Ming The Merciless and Princess Aura!

I'm currently watching the DvD of the Filmation Version of 'Flash Gordon' Cartoon Series which I picked up over in Los Angeles last year. I havent seen it in years so its strange to see it with new eyes. I remember being a kid waiting to see the next installment every night on the ABC.
It hasn't held up well in fact its so bad I was laughing at the animation but theres certainly its charm about it. Having a chance also to see the original 15 minutes or so that was cut out of the series broadcast (because it had Nazis in it) the Budget seemed to be spent on that and so the rest of the series looked like recycled junk.

This however got me thinking as to what a new series would look like if it was made today and if I was in Charge of it. So heres a quick Ming the Merciless and his Daughter Princess Aura and I know I based them mostly on the Movie Versions but they were cool and yes I probably would have made them into more the Comic version given a chance. But then I'm not doing designs for the show now am I??

Check out this new Blog by my friend Ed Smith Jr. called Heade of Household, hes wanting feedback so go over and give him some!!

The Naked Truth

Stop Right there before you go any further the following post contain NUDITY look away now if you are under 18 or a sadistic riotious religious fanatic and try and ban me from my own blog for being 'Rude' This is an ART BLOG after all!!

So you can draw funny little cartoons, but have you ever considered how important it is to understand Anatomy? I dont mean in an explicit way either, get that mind out of the Gutter you pervert!
I mean do you understand Proportion and weight of a person both male and female? You need to look at drawing people before you go off and draw your own stuff. It took me ages to learn this but when I did oh goodness did I fly! Occassionally I'm a little off errors are made unless the person is right in front of you but your not an artist if you don't make mistakes!
I just look at some artists today and what they think passes for anatomy and can't help but consider that the art world is doomed. Theres Always room for improvement and if you think you are the best and do not LEARN then you are clearly mistaken!

A quick mention if you get a chance a new poll is up on how you checkout the blog please answer it if you can as it will help the Blogs Future to stay Rosey!!

My curiousity got the best of me and I bought the original 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' 2 disc dvd as it was going cheap. I have to admit to having never seen it so to watch it in full was I guess like watching Star Wars for the first time. Anyway it was a great film and I enjoyed it and can understand how relevant it is today in a 'Shoot first ask later' world mentality!
And you know not a Keanu in sight!

ScareCrow Shenanigans!!

Another weekend and yet another bunch of Job Applications to send out. I really miss having a steady paycheck. This week they include more video game companies Yes I know I'm a sucker for punishment aint I!! But there must be someone out there who actually wants me to work for them.
Okay so this is a call out to everybody out there who collects these Walt Disney Treasures I want a copy of this very rare Dr Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh Starring Patrick McGoohan. It was only released last november but is so hard to find or costs so much up to a $100. So if anyone has this 2 disc I would really appreciate a copy of it. And I mean even just a Copy I'm not asking to buy the whole thing just if you can copy it I would very much like to see it. They dont sell them here and the only Treasures I do have was a dented up copy I found in LA of the 'Disney Rarities' Collection and that was cheap because the Tin was so badly damaged!!

A State of Flux!

Aeon Flux to be Precise!

The Art That Time Tried to Forget!

I got a hold of an old CD-r (remember those?) and found some of my most early artwork from the old Drawing Board Days circa 2001. This was when I was just really starting out in Illustrator and began experimenting more including from Photo Reference.
Be forwarned alot of this stuff is Ancient and I am putting this up for posterity sake only. Who knows when I die people may look back and say hey his early work was heaps better than his later work or this guy never got any better!
The Next Two pictures were my first ever posts at the Drawing Board. Alot of people were very welcoming and gave very kind comments. Too Kind really so much wrong with these.


Ahhhh now the following art is my Bettie Page I mentioned last month First thought lost in the Bowels of History, this was my first solo post in the girls section and boy did it get a bashing!!
I still remember 'Where are her Feet?' sigh I was so young back then!
Arghh Okay........ enough Punishment for one Post!

Goodbye Number Six

I awoke this morning to the news that Patrick McGoohan had died. He's best remembered as Number 6 in the classic series 'The Prisoner' Where a Spy is kidnapped by people unknown and awakens in a place known only as The Village and where there is no escape unless he conforms and gives them all the secrets that they want to know. Of course he never does and spends all 17 episodes trying to escape. The Simpsons even did an episode set in the village but then what haven't they done!

Keanu Reeves as Spike Spiegal in Cowboy BeBop movie??? I hope thats just a rumour He simply cannot act!

SuperGirl

You Know I'm not afraid to admit that I really dug Supergirl the Movie when I first saw it at the cinema yes more than 25 years ago. It had alot of supergirl in it and thats what you want. She even went up against a giant demon and not even superman did that! if you compare it to something like say the latest Superman Returns it was even miles better than that piece of crap!

Two more movies I finally got to see, Max Payne and Species 3. The latter of the two best not even talked about how you can pass anything off as a 'movie' is ridiculous and Natasha Henstridges cameo being so wasted that film had so many plotholes it will just make your head spin.

Now Max Payne I LOVED IT being a big fan of the game and its sequel I allowed the changes and really enjoyed it for what it was. Its not without faults of course but was able to forgive it much more easily than most VideoGame to Movie adaptions! The strange thing is this movie opened a day before the american release in theatres here in Australia and yet its due on dvd next week over there while we have to wait until April!! How the hell does that work??

Metamorpho

I was very Disappointed by the design of Metamorpho in the latest 'Batman Brave and The Bold' to me Rex Mason was not a hulking teenage idiot who turns into 'ROCKETS???' I mean thats just plain awful hes a master of the elements not freakin' Zan from Superfriends! Not to mention the Outsiders being a flop. Overall BB fell flat this week.

Anyway I have always had a connection with this character of Metamorpho the poor guy is a terrible outcast not loved nor respected. Sure he had a hotty girlfriend for awhile but in the end she left him like the rest all because of his disfigurement. Typical Shallow Women!!

Speakin' of Evil Women I watched 'SPECIES' tonight, my friend Martin and I spent the day combing through the dvd section of a local store that was having a Sale and he slipped it in my sweaty hands. I wouldn't let it go. Its a great film with Natasha Henstridge getting her kit off a couple of times and where a major bitch gets her come uppance in a Pool of Burning Oil..... now I suddenly feel like watching 'ALIENS' again!

I Am Not An Animator

So I started going through flash today, Its an absolute mess of a program. I was never a fan even when I learned the much earlier version years ago. How someone has the patience to sit there and go draw in it for every slow single moment I give full credit too.

I would love to have a stream of animators and direct them into what I want. Instead its just me trying to get the stuff out. I got offered work a week or so ago and had to knock it back because it was all flash based which ticked me off since the guy knew I only drew in Illustrator. I am just not an animator. I draw something I move on I dont have the patience to draw something again and again thats when it gets boring for me.

One guy I know who directs great flash is Joel Trussell we've had our little creative differences with each other over the years but hes does great music videos check out my favorite with a very nice song!



I had a little money left over this week so got some dvds I'd wanted. Hellboy 2, Futurama Beast of a Billion and Benders Game, Batman SubZero and the complete series of SpeedRacer.

Only Fools

I owe people an apology. I didn't mean to scare you into thinking that I will dissappear off the face of the planet. The blog will continue as an artblog related thing. But it may be slow moving this year as I try and pay off debts and save for the US again for next year. I havent quite done with drawing yet I have pages of a comic to finish.

But in related news I'm opening up interested parties to a little animated pilot I'm doing. So If you know flash and are after a project to do then let me know. Otherwise I'll have to find the time to do it myself once I learn the stupid thing out!

A couple of weeks ago I got three animation dvds , Batman:Mask of the Phantasm, Superman Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier. My favorite of these is Frontier heres a small excert with the Flash and Captain Cold.

Jumping Puddles

First of all Happy New Year......now we have that out of the way onto the important stuff.

This year I wont be pursuing my art career, and it has probably puts this Blog in Jeopardy as well as my social networks over on Myspace and Facebook. Because I dont know if I will be going back to it. I've upset a few people with this news and on the flipside also made some people very happy.

I'm still in a lot of Debt from my trip last year and I think its time to take a step back and look at which road I'm going down.

I'm at a DeadEnd right now, I have no work. My networks have all dried up. A few weeks ago I contacted Cartoon Network and was told that unfortunately my work cant compete with people with more experience who then give jobs to their friends. I would probably do the same in their position. This doesnt help me.

So I dont know whats going to happen to this blog. If I will delete it, keep it going or just leave it as is. I havent decided yet. But since the whole point of setting this up to discuss my adventures in gaining employment in the Cartoon Industry it all seems rather Mute right now.

During my time in Pursuit of Happiness, It just stopped being fun. And if I'm just not having fun anymore then is there any point?

Maybe it was never meant to be, Maybe I'm just venting in Frustration of all the Road Blocks. I just have very, very mixed feelings right now.

Also the above Picture was taken at the 'Taste of Tasmania' as a yacht came in from an annual race we have. Not much in the way of good food this year shame really!