PODCAST/VIDEO – Cornerbooth #19 Interview with Bill Deli
If you only listen to one Corner Booth episode ever, this the one to listen to.
We had a “live studio audience” in this one and they participated. Asking EMMY AWARD WINNING art director Bill Deli questions and getting some amazing answers.
Also, I had asked my Facebook drawing group if they had any questions they wanted Bill to answer and I ask him during the show.
This episode is chalk full of information that will blow your mind. Not only that, but it’s extremely funny. We had a great time recording this.
This is the last of the unreleased Corner Booth episode. Let me know what you think. Should we make more?
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
PODCASTS/VIDEO – Corner Booth #17 Interview with Debi Derryberry
Interview with out first voice actor, Debi Derryberry. We not only find out how she got into the industry but we also get to hear what characters she gave life to. Including some anime characters.
We also talk about what it takes to be a voice actor, as well as Debi’s advice if you’re interested in getting into the business.
Plus, there’s an interruption by a special guest who works on Rick and Morty.
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ANIMATION/SUPERHEROES – My Thoughts on Young Justice Animated.
Simpsons Quote:
“Oh, there’s no justice like angry-mob justice.” ~ Skinner
I like animated cartoons. I watch animated cartoons. I work in animated cartoons. But my favorite kind of cartoons are action-adventure. And today I’m going to be talking about the cartoon show Young Justice.
You can watch the video below or you can read the transcription. Be sure to scroll down for links and other videos too:
Superhero Cartoons
I love action-adventure cartoons. They’re my favorite. I kind of wish every cartoon was an action-adventure cartoon, well, almost. I like comedy cartoons also. But today I’m going to be talking about Young Justice.
This cartoon oh, it’s so good. I love superheroes, okay? I’m a big superhero nerd. I love Superman. He’s my favorite. Second favorite is Spider-Man.
I’ve been watching these shows since the Bruce Timm era when he started his Batman cartoon and then went on to do Superman and then Batman Beyond and then Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. All those shows, love all those shows. They’re so good.
Well then there were Teen Titans. Then there was Legion of Super Heroes, which I made a video about and talked about. And I’m probably going to talk about those other shows later that I just mentioned.
Young Justice
Today I’m talking about this. This show came after The Batman. It came after The Brave and the Bold. It’s about the “sidekicks”.
So we’ve got characters like Speedy, which is Green Arrow’s sidekick. We’ve got Kid Flash, which is Flash’s sidekick. We’ve got Robin. We’ve got Superboy. We’ve got M’gann, who is the Martian girl. She’s Martian Manhunter’s niece. And we’ve got Aqualad. And it’s a very, it’s a different Aqualad.
So I mean, you’ve got all these characters and I forgot Green Arrow’s sidekick’s name. I just wasn’t familiar enough with her, but she’s totally awesome even though I don’t remember her name.
So they wanted to become part of the Justice League, but they were much too young. But they basically got together and said if you’re not going to make us part of the Justice League, we’re out.
We’re going to do our own thing, because we are grown up enough to deal with more responsibilities, which pushed the Justice League to give them rookie kind of assignments. They got their own headquarters and they’re sent on covert missions assigned to them by Batman.
It’s a great show because, I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I like kid heroes. I like teenage heroes. I like remembering how much I wanted to have superpowers as a teenager and do cool things.
So I guess it brings me back to that, not because I liked being a teenager. Not because I had a great teenage life, but that fantasy when I was a teenager was so cool that I like getting sent back to that fantasy by watching shows about young superheroes.
So they create this team called Young Justice. They are left in charge of doing secondary jobs that the Legion just can’t handle because they’re doing these other primary jobs. And they’re important jobs, they just can’t be handled directly by the main heroes.
Seasons One
So the first season is the whole getting to know you, introducing all the characters, introducing the bad guys, there’s relationships and all this angst, and it’s great. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a big soap opera like superhero cartoons are supposed to be, like teen books are supposed to be.
Teenagers getting together and butting heads and trying to find themselves and the whole bit. They just happen to have superpowers and have to deal with stuff that’s way more beyond regular teenage problems. So the first season is great. I really enjoyed the first season.
Season Two
Second season was incredible. It is so good. For some reason, they skip five years. A lot of the characters in this show are much, much olde. So Robin becomes Nightwing in this show.
And then we also introduce Batgirl and Wondergirl and the Blue Beetle.
And this is the new Robin, Tim Drake.
And relationships have been broken. It’s weird, because it starts off like, still like this and then it skips five years and suddenly like some characters are bad guys. Some characters are married.
Some characters are clones that weren’t clones before because, we’ve got Superboy over here, who is a clone of Superman. I’m not spoiling anything it’s still the same. It’s basically in the pilot episode of this season. It’s great. I love it. I love it. Cool, cool superhero stuff.
Superman, they do something with Superman in the first season of Young Justice that is really interesting, making him uncomfortable with Superboy. And it makes him very human and very, “why are you doing that, Superman?”
Can’t you see that he needs a dad, but you’re not his dad? It’s just like it’s crazy and I like it. It’s great.
So check out the show if you haven’t seen it.
The DVDs
The Young JusticeDVDs; these are actually annoyingly they’ve split the seasons in half and sell them in two part. It just drives me crazy. Just give me the whole thing.
I don’t understand why they do that. They’re just gouging, but I guess I’m a sucker because I bought them.
So I highly recommend this show, a lot of fun.
Have You Seen This Show?
If you have seen this show, let me know what do you think of Young Justice? Do you like it? Do you think it’s not all that good? Do you think I’m full of crap?
Let me know.
Subscribe to my newsletter. If you do you’re going to get my free art of book. It’s a digital download. You can get it for free, but if you want a copy of it a physical print copy, you can get it at Amazon. It’s called Angel Cowgirl.
Go to Amazon. You can pick it up there, too. If you like it enough, please by the print copy and help support me.
PODCAST – The Corner Booth Podcast Episodes 4 and 5
As I mentioned WAY back in May, I was working on putting The Corner Booth podcast on iTunes. Well, it’s up there now. There are currently five episodes of the podcast on iTunes and a new one will be there in two weeks.
In Episode 5: Larry Whitaker and I have a great conversation with Cynthia Petrovic about her work on Tiny Toons, what she worked on at Disney, her company Red Tango, and many other things. Go check it out. It’s a fun conversation.
If you like the show Subscribe to it on iTunes. For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
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.
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – Simpsons Artists Invent a Version of Zombie Freeze Tag
The Simpsons Quote:
[Flanders, a zombie, approaches Homer] Ned Flanders: Hey, Simpson. I’m feeling a might peckish. Mind if I chew your ear? [Homer kills Flanders by blasting his head apart with a shotgun] Bart: Dad! You killed the zombie Flanders. Homer: He was a zombie?
I’ve stated before that I worked at the Fox Studio Lot during the Simpson movie, working on story boards. A lot of interesting things happened during my time there.
The group of Simpsons artist at the Fox Lot quickly go the reputation of being the trouble makers at the lot. It was a tense environment and our way of relieving the stress was to play as much as possible. Like a bunch of children.
Today I’m going to tell you about one of those days where we really had an opportunity to play and have fun during our work hours.
You can either play the video and hear me tell the story or you can read the story below. It’s the same information either way.
OH, and if you want to hear MORE crazy stories and anecdotes, scroll down to the bottom of this post where there a link to a podcast with more insider Simpsons stuff:
The Small Staff at the Fox Lot
There was a very small group of us that worked a the Fox Studios Lot. We were right in the thick of it. Some of us became friends with the writers. Our bosses where THE producers of the movie. We were working directly under the people that were calling the shots, David Silverman and everyone else heading the production.
There was a very small group of us, about 15 to 20. We were kind of like, the key group that needed to get the work done. The 20 of us weren’t all artists. We were editors and compositors.
There’s a lot that happened, but there came a point where…I don’t remember what happened, the writers and producers stopped the production to have a meeting. That meant our small group didn’t have work to do.
What We do When There’s No Work to Do
Well, we’re a bunch of artists who are about as mature as a bunch of three year olds, so we decided we were going to go have fun at the park. You see, there’s a park right across the street from the Fox Lot.
So we all got up an left to the park across the street.
Once we where there, we said,
“Hey guys, lets play tag!” So we did.
We then invented a game we called Zombie Freeze Tag.
The rule went something like this:
One person is “it.”
When they tagged you, you where frozen. Until someone unfroze you by touching.
If you got frozen and unfrozen three times, you became “it” along with the original person who was “it.” You became “infected,” you became a zombie. You became “it” with the other person.
So little by little, everyone gets tagged and untagged, frozen, unfrozen, the group that was “it” becomes larger than the people who are not “it.”
That’s when it becomes the “Zombie Apocalypse Tag.”
The game ends when there’s no more “humans” left.
And that’s what we played. We played it until there was one person left who was running for his life because everyone else was a zombie.
So we invented that game at the park that day and had fun.
A Trip to the Playground
Afterward, we all decided that we wanted to go the playground. Off we go to the play ground, a large group of adults.
We kinda scared off all the kids from the playground because we were the big scary people. We spent out time playing and having fun at the playground. Someone had brought a skateboard and was doing tricks and enjoying himself.
And then, the Ice Cream man came! So of course, we had ice cream.
The Golf Cart
As we were having ice cream and playing in the play ground, we saw a golf cart. It had come from the Fox Lot, and it was for us.
We were told that production had started again, the meeting was over and everyone needed to come back.
Well, there were actually two golf carts that they had sent from the Fox Lot that were sent to come and get us. So everyone climbed up on these little tiny electrical powered golf carts and got chauffeured down the street. Just because we were a bunch of artists who went to the park to be goofy.
Funnest Day Ever
That was actually, one of the funnest days we had, working in the production of The Simpsons Movie. It’s one of those things, that just happen, it’s fun and it’s great, and then it’s back to work.
Just thought I’d share that in case you wanted to know what it was like to work in The Simpsons Movie. What it was like to be one of the artist there and some of the things that happened.
Has this Happened to You?
Hope you enjoyed my little anecdote. If you did just let me know. Have you ever done anything crazy like that at work? Have you ever had that kind of fun and invented games or anything like that?
Leave a comment. Let me know. Share.
Pulp Simpsons Continue
I’m still sharing more Pulp Simpson drawing on my newsletter. It’s mash up of Simpsons and Pulp Fiction that the artists on the show just decided to do for fun.
I’m sharing it with my newsletter subscribers. If you want to join in the fun, sign up. If you do so before next Thursday, I’ll send you this weeks’ email.
PODCASTS – The Simpsons: Then and Now
Want to hear even MORE Simpsons stories and anecdotes?
My co-worker and pal, Chance Raspberry and I talked about working on the show, how we got started, answer questions from the live audience who was with us and generally have a good time talking about The Simpsons.
COMIC BOOKS – Working on a Mike Allred Simpsons Comic Book.
Hmm, that lightning exclamation point looks awfully familiar.
The Simpsons Quote:
In the alley behind his store CBG: (throwing out a large stack of comics) It seems I will never sell these “She-Hulk vs. Leon Spinks” comics. Worst cross-over ever!(leaves) Nerds: (getting the sent of the comics, one grabs the comics from the trash bin) CBG: (points a flashlight at them, which make their eyes shine red) Nerds: Aargh! (they run away) CBG: (Waving a broom at them) Shoo, nerds, shoo!
I’d done other work besides working on The Simpsons show.
Sometimes, doing this sort of thing actually makes for some fun adventures.
Today I’m going to talk about one of those fun moments that happened when I worked on some Simpsons comics.
You can either watch the video below or read it. The information is the same either way:
(All the links to the products below are affiliate links.)
A Fun Freelance Job
While I worked on The Simpsons I used to freelance for Bongo Comics.
Well, I’m a big fan of Mike Allred, the creator of Madman. My boss at Bongo, Bill Morrison, knew this. He was also a fan and we used to talk about comics all the time.
BUT I drew the plots and I still have them. So check this out. Here’s the rough plots of the page above:
Pretty cool huh?
Surprised at Comic Con
So here’s the interesting part, okay. So I drew this comic, that year I went to San Diego Comic Con. Laura Allred, Mike Allred‘s wife was in a booth there selling their extra comics.
They were these old comics they had worked on called Grafik Muzik. That was, actually the comic that had made me become aware of Mike Allred. These Grafik Muzik comics.
The comic made me search out for more of his stuff which led me to his Madman comics and all his other books.
So I started talking to Laura and I told her I was a big fan, and I bought some Grafik Muzik comics. I also told her that I had worked on the Simpson Comic her husband had written.
She told me to stick around for a moment because she was sure that he might be coming by. Sure enough, he showed up.
I introduced myself, we shook hands and I told who I was and what I did. I was 19 or 20 years old at the time. I don’t remember but I was much younger then.
And he was so awesome. We just started talking about comics, The Simpsons and all kinds of things. Then he says,
“Come on, come with me,” and we just walked off into Comic Con. I went with him as he bought comics and we talked and looked around.
It was fun. He spoke with a lot of industry guys as I tagged along, and it was fun. It was really nice that he did that. I really appreciated it.
I have fond memories of having worked on the comic. And I have fond memories of what happened after.
Working on the Comic
And here’s the thing. The script he actually wrote that he wanted a iris panel, because that’s his style. He does those old school grids and page layouts. He basically choreographed the way he wanted the grids and the panels to work. I was familiar with his style so, to me that was a lot of fun too.
Embarrassing Myself
I ended up sending them a thank you note via Bill Morrison after I got home from Comic Con a few days later…so embarrassing.
It’s this drawing I did of Bart Simpsons on Madman’s leg and Madman is trying to shake him off. BUT then on the drawing I wrote this, like, love letter to both Laura and Mike Allred and it’s…it’s bad. I really hope they forgot about it…
ANYWAY, I hope you’ve enjoyed this, anecdote. Let me know what you think of my story. Are you a fan of Mike Allred. I can only say good things. He’s a great guy.
A Better Look at All the Roughs
This week’s newsletter has the roughs for the comic, if you want to take a look at them. Give’s you an idea of what the story he wrote was like.
PODCASTS – Simpsons: Then and Now
Tonight, as of the time of this writing, my co-worker Chance Raspberry and my pal and animator Larry Whitaker are going to meet up with animation fans for our second live recording of our The Corner Booth podcast. Our podcast where we talk about the animation industry from the inside.
It’s happening tonight in a secret location, in Burbank. The topic for this recording is, The Simpsons: Then and Now.
Chance and I will be talking about our experience working on the show.
How we got our jobs on the show and the madness that is producing an episode.
Plus some anecdotes from our time working on the movie.
AND the best part, you can interrupt us anytime and ask us questions about the show.
Depending on what time you’re reading this, you might still be able to come and join us.
Like I said, the location is secret BUT if you opt in to The Corner Booth notification email: http://www.thecornerbooth.net/welcome/ BEFORE 5pm tonight and you live near Burbank, we’ll send you the info.
ART -The Importance, for Artists, to Have a Good Teacher or Mentor.
The Simpsons Quote:
Bleeding Gums Murphy: You know, you play pretty well for someone with no real problems.
Lisa: Yeah, but I don’t feel any better.
Bleeding Gums Murphy: The blues isn’t about feelin’ better. It’s about makin’ other people feel worse and makin’ a few bucks while you’re at it.
Bleeding Gums Murphy was Lisa Simpsons’ mentor. He taught her more about her art. How to think about it, what to do with it, how to improve upon it.
He died tragically of “script writer killed him off” syndrome.
There’s a lot of, up and coming artists, who sit around frustrated. Not knowing what they’re doing wrong or how to get past the wall they’ve hit. There’s only so many things you can get from books.
Sometimes you just need someone to take a look at what you’re doing and guide you where you need to go.
Today I’m going to be writing about good teachers and mentors. Why you need one and how you might go about getting one.
You can either watch the video below or read along. It’s up to you. The information is the same, either way.
That said, at the bottom of this post I introduce a new podcast I’m on so check it out when your done:
Mentors
I’ve had a lot of good teachers and mentors. I think it’s really important to find one or get one.
The reason I say this is, you can have all the academics down, all the theories, everything you need to know. You can learn them in books, videos and sources like that. But sometimes you need to have someone sit down with you and go over your work.
It’s critical to get that kind of feedback. You might think you’re applying the systems and academics correctly, when in fact, your not.
It helps to have someone look at your work and critique it.
Examples of Mentor-ship in Action
I have a few examples of this sort of thing here on the blog already. There was a post I wrote about making a painting breakthrough. I was studying painting. Trying to get my painting right, trying to get the theories to work, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.
Then my friend and mentor Paul Wee, came into my office and saw me in midst of despair. We had a conversation and he told me what I needed to do and why.
My first two seasons on The Simpsons, directors would just sit down and draw over my stuff…over and over and over. Yes, it’s brutal. You feel like you’re a total loser.
You thought you had it all figured out, until someone better than you started pointing out all your flaws. It’s tough.
But from that point on, you become aware, that there are things you need to think about that you never realized you needed to think about before. Suddenly you start seeing your work from the eyes of your mentor.
You start asking, “What would they say? What am I not doing?” this helps you improve and grow.
So I highly recommend getting yourself somebody.
How?
The Steps you Can Take to Get a Mentor
PAY somebody. I don’t know, whatever it takes. Maybe you can contact someone online. Maybe they can help you out and offer critique. Give you a little bit of pointers.
Maybe see if you meet up with them and they might give you a few pointers in exchange for some sort of compensation.
Or just find a friend who is WAY better than you. I happen to have my friend Paul who is a bazillion times better than, just about everybody. I ask him question and he just sits down and helps out.
He does this because he’s a friend of mine BUT he also does it because he knows that it helps him. It helps him wrap his head around drawing. He actually learns more by helping me. It solidifies and clarifies what he knows about drawing.
That would be my suggestion to you, if you want to improve yourself and improve your art. It will show you all the ways you could improve that you would have never been aware of otherwise.
Leave a Comment
If this was helpful, leave a comment. Let me know what you got out of this.
Bart Playing Video Games
Opt in this week to receive a behind the scenes look at some Bart artwork I did for…well, I don’t know what it was for. It’s some art of Bart playing a violent video game.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, opt in to TheDrawingWebsite.com newsletter. In that newsletter I give out, mentor-ish, tips on drawing for you to think about. You may ask me drawing question through it if you want also.
PODCAST – The Corner Booth
So I’ve teamed up with my co-worker Chance Raspberry and my pal and animator Larry Whitaker to create The Corner Booth. It’s a podcast where we talk about the animation industry from the inside.
We’ll cover many topics and have guests from the industry on the show.
One of the unique things about this podcast is that some episodes are recorded during a live meet up at an ACTUAL corner booth.
As of the time of this writing we’ve got two episode out. One is on:
We recorded a promo for the show but, it took us like HOURS to get it. We couldn’t stop laughing and screwing it up. If fact, Chance took it upon himself to make a blooper reel. It’s SUPER long:
Madness. Do you see what I’ve got to work with here?
THE SIMPSONS NEWS – Confessions of a Simpsons Assassin, Part 1
Simpsons Quote:
“I don’t judge Homer or Marge. That’s for a vengeful God to do.” – Maude Flanders
I’m not exactly sure why but Director Jim Reardon had me kill people. By people, I mean, Simpson characters.
I killed two Simpsons characters for Jim. One of them was Maude Flanders.
The Job
It wasn’t an assignment that was particularly different from any other I’d been given. He just handed me the scenes, gave me some direction as to what he wanted to see me do in them, and then I went to my desk and worked got to work.
Of course there where pretty girls in the sequence, but I spent most of my time making Homer’s belly fat, extra wobbly. Overall, that was the biggest challenge in working on those scenes aside from drawing a ton of crowds.
That said, I DO have a little anecdote to tell about the scene that isn’t known at all.
The Rewrite
There was a rewrite in that particular scene. A revision from what was originally there.
In the original version Homer does his little stomach wobble asking for the t-shirt. Just as the shirt is going to be launched at him, he looks down,
“Ooh, a gumball,” he reaches down to get it and Maude gets hit and goes over the rail.
After the animatic, Homer looks down,
“Ooh a bobby pin,” he reaches down to get it and Maude gets hit and goes over the rail.
It was a fun little assignment. I didn’t really think it would end up being such a big moment in Simpsons history.
E- mail Give Away
Anyone who is signed up to my e-mail list will get a free “thing”.
In this week’s e-mail, I sent out a sneak peek of what that thing is.
As soon as it’s ready, it’s going to be given to everyone on the list. Anyone who wants it can have it if you opt in, but the current group will get it before anyone else, once it’s ready.
If you want to be among the first to get it, sign up now. I’ll send you the e-mail revealing the “thing” if you sign up before next Thursday.
PODCASTS/WEBSITE – The Rotoscopers
How much into animation are you?
If your any kind of an animation nerd at all or WISH to be, your doing yourself a great disservice by not checking out The Rotoscopers’ podcast and website.
You want to know what’s going on in the animation world from a VERY well informed fan’s point a view? Follow:
and Mason Smith as they geek out about anything and everything animation related.
You’ll learn A LOT about animation.
I’ve listen to almost all of their shows and it’s really reminded me of how great the animation industry can be.
Believe me when I say that, when you’re sitting on this side of the fence, you can forget why you got in this industry to begin with. Listening to the passion The Rotoscopers have for animation, is a breath of fresh air.
I like it when there are things out on the net that educate extroverts on what it actually means to be an introvert.
I also like thing on the internet that help introverts have an easier time living AS an introvert in a world run by extroverts.
The video below does both and I love it. It’s also really well done. Check it out:
BOOKS – Dark Rift
I’m currently reading through the manuscript for DARK RIFT, the sequel to my wife‘s book THE TOWER’S ALCHEMIST. I’m half way through the book and it’s really an exciting read.
That said, I’m REALLY being picky about it and I’ve written tons of notes. I want her book to not just be a good read, but a read you can’t put down.
To that end I’m reading the book, looking for ways to really punch up what my wife has already put there.
Sometimes we discuss the book and the story over dinner. We talk about ways she can play things up in the story and make things clearer. It’s really fun.
Especially since I get to come up with ideas without having to actually execute them (which is the hard part).
I made sure my wife told me nothing about the story, so when I read it, I could read it as an audience member. That way, I could gauge whether or not the story was really working well.
The DARK RIFT manuscript has some gut wrenching intense parts in it.
I’m happy to say it is. I just read a part where something really crazy happens to some characters I really liked and I’m like,
“Nooo, that didn’t just happen!” Which I think is AWESOME. That’s the reaction I WANT to have reading the book.
My wife wants to have the book published by the end of October but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Even if I manage to finish reading the manuscript in a week or so, I still need to draw the cover and write the back of the book description.
Once that’s done, we have to plan a proper launch for the book so we can get as many eyeballs on it as possible.
All this stuff takes time do.
That said, keep an eye out for the book. Hopefully, I’ll be ready by next Month.
500th episode party happened this Monday. It was a pain because it was on a Monday. That said, it was fun.
The night started early. The studio became deserted before six o’clock came around. I was here at my desk working. I was waiting for my wife to get to the studio so we could drive to the party. SHE was waiting for my parents to show up to take care of the kids. They were suppose to show up around five but didn’t quite manage to get there till it was nearly six.
She told me she was on her way, and I tried to concentrate on doing work. I did some but I mostly spent the time figuring out the best route to take to the party. Looking in google maps to see how traffic was.
I was a bit anxious because the party started at seven but I knew that by eight o’clock, they would probably start playing the show at the party for all to see. Often there’s a speech before it and I like to hear what is said. On top of that, it was the show I storyboard Act 1 and some of Act 2. I didn’t want to miss my section of the show if we got there late. By the time Alesha would arrive, it would be seven or so.
Well, Alesha got lost on the way over. She knows how to get to the studio but the freeway exit that she’s used to taking to get to the studio, has been closed for months and she doesn’t know an alternative route. I made things worse when she called me for directions, and not knowing exactly where she was, I gave her bad ones. She eventually she found her own way to the studio.
Off we went, taking the route I had chosen. It was a twenty minute drive, and luckily, no traffic. Unfortunately for us, the party took place in the Roosevelt Hotel, in Hollywood Blvd. If you know anything about Hollywood, you know that, that area is a pain in the neck to drive around. We almost immediately began complaining that the party was in Hollywood. Traffic was a mess, we weren’t paying attention to the directions on the invite, and we ended up getting lost. We drove up and down and turned around twice before we finally found the place were where suppose to park.
The clock was ticking. It was almost eight and we where going around in circle in the parking structure, looking for parking. Once we found a spot, we hurried, made our way out and crossed the street by the Mann’s Chinese theater to the Roosevelt were we got our badges to get in and some casino chips. We had missed the first five minutes of the show. We got there almost on time. I was happy enough. I got to see most of my Act. My wife didn’t really see it because she was busy taking pictures of me watching the show.
As soon as my Act was over, we went off to find food. We found it and watched the rest of the episode. It turned out great. I really liked it.
Once the episode was over we walked around and said hi to people.
There were two floors to explore. The first floor had casino tables where people could use their chips to play. The point was to get as many chips as possible, to trade them in for some prizes. Kinda like Chuck E Cheese’s but for adults.
The second floor gave a good view of the first floor, had the food, and had other game rooms. There was a small hall with a bowling alley and booths where you can sit and play Jenga. There was also a place called “The Game Room” where they had a pool table (with clear plastic 500th episode Simpsons balls), a Simpsons pinball machine, a roulette table, Skee ball, pretzels and Cotton Candy. It also had a window with a fantastic view of Hollywood blvd. My wife decided she wanted Cotton Candy and we ate it as we sat at the booth by the window looking down at Hollywood. To be quite honest, sitting there with Alesha relaxing as we watched life on Hollywood Blvd go by, made the hassle of getting to the party worth it.
We talked a for a while. My wife said she was getting tired though and thought we should go. We got up and spoke to some people and I searched for a few people I wanted to talk to but it was much to crowed to really find anyone.
It was around nine thirty around the time we left. We had only really been there a little over an hour and a half. It was a Monday after all. My daughter had school, I had work, my parents needed to go home and we had along drive ahead.
We headed for the door, saying hi to people along the way and we caught a glimpse of Kareem Abdul Jabbar playing poker in one of the tables. My wife took a picture.
We got our door prize on our way out, which was a 500th episode sweatshirt, and headed for the crosswalk to get to our parking lot. As we waited, my wife began to laugh. When I asked her why, she told me she heard someone from the street address the party goers behind us,
“You look like important people, do you have 50 cents?”
Heh…Hollywood.
THE SIMPSONS NEWS Part 2
In other news, many of The Simpsons crew where interviewed for a newpaper article conscerning our favorite contribution to the show. I was among those interviewed.
It starts off like this:
“Behold! The Simpsons‘ 500th episode is upon us! The show, titled “At Long Last Leave,” entails the Simpson family being evicted from Springfield. When Marge and Homer try to sneak back into town, they’re shunned by former neighbors and friends. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stars as himself, and Alison Krauss sings a special theme song for the landmark moment.
With 23 seasons in the making, the show is bound to bring out the super-fan in countless bloggers who will list, dissect, and debate their choices for best episode, greatest musical guest, and most hilarious Homer quotations. Here, artists, writers, and crew (past and present) talked about their favorite personal contributions to our beloved Simpsons (the show, the Movie, even the comics).
The Simpsons airs its 500th episode on Sun., Feb. 19, 8 p.m. on Fox…”
I was listening to an episode of The Break with Fr. Roderick and he mentioned a podcast called THE CATHOLIC LABORATORY. It’s a podcast that episode by episode, breaks down over a 1000 years of Catholic contributions to science. This podcast directly counters the very idea that faith and science don’t mix. Especially since many priest are the “fathers” of many of the sciences we use today. It’s amazing. I’ve been looking for something like this for a while and hadn’t even realized it. I highly recommend it.
One of the things the show made me aware of is this new version of the movie. So I’ve posted it here as well. THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER: RECOBBLED CUT.
Thanks to cutting a major chunk of redundant action, I managed to finish thumbnailing page 6 this week. This leaves me 3 1/2 pages of script to thumbnail. Which is a good feeling.
The big dillemna this week, was trying to figure out how to shoot the enormous monologue Rob has at the end of the page. Not being completely certain, I decided to simply come up with a bunch of random shots. I’ll cut them together in the rough storyboarding stage and see how they play then. There was also the problem of finding the right place to put in the shot where Rob’s Raven wakes up and finds itself next to his hammer. Again, I simply came up with the shots and I’ll edit them in where they fit best:
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If you only listen to one Corner Booth episode ever, this the one to listen to.
.
. My boss at Bongo, 
. That was, actually the comic that had made me become aware of 
comics.
comics. I also told her that I had worked on the Simpson Comic her husband had written.
