Eowyn and the Nazgul... REMINDER!

If you guys haven't been keeping up with the Eowyn challenge, you're missing out!



We are just about half way through the deadline, and the first round of crits starts tomorrow. If you haven't started yet, it's not too late! You still have today to get a rough sketch in for critique.



Go over to Art Order now, and take a peek at what you've been missing:

Painting by Craig J Spearing

Two in One

By Jesper Ejsing

Today I want to share with you a painting that is actually two paintings. I did the Troll and the Ranger with only one other painting in between, and when I finished I realized that they were almost identical in colors and themes: I placed the 2 boards next to each other and broke out laughing. They fit completely together- in Photoshop i blended the board edges and voila! One painting.

It is actually a bit embarrassing. This way I found out that I am a lazy bastard that doesn’t even mix paint but use the same bottles and colors straight out the tubes. If I do not think about i tit seems I tap into the same theme of colors for woods, doesn’t it.

Seeing these two together made me realize that from now on I needed to be sure of a color theme before I begin. The first idea is usually not the best...it seems. From now on I try a bit more before settling on an idea. Keeping away from the first idea or at least twisting it or bending it is my rule from now on.

"Delivery"

Never say never. That's one of the things I remember learning most in the last year or so. After producing so many feature films and dealing with distribution (both traditional and self), I used to tell people that I didn't do shorts anymore. I didn't see the point of it; it's really difficult to monetize them,and the cost of a well made short is now equal to the cost of what it would take for you to produce a feature.

I forgot about a few things, when blurting out my "proclamation." A good reason to make a short is to practice - to keep yourself sharp in the director's chair. This way, less is at stake, and you can gather some friends and you can all learn together.

Most importantly, an idea sometimes just works better in short form. In this event, you realize it doesnt take a full length film to explore the themes and characters. I also like to think of this particular project as a test of sorts, a small slice of life about characters that may in time, warrant a further, more lengthy exploration of the story in feature length form. This short film is that kind of gauge.

Here's just a little bit about the short I just wrapped, called Delivery, followed by a behind the scenes photo album. - Princeton

"Delivery"

A curious delivery man breaks the golden rule by getting involved in the personal lives of his customers.

Genre: Drama
Approx. Length: 25 minutes
Status: Post-Production
Company: One Way or Another Productions

Cast:
John Greer as Tim
David Vaughn as Peter
Kelsey Law as Julie

Crew:
Director of Photography: Josh Ickes, Christopher C. Odom
Production Sound: Nathan Rogers
Production Assistant: Nathan Rogers
Associate Producer: Kelly Smith
Producers: John Greer, David Vaughn
Story by: John Greer, Princeton Holt
Produced, Written, and Directed by Princeton Holt

Casting Your Friends

In most cases, when casting actors for a film, you are meeting them for the first time. Anyone taking the art of filmmaking seriously already knows that its a bad idea to cast friends in movies. What inevitably happens, I have found, is that during and after the working process, many directors and actors become really good friends. You like how they work, how they are supportive of the family that became closer after a production, and the professional barriers that seperate people in this business are broken down.

Then it becomes time to cast another project, and you have a shortlist of actors you know that were a pleasure to be around, and that most of all, are talented as hell. I have been privileged many times to simply pick up the phone and call friends I have worked with, while being able to avoid the traditional casting process altogether.

In some cases, I have, and continue to write parts for specific actors (or with them in mind). This is the apex of collaboration in the business. Nothing like being a fan of an actor's work AND having a personal relationship with them. It makes the work, non-work. And you get excited about providing them with opportunities to showcase their talents the way you have always envisioned them doing so...and on your movie, no less.

Here is one of my favorite directors PT Anderson discussing this idea and way of working, a method I as a director, have sort of adopted myself.

- Princeton

52 Weeks

One of my favorite artists, Greg Ruth, has started a fund drive to help publish his next book, 'The 52 Weeks Project'. Though, it's not really a fund drive, because you get tons of cool shiz by donating. So really, it's more like a sweet deal on some amazing prints, books and tees. Click here for more info.

If you're unfamiliar with Greg's work, go to his site: www.gregthings.com. His ink work is spectacular, and exudes a flair and confidence that is unmatched in the industry.

Switchblade Goddess

-By Dan dos Santos



Here's a new cover of mine that just went public. Aside from the glint on the switchblade and a few color adjustments, it's all oil paint. The original measures roughly 20x30 inches on illustration board.

This was a really fun job (for obvious reasons), but was also one of those assignments that took far longer than expected. In fact, I'm still feeling the repercussions of having gone well over my deadline. Unfortunately, I had to cut things short, so there are still quite a few areas I am unhappy with. I expect I will revisit the piece soon to fix some of those errors.



I was uncertain of some of the lighting I had in my sketch, so I decided to make a quick maquette of the dragon skull to aid me.

Here's a few progress pics of the acrylic lay-in, and a quick scrub of oils over said lay-in. The lay-in was more detailed than usual, but it's texture really showed through the oils and did a lot of the work for me.

And lastly, the final image with type treatment.

Idyl - I'm Age

by Arnie Fenner

While thinking about my previous post about art books I'd like to have (and thanks to everyone who added some "want lists" of their own!), I began to wonder why some titles seem so obvious to me, but don't seem to be on the radar screens of the various publishers. (And lest anyone think, "Well stop bitching and publish all these great ideas yourself!"...Cathy and I aren't publishers. We work for publishers and are as susceptible to the likes, dislikes, tastes, and perceptions of our employers as anyone else with a project to pitch. The list of titles we've unsuccessfully tried to get into print are legion.)

Anyway, one of those books that I was thinking would be a natural fit for some savvy publisher's line is a reprint/expansion of Jeffrey Jones' collection, Idyl—combined, naturally with the semi-related "I'm Age" strips. Jones created the "Idyl" one-page comic for the National Lampoon for a number of years; beautifully drawn, by turns poetic, humorous, or nonsensical, people loved it (even if it was rarely understood). Blue Star published a collection of the strips in 1975; Roger Dean's Dragon's Dream produced a smaller reprint in 1979. It's been out of print for maybe 25 years now. "I'm Age" was a sorta-sequel that ran regularly in Heavy Metal magazine and was similar to "Idyl," if perhaps a bit more philosophical in tone: those strips have never been collected.

Wouldn't it be nice if they were?

Jeffrey, who had briefly drawn a comic strip called "The Jones Touch" for a men's magazine, originally planned to paint each installment of "Idyl," but abandoned the idea as being too much work early on. Above is an uncompleted sample of the approach he would've taken. This original is currently for sale on the Graphic Collectibles website.

Above is the final installment of "Idyl" that ran in National Lampoon.

Above is a photo of The Studio by Sean Smith, circa 1978 or 1979 (around the time Jones was drawing "Idyl"): Michael William Kaluta, Jeffrey Jones, Bernie Wrightson, and Barry Windsor-Smith.

By the by, Maria Cabardo (formerly of WotC and Vertigo) has been working to complete a documentary about Jones and is still shy the funds necessary to complete it. You can view a trailer at the Kickstarter website and, if you're inclined, follow the links and maybe make a contribution to help it reach fruition.