Here you’ll find an exploration on how to make a living, by being creative. This blog gives you a little bit of a window into the day in the life of a Simpsons artist, who’s doing his own art on the side. You’ll also get an insight into what goes on in an artist’s brain. As well, as how he tries to improve his skills and his way of life with his creativity.
He also draws things that will hopefully make you laugh, or at the very least, crack a smile.
I’m a Storyboard artist on The Simpsons TV show and The Simpsons Movie. I drew Simpsons comics, on the side, for Bongo Comics for 12 years as well. Author of The Art of Draw Fu: Beginners Level. I live in California with my wife, daughter and four sons who I love very much. I’m Roman Catholic and I was born in El Salvador.
I put my painting practice on hold this week to create a cover for a time travel anthology, Creative Alchemy Inc. will be publishing in a few months.
The book is called Masters of Time: A Sci-Fi and Fantansy Time Travel Anthology.
I spoke about the cover with my wife, who’s editing the book and also contributed to the collection of stories. We both agreed we wanted a retro Science Fiction feel to the cover. Something graphic simple.
I’m not a fan of photo covers. I much prefer drawn or painted ones. Also, there’s so many photo covers out there that a cover with artwork tends to stand out more.
My wife showed me a photo she thought had the feel she wanted and I went off from there. She wanted all the characters in the anthology to be represented in the cover.
The first thing I did was to sketch out a rough, to show her the direction I wanted to go. Here it is below:
The intent was to show things in the cover that would immediately evoke the theme of the anthology at a glance. I thought it would be good to use time travel cliches and tropes to get this across. I decided to go with the characters coming out of a “time vortex,” in silhouette and I added clocks so you’d know it wasn’t just a portal.
She liked the concept, so I moved on to make the final cover. Unfortunately, I didn’t record the process. It took about a week.
I used a lot of reference photos to get a real world idea of what I was going to abstract. Then I began the tedious work of constructing the assets for the cover.
It was less like drawing and more like cutting out lots of different shapes out of colored paper and gluing it together.
Even though I’m still not sure about the fonts, the final art for the cover turned out like this:
Personally I think it turned out okay.
What do you think? Did I accomplish what I set out to do?
What do you do when your art skills fail you? Chalk it up to getting experience, move on and try again with another piece…and another…and another.
That’s the conclusion I came to, AGAIN.
It’s a simple lesson that’s so easily forgotten when you’re emotionally invested in the drawing or painting you’re trying to create. EVERY piece you make is a step forward.
You learn something from everyone you make.
Here’s what happened to me this time around. I got cocky. I should have known better. Every time I get cocky, I fall on my face.
I’d been doing color studies for almost two Months now. The more I did, the more comfortable I got with them. They started to become second nature. Which gave me confidence.
Too much confidence.
I thought to myself, “Hey, this stuff is so much easier now. Now that I’ve got this down, I could do a finished painting easy.” I was sure I could do it. After all, I could do step one easily.
Nope.
Problem was that I thought that getting step one down would make me automatically able to get the last step down as well. Not realizing there were more steps along the way.
I didn’t realize there was a step two. Until step two kicked my butt.
I ended up with this painting I lost complete control of and didn’t know how to finish.
It’s time to chalk it up to experience. Now I know what my limitations are and what I need to work on next. Namely, step two.
That said, I’m going to ask my friend and mentor Paul Wee for some advice. Hopefully he can clarify for me what I can do to nail down step two. I’ll let you know.
Unfortunately, I have to take a small break from painting because I have a book cover for a time travel anthology to do. Perhaps I’ll write about that next week.
I figure draw every Tuesday night at work. The studio provides us with the opportunity.
Since I’m trying to get better at opaque painting, I thought it would be good idea to practice it during figure drawing. I used my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and the Sketchbook Pro App.
I don’t do this in color because it would be too much to think about.
The top painting it a two minute pose. The second one is five minutes, and the last one is ten minutes. There isn’t much time to get a finished painting. Just the impression of what you see.
Doing this made me very comfortable with laying in a figure fast. I highly recommend it
This is a cooperative, fixed-deck card game with a comic book flavor. Each player plays as one of ten heroes, against one of four villains, and the battle takes place in one of four different dynamic environments.
Each player, after selecting one of the heroes, plays a deck of 40 cards against the villain and environment decks, which “play themselves”, requiring the players to put the top card of the appropriate deck into play on the villain and environment turns.
On each player’s turn, they may play a card from their hand, use a power printed on one of their cards in play, and draw a card from their deck. Each round starts with the villain turn, continues clockwise around the table, then concludes with the environment turn.
Each villain has various advantages, such as starting with certain cards in play, as specified by the villain character card.
Play continues until the heroes reduce the villain to 0 or fewer Hit Points (HP), or until the villain defeats the heroes, either via a win condition or by reducing all the heroes to 0 or fewer HP.
Why it’s fun:
This game makes you feel like you’re in a battle with an evil super powered mastermind. You and you’re friends desperately work together to get the cards you need to draw to defeat the bad guy.
It can get tough depending on the mastermind you’re fighting, the heroes you’re playing, and the number of players.
Each hero plays different and brings something unique to the game. There’s a hero archetype for everyone, especially if you get the expansions.
Each villain feels different and they all have their own unique winning conditions you have to avoid. This combined with how the environments effect the game turn by turn gives this game plenty of replay value and bang for your buck.
Lot’s of theme here. Very fun.
There’s even a paid App for iOS and Android, where you can play it solo. It does a great job of simulating the tabletop experience minus the friends.
Cons:
The game can get a bit long. You need to set aside some time to play this.
Sometimes the random draw of the cards don’t let you do much.
Also, the game can be fiddly. By which I mean, some turns, have many conditions to keep track of. Bad guys do stuff, environments do stuff, there are modifiers and health tokens to take into account.
Lot’s of upkeep.
Fortunately, there a paid App, called Sentinels of the Muliverse: Sidekick for iOS and Android, that helps out with all of this. But the fact that they had to make it at all, says something.
This game is set in the Marvel Comics universe. To set up the game, players choose a number of hero decks – Spider-Man, Hulk, Cyclops, Wolverine, etc. – and shuffle them together; since players use only a handful of hero decks out of the fifteen included, the hero deck can vary widely in terms of what’s available.
Players then choose a mastermind villain (Magneto, Loki, Dr. Doom, etc.), stack that particular villain’s attack cards underneath it, then modify the villain deck as needed based on that villain’s particular scheme.
Over the course of the game, players will recruit powerful hero cards to add to their deck in order to build a stronger and more resourceful deck.
Players need to build both their recruitment powers (to enlist more heroes) and their fighting ability (to combat the villains who keep popping up to cause trouble). Players recruit heroes from an array of six cards, with empty slots refilled as needed.
At the start of a player’s turn, he reveals a villain and adds it to the row of villains. This row has a limited number of spaces, and if it fills up, the earliest villain to arrive escapes, possibly punishing the heroes in some way. Some villains also take an action when showing up for the first time, such as kidnapping an innocent bystander. The villain deck also contains “master strike” cards, and whenever one of these shows up, the mastermind villain (controlled by the game) takes a bonus action.
As players fight and defeat villains, they collect those cards, which will be worth points at game’s end. Players can also fight the mastermind; if a player has enough fighting power, he claims one of the attack cards beneath the mastermind, which has a particular effect on the game.
If all of these cards are claimed, the game ends and players tally their points to see who wins. If the mastermind completes his scheme, however – having a certain number of villains escape, for example, or imposing a certain number of wounds on the heroes – then the players all lose.
Why it’s fun:
Similar to Sentinels, this game is full of theme. But it plays very different than Sentinels.
If you love the Marvel universe, this it he game for you. This really makes you feel like a team of Marvel heroes fighting the bad guys.
Once you’re done playing, it really feels like you’ve been through an adventure.
The gameplay is simple and turns go by quick.
There’s a ton of expansions. There’s a ton of game here. You can play with characters from just about every corner of the Marvel Universe. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy (there’s an expansion with them).
The characters you play with are thematic and fun. And the villains you “fight” are as well.
It’s really fun. A must have for Marvel fans.
Cons:
This game takes a while to set up and clean up. Lot’s of card sorting.
It’s also a very long game, so you will need to set aside plenty of time to play it.
I have a hard time getting this game to the table for those two reasons. I think if I got this game to table more often, it might be higher on the list.
To start the game, each player chooses one of the seven over-sized hero cards, each of which has a special power, and starts with a deck of ten cards.
Each turn, a player starts with a hand of five cards and can acquire or conquer the five types of cards in the game: heroes, villains and super-villains, equipment, super powers, and locations.
To defeat villains, you’ll need to have power – but when a super-villain is defeated, a new one comes into play, attacking all the heroes while doing so. Make sure you’ve acquired defenses – like superspeed or bulletproof powers, or The Batsuit equipment – to protect yourself from harm.
Craft your hero deck into a well-oiled machine to take on the most vile villains in the DC Universe in your quest for Victory (Points)!
Why it’s fun
Personally, I like this game more the Marvel game above. I tend to like the DC universe a bit more anyway, but the truth is, this game gets much more play time than the Marvel game. Why?
It’s simple to learn, simple to set up and the game is done in about 45 minutes. Each superhero you play gives you a special advantage that feels like the hero.
The cards are thematic. It’s cool to see the DC universe villains, locations, equipment and Heroes pop up as the game plays.
The game is a lot of fun, full of tactics and strategy. There’s a lot of expansions, including one where everyone plays cooperatively to beat a bunch of bad guys.
In other words, there now two way to play this game, not just one.
I really like this game. If you’re a fan of DC, get this game.
Cons
Biggest drawback this game has is it’s not nearly as thematic as the Marvel game. It’s a deck building game with the DC license on it.
When you play the game, you’re competing with the players around the table for victory points. This seems odd since you’re all playing as superheroes. When you defeat bad guys, they become part of your deck which means you use them and sometimes they attack players around the table. This also doesn’t seem to make sense.
Also, all the equipment and power cards are accessible to everyone, including the Batmobiles and super strength. If you’re playing as Flash, this wouldn’t make sense.
You end up having to invent the reasons this would make sense. Like maybe it just means that Batman or Superman made an appearance that turn and used those things. And when you attack others with a villain, it’s just the villain showing up and causing havoc in their lives.
See, you may need to do that to justify the way the game works. I personally don’t mind and don’t really think about it that hard.
However, as I said above, there is an expansion that makes the game fully cooperative and makes it very thematic. Problem is that it doubles the playtime to two hours rather than just 45 minutes and it can sometimes get tedious.
This is a collectible dice-building tabletop game.
In this game, each player fields one of their own custom made superhero teams, with each hero being represented by custom-tooled dice; each team must be composed of 15 dice, and a player can “purchase” dice only from his team.
Each hero also has one or more character reference cards, which show the special abilities for the characters based on the die rolls.
Different versions of these cards will be available in booster packs, allowing for more customization of your team. Players use these dice to collect energy, recruit new heroes, and battle head-to-head.
In addition, each player brings two basic action cards to the game, which are placed in the center of the table; both players can purchase dice from these cards.
A player wins once the opposing player has been reduced to zero life.
Why it’s fun
Oh boy, is this game fun! You get to build a team of superheroes, villains or both, and then you go head to head with an opponent. It’s a lot like a game of Magic the Gathering. Or if you’re not familiar with that, a game of Hearthstone. Only that, instead of cards you’re using and rolling dice.
Each die has a different powers, and faces. They do different things and it just feels right. The powers are thematic and they feel like the characters they represent.
There’s a ton of variety in the game and the way it’s played.
As of the time of this writing, only Marvel characters are playable, but DC is on the way, so are Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dungeons and Dragons.
Did I mention that it’s an inexpensive game? The starter set is $15.00 and the booster packs are only ONE DOLLAR each! There’s something exciting about opening each pack.
The games are short too. It’s so fun. I highly recommend this.
Cons
The game is collectible and it’s tough to find the first starter sets. Although the second one is easier to find.
The fact that it’s collectible means you’ll be spending your dollars only to end up getting stuff you already have. Although it’s not a total loss if you needed more copies of the die that comes with it.
Also, if you’ve never played a game like this before, you might have a hard time understanding how to play the game.
Based on the popular Mage Knights system, but utilizing super hero characters from the Marvel and DC Comics Universe.
The game plays much like a miniatures game, but without the measure-and-move system or the constant consultation of hit charts. Rather, most of the vital statistical information is directly on the base of the characters, which can be rotated as characters take damage from hits.
Players construct teams of comic book heroes, villains, and engage in a turn-by-turn battle on grid maps based on various storyline locations.
Since we’re talking super heroes here, each character has special abilities and powers, which give the game its ‘comic’ book feel.
Why it’s fun
For years I’ve been seeing Heroclix sold in comic book stores. I’ve ignored the game. Mostly because the figures looked kinda ugly.
The technology has changed. Figures now look great.
I decided, after playing all the games above and feeling like, there ought to be a game out there that really feels like you’re fighting with superheroes, that I’d give Heroclix a try.
The other games above come close but, there was something missing. I’m happy to say that what was missing, Heroclix has.
THIS is the ultimate superhero game. You want to play a game that really makes you feel like your playing with super powered characters from your favorite comics, this is the game to play.
Want to see who would win, Superman or the Hulk, Flash vs. Quicksilver, Batman vs. Captain America? Play the battle out with a friend.
Want to recreate a battle from you’re favorite comic story? You can do it with these.
Want to have the Legion of Superheroes go up against the Justice League? You can.
This game gives you rules you can use to play with neat little superhero toys and it’s awesome. I mean, why have a bunch of superhero toys that just sit there on the desk when you can actually play with them. Now you have an excuse.
You put out a big map on the table that looks cool, and you play with figures of you’re favorite superheroes. All of them have powers and abilities that make them feel like who they are. It’s so fun.
I’m addicted.
You can even go online, find and purchase the characters you want. The game has been around so long, you can buy figures in bulk for cheap.
But opening packs to see what you get randomly might lead you to discovering new comic characters and story lines you didn’t know about.
I’ve bought a few comics because of my Heroclix.
If you like superheroes, THIS is the ultimate superhero game. A must have.
Cons
The game is very difficult to get into. There’s a LOT to this game. It can be overwhelming at first. I took baby steps getting into the game. I watched a lot of how to play videos too.
It took a while before I felt comfortable with the game.
Although once you do, it’s so worth it.
The game is collectible. And most of the characters can only be bought in blind packs. This means that some of the characters you really want, you might not get.
However, they may be available online, but they might be really expensive to buy because of their rarity.
This is a big pain.
Also, finding a place to put your figures can become an issue. Especially if you end up buying a ton.
Conclusion
So that’s it, what do you think? Have you played any of these games? Which one is your favorite.
If you haven’t and tried them out because of my list, let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
The reason I painted this study using my table was because I did it during lunch with my friends from work. We went out to get comics and afterwards, we eat.
While we ate and talked, I painted this. It was a good opportunity. Considering the circumstances the study turned out nice.
Which leads me the point of this post, if you really want to practice your drawing, or painting, you can do it anywhere. Just make sure you bring your art stuff with you.
Before we left, I made use to bring my tablet. I also planned out what I’d do when we sat down to eat before we actually went. That way, once we started eating I knew that I’d be painting.
Both my friends are artists so they didn’t mind that I painted as we talked. It was good time, with a fun conversation.
Since skin is so difficult to get right, I thought I’d practice by painting a color study a shirtless Bruce Lee. Once again, I limited myself to doing this study using only one brush size.
This helps me, not get into all the details and allows me to see the main colors and shapes. If I can succeed in making the study look like what it is, without the details, I’m on the right track.
The foot he’s standing on was cut off in the reference photo I was using. I didn’t feel comfortable making it up so I left it alone.
There’s an awful lot more colors in a skin than “peach” or “dark browns.” When studying the reference photo I saw lots of reds and dark reds in the shadows.
They weren’t quite brown. There where some browns but mostly reds.
You can see the colors I thought I saw in the reference photo above the study. I didn’t use most of those colors. I didn’t touch any of the purples or bright reds.
I usually see a lot of purples and blues in skin shadows but not this time.
I’d like to say I’m starting to get the hang of things. I might do one or two more skin studies and then try to do a finished portrait.
That will be the test to see how much I’ve learned by doing these studies.
ART – Seeing How Painting Practice Applies to Coloring Drawings
I had to take some time away from my color studies to color a header drawing made for my perspective lesson post over at my other site The Drawing Website.
In the post I show the process I went through to draw the line work. Here though, I thought I’d write about the coloring process.
The reason I’m doing so is because I took the opportunity to color the drawing using a lot of the techniques I’ve been using in my color studies. Turns out, the processes are complimentary.
That should be obvious of course, I just didn’t know how complimentary they would be.
In general, I think the final colored drawing came out okay. I didn’t really have a vision for what it should look like going in. I was making it up as I went.
I’m not entirely sure that was the best approach.
I colored it all without reference. I was made up the colors and values shapes. I began with the shadow colors and then added in the colors in the light.
I also used two different programs to color this with. Not out of choice. I simply didn’t have access to the program I began coloring the drawing in.
The programs I used where Photoshop and Manga Studio 5. The character in pink with the big afro, I colored using Photoshop. The rest of the drawing I colored using Manga Studio 5.
It was an interesting experiment. Using Manga Studio 5, I used the “oil paint,” simulator option. It was a bit awkward at first to use it. Little by little, the more I used it, I began understand it. By the time I was done with the coloring, I loved the tool.
Too bad there isn’t a brush in Photoshop that’s like it. From now on, if I get a chance to color in Manga Studio 5, I’ll use it every time. I diffidently want to try doing some studies with it.
In the end, my take away from coloring this drawing:
A preliminary color thumbnail might be a good idea.
Painting techniques apply easily to coloring line art.
I don’t like how it turned out all that much. I think it was the brush I was using. At first I wanted one with texture and bristles. But it turned out to be too “rough.”
The study could only be exported at a low resolution as well, which is something I don’t like about the Sketchbook Pro App. Otherwise it’s a great App. I think next time I’ll try using a more Photoshop like digital brush.
This time around I learned I needed to practice skin in bright light a lot more. I also need to watch my proportions when doing these studies.
I was trying to do that multiple colors within one value thing I wrote about last week. Especially on the torso where there was a lot of skin. My version turned out darker than the source material version. I need to do a better job of picking the correct colors next time.
Also I need to make sure I’m simplifying what I’m painting into much simpler shapes so I don’t get lost in the details.
Because of the Holidays (Christmas) it was a bit harder to get more than one color study done. I really need more practice though.
ART- Painting Observation: Multiple Colors on One Surface
As I study opaque painting by doing thumbnail color studies I’ve come to learn a few helpful things that I hadn’t realized.
As I’ve written before, I’ve tried painting a few portraits and have failed. One of the reasons the paintings have come out so badly was because of the way the skin would turn out in the paintings.
I would choose a local color in a light area and vary it slightly depending on what plane of the face I was painting. But for some reason, doing this made the skin seem unnatural. I wasn’t sure why until now.
I’ve come to the conclusion that, even if you’re painting one plane with one value, the local colors within that value may still vary. In skin especially. Since skin is translucent, how much or little blood or blemishes are in an area change the local color of said area.
In other words, you DON’T use only ONE local color in the area you’re painting, but rather a few. As long as the local colors match the value of the area, varying the local colors makes the area seem natural.
This same principle can also be seen in other surfaces as well. Noticing when it happens can make the difference between making something look natural and making something seem unnatural.
Of course, it isn’t an absolute principle and there are local colors that are completely without variation. Still, being aware that it can happen, helps.
Above I painted two color studies. One of Deathstroke: The Terminator and the other is The Doctor. My study of The Doctor isn’t a very good likeness, but it was difficult to do so when I limited the size of my brush to one size. The point was to study the colors not to get a likeness. Still, it kinda bugs me.
ART – A Lesson Learned About Painting Opaque in Color.
As I wrote about last week, I’m trying to build up my skill in painting opaque. This week I tried once again to paint a face. A chose a subject that was in color but had very stark contrast between shadow and light. I thought by doing so, I’d have a slightly easier time of it.
Well, I has partly right.
On the one hand, I was able to easily make out and paint the light and shadow patterns. On the other had, once I did so, and started to try and finish the painting, it started to quickly fall apart. I ended up with a painting that looked amateurish and “dead.”
There was simply something fundamentally wrong with the colors I’d chosen and the way I had approached the painting. The problem was, I didn’t know exactly what I was doing wrong.
The process painting from Pinterest
Around that time, I came across some process photos of paintings, on Pinterest. The thing that struck me was the first photo of each painting. It was so abstract and very simple, but I wasn’t completely sure what they where doing and why.
So I decided to get some help from a dead art teacher, Andrew Loomis.
I had a pdf copy of his book, The Eye of the Painter. I read three pages into the first chapter and he’d answered my question.
Here’s what I realized I was doing wrong. I was being far too impatient. The truth is, I didn’t have enough experience doing what I ought to be doing, which was observing and seeing color paterns. I wasn’t seeing the painting holistically and abstract.
I wasn’t seeing painting for what it was. An abstraction of strokes of color on a canvass that, when viewed as a whole, it creates an image. I was trying so hard to “render” and “paint,” that I wasn’t “seeing.”
This made me understand what that first panel of the process photos where all about. That abstract group of colors and shapes is the crusial part of a painting. If you don’t get that grouping of colors right, you’re painting will fall apart like mine had.
The other process painting from Pinterest
I realized that instead of trying to do a finished painting, I should practice seeing and putting down colors from the subjects I wanted to paint.
So I decided to start doing color studies. Small thumbnail color painting with no details. My objective was to see the whole picture and try to harmonize the colors I saw, putting them in the right places, in the right way. Since I wasn’t going for a finished painting and I was trying to avoid detail, I limited my brush to only one size. I couldn’t reduce or increase the size.
This forces me to only focus on the colors and their placement.
The result was the color studies above. I was shocked and amazed how simply putting abstract blotches of colors in the right places made the sketch actually look like the subject.
Painting isn’t about the rendering, but about the abstract combination of colors you place down in the right spots that create the illusion of the subject you’re painting. Without getting this right from the start, no amount of rendering will make the final painting look right.
Before I try to do a finished painting again, I’ll need to do more color studies. I need to get the crucial beginning step right before I can move on finished paintings.
Just found your page about Italy! Loved it! Lived in Italy a couple of years; just doing a YouTube video about how to get to the Sistine Chapel. Your sketches brought back so many memories (especially the “Metro at Rush Hour” type).
Dear Luis,
Very interesting and thoughtful blog. If you are interested in Catholicism and boardgames you might appreciate “Vatican” the boardgame I designed. It has been selling worldwide and we have gotten very favorable comments
Sincerely,
Stephen Haliczer Ph.D.
Distinguished Research Professor
Product Designer
The College of DuPage Press
Hey! I’ve been trying to call you for a couple weeks! I should have checked your blog sooner. I thought you might have had the baby by now! Congrats! Call me ya bum. My number…unlike yours… is the same xxx-xxx-xxxx.
im doing a piece of it coursework and wondered if i could put your
“computer stoopid” picture on it.
I would acknowledge where it came from beneath it and in the bibliography.
If the answer is yes then could you tell me the artists name too?
thanks. keith.
I just came upon your Nephilim skeleton debunking image….very interesting.
I wish we could have met at Comic Con to discuss certain issues. Nothing that
I would want to discuss openly here.
If you want to discuss something privately, you could always e-mail me. The address is up there under the “Hi, Welcome!” about the top commentators. It’s luis(at)luisescobarblog(dot)com.
Can you give me permission to use one of your illustrations for a tee shirt. I really want to wear “there must be some way to plug this keyboard into this game” – It’s how I see the world.. and you explained everything I want to tell the world in that one illustrzt8ion.
Gina
Yes, Gina. You can make it into a shirt for yourself off of that cartoon. I’m flattered.
I’ve been thinking about making shirts off of my little cartoons but I’m not sure which ones to do. Outside of an occasional cartoon that really hits home for someone, I’m not sure if they would sell.
Hi Luis,
My name is Phil and I came across your site while looking up information about animation and voice-over work. I’m a huge fan of the Simpsons & Futurama and a big Billy West fan (Ren&Stimpy, Futurama, Ect.). It is truly amazing to me how so many individuals come together to create these animated cartoons and the quality of the end product. I’m curious from your perspective how much work you have to re-do sometimes because of the networks and the way they censor some of the work that is being done. Best of luck to you in your projects. – Phil
You’d be surprised Phil. The biggest censors of the show are the writers themselves. They often pull back a joke they think is going too far. Sometimes, some of the jokes are funny too. It’s the artists that end up complaining about it. For example, there was a joke in one of the Halloween shows that all the artists thought was really funny. It was the show where Homer goes back in time on his toaster. In one of the futures he comes back too, he finds himself married to Patty and Selma. He discovers this when they show up waring lingerie. They looked really nasty, with their flab and hairy legs. When we saw it, everyone roared with horrified laughter. It was crazy. For some reason, during the re-write, they cut the gag because they thought it was too much. It was very disappointing. They didn’t even put the scene as an extra on the DVD.
It does. Thanks for the reply Luis. That gag actually would have been hilarious! Too bad it didn’t make it. I wonder if some unnecessary second guessing happens though because the writers feel they may be going over the top? (If that’s possible.) I know there is that fine line that writers and creators have to walk probably not only with the content of the show that’s created but with the networks as well. At least from what I understand in reading interviews and seeing convention interviews. Storyboards I think really help to set the tone of an episode and I bet it probably helps to justify many of the ideas that get spun out during the writing sessions of the writers. You all do great work on the show and I’m going to continue reading through your website. Thanks! – Phil
Hello there. I was researching nephilim for a report and I foung your blog. Its too bad those pics were all frauds. If they had been real, it would have been amazing.
After I read your stuff on the pictures I hung around a little, and read your “about me section”.
I am merely curious, so if I overstep a boundary, please feel free to tell me so.
I was wondering, sir, since you state that you are in fact a roman catholic, weather or not you believed in the deity of Jesus Christ?
I myself am a Christian, but I research other religions and alternate sects of my own. You could say its a hobby. In any case, if you find my inquiry impolite, I am sorry. I mean no offense.
Heh, no Christine, your question isn’t impolite. It’s good of you to ask. Too often people just assume things about Catholicism without asking.
The simple answer to your question is, “Yes”. Catholicism, teaches that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
The slightly more involved answer is as follows: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (the official book that explains all that the Catholic Church teaches) in paragraphs 446-451 ( http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1H.HTM ) states the following:
446 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses,59 is rendered as Kyrios, “Lord”. From then on, “Lord” becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel’s God. the New Testament uses this full sense of the title “Lord” both for the Father and – what is new – for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.60
447 Jesus ascribes this title to himself in a veiled way when he disputes with the Pharisees about the meaning of Psalm 110, but also in an explicit way when he addresses his apostles.61 Throughout his public life, he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin.
448 Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as “Lord”. This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing.62 At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, “Lord” expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.63 In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: “My Lord and my God!” It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: “It is the Lord!”64
449 By attributing to Jesus the divine title “Lord”, the first confessions of the Church’s faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honour and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because “he was in the form of God”,65 and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.66
450 From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ’s lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not “the Lord”.67 “The Church. . . believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man’s history is to be found in its Lord and Master.”68
451 Christian prayer is characterized by the title “Lord”, whether in the invitation to prayer (“The Lord be with you”), its conclusion (“through Christ our Lord”) or the exclamation full of trust and hope: Maranatha (“Our Lord, come!”) or Maranatha (“Come, Lord!”) – “Amen Come Lord Jesus!”69
Luis – my name is Luis Escobar – every now and then I Google my name just to see what pops up. Well – I often come across you. No doubt – you have discovered me too. Anyway – sure there a ton of our Luis Escobar’s out there but I thought that I would just say hello and let you know that you have a cool name. BTW – I am the third Luis in four! Grandpa, Father, me and my son. Louie’s all around!
wow – that was fast – I am a photographer, distance runner and high school cross country coach. I live in Santa Maria California. Married with three kids. Your work is great. You are very skilled. I will take some time and learn a little more about you and your work. Very cool. Well – I am off to a work with one of my running students. I will look forward to talking with you a little more in the future. Luis
Howdee Luis, if you are a real Christian then i would suggest you to do some research on your big boss (Matt Groening being a 33rd degree mason).
Loads of subliminal messages in the Simpsons, and occult symbolism.
(Even 9-11 was announced).
Greetings…. (Peace be upon you)
I would like to present to you all the sciences related to cosmogony together with its rules as per its identity which is something not similar to any of the other things and is out of any and assimilation according to the following point of view:
1. The theories of on cosmogony lack the fundamentals of the origin of things as they are mainly based on incidence and on the unseen.
2. The cosmic extension that has been taking place is the result of the range of vision through using the telescope and any other instruments because the thing being seen is determined by vision and this is one of the universe laws.
3. Knowing the within secrets of man will uncover secrets of the universe as the apparent entities of existence are of six kinds: the perspective (what is being seen), the tangible world (what can be touched and felt), what can be weighed, what can be heard, things that have flavor and things that have smell. These, in most cases, are overlapping and are counted six in number.
The origin of all entities are bare pictures of materials, void of force and readiness; it shines in debate and is complete when read. The investigation of scientists is restricted to this reading (capability and liability) where the material is with all its atoms, energy and speed and this alone is useless compared with its radiance.
The first cosmic law is that nothing can be determined unless established with what is contrary to it. And things are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract and both are the same according to law.
The origin of radiance is the brain and by saying this I do not mean perception but the simple core of it. By formulating this equation the truth becomes uncovered.
The subject is highly complicated and can only be clarified by word of mouth or by arguments.
So, what do you have to present. (show)
بعد التحية :-
أود أن أعرض عليكم جميع علوم نشأة مفردات الكون وقوانينه وفق ذاتيته التي هي شئ ليس كباقي الأشياء خارجه عن حد التعطيل والتشبيه حسب النظرة التالية :-
1/ أن نظريات نشأة الكون تفتقد لأصول نشأة الأشياء وتحيل على ألصدفه أو الغيب .وكذلك استغراق البحث في الأفاق لم يأتي بغايته إلا بقدر ربطه بالوعي الإنساني.
2/ التوسع الكوني الحاصل هو نتيجة المد البصري من خلال التلسكوب وغيره لأن المنظور أليه يثبت بالبصر وهذا أحد قوانين الكون
3/ معرفة أسرار بطون الإنسان تكشف أسرار الكون حيث أن مفردات الوجود الظاهر على ستة أنواع (المنظور أليها ). (الملموسة). (الموزونة). (المسموعة). (ذات طعم). (ذات رائحة). وتكون في أغلب الأحيان متداخلة .وأصل الأشياء كلها صور عارية عن المواد . خاليه من القوه والاستعداد . بمناظرتها تشرق وبمطالعتها تتم . وبحث العلماء ينحصر في هذه المطالعة (القوه والاستعداد) حيث المادة ودقائقها وطاقتها وسرعتها وهذا وحده لا جدوى منه بقدر إشراقها . . وأصل الإشراق هو العقل ولا أقصد به الإدراك أنما هو )جوهر بسيط درأك محيط) وبتكوين هذه المعادلة تنكشف الحقيقة .
الموضوع غاية بالتعقيد يوضح بالمشافهة والجدل فما هو عرضكم ؟
توضيح:-
* أود أن أبين بأن وسائط الإدراك هي الحواس ألخمسه + تحسس الوزن.
* إما أحوال الإدراك ( تصوراته أي المعاني التي يلبسها ) فهي ستة أيضا ثلاثة وخلافها :-
1/ الحياة والموجود ولها صور فمثلا صورة الحياة هي الماء.
2/ الحركة والسكون ولها صور فمثلا صورة الحركة هي الهواء.
3/ الانفعال والسكينة ولها صور فمثلا صورة الانفعال هي النار.
* إما مراتب نفس الإدراك إي نفس ألصوره فهي خمسه:-
1)الجماد 2) النبات 3) الحيوان 4) الملكوت 5) الإنسان وصور ذلك كثيرة.
*** وكل هذه الصور تندرج ضمن تصورات الإدراك .منها ظاهره ومنها كامنة إي لم تظهر لحد الآن . والتوسع الكوني الحاصل هو ظهور لبعض هذه الصور الكامنة.
*وأروع إبداعات الإدراك هو العقل (جوهر بسيط درأك محيط ) ولكل واحده تفصيلاتها الوظيفية.
ووظيفة العقل هي ربط كل الصور المذكورة أعلاه بعوالمها الحسيه ألسبعه. وعالمنا هو العالم السابع وفق نمطيته الحسيه. وتجري آثار العقل على كل الصور الكونية فتصبح محسوسة وفق قوتها واستعدادها التصوري.
قد لا يفهم الموضوع بشكل جيد كونه لم يطرق بتاتا
I’m doing some onsite interviews at Mystic Dragon’s Festival of Books. Would you have time to talk with me about your work and “The Art of Draw Fu”? at 4 pm on August 15th? Please let me know (and your “Black Terror Kid” comics, along with your comic about your trip to Rome, are really fun!).
and the Sketchbook Pro App.
A while ago I wrote about the
. The character in pink with the big afro, I colored using Photoshop. The rest of the drawing I colored using 
. I read three pages into the first chapter and he’d answered my question.
Luise,
That is a great illustration of the Podcast Expo. Sorry you did not make it to the Mass.
God bless,
Fr. Jay
Just found your page about Italy! Loved it! Lived in Italy a couple of years; just doing a YouTube video about how to get to the Sistine Chapel. Your sketches brought back so many memories (especially the “Metro at Rush Hour” type).
Dear Luis,
Very interesting and thoughtful blog. If you are interested in Catholicism and boardgames you might appreciate “Vatican” the boardgame I designed. It has been selling worldwide and we have gotten very favorable comments
Sincerely,
Stephen Haliczer Ph.D.
Distinguished Research Professor
Product Designer
The College of DuPage Press
Hey! I’ve been trying to call you for a couple weeks! I should have checked your blog sooner. I thought you might have had the baby by now! Congrats! Call me ya bum. My number…unlike yours… is the same xxx-xxx-xxxx.
im doing a piece of it coursework and wondered if i could put your
“computer stoopid” picture on it.
I would acknowledge where it came from beneath it and in the bibliography.
If the answer is yes then could you tell me the artists name too?
thanks. keith.
Sure, absolutely, go right ahead. Thanks for asking.
Hi Luise,
I just came upon your Nephilim skeleton debunking image….very interesting.
I wish we could have met at Comic Con to discuss certain issues. Nothing that
I would want to discuss openly here.
Hope to hear from you,
Den
If you want to discuss something privately, you could always e-mail me. The address is up there under the “Hi, Welcome!” about the top commentators. It’s luis(at)luisescobarblog(dot)com.
Can you give me permission to use one of your illustrations for a tee shirt. I really want to wear “there must be some way to plug this keyboard into this game” – It’s how I see the world.. and you explained everything I want to tell the world in that one illustrzt8ion.
Gina
Yes, Gina. You can make it into a shirt for yourself off of that cartoon. I’m flattered.
I’ve been thinking about making shirts off of my little cartoons but I’m not sure which ones to do. Outside of an occasional cartoon that really hits home for someone, I’m not sure if they would sell.
So go right ahead Gina. Have fun.
Hi Luis,
My name is Phil and I came across your site while looking up information about animation and voice-over work. I’m a huge fan of the Simpsons & Futurama and a big Billy West fan (Ren&Stimpy, Futurama, Ect.). It is truly amazing to me how so many individuals come together to create these animated cartoons and the quality of the end product. I’m curious from your perspective how much work you have to re-do sometimes because of the networks and the way they censor some of the work that is being done. Best of luck to you in your projects. – Phil
You’d be surprised Phil. The biggest censors of the show are the writers themselves. They often pull back a joke they think is going too far. Sometimes, some of the jokes are funny too. It’s the artists that end up complaining about it. For example, there was a joke in one of the Halloween shows that all the artists thought was really funny. It was the show where Homer goes back in time on his toaster. In one of the futures he comes back too, he finds himself married to Patty and Selma. He discovers this when they show up waring lingerie. They looked really nasty, with their flab and hairy legs. When we saw it, everyone roared with horrified laughter. It was crazy. For some reason, during the re-write, they cut the gag because they thought it was too much. It was very disappointing. They didn’t even put the scene as an extra on the DVD.
Hope that answers your question.
It does. Thanks for the reply Luis. That gag actually would have been hilarious! Too bad it didn’t make it. I wonder if some unnecessary second guessing happens though because the writers feel they may be going over the top? (If that’s possible.) I know there is that fine line that writers and creators have to walk probably not only with the content of the show that’s created but with the networks as well. At least from what I understand in reading interviews and seeing convention interviews. Storyboards I think really help to set the tone of an episode and I bet it probably helps to justify many of the ideas that get spun out during the writing sessions of the writers. You all do great work on the show and I’m going to continue reading through your website. Thanks! – Phil
Hello there. I was researching nephilim for a report and I foung your blog. Its too bad those pics were all frauds. If they had been real, it would have been amazing.
After I read your stuff on the pictures I hung around a little, and read your “about me section”.
I am merely curious, so if I overstep a boundary, please feel free to tell me so.
I was wondering, sir, since you state that you are in fact a roman catholic, weather or not you believed in the deity of Jesus Christ?
I myself am a Christian, but I research other religions and alternate sects of my own. You could say its a hobby. In any case, if you find my inquiry impolite, I am sorry. I mean no offense.
Heh, no Christine, your question isn’t impolite. It’s good of you to ask. Too often people just assume things about Catholicism without asking.
The simple answer to your question is, “Yes”. Catholicism, teaches that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
The slightly more involved answer is as follows: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (the official book that explains all that the Catholic Church teaches) in paragraphs 446-451 ( http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1H.HTM ) states the following:
Arianism was a Heresy that the Catholic Church fought against that deputed this belief around the years AD 250-336 which concluded in the Council of Nicea. For more info go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism or http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm .
Hope that answers your question.
thank you. most people would out-right refuse to answer that question nowadays.
May the Lord bless you, Luis!
Luis – my name is Luis Escobar – every now and then I Google my name just to see what pops up. Well – I often come across you. No doubt – you have discovered me too. Anyway – sure there a ton of our Luis Escobar’s out there but I thought that I would just say hello and let you know that you have a cool name. BTW – I am the third Luis in four! Grandpa, Father, me and my son. Louie’s all around!
HA ha! Yeah, you have a great name too.
Wow! That’s a lot of Luisesesss in your family. Pretty cool. Love your site dude. I’ll link to you.
wow – that was fast – I am a photographer, distance runner and high school cross country coach. I live in Santa Maria California. Married with three kids. Your work is great. You are very skilled. I will take some time and learn a little more about you and your work. Very cool. Well – I am off to a work with one of my running students. I will look forward to talking with you a little more in the future. Luis
Cool. Anytime.
i like simpsons, starting watch becouse my doughter like it
I write comment but strange dropdown
Howdee Luis, if you are a real Christian then i would suggest you to do some research on your big boss (Matt Groening being a 33rd degree mason).
Loads of subliminal messages in the Simpsons, and occult symbolism.
(Even 9-11 was announced).
Greetings…. (Peace be upon you)
I would like to present to you all the sciences related to cosmogony together with its rules as per its identity which is something not similar to any of the other things and is out of any and assimilation according to the following point of view:
1. The theories of on cosmogony lack the fundamentals of the origin of things as they are mainly based on incidence and on the unseen.
2. The cosmic extension that has been taking place is the result of the range of vision through using the telescope and any other instruments because the thing being seen is determined by vision and this is one of the universe laws.
3. Knowing the within secrets of man will uncover secrets of the universe as the apparent entities of existence are of six kinds: the perspective (what is being seen), the tangible world (what can be touched and felt), what can be weighed, what can be heard, things that have flavor and things that have smell. These, in most cases, are overlapping and are counted six in number.
The origin of all entities are bare pictures of materials, void of force and readiness; it shines in debate and is complete when read. The investigation of scientists is restricted to this reading (capability and liability) where the material is with all its atoms, energy and speed and this alone is useless compared with its radiance.
The first cosmic law is that nothing can be determined unless established with what is contrary to it. And things are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract and both are the same according to law.
The origin of radiance is the brain and by saying this I do not mean perception but the simple core of it. By formulating this equation the truth becomes uncovered.
The subject is highly complicated and can only be clarified by word of mouth or by arguments.
So, what do you have to present. (show)
بعد التحية :-
أود أن أعرض عليكم جميع علوم نشأة مفردات الكون وقوانينه وفق ذاتيته التي هي شئ ليس كباقي الأشياء خارجه عن حد التعطيل والتشبيه حسب النظرة التالية :-
1/ أن نظريات نشأة الكون تفتقد لأصول نشأة الأشياء وتحيل على ألصدفه أو الغيب .وكذلك استغراق البحث في الأفاق لم يأتي بغايته إلا بقدر ربطه بالوعي الإنساني.
2/ التوسع الكوني الحاصل هو نتيجة المد البصري من خلال التلسكوب وغيره لأن المنظور أليه يثبت بالبصر وهذا أحد قوانين الكون
3/ معرفة أسرار بطون الإنسان تكشف أسرار الكون حيث أن مفردات الوجود الظاهر على ستة أنواع (المنظور أليها ). (الملموسة). (الموزونة). (المسموعة). (ذات طعم). (ذات رائحة). وتكون في أغلب الأحيان متداخلة .وأصل الأشياء كلها صور عارية عن المواد . خاليه من القوه والاستعداد . بمناظرتها تشرق وبمطالعتها تتم . وبحث العلماء ينحصر في هذه المطالعة (القوه والاستعداد) حيث المادة ودقائقها وطاقتها وسرعتها وهذا وحده لا جدوى منه بقدر إشراقها . . وأصل الإشراق هو العقل ولا أقصد به الإدراك أنما هو )جوهر بسيط درأك محيط) وبتكوين هذه المعادلة تنكشف الحقيقة .
الموضوع غاية بالتعقيد يوضح بالمشافهة والجدل فما هو عرضكم ؟
توضيح:-
* أود أن أبين بأن وسائط الإدراك هي الحواس ألخمسه + تحسس الوزن.
* إما أحوال الإدراك ( تصوراته أي المعاني التي يلبسها ) فهي ستة أيضا ثلاثة وخلافها :-
1/ الحياة والموجود ولها صور فمثلا صورة الحياة هي الماء.
2/ الحركة والسكون ولها صور فمثلا صورة الحركة هي الهواء.
3/ الانفعال والسكينة ولها صور فمثلا صورة الانفعال هي النار.
* إما مراتب نفس الإدراك إي نفس ألصوره فهي خمسه:-
1)الجماد 2) النبات 3) الحيوان 4) الملكوت 5) الإنسان وصور ذلك كثيرة.
*** وكل هذه الصور تندرج ضمن تصورات الإدراك .منها ظاهره ومنها كامنة إي لم تظهر لحد الآن . والتوسع الكوني الحاصل هو ظهور لبعض هذه الصور الكامنة.
*وأروع إبداعات الإدراك هو العقل (جوهر بسيط درأك محيط ) ولكل واحده تفصيلاتها الوظيفية.
ووظيفة العقل هي ربط كل الصور المذكورة أعلاه بعوالمها الحسيه ألسبعه. وعالمنا هو العالم السابع وفق نمطيته الحسيه. وتجري آثار العقل على كل الصور الكونية فتصبح محسوسة وفق قوتها واستعدادها التصوري.
قد لا يفهم الموضوع بشكل جيد كونه لم يطرق بتاتا
Lol been stalking you. You’re pretty good. Not bad for a dad of many. Very talented. Don’t know how you keep up. Chat soon on twitter
An overwhelming desire to keep sane helps.
I’m doing some onsite interviews at Mystic Dragon’s Festival of Books. Would you have time to talk with me about your work and “The Art of Draw Fu”? at 4 pm on August 15th? Please let me know (and your “Black Terror Kid” comics, along with your comic about your trip to Rome, are really fun!).
Yes, absolutely. I’d be happy to.
Great, thank you! Could you email me a contact for you, at the above email link, and I’ll send you more information (and I’m ordering your book now!).