Numero Sesenta: New Year, New Challenges.

What's good, true believers? (I'm feeling my inner Stan Lee at the moment. Heh)

Happy 2010! To begin, this year promises to be one of the best ever. OK, scratch that... truthfully I haven't a clue what the year holds, and frankly I'm glad. All the better to make matters as I see fit, I say (or get blindsided by inevitable outcomes). Either way, I'm ready to do all sorts of lovely damage all over the interwebs and all over your face. I promise it won't hurt... much.

Although school is about to set off once again and I'll be casting myself into the flames of academic mania, I'm applying some rigid maintenance techniques now. This will hopefully allow me to remain insanely devoted to my studies as usual, while simultaneously poking holes in my schedule for the creation of light & magic (but not quite the industrial kind). Over the holiday break I've taken time in between consuming one or two too many cocktails to lay pen/pencil/stylus to paper/tablet and get projects moving forward.

For one, I have been able to take some steps forward in the long-halted, long-stifled production of Gun, which has been better than sex with a circus clown (not that I would know). I am also devoting time to practicing some more rudimentary stuff, namely anatomy and body dynamics. I noticed over the past year that I have an annoying tendency to produce very static illustrations and I'd like to remedy that, especially in the context of Gun, which is after all an action-oriented series.

With that in mind, I've taken some of the stuff I've been reading about dynamic poses in illustration and begun utilizing it to make more robust pieces, the first of which is naturally dedicated to Gun character, Kai. A linework version of the first Gun piece this year is below. It's still a work in progress, so I've signed it as such (FYI - I plan to share works-in-progress more often now, if for no other reason than to have a larger body of work available to the public).

Unfortunately I can't remember at the moment which artist's action posing materials I referenced for this piece, but when I find out, I'll add a note of thanks here. He or she (and many others around the net) have great things out there for fellow visual artists and animators to learn from, so if you're an artist of some sort too, have a look around. There's lots to build your style and technique upon, if you just comb around for it.

Be seeing you soon, hopefully with a substantial, massive, mouth-watering, panty-wetting Gun update.

Arrivederci.

- Fred

click the thumbnail below to see the full-size version.

First Hurdle Jumped. On To The Next One.

What's good people? (i.e., whoever the hell is actually reading this)

Just a quick update with zero substance. Today marked the official end of the first semester for me, having handed in all my final projects, attended all classes, and sufficiently ground my brains down to some material slightly resembling oatmeal. Apart from administrative shit, I'm actually at liberty to (finally) recollect my sanity, and more importantly spend the next few weeks devoting some real time to Gun. Another relatively useless screenshot is below, for shits and giggles.

So my plan is to attack attack attack (x3) this shit with a fervor and obsessive mania rivaling that of my approach to my grad school classes. I'm basically going to try and drive myself insane with creativity, doing shot after shot (not alcohol... well, maybe. lol), and scene after scene, hoping with a sense of unappealing desperation that I can not only make major progress with this last giant scene, but that I can actually finish the episode in its entirety. Aiming high? You bet.

Yeah, I know... I've stated similar hopes in the past several months, maybe even years. However, I'm hoping that my now habitual diligence will rub off on my artistry, and turn me into a productive monster. If that means I need to hurl myself crash-test-dummy style into my works, then so be it.

What I'm really hoping is that in so doing, I can effectively undo the massive left-brain damage of the past several months of academia by giving my right brain the masturbation it so desperately craves, and rightfully deserves.

Prepare for an artgasm. Wear a raincoat.

- Fred.

click thumbnail to view larger version... bitches.

Round Two - Art Whore Extraordinaire.

Quick update:

My latest completed digital design went up for scoring on Threadless.com. The print version is titled "The Muse 3" and I hope people enjoy the idea enough to slap 5's on it. Voting is open until Monday, Dec 8th.

Please be sure to go check it out and cast your votes! Thanks and have an awesome day.

The link is below. Peace.

I Am Alive.

Quick update for anyone fearing that this blog is dead or dying:

It isn't.

The past two months have consisted of more work than I care to enumerate at present, grad school kicking the shit out of me, me kicking the shit out of grad school, working with charming (but very tiring) kindergarteners, personal issues, bad decisions, worse behavior, and generally shitty times, culminating in the death of a cherished family member yesterday evening.

In between all that stuff, I've tried to salvage what little I can of my artistic passions, and put things to good use. The only relatively novel thing worth reporting on is that I began experimenting with digital painting. It's an interesting medium and I want to explore it further. My first ever attempt at digital painting is below, in a piece entitled "Study 1 - Saiyu: Disgraced Runway Model." It's messy, but I had a good time bringing it to life and hope to try more pieces in this style soon. By the way -- yes, believe it or not, Gun is still in production.




In short, November has not been fun. Here's hoping December will be better. Bye.

- Fred

Threadless Debut!

Hey folks,

This is just a quick post to boomerate (read: publicly announce) my public art-whoring.

I recently submitted "The Muses #2" (AKA "The Muse 2") for consideration on threadless.com, the famous tee-shirt art-atorium. It got approved by the gods of Mt. Threadlympus, which means that from now up through the next 7 days, it will be available for voting. SO GO VOTE!!!

Please check out "The Muse 2" on Threadless and cast your vote in support of yours truly. Let's get this shit on fabric, kids!

If you don't already have a threadless account, it literally takes like 10 seconds to sign up, it's completely free, and they never spam you or do anything annoying once you're signed up. You can pretty much sign up, vote, and forget the site even exists if you want (but don't do that, because it's actually a pretty dope site. I promise.).

Check out "The Muse 2" on Threadless by following the link below! Here's hoping your votes make some magic happen!

Love, peace, and funnel cakes.

- Fred



p.s. -- when you're done, come on back here and then cast a vote for Ramon Rodriguez's piece too (below)! Voting for this one ends just 5 days from now! Click below to view and cast your vote!

Mayhem. Music. Mending. Making.

Hello again,

So in between the madness of classes this past week, and sorting out all sorts (redundant, much?) of chaos, I managed to dig up some older artwork from 2008 that I produced during my stint up north. No, not in prison, in New Haven, CT (some might say, "same difference"). Heh. To celebrate, I decided to throw up a stripped-down little mini-gallery to display them online. Another one of my "black pages" that seem to be popping up increasingly of late.

Among those lush creations, was my not-so-long forgotten series of pieces, which I tentatively titled "The Muses." I was going to call it "Les Muses," but that felt so unbearably pretentious, I did away with that idea sooner than I had even conceived it.

Finding this old art also inspired a very recent (read: finished late last night) stylized self-portrait, digitally produced. That's also in the new gallery.

In addition, there were a few "Gun" character studies, which I'm delighted to share... later on. When episode 2 drops... In "xxx" weeks! My apologies, but that stuff will just have to wait... OK, now I feel bad.

Fine. Have your cake now. They're here too. Ya big jerks. Haha.

Click the image below to view the latest pieces on the new Artwork '08 - '09 page at HS!

Now, back to this new music. I've been listening to all sorts of new beats and grooves after a long hiatus from aural pleasure (which happens to be a great song by Blackalicious, by the way). If you haven't heard it yet, I suggest checking out "Octahedron" by The Mars Volta. I've finally given it a listen, and I need to get the word out. It is great. It is the bees knees. (Bonus points for anyone who got that reference just now.) Sets the pace for my pencil and flow, y'know?

New ideas are keeping the fire burning. I'll be sure to share whatever ashes spill forth.

Peaceandlove.

- Fred

Recovery Room.

Well hello there.

I write to you now with an air of placidity and a bit of nostalgia. You'll have to pardon my random utterances at the moment. I'm now recovering from a massive dose of battered haddock and chips, prepared in true British style, by actual British people (unfortunately, at American prices!). Deliciously painful. Once I'm done digesting this food sometime next Wednesday, I can probably walk a straight line and sit upright again. But I digress...

As you might recall I mentioned awhile back bringing to everyone a "blast from the past" in my typically vague manner. Well, I'll be vague no more. I recovered the lost original cut of the unfinished Gun Episode 1 from 2003, and I've finally patched it into a working file for your entertainment.

I warn you now -- this movie is beyond bad. If you thought that the official Episode 1 was bad, you'll probably think it's a fucking Scorcese picture after you've seen what it could have ended up looking like. The differences between the old 2003 version and the official 2006 version are indeed staggering. And the differences between then and the current state of Gun Episode 2? Psh. No comparison. I really cannot wait to share episode 2 with the world. It will be epic (for maybe like a week, because let's be honest, ain't nobody that interested in it, 'cept for my friends & associates). Heh.

So, I figure the best way to kill the waiting time of now 3+ years until episode 2 is released is to check out the old-school 2003 version of Gun Episode 1. It is complete right up to the point where my old computer pulled out a Beretta and blew its own silicon brains all over the wall. The mess was ridiculous. I was scrubbing the paint with easy-off for like an hour and a half. Computer suicide is serious business. For real.

Click the image below to check out the original shitshow. Grab a popcorn and prepare for the horror! You've been warned -- after watching this, you might end up dead on the floor, with your face all twisted up like that girl from "The Ring." It's that bad.

Enjoy!

- Fred