Ahggghhhh!!!

This page has links to several interesting articles on sound effects in film. The most interesting is the famous, frequently-used cry known as "The Wilhelm Scream". It's been used in everything from "Star Wars" to "Toy Story" to "Beauty and the Beast". It's become sort of an in-joke among soundmen, and a funny cliche to stick into your films. PT, we're definitely using this for Telegraph Road.

Jack Mackson FINAL

jackmackson_final
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

Okay, so hours and hours later, here's the (basically) final version of this week's I'm Sorry, I'll Draw That Again strip. Why I think I can crank out a full page pencilled, inked, coloured, and lettered comic on deadline, I have no idea.

Anyway, click the image to go to the Flickr page where you can see it at full size. (Or just click here for the full size version.)

The experiment this week was to work from a photo reference. My good buddy Jason was happy to put on a too-small jacket and wield a pistol from the Dollar Store. Unfortunately, I had no idea what the script was going to be, so we just shot a series of semirandom pictures, and then I muddled over them until I came up with what you see here.

You can see the original photo layout here, laid out in the wonderful Comic Life program. I may try to lay out a whole comic in this program sometime.

You can see the pencils for Jack Mackson here.
The inks are here. They actually look pretty neat.
The colour layer is sort of fun to look at by itself, and can be found here.
Kit's ISIDTA offering is here. Oo, zombies!

Today's Beaver and Steve has a wonderful quote on making comics.
"Drawing a comic is a lot like passing a particularly uncomfortable stool. You strain and struggle with it for hours and hours, occasionally breaking down and weeping like a child, until eventually, with a grunt of relief, it's done. And though you might worry that it's pretty small for the amount of effort you put into it, and you're not sure it really ought to be that colour, you can't help but feel a swell of pride as you stand there looking down at the shining new creation you've brought into the world. Then you scan it in and put it on the internet."
Amen.

(If you aren't reading Beaver and Steve regularly, you should be.)

Jack Mackson pencils

Jack Mackson pencils
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

A little late this morning; I'm on vacation and overslept.

This week's experiment involved using photo references. Doesn't seem to have effected my poor ability to keep figures looking consistent.

Finished strip with captions will be up this afternoon when the ink's dried. Stay tuned.

One Gun Jackson

One Gun Jackson
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

In preparation for tomorrow's I'm Sorry, I'll Draw That Again entry, I had Jason pose for a couple of reference shots. He's the happiest gunman in town! Yippee!

Rolling Bomber Special

Many people probably know that I love Japanese popular culture, and particularly love the odd-sounding english names they come up with for attacks in pro wrestling and Godzilla-type movies. (Case in point, my fabulous wrestling move name generator, The Randominator.) Today I stumbled over this wonderful little short film from Japan that features some of that sort of fun. It's a parody of the Power Rangers, and hits that nail head on. Strangely enough, it also has a tinge of that Japanese sense of personal isolation that is so common in the culture. Anyway, if you know anything about the Power Ranger cliches, give it a try.

Rolling Bomber Special! Go!

Frosted Maggots

This site entertains me a great deal. I love it when people reinvent or reinterpret old characters or stories (like Kit did today for his ISIDTA entry), and this idea was stellar: Von Kreep made his "Cereal Killers" challenge, where he asked artists to illustrate spooky cereal boxes. Most of them were done in the classic cereal box art style, which as Cartoon Brew points out, is some of the most inspirational art out there. Good stuff.

And speaking of Cartoon Brew, if anybody wants to get me a present, I just looked at the Cartoon Brew author's new book, Cartoon Modern, and it's fabulous. Thanks!

ISIDTA Week 2: My New Monitor

ISIDTA Week 2: My New Monitor
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

I'm still doing the research for the continuation of the AWA strip, so this week I just tried an experiment in panel arrangement and drawing real objects. I just bought a new Mac Pro system, with a 30" HD Cinema Display. It's so big, it won't fit on either of my computer desks, so I'm relegated to just sitting it on my big worktable. This strip was the first thing I created on my new system.

I did thumbnails in my official ISIDTA Moleskine notebook, then used a ruler and a pyrex baking dish to lay out the pencils on Bristol board. I inked the drawings using this amazing Tachikawa #44 nib that Jackson got me (I'm going to try the fabled Deleter G-Pen, but I can't imagine how it could be better than the Tachikawa; this thing feels like an extension of my hand!) The panel borders were done with a bamboo dip pen, which makes a surprisingly smooth and nicely thick line. The whole thing was scanned into Photoshop and hastily coloured using the Wacom tablet.

You can see the full size strip here, and the bare inks here.
As always with the ISIDTA challenge, you can see Kit's submission here.

PCQOTD : 11-22-06

Plebian:
"Badder than old King Kong."

Erudite:
"Are you happy? Are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat."


Just for the record, I don't think anybody will get this Connection. Well, Wade might, or Larry. But this is a hard one, only accessible to those privy to a certain realm of knowledge.

PCQOTD : 11-21-06

Plebian:
"Come aboard, we're expecting you."

Erudite:
"Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb."

PCQOTD : 11-20-06

Plebian:
"Through early morning fog I see visions of the things to be."

Erudite:
"I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me me."

PCQOTD : 11-17-06

Plebian:
"Or simple as do-re-mi."

Erudite:
"And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me."

PCQOTD : 11-16-06

Not feeling it today.

I'm Sorry, I'll Draw That Again

awa001_72_straight
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

So Kit FitzSimons and I have decided to challenge each other to produce a webcomic each and every Wednesday morning (so tune in each week for that...er, this.) We're calling our little challenge, our little publishing company, what have you, "I'm Sorry, I'll Draw That Again". It seems to fit our...idiom.

And here is my first effort. It's not finished yet, but as Kit has reminded me, we need to stick to our deadlines and have something up, no matter what state it's in. I've promised myself I'd have my piece up by 10:00 am today (and Kit, it WAS up by 10:00...on Flickr. I'm still composing this blog entry at 10:01.)

This has no title yet, because the title is supposed to be the climax that is revealed in the fourth panel. Buuuuut, the fourth panel is empty. Because I haven't drawn it yet. I also haven't coloured the piece yet. I'll try to get that done tonight, with any luck, and will make another post then.

This is my first attempt at drawing a comic since I was, well, maybe 10 or so. (I think I still have that monstrosity laying about somewhere. If I can find it, I'll post it here.) I've been reading scads of books about writing/drawing/inking/lettering/making comics for years, but thanks to the TedKit Challenge, I've finally gotten my ass and made an attempt. It's no great art, but it's a start, and that's what ISIDTA is all about.

The initial idea was sketched out on the back of a magazine at Time Out, as well as in my Official ISIDTA Sketchbook. I then pencilled it on Bristol board (good move) with a red pencil (bad move--next time, use a soft pencil and then erase the pencil lines). I scanned it into the computer (need to do a better job of that next time) and made the borders in Photoshop (I hate PS's line tools; maybe do those in FreeHand next time?). The lettering was done in Photoshop, using Blambot's "WebLetterer" font.

You can see the strip bigger here. A closeup of on of the panels can be seen here. Click the "original sizes" link to see it even bigger.
And you can check out Kit's side of ISIDTA here.

Let the TedKit Challenge continue! Long live I'm Sorry, I'll Draw That Again!

PCQOTD : 11-15-06

Plebian:
"Never heard the word impossible. This time, there’s no stopping us."

Erudite:
"Shazbot."

PCQOTD : 11-14-06

I just realized that, since I was sick on Friday, I missed a momentous event. November 10th marked the one year anniversary of the Popular Culture Quote Of The Day here on The Transmutation effect. Here's the very first one. A whole year of (hopefully) entertaining your brain. Furthermore, yesterday, November 13th, was the TWO year anniversary of the print version of the Popular Culture Quote OF The Day that I do here at work (it just includes the Plebian version). One year and two years, right next to each other. Now somebody buy me a chocolate croissant with a candle in it.

First Online Plebian:
"You cannot break the spirit of a Winchester."

First Paper Plebian:
"If you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce, it tastes much more like prunes than rhubarb does."

Regular Ol' Plebian:
"Neat, sweet, a groovy song."

New Erudite For First Online Plebian:
"Objection! Incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial!"

New Erudite For First Paper Plebian:
"Your money or your life!....Well?"
"I'm thinking it over!"

Erudite For Regular Ol' Plebian:
"His brain is gone."

Anamination Is Cool

Beavis and Butthead were never a favourite of mine, but some of it grows on you, much though you try to resist. I find myself doing Cornholio impressions on occasion. ANYWAY, this episode is about animation, which is an interest of mine, and it amused me.

PCQOTD : 11-13-06

Plebian:
"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Erudite:
"Little souvenir from the old home town. I spared no expense to make you feel right at home."

Hangin' With Jackson

lomo01
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

Courtesy of the very creative Jackson Hall, we have here another set of photos taken at Fenario with the Russian LOMO camera. This camera takes some very spooky pictures at night, and Fenario is an amazing location out in the wilds of NC54, so we get interesting sinister telephone wires and long trails of automobile lights. Highly recommended that you view these at their original size to get the full effect.

Complete set is here.

Yes, It Blends!

This series of videos amuses the heck out of me. They're basically just commercials for some brand of blender, but they're so damn clever and the guy plays it so straight, you just can't help watching them over and over again. I own a blender that I never use, but if I were in the market for a blender, I'd buy a Blendtec just because their commercials amuse me.

I started with the golf ball video, m'self.

PCQOTD : 11-9-06

Plebian:
"Women are more dangerous than shotguns."

Erudite:
"The only arithmetic he ever got was hearing the referee count up to ten."

Where's Lucky?

Mom, by Jackson Hall
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

So my friend Jackson came back into town briefly on Sunday, and called me up. I went up to his place and helped him do some he-man stuff, like sawing wood for a sawhorse. We decided we should start a tv show called "Well That's Not Right!" about two inept geeks who try to do construction projects based on instructions they download from the internet. ('Cause basically, that's what was going on. In our first attempt, we ended up with a beautiful sawhorse for a midget.) We then went in and had a wonderful dinner of Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee pizza. Just fabulous.

The MOST fabulous part of the evening, however, is what you see to the right. Jackson painted this amazing picture for my birthday. (Click the pic to see it bigger.) I'm astounded. The house in the background is the classic Fisher-Price "blue and yellow" house, which he painted in full colour and then washed over until it faded into the background.

Brilliant. Finest birthday gift I've ever received. This is the kind of thing bourgeois hipsters in California pay $500 for. I've always wanted something like this, and Jackson created a work of art worthy of praise from the Fisher-Price gods.

Another view of the painting can be seen here.

Thank you, Mr. Hall.

PCQOTD : 11-8-06

Plebian:
"A knight without armor in a savage land."

Erudite:
"I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine."

PCQOTD : 11-7-06

Plebian:
"I'm laughing at clouds so dark up above."

Erudite:
"London, Hamburg, Paris, Rome. Rio, Hong Kong, Tokyo. L.A., New York, Amsterdam. Monte Carlo, Shard End, and. "

PCQOTD : 11-6-06

Plebian:
"Have it your way."

Erudite:
"What does an actor want with a conscience anyway?"

Entertainment Of The Day

This is my latest timewaster, or as I prefer to call it, "mood soother". It's a simple, fun, creative, noncompetitive game that I find quite relaxing. They call it "Paintball: The Game" (I guess because you paint a path for the ball to follow), but I prefer to refer to it as "that line game". You can read the instructions if you want, or ignore the completely wrong guide on the screen below the actual game, but basically what you do is use your mouse to draw lines on the screen to guide the red ball to the red rectangle, then hit the spacebar to drop the ball. There's no one way to solve any particular puzzle, and you can try over and over again with no penalty. I love little physics-esque puzzles games like this (which is odd, since I got a D in Physics).

PCQOTD : 11-3-06

Plebian:
"I find it very, very easy to be true."

Erudite:
"Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar."

ZombieSportz

For those of you who would like to see PT Scarborough's Night Of The Living Improv, I've posted it to YouTube. Enjoy Halloween improv comedy here:

Part The One
Part The Two

PCQOTD : 11-2-06

Plebian:
"Would you be mine? Could you be mine?"

Erudite:
"Actor. Singer. Dancer. Model....Canadian."

Tat-tacular Halloween

Zombie porn is always interesting. Suicide Girls is always well-done, well-photographed, with interesting women, and interesting ideas. This layout is quite creative and amusing.

PCQOTD : 11-1-06

Plebian:
"In your satin tights, fighting for your rights, and the old Red, White, and Blue!"

Erudite:
"Four men, living all together, yet they were all alone"