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.

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

Ready. Set. Create.

Hallo wunderbare Kinder,

In case you missed the headlines -- Heretik Studios is back in New York City... and only New York City. I'm about to embark on the next chapter of my life here, beginning graduate school at NYU. Life shall be chaotic, intense, and harrowing... but at least it won't be boring.

As I've been preparing for the next stage, I've produced some funky updates for Gun the Animated Series. Yes, yes, I know... Episode 2, it's still not out. Although, admittedly, some of the updates are indeed the flesh and blood of Episode 2.

I'm trying to get a steady pace going in this masochistic race I'm running. In just two weeks time, I'll be setting foot through the doors of graduate study and setting my social life and free time sail in the ocean on a dinky, tattered, makeshift raft to be rescued at some point. God only knows when that will be. I'm planning to push myself to even greater heights, make even bigger sacrifices, all in the pursuit of something higher than I've ever touched before. Included among these efforts will be the steady push to improve and complete the one bit of personal work that I've treated with any seriousness in recent times. You all know what that is (yes, of course I mean my art, and more specifically Gun).

I should also mention that my friend, frequent victim of my insults, and fellow artist Ramon Rodriguez has been working at producing a new t-shirt piece at Threadless. Click here to check it out, and be sure to cast your votes!

In waiting, I'm currently contemplating the release of some crazy, ancient, hilarious, interesting goodies from way, way behind the scenes of Gun. By contemplating, of course I mean planning.

Stay tuned for that and much, much more. Auf Wiedersehen.

- Fred

A sip of the latest visuals are below, amigos.

Mile Markers

Greetings from the Front lines,

It's been an interesting week. Or maybe an uninteresting week, depending on how you look at it. I've been slowly disseminating the news that my life is going to change drastically in the next few months. Different people are taking it in different ways. I won't bother spreading the news here, because this is all about my work, not about my daily goings-on. At any rate, I've decided to step back and take some perspective. I've been finding it exceedingly difficult to achieve the things I want to achieve lately. I'm not sure where the root of this problem lies, but I know that if I stop running at 150mph and slow down for awhile, I'm more likely to spot it and find a solution.

In keeping with such a motive, I've sequestered myself again, in a manner of speaking. Limiting my contact with the outside world to necessities only, slavishly hewing away at this monstrously ambitious project of mine, trying to make my dreams come alive.

All I can do in the meantime is continue to report on my baby steps until they lead me tiptoeing across the finish line, and occasionally publish little tidbits worth staring at. More on that later.

Oh and the reason I call this post "Mile Markers"....

Today marks three years since the official release of Gun to the public. Here's to milking the successes of one episode for far too long.

... and here's to getting through what lies ahead. Drink up.

VIEW GUN EPISODE 1 ON NEWGROUNDS HERE (part 1)

- Fred

I won't explain anything here. It's incomplete, but it's just more of what you're not getting yet. Just look and enjoy.
NOTE: shot features art by Ramon Rodriguez. Click here to visit his website.

(click to view at full size)

SPECIAL REPORT - Uro City Explodes

Hello everyone,

I am posting this entry in response to events that occurred yesterday in the nearby American city of Uro. The Herald has been covering this from minute one. Their cover story from this mornings issue is here...



This is the latest that I'm hearing from the radio stations...
"... there were no less than 8 found dead at the scene. Bullet casings and blood are everywhere. The only fingerprints found belonged to the victims. Minutes later, a massive explosion rocked the Logan Bridge, causing mass terror and killing two people, who remain as yet unidentified. Apparently their bodies were charred beyond all recognition, but they were armed."

People aren't whispering. People are screaming. People are scared.

The atmosphere is growing darker. Politicians are being assassinated, a mass killing occurs within a week, bombs go off during morning traffic over the isle. What the fuck is going on in the city of Uro? Is this a sign of what's to come?

The Herald has been closely watching these events, but information is being tightly guarded by the authorities of Uro. I managed to snag a copy of the cover, which ran this morning to a hungry populace. Reports indicate that the Friday issue sold out within an hour. The image above is all I was able to procure before I encountered a cyber-block, preventing me from downloading content on these events... I might possibly be under watch in Uro's civil judiciary system for posting this, but there it is for all those who haven't heard about this yet. It's worth the risk to let the world know of the chaos that is erupting right here on American soil.

This is the first visible sign of the terrible downward spiral that Uro has been locked in for a long time now. The shock of these events has stirred the citizens to unprecedented levels of paranoia, with voices echoing a million different theories about the direction of the city. Some say this is an isolated incident. Others say the worst is yet to come. One thing is for certain...

The city is on fire... there's no turning back now.

- Fred

Labbing.

Not just in a manner of speaking. I'm in the midst of hardcore, knuckle-down creative work. Yes, on Gun episode 2. I'm trying my best to see this through... no weekend trip, no work, just me and the tools of my trade.

I've sacrificed a fun, relaxing, and much-needed weekend at home to instead stay here in Shitsville and convert my 9-5 space into the makeshift Heretik Studios production floor. As I said before, I'm determined to shut myself up in this space regularly until significant strides are made. It seems to be the only way I can realistically achieve progress in my own life anymore.

Reflecting on it, I'm not too proud of it, nor am I at all pleased with it... but I have to do what I have to do.

Spin the wheels. Back to work.

- Fred...

Sequesterization.

Yes, "sequesterization" is a word. I just made it up, so it's a word.

Anyway, literary rules aside, I merely come with a brief update on the status of the inner workings of Fred's head (did I really just make that obvious rhyme reference).

I've ceased any and all work on peripheral material for the moment and decided to focus all of my creative attention on the completion of Episode 2. It's frankly ridiculous that I'm still talking about finishing the episode at such a late point. Especially considering that it's been extremely near completion for about a year now. Absolutely ridiculous.

The only measure of control I can exercise at this point is to hole myself up in my business surroundings; usurping the space for the purposes of Gun work. That's just what I've done. I've essentially moved Heretik Studios to my lab space in the meantime, in the hopes of dedicating solid hours to finishing the toon.

The switch to Mac has impeded my progress somewhat, mainly from a logistical standpoint, but it's nothing to fret over. I'm experimenting with new transfer protocols, and some of Flash's system fonts were missing and I had to go hunt them down like a-ni-mal. I found some swanky substitutes and I'm ready to roll again... and yes, I did just say "swanky." Deal with it.

As for the "last" peripheral art production... Take a peek at it below. It's finished, but the finished version isn't available to the public yet. This version is all you get for now. Creamy, cherry goodness.

Buon Appetito.

(click the thumbnail to view the larger version.)

Fresh Ink. Fresh Perspective.

So... you might have noticed that today Heretik Studios has a very different facade on it.

Indeed.

I got so sick of visitors being bombarded with that plethora of shit-and-mustard colored goodness that is my old homepage, that I decided to craft a quick facelift for the opening page. It also gave me yet another excuse to rock the Wacom tablet, in tandem with the Mac. Bliss.

I must say, that the two tools are absolute bliss. They were made for each other. I've never had such fun creating digital work before. I cannot wait to hit Gun full throttle with these bad boys. Woot.

The funky new homepage features none other than Alexandra of Gun fame (or lack thereof, lol) doing her best impression of a courtesan in training. Yes I defiled one of my characters to make the site seem sexier. So fucking what? It's my character and I can do whatever I want with her or any of the other ones, OK?

Besides, it was a blast to create. Hope you enjoy the fresh ink. :)

I'm off to sleep, then work, then NY for a 3-day weekend.

See ya when I see ya. Addio.

- Fred

More Twitching. Less Scratching.

Hi folks. A small update here. Just a peek at the progress on the new piece. I've encountered some technical difficulties working through this, which have starkly reminded me of my vehement hatred for the Windows OS and all of its ridiculous neuroses. I love alot of things about it too, don't get me wrong. But damn was this evening frustrating or what. Like pulling teeth from a crocodile. Argh.

Anyway, the image below shows some of the playing around I've been doing with coloring. One thing I can definitely say for the Wacom pen, it allows alot of natural laydown from the pen to the screen. I went a tad color crazy on this young lady's hair, but I frankly don't give a shit. It is what it is, and I'm playing around with it in several ways.

When it's done, it will presumably be my last piece of 2008, so hopefully I can release it in time for the New Year celebrations. What little there is to celebrate... sorry, the cynical misanthrope in me was creeping up again.

Anyway, enjoy. Hopefully I can post another progress shot or two before year's end. Click the image to see the full size.

Bon soir. (I really have to stop ending my posts in foreign languages. It's not nearly as cool as it sounds.)

- Fred

Treasures and Lull.

Christmas came and went and I barely noticed. Between work and travel, I was able to procure gifts for precisely 2 people out of over 15 that I usually buy for each year. Not exactly happy about that. At least I'm back home for this week. NYC lounging and having time to breathe and actually spend more than 4 consecutive hours NOT stressing about something... It's uncanny, I know.

Nonetheless, my mom (who is awesome) blessed me with a sweet new Wacom tablet on Dec. 25th. I have been toying around with this thing ever since and it's pretty sweet. The first time I tried it out, I nearly creamed myself. I shit you not.

Despite having a house full of children ages 4 through 9-ish, and having zero time to dedicate to my creativity, plus having a rather shitty day in general, I was able to eke out a good chunk of graveyard shift time to give the Wacom a proper test drive. The result ...? Well so far, a working illustration of one of the characters from Gun, around which my creative life seems to revolve these days (apart from the occassional poem, that is). So far I've just done lines for her face and head. I'm expanding downward and then coloring and then doing background. I'll probably develop this into a full-fledged promo piece or something in a similar vein.


But that will be tomorrow. My black ass is tired. Enjoy a look at the work in progress by clicking the thumbnail.

Addio.

- Fred

Latency Period.

Welcome back to the stage.

So in case you missed the news... I moved out of New York... Heretik Studios is now split between two centers, one in New York, one in Connecticut. Pretty intense.

So what's been happening on the creative front? Not much at all. Although, I have been totally producing new sketches.. and relevant works too. Gun stuff. I don't know what will actually be fully developed, or when it will be available for the public to get their grubby little mitts on, but at least it's SOMETHING.

I can't run flash. I can't run photoshop. Not for a few weeks at least. Sorry folks, but real life got in the way. I got a new job.

I said it before and I'll say it again... Gun, episode 2 is gonna come. No matter what.

Believe it!

Lines in the Sand.

So...

It feels like it's been awhile since I've put dribbles of the digital sort to this paper. I might as well just give you more bad news, since you're used to hearing about it from me anyway. Yes, Gun is kind of on a hiatus right now. I'm in the process of moving, and my technical limitations will be many and arduous. Not to mention, I'm starting a new job and I simply don't know yet when I'd find the time to work on it, even if I did have the tools at my disposal. As it stands right now, I'm unable to move forward with the episode for the time being, due to boundaries of equipment and productivity.

The second episode is in no way, shape, or form scrapped. Gun WILL be completed. It's not over. Not by a longshot. It's just going to take a few extra steps before I can get there.

What this means is simply this - until I can get back to Gun work, I'm going to be pouring my artistic energies into areas that I've largely ignored in recent times, just in order to stay sharp and focused and give my mind that casual bit of respite it seeks from time to time. What this means is that in the coming weeks, there will actually be consistently new content on the damn website for once! As soon as I find the avenues through which I can air new things, it will be on the world's stage that we call the internet.

I'm wishing I could just cap off my pride and joy and finish this episode now, but I'm looking forward to the active reprieve. It should result in many fun and interesting things. Fingers crossed.

See you there.

Stress Rap.

Week Four (so to speak), was a major week. The week of change and transition. The week of massive stress. The week where I realize how much shit I have ahead of me, and how little time I have left to get it all sorted.

That's the week that just passed.

Last night, I sat down on my couch, started watching some "First 48" (I love that show), and I passed the fuck out within the first 15 LOL. I don't think I've ever been more tired and stressed. Things with this job have taken massive, massive turns and I'll be explaining more about it in a short while. When the time is right.

This is just a small update to say that Real Life has made me its bitch this week. I want to work on Gun so badly, this moratorium is killing me. Especially facing the challenges that are ahead, this is going to be a total uphill battle on the creative front. I'd like to be cranking out new art, making headway on the final scene of Gun, and updating the website, but it's so hard to get the downtime to do these things, and it seems like whenever I do get a little bit of time for it, I'm so damn drained that I literally fall asleep at the computer. I wish there was more I could do to make this shit work better in tandem with the "life stuff." All I can do is wade in the water for now and see where the hell I end up.

At least today is Saturday.

Waiting.

This is a very brief update.

I'm just waiting. Waiting for something big to happen. I don't know which direction it's going to come from, but it's gonna be very difficult. I keep having fucked up dreams that I won't even get into right now. I always feel like I'm about to explode. I've been extremely irritable lately, and very impatient with people around me. I bark statements at them, ignore them when they talk to me, vent frustrations at them, and do all sorts of other shit I have no business doing. I'm sleeping very little these days.

I'm ready to fucking explode. I'm going absolutely crazy with a million very heavy things in my head, and there's no one I can really talk to about this stuff. Nobody.

So I put it out there for all to read anonymously. Behold the warmth and connectedness of the digital age.

What a waste of emotional resources.

Blah.

and I still haven't had a chance to really work on Gun.

Whirlwinds.

Hi, hey, ho,

What's good.

I'm updating people on the status of shit in "Heretik Land", AKA my life. So basically here's the scenario... I haven't had chances to work on Gun consistently, and that does suck. But it's with very good reason. I'm gonna explain to you now what's been happening and what's about to happen (sort of).

In early April I started a new job with Yale. I'm a survey administrator, based in New York City. This means that I've been going around to countless elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens and administering surveys to students and teachers. It's a pretty cool gig. I get to hit up so many different parts of New York that I've never explored before and I'm never in the same place twice, which I like. I enjoy working with students and teachers are usually cool and have interesting things to say, and they and their principals have valuable insights into American education.

However, this job entails that I generally wake up every data collection day sometime between 4:30AM and 5:30AM. Then I have to take very long, very irksome, very early subway journeys to various neighborhoods in the outer boroughs of New York. Then I have to go to sleep around 10PM. This is not normal for me at all. Usually, I work on Gun during the wee hours, since this is my only real quiet time. But now that quiet time is dedicated to sleep. And what little other time there is, I devote to my social life, because I am NOT giving that up.

So that's the current sitch. This gig lasts until the end of this month. THEN, the people at Yale have offered me another research position, to begin in June. This one might actually require that I move. It's a summer position, from June through August. I still don't know if I'll take it, but it's very tempting, and I am leaning towards saying yes to it. The work is really interesting, and is largely related to what I'm working on now. Additionally, this could turn into an even further development beginning in September, depending on the work I do and the choices I make in the next two weeks. Suffice it to say, my brain is like a cauldron right now. Not to mention there's lots of personal shit at stake that I won't even get into right now.

So you see where I've been and why it's been difficult to really move forward on this final scene of my pride and joy of a cartoon. I'm devoting as much of that downtime as I can to finishing it.

These weeks have been a fucking storm of epic proportions, and I'm taking it one day at a time. Thanks for bearing with me. I'm the suckiest animator ever for making people wait so long to see my shit. I apologize again and again.

I'm trying my best. Just stay with me.

- Fred

The Sunday Stripe

So...

I know I said I would try to finish Gun episode 2 by May 4th. I also said that it would be extremely difficult, or damn near impossible. I wasn't kidding. Not only is the work onerous, but it's been significantly held up because I started a new research job, and I'm sorry but those responsibilities are paramount, boys and girls. I'm trying as hard as I can to find the time in between the work and waking up at 5AM to take long journeys to different areas to do my job. I'm really used to working long, late hours when it comes to Gun, and lately it's been rare that I'm awake past midnight. So the Sunday deadline isn't happening. Sorry kids.

Yes, I am working at it though. Just not as quickly as I'd like to be able to. Sigh. Such are the tribulations of a lone animator and his humongous animated feature.

If I could send you all something really cool as a thank you for waiting so long and putting up with my constant delays and push-backs, Lord knows I would. But I can't. So you'll have to settle for my sincere thanks and apologies.

Also, no one got that damn image correct from ten days ago, so I'm ending that. All I got was "it's Casey Jones." and I realized that it does really look like his mask as well. Fact is, that isn't a terribly original design, but my decision to use it wasn't at all inspired by Casey Jones of TMNT fame. No, it was a semi-obscure but well-reviewed animated feature from around the early 1990s that did it. I am speaking of "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", and the title character in particular, who was really cool and badass. I loved that movie as a kid, and still do, so that was my nod of homage. In case you don't know what the Phantasm looked like, here ya go:

So that's that. Like I said, similar yes, but there's some obvious differences. I won't go into detailing them because well, that's pointless. You'll see it when you see episode 2. SOMEDAY!

Til' then, take care and don't crucify me for my turtle's pace. I am but a mere man with but one computer and one program. If I had a team of animators, this shit would be off the chain!

Oh well. I can dream. Bye folks, I got some Gun work to do.

Guessing Games.

Hey! Hey! Yeah You! Comm'ere... I got some candy for ya.

OK if you took the candy, you're parents didn't raise you right. You never take candy from strangers, despite the fact that strangers do in fact always have the best candy. But this candy is of the digital and visual variety.

This time around I've got yet another new screenshot from Gun episode 2 for you. It's one of the new characters that appears in this episode. The character's name is Odin. I was pretty blasé about the shot itself, since it isn't a terribly important one. It isn't terribly impressive either, truth be told... but it is probably the best clean look at the character's face that you will get. So here it is.

Click the image to see a larger version.

OK now here's the deal... to make it more interesting for whoever is reading this... I decided to come up with a little teaser kind of thing. So here's the deal...

You might find yourself looking at this character and saying to yourself, "I think I've seen this somewhere before." Well you're kind of right. Truth is, it's not an entirely original design. So before I get a whole slew of idiots sending me hate mail (again!), blasting me for ripping off the idea for this character, I am telling you this now - The mask design and general aura for this character was not only heavily influenced by another character from a different work, it is an intentional nod of homage to that character. Why? Well, this is a character that I always found so badass and mysterious when I was younger. So in coming up with a design concept for this character, I was thinking "Damn, Odin reminds me alot of 'you know who'. It'd be cool if Odin had that same kind of badassery and a similar mask like the one in that movie." I originally conceived Odin with a mask and a mysterious persona. So, since I needed a mask and it was just such a good fit, and I was such a big fan of this character, I said fuck it, and kind of reincarnated that character's haunting look in my own character. So there you have it.

Now here's where YOU come in - You may have noticed that I totally neglected to specifically mention what character I keep referring to. This is because I want you to figure that out. If you are a longtime cartoon and animation fan, this will probably be easier for you. I won't drop any hints here, because frankly I already dropped a couple in the previous paragraph. Now if you think you know the character that Odin's mask design is paying homage to, you can shoot me the answer. You only get one guess so make it count!

If you're right, I might hook you up with a really super sweet prize, like perhaps... maybe, say, a secret link to an advance screening of the first part of the upcoming episode 2 of Gun... maybe. perhaps. ^__^

Hit me with the answer by sending a message with the subject line "Odin's Mask" through one of two ways...

1. I would prefer that you send the answer to the Official Gun MySpace page inbox.

2. If you don't have a MySpace account, you can email it to me, but I don't check the inbox very often! haha. OK, I'll keep my eyes more open in coming days. I promise.

If you're a hot chick, feel free to send that guess along with a hi-res photo of you and your boobies. It would be appreciated. Thanks. Haha.

I made such a big fuss about a new update and this is all there is to it. Ha! Sorry to disappoint you. Truth is, I got tired of seeing that angry/depressed last post being the first one on the blog. I'm over that whole thing now. Well sort of. Anyways, this is the new update, and it's nowhere near as exciting as I made it sound in my promotions! Hahaha.

But hey, if you play along and don't be a lazy shit, you might get something good. Like an advance screening to a crappy overrated cartoon that's soon to come out... It's called "A Plate of Butter". Haha sorry Ramon, I had to do it. By the way, Ramon is NOT allowed to guess, because I'm almost certain that he will know the answer to this guessing game. No unfair advantages allowed.

Everyone else, have at it! Peace.

- Fred

Roughing It.

Hey folkses.

I was working at a rough sketch of a character that appears in episode 2. I had some last minute changes to the character's look and I needed to mock it up before I committed it to flash. I basically drew the body pose, then the wardrobe on top of it. Here's a sample of the rough digital sketch (and I do mean ROUGH).

click the image to see it full size.



Yes, I realize that the pose sucks donkey dick and it's generally a terrible drawing. Shut up! I did it in 5 minutes and it was just so I could visualize the changes. Keep talking shit and I'll never share anything with you again...

No... don't touch me, you pissed me off. Now you have to wait at least 24 hours before we have that mandatory make-up sex.

Bye.

P.S. - I am LOLing right now because the tags for this post came out in alphabetical order and it says "rough sex"... LOL.

It's My Birthday!

Sorry... nothing new to report. I'm just being self-indulgent here.

It's my birthday. I love it. It's also my cat Jynx's birthday too. He's ancient, turning 17 years old today!



Now hand me one of them chocolate bunnies and some iced pound cake, dude. I'm gonna eat it bitches! YUMYUMYUMYUM!!



Ok... I'm done loving myself. Back to Gun!

Sexytime.

Hey lovely little people...

wow that was really gay. Sorry about that.

Anyway, this is a quick update. I just threw up some lucky charms on heretik studios.. if you visit the site now, you should notice a shiny little badge in your address bar, declaring the glory and splendor of Heretik Studios that is filling your browser like a slutty girl's mouth on prom night. And that ain't a milk shake she was drinkin either. Sticky icky icky. ooh-wee. Too bad her last name was Spitzer... ooooohhh.

Disgustingly vague sexual references aside, I also hopped on here more importantly, to show you fine folks a little something i've been working on lately. I mentioned awhile back that I was toying with a new illustration for Gun. I won't go into details of how this came about, but suffice it to say Artboy is a douchebag and I have a really big fucking mouth. It will be fully developed into something totally new later on, and its very much in the creation stages, but here's a little preview of it!! cha-cha-cha.



By the way, that's not a screenshot from episode 2, but there actually is a similar-ish shot in the episode. i wont bother posting that because... well frankly I don't feel like it.

What can I say, I'm a little shit! haha. My birthday is tomorrow and I'm feeling some pressures outside of this creative artwork world of mine. But the Times isnt for personal ranting normally so... Ignore that last part.

OK back to Gun!!!

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown Down.

Realizations, Realizations.

I came to one last night as I was working on episode 2 of Gun. It's coming up on 2 years since episode 1 was released. Yeah. Two fucking years. I was going back over some of the scenes I've completed so far in episode 2 and just realizing how much I had limited myself in terms of sharing content with viewers and fans. This is mostly due to the episode content itself. The way it's structured... It's.. well it's complicated. Anyway, as I was going back over these scenes I was editing little things here and there that I thought needed fixing... and then I watched it. I like allowed myself to sit back and watch episode 2 so far... and I fucking love it.

I seriously have to get this episode out! No bullshit.

And in realizing that the 2-year anniversary is 30 days away, I threw down a gauntlet. I issued myself a challenge. The pertinent question here is this:

Can I complete episode 2 by the time the 2-year benchmark comes around?


Truth is, I don't know. It's a seriously dangerous and EXTREMELY difficult undertaking, considering how much work I'm putting into this and the fact that I'm doing it all by myself. I'm gonna lose alot of sleep. But I don't care. I have worked too damn hard so far on making this episode bigger, cleaner, badder, and just generally one-upping episode 1 in every way.

So that's my task. Complete Gun - Episode 2, in the next 30 days.

Can he do it? Who knows. All I know is it's gonna be a really... really hard, bumpy road ahead.

We'll see what happens!

Also, I'm gonna be releasing Gun episodes into new channels. While working on the episode itself too. More on that as it develops.
Also, my knee is injured from over-exercising while running laps. I'm stuck at home and bored so come visit me this weekend and pity me.
Also, my birthday is coming up next Wednesday. Hooray for me.



In the meantime, go vote on ep 1 if you haven't already you lazy bastards!

New Art Gallery Shenanigans

Hey folks... quick update here...

The art gallery is now tweaked and glistening with new, carefree and super-light coding. It's now available for your viewing pleasure. Take a look and enjoy the much easier to navigate style. It's prettier to look at too!

Head over to the gallery to check it out.

And be on the lookout for major site overhauls in coming weeks... and then there's Gun too.

Don't sleep.

Gun Blogcast #2 - "Fan Service"

Hola,

Bienvenido al segundo Blogcast de Gun the Animated Series.

OK enough of that. Today I'm giving you an inside look at the process of crafting a small but scintillating shot. Or actually titillating would be a better word. Yes.

I explain here the steps that I took in creating a small part of an animated sequence involving Alex (again). In it, I show the various techniques I employed in animating a shot of Alex closing up her stealth suit as she puts it on in the final scene. She was naked before, but now her clothes are on, and we get to see how that happens. I talk about my use of varying layers in the creation of the shot, and the additions I had to make based on the needs of the storyboards I created. I also talk briefly about my use of graphic symbols and provide a little insight into the direction in which I tend to approach my animation.

Plus we get to stare at boobies for ten minutes. (somewhere, a man is smiling right now... no, not me. Pervert.)

This was a fun blogcast to create, simply because this time I wasn't completely underwhelmed by my work, unlike with my running water sequence (see blogcast #1). Also, I'm running a bunch of other programs at the same time, as evidenced by my buddy Matt popping up on my MSN Messenger, which made me laugh in retrospect. I also noticed that I tend to suck my teeth a lot when I have no idea what to say next. It's an unconscious habit, so you're just gonna have to deal with it and learn to laugh at it. One of my many quirks.

Anyways, I also decided to make this one a little more presentable (and probably will do so with all future blogcasts as well) by providing titles and some sweet, mellow background music by Tortoise, which I mixed myself (poorly). The song is called Djed and if you don't know Tortoise, I'd suggest you go get to know them, cuz they're great, really relaxing, chilled out music.


So pop some corn, or corn some beef, or beef some... nevermind. Just watch and enjoy.

Also today is Artboy's birthday, so happy birthday to him (again).

Peace and Hair Grease.

Gun Blogcast 2 - Fan Service

Coffee and Naked Ladies.

Yo whatup...

I'm drinking cup after cup of the hot stuff. Not trying to stay awake, though. Truth is it just tastes pretty good, and I was having crazy fits of anxiety today after my eating habits yesterday (don't ask). Suffice it to say, I have problems. But that has nothing to do with why I'm posting here tonight so...

ANYWAAAAYYYY...

Nothing can make a man feel better than spending several hours crafting a sequence involving a naked woman (unless he's gay like Ramon Rodriguez, haha). So, tonight I finished up a short sequence of just such a sort... ooh tingly. Funny part is, I'm thinking of scrapping it. Well not entirely scrapping it, but changing it quite a bit. Maybe... I dunno, usually when I work so hard at a shot, I can't just junk it like that. Takes too much effort and time to produce for me to just toss it out the window.

So here's a little screen of the first shot in the sequence...



This is actually the biggest graphic symbol in the episode so far. If you don't know what graphic objects are, then I'm not gonna explain it. It's a flash animation thing and you probably won't wanna know anyway if you're not into animation or care about it. Suffice it to say that these "symbols" are a driving force behind animation in flash. I use them plenty. This particular one is about 4 times bigger than the stage itself, and contains 4 layers of animation, all of which are moving at different rates (except one). Yikes. That was a mouthful... it was also a "mouseful" (waiting for corny ass drum for the joke.... eh, fuck it). This screenshot is actually only the top of the shot, so you're not seeing about a good two-thirds of it.
Yeah it took awhile. But I made some great use of transparencies and was dicking around with some new water effects, including making very clever use of steam in this shot to conceal her goods. Hey, no complaining dammit. My intention isn't to just stick in shots of tits and ass, OK? I want viewers to see this and understand that yes, she has a sexual quality to her and can be that seductive leading lady, but that's not what she's about.

Tonight I'm wrapping up the second shot in the sequence. Fun stuff.. oh and if you didn't know already, the girl in the shot is Alexandra, or Alex, from episode 1. Seriously, if you didn't know that, why the hell are you reading this? Do you even know what "Gun" is? Follow the links on the right and go see it already, you lazy prick.

No, seriously, I loves you alls.

Gotta go. Got things to see, and people to do.... ummm... wait.

Currently listening to: Common - Finding Forever (its hot sheezy!)

Blogcasting! (Appeasement [Capitulo Dos])

Okay, so now that I'm back for another round of updating and it's only been a day, I'm actually pretty happy about that. However, the stuff I'm chitty-chatting about right now doesn't please me. Oh no it doesn't.

Basically, yesterday when I said that I wasn't going to upload any screenshots or anything for people to look at, I felt like I was coming off like a real dick. While it may be true that I am in fact a real dick, it doesn't mean I have to do that to people who might actually want a bit more substance from me and the work I'm doing in leading up to the release of Gun ep. 2.

So with that in mind, I ventured to create my first video blogcast. It was a pain in the ass to record and encode and sync, thanks to the shitty functionality of CamStudio. ugh. The first time I tried it, the frame rate on the video was like 4 fps. Just plain awful. So I finally figured out a way to do it well, and instead of bothering with uploading it to my own server, I just slapped it on my myspizzle so I could stream it here. Should take care of the red tape.

Anyway, this blogcast is about a short animated sequence I was working on last night, specifically a shot of water running into a drain. I'm no expert in animation, let alone in animating running water, so I totally winged it, and as I did, I went back and looked at it and got turned off by the result. It was bugging me all day so I decided to share it with you fine folks with a twofold purpose in mind - to get some opinions/ideas/advice (if anyone has something relevant to offer), and to provide some actual content for the Heretik Times.

We're gettin' straight up LIVE NEWS in this bitch!!

Hahaha. OK, so here it is. Check it and hit me back. You might want to full screen it, although I have NO IDEA what it might do to the blog page itself. Enjoy.

Gun Blogcast 1 - Running Water Woes

Appeasement Please

Yeah....

So I've received some complaints regarding the updating of my blog. Mostly from that pretentious asshole Ramon Rodriguez (who by the way makes some dandy art stuff). Saying that I should update more often and let people in on the more detailed parts of the creative process from day to day, or other day-to-other day.

Truth is, whilst I toil away at this episode, I don't feel like there's anything of substance to put out there for you people to read about. Unless I make some major stride, I keep my effing mouth shut. This is pretty much my practice in life as well.

So what's there to say? Well ok I can tell you a little more about whats happening at the moment...

I'm basically working on the fifth shot of the last scene... A very simple one, that most people will forget before they even realize they saw it. However, try to grasp the scope of just how painstaking it is to single-handedly animate something, let alone something the length and magnitude of episode 2 of "Gun", which will essentially be the length of a fully animated half-hour anime (I'm including time for advertisements), which roughly comes in somewhere between 20 and 24 minutes.

I estimated that this final scene would be about 6-8 minutes, roughly. Lets see... this is the fifth shot and I'm already about a good minute in. and here's the part that will simultaneously excite you and piss you off if you're a fan of this series - This last scene has WELL over 50 different shots in it. and I do mean WELL over. try closer to 100. Exciting because you can expect alot of content in this climax (ewww, that sounded oddly sexual.) Pisses you off because you realize soon after getting excited that this means that it will take a lot of work to get to the very end.

I'm not gonna upload a screen shot tonight. I thought about it, and honestly I have nothing of value to offer that's worth staring at. I might have uploaded some storyboards, but my fucking scanner is working about as well as Britney Spears' career these days.

Also, I'm not gonna keep working on this anymore tonight. It's 2AM and I am bizarrely exhausted, despite having slept a little later than expected. May be the fact that I have about a solid pound of cheeseburger in my gut right now, but I am sleepy as all hell. I've been laboring on this shit since I got home this evening and groovin' to some old Isley Brothers jams, which are fuckin dynamite shit. If you ain't up on soul, you're missing out on some great music.

But I digress... I know that there are like a handful of you who are still waiting on tenterhooks for this new episode. It will happen one way or another. If I didn't honestly plan on continuing this series, I wouldn't have bothered doing all this work over the past 21 months (OMFG has it been almost 2 years already??!!!??). Fear not. Just stick to my side, and I'll reward your patience with a shiny new episode coated in ooey gooey goodness (again, vaguely sexual and disgusting).

Just stay tuned, you know what I mean. I'm going to bed. My eyelids aren't listening to me anymore when I tell them to stay up.

Bon Nuit.

One Small Step For Man...

One giant leap for "Gun" fans.

I am very happy to report tonight in the wee hours (as I am often prone to do anyway) that I've finally reached the editing stages for the final scene of episode 2. I rejoice. I revel... and I wince because I know just how much work will go into this scene.

I figure since I'm so bad with updates, lemme give you a little rundown of what's been happening...

The last scene that I completed is actually a compiled scene composed of 3 mini-scenes, each with its own relevance to the plot of the episode. The first sequence took the longest, and its the one I last posted a screenshot from. The one with the fat dude, heheh. That sequence got the ball rolling though, and I finished the second one within about 2 weeks, and the third one really kicked into overdrive. I finished that one in 4 days.

As much as I'd absolutely love to take some rest, there's no way in hell I'm doing that. Not when I can finally see the light at the end of this tunnel of perpetual work, tedium, annoyance, and meticulousness. There's only more of that to come, but at least I know that with this... It will finally be time to rock your collective world with this bad boy.

Will it be the greatest thing ever? Probably not. Truth is, I don't give a shit. I just want those who support me and the series to enjoy it to the fullest, and to appreciate that the nearly two-year wait in production hasn't been me being lazy - this episode is a fucking monster. I've never worked so hard on any single creative project in my life before. So I hope the results show that I haven't wasted my time or the time of those who have actually been waiting to see the next episode.

Ok... so now that we've said that... I'm going to bed. Tomorrow, the last hurdle begins.

Fuck yes.

New Year, New Stuff.

Firstly, a belated happy 2008 to all.

OK. So it's early in the new year and things are already off to a fairly decent start. I had a job interview yesterday, which I thought actually went better than I had anticipated. Hopefully it works out well. I'll know in a few weeks.

What does this have to do with "Gun" or any of my other creative projects, you ask? Well, simple - new job = more money = better production resources = better shit. Simple as that, amigos.

Another recent development - Ramon Rodriguez is at it again with another illustrated piece, this time though it's a real gem for any of you lovable Gun fans out there. He's working on a piece featuring Kai from Gun, for which I personally provided some super-sexy modeling services. lol.

He's been detailing the progress on the artboycat.com blog, so please check that shit and comment comment comment, there, here and everyplace else in between. It's making my trigger finger itch so good.

and while you're at it, be sure to add the official Gun myspace page to your friends list if you're on myspace. Show the world that you too have an itchy trigger finger.

Also... all this talk about Gun, and no info on the actual episode itself... well... the final scene of this episode is about to begin its final production phase this week, so there is definitely a bright shiny light at the end of this tunnel. Now I'm gonna go sleep off the "cold-weather has returned" blues.

Toodles.

Contradictions for Sale

So here's a wee bit of a "huh?" moment.

I'm editing firearms. Weapons. Instruments of mankind's worst intentions. Bringers of chaos, fear, and suffering.

As I'm doing this, I'm listening to some of the absolute calmest music I own.

Not terribly profound, I know, but it was a weird little contradiction I noticed tonight. Work continues. I'd like to post something substantial here, maybe a new screenshot or two, but I don't know which one(s) to choose. Plus I don't really think many people are reading this anyway so why bother. People will probably be checking this out more often once the episode actually comes out. and by then who the hell cares about a screenshot?

Blegh.

I should go read. Go visit my buddy Ramon's website. He's redesigned his logo and layout (I think) and is working on a "Gun" inspired piece now.

Clickety Clack.