..nothing but head.

This head was done for a Blizzard art contest. It's supposed to be Diablo ( no horns or soul gem). I tried using a Gorillia skull as a model for his head.


This head was done for my own gratification. A Tauren (also sans horns)but once again this is far as I got.


This is what I did for the Arthas-Frostmourne contest. I like the head (very stylized) but not enough time to finish





So here is what I was hoping to turn in, a traditional 2d piece but just not enough time for this as well. I do plan on finishing it and maybe turning it in to Blizzard's fan art web site.

Flight 242 has been postponed due to a Blizzard.

Diverted once again. You can blame Blizzard Entertainment. You see Blizzard is responsible for great games like Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo. They don't churn out alot of games but they do make solid quality games with great game play and fantastic art direction. You see Blizzard is responsible for showing me that CGI animation wasn't just a flash in the pan. You could actually make great and dramatic animations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeLTyPCZBJg (check out this video on you tube). When I saw the Amerigo video for Starcraft I was just blown away. They use this quality approach to everything they do.
OK long story short. They had another art contest which I tried to get something ready for. It diverted my attention from everything (including house and family) for about a month. The contest was to do a representation of Arthas (from Warcraft III) with his demonic sword Frostmourne. Arthas is a great visual character who's part Elric (white hair, demonic sword) and part Anikin Skywalker (a basically good character who is corrupted by hs own inner failings).



I first started with doing a CGI model but it just wasn't going where I wanted it too. By the time I got to where I wanted to go I realized there just wasn't going to be enough time to finish. So I went traditional 2D. But there just aren't enough hours in the day. So today is the deadline and it's not finished. Now hopefully I can get on with my life. This isn't the first time I've tried my hand at Blizzard stuff. I once tried to do Diablo in cgi for another Blizzard art contest but I got no farther then I did this time. I've tried doing a Tauren (a big minotaur type of creature) but once again nothing past a head. There seems to be some hurdle I can't get past when doing my art. Once again the hope for this project is to hopefully stop that trend. Now on with the show!

Those before us

Quinton Hoover's magic. This was done for a card game dealing with vampires.

A cool picture by Christopher Rush

Anson Maddocks Hurloon Minator (I love minators)

Ah..Chris's "The Wretched"

The more things change....

Ok, sorry it's been a long time since I lasted posted. Please don't think it hasn't costed me. Too much time away from the process has let my mind wander and in turn I've been distracted from my original intention. Now I have to decide the course of action. I believe I'll stick with my original plan. I have some doubts about it because it's a little short and doesn't really go anywhere. It really is just an exercise to see if I can apply my self and do it. For me I need to see if I can walk before run.
So...
"The Wretched".
That's the name of my small production. The name as well as the only character comes from the imagination of Christopher Rush. I first came across Chris's art work in the collectible card game "Magic the Gathering".If your familiar with the game you may know how addictive the game is in both it's game play and collecting aspects. It's these characteristics that made the game an almost instant success that continues to this day. However one of the things that appealed to me the most was the art work printed on the cards. In the game's infancy there were only a handful of artists. Most of them unknown,they were professionals none the less. They seemed to know that their artwork was going to be reduced (unfortunately) down to a space little more then 1"x2". Unlike most of the artists after them, their art was simple in design and structure. They were thus bold and captured the imagination. Quinton Hoover, Anson Madocks (where did he go?) and Christopher Rush plus a handful of others should be given as much credit as the games creator for making the game such a resounding success.
As far as the early art work goes I had my favorites, Anson's "Hurloon Minotaur", Quinton's "Doppelganger" card and of course Chris's "The Wretched". A simple painting really, nothing more then a demonic silhouette. Some black against a ghoulish green.
It's enough..enough to let your mind fill in the details...enough to let you know that it wasn't a thing to trifled with. To see it come alive would be a thing of beauty.
The other reason for picking this subject is that it meets all the requirements laid out in an earlier post (quite unlike what my mind was toying with during my period of inaction). It's simple, only one character in a short basic setup. The other reason I am doing this piece is because despite my best efforts it has never developed into anything other then what you'll see. All my ideas start simple but soon develop into the these grandiose ideas that mushroom out of control. The "Wretched" has never been hijacked, it has never become (for better or worse)anything more then what you'll see at the end. With this in mind it hopefully won't become a runaway train.

Napkins, post its and a sketchbook

Ok so here we have some scanned sketches of robots, mythical ceatures and some of the future past.

Oh, for the want of a napkin

First: I apologize for not making any new entries. It got cold up here in the nothern states. When it gets cold (real cold, like -10 below zero F.) my ambition to do anything except eat and sleep goes down. However we seem to be in a spring thaw now so I am making a point to do a post now.



OK, So for a film we need an idea, Fournately I've plenty of those. They usually come unbidden and may posses my thoughts for an instant or for days. The good ones may leave for awhile but they're sure to return wanting only to be transcribed in some form or another. If I am lucky they'll go down into a sketch book or the idea may have been typed into the computer...but most are transfered onto a napkin, post it note or the ever handy work place stationary.



"So what kind of ideas do you have?" I am gladyou asked! Most are nothing more them little snippets or an extended scene that I think would be cool. There are some that are full stories with a begining, middle and end. Some get fleshed into story boards or the very rare typed out shot layout. Some have dialouge but most do not. All are fantastical (is that aword?) dealing with things that I find of intrest.



So here's a short list of the ones that occupy my head the most

"The Call", an extended scence inspired by Lovecraftian mythos

"10:55", another extended scene that stars Batman

"Pulp Wars" An unapolegetic Star Wars extended scene in which a naked Mace Windau (don't ask or maybe you should) fights an evil sith. As a side note, I came up wth this idea long before the movie Eastern Promises ( a good movie which you should go out and rent right now)came out.

"The Bet", an actual short story in the vein of the Twigh Light zone. It deals with a collector , a curator, an angel and a little numbr known as Pi.

Some longer sagas:

"Evolution", working title only, an episodic tale that starts with the Mayan Civilization and ends 500,000 years from now.

"Loki", this one springs from my disappointment after reading "Wicked". As you can guess this tale is told from Loki's point of view

"Steam" A space opera that tales place in Victorian times

Ok, you get the idea, I have plenty of ideas but which one should I use. Everything up to this point has never gotten past the sketch - storyboard phase. One of the reasons is that time always seems be a factor. So in order to get this project done in the projected time frame of one year it should be kept to a low running time. Also, the production should be simple: one character, simple sets etc. Another hurdle for me is not to get bored with the whole thing before it's finished. For me, I love the creative processs but once that's done and the hard work begins... So I need something once again I can complete quickly.

In review I need something that will be quick to complete and simple in execution. In my bag of ideas I have some that fit the description. Right now just to complete something, to see if it will work is the main thing. This is the hard part, to make a commitment to something like this. In just the time it's taken to start this blog (one month) I've changed my mind as to what project to under take a number of times. Another one of my problems is, is that I need to be realistic about my expectations. I always start out simple but then it builds in to this grand scheme (ala George Lucas) and before you know it I've got a project that I couldn't finish in five years with all the free time and all the money I needed. Then when I come to this realization I abandon the project and start on something else. The cyle continues from there into infinity and nothing gets completed.

So for this project I am going to purposely take one of my ideas that I like but for what ever reason has never grown into anything other then an extended scene (if you can even call it that). So small baby steps for me. Next, the chosen project.

So begins another year....

OK, so here we go...

First; Lets get the formalities out of the way.
"Hello, my name is Arthur. I am married with one child. I live in northern Minnesota". Everything else is on a need to know basis.

Two; Reason for this blog.
This blog will be a way of documenting a short (very short) animated film I'll be producing.
Why am I producing an animated film?
I suppose you could blame Jules, Herbert George,as well as Edgar, Howard Phillips and then you could also point fingers at Ray, George, Terry, Tim, Riddley and last but not least, my mom.
But really ever since the third grade when I saw "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" I've wanted to have some part in making films. For the most part those dreams have been pushed to the back. But no longer!
The digital revolution has allowed people (with little or no talent) to to create paintings, music, art, and yes films.
So... this blog, as stated, will be a diary of my new and first production. It will hopefully include the process and progression of the film. This will include production notes, storyborads in hand with an additional website (you tube most likely) that will screen tests and completed parts of the film itself.
As any project is a sum it's creator. I will also include bits of the creator. My likes, dislikes, what influenced me, why am I doing the things that I am doing and personal opinion.
The projected end time for this film is by the end of 2008. It should be noted that I rarely ever finish anything I start. Hopefully with this endeavor I shall break this trend. It should be noted that no man is creative island (or at least shouldn't be, just look what happened to Mr. Lucas), so I encourage suggestions, comments and critiques. There will be times when I may ask for suggestions if not out right help with this production.
And yes I know my spelling and grammar suck (Thanks, Miss Jondahl) so we can save that critique for another time
OK, thanks, hold on we're just getting started.