Sequential Exercises #4

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Here's my latest sequential exercise. This month I focused on the words and word balloons. In the past this has been a real weakness of mine so here's hoping this works better.

My Terrible Dilemma

You see I have this terrible dilemma. Racing season is coming soon and it's time to replace my mountain bike. So I journeyed across the globe in search for the perfect bike. And by globe I mean Eden Bicycles. I narrowed it down to two bikes, the Scott Spark 15 and the Giant Anthem 1. The Anthem was the best dual suspension race bike on a budget and the Spark 15 was the best bike money could get me (well not really but I'm not going to pay $10,000 for a mountain bike). What am I supposed to do!

Line vs Shape

Red vs Yellow

Good old fashioned chicken racing, enough said.

Walk Cycle Test

I'm working on a walk cycle for my demo reel. Here's a little test I did to get me thinking walk cycles and to plan out some things. 2D animation is hard!

Land Narwhals Rule!

One of my favorite bloggers Mr. Andrew Fulton over at his blog mumblier called upon his mutant ability to create awesomeness and drew a Land Narwhal. How cool is that? Go check it out!

http://mumblier.bundle.com.au/mumble/2007/dec/land-narwhal-eats-some-heads

Blog Stats

Last week on a whim I installed a free traffic counter on this blog and I got some interesting results. Of the 35 unique hits I got 2 of them were from Egypt! Of the 35 hits 15% of them came from countries that don't speak English as their native language. That's pretty cool. Most of my traffic comes from the Flight forums. People read one of my posts and then check out the link in my signature that points the here.

	19	54.29%	United States
	4	11.43%	Canada
	3	8.57%	Unknown	-
	3	8.57%	United Kingdom
	2	5.71%	Egypt
	1	2.86%	India
	1	2.86%	Australia
	1	2.86%	Bolivia
	1	2.86%	Lithuania

Some times when I'm throwing stuff up here I don't really think anyone reads it except maybe my family. But I guess people do read what I'm posting. Not that 35 people is that much, but hey its something.

--I just updated my demo reel. You can get to it by clicking on either of the two "My Demo Reel" links on the side bar to the right. Or just click here to view the QuickTime version. There's some more polishing I need to do but there where a couple of studios that I wanted to send a reel to before it was too late. If you are reading this in the year 2008 or later. I'm sure the link will be dead and a newer version will be available somewhere else.--

About My New Blog Tittle Image

So I finally put up some of my own art behind the title. Honestly I'm not too happy with it. Originally I thought it would be cool to have some of my sketches up behind the blog title. I don't think it was a bad idea but I don't like how it turned out. I'll probably change it later on.

Here's all the images I started with. I just selected a bunch of images from my sketch book that I thought where fun. Not necessarily my best art but images that I thought had the most appeal to them. Appeal (at least in the animation world) is kind of a nebulous term. It encompasses good art but it also covers things that are just fun, interesting, or engrossing to look at. A super simple cartoon character, a beautiful woman, and a rotting corpse can all have appeal. They just have different kinds of appeal. Any who, here's the image. Your probably going to have to click on it so you can see it better.

YouTube Dump

I was going to post about four Youtube clips on Ira Glass talking story creation. But then in the process of watching the videos I found this. . .



I can’t believe people actually get together and do this! I’m jealous. Oh in case you wanted something not so goofy, here are the links to those Ira Glass storytelling clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7KQ4vkiNUk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qmtwa1yZRM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hidvElQ0xE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9blgOboiGMQ

Ape Chase

Click the comic for a closer look.

I've been a little slow in getting this one out. It has been done for a week or so but with Thanksgiving and everything well . . . Thanks Amy for giving me a little push.

10-12 with 71Paul2

Last night I went a ride-a-long with my brother Joe. According to Joe it was a quiet night. But is seemed like non-stop action to me. I got to see a domestic disturbance call where a son and father got into a shouting match, but everything ended up cool. I saw a bunch of Vietnamese gang members that who had 10 machetes, a couple of samurai swords, and baseball bats in their trunk get to go scott-free cause they knew the system. I saw the aftermath of a drunk who flipped his car getting off 101. I also saw a crazy old Mexican slum lord lady who charged a family of five $800 a month for a 15x10 room with no kitchen and only a communal bathroom that was shared by all the other tenants. I got to watch as my bro with the help of another officer cleared a Grocery store with guns drawn. I also got a little lesson in prison tattoos from an 20 something ex-con (I mean parolee) who Joe pulled over for a broken license plate light. My sketch above is from my two guys who Joe stopped outside a motel. One of them was on probation (which means he could be searched at any time), a quick search of their room only revealed the stench of marijuana but no actual drugs so they got off free too.

It was a busy night. By the time 6:30am rolled around I was really tired but had a new appreciation for cops and a new understanding of how hard police work is these days.

Eekeemoo Fan Art

Here's some fan art that I did for Eekeemoo.

Eekeemoo is the silent web comic that I've been following on the Flight Forums by Willy MJ about Eekeemoo the Eskimo and his ogre friend. It is in a different format than most web comics which makes for some fun reading. The art is unique and fun and adds a nice flavor to the story. All in all it is great read that I've been following for about six months now. The UK comic artist Willy MJ is just finishing up with the second part of the three part series that I believe he started at the beginning of the year. Eekeemoo has slowly grown on me till I can't wait to find out what happens next. But come on, how can you go wrong with an epic adventure with an Eskimo, ogres, singing rocks, a giant octopuss, and dragons creatures?

More Playing With Inking techniques

Still playing with inking techniques.

I liked how the second one (the blue one) turned out. I think I could have pushed it a bit farther but I liked the results. I drew it with a non photo blue pencil and then "inked" it with pencils. The only problem was that it was really time consuming to scan it in and prepare it for coloring.
The other drawing (green tentacle guy with flower) was one of the fast methods I've tried out yet. It didn't take long to ink or prepare it in photoshop for coloring. I've been looking at a lot of Bill Watterson (of Calvin and Hobbes) and Sergio Aragones (of Groo)art for inspiration. I really like the loose feel to their work even though their styles are very different. After studying those two I came up with this approach. My drawing style can't be called loose by any stretch of the imagination but I'm hoping to loosen up a bit for speed sake and for the look and feel that approach achieves.
I'm trying to speed up my inking so I can create my comics faster. That's why I've been trying out different inking methods. I've got a longish comic book (50 pages) story thumb nailed out/written and I don't want it to take a year for me to draw it in my free time. I also have been playing with an graphic novel series idea that if I'm ever going to finish I would either have to work at it full time for 7 plus years or get really fast at drawing and inking. Now realistically I probably won't start drawing my graphic novel epic for several years. But the worm of that idea has been burrowing in my brain for more than 4 years now.
I don't believe fast inking and drawing is something to strive for in and of itself. If I can't find an efficient inking style that I like the look of I'll just have to do with a slower style. The art should serve the story not the clock. But even so its good to have a reasonable production schedule.

Happy Boo Day

OK this isn't Halloween related at all but it's a inspiring video none the less.

Playing With Inking Techniques

Both these guys were inking digitally but with different style. Inking digitally takes me about the same amount of time that inking with real ink pens, but inking digitally allows me to correct my mistakes. I like the top inking job (Godzilla type lizard) better but the lower inking job (hairy monster thing) was a much faster style.

The Humans Are Dead

--language warning--

Stewie The Merciless!

Here's a little animation that I'm planning to use for my demo reel. I'm still in the process of polishing it but I feel it's coming along nicely and is ready for public critique. It was originally an assignment from Class 2 at Animation Mentor. Which was completed in June of 06. I've learned a lot since then and going back in and massaging the animation was difficult at times because of the funky way I animated it. Hopefully this will be the least strongest piece on my reel. I'm including it mainly to to show off my knowledge of body mechanics. I'm thinking about ditching the Viking helmet. I think two "Viking" pieces (this one and my short) on a demo reel is one to many.

Hagrid

Here's a digitally colored pen and ink drawing of Hagrid. Although now that I look at him he kind of looks like Saddam Hussein.

Gimbel Lock Villain

The AM weekly sketch club topic was Gimbel Lock Villain, this is my interpretation. There's nothing more scary than a cross eyed monkey in underpants with a wrench. For you non 3D animators out there let me explain what gimbel lock is, gimbel lock happens when . . . uh . . . well lets just say its a very frustrating problem 3D animators run into now and again.

Long over due

Sorry the blog's been quiet for a while. But I've been busy as always. I've finished AM. That's me over on the far left side about half way up.


I've been working on my demo reel and short. I bought an Nintendo Wii and have been playing tennis till my my shoulders ache. Who would have thought you could get tennis elbow from a video game. I've been riding my mountain bike. I've been painting. I've been spending time with my wife. I've been working on some comics and drawing.


That bottom doodle is of three characters from a online comic I've been working on and off again for the past year. The story is almost done. I'm taking it slow and I hope to start drawing in January. The story will be in black and white but I've been playing with different methods of coloring and inking things to see what works for me.

I also decided to be a Peer Buddy at AM this quarter. Peer buddies are like student tutors at Animation Mentor. This enables me to stay in touch with all the great students still enrolled at AM. It also helps me work on my critiquing skills and animation eye.



It's been great! I'm getting to do all the things I didn't have time to do with all the deadlines and homework that go along with school. In a couple of months I should have my demo reel ready and then hopefully I'll get a job. Then I won't have time to do all the things I can do now. So I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Monkeys are funny

Lunch Time Fan Art

At lunch I whipped up a quick sketch of some of the characters from th web comic Bug and Worm. It was of those rare comics that is made to be seen on the computer screen and it is really funny too. I laughed out loud many times as I read through the archives. I found the comic on the Flight forums and when the creator, Al B Moore was looking for sketches. I think this might get posted up on the Bug and Worm site as well.

AM Class 7 week 9

Now that blogger supports video a little more easier I'd thought I'd post some of my homework. This is the first third of my short. This is by far the most challenging third but it's coming along.

AM Weekly Sketch: STAR WARS!

Don't have much time so I won't say anything more about this than Chewbacca is awesome. On another note, blogger now lets you upload movie files so I'll probably start posting more homework.

Beaver and Steve #300!

My favorite comic (web or otherwise) these days Beaver and Steve reached the 300 comic milestone. That's quite an accomplishment for a creator who pumps out two comedy infused comics a week for no pay other than the glory lavished on the creators of web comics. Here's a link to number 300. Enjoy! I command you!

Siggraph 07 Here I Come!

I leave in eight hours for the AM Graduation ceremony and the Siggraph 07 conference. I'm super excited! I've really been cramming today to get my demo reel, resume, and cover letter in shape. You can check out my demo reel here (or click on the link on the right navigation bar).

http://www.jakekalsbeek.com/temp%20demo%20reel_ex.mov

Octopus Attack version 2

I got some great suggestions and comments from some of the comic pros on the flight forums.

http://www.flightcomics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=107612#107612

So I made a quick second pass on the Octopus Attack comic. I decided that Andrew's suggestions about the impact of the octopus grab really required a complete redrawing of the entire comic to get it right so I just tried to make the best of what I had. Also Andrew's comments about the panel where he flicks on the garbage disposal would require me to pull back the camera and break the rhythm of slowly pulling in. That might still be the best way to go but again it would require me redraw the entire comic to keep a consistent flow. Or maybe that flow isn't as important as I think. Either way I decided that having a tentacle wrapped around his head might be a nice compromise even if it isn't the best solution.

Octopus Attack

Here's a short comic that a made to work on my storytelling skills. Haven't you ever wondered how a garbage disposal works? Or worried what if whatever was inside the garbage disposal got too hungry? I do it's what keeps me up at night.

AM Weekly Sketch:Fighters

Just playing

Drawn in pencil, painted in black and white then scanned and colored in Photoshop. I'm trying to learn about color . . . and value . . . and I guess texture too.

AM Weekly Sketch: Weight

This weeks topic is weight. I guess a proper animation student would have drawn more of a force in action drawing, but I just had the urge to draw a fat cowboy.

Wall E viral marketing add

I want a Wall E!

AM Summer Sketch

Elephant was the topic of the week. I quickly sketched out an All-Star inspired mascot.

Bobby Chius video podcast

Bobby Chiu's video podcasts are always fun to watch and inspirational. He's sort of a modern day Bob Ross.

Zombie Quiz

Well it looks like I have only a so-so chance of survival when the zombies attack.

59%

This week's sketch club theme was "tattoo". I'm not a big tattoo guy so I went with an Animation Mentor themed tattoo.

Two More Paintings

A whole week of no school! That doesn't mean I don't have anything to do but it is a lot easier to procrastinate and play with no deadlines looming.

McCloud

Lisa and I went camping last weekend with my brother Joe and his wife Kate and my Mom and Dad at one of my favorite spots in the world. McCloud is in the Mt. Shasta area and is a really cool place to relax and check out a part of God's more wild creation. I've never kept a sketch journal of a trip before and thought it would be fun. Here it is. Enjoy.

My brother Joe wanted to start the campfire with a piece of flint. It is alot harder than it looks in the movies. But gasoline helps.

My beautiful wife on a hike we did on our first day up there.


This is my attempt at drawing a 4 legged 3 tentacle Wollywompus. But don't blame me if I didn't get it perfect, the little guys don't hold still.

There was this log laying across the creek that we had to cross. Getting down the other side was a bit of a challenge.


Our second day up there Joe, Lisa and I hiked on the east shoulder of Mt. Shasta. We hiked up to around 9,000 feet at the edge of the tree line and were surrounded by snow and rock. The last 5,000 feet of elevation looked intense.

On our way down Lisa used her wind breaker to slide on the snow part of the way down. This was the best way to get down the ridge we climbed up but it started a mini avalanche/mud slide that made a crazy sound.

Joe likes seasoning.


Camp on the third day.

I went on a ride and while I was "crushing it" over a bumpy section at around 20mph my chain got caught in my front derailure and my pedaling motion sent me flying over the handle bars. Luckily I was thrown about six feet further than my bike and the trail broke my fall. I escaped the whole affair with a flat front tire, a bent front derailure, a minor sprained wrist, and a few scratches.

My Mom scares easily and Joe got a little carried away.