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.
BOOKS – Artists! Here’s How You Get Your Art in a Book on Amazon.
Simpsons Quotes:
I heisted myself to the bestseller list once again. And the most brilliant part is I don’t even know how to read. – Neil Gaiman
As artists, creating a book with our art has become something of a tradition. If we draw independent comics and we want to get them printed, we also need to find a good printer or a print on demand printer.
Today, I’m going to be talking about the print on demand printer Createspace.
You can watch the video below or simply read what I have to say under it. It’s the same info either way:
A Need For a Print Book
I have a drawing website where I teach drawing as if I was teaching Kung Fu. If you’ve read my blog frequently enough I’m sure you’ve heard me mention it.
One of the things I did on the site was put together a digital book with all the information on the site. This was done so that there would be a slightly more convenient way to consume the information without needing to go to the site.
But I also wanted to have a print copy of that book. So to do this, I went on Createspace which is a print on demand site owned by Amazon.
Now my experience with Createspace is through my wife. She uses it to publish her Grey Tower series of books. The print books really look good and are good quality.
The thing is that I didn’t know how it would work for a book that wasn’t just prose.
I said, “what the heck. Let’s give it a try,” and I created a print book on Createspace. Once I did that, I ordered the proof and I got it.
How Well do Art Books Come Out in Createspace?
It looks great, for the most part. I think the colors on the cover are too dark and I’m going to need to fix that. But the interior of the book, the way it feels, the way it’s bound, I’m very happy with.
I won’t lie, it was pain in the neck to put it all together myself. I created the interior pdf, I created the cover and use the template that was give to me, by Createspace for it.
You can have them do it but it will cost you a few hundred dollars. I wasn’t willing to spend the money so I did it myself. BUT now that I know how to do it, my next attempt will be my Angel Cowgirl digital book, that I give away for free if you subscribe to my newsletter. I’m going to make that a print book as well.
My point is, if you want to have a high quality book of your art or a children’s book or whatever, Createspace, isn’t a bad choice.
Once I finally approve the book proof, the book will automatically be submitted into Amazon and will be sold through there, which is great. You can’t ask for a better online store to be on.
Do I Recommend It?
So yeah, I’m happy with the results so far fromCreatespace. So like I said, for an artist that might want to get his work in some sort of print book, this is a very good option.
Have you used Createspace? Let me know, I’ll like to know what you’re experience with it is.
PODCASTS – Uploading a The Corner Booth to iTunes
I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll mention this again, I’m on a podcast.
If you’re looking for it in iTunes, you won’t find it. It’s because I haven’t uploaded it to iTunes yet. Even though we have four episodes published so far.
I’m in the process of putting the podcast up on iTunes. As soon as it’s up, I’ll let you know.
Besides the podcasts we’ve already published, we have SIX in “the can,” five of which are ready to go. As soon I republish all the original episodes, I’ll start uploading the new ones.
Stay tuned. There’s some great shows coming up.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
Krusty: Did you hear about the blonde who tried to make ice? She forgot the recipe! How come you don’t see many blonde snowwomen? It takes too much time to hollow out the head! Bart Simpson: [laughing] He sure got you pegged, blondie. Lisa Simpson: You’re blond too, you know. Bart Simpson: Blond boys aren’t dumb, they’re evil, like in Karate Kid or World War II.
If you’re as interested in storytelling as I am, you’ve probably read a of books on story.
Adding levity in a story is one of the many things one can do to make a story more fun. Today I’m going to be recommending my favorite books on comedy. I’ve found them to be very helpful, insightful and great reads.
You can either watch the video or read the post below. It’s basically the same information:
The links below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
Getting Better at Being Funny
I’m really interested in comedy. I like writing jokes. I’ve been doing it since I was in elementary school.
I’m really interested in improving my comedy, because I enjoy doing comedic cartoons and comics.
I’ve three recommendations for books that I’ve found to be very helpful when it comes to comedy. So let’s get to it.
This is the book fundamentals of comedy. This book is the book that gives you the foundations of what makes comedy work. It talks about funny words, reversals, the rule of threes,…just about everything you can think of when it comes to the traditional foundations of comedy. I say “traditional” because the view point of comedy in this book is very “retro.” It’s the kind of comedy you might hear Mel Brooks use. This book teaches very classic comedy troupes.
Don’t let that fool you though. What’s in the book is pretty essential to know. Great book.
This guy watched a bunch of sitcoms and come up with the eight common archetypes that seem to be universal in all sitcoms. INCREDIBLY useful to have if you want to have a launching off point when creating a comedic ensemble of characters that seem to universally work well together.
This book is the compliment to Comedy Writing Secrets. This is the application of comedy in a more modern way. It talks about doing stand up in the, “what the deal with…?” style. But not really like that. It simply gives you the foundation that most modern comedians use to write their routines, ways to test you work, and many many other things. I really think you should get this book and read it with Comedy Writing Secrets. You can get the fundamentals with one book and the modern application of those fundamentals with this book.
Serious About Comedy
So those are my three recommendations for books you should have if you want to get serious about comedy and get better at it.
If you have read great comedy books that you recommend, let me know, I’d love to know what they are.
If you get any of these books or even already own them, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – My Hiatus Ends and Dandelion Couch Gag
I came back to work this week. I’m currently working on the revisions for show 1 of this new season.
Meanwhile, one of the Couch Gags I scrambled to board last season is out and is being promoted. This is cool, so I thought I’d share it, so here you go:
VIDEO – Gaiman on Being Like Dandelions
Speaking of Dandelions, there’s this video making the rounds. It’s Neil Gaiman making a speech on many things. Mostly storytelling and publishing, BUT there’s also a bit on how to find the thing that will click with people. It’s very interesting and worth listening to:
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
“Don’t thank me, thank Hollywood for being completely out of good ideas.” ~ Herman Melwood
Are 2D feature animated films viable? Can they make money. Does the general public know the difference between 2D animated movies and CG animated movies? Do they care? Are American animated movies doomed to one genre of films? Namely, family movies?
There’s a lot of questions there. I don’t know the answers but I want to start the conversation here. This is what this week’s post is about.
You can either read the post or watch the video. The information in generally the same but not exactly:
Disney Throws Out Its 2D Department
As of the time of this writing, Disney pretty much got rid off all their 2D animators and have no plans to make any new 2D animated movies. They will all be CG.
I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago but I think it was kinda lost in the post. Especially since it was at the bottom the post and I didn’t make a video of version of my essay. I’m bringing it up again because I’d really like your opinion on this topic.
Last week my colleagues at The Corner Booth went to the “hat building” at Disney and spoke to Dale Baer. We asked him about 2D animation and he confirmed that it was dead. At least, as far as feature film animation is concerned.
An Earlier Discussion I had About This Topic
And of course, I wrote earlier about the huge discussion over this topic I had with Richie Chavez and Paul Wee.
Here’s a little of what I had written in that post. If you want to read the whole thing feel free to go and read it:
I’m still hopeful about 2d. I think audiences want to see 2d animated movies.
Richie, had a different opinion. He doesn’t think audiences care. He doesn’t even think audiences know the difference.
The reality is that the last two 2d movies Disney came out with didn’t do well. Never mind the fact that one wasn’t all that well written and the other didn’t really appeal to most people…
That second movie was referring to here was Winnie the Pooh. A movie based on a Disney franchise, I think, ruined by it’s direct to DVD sequels. There’s nothing special or exciting about the franchise anymore. What did they expect?
…How about the “average” person who never thinks about animation at all? Do they feel the same way about 2d animated movies?
We discussed what “average” person meant and narrowed it down to: “parents/families.” Someone looking for something with good values they can trust.
But this begged the question:
Is that the ONLY market for animated movies. Why not target other markets like anime does? The answer from the discussion was this:
Anime which is released in theaters that target those other markets, don’t really make all that much money. Even Studio Ghibli movies.
Rise of the Guardians, was more teen centric and it didn’t do all that well (and it was CG!).
Different Genres in American Animation
I think the main flaw with testing different genres of animated movies using anime is that anime has a negative stigma attached to it in the eyes of many people. And Rise of the Guardians being marketed to teens…well…bad idea. No teenager is going to get all excited to go watch a movie about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny just because they look “hip.” That’s just bad foresight on the part of Dreamworks.
That said, there’s a few 2D animated European movies, like The Illusionist, which have gotten a lot of acclaim, yet, I don’t think they’ve made much money here in the U.S..
I’m still of the opinion that 2D animation would work with the right story.
If you’re a fan of 2D movies, you will go see them. But if you’re not, why not? Why don’t you watch them? What would get you to go watch a 2D animated movie? If you used to like them but now you don’t, what happened?
I’d love to know. Let’s discuss. I’m in the inside looking out scratching my head.
This shouldn’t be happening, but why is it?
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – My Hiatus is Almost Over
This week is my last week of hiatus. I actually had more fun and relaxed more than I thought I would. Thanks to having our tax return show up just in the nick of time.
I’m going to miss the time off and spending time with the kids, but I’ll enjoy getting the paycheck every week.
Though I relaxed, I’ve still done quite a bit of work too and learned a few things.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
COMIC BOOKS – A Manga about Manga Creators: Bakuman
Simpsons Quote:
“I’ve spent my entire life doing nothing but collecting comic books… and now there’s only time to say… LIFE WELL SPENT!” –Comic Book Guy
Man, they make Manga about EVERYTHING. Case in point, I recently started reading a Manga about two guys who create Manga.
AND IT’S GOOD. Who would have thought that making a Manga about the process of making a Manga would be so compelling and fun.
In this week’s post I’m going to be talking about this series of books. You can either watch the video or read the post below. Either way, it’s the same info:
All the links to the books below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
The Manga about Manga
I went to the Pasadena Central Library and picked up a Manga called Bakuman. Bakuman is about to guys who decide to become professional Manga creators. I’ve actually found it be fascinating.
It’s a Manga from the same creative team who created the Death NoteManga, which was turned into two live action films and an animated cartoon.
One of the things I like about it is that it’s a story. It’s entertainment, BUT it’s also “infotainment.” You get information about what tools are used, the process of making a Manga, what the writing process is like, what the editorial process is like, how the magazine gauges popularity, how Manga assistants work,…etc. On top of that, at the end of every chapter you get roughs. You get the what they call storyboards, which is a type of illustrated script. This is taken by the artist and tightened up a bit more. You get to see this process at the end of every chapter.
It’s one of the many things you find out through out the Manga.
Lot’s to Learn About
This is read from right to left, Japaneses style.
There’s a lot of information here. Specifically on how to get published in Shonen Jump. Shonen Jump is a Manga anthology magazine in Japan written for boys.
On of the big driving factors for the characters in the book is to become so popular in Shonen Jump, that their Manga becomes animated.
As I wrote before, they talk about the editorial process. They really go into how to get an editor, what you show an editor, the relationship between the editor and the artists, what the editors functions are, what the artists functions are, what the magazine is looking for, how the magazine judges stories and artwork, what gets published, how it gets published, how you become popular. I mean, by issue three they even start talking about what the “secret ingredient” is to keep, not only the readers happy but what you need to do to make something that might actually be a hit.
Being a Creator
Who knew creating Manga could be so dramatic.
Which I find incredible. It’s very cool, specially if you’re in that world already of coming up with stories and ideas. The discussions that the characters have about that stuff is great. It so obvious that it’s the creators of the Manga that are talking about this to the readers, based on their experiences drawing Manga. And it’s done through this story, and none of it feels forced. It’s great.
It goes through the ups and downs of being a creator. But it shows you what it’s like to be a creator in a different culture. At least different from mine. I’ve worked in the comic book industry and have done professional comics, and what the characters in the Manga go through is very different from what I’ve gone through. Yet, there’s so much that’s the same.
If you’re a creator of comics, it would be a great read, if only to see what creating comics in a different comic book culture is like. While seeing what overlap is what similar struggles there is.
ART – Get ready to Get Inspired, the Art of Richie Chavez
Simpsons Quote:
(At the museum)
Homer: Aw, why does art hate me? I never did anything to art. (notices that his arm is stuck through a painting) Uh, let’s get out of here.
Alright, so I came into work one morning and my friend Paul IMed me.
“Get ready to die,” he wrote and then attached a link.
I followed said link and died. Turns out his friend and my acquaintance Richie Chavez had a website with his art on in and it blew our minds.
Today I’m going to share that link with you and talk a little bit about Richie.
You watch the video below or you can read what everything I say in the text below the video. It’s the same info so you choose:
Who is Richie Chavez?
Richie Chavez is a concept artist for animated movies. He’s worked at Disney, Dreamworks, and Sony pictures, to name a few of his high profile studios.
ONE of the movies he developed art for was PRINCE OF EGYPT. He was on of the Art Directors in that movie.
If you own the Prince of Egypt art book, you can see some of his work. Work like this:
and this one:
And here’s a picture of Richie:
I got to know Richie because we took Kung Fu together. We were in the same class.
He’s a really great guy, he’s a really nice guy. In fact, I was working on a Simpsons bible story comic, and Richie let me borrow some books he had used for reference on Prince of Egypt. Which was very cool. I was very very handy and it was very nice of him to do that for me.
Richie’s Site
Well, it turns out that my friend and mentor Paul Wee knows him very well, because they went to school together. Paul has been bugging Richie about getting a website up online with his work.
Well, he finally got it on up. Richie now has his own website with his artwork and it’s mind blowing. You’ve got to go see it. It’s such good art.
He’s got stuff from Sinbad up there that. Oh man, it’s so awesome! The ideas and the artwork is just incredible. That movie had sooo much potential.
There’s work from the movie Surf’s Up there too.
I actually went down to Sony when that movie was in development and had lunch with Richie and because my friend Paul where working there at the time. The artwork and development artwork on the movie was so incredible. At least you get to see some of it on his site.
He worked on Hotel Transylvania, Brother Bear…among many others.
If your interested in having some art, then you’re in luck. I’m giving away a FREE digital copy of my art book, Angel Cowgirl is you subscribe to my newsletter.
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – My Hiatus…or not
Last Thursday my hiatus began. I should be back at work on May 20th. Well…at least that was the plan.
So I go on hiatus, and quite frankly, I can’t afford to do so. My wife and I have NOT be saving money. Any extra money we make goes directly to getting rid of debt. We’re trying to get rid of as much liability as we can so we can start having only assets.
The Money Problem
This basically means we’re risking it all to get rid of our debt. So far we’re doing great. We’ve only go one more credit card left to pay off and then we’ll tackle Alesha’s student loans. After that, our car payments.
Anyway, the point is, we’ve got nothing saved up at all and we got hit REALLY hard last month on our property tax (remember, we live in California). This left us without enough money to pay our mortgage. Then I’m sent on hiatus and hiatus is unpaid.
But don’t worry too much about us, our tax return helped us out. In fact, our state tax return came a day before I was put on hiatus and it helped us pay our bills for the month, just in time.
Back to Work?
Breathing a sigh of relief I settled into my hiatus and started trying to figure out how I could get my personal projects done while still spending quality time with my kids.
Just as I was figuring all this stuff out, I get a call on Monday from work. I was asked if I could come in for two days to help out on some storyboards beginning Tuesday. What am I going to say? No? Of course I said I was available.
I came in on Tuesday and began to work. As I was doing my thing, one of my directors come into my office.
“Remember the Couch Gag you boarded two weeks ago? Mike Anderson gave some great notes on them, I need you to apply them for Thursday.”
“But I’m only here today and tomorrow.”
“They haven’t told you? You’re going to be here Thursday too so you can add these fixes.”
“Oh…okay then.”
A few hours later, production came in and asked me to come in on Thursday only to find out that the director had jumped the gun and told me.
So two days has now turned to three, but hey, I’m not complaining, I need the money. For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
BOARD GAMES – Simpsons Studio Artists Worked on the Simpsons Monopoly Game
Simpsons Quote:
Monopoly Guy: There was a bank error in my favor and I’m spending it all on Oriental Avenue prostitutes.
I play a lot of board games…well, I used to. I like playing them but either I don’t have the time to play them or no one wants to play them with me.
So what?
Well, I happened to have worked on a The Simpsons Monopoly game and today I’m going to be talking about it.
You can either watch the video below or read the text under it. It’s the same information so it doesn’t really matter which you choose:
I Happen to be a Gamer
I’m really into board games, I’m a big gamer. I used to be obsessed with video games. I’m not so obsessed with them anymore. I prefer something more tactile. I prefer siting around in a group, playing a game.
Board games fit the bill. I’m not talking about mainstream games, like LIFE, Monopoly, Risk. I’m talking more about what are often called Euro games, hobby games, or designer games. They’re different kinds of board games that are becoming more and more popular.
A big dice game. It’s difficult to explain the game in sentence. Just follow the link and you can learn about it.
Or games like DreamBlade, which I wrote about a few years ago on this blog. Here’s the link:
A Board Game I Worked On
Although I don’t play mainstream board games all that much I did work on one and it’s Simpsons related. That game is, of course Simpsons Monopoly:
Now I’m not a huge Monopoly fan, in fact, I don’t like playing it at all. I think it’s flawed, but most people when they think of board games they think of Monopoly.
So what did I work on? What did I do in this games?
I worked on the board. BUT only a tiny bit of the board.
There’s these tiny little vignettes of people on the board. That’s what I drew. Things like this:
I really didn’t do anything else. The background of the board was drawn by Emmy Award winning Chuck Ragins. He does background designs on the show and he drew the background on that Monopoly board. He’s gone on to win an Emmy on one of the shows he designed backgrounds for on the Simpsons.
I’m not sure who drew the rest of the board.
The Chance and Community Chest cards, I believe where drawn by Shawn Cashman. Shawn is Simpons alumnus who has gone on to become a director in many other shows. Including King of the Hill.
It’s neat looking game. It has lot’s a very cool bits. The game pieces are Simpsons character. It’s even got Kodos as a playable piece:
The Story Behind the Game
Okay so, how did I end up working on the games?
Well, Bill Morrison from Bongo Comics called me up because he had been given the assignment to do the art on the game. He simply didn’t have the time to do it. He didn’t have the time to do the entire board.
So he decided to farm out the art to people he thought was going to be able to handle it while he managed it all. So he paid off the artist to do the bit of the work.
Unfortunately for him, I was one of the last people he asked to do the worked on the characters. It was a last minute job. Then he asked me how much I wanted for the work. When I told him, it turned out that, because of what I asked, he didn’t get paid.
He coordinated the whole thing and then at the end, there was no money left for him. I didn’t realize that, I wasn’t thinking. It was really screwed up.
He had the job, he farmed it out, he did he difficult job of coordinating the whole thing, and then paid all the artist which left no money for him.
That totally sucked. I’m sorry Bill, I didn’t know. I wasn’t thinking.
Do you have it?
That’s my little board game story. Maybe you can still find this game I’m not sure.
Do you have this version of Monopoly? Do you play it? What do you think of the art? What do you think of this version of the game?
Let me know, I’m curious. Leave a comment below.
BOOKS – My “Art of Book,” Angel Cowgirl.
Behind the scenes for some time now, I’ve been working on putting together a collection of my art and sketches.
I finally managed to finish doing this.
To celebrate, I’m giving way the digital version of the book for FREE. All you have to do is opt in to my e-mail list and you’ll be sent a link to download the book.
That’s it! It’s so simple.
Here’s a sample of the art you can expect to see:
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
(Fat Tony drives the school carpool home.) Fat Tony: Milhouse, may I borrow your three-ring binder? (Milhouse holds up two binders.) Milhouse: Garfield or Love Is…?” Fat Tony: Uh, I prefer the cat. He hates Mondays. We can all relate.
As a little kid, I was pretty obsessed with Garfield the cat. I used to read comic strips all the time but the one I liked the most where Garfield comics strips.
I bring this up because somehow, the whole Garfield thing came full circle when I started working in the animation industry.
Today I’m going to tell you how that happened.
You can either watch the video or simply read what I have to say in the video below:
Some of the links below are affiliate links.
Obsessions of a Little Kid
Garfield really got me into drawing. I was really into comic strips when I was little. Specifically Garfield. I was really obsessed with Garfield.
When I was little I also drew comic strips. The comic strips I drew are actually kept in Garfield scrapbooks. I’ve got two of them:
I looked in my drawing folders to see if I could find old Garfield drawings I did from when I was a kid. I managed to find one. I drew this when I was in junior high:
You can see from the drawings, especially on the eyes that I was influenced by Jim Davis eyes. And of course, there’s a drawing of Garfield in the bottom. I think it’s a copy, although I used to be able to draw Garfield pretty good without needing to copy. It might have just been a memory drawing.
You gotta understand that I was pretty obsessed, I was drawing him, all the time.
Then There’s the Documentary
But above all else, what really influence me the most growing up, was a Garfield documentary. I don’t know what it’s called or where to find it. I used to have a copy of it on VHS that I recorded off the television.
I looked for it online and I can’t find it. I don’t even know what it’s called.
The documentary was about Jim Davis, the origins of Garfield and where it came from. It had behind the scenes footage of how a comic strip was made. It had footage of other artisst that worked on art for the Garfield merchandise. They talked about the Garfield TV show and the specials.
It even had Phil Roman of Film Roman studios talking about the production of the animated cartoon. He walks you through the process.
I wish I could find it. If you can find it online or you know what I’m talking about, please let me know so could put a link to it so every could benefit from it.
It’s a fantastic documentary. It talks about cartooning and all kinds of great things.
I used to watch it so much because is inspired me. I was pretty obsessed with it.
Well, I bring all this stuff up because it all came full circle for me. From elementary school drawing Garfield, to Junior High drawing Garfield, then soon after abandoning that and starting to draw cartoons and comics on my own.
My love affair with Garfield eventually faded away.
It All Came Full Circle
BUT then I get my first job in the animation industry, and low and behold, it’s in Film Roman where they were producing the Garfield cartoon.
That’s crazy. That was just crazy. I was more than aware of this coming full circle with the character. Somehow I ended up working in the studio that produced Garfield cartoons. I didn’t work on Garfield but I saw them produce it.
It’s one of those weird things.
Has This Happened to You?
Had you even had anything like that ever happen to you? Something that has ever come full circle for you? I’m sure it has and I’d love to hear about it. What inspired you to do what you do?
Oh, and I almost forgot, I also still have Pooky, Garfield’s teddy bear. Yeah, I was just this obsessed little kid.
VIDEOS – The Tex Avery Documentary that Inspired me to Get into the Animation Industry
Simpsons Quote:
“I could pull a better cartoon outta my aaayyyy, kids!” – Krusty
There were a lot of things in my life that pushed me into animation industry. Tex Avery was one of them.
Today I’m going to talk a very tiny bit on how I became aware of Tex Avery and what that awareness did to me. But really, it’s just my long winded introduction to the documentary that educated me about the man.
You can either watch the video or read the text below it. Either way you’ll get the same information. Don’t forget to scroll down further to see the videos I posted up of the documentary itself:
Influential Documentary
Okay so how did Tex Avery help me get into animation industry? Well, it really was the Tex Avery documentary I saw when I saw in high school, which I embedded below.
Tex Avery, what I can I say about Tex Avery. Besides the documentary, you might what to seek out the this book with his work:
I really didn’t know anything about him at all until I watched the documentary on tv and I later recorded. I watched that thing over and over again. I had been broadcast on PBS.
It really opened my eyes to a different style of humor and the way it can be pushed in animation. I was really into the comedic side of animation.
Why I Got Into the Animation Industry
THE reason I got into animation was to do exactly the kind of cartoons that Tex Avery did. I wanted to write and direct, animated shorts, just like Tex Avery. I thought that I was going to be the next Tex Avery. I thought I was going to do what he did.
That’s the only reason I got into the animation industry.
I’ve changed a lot since then. I know what I want now. I know how to go about doing it. I don’t really want to be Tex Avery anymore, but initially that’s why I got into the animation industry.
Once I saw the documentary, I started seeking out his cartoons and when I saw them, they blew my mind. His cartoons did stuff that I found to be very very different.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Okay, so enough about me, here’s the documentary that changed the way I saw animation. I’m afraid it isn’t all of it and I don’t know where you can find it complete. Still, there’s enough here so that you can get something out of it. Enjoy:
What do you think? Did you know who Tex Avery was before you watched this documentary. Has his cartoons influenced you in anyway. I’d love to hear what you have to say.
Who Inspired You?
Who are your heroes. How have they driven you. Have you moved on from them as I have? I still love Tex Avery but I’m not driven by wanting to be him anymore. My heroes are different now.
SOME THOUGHTS – A Question for you About 2D Animated Features
This Tuesday after figure drawing, I got into a conversation with Richie Chavez and Paul Wee, about the animation industry. Specifically, 2d animation. I’m still hopeful about 2d. I think audiences want to see 2d animated movies.
Richie, had a different opinion. He doesn’t think audiences care. He doesn’t even think audiences know the difference.
The reality is that the last two 2d movies Disney came out with didn’t do well. Never mind the fact that one wasn’t all that well written and the other didn’t really appeal to most people.
The conversation lasted an hour and a half. We went into a lot of depth about the business of making animated movies and the way things are changing behind the scenes.
I can’t really reproduce the whole conversation here.
Chris Oatley had something to say about 2d animation in his blog a while back, but I’m wondering if the reason he’s so optimistic is because he’s surrounded by a group of people who appreciate the art form.
How about the “average” person who never thinks about animation at all? Do they feel the same way about 2d animated movies?
We discussed what “average” person meant and narrowed it down to: “parents/families.” Someone looking for something with good values they can trust.
But this begged the question:
Is that the ONLY market for animated movies. Why not target other markets like anime does? The answer from the discussion was this:
Anime which is released in theaters that target those other markets, don’t really make all that much money. Even Studio Ghibli movies.
Raise of the Guardians, was more teen centric and it didn’t do all that well (and it was CG!).
The discussion left me wondering.
What do you think? Would you like to see 2d features? Why do you think that the last ones failed? What would you like to see?
Is your opinion the same as the “average” person?
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – At a Simpsons Party, I Encountered Weird Al Yankovic and…
Simpsons quote:
Homer Simpson: Hey, Weird Al! Did you get those parodies I sent you? ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic: Yes I did, Homer. Homer Simpson: Which one was better, “Livin’ La Pizza Loca” or “Another One Bites The Crust”? ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic: Actually, Homer, they were both the same. Homer Simpson: Yeah, like you and Allan Sherman.
Sometimes, at Simpsons parties, celebrities that provide guest voices show up.
I don’t often get starstruck. In fact, I’ve NEVER gotten starstruck. This isn’t to say that I don’t think it’s neat when I see a celebrity.
Although, if I was to ever get an opportunity to talk to a celebrity or something, I probably would, if I wanted. Problem is, I don’t do well socially in the BEST of times. Not even with people I know, so I doubt talking to strangers would be any better.
Case in point, I had the opportunity one time to talk to Weird Al Yankovic at a party, here’s what happened.
You can either watch the video or read about the event below. It’s the same info:
(Some of the links below are affiliate links)
Growing Up with Weird Al
Growing up I really didn’t listen to much music. In fact, my little brother and my big sister LOVED music. I was surrounded by their music. They just couldn’t get enough music. From U2 to Bob Dylan…you name it they where into it. But I was not.
The only thing that I would listen to, was Weird Al Yankovic.
I still have my records. Like my “Even Worse” record:
and this self titled one:
The right hand corner of the second record album above is chewed up by the hamsters I had growing up. I left the album too close to the hamster cage.
I do have a turn table so I can still listen to the records. I also had tapes. Mostly I had tapes.
I listened to them all the time. I memorized the music, it was fun. I lyrics where humorous. I was really into comic strips and comedy. It was my thing.
Yeah ,so I was into Looney Tunes, comics strips, funny music…that was my life. I wasn’t that serious a kid (well maybe I was) which is why I like comedy and liked to laugh.
Who would have thought that he’d do a voice on the show. I believed he played himself in it.
An Encounter on at The House of Blues
Well, one time there was Simpsons party that took place in The House of Blues in Hollywood. My wife and I, we were in line to get in, and who was in front of us, but Weird Al Yankovic.
So it was a bit of shock because…well, I grew up listening to his music. For so many years, and there he was. But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t say anything. I’m just too introverted to do that. But it was a very strange experience.
Anyway, we get inside The House of Blues and we go and mingle. We’re there for an hour or two and my wife needs to use the ladies room.
So we walk over there to the restrooms and I stand outside, lean against a wall and while I wait for her to come out, because I have nothing else to do.
Of course, who has a date that also needs to use the lady’s room, but Weird Al Yankovic. So he’s standing there next to me, and we make eye contact.
The Big Moment
For that split second when we made eye contact…in my head I said to him,
“Dude, I listened to your albums for so many years of my life. They’ve been part of my life. Thank you for making me laugh.” Stuff, stuff I wanted to say. It was just welling up.
We locked eye for just a simple second. Then we turned away from each other feeling really really awkward. I can tell he felt awkward, like he should say something, but he didn’t. And I felt awkward, because I KNEW I should say something but I didn’t.
It Passes By
So we just sat there feeling uncomfortable, sharing silence. It was terrible.
It’s the curse of the introvert, the curse of the shy guy. And then my wife came out and we walked away, and that was it.
That’s my story. It’s anti-climactic, it’s heart wrenching and he was there and I said nothing. It was weird, and sad, and it sucked.
Tell me Your Story
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever done that?
I few weeks ago I got a good response from one of these posts and it was really interesting to hear your stories.
It’s an experiment. We want to see if the first books is good enough to get you hooked on the series. That way you buy the other two books. I think it is. The second book is even better than the first.
Go check it out. It’s a 4 1/2 star reviewed book. I don’t know how long my wife is going to keep it free.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – Behind the Scenes of a Simpsons Doritos Commercial
Simpsons quote:
Homer: D’oh!
Doritors announcer: …ritos
I’ve fully animated on The Simpsons many times during my years on the show. I say this because my job doesn’t require me to animate most of the time.
I spent most of my career on The Simpsons as a Character Layout artist. This is different than being an animator although there is some overlap. If you want to know more about the job of a Character Layout artist, I wrote about HERE.
The first time I was able to full animate for The Simpsons was actually on a Doritos commercial.
To hear the story behind this commercial, you can either watch the video or read the text below. At the bottom of the post, you’ll have a chance to watch the commercial:
Animation Training in Action
The Doritos commercial was directed by Swinton Scott. I had all been layout out before I got it and I was asked to animate every single shot in the commercial.
It was a lot of fun but it was a very challenging thing. I hadn’t done anything like it before. By which I mean, I’d never been paid to animated before. It was a big learning experience.
I through everything I learned about animation up till then into the project. A lot of overlapping action, things stopping at different times, action, movement…it was fun.
The artwork is NOT the best. It was very early on in my career. It wasn’t like I had the best drawing of Homer. I didn’t have the character down as well as I should have, but it was the best I could do at the time.
I found a copy of it on Youtube and I’ve embedded the video below.
Making Things fit Together.
I will say that, there’s a scene in the commercial that used to be two separate shots. When we showed it to Fox we received some notes. One of the notes was to cut out a scene. This forced us to combine the two scenes that book ended the missing scene. The scenes looked identical but they actually were not.
I ended having to animate the scenes into one another. It’s near the end and it’s weird. You’ll see. There’s a scene near the end where the announcer says, “food in the fast lane.” Well, that whole scene used to be two scenes.
You’ll see at the beginning of that shot that Homer kinda morphs a little bit. That’s where I was trying to animate these two scenes together and combine them into one scene.
What do you think? Did you ever see this commercial when it went live?
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – The Couch Gag that Wouldn’t Die
So this season seems have been the season of epic Couch Gags.
Most of the Couch Gags I’ve worked on this season have been epic. Like, “mini movie” epic.
I haven’t worked on all of them but I’ve worked on quite a few. Most of the time I don’t mind at all. They’re a lot of fun.
This week though, I came face to face with the Couch Gag that wouldn’t die.
I’m working on revising show 22 of this season. Production approached me to do some overtime revising the storyboards for a Couch Gag that needed to be approved.
I said sure. I fixed the boards really quick and off it went. I continued revising show 22.
Next day, after lunch, I’m told there where notes on the Couch Gag. I needed to fix the board A.S.A.P., so I did. The fixes where kinda elaborate. It took me three times longer to fix than the original notes. Meanwhile, I’m running behind on show 22.
I finish the fixes.
Nope, there are two designs that I need to put in the board. I have to redraw some stuff.
So I change the designs and turn it in. The board is okay, and that was that. The boards are sent to get approved again.
The next day, mid-morning, I get sent a note telling me there’s more fixes. Different fixes.
“GAH!” Why won’t this Couch Gag leave me alone?! (Sigh)
So I fix it. It didn’t take long. It was minor, but it was annoying.
I half expect to get the boards sent back to me again before the day was over…and they were.
More changes were sent to me. Nothing that was even in the original script either. The board just wouldn’t die.
I managed to finish those changes. I hope we don’t get sent more today. Wish me luck.
Now I’m behind on my work and have to make up the time.
At least I’m getting paid overtime.
Oh well, I can’t complain, it’s still a fun job. It can just get annoying sometimes.
If you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
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!).
Manga, which was turned into two live action films and an animated cartoon.
art book, you can see some of his work. Work like this:
:
:
” record:
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!).