RIFT concept art

-Justin Sweet



Here's a little dollop of concept art I did for an online  role playing called RIFT, PLANES OF TELARA. I've done a lot of work for these guys over the last few years. Great fun to work on.

Brian Froud Exhibit in NYC

For those of you in New York City this Friday night (or in the coming months), Check out this show!



LECTURE: The World of Froud: An Evening with Brian, Wendy and Toby Froud



Friday, December 2nd  6:30 - 8:30pm Society of Illustrators 128 East 63rd Street, NYC 212-838-2560



The Society of Illustrators, in conjunction with the Animazing Gallery exhibit World of Froud: Visions for Film & Faerie, is hosting an evening of Q & A with the Froud family, the pre-eminent Faerie artists of our time.



The discussion will be moderated by Heidi Leigh, owner of Animazing Gallery, and will be followed by a book signing and cocktail reception. Please note, only books purchased at the Society of Illustrators will be signed.



$20 non-members, $15 members, $10 students



And for those of you who cannot make the lecture, the Animazing Gallery will host the exhibit through February: The largest collection of the works of Brian, Wendy & Toby Froud ever to be exhibited in the US opens at the Animazing Gallery in Soho, New York City this Friday, December 2. This extraordinary show and sale features many rarely or never before seen paintings, drawings and sculpture that span over four decades. Also included in this magnificent show are concept art and props from Jim Henson's classic fantasy films, THE DARK CRYSTAL and LABYRINTH, for which Brian was the Conceptual Designer. if you are a lover the work of the Frouds, this is the show you do not want to miss. A beautiful, full color catalog and exhibition poster (seen here) are available for sale at the gallery, as well as the works themselves.



Here's the link to the Exhibition's web page for all of the event details: http://www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/2011FROUD/index.html  

David Grove, An Illustrated Life

Gregory Manchess



The book I’ve been waiting to hold in my hand for so many years is finally available.



One of the most admired, respected, and imitated illustrators--though with very few notable results--who’s career has spanned contemporary classic American illustration, up to and competing with the current digital wave, David Grove has written about his quite unique and rather exciting life as an artist, filled to it’s beautifully designed brim with his finest pieces.

In his own words, David describes his early ambitious drive, from penniless apartments in Paris, to the top of the field in the States. This is a fascinating insightful plunge, not only into his particular thoughts about painting, but a viscous visual travel log along the inner workings of a successful illustrator’s life.

Like a character dreamt up by an author working as both travel-writer and espionage agent, David refuses to abide by the image of the typical struggling artist. Along the way we learn about his close friends and associates, his observations, his undying love of music, and an unconventional streak that runs counter to accepting any lifestyle that wasn’t completely unique.



I’ve known David’s work since I was a student, most fortunate to stumble into a five-week illustration course taught by him and offered at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Bright, humorous, and helpful, I’d never met a teacher so willing to share information that actually worked, that I could actually use to improve and understand my own paintings. The way he laid down paint, the way he thought about subjects that interested him, the way he designed the most subtle object in a composition, were the guiding idiosyncrasies that pushed my own efforts to succeed.

This book is a broad spectrum of David’s career, but it’s the killer artwork that pushes you along from page after full-color, exquisite page of near perfect reproductions of his work. (I know--I’ve studied the originals over the years.)

We get to watch him grow, evolve, succeed, and finally describe, in example after example, an eccentric desire to narrate a world in pictures.



The book is available online from Norfolk Press: David Grove, An Illustrated Life.

Wynn Reichert in "Way Far Gone"

Wynn Reichert stars in this Nashville-produced feature film that was a Showcase Selection this past for the Lucerne International Film Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland.

A meth-head English teacher, a mysterious wig-wearing woman, and a trio of redneck, drug-dealing brothers get their sex,drugs and violence all mixed together.

Way Far Gone Trailer - Feature-length film from Rough Customer Films on Vimeo.

See more HERE.

- Lena

Frederick Trevino's "The New Position"

Our new friend Frederick Trevino is an award-winning filmmaker living in Brooklyn, New York. He received a B.F.A in Film/Video from the University of Texas and is certified in Final Cut Pro, Color, Compressor, Motion, and Soundtrack Pro.

His films have been shown in multiple festivals including, The New Filmmakers Film Festival and Texas Show where his film, Sing For Me, won the Audience Favorite Award. Throughout his film career, Frederick has worked as a director, editor, and colorist. His color work has screened at such highly esteemed locations as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. Also, he has worked with a long list of accredited studios, such as: Riding Hood Motion Pictures, Third Man Productions, TVtropolis Canada, and Killer Films.

Frederick's extensive software knowledge includes all RED apps as well as a deep understanding of the various RED workflows.

As a filmmaker, he prefers personal, thoughtful films and film influences include Cassavetes, Godard, Coppola, Welles, Scorcese, Kurosawa, Bresson, Teshigahara, Burnett, Maysles and Bergman to name a few.

Here is his latest short, the incredible and subtle The New Position, which was on a Best of Fest tour.

An phone sex interviewer and a woman turning back from the verge of prostitution meet in a formal yet awkward, and destructive job interview.

Written & directed by Frederick Trevino.

The New Position from Frederick Trevino on Vimeo.

- Lena

Society of Steam: Hearts of Smoke and Fire

By Justin



I don't often get a chance to share much of my client work since a lot of it is NDA. (My employers have made it clear that they can and will send robot bears from the future to kill me if I breathe a word of what I do for them on the blog here...)



Today's post is a happy exception.  It is on Book 2 of the Society of Steam Series: Hearts of Smoke and fire.  I did this cover for Lou Anders at Pyr Books. It is part of a series of books by Andrew Mayer and it has been a ton of fun to work on.

Thumbnail

 Digital Comp

 Tight Drawing

Watercolor and Gouache on Bristol

 Digital (Photoshop) over Watercolor 

Final Design

Ask the AD

Illustrator Sam Weber hosts a radio show every Wednesday called 'Your Dreams, My Nightmares'

He was supposed to interview Art Director Irene Gallo last week, but had to postpone it due to unforeseen circumstances. The interview will instead take place this Wednesday, the 30th, 8pm EST.

Sam Weber's painting, commissioned by Irene Gallo

Not only is this a great chance to hear industry insights directly from the mouth of one of the top SFF ADs in the world, but it's also a chance to ask your own questions! Want to know how many pieces you should put in a portfolio? Or perhaps where the best place to meet an AD is? Just ask! Sam will be checking the comments section of this post, so leave your questions for Irene here.



Or, if you prefer, you can ask your questions directly. Sam take calls, so if you're interested in asking a question on the air the number is: 212.592.2345



You can listen live here, or via iTunes by downloading the WSVA internet audio stream.



If you like the show, consider subscribing via Itunes.

An archive of past episodes can be found here.

You can also reach them via twitter and facebook.

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

I've been a H.P. Lovecraft fan ever since I read "The Dunwich Horror" when I was twelve years old.  I know that I should have posted this around Halloween but maybe your turkey has grown tentacles after sitting in the refrigerator for too long! Here's a compelling documentary on Snag Films.



Snag Films link: Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

200 Russian Painters

Here is a chance to get up close and personal with some of Russia's best art, both classical and modern. This website has a gallery of nearly a thousand works of art, by over 200 different Russian artists, all presented in high resolution.



I'm going to warn you, this site is a major time sink. You're sure to find some of your favorite works of art there, as well as a ton of new artists that will quickly become favorites too. It's a good thing most of you have the day off!



http://en.gallerix.ru/album/200-Russian

Happy Thanksgiving

Wynn Reichert in "Falls the Shadow"

Our very own Wynn Reichert stars in the post apocalyptic "Falls The Shadow" had it's premiere on November 17th at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville. Below is the trailer, and an exciting article in Nashville Scene Magazine:



Here is the article from Nashville Scene:

Indie Shocker Falls the Shadow the zombie hordes to Music City

On a Sunday night at Watkins College of Art, Design and Film, Steven Berryessa is feeling a filmmaker's version of labor pains. After an 18-month gestation, just one final test screening stands between his debut feature, Falls the Shadow, and its premiere Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Belcourt. The inclination toward endless tweaking is familiar to anyone in Nashville's creative class, but Berryessa knows it can't go on forever.

"If you don't say 'it's done' at some point, you'll never make another film," he says, before he and the assembled cast and crew settle in for one last look.

The just-about-finished product combines a post-apocalyptic tale of good vs. evil like The Book of Eli with the threat of zombie infestation. As if the end of the world weren't distressing enough, Falls the Shadow imagines a scenario where few more than the cockroaches among us remain. (The point man for evil in the film is a Rev. Phelps, if that gives you any idea.)

Although it was entirely shot in and around Nashville, the director offers a word of reassurance to city boosters and those with a stake in the tourism industry: Shooting a post-apocalyptic film in Music City was a challenge.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

Congrats to Wynn!

- Lena

25 Free classified sites-Post free ads without registration and signup

25 best classifieds sites of year 2013 where you can instantly post free free ads without being asked for registration and signup 

Want to post free ads without registration? Are you looking for classified sites that don't ask for signup or registration? This classifieds list is ideal for you since it has all the best and greatly popular ad posting sites where you can post free ads without registration! Your ads will be instantly approved. The list is fresh,recent,up to date as for 2013!

In this free classifieds directory list you will find all the top listed best and biggest  major free ad posting web sites in the world for any online advertising category and type. List of free classifieds web sites for local as well as global free ad posting for your online advertisement campaigns to promote your online as well off-line products,website, blogs etc. The 200+ ad posting classifieds directory sites listed in this useful list are the ones among the top best and most popular 1000 + free classifieds directory sites for 50+ countries ( that have most of the ad posters user base) all over the  world including US, UK,India, Europe, Australia,Africa,Japan,Italy, etc. 
Post free ads on any on these ad posting sites and make a big difference to your online advertising campaigns and brand promotion for any type of product in any category. All the free classifieds sites in this top list offer quick,easy, and free online ad posting facilities.

Whether you are an Ad seeker,advertiser,Ad poster, Webmaster, online affiliate marketer, blogger, or an online publisher, you can't just afford to ignore posting free ads on these well established and popular online advertising means of online promotion.

Use these top 20 free classified ad posting directory sites to post free ads without any registration-signup required. Ad Posting without registration-signup on these classified sites makes ad posting as an Easy, Quick, Straight, To the point, and fast process! post free ads without registration and promote your online products as fast as you can !!

List of free classified websites without registration or sign up required


Here in this list i have listed to only those top free classifieds ad posting web directory websites that say "no- registration, no-sign up needed to post free ads"  In these 20 free classifieds sites you won't be asked to register and no sign up is needed, though after ad posting you may need to check your mailbox and click on the link to confirm the ad posting ( this is required to stop spamming as well as any unauthorized ad posting on your behalf ! )
I have myself checked all the 20 listed classifieds directory websites that really don't ask for a signup or registration from you for posting classified ads and they all are free ad posting websites. Though, their future policy can't be predicted regarding the registration/signup requirement. Some websites in starting used to offer ad posting without registration and after some time they had to go for 'signup' required as they started receiving spam, flagging issues. 

If you happened to post free ads on several classified websites then Signup and registration process could be very annoying and cumbersome-but if 25+ good classifieds websites are enough for your ad posting project, then this list of 25+ free classified ad posting sites is surely meant to help you stay cool ;)

  

Use this top best list to post free ads without registration

Classified sites list without login and registration-

Get more classified sites that allow ad posting without registration from this list:

Free Classifieds list in India Without Registration

Please let me know how do you find this list of free classified websites.Your suggestions,comments are all welcome. If you know any other classified sites that do not ask for any signup or registration from users(and they are good enough to post ads) then please put in your comments-i will surely update that in this classified list.

Related Posts

#1 10 best online advertising types, tips, tricks, techniques

#2 Post free ads on Best 100 Indian classifies sites 

#3 Post free ads on 100 best global classifieds

By Jesper Ejsing











I was asked by the fine people at ImagineFX if I wanted to do a workshop article for the traditional part of the magazine. I was honnored and jumped right in.

Because of the nature of the article, I had to scan the painting during the process. Something I rarely do but often have wanted to. All the time I promissed myself to scan a painting I got carried away midway and forgot to scan for an hour or two, thus destroying any chance of progression steps. Well; today I have a step by step.

If you want to read the whole article please buy the magazine. But here is some of the snaps from the progress: All was done in about 10 hours.

The original is about 20 x 25 cm. on a home-made illustration board.

Irene Gallo on Your Dreams My Nightmares

-By Sam Weber



This Wednesday, November 23rd at 8pm EST, I'll be interviewing Irene Gallo. You can listen live here, or via iTunes by downloading the WSVA internet audio stream.



We take calls, so if you're interested in asking a question on the air the number is: 212.592.2345

If any readers want to leave questions or topics in the comments of this post, I'll be sure to check in tomorrow afternoon and discuss anything of interest on the air.



If you like the show, consider subscribing via Itunes.

An archive of past episodes can be found here.

You can also reach us via twitter and facebook.







Bandwidth is unfortunately limited, but I'll be sure to make the recording available as a download.

Your Dreams My Nightmares is an audio sided project hosted by Sam Weber, that airs live every Wednesday at 8pm on WSVA.

The Independent Critic Interviews Princeton Holt

The always fantastic Richard Propes of The Independent Critic just conducted an exclusive, in-depth interview with our CEO/producer Princeton Holt. Here it is after the jump:



One way or another, Princeton Holt was determined to make it in the film industry. The year was 2000, and Holt was on the verge of graduating from the New York Film Academy when he stepped out boldly and launched One Way or Another Productions LLC, a New York-based independent film production company that produces independent films, documentaries and online TV content. In 2005, Holt directed the acclaimed short film "Phish" and by 2008 had completed his first full-length feature film, the even more acclaimed "Cookies & Cream." It was during the Summer of 2008 that Holt landed a gig in the production office for television's "Law & Order: SVU" and had the opportunity to spend a season picking the brain of Executive Producer Ted Kotcheff. Holt left the show at the end of the season with a fierce determination to take what he learned and apply it to his own work in independent film. Holt began feverishly building a catalog of niche-specific, ultra indie projects that have without fail garnered considerable critical acclaim while building a reputation for quality and fiscal responsibility for One Way or Another Productions LLC. Holt is currently in post-production for his second directorial effort, "The 10 Commandments of Chloe" starring Naama Kates, and is now working just as feverishly as ever on putting the pieces together for his third film, "The Butterfly Chasers," based upon one of his earliest scripts while continuing to produce, cultivate and nurture the growing community of One Way or Another Productions, LLC.

THE INDEPENDENT CRITIC

Let's start off simple...Tell me about your latest film, "The Butterfly Chasers."

PRINCETON HOLT

"The Butterfly Chasers is a relationship comedy about 7 adults in NYC who are each at relationship crossroads. Each character is the ex or current husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend of another - that's how they are connected. It has some really good actors attached to it."

THE INDEPENDENT CRITIC

You're approaching funding for "The Butterfly Chasers" a bit differently in that you're using a hybrid of equity investors and crowdfunding. What made you explore this way of funding your film?

PRINCETON HOLT

"Well, necessity, really. It took us 5 years total to raise money for this film, and after getting so close to our full budget recently, we attempted to try to add crowd-funding to the mix. But we are approaching failure in the crowd-funding option, and that's based on a few technical things (like commitments from a couple people on our campaign team being unfulfilled because of unexpected changes in their lives, etc). We did everything else right - kept content going and fresh, constant updates to friends, family and associates, and our social media presence stayed strong. But outside of crowd-funding, we raised most of it through equity investors - the traditional way, and that is where I think we are best suited. Equity financing just simply works better for us - although it takes time. This past Kickstarter campaign just solidifies this for us, and I'm actually quite pleased with having that factual, proven information about us as a company." (Critic's Note: "The Butterfly Chasers" did not reach its Kickstarter goal, a campaign that had been primarily targeted at financing one additional "name" actor for the film).

THE INDEPENDENT CRITIC

You've populated your cast for "The Butterfly Chasers" with a combination of regular collaborators and known "names." You've proven with your previous films that you can make quality ultra-indie films by identifying and nurturing talent. What's making you reach inside Hollywood a bit this time?

See how Mr. Holt answered this question, and others in the full interview.

- Lena

Da Vinci and Attention Deficits

Wendy MacNaughton for NPR

In the upcoming book, Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image, Author and Historian, Toby Lester, reconstructs what Leonardo Da Vinci's daily life looked like by examining his journals. Lester claims Leonardo used to travel with a small notebook hanging from his belt, and "whenever something caught his eye," he would make a note, or begin "sketching furiously." Included in this notebook, a to-do list of things Leonardo wanted to accomplish throughout the week.

Artist's rendering by Wendy MacNaughton for NPR

The notebooks brings to light Leonardo's insatiable curiosity, as well as an immense lack of focus. Some experts, such as Jonah Lehrer, think that this lack of focus may actually have contributed to Da Vinci's creativity. In his upcoming book Imagine, How Creativity Works, Jonah states: "We live in an age that worships attention. When we need to work, we force ourselves to concentrate. This approach can also inhibit the imagination. Sometimes, it helps to consider irrelevant information, to eavesdrop on all the stray associations unfolding in the far reaches of the brain."



Jonah sites a recent study by Dr. Holly White, then at the University of Memphis, and her colleague Priti Shah, of the University of Michigan.



They recruited 60 undergrads, half of whom were diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). So these kids had real difficulty focusing and sticking to any one activity. All the students were then given a variety of creativity tests (including the Creative Achievement Questionnaire, originally developed by Shelley Carson at Harvard) and, surprisingly, the ADHD students generally got higher scores. When White asked, "Who among you has won a big part in a play, an art prize, a science prize?" — who has been recognized for his or her achievements out there in the real world — again it was the ADHD students who had done better.



The study suggests that minds that break free, that are compelled to wander, can sometimes achieve more than those of us who are more inhibited, more orderly.



Article via NPR

Seen & Noted

-by Arnie Fenner

Just moseying around the stores (brick & mortar and virtual), looking to see what people have been up to, is always rewarding: you never know what you're going to stumble across, but whatever it is, you're almost guaranteed to find something wonderful. So...here are a few items that caught my attention in the last few weeks.

Above: Travis Louie created this great cover for HPL's The Call of Cthulhu for Penguin.

Above: ArenaNet's maestro Daniel Dociu did the cover (and story interior illos) for the current issue of National Geographic.

Above: An appropriate-for-the-season homage to Leyendecker from Bill Stout's 2012 Zombie Calendar.

Above: Lee Moyer's pin-up tribute to "The Scarlet Letter" from his 2012 calendar, Check These Out.

Above: A very nice cover by Mark Maddox for the current issue of the long-running fanzine, Little Shoppe of Horrors.

Above: What's not to like? Hellboy cover and story by Mike Mignola with interior art by Richard Corben.

Above: With the Pixar John Carter of Mars movie coming in 2012, plenty of publishers have hopped on the ERB bandwagon. One of the most outstanding covers is this one by Kekai Kotaki.

Above: And finally, Tomer Hanuka's new art book is out. You know you gotta have one.