Homework at 50% Mark...

Back to the hat again. I didn't quite have it half done last post, so here's what it looks like at the official halfway point. I only put in a couple lighter shades to give myself some perspective for when I come back to it. It took me a few minutes of sifting through my shades before I could even come back to do shadows, so I wanted to give myself a little break. The flask is looking a little better, hopefully when I put in highlights and a little reflection of the cigarette pack in it, it'll look really cool.

This morning, Ernie (Travelodge property owner) called me into his office and handed me a note, asking if I would do a couple sketches for him. They're actually cartoons, which he probably wants to put up in his office or something. But it's cool, I've always wanted to do something I could "donate" to the motel. It's going to be a little nerve-wracking, but a good learning experience for me.

Painting Progress

This is our "homework". It takes more time and effort than an "assignment", and is done on a bigger canvas. So far, all my stuff has been 9x12, this one is 11x14. More room for details!

It doesn't look like much right now, but so long as I don't completely fuck it up, it'll turn out more detailed and much better-looking.

Thumbnails of Dracula

These are thumbnails I did for Digital Imaging. We're supposed to do concept art for a made-up movie, so I chose to do one for a stictly historical version of Dracula, sans vampire. Obviously I worked a little longer on the last two, but shut up then.

Vlad dining among his execution victims, and the other on is just Vlad sitting there...on his horse...

Sitting in a Turkish prison, all lookin like rob Zombie...

Thinking how little may personally regarded religion, but how strongly religion affects those under him...

Almost Accidentally Surreal?

I know, what the hell? It looks like I mixed too much water in my paints (though I barely use any, it's acrylic). The cup, though have a solid-looking handle, doesn't look anchored to the saucer, the book is too dark and obviously NOT-straight. Maybe I could just say it was sitting in water and got warped. It'd be believable because it looks like I painted fucking water under it!

The apple DOES have a shadow (six more weeks of --what, apples?), you just can't see it for beans. Oh, and the apple looks like a tomato.

On a plus side, the I made the Pepsi in the cup look convincingly like coffee.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages...

Apparently I did better than I thought on my poster project. My instructor said it came together pretty well--pretty much similar to what April said in the comment to the last post. Anyway, I got a B+ on it, so that was cool. Next project is concept art for a movie--not a movie that actually exists, but for a made-up movie of our choosing.
Sorry April, I think I'm going with thumbnail #3 for my painting class. A lot of other students liked how natural it looked, and that's kind of what I was going for. This is a big one, so wish me luck on it.
If you haven't already checked the Bone Daddy blog, the new page it up. I had noticed a little boo-boo I made earlier on, and decided it needed correction. The next page is written, and I've included what I think is one of the most clever jokes I've ever made. I can't wait til it's up! You guys are gonna be so pissed.

Illustrative Digital Imaging

I haven't posted any assignments from this class so far, because they've all been assignments where I take a picture and make alterations to it. They're not anything really exciting. This is a poster we were supposed to do as a project spanning over 3 lessons, any theme.

I chose Sicilian Mafia bosses, without realizing how diverse this could actually be, and without realizing that some of these guys never did get pictures taken.

Background is the Sicilian flag, which I tried to unsuccessfully make look like water.

Dii Della Sicilia means "Gods of Italy", suggesting the power they had over peoples' lives, business and otherwise. There were two main provinces in which the Mafia was most influential, three more after World War II: Palermo, Trapani, Corleone, Messina, Catania. The faces I put on here are not really the first or even most well-known bosses, just the most well-known I could find. The only real significant one is Vito Cascio Ferro, from Palermo (top left, big head).

It's not a good poster. It's not bad, just not good. If you could see what my classmates had done, you'd know what I mean. Most of theirs blow mine out of the water, but then again, I'm not a big digital imaging-type. If I need any help after this class is over, I'll just beg April.

Also, I posted my thumbnail shots for my Still Life Painting homework below. The homework is a bigger project, meant for us to take more time on it than our assignments. I've decided to utilize my hat, which has already been becoming a famous subject of media, in my composition. My classmates will give their opinions on this as well, but I'd like to hear any feedback as to which of these thumbnails you prefer.

Jug, Banana, Jug, Jug, Banana

It's growing on me. There are always parts of it I don't like, but hey-what can I do? That jug is a replica (I imagine) of whiskey jugs used back in the day. If you were to turn this particular one around, it would have a stamp on it stating it is from the Jack Daniel Distillery, Tax District 7.
Notice that I actually caught the slight yellowish reflective glare the banana was throwing at the jug? Good boy, Doug. The cup is supposed to look that way, that's why I posted the reference photo. Jas made it for me when he took ceramics in college, and though it looks a bit asymmetrical, it's actually very sturdy.

reference photo.

"President Samples Does Not Care About Cartoon People"

I found this on the MSNBC website.
"ATLANTA - The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a terrorism scare in Boston and led police to shut down bridges and send in the bomb squad.
The announcement of Jim Samples’ resignation came in an internal memo to Cartoon Network staff members.
“It’s my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages,” said Samples, who was the network’s general manager and executive vice president."

This is absolute bullshit. A bunch of fucking paranoid idiots stuffed with FOX NEWS reports and "expert's" opinions telling them there's terror in every corner of the city noticed some Lite-Brite boxes with a mooninite on them giving the finger placed throughout the city, and suddenly the whole place is in an uproar over "questionable packages" promoting terrorism in the United States. For the record, the vast majority of reported U.S. terrorist bombings come in the form of big planes crashing into things and people strapping bombs onto themselves. Why would they put out boxes that draw peoples' attention?
The fire chief thought this was a prank pulled by some "sick individuals". NO! Bad fire chief! Get away from that!
I really don't care who gets pissed here, because this whole story is absolute and pure bullshit. People are saying this is sick because we're already in danger from "terrorism" and this is just screwing with their heads, that's wrong. This is proof of why I'm a misanthrope. Because there are so many people--not all, by any means, but a disturbing amount nonetheless--who are so paranoid and stupid and believe everything they hear about how rampant terrorism is in the U.S. without realizing that would mean absolute ineptitude of the the FBI and CIA for letting it get so bad.
COME ON. It's a Lite-Brite. Middle-agers may not have a clue what a Mooninite is (though their sons and daughters could have easily shed some light on that), who doesn't know what a Lite-Brite is? They were big in the '70's and '80's. Use your fucking brain. And when you realize how stupid you've been, don't go blaming your ignorance on the Cartoon Network. It may not have been the best idea, but it was not "sick". It was not "promoting terrorism". It wasn't even in bad taste. The one thing American claim to be able to do better than anyone in the world is to rise up and get beyond tragedy and disaster. Ok...we're what, $4 trillion in debt? We can't find one guy who lives in the mountains, even though he keeps making videos and escaping before getting caught. News channels are still obsessed with Anna Nicole Smith, even though no one can tell us anything new. Our soldiers are still getting killed in Roadside bombings and have a hard time telling who's enemy and who's an ally. Oh, and how is New Orleans doing after that nasty little storm?
I wonder how many people in this country have Old Glory waving in one hand and agun in the other, giving sideways glances over to those middle eastern neighbors who just moved in the previous day/month/year/decade/???

So anyway, because a bunch of idiots (and let's not beat around the bush, the conclusion jumped to was purely assinine) got scared and worked themselves up over a Lite-Brite with a cartoon character, and now the head of the Cartoon Network feels compelled to step down.
Who do I get more pissed at? The morons who screamed "Terrorism!", or Jim Samples, who obviously didn't have enough balls to step up and tell people to get over it. Look at the blurbs (or whatever you call them) before commercial breaks. They tell people/places/things to go fuck themselves ALL THE TIME. If your head honcho can't do the same, then get the fuck off cable and don't bother wasting my time with faked attitude. I love the cartoons, but for the love of Doug step up and defend your own a little.
But moreso, fuck you, paranoid and terror-obsessed people, and fuck the non-cartoon horse you rode in on. If this is what being American is, I'd rather be a mooninite.

Get Your Hands Off Me, You Damned Dirty Apple!

It got sloppy in some spots, making my coffin look a little like a big chocolate bar or a shit brick. But it's not all bad. I think I did okay with the form shadow on the cone (though it could have been darker), and I managed to get the glint on the apple AND gave the coffin shape and depth. I liked using the coffin, too. Maybe next time I'll take the dead kitten out and show how the shadows hit the inside ot it.

New Golden Brown is out. Sorry, I got it out a little late in the day. I actually forgot it was Friday. Who the fuck forgets when it's FRIDAY?

[[[[= This guy! =]]]]

..\ \............./ /

By the way, I just found out the most googled word last year was Bebo. BEBO. Seriously, Bebo is some company in san Francisco that I have never heard of before today, and yet Bebo was the most googled word. Bebo. That's right, Bebo.

Still Life With Ukulele

This is my frist exercise for Still Life Painting. I stopped this halfway through because we had stuff to do, and I didn't get to come back to it until today.

This is the finished version. I'm not happy with the bottle (that's not a label on the front), and the little imperfections along the side of the ukulele make it look a little like a violin, but it didn't turn out too bad for a first timer. I say first timer, because last year, I was painting over a picture I already drew out or photographed, essentially painted by number, sans number. This time around, I actually had to sketch the picture with my brush (it's the rule for this class), then paint.

Superbowl was pretty fun, though I was rooting for the Bears. The food, as always, was awesome. Kevin made French dip which just fell apart on the fork (rivaled only by Karissa's slow-cooked chicken we just ate last week and made into soup today), plus we had dried beef dip, rotel, and lil' smokies.

I've got the next page of Golden Brown already done, and I'm halfway through inking another (I know, holy shit!). It'll be out Friday, like usual. My school is starting to pick up a little more, so I'm worried about how much I'll be able to fit onto my plate.