredible. I love the scope of his work. This cosmic fantasy, which is simply known as Lovcraftian. It was genuinely creepy as well and props to those first person narrators continuing to write as the unknown horror was right behind them. All joking aside, he is a huge influence on my work and this image is a tribute to the man.

I really do like that Stephen King quote as well.

Stuffed in the Cupboard

 This is my idea of Batman. To me it really represents the World's Greatest Detective feel- and I love flash-lights!


Brush Pen

 A slightly more cartoony Batman. The influence here was Mike Mignola/ David Mazzuchelli 


Brush Pen

 I was never a big fan of Superman growing up (except for the Fleischer cartoons which I have always loved), but I've realised in recent years that he symbolises everything a hero should be. He is essentially the perfect superhero.


This was influenced by Darwyn Cooke, whose work I really do admire. It captures that classic golden/ silver age look. The black badge was influenced by the Fleischer animations.


Letroset Promarker

 This was a character for a graphic novel idea, which is essentially Fairy Tales... IN SPAAAACE!


This is the Beauty and the Beast character. The closest thing in sci-fi I could think of was The Fly (1958).  I like the screwed up suit.


Fine Liner (0.1), Brush Pen, Letroset Promarker

 The Black Swan, the pirate alien's/ wicked witch's space craft. It's basically a classic rocket. This was the first image I came up with. It occurred me that an upside- down rocket, kinda looks like Repunzel's tower. How the thought came to me, I have no idea, but I'm glad it did.

This is our Cinderella. Already a princess, only made a slave. Her name is Delah (like Cinderella, mixed with Dejah Thoris...I think it works).


Her pose was based on a photo of Golden Age actress, Valerie Hobson, which I chose because I thought that since the 1930s, that is where modern royalty is. 


The turban was based on an Edmund Dulac illustration for Beauty and the Beast.


I really like this piece. She has a classic beauty where you believe the royalty


Fine Liner: 0.01
Brush Pen
Colouring Pencils

 The top two are classic monsters: Tim Curry as the Devil (really are you surprised?) from Legend and the Gill-Man from the Creature from the Black Lagoon.


The Bottom two are my own creations, the one on the left was inspired by driftwood.


Fine Liner: Various
Brush Pen                           

                                     

This Monster Mash dates from November 2010, when I still had long hair. I wanted to create an ensemble piece celebrating my favourite Monsters of Cinema- and yes I really do love the Ro-Man from Robot Monster. 


There's even a little Dalek in their. I'm not too fond of my depiction of Christopher Lee as Dracula, but rest are fine, especially Cesare. 


That's me in the middle- I really should update this with a haircut!

Two of my favourite characters here, the Wonderful wizard of Oz and Merlin. My Wizard of Oz, was really based on that circus ringleader look, only more whimsical, perhaps I was thinking of Professor Marvel from the 1939 film. Too me it captures the idea of Oz not being your typical High fantasy realm. It's a different style to Narnia, or Middle- Earth. I picture it more like a late 19th, early 20th century America (which shows I have no clue of American History).


Merlin was inspired by Aubrey Beardsley and Alan Lee's take on the character. They didn't depict him as an old guy in a white beard. I think that this version is more likely to feature in T. H. White's The Once and Future King. This is pretty much how I do picture Merlin, in White's book Merlyn is a character who experiences time backwards, so I guess the slightly victorian look of him fits that idea. His face reminds me of an owl, which works due to his familiar(which is an owl).

Finally we get to Odin the Wanderer. In classical mythology many the of the father Gods would walk amongst the humans, usually disguised in traveller garb. Odin was certainly no exception, and this is how I imagine him. His hands are small, as are his feet (don't take it personal Odin). Since Odin is single-eyed, I thought it would great to simply tip his hat a bit. Despite its faults, I do like this image. Being a fan of mythology, particuarly Norse, I appreciate the magnitude of this image.

A Good Cast is Worth Repeating

See before you the cast of my Native American animation:

 

 What I love about this style is the boldness of the design. The top left character, who looks like Sherlock Holmes, is our lead. The film will follow him through life, which I figured was the best way to cover their lifestyle. Top Right is a horse designed in a Plains Tribe style. It actually reminds me of Yosemite Sam's Dragon in Knighty Knight Bugs.

 
(Image from http://yosemite-sam.net/Sam/Animated-Cartoons/Sam-1958-Knighty-Knight-Bugs.htm)

Bottom left is the Midwife who brings our lead into the world. Her magnificent face was based on a photo I saw of an elderly Native American, who the most extraordinary wrinkles, they were like deep caverns in her skin. I'm sure when she cried it was like a babbling brook!

Then we have, my favourite, the trickster god, Iktomi. This is a spider, who can transform into a human, not the other way round surprisingly. As a human he usually has either red, blue or white paint around his eyes. I decided to go with a big red eye to make him stand out, so that the audience knows he his mischevious. A great concept is that he can use people like puppets. Gotta love mythology.

I have done as much research as possible for this project, because it is important to do as much as possible, not just because you might offend someone (that should be subconcsious), but because it is truth. I'm also including traditional patterns in the animation, such as the sun, below. I made up the colours, bearing in mind what pigments were available.

 Well with the characters designed, it's off to the animation wing. Wish me luck!