As I’m in the middle of my third Bakshi movie of the day, I find that I’m really relaxed and this is but the first day of a much needed three day weekend. So awesome.
Next on the agenda is probably some tv I’ve been meaning to get to for a year or three and then on to the second volume of the Strangers in Paradise pocket editions.
After that, who knows? I might sit down and doodle while finding the gumption to clean the house….maybe do some laundry. Or at least clean it out from the bedroom as its collected into the space where my desk chair is. That’s cleaning, right?
In the meantime, I make an offering of new art. Well, newish art. It was done the week after I made the Cheeks pic and then had comings and goings and work and stuff in the way and I just got around to posting it to my CG HUB gallery, where I haven’t got the amount of viewers I’d like to have. Maybe I should do something more fantasy driven with a half naked lady under some sort of male dominance theme that seem to get the big viewers and downloads. You know…for science.
This pic is of J. Torres, the Shuster Award winning writer of Love as a Foreign Language andTeen Titans Go as well as the Eisner Award nominated Alison Dare and the YALSA listed Days Like This and Lola: A Ghost Story.
Play Nice
Brad
It’s been a sort of busy year this year.
I’m starting to find some holes in my weird schedule and working and driving and this and that to make time for personal work. I usually end up taking that time to shrug and go watch tv or something, but it’s making me lazy art wise. I guess the day job’s been taking a lot out of me….too much.
So, I was inspired recently when Sean “Cheeks” Galloway decided to make it his personal agenda to work on an aspect of his art he felt he was weak: Caricatures.
He asked his many fans to help him out by sending him 3/4 photos of themselves and he’d make a quick sketch of them and post it to his blog and Facebook account under the gallery “Ugg Muggz“.
His goal with this I gather is to establish features of faces and quickly translate them down to paper in exaggerated form. A really nice exercise he wants to attack as he recounts a short time he worked as a caricature artist and he left due to the critiques of the clients. Attacking our weaknesses head on is what what makes us better artists, it’s just that the artist ego usually gets in the way enough to create haziness in what particular areas we might be weak. It’s finding those weaknesses and working on them that allows the artist to loosen up and be able to improve. As art is a continued process with no finish line, it’s important as an artist to be able to determine the areas that need improvement for us to able to draw, paint, sculpt- whatever- anything that crosses our path. If we feel we can’t make an expression of something, we’ve failed at what it is that we are: visual translators.
Eventually, we hone our craft to a point where we’re able to push and pull aspects of life and make them either caricatures or cartoons- but it’s knowledge of the process- or the rules- that allow us to know where and when they can be broken.
I think that nowadays, too many artists start in a discipline without knowing the rules or why they do things. Namely, 3D Art. 3D modelers, or “game artists”, start with a bevy of buttons that when pushed in a particular routine or order make the images they become accustomed to looking good or acceptable in the market they’re created for. Games have a certain look, film has a certain look, most media has a certain “Look”, and more people are trapped within the process of what makes that look than are driven to get away from it.
Back to caricatures. I got my dues in video games, but was lucky enough to be honing my art skills at a time in video games when artists were still artists. We did everything- modeling, texture maps, animation- it was weird to think of a time when everything would become marginalized and cornered into specific tasks where it would completely remove the art from the artist position. And anything and everything that was done personally or professionally was usually shown to the team and put under the scrutiny of other artists. Usually cruel, because it was also akin to a frat party; it was strengthening as it built our resolve and allowed us to take the critique and go back to the piece in question with a “screw you- I’ll show you I’m a good artist, damnit!” mentality rather than slinking in our corners and going fetal.
And I would put my art out for anyone and everyone to see, no matter how blatantly horrible or beautiful it might have come out. Mostly thru white board art. I’d draw on the white boards, being as funny or rude as humanly possible and the results would be the reactions. 1) if people knew who were in the drawings- win. 2) If there were laughs in the situations those people were put in- triumph.
I’ll admit that most the people I’ve worked with in my 16 year career know me more for the white board drawings I’ve made than any other work I’ve actually done. I take it with pride. Now, I don’t do many white board drawings anymore. A nasty experience at a certain company that will remain nameless (until the book comes out where I will pull no punches) plus working at Ubisoft, where the multitude of talented artists kinda force you to be the best all the time and put it into the work and working hard most of the time: not to be on schedule so much as just keeping up and showing that you belong. Those two experiences have put me in a weird place of where I want to be with my art in recent years.
That being said, Cheeks’ willingness to put himself back in harm’s way in order to attack what he considers a weak area of his already awesome arsenal is pretty inspiring and kinda lead’s the way for artists of all levels to follow.
With that inspiration I made an Ugg Mugg of Mr. Galloway and hope to follow it with many more and get back on track where my art, and where I’m going with it, is concerned.
Enjoy
Play Nice!
Brad
How’s it going?
Oh, me? I’ve been busy.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t done anything with the site recently and thought I should pop up some art- which is the purpose of the site last I checked.
The top two are more recent and they’re pics/ comics of some pals at work. The Machine Man cover was for an issue of Pulp Legacy, an APA I very rarely contribute to these days, that I’d done last year.
In the meantime, I continue to exercise my comic storytelling of people I know until I find myself at a point to go full on comic mode.
Stay Tuned
Brad
I’ve been ignoring the site.
Mostly because I haven’t had anything to offer it, like some virtual idol I feel obligated to appease with my sketches and such. But, alas, I have nothing and the idol sits and may just be bored.
Work’s been busy busy. So I’ve been all-work-no-play-guy.
I have, for work purposes, been trying to play video games again. Uncharted 2 is keeping my time, while I try to wrestle the new Call of Duty from my boy’s hands. As an environment artist, Uncharted 2 is some great inspiration. However, it’s a two edge sword as I’m want to make with that kind of style while the work I’m currently on doesn’t require such awesome details.
As is, I’m trying my best to make the current work interesting as well as challenging. More so challenging even than the seemingly impossible deadlines for them.
Work work work
Please stay Tuned.
So, I have some doodles that I’ve been working on and thought I’d post some for the WORMS project.
Everything is beginning to sort itself together and the writing events even seem to be just jumping into place. I hope to have a great portion of the timeline lined up and the first issue is all set save the scripting and dialogue. I love when a plan comes together.
I’ve also added Michael Cho to my Artists list (>>>>>>>) and I’ve started adding pics to my Cg Hub profile which I’ve linked under Brad Heitmeyer Links. I’ve got some decent responses via views and downloads, but hope to get myself into the Popular thumbs from the main page once I start pouring in the WORMS work.
Stay Tuned
Brad
**UPDATE*********************************************************************************************************
With the schedule of the day job ever increasing, I’ve put most to all of my personal projects on indefinite hold. Although, I’m enjoying a three day weekend. I’m doing just that. Enjoying it by getting caught up with reading comics, watching tv and movies. Sitting back and maybe even drinking a beer or three.
Happy Long Canadian Weekend for the Civic Holiday.
Play Nice
Brad
So, work work busy busy blah blah blah.
I’ve recently decided to scrap the comic I’ve been writing in favor for two, count’em- TWO, new ideas.
I know. Losing Momentum is the worst thing a comic and creator suffer more times than God can count, but in this case I felt simple was better. The first story had a lot involved and I wanted to do it right. So, I guess scrapped is kinda harsh. How about Shelved? I like shelved.
With the two supposed new concepts, I’m rehashing ideas from old notes that go back to High School.
I’ll give a short synopsis on the original stories, but I’m keeping the titles
The first is called SPILLED MILK. I, literally, created the concept on the car ride back home from seeing ROBOCOP (1987) in the theater for the first time. I was 14 years old and I couldn’t wait to get home to start drawing my cyborg adventures. The title, SPILLED MILK, comes from passing a grocery store that had milk on special and had it displayed as such in their front marquee. I thought that milk was a neat name to call blood and there’d be lots of blood in my epic cyborg future world- and the catchphrase of the anti-hero just jumped out of my mouth, “Don’t cry over spilled milk.”
I was a genius. Or so I thought. I basically just drew beat up cyborgs for a few years along with all the other stuff I was drawing ad nauseam at the time, (see- super heroes, super heroes, and super heroes) and then came one of the comic events that would change my life forever…or until the next big comic event- HARD BOILED. I felt like Frank Miller jumped inside my brilliant brain and pulled out my great idea and made it even better. Getting Geof Darrow for the art? GENIUS!!
I was so awestruck by this in the next ten or so years it took to come out (it was released quite irregularly-over the next two years, actually. It just seemed like 10) that I just figured that my story didn’t have to be told. Mr. Miller and Mr. Darrow had summed up everything I could have possibly said about a cyborg malfunctioning and creating a streak of terror thru people, robots, and cyborgs alike, that my mega epic masterpiece didn’t need to be revealed.( for the record, mine ended with the character finally being killed by a super tank, because- DUH- how else do you kill a super psycho cyborg…or psyborg!! Thank you, I know!!)
The second rehashed idea is simply called Worms. I’ve been a horror films fan since forever. It was being babysat when I was 4 that I was allowed to stay up with the babysitter as long as I stayed in the living room while he watched AMITYVILLE HORROR. I couldn’t tear my eyes away and I had nightmares for weeks and am just now able to look at flies without thinking they’re agents of Satan, but it was one of the first truly awesome character defining moments of my very young life. My parents gave the dude total shit and I never saw him again after, but the short effect for his awesome taste in movies combined with my parents having HBO was just the beginning of things to come.
Naturally, my taste in horror movies went on from Satan and possessed houses. Two of my favorite genres of horror are monsters and aliens. (Yes, they’re two different things. Although aliens can be monsters while monsters don’t necessarily have to be aliens.) So, it was actually a very good friend of mine (who I will keep nameless as he’s not much the public type) that created the concept for Worms and invited me in on helping with the creative and drawing it. I’d go over to his house and we’d listen to punk rock and read the John Byrne Fantastic Four run over and over while creating the horror genre defining comic piece that would forever be put up on the pedestal of awesome-itude. WORMS.
To be honest, I don’t remember what we called it back then, but we ended up stopping the idea after he moved away to college and I had another year of High School and the world would have to do without our opus maximus.
The basic premise was the classic pod people concept meets zombies, at first, then just went all out gross and beyond ridiculous. What all comics should be. And that’s why I still want to make it.
There ya go. Sometimes nostalgia comes back to kick you in the nuts and tell you that you need to remember the times where being creative was fun and nothing but cartoons and peanut butter and honey sandwiches could get in the way of that.
And sometimes that’s all you need.
Stay Tuned
Brad
SO, I decided to add a small list of artists and art blogs/ forums/ communities that I visit probably every day for a kick in the pants to get me moving towards my goals.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I will be adding to the list as I remember where I’ve bookmarked some of their sites. One huge omission that I can see thus far is that of Arthur Adams, who I like to call- THE KING OF COMICS!!!!! But he doesn’t have a blog and I took most of the list from my art blogs folder. In due time…
On the work front, the studio I work for- Bedlam Games- announced recently the project we’re working on, called SCRATCH: The Ultimate DJ. Actually, it’s Commotion Interactive that’s making it under the Bedlam umbrella. So, that’s been keeping me busy for the most part lately.
I’ve been doodling a little-little and hope to have some works in progress to show in the very near future.
Stay Tuned
Brad
So, I’ve known about this software, called Poladroid, which basically takes your photos and converts them to look like old 70’s-80’s Polaroid pics. I finally got around to playing with it and have created Polaroid thumbnails of my gallery pics. It kinda goes with the theme I’m beginning to ride for the site. (ransom underground?)
I’ll make ones for the sketch gallery as well and will be playing with it throughout the day. Be sure to stop by later and see the results.
Stay Tuned
So, I made this in sort of excitement for the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie; then I put it away as I was completely disgusted with the film.
Although a total example of how to overwork a doodle- I thought it turned out ok for what it is. I wanted to add some spit and blood, but thought it best to just let it rest…
Stay Tuned
This was a kooky week. Not very productive, but really positive for the day job.
COMIC: Mulling some of the timeline points and whether or not to add to the story, that may add some character development to the already fairly ambitious plot.
ART: Just doodles for now
It’s a long weekend up here in the Canada, so I look to have some stuff started.
Stay Tuned
