Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Votes Tallied, Astromech Wins By Restraining Bolt!
Wow...another close poll, but you've bestowed the title of Coolest Robot Ever upon the diminutive yet daring droid, R2-D2. Wisely chosen.


Poll results
R2-D2 34%
Bender 31%
The Terminator 17%
Optimus Prime 6%
Data 6%
HAL 9000 3%
Futura 0%
Pimpbot 5000 0%

Thanks for your votes, and don't forget to weigh in on this week's poll!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Behold, the twelfth and mightiest of the Chades Challenges:
HAIRY GODS!

Again, everyone is welcome to join the challenge. Post your drawing/story/engraving next Friday (May 2nd) on your own blog and let me know so I can put up a link.
Sketch greatly!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008



Can't have the Joker without green hair. Nuff said.

Addendum 4.25.08
The new Dark Knight poster just came out. Not only does Joker look like the crow, but now he's burning the Batsignal into things. As long as Iggy Pop doesn't make an appearance, I guess we're still safe.



Monday, April 21, 2008


Every once in a while, you just want to draw something cute. Today is not one of those days.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Chades Challenge XI: Sweaty Bikers (Week 2)

Other Chades Challengers:
Josh "Boss Hog" Billings
Moro "Full Throttle" Rogers
No new Chades Challenge this week. The Afterworks deadline looms ever closer...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008


Ollie Johnston (October 31, 1912-April 14, 2008)

Any animator worth his salt owns at least one copy of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's The Illusion of Life. The book offers the wisdom Ollie collected over the forty-three years he worked at Disney, creating some of the world's most memorable characters (including two of my personal favorites, Merlin and Baloo). More importantly, The Illusion of Life reveals the importance of fellowship, and learning from your peers. Over the years, the names Frank and Ollie have become almost inseparable. These two embody the golden age of classical animation and, for me, childhood in general.
My favorite animated scene of all-time is their squirrel sequence from Sword in the Stone. Within a few minutes (and hundreds of Ollie's gorgeous drawings), we are taught about having the faith to leap, the courage to fail, and we are introduced to the most powerful force on Earth...even more powerful than gravity.
At Frank Thomas's request, the sequence was played at Frank's memorial. So here it is again for old Ollie. Frank and Ollie's squirrel sequence
And for those of you unfamiliar of the man that helped invent animation, here's his story.
Thanks for the magic, Ollie!

Addendum 4.18.08
Disney's Farewell to Ollie
The Disney Company on Ollie Johnston
Brad Bird on Ollie Johnston

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Chades Challenge XI: Sweaty Bikers

"You been messin' with my bike, little man?!"

Biker scouts: long beards, short fuses. Next week: Sweaty Bikers, Round 2!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Greg Montemurro's Jordan vs The Peacock
This is easily the funniest thing I've seen since The Vader Sessions, and a testament to the versatility of a John Williams score.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

AFTERWORKS PREVIEW I

Here's a sneak peek at my contribution to E-ville Press's Afterworks Volume 3. Afterworks is a graphic novel comprised of short comics made by a bunch of Pixarians in their free time. From what I've seen of everyone's stories, it promises to be a pretty sweet collection. Before I ever wanted to be an animator, I wanted to be a comic artist and a paleontologist. This project is definitely an outlet for those two passions. After ten years of repression as I focused on my animation, my inner comic geek and dino nerd will finally have their day!
More art coming soon...

Friday, April 04, 2008

CHADES CHALLENGE X, WEEK II: MOSSY HELLBOYS
In retrospect, I didn't really incorporate a great deal of moss. These were fun to draw, though, and that's all that counts. Anyone seen the new Hellboy trailer?


Other Mignolites:
Josh 'Lobster' Billings
Leo 'The Brazillian Devil' Matsuda
Steve 'Right Clockhand of Doom' MacLeod
Moro 'Kambodia HotHELL' Rogers

By the way, everyone is welcome to join the Chades Challenge. Every couple of weeks we choose a new subject based on a random pairing of an adjective and noun. We spend a few days sketching ideas, and post the brilliance on fridays.
Next week, Chades Challenge XI: sweaty bikers