Link: http://gizmodo.com/5380711/crazy-headsploding-animation-defies-any-classification

A friend at work posted a link to this video on Facebook, and I thought it was too interesting not to re-post here. Beware though of lurking adult content (lots of violence and mild sexual references) within:

What has me so awestruck about this piece is in the elaborate planning required to pull it off. Not only is there a lot of artwork involved before even turning the camera on, but I'm sure the planning and storyboarding process alone took up a significant portion of the entire production time.

For something so complicated and well developed, it's amazing how the creator was able to give the piece an overall feeling of spontaneity and simplicity!

As if you needed me to explain why I consider Jim Lee the greatest comic artist working today:

Even the pieces he does quickly like this one are amazing.

I wanted to write a post today sharing what I've found in my search of the internet for information and resources to help make me a better artist. Many of these resources are web forums, which I find to be excellent for inspiration, developing fresh ideas and soliciting advice where you may be stuck in a rut. And while many think of forums in terms of text-heavy bore-fests that require a ton of reading, these are quite the opposite and thrive because of their users' visual participation.

So without further ado, here they are (in no particular order):

1)Deviantart (http://www.deviantart.com)

Arguably the best creative resource on the web, period. Basically a user-driven community of creatives, Deviantart showcases user work ranging from traditional to digital media, and includes everything from fine art to photography. The site also contains a treasure trove of tutorials, stock images and tools for users to experiment with.

2)Conceptart.org (http://www.conceptart.org/)

If deviantart is the best 'general' art resource on the web, then conceptart.org is probably the best 'specialized' one. Featuring the talents of the Massive Black team, this site is ripe with creativity that appeals to both 2d and 3d artists. Although the site focuses on concept art specifically, the forums are bursting with all kinds of artistic inspiration and resources. I also highly recommend checking out the monthly challenges they run on the forums, which can be an excellent way to jumpstart your creativity engine!

3)Fineart.sk (http://fineart.sk/)

As far as free anatomical reference material goes, this is probably the best site on the internet. Featuring the work of Andrew Loomis and others, this site provides visitors with a wealth of free anatomy resources. Although there are a few pay sites out there offering more, you can't beat the price for what this site offers.

4)The Flight Forums (http://www.flightcomics.com/forum/)

For those focusing more on sequential art, the Flight Comic forums offer an excellent place to discuss work, receive critique and be inspired. Although the community here goes through hot and cold periods (like most any long-history web forum), there is still a very active core group that welcomes new users willing to contribute.

5)Gnomon Workshop (http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/)

One of the best resources available for digital artists. While mostly focusing on 3d subjects, Gnomon still has an excellent catalog of instructional videos catering to everyone from comic book people to tattoo artists. If you don't mind spending a few bucks and/or prefer video instruction, Gnomon is the place to go!

Other worthy resources:

Shutterstock.com
Penciljack Forums
Drawingboard.org
Blambot Fonts

Link: http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/

On October 2nd and 3rd last week, I participated for the first time in the 24 Hour Comics Day Challenge at ACME Comics in Longwood, FL. It turned out to be one of the most awesome things I've done for myself in recent memory, and I met a bunch of super-talented and cool-to-talk-to artists that live in the area. Several of those attending such as Ron Salas and Derrick Fish are published artists with face-melting talent. At first I was extremely intimidated (you have no idea...), but these guys were all class and not once did anyone make me feel like I was out of my league. To my honest disbelief, I actually received several compliments and statements of encouragement.

Just to back up a minute, for those actually reading this that have no idea what the '24 hour comics day challenge' is, let me elaborate. The challenge originally started several years ago like many things do: Small. Artist Scott McCloud challenged his friend and fellow artist Steve Bissette to create a 24-page finished comic book in 24 hours. Both of them tried to do it, and thus the challenge was born on a dare. Since that small beginning, the challenge mutated into an international event, with thousands of artists participating at hundreds of locations across the globe.

I went into the challenge knowing that I was ill-prepared and not exactly skilled enough yet for something of this intensity. But it's in my nature to fling full-force at a thing even if I'm not prepared, or know it will burn me out or kick my butt. To add more difficulty to my own situation though, Cate had a death in the family last week that left me very nearly dropping my plans for the event so that I could be there for her. I underestimated my wife though, and she insisted that this was something that was too important to pass up. In hindsight, I totally agree with her.

I arrived at the event at around 11:45pm on Friday night, just as the rest of the guys were getting all the tables set up and ready. After this, everyone got their materials ready and Marc at ACME gave us the short 'good luck' pep speech as we began. I ended up choosing to do a comic that is basically an autobiography, with a focus on how my friends, family and past relationships are shaping my thoughts and feelings as I prepare to become a dad. It was apparent to me before I started that this was tremendously over-ambitious from a drawing standpoint, but I figured it would at least be something easy for me to write since it is already in me.

Throughout the event, the staff at ACME (mostly Marc, because he was with us most of the 24 hours) were fantastic and extremely supportive. They even went as far as to setup an art table in the main area of the store so that we could rotate over there where customers could see our work as we did it. Too cool! We were also catered for breakfast, lunch and dinner by both the store and local businesses that are friends of the store, which was super awesome as well.

By the time the event had formally ended at midnight on Saturday, nearly all of us that had started the event had also finished it. In the end, I only actually completed three full pages. But I (hopefully) ended up making a few great new friends and found new energy in all the fantastic art that was being created around me.

This was definitely the spark I needed to revive my efforts at becoming a successful sequential artist, and I have no doubt now that I can make it happen.

Next stop, biweekly drawing sessions at ACME and live model sketching on the Sundays at Crealde...

I've never been a huge fan of Jean 'Moebius' Girard's work (if for no other reason than the fact that I came to his work later in life), but I am quite fond of his character designs and storyboard work for the failed Jodorowsky film adaptation of my favorite book, Dune.

The picture above is one of his fantastic character designs for the film of the character Liet Kynes, the Imperial Ecologist of Arrakis.

Check out this page on DuneInfo.com for more of his excellent work on this unfortunately doomed project.

The Sardukar and the Baron Harkonnen in particular are great!

Link: http://jackal111.deviantart.com/art/Caught-101300023

This is my latest finished speedpainting, done in Painter X with stock brushes. I used no reference for this, but had a general idea in my mind of what I wanted.

One of my main goals was to incorporate color well, and start working my way towards having some realistic lighting and shadows. I know its far from perfect in a lot of ways, but I feel like I'm starting to make progress towards becoming a better digital painter!