Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

 "The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

I was just saying the other day how Steve Jobs is this generation's Walt Disney. Steve may not have been a filmmaker or professional storyteller, but like Walt, he was a visionary and a dreamer.

In 1986, Steve bought Lucasfilm's computer graphics division. The Graphics Group, which was soon renamed Pixar, was just another high-end software company at the time, working for medical and government agencies. Pixar would have most likely flourished as a tech company, but Steve could see that Ed Catmull and the other Pixar founders were still storytellers at heart. He took a chance, and invested in his friends' dreams.

Thanks in part to Steve's vision and support, Pixar is now the most successful animation company in the world. The culture here at Pixar still reflects much of Steve's forward-thinking, trail-blazing attitude.

Thanks for your brilliance and generosity, Mr. Jobs. I think I'm going to go order an iPad now.

Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech to Stanford University: 

"How to Live Before You Die"

24 days...

"Persist" on KCRW

My little letter to Willie Downs' Animator Letters Project got some air time this week on KCRW. Check out their website to listen to the whole show, which includes an interview with Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter (unfortunately not related to my portion of the show).

On a completely unrelated note: Happy Birthday, Mom (she's the one on the left)!

My mom loves Halloween, so my brother made a "Halloween tree" for her a few years ago. I've made it a tradition of getting her a new tree decoration each year on her birthday. If you guys have any good ideas for  this year's Halloween decoration, leave a comment! Grazie!

26 days...

CHADES CHALLENGE LIX: FERAL SPIRITS

"He's looking at me, Ray."

Slimer may not be "feral" in the wilderness sense, but he's not your typical domestic specter, either. Really, I'm just excited about the upcoming theatrical rerelease of Ghostbusters. Plus, Slimer is fun to draw.

If you have any feral spirits, let me know and I'll post them below. Otherwise, you can join us October 7th for:

CHADES CHALLENGE LX:

JUBILANT VAN HELSING

 Adam "The Goats with the Most" Rosette

Guillermo "Dances with Wolves" Martinez

Tim "Teen Spirit" Luecke

Austin "Spirit Animal" Reinkens

Colleen "Mad Tea Party" Madden

Zane "Teen Spirit" Yarbrough

36 days...

The Adventures of Batman and the Bloser

As promised, here is the season three premiere of Dick Figures, complete with their new nemesis, the maniacally monochromatic mastermind, Earl Grey (voiced by yours truly).

 

Thanks to my pals Zack Keller and Ed Skudder for letting me contribute a character to their sick little world. I'd love to make this guy a reoccurring villain, so be sure to leave plenty of YouTube comments demanding more Earl Grey. Hot.

39 days...

Dick Figures, Season Three

This Thursday, the world as we know it will forever be changed by the season three premiere of YouTube's No. 1 animated series, Dick Figures.

This Thursday, folks. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll hear my awful British accent.

42 days...

Sounds Crazy, Let's Do It!

My friend Emma is a compulsive filmmaker. I enable this expensive habit of hers in my own small way, by animating the title bumpers for her production company, "Sounds Crazy, Let's Do it! Films". Her latest endeavor, Sweetpea, is currently up for funding on Kickstarter. Most of the production cost goes to my exorbitant fee for these bumpers. Please contribute so SCLD FiIms can continue to have the highest quality animated titles. Thank you. 

Bumper for Hitchhiker:

Bumper for Horizon:

Can't wait to animate the bumper for Sweetpea. I'm thinking shark rodeo...

47 days...

CHADES CHALLENGE LVIII: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Let's face it, the whole thing was the hat's fault. While we're on the subject, is it just me or does the sorting hat bear a striking resemblance to Oogie Boogie? Okay, it's not just me.  

If you have any contributions, let me know and I'll post them below. Or you can join in September 23rd for: 

CHADES CHALLENGE LIX: FERAL SPIRITS  

Guillermo "First Class" Martinez

Colleen "Homeroom" Madden

Sara "Senioritis" Babbitt

52 days...

UNPOWDERED TOOOOAST!!!

My friend Nicole asked me to do a painting for her kitchen. The only requirement was that the piece be food-themed. It was either this or a banana in a hammock.

0 days...First Day of School!

The Rogues Gallery

There's been a lot of Marvel/DC movie news on the interwebs this week and it's had me on a superhero drawing kick.

I've always been a fan of Spidey's black outfit. Better silhouette and a lot more arachnid.

Of course, the outfit looks even better on Venom.

It's a shame they put a mask on Willam Dafoe. He'd have been much scarier with just a little bit of the Weta orc makeup.

The Vulture. Keep calm and carrion.

Your mind would be warped, too, if your diet consisted primarily of roadkill.

My second favorite superhero, The Man of Steely Gazes.

I think this was an inadvertent rip-off of an Alex Ross piece.

I'm surprised no one's done Bizarro in a feature film. He'd be a terrific tragic villain...

...especially if he has the proper backing.

Who wants to see this buddy comedy?

Killer Croc's always fun because, like The Lizard, he's basically half way to drawing a dinosaur.

They're like an old married couple, aren't they?

Two-Face. Who says he has to always be pissed off?

And finally, the distinguished Mr. Cobblepot. He uses his bird conservation efforts as a front for his criminal empire, but the truth is he can't stand birds. "There's bird shit everywhere! It's like nature's white out!!"

Hope you enjoyed this deluge of drawings. Happy Labor Day everyone! Three day weekend coming up, and that's cause for a cigar.

4 days...

Thor Loser

This Summer, I had a drawing bet going with fellow animators Scott Clark and Angus MacLane. The wager was which was going to be the better Marvel film: Captain America or Thor. The loser had to draw the winner's superhero defeating their own in an all-out brawl.

I liked both movies, and while I thought Thor was the better of the two, I can't ignore the objective Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores. So here are my drawings for Angus and Sclark.

Rest assured, I'll be back next year for Batman vs. The Avengers!!

7 days...