overkill?

I've been gearing up to take my art in a direction.  this has involved the purchase of all kinds of new hardware and software.  learning the rudiments of these things will take months, and i'm guessing that mastering them will take the rest of my life.

meanwhile, I've been trying to learn the fundamentals of music.  to aid me in this I purchased a *VERY* inexpensive printer/scanner.  I need it to print out music that I compose.

anyway, as part of setting it up I had to do some test printing and test scanning.  I was shocked/surprised at how quickly this low end product scanned and printed, and how good the quality of its printed image is.

this makes me wonder if  I've gone in the wrong direction ... I might have been able to do what I wanted in a simpler and easier way.  alas, there's no going back.

I think it's time to make some coffee and mull things over!

one for ...

... the road.

i wanted to get this picture finished and posted before year's end, lest ye forget that i not only make crummy music, but that i also make crummy cartoons.

this is not a finished piece of art, but rather a piece of inspirational/concept art.  here's how it came to be:

i had hit a proverbial roadblock on a project i've been working on in my personal life, and i also was experiencing some technical difficulties that were preventing me from moving forward in new directions that i am going in with my art.  while waiting for these problems to be resolved i decided it would best to do *something*, so i decided to back peddle and produce a piece of art using my traditional methods.

the art was created to help me with a bit of writer's block that i've been experiencing, and it features two characters that were not originally planned to be together.  the image was loosely based on an abandoned idea.

once i completed the pencils on this piece it tore down the creative block, and i started coming up with all kinds of story lines (which all come with new sets of problems that need to be resolved).

at first i was unhappy that i didn't have time to properly render this picture in full color, but as i worked with it i realized that such would have been overkill.  this image works best if you don't over-think it ... there's a lot that doesn't make sense, but that's okay; it wasn't meant to be a finished work of art.  it's purpose was to help inspire and motivate me.

blah blah blah.

here's ...

... an original song that I composed.  i'm jumping the gun by posting it, as I have plans to use it for a future project.  ne'er the less I thought it high time I put something up here.

this song started out as a poem.  I wrote a very simple little poem, and then set it to music.  if it interests you, here's the title and the words to the song:

- peaches -
peaches on the tree
raspberries on the vine
to our delight will all turn ripe
come end of summertime

making the little "movie" for this song was a beast.  the program I used was in no way intuitive, and I had a miserable time trying to get it to do the simplest of things.  but I'm told that practice makes perfect, so this was all another step on the journey to my goals.

in other news:
i'm still experiencing technical difficulties on my slide down the slippery slope, but i'm still trying to move forward ... limping along at a snail's pace while I work out certain kinks.  it would be nice if I had something to show by month's end, but I doubt it.

thanks to you all for your friendship and for your support.  it means a lot to me!

The Magic Flute

today marks one year since the passing of comic book/ comic strip/ animation artist Bill White.

Bill was not only an incredibly talent artist, but also a wonderful human being.  he and I struck up a friendship online, which led to us collaborating on a comic book.

Bill and I had a lot in common.  a lot.  had things been just a tiny bit different he and I would have met years ago, become friends, and worked on many happy collaborations.  unfortunately, he and I lived here, in the "almost" world.

one of our common interests was a Saturday morning television series titled "H.R. Pufnstuf".  I once mentioned to him that as a child I had mailed in box tops from kellogg's pop tarts for a plastic toy flute that was based on one of the show's characters.  I was very young, and receiving that toy flute is one of my earliest memories.  I remember how excited I was when I got the thing.  to me it looked just like the talking magic flute on the show (and I really liked the flute on the show.  I remember it was pretty upsetting to me when the evil Witchiepoo would try to capture it.  the poor little flute would cry out in its high pitched voice "help, jimmy!  help!", and i'd be all worried that thing was good to get hurt.).

I played with that cherished piece of plastic for years until it was broken to bits.  imagine my surprise when bill informed me that this toy had become an item that is coveted by collectors, and that it sells for hundreds of dollars.  bill also told me that as a child he had an almost complete collection of kellogg's toy premiums.  the only one his collection missed was the magic flute.

well, me being me, my mission in life became to get my hands on a toy magic flute for bill.  of course I wasn't going to pay hundreds of dollars for the thing.  I was certain that with a lot of patience and with a lot of hunting I would find one.  and I did!  I managed to find one in nice condition; sold to me by its original owner for next to nothing.

the perfect gift for bill, or rather it would have been.  though I managed to find the flute, I found it AFTER his passing.

as I said, bill and I lived in the almost world.  i'm sorry bill.  I really wanted you to have this.

I Hesitate ...

... to post this transcription of "Frankie and Johnny" for two reasons.

first because this the first transcription in which I attempted to "orchestrate" the song.  the sheet music only had the piano part.  I came up with the parts for "bass", flute, and hand symbol.  I know it's bad, but I've got to learn from my failures.

second because in order to make a "movie" out of this song I had to convert it from a wav to a midi.  somehow in the conversion the quality of sound was diminished.  the hand symbols got the worst of it.  in the original they sounded much more realistic.

well, have fun making fun of me (at least it's only 23 seconds long).

Schnitz un Gnepp, die gliech ich net

this very short very simple song was VERY difficult for me to transcribe.  I think the problem was that the person who originally transcribed it wrote the wrong time signature.  i'm quite ignorant when it comes to these things, but the computer program wouldn't let me put all the notes into the measures, and i'm pretty sure that the notes all add to a different amount of beats than 2/4.  so I added a measure, and did my best ... reworking things so they sound right.

btw - blogger won't let me upload just a sound file.  that's why I have to add an image and make these things into "movies".

English translation

schnitz and gnepp*
these I don't like
the beets are too sweet
the farmer's girls
these I won't kiss
they have feet too big

*dried apples and dumplings - a penna dutch dish of roast pork baked with dried apples and dumplings

Transcription

in an earlier post I mentioned that I must choose between one of several projects on which to start working , and that there are three top choices.  the third choice (I have yet to mention the second choice) I like to call "the slippery slope".

the slippery slope involves (in part) music.  I know nothing about music, and have no musical talent.  I DO know that nobody will offer me their time and musical talents without remuneration, and that's something I can't give (heck, I couldn't even spell it - thanks spell checker!)

so if I am to venture down that slippery slope I need to deal with my musical limitations.  If I find these limitations insurmountable, then I know not to undertake this venture.  right?

RIGHT?!!

so I purchased a program that lets you write music.  a music sheet pops onto your computer screen, and you put the notes and rests and sharps and flats etc. onto it.  then you can play it, hear how it sounds, and if you like it you can save it as an audio file.

as I said, I know nothing about music, so what I did was take a book with old Pennsylvania Dutch folk songs and copy the music onto the virtual sheet.  the idea is that if I COPY songs enough I will eventually get the hang of the program, and then I can try to write original compositions.

yes, it is pathetic.  laugh it up, but you've gotta crawl before you fall.  nyah.

for my first song I chose a very simple song, "Wann ich heemkumm voll Bier" (When I come home full of Beer)

here's the (English) words, if you want to sing along:

When I come home full of beer
my old lady scolds me:
"Old Hellion,
if you're not going to be quiet
get out in front of the door!"

ps- I've never heard this song, so I don't know how well I did transcribing it.  I think it sounds okay.

I found some time ...

... to upload another clip from Wolf Boy Ken.  Here we have the opening scene from episode 46.  Very cute; I wish I knew what they are singing.

I endeavored ...

... to keep any images of the protagonist of my latest comic off this blog to help build suspense and interest in the work.

now (with mere days before the comic reaches the hands of the faithful few) i find myself being true to my "fall flat on my face 2 feet before the finish line" nature.

not that i would do this without reason, mind you.

and who will help me ...

... *EAT* the bread?

the comics arrived today ... all dressed up and no place to go.

I Started ...

... a very long post about how i saw a web comic this morning that had a scene whose ending is very similar to a scene that i was inking just the night before, and how over the years i have had such things happen time and again.

but it was a rambling mess, so i deleted it.  instead, here's a picture of "the henbanes" protagonist:

"Where Do We Go From Here?" ...

... was the burning question sung (briefly) by Bing Crosby in Fleischer Studio's feature length cartoon "Mr. Bug Goes to Town" (funny how some things stick in your mind).

now i find myself asking that same question (though not in song).  with the comic book put to press it's now time to start gearing up for the next project, but what will that project be?  i have 3 top choices:

1) The Henbanes.  i was working on a comic book titled "The Henbanes" when Bill White told me he'd like to collaborate with me.  thrilled by the opportunity i dropped work on it and cooked up the project that i've been rambling on about here.
The Henbanes was my most ambitious project to date.  it was to be 7 chapters in length, two of which have been completed.  the third chapter was the inspiration/foundation for the entire story, and far longer and more involved than the first two chapters combined.  i had over 40 pages of pencils done on this chapter when i stopped work on it.  it seems logical to finish what i started.

or does it?  it took me well over an hour to hunt down those pages, and when i did i found something quite different from what i remembered.
first off, many of the pages are ROUGH penciled.  the drawings are so scant, so basic it will take a lot of work to get them to the "ready to ink" stage.
second, as i look at this series now with fresh perspective, i see its flaws all too clearly.  there are flaws in the characters' designs, the story is in parts pretentious and contrived.  things that seemed amusing and endearing are actually neither.  if i had it all to do over i could make this a much stronger work ... BUT I CAN'T.  i'm a keep moving forward kind of guy.  i'm a really slow artist, and if i kept going back to fix my mistakes i'd never get anything done.  so my choice on this project is keep moving forward or admit failure and move on to the next work.

but it does seem a waste to let these pages waste away.  if i was to resume work on this i think i'd break the work down into groups, say 11 pages or so each.  that would make them more manageable, and i'd also be able to publish them more quickly.
then, after i finished work on the pages i have i could decide if i wanted to finish it, or move on to something else.

to be continued.

You'll be Happy to Know ...

... that while i'm waiting for my comic to be printed i'm using spare time wisely ... by sitting around and watching old anime.

and I do mean OLD.  right now i'm watching early works from toei studio, including a selection of their theatrical features, their first animated television series wolf boy ken, and their second animated series shonen ninja kaze no fujimaru.

it's very unfortunate that ken and fujimaru were never released in the usa.  ken is the less serious of the two series, and I decided to post some highlights of the series for fans (and would be fans) of the show.

and I even figured out how to link them up here (will wonders never cease?).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh, but ...

... it is.

the wait is over.

now the tale may be told.

as you may know, things in my personal and professional life have been preventing me from working on my comic ... one project in particular.

i recently painted myself into a proverbial corner with this problem causing project, and had stop, rethink things, start in a new direction,  and wait for some new items for the project.

because this waiting was going on i found myself with some free time, and i decided to use this time to do some work on the comic.

once i started working on the comic i realized that i was a lot further on it than i thought, and that if i concentrated my efforts on the comic i could have it completed by month's end.

perhaps more important was that i found out that if the comic was completed before month's end i had the possibility of having it printed and in my hands to distribute in time to honor my collaborator Bill White on the one year anniversary of his passing.

so i put my nose to the grindstone, and my shoulder to the wheel.  there are some things that i wish i could have done better or done over, but i persevered and did what had to be done.  it would have been nice to have a person to proof the completed work, but unfortunately life has not afforded me such an extreme decadent luxury.

about an hour ago i received word from the printer.  he said my files' size/format/etc are correct, and everything is a go.

it's finally ...

-30-

I Can't Believe ...

... it's been over a week.

how much longer?

I've Been Having Trouble ...

... finding time to work on my comic, but this week and the week before i managed to devote a few minutes to it.  i'm presently working on an orphan panel, and doing some incidental art needed for overlays and such.

i just finished some inking and scanning, and here's a censored image of the orphan panel on which i am working.

ps - much thanks to the person who encouraged me to continue work on this project.

You Can't Imagine ...

... how surprised i was to find this piece of advertising art for sale online.  this is an advertisement for an anthology comic titled "comico illustrated".  the original premise was that the comic was to be a spotlight for up and coming comic book creators (though that changed as production on the book progressed).

my artwork on the ad is the silhouetted skeleton (though my memory says that the image was much smaller and much less prominently placed on the version of the ad that i saw).  my name (which i censored here with a gray bar) is relegated to the bottom of the list.

once upon a time, during the great black and white comics explosion (ignited by the teenage mutant ninja turtles), comico was a small comic book company that was rising in stature.  its rise to fame was due mostly to a book they published titled "grendel".  this led to other successes (such as a one shot "gumby" comic illustrated by arthur adams) and a partnership with DC comics (the superman/batman people).

"comico illustrated" was getting press and attention  because of comico's growing success and this being the premiere issue of the comic.  after a lot of hard work and a lot of struggling doors were finally opening for me.  "comico illustrated" was going to be my first step on the ladder to a career in cartooning.

sadly, three months before "comico illustrated" was to be published comico filed for bankruptcy.  the company had overextended itself financially on a full color comic book adaptation of hanna barbera's "jonny quest".

"comico illustrated"  was never published.  it's cancellation profoundly affected my life.

I was recently asked ...

... to create a gag gift for a person's retirement celebration.  it was requested that i create a pair of rocket powered roller skates and create a custom package for them that would bring to mind the acme packages that wile e. coyote received in the roadrunner cartoons.

a lot of time and effort went into producing this gift, which will receive a few polite forced laughs, and (if i'm lucky) the recipient will have the courtesy to wait until he gets home to throw it in the trash.

i don't have a camera, so i can't take a picture of the finished product, but i can post a digital image of the cartoon i made for the package.

my lack of ...

... blog posts correspond to my lack of time behind my drawing board.  things have been keeping me from both, but recently i managed to spend a little time working on my comic.

it was my hope that the work i am doing would be a "last sweep", and that i'd be ready to send the pages to the printer.  as i started working i discovered that was not the case.  the "sweep" that i'm currently doing on these pages is still prep work. that last sweep seems forever from my grasp.

i have so much done.  if i had about 2 weeks to devote full time i could easily complete this project.  sadly, time is in short supply.

here's a sample of what i've been working on.  it's getting harder and harder to find samples to post here, as i don't want to give too much away.

                                                   

I Felt Like ...

... posting something.  Here's a WIP from the collaboration on which Bill White and I were working.  This is a replacement panel; the original drawing wasn't good enough.  Note Bill White's beautiful inks over my  over my pencils.