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.