Dance with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight

Getting excited for Snyder and Capullo's take on the Joker. 

My favorite interpretation of the character has always been Bruce Timm's Joker performed by Mark Hamill. Just the right balance of folly and genuine menace.

5 days...

The Man with the Golden Pun

Since James Bond works with Q and M, I've always been curious what a completely alphabetized version of the Bond universe might look like.

Dr. O
Font Russia With Love
Live and Let "i"
On Her Majuscule's Secret Service
The "i" Who Loved Me
Runeraker
For Your "i"s Only
A "Q" to a Kill
License to Spell
Golden "i"
Die Another J

Frankly, the thought gives me irritable vowel syndrome.

007 days...

The Scotland Company

Have you ever wondered about the ancient beginnings of Scotland and how the first highlanders came to tame such a rugged land of myth and legend? Neither have we! But we decided to make up our own version of Scotland's origin anyway. 

In Thunderbird Theatre's The Scotland Company, I play Henry G. I. Scot, Official Royal Secretary of the Interior of the Common Wealth of Great Britain, Steward of the Interests of the etc, etc....

Together with his cadre of comical cohorts, Henry endeavors to uncover the great mystery that lies under all that plaid... 

Thunderbird is also running an indiegogo page for The Scotland Company. If you're a supporter of the arts, or just wanna be a producer, please donate here.

9 days...

Chades Challenge LXVIII: Captive Frontiersmen

A lot of people envy Captain Kirk, but I think that same charm that won over Shahna, the gladiatorial dominatrix from Triskelion, also attracted some much less savory attention. Way to boldly go where no man has gone before, Cap'n.

If you have any designs of your own, let me know and I'll post them below. As always, all are welcome to contribute! Otherwise, you can join in September 7th for...

CHADES CHALLENGE LXIX:

BITTER CHEERLEADERS

Vi-Dieu "Grizzly" Nguyen

11 days...

AT-AT for Atty

Congrats to my good pal and fellow Dandy, Dovi, who's son Atticus arrived late last night. For most literate folks, the name Atticus conjures the staunch integrity and courage of the hero in Harper Lee's classic. For me, however... 

Needless to say, baby Atty's already targeted the shield generator of my heart.

12 days...

Puppy Love

I think every amusement park, campsite, marina, and DMV should come with a "rent a puppy" kiosk.

13 days...

ParaNorman

Getting in the mood for ParaNorman with some zombie sketching. I heard the hero is based on a professor of mine from CalArts, Norman Klein. I always suspected Norman fought monsters in his spare time...

15 days... 

Whale Shark

 

For the longest time, researchers were baffled by the scorch marks found on whale sharks' lips.

Hope you guys had a fantastic Shark Week! Sea you next year!

18 days...

The Angel Shark

Not to be confused with the Angle Shark:

As I'm sure you know, the "Angle Shark Equation" is a²+c² = BE SCARED!

19 days...

Happy Birthday, Emma Coats!

At 11:59pm, made it with one minute to spare! Mirthy birthday ya Dandy!

20 days...

Tiger & Sand Tiger

Tiger Shark looked on in horror at his cousin Sand Tiger Shark and prayed for a Japanese fishing boat.

21 days...

Bramble Shark

My friends over at the Shark Week Sketch Jam are posting a shark a day for Shark Week. Yesterday's shark was the bramble shark.

I picture this fella as that very non-threatening guy who's always in a girl's "friend zone" and all he wants is a new set of fins.

22 days...

Shark Week!

Because there's no spray repellent for AWESOME.

0 days...HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

Chades Challenge LXVII: Spider-man's New Sidekick

I can't say I designed a character this week, more like I plussed my buddy Vi's design (see below). I liked his idea, and it immediately brought some ideas to mind. 

When researching Tarantulas, I came across this actual Spider-man villain, Tarantula. He has a mustache, but it's not nearly as mandibular as it should be!

If you have any designs of your own, let me know and I'll post them below. As always, all are welcome to contribute! Otherwise, you can join in August 24th for...

CHADES CHALLENGE LXVIII:

CAPTIVE FRONTIERSMEN

Vi-Dieu "The Highflyer" Nguyen's TARANTULA 

Everett "Big Diptera" Downing's FLYBOY

Austin "Jump Man" Reinkens' THE JUMPING SPIDER

I think it's safe to say that all of these designs are better and more appropriately-themed than Spider-man's official new sidekick, Alpha:

The kid's got electric powers, because y'know, spiders and electricity.

2 days...

"EVA?"

Looks like someone's curious about Curiosity.

Thanks to my dad, Michael Madison, for the idea!

3 days...

Thunderbird Theatre presents...

This October, writer Jake Rosenberg is making his stage debut with The Scotland Company, and I will be fortunate enough to play the lead, Mr. Henry G.I. Scot. I'm used to developing characters through pencil and paper, so I thought I'd do my first explorations of Henry as sketches.

I didn't want to limit myself to my physical appearance, I was more interested in the impression I got from the man on the script page. It made me curious. What sort of tea does he like?

Is he a pipe man...

 ...or a cigar man?

How athletic/competitive is he?

What is his ideal Sunday afternoon?

Sketching Henry made me a bit more acquainted with the fellow, and I can't wait to learn more about him!

4 days...

The Children's Creativity Museum

Last Saturday, I taught a storyboarding class for kids at the Children's Creativity Museum, nestled in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens.

We started the class with a few improv games outside to get everyone's creative juices flowing. Apparently kids dig playing outside--who knew!

When we came back inside, I explained story structure (using the most important film in cinema history as an example). We also discussed protagonists and antagonists, and why it's important to have contrast in those characters.

The children did an excellent job pretending to listen.

I told CCM that the class would be best suited for ages ten and up. Eight year old Allison weaseled her way in, and ended up being the best student in the class. Here Allison is explaining to me the components of a storyboard.

The kids came up to the whiteboard one at a time and created the hero of our own story, the bank-robber George "The Muscle Man" Jefferson. I created his antagonist, Det. Jimmy.

Using the formula I'd taught them at the beginning of class, we brainstormed the first act of a story. The students then had to storyboard acts two and three and pitch them to the class in groups.

I thumbnailed out my own version of the story on the whiteboard, to show them how to pitch.

Then the students went to work pitching their own boards.

My braintrust (the CCM faculty) chose their favorite pitch, and I drew pictures of George "Muscle Man" Jefferson and Det. Jimmy for the winning team.

In the end, everyone lived happily ever after!

If you're interested in visiting CCM, check out their website, Creativity.org. Ask for Heather, she's the best!

6 days...