Nick Bachman's Cabinet of Curiosities

Apple Factory and Chubby Catlings

2011-05-15T01:59:00.007-05:00

Been a while since I've updated, here are a couple items of interest. Firstly, my good friend Cody asked me if I'd do a portrait of his girlfriend's three naughty cats for her Christmas present. I can't say no to cats, so I whipped them up in a 'see no evil/hear no evil/say no evil' type of pose.

CLICK TO WATCH
Secondly, I had the privilege of directing a short we made at PUNY for College Humor. It's called "Charlie and the Apple Factory" and it makes fun of Apple products. Let it be known I only use Apple products. Written by Ben Joseph, hilarious character design by Mike Owens.

New Fish Doodle

2010-11-03T22:59:00.004-05:00

Finally got around to making another fish illustration, this time based a Super Red Texas cichlid owned by someone here in the cities. Here's the real deal:

Creature in the Cave

2010-09-08T11:14:00.004-05:00

Here are the gnomes again. They seem to be having a difference of opinion as to whether or not to slay the savage fiend they have cornered.

And here are some more mushroom images:

Gnomes and Mushrooms

2010-08-23T12:04:00.004-05:00

Took a lot longer than I would've liked, but here's another gnome doodle. I'm starting to like these guys, they're evolving a bit. And here are a few gnomeless mushroom photos that I took around Minneapolis. I've photographed quite a few fungi lately, and I rarely run into the same species. Really fascinating little characters!

Life After Myth

2010-06-15T01:25:00.006-05:00

LIFE AFTER MYTH - trailer from Whit Hertford on Vimeo.

As reported by Jeaux Janovsky and Julia Vickerman, the trailer we produced at PUNY for Whit Hertford's cartoon LIFE AFTER MYTH is available to watch online. I painted the backgrounds for the trailer, Jeaux provided the character designs, and Julia produced and animated on it. Whit created and wrote it. Animated by my fellow animators at PUNY.
From the LIFE AFTER MYTH Tumblr...

I think it turned out really nice, and I wish Whit luck with it!

Little Gnomes

2010-06-11T00:39:00.008-05:00

I had a lot of fun drawing this, and a lot of fun going out in the woods to take the photo. I also stumbled upon this little Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax), he was pretty funny. I love jumping spiders. He kept attacking the camera, jumping at the lens. Fearless little guy. I got him right before he hopped:

Acting tough. I had a big female Phidippus audax as a pet for a few weeks a couple years ago. She took down crickets bigger than her...

And then, THIS happened...

Couldn't ask for anything cooler. I let em go outside to terrorize some aphids or something.

Anyway, I'll probably be making some more gnome pictures, hope you dig em. I like this one enough; I think they can be a lot cooler though. More to come.

COAST TO COAST AM

2010-05-28T11:08:00.002-05:00

My cryptids illustration is the Coast to Coast AM website's Photo of the Day today! If you don't listen to Coast to Coast, start today! It's your number one source for everything unknown.

Battling Cryptids

2010-05-26T02:16:00.002-05:00

I rediscovered and touched up an older illustration of African cryptids Mokele-mbembe and Ninki Nanka I did sort of in the style of Jack Kirby's "Devil Dinosaur" that I love so much.

Me 'n tha Yo Gabba Gabba crew

2010-04-05T02:44:00.004-05:00

We do a lot of the animation for Yo Gabba Gabba at PUNY, and we also did the animation for the Yo Gabba Gaba Live! tour. The show came through Minneapolis and it was a really crazy week! Here's a shot of my favorite thing I got to animate for the show, The Name Game.

Happy Apple

2010-02-22T23:56:00.005-06:00

I'd like to animate this little fella. I like him, and he looks like he's got a lot to say. I'll eventually photograph my own apple, but for this one I just snaked a stock photo of an apple and cut a (non-apple) leaf out of another, and through the magic of 10 minutes of Photoshop, I've conjured up my little fruit friend.

My Boshi-Basiik Pug Hat

2010-02-18T19:57:00.004-06:00

The Pug hat I designed for Boshi-Basiik went into production recently. The Pug was always one of my favorite designs I did for them. I love pugs, we had one when I was growing up named Pugsy. He was a funny little stout wheezy character. If I had to get a dog, the pug ranks high on the list.

Clyde Comedy

2010-02-06T01:02:00.004-06:00

Here's a couple shorts that Ben and I made for Clyde Comedy. The first one we did features comedy from Mike Epps.

And the most recent one uses comedy from Maz Jobrani. This one is available in 720p Web HD!

Phillip the Safety Egg

2010-01-28T13:16:00.005-06:00

WATCH THIS BADBOY IN 720p YoutubeHD!!
The first cartoon that I worked on at Puny, "Phillip the Safety Egg" went live today! Phillip was created by the great Mike Owens and co-written/voiced by the great folks of Splendid Things! Developed by Shad Petosky and Will Shepard! Designed by the fantabulous Mitch Loidolt and Mike! Animated by Victor Courtright, Eyo Peters, and myself!

Pikachu iPhone Wallpaper

2010-01-17T18:40:00.003-06:00

This morning I decided that I needed a Pikachu iPhone Wallpaper so I made this. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but I'm pretty into how it did. I've been wanting to do some electricity stuff ever since I did the LAZERZ a long while back.
Here it is in action:

Hope you dig it!

Fish #4

2010-01-12T01:43:00.003-06:00

Here's the latest finned fiend, a Blood Parrot. These fish are a manmade hybrid. Really cool blaze orange color and funny stumpy body. Inspiration, Bryn's Parrot:

Fish #3

2010-01-04T12:07:00.003-06:00

Here's fish numbah 3. If the last one had ice powers, then this one can harness the power of fire. This coloration of fish what's called a "fader." They start out the normal brown color, like the first fish I made, then they "fade" to this orange/yellow/white hue. Good looking fish. And here's our fire and ice duo.

And I probably should include the actual fish:

Fish #2

2010-01-03T11:27:00.003-06:00

Here's the latest fish painting. Owen says this one has ice powers. I'm going to do a bunch of fish I think, which will be different for me. Never really done a series before so it should be fun. This painting is simpler than the last one, but I think I like it more. It's a bit more geometric, I like that.

This particular fish belongs to a friend of mine here in the cities. He's one of the highest quality fish around. His entire body is covered in a light blue/iridescent sheen.

Fishy Tribute

2010-01-01T19:47:00.004-06:00

I bought this fish as a pet/show fish a year ago and he was 2" long. At about 8" I gave him away and from there he grew to 10 inches and then just up and died a couple weeks ago. Here's a photo journal of the fish, from 2" to 10" in one year's time.

Axolotl Doodle

2009-12-31T01:48:00.004-06:00

Clearly inspired by my recent oogling of the Charley Harper book, and because I told Kari to draw one, I whipped up this Axolotl doodle tonight in celebration of getting some work done. It seems like it's been forever since I've drawn something for fun.

Merry Christmas to Me, From Me

2009-12-24T13:57:00.004-06:00

One morning last week, in a fit of holiday cheer, I ordered myself the latest printing of the unbelievably inexpensive and insane Charley Harper monograph. This is my kind of book. It's massive, over 400 pages thick, and almost every page is just pictures. Big pictures! Big book! I haven't even begun to look through it all, but here are some choice cuts. And if you don't dig it, check your pulse.

My favorite Harper piece, so far. Can't beat a bloody dinosaur fight (Merry Christmas!)

One fer me Aussie mate.

Now GO BUY ONE!!

PokeProgress 1

2009-12-02T00:12:00.005-06:00

I'm going to try and post more progress pieces of the Pokemon Kid. Here's a still from one of those pre-battle fast-moving-background-with-character-calling-out-their-Pokemon shots. Can you dig it????

cute\\grotesque

2009-10-25T14:34:00.004-05:00

Lately I've been interested in the juxtaposition of cute and grotesque. The rad pizza dude was a lot of fun to draw. I also enjoyed drawing the little blob guy's expression. It took me a while to find a coloring method and palette that I liked, but I think this look fits it pretty well.

Pokemon Kid Gross Up

2009-10-22T00:50:00.005-05:00

Here's a screenshot of a gross up shot of the Pokemon Kid right after he sees the Oddishes run by and realizes he's passed into the realm of Pokeland. I wasn't entirely sold on the real throat, but it grew on me pretty quickly. I like the extra creep factor it adds. And it's pretty gross.

Pokemon Kid Scene

2009-10-06T00:34:00.004-05:00

Here's a finished shot from my Pokémon Kid Animation that I'm putting together in my free time. This shot takes place right after the kid wakes up to find himself in Pokéland. Is that real? I don't remember it being called Pokéland. Well it is now.

More Freelance Screenshots

2009-10-06T00:12:00.004-05:00

Here are a few screenshots from a previous freelance short that Ben and I made.

Wastecorp on a sweltering day:

Part of a panning "Break Room" background in Wastecorp:

Wastemeister enjoying a cool breeze from his open refrigerator:

Some Freelancing Screenshots

2009-07-08T16:40:00.005-05:00

Been without the internet for a few weeks, makes it tough to drum up a blog post. Here's some screenshots from my freelance Flash work, which I animate with my good buddy Ben Bury.

First, an Illustration I did of Wastecorp, Wastemeister's office building for the loading screen.

Wastemeister at his desk. My background with Ben's Wastemeister drawing.

My shot of Wastemeister's clock.

Here's a take I animated with my background.

And a Ben Bury Wastemeister over my pink bubbly background. Great face.

Hopefully there'll be more posts soon. Internet first.

New Self Portrait

2009-06-17T14:28:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while I like to make a new one. I'm not really this ornery looking, honest. I drew this one in Flash and colored it in Photoshop.

Gonzo: Portrait of a Weirdo

2009-06-04T14:11:00.005-05:00

My latest doodle, a portrait of my absolute favorite Muppet, Gonzo the Great. He's always been my main Muppet since I was a kid; I've always felt like I can really relate with someone commonly called a "creep," a "weirdo," and a "whatever." John Cleese once called him "the ugly, disgusting little one who catches cannonballs." Story of my life.

This illustration was a lot of fun to work on. I started with a quick rough sketch I made in Flash with no intentions of doing anything with it.

I then brought the sketch into Illustrator and inked it/cleaned it up.

From there, I brought it into Photoshop and painted it up.

This post obviously wouldn't be complete without a video of Gonzo's act. Dave Goelz is a brilliant puppeteer.

King Hippo

2009-05-22T18:02:00.005-05:00

My roommate, Dylan Lathrop bought Punch-Out for the Wii yesterday. I've always liked Punch-Out, and this new game is awesome. The graphics are really fun to look at, having a cel-shaded look. Super challenging game too, I highly recommend it. It couldn't be more perfect for the Wii controls either. The insanity of the game made me draw my favorite Punch-Out character, King Hippo.

The Owl and the Squirrel

2009-05-07T19:01:00.005-05:00

Finally "done" with this thing. My brother Sam did the sound design on the piece, I think he did a really great job. There are still things I'd change, and some great suggestions that were made that I unfortunately didn't have time to revise (sorry Mike). I should probably put music in there....but I haven't written any yet. Let me know if the video plays alright. Ed said it was playing choppy and laggy on his computer, and I don't want that to be the case.

If anyone's interested in seeing my graduating class's Commencement Exhibition (Senior Show), you should come to MCAD and check them out. The shows will be up until the 17th, and there's some really cool stuff in there, beyond just animations. But if you are interested in checking out some cartoons, head to Gallery 148 in MCAD, where all of the animators have a group show. Everything said, I'm pretty ready to move onto a different project... O__O

Do you hear that?

2009-04-13T02:45:00.003-05:00

Click the button (I might..) to watch it. Sound required. It's just something small (tiny, really) I made since my Senior Project is preventing me from making anything bigger or cooler at the moment. I think it's funny.

LAZERZ

2009-04-02T22:32:00.002-05:00

I painted this in Photoshop for James Obrien's Digital Illustration class. We were given some time in class to do an illustration inspired by the topic word "tangle." I came up with some tangled electricity/energy beam. I got the idea from looking at the concept drawings in the Special Features section of my Ghostbusters DVD. They had designed some really cool looking beams and drew them on black paper with what I remember to be chalk or pastel. This was really fun to make, and I think it's neat to look at so I'll probably make more.

On the Surface of the Moon

2009-03-31T15:28:00.002-05:00

Here's my latest background painting effort, a panning shot of the moon. I wanted to finish this one quickly, and I did, but that meant I wouldn't allow myself to go back and work new ideas into it. The result is a piece that I like, but think could have stronger/more fun design. It was fun to do though, so I'll probably make a better moon shot in the future. I've been listening to a lot of John Lear and Richard C. Hoagland's interviews about how they believe there to be mining operations on the moon as we speak and even that the moon itself is artificial and was towed into orbit thousands of years ago. ... They're a lot of fun to listen to.

Sam's Branmallow Man

2009-03-26T01:15:00.003-05:00

This is my version of my brother Sam's character that he created for an assignment in Mike Owens' Storyboarding class. I actually like Sam's version of him better, seen here in a greyscale storyboard sketch:

Sam invented this little bran guy (made of bran, not poop) who's the mascot of the Branmallow cereal. The commercial Sam thought up and storyboarded is hilarious, and hopefully Sammy and I will have some time in the future to animate it. I'll let you know when Sam posts the boards up.

Magical River of Adventure in Technicolor

2009-03-22T19:05:00.005-05:00

Click it big. This took a long time to color, but I'm pretty pleased with the result. It came out pretty much exactly how I wanted it to, which is rare. I definitely had the work of Sid and Marty Krofft (H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters) on my mind while making this. If you've never seen those shows, I encourage you to check them out, they're amazing.
Here are a few closer shots of some sections.

Boshi-Basiik Designs

2009-03-20T01:09:00.011-05:00

SMBFC.net wrote a nice article about my girlfriend Susan's company, Boshi-Basiik recently. Amidst the table of Susan's adorable hats is one I actually designed: the Koala. It's light blue..and on her head. I designed a handful of hats for Basiik over this past summer, and thought I'd post some here now that they've been made. They were scribbled pretty quickly in Flash, but they're kind of fun.

The aforementioned koala design.

The obligatory owl design. I gave this one ear flaps that are actually little wings, which I think are cute, though a bit much for handmade bulk production.

This raccoon-looking character is actually a Tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog). This was the first hat design I came up with, and originally did so just because I planned on begging Susan for a custom hat of that design. It's also my favorite one, probably because it's the one I wanted in the first place.

And of course, the line wouldn't be complete without a hat of our wonderful cat, Mudjo. And this post wouldn't be complete without this picture of him after he wedged his plump body into a shoebox on the desk next to me.

Owl and Squirrel Background

2009-03-18T17:31:00.005-05:00

Here's an establishing shot from my Senior Project animation about an owl and a squirrel. If you look closely, you can see the owl perched atop the hero tree in the shot. The camera will be slowly zooming in on him in the animation. I painted the piece in greyscale first, then colorized it, all in Photoshop. I actually like the grey version a lot too, so I'll post that as well. The trees are from a custom brush I made.

Forbidden Island

2009-03-14T14:36:00.004-05:00

Here's my latest environment comp. I looked at this next to the other illustration I'm working on at the moment (coloring my waterfall drawing) and I realized that this piece is really boring comparatively, even though I personally like it. My future environment compositions will hopefully have a bit more going on, in terms of design. That said, as boring as it is, I'm sorta into it. My love for Mary Blair's conceptual work on Peter Pan definitely played a role this one. I sort of based it on that particular body of work, but not directly. Instead of using her work as reference for style, I used my cloudy memory of what I could remember her Peter Pan work looking like. The result ended up not really looking like the Mary Blair work much at all, but had a similar tone to it.

Waterfalls

2009-03-06T22:29:00.004-06:00

This is the first you'll see of this large drawing. It started out as just the top waterfall and grew into this. I represented the flow of the water with a changing pattern. I had a surprisingly good time making the stagnant swamp water pattern. My favorite part is probably all the faces, trees...well, I drew things I like, so I'm into the entire piece I guess. I've got some plans for coloring it, hopefully that doesn't take forever. I'll probably color it in Photoshop, but I drew it all in Illustrator.

Funny Faces from Around the Web

2009-03-01T22:32:00.009-06:00

I was doing a Google Image Search for one of my favorite singers from the 60's, and it turns out that every singer from the 60's still tours on the oldies circuit and also has their own awful website with galleries of them next to other oldies stars. I've selected a few that I think others should see.

Let's start with some pictures of this Wolfman-type character. This is "a recent publicity photo." Love the satin jacket and gold chain.

Our wolfie friend and a guy who can get you a really good deal on a 1984 Camaro that was owned by Andrew Dice Clay.

...

The guy on the right's face is in a constant state of "Fahgeddahbahdit!"

I bet this guy's a riot at parties.

"Me want Honeycomb!"

A guy in a black hat poses with my friend, Owen Dennis.

Didn't I take Intro to Film with him?

The world's biggest creeper tries out his new smoking jacket.

"Welcome to our mortuary!"

Haha that guy on the left, love that mustache, how it takes up the entirety of his upper lip area.

Whoop! There he is again!

Diggin' the shades, man. He looks like someone flattened Burt Reynold's face with a frying pan.

And finally, our Wolfman friend poses with Mumm-ra of the Thundercats.

I have an endless supply of images like these, it is unlikely that this will be my last post of them.

More Background Comps

2009-02-27T19:27:00.004-06:00

Here are a few more environment compositions that I made. I actually made the forest comp back in October and forgot I made the picture until I stumbled upon it today while looking through my art folder. The other piece is an image of some islands I was inspired to draw by a Suiseki I saw in a Bonsai book. There'll be some more interesting stuff up soon hopefully.

Flapjack

2009-02-18T19:34:00.006-06:00

Flapjack's quickly become one of my favorite cartoons. What's not to love? It has insanely great character design by C Raggio and Devin Roth, and amazing art direction in general. Love all the visual gags too, I can't get enough funny faces.

Fallen Tree comp

2009-02-11T21:43:00.003-06:00

Here's a thumbnail-sized composition for an illustration I may make a finished version of. If it's unclear, it's three (or 3 and a half?) people crossing a creek on a fallen tree under cloak of night. Sorry it's so small, that's just what it is.

Susan and Mudjo

2009-02-09T17:54:00.006-06:00

I drew this as a gift for Susan; it's her and our cat Mudjo. This turned out better than I expected, so I'll probably continue to be a creep and draw little girls and kitties. D: I drew it in Illustrator and did the color in Photoshop. Here's the real Mudjo in a bowtie, inspired by the drawing.

Stalking Tiger

2009-02-07T19:49:00.005-06:00

Here's something I whipped up today, a tiger stalking through a snowy birch forest, whose anticipated meal has fled their firesite. I drew it in Flash and added textures and shading in Photoshop. I think I'm going to try to get back into drawing in Flash.

15-Minute Caricature

2009-02-03T14:04:00.007-06:00

Here's a quick caricature of a guy I can't beat at darts, Justin McKinley. I want to do more of these.

Misty Waterways

2009-02-02T16:49:00.007-06:00

Here's another environment for this week. It's sort of a swamplike place wherein the inhabitants live in trees on their own island, using patches of luminous mushrooms as beacons in the fog. I love drawing fat trees and glowing things (lately), so I'll probably develop this world a bit further.

Chocolate, Mices, and Channel Frederator

2009-01-28T12:04:00.007-06:00

Good news, everyone! You're eyes do not deceive you! That handsome devil is indeed yours truly. I submitted my Chocolate and Mices stop motion to Channel Frederator and it got accepted for this weeks episode! I made the animation a couple semesters ago, and had intended on going back into the piece and erasing out all the visible wires and fingers from each frame they entered. Of course that never happened, so about a week ago I put it on Youtube and submitted it into Channel Frederator for shits. I'm very grateful for getting onto the show; it was one of my goals to get on there, and I didn't think it'd be this piece that would do it.

Click here to read my interview with CF and watch this week's episode!

Be sure to watch the whole thing too, there are some really cool animations in there!

And if you have a piece of your finished animation collecting dust on a harddrive somewhere because it's not absolutley perfect, SUBMIT IT. ...Owen Dennis....

Here's some art to look at, since this was a lot of words.

Big ol' Building

2009-01-23T16:28:00.006-06:00

Here's a quick digital painting I did for Digital Illustration 2. Well, it was supposed to be quick. I hope to get better at using color and painting backgrounds this semester with this class. I should have things to post from it every week. Hopefully I'll get faster at doing these little paintings so I can crank more out. For now, take a gander at the Modern building, a hustling and bustling hub for the cities high rollers international bigshots, and the slimiest swindlers, schemers, and snakeoil salesmen this side of the Salt Flats.

Tree Limb Background

2009-01-21T15:24:00.007-06:00

This is a pan background for my senior project animation about the owl and squirrel. Boy do I love fat, gnarly trees. Most of this background goes by pretty fast, so I wanted someone to be able to look at the still image, so I don't feel like I spent so long painting up something that's visible for less than a few seconds.

Chocolate and Mices

2009-01-15T18:53:00.005-06:00

Here's my final from my Stop Motion class a couple semesters ago. I realized that I never was going to go back in and do things like erase out the wires or fingertips from every frame..or even add credits..so I decided to just put it up online as is. Others from the class should do the same, lest they want their work to rot on a harddrive for the rest of eternity...Owen... Anyway, the class was taught by Will Vinton alum, Schell Hickel, who was great to learn from and a really funny, nice guy as well.

Work Screenshots

2009-01-10T21:59:00.004-06:00

Some screen caps of a project I've been working on for a while, and now have been awarded the privilege of having local celebrity and animation ne'er do well, Ben Bury working on it with me. (I'm only kidding. About the local celebrity bit.) I can't really say anything about it, other than that it's Flash animation. It's a lot of fun to do, and it's been fun working with Ben.

Rainbow Candy Cat King

2008-12-30T21:19:00.005-06:00

I drew this for my girlfriend Susan. It's our cat Mudjo (aka Dr. Hootypuss Jr.) and some candy, rainbows, and a grumpy cloud. Click it BIG.

Of Owls and Squirrels

2008-11-26T19:51:00.005-06:00

Here are a few images from my senior project. Nothing is quite finalized yet. Gotta make that squirrel a different color too.

Disney's Mars and Beyond, Martian Plants and Animals

2008-11-24T21:26:00.004-06:00

Here's something you want to see. It had been plaguing me for years: "What's that amazing animation I saw when I was younger? It was about life on Mars, and it had all these insane creatures and plants in it...I think it was on the...Disney Channel??" Thankfully, my friend Justin Weber brought droolworthy, expensive looking Disney DVDs to class one day a while back and this was on it. It's Disney's "Mars and Beyond," the Life on Mars segment specifically.

"Mars and Beyond," an episode of the 1957 TV show "Disneyland," begins with Walt Disney and his robot slave Garco introducing the show. Look at that robot, a real glimpse into the future.

Paul Frees talks us through this documentary-style look into various theories and suppositions about Mars. The great Ward Kimball, of Disney's famed powerhouse team of animators, the 9 Old Men, directs the picture and provides something particularly memorable with the section of the show that focuses on the possibilities of life existing on the Red Planet. These images have stuck with me since I was a kid.

You won't find any little green men in this selection of proposed Martian flora and fauna.

That's part of what makes these insanely inventive creature designs so great; they don't utilize the common notions of what aliens look like. Their approach to design is almost scientific. What could an animal that needs to survive on Mars eat? Dust of course!

Cute little flying balloon critters quickly become a meal for other cooler forms of Martian life.

If this were made much later than 1957, I don't think it would have been as great as it is. I'm actually surprised it wasn't made earlier.

I wouldn't be human if I didn't post the video for you all to see. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER 5 PARTS OF THE EPISODE. You won't regret it.

Batman: Brave & Bold: The Verdict

2008-11-21T06:47:00.018-06:00

Guilty. Guilty of being the most fun I've had watching a superhero cartoon since the original Batman: The Animated Series. Brave & Bold takes us back to the days when Batman knew how to smile. Don't get me wrong, I love the deep, brooding Dark Knight of Batman: TAS, but I've seen that for over a decade now. I've seen Batman stalk the blackest alleys of Gotham in search of the man who laughs. In just the first episode of Brave & Bold, we get to see Batman team up with the Green Arrow and whoop on Clock King.

And that's just in the intro. The rest of the episode focuses on Blue Beetle and Batman travel through space to an alien planet, where the native species (some adorable little goo men) is being rocked by the evil alien dictator, Kanjar Ro....COOL. A nice change of pace from the more Earthly stories in past Batman cartoons.

The animation is great. Really snappy and fun to watch! Batman's voice is a little different than I'm used to, but I can get over that. The entire show has a really lighthearted feel that is like anything but a Batman show. That may turn some off, but I absolutely love it. I like both the dark "Tim Burton" version of Batman and the campy Batman, like the old live action show. By now, I know what Bruce looks like as he stews in his pitch black Batcave. Show me something different! Show me something with some real imagination! Something like this:

Is that Batman being chased by a T-Rex?! Yes it is. Why? Watch tonight's episode to find out. You should also watch it for a number of other reasons, like those I mentioned above, and these teasers for tonight's episode:

GOTTA find out what this is all about...

Who is that up there in the white coat and hat? The Gentleman Ghost?? I LOVE THAT THE SHOW USES SECOND TIER CHARACTERS. Batman's already got the greatest and most well known rogues gallery of all time, why not give this guy some play?

Great design, top notch animation, insanely imaginative stories, this show is F-U-N FUN TO WATCH. Love that theme song too! Clear your mind of all the images of Bats creeping through the shadows and check out Batman: The Brave & Bold tonight (Friday) on CARTOON NETWORK at 7pm CENTRAL and catch Gorilla Grodd and....P-P-P-PLASTIC MAAAAAAAANNN!

I also suggest you take a look at the new Batman: Brave & Bold Website! It's actually really cool. It's got some pretty killer behind-the-scenes videos. Betcha didn't know they still break down their dialogue track the old school analog way. Watch some of those behind-the-scenes vids, very interesting.

The InterAction Figures feature is pretty nifty. It's like having a real action figure, except this one is online and cooler and can do a bunch of stuff and give you information about the characters. Plus it doesn't cost money or take up space, like a real action figure does.

The Game is also pretty addicting, and it actually has some depth to it, which is nice. Team up Batman with other characters and defeat the missions. Pretty fun platformer, I'm not very good at it yet, but I'll keep trying.

DO NOT MISS Batman: The Brave & The Bold tonight, and every Friday at 7pm Central!! It's got Plastic Man in it, so you've gotta get on it.

Batman: The Brave & the Bold

2008-11-13T20:49:00.009-06:00

CHECK OUT THE NEW BATMAN CARTOON!!!

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That looks AWESOME!!! SPECTACULAR!!! MAGNIFICENT!!! AND the show focuses on something totally new: Batman working with other heroes. And NOT Superman, Wonder Woman, or John Stewart Green Lantern, no no. This show is all about utilizing lesser known characters. I LOVE lesser known characters! They're the most interesting! PLASTIC MAN for Christ's sake! Amazing! The art direction looks amazing. While I love the Bruce Timm style, it's become pretty familiar. First Teen Titans, that's pretty alright. Legion of Superheroes was next to break the Bruce Timm stylistic touch, looked just as good as Teen Titans, maybe better. Now this Batman cartoon. Blows my mind. Way too cool. I know I'm a total dork, don't care. This cartoon looks very promising. Just check out that Black Manta!

I LOVE BLACK MANTA.

I swear that the guy who drew this has read my diary. I have way too much love for this next image. The highest legal amount of love. The highest amount of love that I can have for it without risking legal repercussions.

Cool, exciting, interesting secondary characters. Refreshing art direction. Awesome Batman costume. Where could they go wrong? I'm not that pumped about the Blue Beetle looking like the current Blue Beetle:

Instead of the old Blue Beetle, which is obviously better.

I'll let that one slide though. I love the Dick Sprang inspired style. Here's a real "Spranger."

Starts tomorrow on Cartoon Network at 7 central. I'll let you know what I think about it.

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951) Opening Sequence

2008-10-24T18:07:00.004-05:00

I started watching the great 1951 UPA short, Gerald McBoing-Boing again, and forgot how cool the opening sequence was, so I decided to post it up for ya'll. This is obviously a really important piece of 1950's animation, if not the most influential animation and design of its time. The entire video is posted below the pictures, I highly encourage you to watch it. I'm highlighting this opening sequence because I haven't seen something this neat in any recent cartoons, and professionally-made and distributed animated shorts are pretty scarce nowadays. Sorry about the edges of the pictures getting cut off. That's Blogger's fault.

Directed by Bobe Cannon, an ex-Looney Tunes animator from the 30's and 40's and a UPA mainstay. Story by Dr. Seuss! McBoing-Boing animator Bill Melendez went on to voice Snoopy and Woodstock in all the Peanuts cartoons, though he sadly just passed on. He also was an animator on some Looney Tunes. Designer Bill (William T.) Hurtz went on to direct some Rocky & Bullwinkle episodes, as well as the 1989 feature Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

Boing!

Boing!

What a cool way to introduce the characters and the scene! Here's the whole thing:

United Airlines "Heart" Commercial

2008-10-21T23:57:00.006-05:00

I found this on Shannon Tindle's blog. Another great stop motion commercial from United Airlines. Done with real paint on real paper in real life. I wish I had the patience and skill to do something like this. Click the picture to watch!

Here's another United Airlines commercial done the same way, but in a different drawing style. This one's really cool too. Not as high quality though. D:

Cryptids pt. 1

2008-10-14T13:43:00.003-05:00

We have an assignment in Digital Illustration class in which we have to draw 3 cryptids. This is the first of my 3, the dreaded Ninki Nanka from the Congo, a 50-foot crocodilian type creature reminiscent of mosasaurs. I've been reading a lot of Jack Kirby's 1978 comic Devil Dinosaur lately, which is where I'm drawing my inspiration from. Here's some of Kirby's Devil Dinosaur work. The comic is about a red T-Rex type creature and "Moon Boy, the first human." It's a comic about a giant red dinosaur that rules the valley while this little ape-man rides around on his back and gives him orders. What more could you ask for?

Every issue of Devil Dinosaur seems to have a killer 2-page splash. Maybe I'll post more of the splashes later.

1960's Viewmaster Images

2008-10-07T06:40:00.009-05:00

These are some scans of Viewmaster slides from the 1960's I found around the web. Viewmasters work by using two photos of the same subject taken at slightly different angles. What you end up seeing is a stereoscopic image, 3-D if you will. Because these are scans of just one slide at a time, they won't look stereoscopic to you. I'm just going to assume you've all used a Viewmaster in your lifetime, and if not, you'll go here: http://www.3dexpo.com/parallel.htm Onto the images. The subjects in the slides are real-life 3-dimensional statuettes and sets. I guarantee any Hollywood 3-D CG takes on these characters wouldn't look nearly as great as these.

First, some Flintstones slides. Aren't these amazing?

I want to have one of these sets in my house. They're so damn cool. These Yogi Bear slides were linked to on Cartoon Brew recently, and rightfully so.

Awesome. Just awesome. Disney got in on it too.

This one's pretty hilarious...

Somebody baked Elmer a little too long.

And finally, something from the Charles Schulz camp. These translated to 3-D especially well. On a side note, if you haven't seen any Peanuts animated specials since you were 5, give them a try again this coming appropriate holiday season. They're a lot funnier than I remembered them being.

HAND'S BREADTH FROM DANGER

2008-10-07T02:31:00.003-05:00

A long time ago, I did some films that I don't talk about anymore. This is one of those films. I provided the voice acting in this, Owen Dennis's 2006 epic, Hand's Breadth from Danger.

Here's another old underrated Owen Dennis project I was part of, Aquarium in the Corner.

Thank god for James Carville.

2008-10-03T11:55:00.004-05:00

I, like many, am blown away by the fact that the media is calling the VP debate "a draw." To anyone who watched the debate, it was clear that Senator Biden was the better speaker, had way more substance in his answers, and ACTUALLY ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS HE WAS ASKED. Immediately! He answered the questions very clearly, right after they were asked and quickly went on to explain his answer and stance. Sarah Palin merely parroted lines she had clearly been rehearsing for days, and even seemed to be running on intellectual fumes during the last couple rounds of questioning. Is that "a draw?" I don't think so. AMERICA doesn't even think so. As the media continues to say that both VP candidates performed equally as well, poll after poll after poll is showing that the majority American people know that Senator Biden was the clear winner of the debate. Let me say that for you again, POLL AFTER POLL IS SHOWING THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, NOT JUST DEMOCRATS, NOT JUST REPUBLICANS, BUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AS A WHOLE RECOGNIZE THAT SENATOR BIDEN CLEARLY WON THE DEBATE. So how could the media say that it was even close? I've heard it over and over and over, "Well, she didn't screw up!" Well I've got news for the newscasters: non-failure is NOT synonymous with success. Just because she didn't make herself look like a total fool (yet again) does NOT mean that she did a "great job," as so many anchors are putting it. She did do an amazing job of referencing her political experience during the debate; I feel like I now know enough about Alaska to write a book. What don't I know enough about? How the GOP plans to stop giving major tax cuts to big oil. Wait, they're not going to stop? 4 billion what now? DOLLARS?? And that's been pointed out how many times??? Nah, not a big deal. Don't worry about addressing it with your rebuttal; let's talk more about Alaska and mavericks.

So you watch the debate. You see Senator Biden driving home point after point, even going as far as to repeat, repeat, REPEAT key points that are integral to the election. You see Biden answering the questions he's asked and being absolutely firm on his beliefs. You see Governor Palin talking in circles and skirting around many, many of the questions. You see Biden AND debate moderator Gwen Ifill both trying to wrangle Palin in from her longwinded circuitous responses and see that she actually does answer the question she's been asked. You see Governor Palin advocate the "new" idea of having a "Joe Six-Pack" in Washington. Did the last 8 years of having "Joe Six-Pack" as commander-in-chief not yet convince us that we need someone with much more competency than your everyday "Joe Six-Pack" to run the White house successfully?

To get back to my main point, the media is saying that Governor Palin's folksy riffraff carried the same amount of weight as Biden's absolutely clear message, his undeniable passion for our country, and his relentless desire to do what he believes is right for the American people. Damn liberal media! Wait, what?

Enter my favorite political commentator, the Ragin' Cajun James Carville. As I was sitting in disbelief in front of the computer screen as I listened to anchor after anchor say Governor Palin did a "great job," I thought to myself, "I wonder what the Ragin' Cajun thinks." This morning, my question was answered. Thank you Mr. Carville for giving a voice to the critical thinkers of the American public.

John McCain Monster Portrait

2008-09-19T12:12:00.003-05:00

My school is having every student make something to send to the president when he gets elected. I thought the future president might like a portrait of his rival, or if worse comes to worse, a portrait of himself to hang on the oval office wall. I did this piece in Painter 7, in the style of Basil Gogos' monster paintings that I love so much.

Senior Project Journal pt. 1

2008-09-09T19:27:00.007-05:00

I'm going to start documenting my progress on my Senior Project animation for college. The meat of my animation can be seen in this storyboard, with some more story added before the boards to show that the owl is hungry and wants to eat the squirrel, and give insight as to why the owl's so nervous.

As of right now, I have the animatic done (for the most part) and one shot finished. Working in Flash makes going from pencil tests to finished animation really quick and painless.

I had used the owl design seen in the storyboard as a placeholder, to be redesigned later to look good. I tried a couple of different designs before arriving at the one I've chosen. Actually I didn't try that many, three tops. Here's the first concept:

I didn't feel it was true enough to the chubby, easily-flustered character in my storyboards, but I liked the graphic style of it, that was something I wanted to carry over into the final design. Sooo, I tried adding design elements I liked from the first concept to the original owl design in this quick, sloppy sketch:

That was kind of ugly. But there was something in this design that led me to the next and final design, but first, a color change to something a bit more easy on the eyes:

Mmm, that was better. I then tried another design, blending aspects of the original design with things I liked from the redesigns:

Success! I didn't expect to arrive at a conclusion that I actually liked for a long time, I had devoted that entire day to redesigning the owl and suddenly found my schedule open for the rest of the day. Hello Dragonball Z: Boudakai Tenkaichi 3 for the PS2! The cocaine of video games for the DBZ fan, a game I cannot step away from for long. Anyway, I slapped that owl on a quick background and then I have a rough idea of what my final animation is going to look like:

Yes. I liked it. Time to go forth with the project. I animated one of my new scenes I added to the beginning of the film, a close up shot of the owl's reaction to seeing the delicious squirrel ripe for the eatin':

Haven't been so proud of something in a while, this thing makes me laugh quite a bit. So that's where I am, I will update when I've accomplished something significant, hopefully someone sticks around to see how it's going. Thanks for reading!

cherry cherry

2008-08-10T13:05:00.004-05:00

Haven't posted any art in a while. Here's the latest. I'm an awful designer, but I like how this came out.

Trip to Dallas

2008-07-22T19:25:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday through yesterday, I was visiting my girlfriend Susan and meeting her family in Dallas. I had a phenomenal time, especially while filling my gut with Cici's pizza, Jack-in-the-Box, Sonic, and Olive Garden. Some things I noticed about the great nation of Texas: everyone's fat, yes it's true. There are restaurants EVERYWHERE, like one Whataburger each mile, no exaggeration. And lastly, it's hot as hell, a piercing humid heat that gets you right to the core. Anywho, one of the things we did (and the only one I got pictures of) was go to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was the nicest zoo I've been to in a long time. I took some pictures, and you're in luck; I'm going to show them to you.

We were first greeted by a reminder that we were indeed still in Texas.

Then it was on to the Flamingoes.

BAMBOO

These things

Suzie in front of the most green I saw while down there.

Even more green. Must take a lotta water.

Then we saw these guys putting their hands up to the cage, trying to get this stork to peck them. Here's a bad idea: put your hands up to the cage and try to get this stork to peck you.

Then we saw some bears, and Susan's accent in the video proves she's from Texas, I didn't even realize it was her talking until I heard myself respond to her.

Harpy Eagle, one of the cooler looking raptors.

Suzie feeds the little parakeet some seeds on a stick.

Here's a video of the little guy.

Crappy picture of a Toucan. You get the idea.

Suzie by a real Texas cactus.

Suzie loves up on a golden Komodo Dragon.

Suzie gets a bit more familiar with said Dragon.

Then I took this video of a kookaburra eating a lizard. Used to this sight, Colin?

Then we went into the Reptile and Amphibian building, which was AWESOME. Lots of pics in there, but aquarium lighting sucks, so here's what came out.

Some sort of bigass gecko

Big ol' Day Gecko

This big colorful lizard had a big red head

And a cool green body

Cool lookin toad

Green something snake

Big ol crocodilian

His smaller friend

The dreaded GILA MONSTER OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo....

Some sort of tree Monitor

GAAHH!!! ITZZZA MUHFUGGIN RATTLAH!!!!!11!1

Another big gecko pops up to say hello

OH SHIIII- A VIVARIUM!!!!11!!

Then it was off to downtown Fort Worth.

Just kidding, that was in the zoo as well. We went to the Texas Hall of Wonders, you can see it in the right hand side of the above image. Once inside, we were slapped upside the face by a giant map of Texas. Susan did what was only right and saluted the beast.

Suzie next to a rather large MUHFUGGIN RATTLAAAAAAAHHH!!! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!

We left the Hall of Mediocre Things and saw a "petting zoo" with this cow eating his own tail.

Suzie brushes a goat

This goat had some hick-like teeth, and seemed to be saying one thing: "WELCOOOME TO TEXAAS!! GA-HYUCK!"

We went into this tidepool-type area, where they had this cute sea turtle floating around:

Suzie took a rest in a Texas-sized chair. She didn't fit well.

Then we saw a cuuuuuute little silver fox that wanted to snooze.

And then we saw this adoooooorable Burrowing Owl

And THEN my camera died. And almost immediately after, a voice came onto the loudspeaker and said the park is closing for the day. Then we watched as all the non-English speaking people continued walking further into the park as everyone else started to walk out.

We didn't get to see any lions or elephants or other big African animals, but that's just more stuff we'll get to see next time we go, because there will be a next time. I had a great time in Dallas and plan to go back as soon as I can.

Totoro

2008-06-26T20:39:00.005-05:00

Close up of Totoro, Mei, and Satsuki:

Why Roger Ramjet Is Hilarious

2008-05-29T15:47:00.002-05:00

In under 20 seconds.

Pokemon Kid Storyboards

2008-05-22T19:20:00.006-05:00

So here are the storyboards for my Pokemon Kid animation, using character from this post.

Judge Judy Humiliates Bullies

2008-05-20T18:34:00.002-05:00

I just watched this video, and it pleased me SO much that I decided I had to share it with the world. These two guys stole this dude's headphones and hit him for no reason. Leave it to Judge Judy to expose them as tools to the entire world. Also, the first bully's voice is PRICELESS. It's nearly 10 minutes long, but it's WELL WORTH IT.

Ben Bury's "Tree Hunger"

2008-05-19T19:58:00.002-05:00

I was lucky enough to get to do some voice over work on this miracle of modern cinema. I play the voice of "Mog," a wicked tree ghoul who can summon flowers from the ground with the flick of a wrist. This animation is important because it's very rare that a final piece stays so true to the director's original vision. Check out Ben's blog at http://benbury.blogspot.com and tell him to update more!

Bela Lugosi

2008-04-30T21:17:00.004-05:00

One of the promised Bela Lugosi portraits. Speaking of Bela Lugosi, if you haven't seen Tim Burton's film ED WOOD, I highly suggest it; it's Burton's best movie (even better than Planet of the Apes). But seriously, it's really, really good. Martin Landau gives an Oscar-winning performance as Count Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi. As for performances from the actual Bela Lugosi, check out director Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space, where he gives a great performance, even though he was dead when the movie was made...but I don't need to tell you guys this, you should all already know.

Vincent Price

2008-04-28T12:05:00.004-05:00

A digital painting I spit out. I have 2 Bela Lugosi's in the mix. One time, in Storyboarding class, a student (we'll call him "C. Cebulski") said the words, "Who's Vincent Price?" That student was killed that day in class.

Paintings for Count Goulash

2008-04-15T23:48:00.006-05:00

Here's a Hanna-Barbera-like background I made for my Count Goulash animation. Photoshop, Photoshop, Photoshop. Also, here's a close-up shot of Goulash's finger pointing at his calendar.

Muppet Madness #3

2008-04-11T02:42:00.003-05:00

Back again, not with new work yet, but another Muppet Madness. I know you've all been waiting for it. Here's a funny one. Jim Henson is the one voicing the machine. His speaking voice sounds like Kermit a bit, eh?

Crest Production Board

2008-04-01T13:49:00.003-05:00

Finished the production boards for my Crest assignment in Storyboarding class.

Pokemon Kid

2008-04-01T09:58:00.004-05:00

Been a while since I posted. I made some more doodles of the kid from this post:

Two of his faces in the above picture could be considered "off model." I don't believe that character model sheets are set in stone. As long as there's enough there to make the character easily recognizable and it's a good drawing, it works for me.

Muppet Madness #2

2008-03-21T19:43:00.006-05:00

I couldn't take it, I couldn't wait a whole week to share another Muppet video with you all. If you scoffed at the first one I posted and didn't watch it, you're missing out. This is your chance to catch up. Here's a great bit with Henson and Oz as Kermit and Cookie Monster, respectively. I bet you don't remember Cookie Monster being so damn funny.

Jonny Quest

2008-03-21T01:06:00.003-05:00

Did a little doodle of Jonny Quest (from my favorite TV show...Jonny Quest) as a youngin'.

Trees

2008-03-20T19:19:00.004-05:00

Doodled some trees. The first one's a live oak, the second is some sort of maple, the last one is a banyan fig. The maple withstood some heavy dieback following a lightning blast last summer. At least that's how I drew it.

Owl Stop Motion Puppet

2008-03-17T12:58:00.005-05:00

Here's the owl character from the storyboard I posted. This time he's not a drawing, he's clay. But he looks like the drawing, huuuhhh??? Huuuuuhhhhhh???

Muppet Madness #1

2008-03-16T13:14:00.005-05:00

I'm going to be posting a hilarious Muppet video each week, maybe more often than that. I think you deserve it. They're hilarious, no lie. This one is one of my favorites. Very creative idea, excellent performances by Mr. Oz and Mr. Henson.

Mouth Friend

2008-03-14T12:29:00.004-05:00

He's saying "Tooth!!" of course. Kind of a cute little guy. It turned out pretty well, even with my lack of skill in Illustrator.

New Animation, Old Animations

2008-03-12T03:36:00.003-05:00

I downloaded a trial of a simple animation program called Flip Boom and came up with this so-so run cycle of cartoon Susan. As I was trying to figure out how to make animated gifs work how I want them to, I rememberedmy very first 2-D animations I made (ever) in EasyToon a few years ago. So, why not show them? I think they're kinda funny.

Crest production board

2008-03-11T15:49:00.002-05:00

Here's something I did for Storyboarding class. It's a pitch board for a hypothetical Crest commercial. Production boards to come when I do them.

Some fanart

2008-03-07T11:33:00.005-06:00

Everyone loves comics. And who doesn't love the Punisher? Almost everybody.

Count Goulash characters

2008-03-06T21:37:00.003-06:00

Just some doodles for my senior project, Count Goulash. Sort of early model sheet type drawings of (L to R) Boss, General, and Count Goulash. Nothing spectacular. The colors are really washed out for some reason. Colored them in flash. That's probably why.

Pre-1984 Arcade Game Concept

2008-02-28T14:01:00.000-06:00

For my History of Video Gaming class, we were asked to create a concept for a pre-1984 arcade game. I came up with King Kaboobie's Super Munch-Out. A description of the game can, and should be viewed HERE. It's kind of a cross between Katamari Damacy and Pacman.

New Animation Concept

2008-02-16T02:35:00.002-06:00

Something I'm working on for fun. It's about a whiney bitch of a kid who plays Pokemon. It's funny.

Owl and Squirrel storyboard

2008-02-12T17:31:00.001-06:00

Did this storyboard for my final project in my Stop Motion class. I cleaned them up for my storyboarding class. It's still a little vague and a bit short on verbiage.

Hansel and Gretel, part duex

2007-12-12T00:54:00.002-06:00

Hansel and Gretel

2007-12-04T04:31:00.001-06:00

Tasty children.

Landing on the Moon

2007-12-04T04:20:00.001-06:00

Documenting a historical event.

Toy Design Illustration

2007-12-04T04:03:00.001-06:00

For Illustration class. The assignment was to illustrate a our own toy design. My design was for a bag shaped like one of my pet frogs that kids can store their stuff in, except you can't get it back out. And the frog grows as you put things in it. And it will eventually devour anything in its path.

Count Goulash in Big Time Business

2007-05-03T20:28:00.001-05:00

This is my final for my Comic One class. A little background on the character:
Count Goulash (real name: Hank Peabody) is a man from Austria. He is not a vampire, though his Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather was none other than Count Dracula. The vampire in his bloodline has been watered down so much through the generations that he has no vampire blood in him. He wanted to be more important, so he took his mother's maiden name of Goulash because it was slightly more sinister than Peabody, and he began referring to himself as a count. He moved to America to do business (the nature of the business is never specified). This is one of his adventures, which ultimately ends with him recieving his new fulltime job.

Spacefun A Go-Go

2007-05-03T20:18:00.001-05:00

Here's an earlier page I did in my Comic One class. We were given a sample 1-page script to work from, and this is what I came up with.