A wealth of posts!

Just the way I like it. I guess it's Marty's doing.

This old LIFE mag photo caught my eye the other day. Hopefully it comes through as large as the one I uploaded.

Lovely Faux-Alpine Structures in the Hinterlands

View across from the Kenmore Bus Stop waiting for the 371 Express. Had to take public transit as the battery konked out. Left the interior light on. Oopsy-doopsy.

Yeah, I'm still around

Been here but lurking, got tired of Marty razzing (lol). Nothing new but trying to keep a roof over my head living on peanuts. Have a few freelance gigs, small but better than nothing. Waiting feedback on a possible return to my contract gig in a month, seems they POSSIBLY need my talents again . I'll wait and see. heres some sketchbook stuff with some Photoshop adjustments. Oh joy.

Tuesday Drwng

Felt tip...fer a friend (do you guys remember Scott McMahon?).

Happy Tuesday. I love Rick's drawings. It was great to see Jeff post something, too, wasn't it?

Now we need Thompson to come through! Ron, are you listening??

(Jimmy, Tom Moon, etc.: I've almost given up....)

Preview!

These are a couple of pieces I've just completed for a charity auction being done by PopCap.  They are done in watercolor and colored pencil.  They depict a couple of characters from PopCap games... Lex from the Bookworm games and Splork from Peggle.  I actually had a pretty good time working on them and I'm mostly happy with the way they came out.

Update: Replaced photo with high-res version that is in better focus.

Regrets, I have a few

One of those regrets is not making sure Thompson knew how to use the zoom feature on my camera before I threw Sticky Jim off the top of the Vasquez Rocks.
It makes it funnier the way it is.
Part Two is Ron and Jeff climbing the same point I climbed. It's good to see those years erased. Video is good.

What I Want To Do For A Living

Sit at home and work like this.

I heard Adam Carolla and Bald Bryan say that Thor sucked. Anyone see it that agreed with that bad opinion?
I take all my delayed gratification feature film enjoyment from Netflix. My preferred way to see a movie anyway.

Is it too early to start talking about Comic Con?

Comic Con!  Who's going?

DC movies

I'm not talking about the theatrical release of Green Lantern but the animated films that Warner has been churning out for a few years now.  Netflix has some of them available for instant streaming.

Overall the quality of the animation is a step above your typical TV production.  The writing isn't nearly as good as what was done on Batman the Animated Series or the Superman series done in the same style.  Big on fights and small on excuses to have them.  There is vertually nothing of a human scale in these things.  The ones I've seen (Green Lantern, Crisis on 2 Earths, Doomsday) are all just fight after fight with a bit of dialog between fighting set pieces.  There is the occasional bit of nice voice work (James Woods as Owl Man being a stand out).  Also, I should add that these cartoon are not for kids... the fighting is very violent rather than cartoony and Superman doesn't hesitate to hit girls.

It seems like they save the best animators for the critical fight scenes and scenes where things slow down enough for a minute or 2 of dialog are assigned to the less talented animators.

There is an exception to this... there is one collection called Captain Marvel vs. Black Adam, which is actually a collection of 4 shorts.  The title cartoon is pretty awful, but the following short features the Specter, and it's genuinely creepy.  After that was a Jonah Hex story that was very reminiscent of spaghetti westerns.  It was very violent and strumpet filled, but surprisingly satisfying for a cartoon.  Last up was a Green Arrow story that was fairly light and fun.  The witty banter was actually witty and by the end of the cartoon I was thinking "Hey, I never knew that I liked Green Arrow!"

Like a Fat Eli Wallach....

This is a cheat on so many levels: it's late, it's already been posted at Brush Pen Breakfast, etc.

But it's Buddy Hackett!!

I couldn't let this one go without sharing it, if only for Ellis's sake. From an episode of The Rifleman.

I also wrote some fascinating thoughts on Jeff Jones (who I always want to call Jeff Jonas!) in the comments section on his R.I.P. post below...Help straighten me out!

Green Lantern's Light!

I've watched this about 4 times just to hear that Lantern Oath and the big pay off.
Sounds like Geoffrey Rush on the narration.

Jeff's Super Duper Brushes- Thanks JEFF!

RightClickSave-Brushes
Don't left click. You'll get a bunch of ascii looking text.

Here's a page explaining installing tool presets....
Preset-How-To

Later...
The brushes are great! I've been dabbling with them. I'll do a little digital goodness tonight and share later.

The top color version I've got the line art on top level as I showed in that tutorial a month ago. Then you LOCK the transparency and color those lines. Deleting line with color if you choose.
Then the color layer is just playing with the cool brushes. Really dig the brushes.
I'll do something pure digital eventually.

Cork 58

Okay, here's the other one. Why do you all hate me?

We should do this at the Con.

javascript:void(0)

A Jones Strip-

 

A sad day ...

One of art's true giants,

Jeffrey Catherine Jones,

passed away early this

morning. She leaves

behind a jaw-dropping

body of work, images of

which she so graciously

shared on Facebook.

I loved the comment

one of her friends posted:

God must need some art lessons.

My sketchbook drawing

Here's the drawing I've done for the same sketchbook that Jeff did his piece for.

Cork 57

I've been sitting on two newly completed Corks for the last week so here's the first one. I'll post the other either tomorrow or the following day. This one's another in the "Stalk the Rodent" series.

Autism Sketchbook

Hey Peeps!!

Long time...no post. Well I'm back to post my sketch for Brad's Autism Sketchbook. No trees were harmed in the making of this artwork. Digital goodness.

The real reason I haven't posted in a while is because Scott scares me. No really.

Draw Your Vision!

Click on the link to read about a CNN-sponsored contest to draw your vision of the next big thing for humanity. It's being held in honor of Kennedy's "Land-a-Man-on-the-Moon-by-the-End-of-the-Decade" challenge to Congress. A selection of the submissions will be featured on CNN.

Turning off Line art layer makes a painting

Added a crosseyed 3D snowflake. Click headline for more

Bizarre story of Attack of 50 foot woman actress' death

Click Headline. Yvette Vickers. I saw attack of 50 foot woman just a month or so ago.

I do believe the Autism Con sketchbook deadline has come due.

If you had something done. Send it to Brad Constantine. I notice he has a SOE email. Hopefully that still works for him.
I did a dual drawing. This same drawing is on the Ratfist fan art page. But I did it with the Autism book in mind.

Mugshot and Knots

I decided I needed to learn to tie knots. I knew I had a boy scout manual that showed the how to of every knot known to man. Started looking for it a month ago. Found it today. Under my nose of course.

Who am I reading now?

Re posted a sketch that disappeared. And a fragment of the book I'm reading now.

TZ Day early-Run Around Whippet

"The Odyssey of Flight 33" is the proper title.
Really funny to look at after 20 or more years. The whole series is on Netflix Streaming.
They have a POV shot of accurate aerial photography of a wooded area, cut to a reaction shot of the cabin crew, cut to a table top set with a stop motion animated brontosaur that looks completely fake.
Jack H Harris, Dinosaurus! FX, did the bronto. Probably the same model.

Random Creeple

I've got a bit of a system now... sketch in pencil on the bus, ink when ever I get a moment at home.  I'm playing with how far out I can get an make them feel like they belong to the same world, both in their structure and their clothing.  No final goals in sight... just havin' some fun.
Creeple ©2011 Rick Schmitz

Nearsighted Comics is still around!

I'm still pumping these things out.  Not many folks are reading it, but occasionally I think I come up with something that is kinda funny, like this one.

Cork 56

Making up for lost Cork drawin' time this month I guess. Here's another. Poor little rat-like bastard.

Head Drawing for Carlo

Hello Art Lovers! (sorry, I just love that greeting)

Friend Carlo came over Saturday and filmed me for a little instructional piece on drawing the head (the basic version). These were my sign-off drawings: proof you can invent a head from any angle, provided you're bold enough to not care if your drawing looks silly.

When the video is posted, you'll be the first to know--and laugh!

Yay!

The Compound is where Osama died. I love the reality vs the myth. The guy had his own private Central Park. Vs living in a cave. They were playing kinect games and eating pheasant. Anything that was luxury, he no doubt had. But he didn't quite get a decades worth.

Check out "Photos" in blue type under Zawahiri

Of course it was eventually corrected

Doodle is something I was screwing around with about the same time I saw the internet news on Bin Laden. I updated it with some liquification push around. The nose was bugging me too much to leave it.

BOOKHOUSE STATION

Comments? Crits? How do the values seem to you?

Thanks a whole heap, and in advance!