"Accio!"

I'm a dork and I'm not ashamed.

I love Harry Potter. I've read all the books, natch. I've gleefully listened to the Jim Dale's delightful readings of the audiobooks about a dozen times each. The movies...well, I've seen them. Some more than others. But the point is, I like Harry Potter.

I don't like video games that much though. They're ok, but I normally can do without. But I've just begun playing "Order of the Phoenix" on the Wii, and I'm shocked by how much I'm enjoying it. I've been playing it for hours, and I've yet to get bored with making objects whiz across the screen with a flick of my Wiimote. Granted, everything else about the game sucks. The storytelling, the rendering, the character "animation"...its all you'd except from EA. And yet, any time I shout "Wingardium Leviosa!" (and yes, I do shout it... that helps somehow) and make a stone bench fly across the courtyard and beam Hermione in the face, it makes up for everything! So what with being back at Primal for a spell (heh heh) and discovering I can be way nerdier than heretofore dreamed, I've not been drawing much. But I have been having a good time at least.

Daily...uh...Der?

By labeling some posts "Daily"- I was trying to motivate myself to post at least one drawing a day. That...has not happened. Maybe I should take a cue from Jon Stewart and just call it "A" Daily drawing to take the pressure off. I've been working on some projects these past few weeks that have demanded my easily-waylaid attention. These projects may or may not include a) an animated title for a live-action MTV show b) an orange bird hawking chocolaty cereal and c) a huge smlling dilly-dong.

In the meantime, have a crappy old doodle!

Coat Lady

Daily Pinup

"Who needs sunscreen!"

Daily Pinup

I was recently told that I draw "like a woman." I know it wasn't meant as an insult, but I guess since I'm used being teased for throwing "like a girl", the statement irked me. So today I have some old girlie drawings because drawing pin-ups makes me feel defiant and cheeky.

Mitzi as Rosie

If I could claim to have any kind if style whatsoever, it would probably be my girlie drawing style I call "Mitzi". So here's the inevitable picture of my Mitzi as Rosie the Riveter. As a girl born forty years too late, I've always had a fondness for the Rosie image, although I find the "We Can Do It!" Rosie a bit too dour. I prefer the Normal Rockwell Rosie, as she seems to possess a bit more personality. If I weren't so lazy I'd include image links, but I geh...bleh...blach..

SNOW!

Atlanta rarely sees snow, but we saw it last night! Big, fat, glorious snowflakes. Didn't stick, of course, but I make a doodle to commemorate it.

Doodle Page #42

Here are some of today's daily doodles plus some old stuff I'm cleaning out. (Looks like someone needs more life drawing sessions!)

Trix In SPAAAAAAACE! Part Deux

All righty, so I finally saw the Trix in Space spot. The one I worked on the Primal pitch for and lost to Calabash. What irks me is that this spot looks so similar to the one we pitched. The layouts, the Trix ship, the characters... this spot was just a couple tweaks away from what we showed the client. The black guy's design looks very similar to mine (I kinda like my design better actually- his face in the spot is too bottom-heavy). The ginger kid is never near the camera so its hard to tell what he looks like, but he seems very familiar. The Latina got switched to a Japanese girl, but I hate to think we lost the pitch because they preferred a different ethnicity for the girl. Also the colors on the kids got switched around, with the girl now in green, the ginger in red (ick, that clashes!), and the black guy in purple (haven't they watched Chapelle's Show? Don't they know that's racist?) Anyhow, its a decent spot. Calabsh always does amazing work. But I still feel like Primal could have made it just as great. And I could have changed the friggin' colors on the uniforms, and designed a Japanese girl godammit! Was a Latina in red really so offensive that they had to go with a different studio? Grumblecakes.

Doodle Dump

Marion Davies

TCM recently introduced me to a splendid actress and I am ashamed I didn't know about her sooner. Marion Davies is actress from the 20s and 30s, and one of the most charming and riotously funny actresses I've ever come across. As I was watching her films, I realized I had never really seen a silent film with a hilarious lady in it- usually women in silent films are weepy, mopey, or faint a lot. Later on I dug up some info on her, and was astonished. This woman figures into American pop culture more than I ever would have guessed. She is famous as the life-long mistress of Mr. William Randolph Hearst. They never married as Hearst couldn't finagle a divorce from his wife, but Hearst doted on Marion fiercely and set a new bar for all the sugar daddies in the world to reckon by. He created a movie studio for her to head, and produced dozens of films as star vehicles for her. If this sounds at all familiar, its because Orson Welles adapted this story in "Citizen Kane", implying through the character of Susan Alexander than Marion Davies was just a kept woman who's success was fake and undeserved. Ever wonder why snooty film majors make such a big whoop out of "Citizen Kane", calling it the best film ever made? You yourself have probably watched it, then shrugged your shoulders and gone "meh! whats the big deal?" Well, after learning what a commotion it caused in its time, I think I have a better idea of why it is remembered so well. "Citizen Kane" is basically an allegory based on William Randolph Hearst's life. Hearst and Davies, though more or less forgotten today, were superstars for decades. When "Citizen Kane" came out, the audiences surely knew who Charles Foster Kane and Susan Alexander were based on. Hearst bucked furiously at the implications it made about Marion (particularly her drinking) and even endeavored to destroy all the prints of the film. Perhaps the scent of scandal still lingers over the "Citizen Kane", even if most people have forgotten who made the original stink. How sad that people today will remember Susan Alexander, but not Marion Davies. Because the truth of the matter is that Marion Davies was superbly talented. Go rent "The Red Mill" and you'll see what a treasure she is. She was a remarkable woman for her time, or any time for that matter.

Thank you again, TCM, for continuously expanding my cinematic education! Oh, and this doodle isn't technically supposed to be Marion Davies- I just was inspired to do some 30s stuff after seeing Marion's movies.

I Hate Tim Burton, and So Can You!

/begin rant

Thats right, in just a few simple minutes, you too can hate Tim Burton! "But no, " you might say. "Tim Burton is an eccentric, grimly humorous genius who's taken black and white stripes to the heights of cinematic excellence!". Well, as "Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Beetlejuice" are high on my list of favorite films, I used to think that as well. And then I saw "Sweeney Todd" and after fifteen minutes I hated Tim Burton. Granted, Burton's been making some klunkers, but they never really offended me too deeply. "Sleepy Hollow" was vaguely amusing but nothing special, "Corpse Bride" was a visual delight but defeated itself in its own storytelling, and the completely unwarranted remakes of "Planet of the Apes" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" just confused me. But Sweeney...oh..... *SWEENEY*. This is personal.

Musicals are like playing Russian Roulette with entertainment. They can be the joyful and wonderful and top-tappingly brilliant, but if you're unlucky in the spin, they will make you want to blow your brains out. Most modern-day musicals make me want to blow my brains out. But "Sweeney Todd" was an shining exception. I was mildly obsessed with it in the few weeks after I discovered it- listening to the CD over and over. I fantasized that someday I would make an animated version of it. It is, at its core, a comedy. But it is a dark, twisted, grotesque comedy. The conceit of a barber murdering his customers and then baking them into pies is ludicrous and horrible..and funny! ...And horrible. But still funny! Slap some hauntingly lovely and devilishly funny songs on top and ya got "Sweeney Todd".

Now imagine all the humor sucked out of it. Then stick in some Tim Burton pets like, oh...say... Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter who apparently have never *seen* a musical let alone perform one. Make sure they don't show any emotions other than consternation or boredom. Don't time any action or edits to the rhythm of the music. Make sure Carter's inflate-a-boob cleavage is in every shot. Add some absurdly gorey blood spatter. Oh, and black and white stripes. Gotta have the stripes. After you mish-mash all this together, you're left with a boring, dreary, predictable, dischordant, heartless waste of two hours and ten dollars. The story of Sweeney Todd is wickedly entertaining, but if this movie is your introduction to it, it'll leave a worse taste in your mouth than Mrs. Lovett's meat pies.

I urge you and everyone on your street to rent the filmed stage production of "Sweeney Todd" with Angela Lansbury. Without the use of elaborate sets or scenery or digital fudgery, that filmed stage play has ten times the believability and skin-crawling fun than this insulting film. The performances are powerful, and Lansbury is so delightful you almost forgive her cannibalism. Rent it if only to compare the "Have A Little Priest" number. In the musical, this song is exuberant and riotously funny. In the movie, Depp and Carter successfully dodge every emotional cue and garble their enunciation so that only the audience members who happen to have memorized the libretto could understand the lyrics. RAWR! I'm mad.

/end rant...until I see another Gawful movie.

Happy Holidays!

My traditional last-minute holiday card! Enjoy!
Also, I'm working on a really fun project for a friend right now, so thats why I haven't been updating every twenty seconds like I normally do. The project is looking pretty good, and I can't wait to share it! It will be done in early January, so stay tuned.

Daily Doodle

Doodles

Just adding a couple doodles. I think its an admirable exercise to daily post one's best drawing from the day- even if said drawings are stinky. Keeps one motivated, you know. ...Scone?