The 2025 character arc as embodied through concerts & cons. Part1....

 It started with Bill Murray, as most things of note likely do. The last two years had been rough as a freelance VFX compositor. The strikes were necessary, but the work didn't just dry up; it fled the country. Those who we used to look to for work or as the reassuring voice in the LinkedIn feed went from saying “It’ll pick up after the strikes” to “Probably during the summer of 24” and then it became “survive till 25”. The number of friends who were losing their homes or posting how long it had been since they’d had work, like marks on a chromakey wall, was soul-crushing. We floated along with odd commercial jobs, selling collectibles I'd picked up when work was good and the missus' steady-but-not-enough teacher salary…but barely. Working in movies was the dream, and then it was just the 4am panic attack. I wouldn't be the first to compare working as a VFX artist as similar to being in an abusive relationship. It hurts you, exhausts you, threatens to leave, so you take whatever attention it will throw your way and you keep thinking that maybe, someday soon, it will get better. Like it used to be. Fun, exciting.

Early this year I got a good gig working for an incredible studio in London. A couple of weeks became a couple of months. I should have been working my way back toward being blissfully hopeful about the industry's resilience.

But one day, I hit LinkedIn to search for studios to apply to. A friend who had just a month ago been so excited to get work said the project was cut short, and she was looking again. Another said it had been two years since industry work. Oscar-winning VFX artists driving for Uber and DoorDash to make ends meet till the next job had just hit their one-year anniversary. And then I saw it…

“I'm betting it will pick up in mid-2026 and get back to normal. Just hold in there.”

(He hit me again, but I'm sure he didn't mean it.)

I dont think I am alone in there being a point in certain relationships where something glides in between the folds of your mind like an icepick and you realize it's over. There was before when you were holding on to some illusion of what the relationship was, and then the after, where the studio lights come on and you realize what a mess you’ve been spending your hours in.

I wasn't breaking up with VFX, but I was certainly ready to move on and find something to give me that subtle joy of a regular direct deposit showing up in the bank account. This is an ongoing mission, so I'll have to update as it changes. Oddly enough, the more I look for a full-time job, the more random meetings I've had with folks wanting to add me to their freelance roster, and I've kept busy with commercial work. Keep trying to get out, keep getting pulled back in.

But there was one thing for sure, I wanted more time to just make things, and a freelancer spends a lot of time marketing themselves, looking for clients, building that BRAND! Like it or not, a creative is a brand whose work ethic, visual style, and online presence all end up being more memorable than that resume and demo reel, so make em shine! But that all takes a lot of time out of your week, and that means less time making art. A full-time job, mundane or not, means money is coming in, and all that time you were spending trying to pull in new clients can be spent writing, painting, making a mess of things, and building worlds. You can create your own work in either path, but you get the same amount of sand in the glass either way.

Around the time of this mental shift, PlanetComicon hit. Its my favorite and longest attending nerd gathering in Kansas City. It's possible I have such a soft spot for it because their 2001 show was one of the last times I got to spend much time with Dad before he passed away, though it was a tiny show then compared to the three-ring circus its become post-COVID. I go for two things: meet celebrities and meet creators. More and more in recent years, some of those creators are friends.

The celebrities on the list were David Tennant (I grew up watching Dr Who with dad, the newer ones with the Missus and now the newest with the creepy kids). Christina Ricci was next, my generation's goth queen, just as Winona Ryder was for the Genx’ers and Jenna Ortega is for my girls. She reminded me of a friend from high school in her energetic conversation with everyone who went through her line, but the look in her eye when I hit the photo op later in the day was that of a fellow introvert who is cosplaying as an extrovert and is absolutely exhausted…and I immediately felt a kinship.

Oscar by Skottie Young

 The creator of note was Skottie Young, as his frenetic inkwork and absurdist storytelling are an inspiration. Id recently discovered the work of Wally Wood and felt there was a thread of that in Young’s work. Wandering through Artist Alley and the vendor booths after, it struck me this year more than ever how the majority smear together in an giant wash of ink and paint covering the same batch of pop culture characters and are ultimately unremarkable.  There are fantastic artists in there, within and out of that blur of superheroes and scifi swordfighters, but many are hoping to get noticed by retelling the same characters rather than throwing something unique. I know they are capable, but the popular probably sells more, at least until you’ve been putting your own stuff out there for long enough it becomes the big thing. The problem is those short term sales cant lead you to that long term gain and its a heckuva thing to invest that time. But those that do have a light to them that draw in the other creatives and opportunity.

So morose with the thought of having accomplished some things college me would be overjoyed with and yet getting to create less than that same college me, I left Planet and within a few days was driving to the other side of the state to see Bill Murray in concert. Yup, Groundhog Day Ghostbuster was on a short tour with The Blood Brothers (not his actual brothers, which is a little disappointing because Id love to see Joel and Brian Doyle out there rocking with Bill). I decided to turn the drive into a bit of an search for inspiration (and eventual White Castle run).

We live fairly clost to Uranus, Missouri, which is exactly the type of tourist attraction it sounds like. There is a fudge factory, a gift shop full of dad jokes. They have a freakshow, which I bought a ticket for. The gal at the desk had tattoos and fangs to look feline and apparently moonlights as a sword swallower and part time geek. After going through the exhibit, which included a Sloth from the Goonies mask in their Pinhead corner, I chatted with her as I perused the magic shop. This was her happy place. She got to meet new people, do weird things and be herself.

Uranus Fudge Factory Freakshow entrance and magic shop.

Id seen a meme that week on hotels above $100 and slightly below $100 and laughed because it couldnt be…and then I got to my $89 hotel in St Louis and life imitated (bad photoshopped) art.

The hotel was surrounded on two sides by a massive cemetery and another by the airport. There was some form of construction business next door where some gents with an amazing speaker system in their van played mariachi music loudly to celebrate the end of the workday. I swore their music was coming out of the hotel's speakers as I walked through the parking lot. What acoustics.

After getting my key at the front desk, I passed two box fans blowing the smell of wet dog down the hallway. I got to room 115, thinking that was what she’d said when giving me the keys. I figured if it wasnt right the key wouldnt open the door. It opened the door and as it swung wide, I could see the bare legs and feet of a guy on the bed surrounded by snack wrappers. “Hey!”

I shut the door and tried the next one. The key card opened that one as well but no bare feet (and sadly no snacks) this time. I took my keys back to the front desk to trade them out as she was on the phone, calming down the guy whose snack orgy Id interrupted. I dont know how it played out for him as I went back to my room and changed for the concert while trying to decide whether the water stain on the ceiling looked more like a cartoon bloodhound's face or Spain.

Murray was playing at The Pageant, which had chairs packed in shoulder to shoulder. I lucked out and two seats to my right went unoccupied until halfway through the show, two cute blondes about my age decided to shift down to chat in a haze of IPA and perfume. The set list was kind of standard American rock and blues. Johnny B Goode, a few songs written by a local blues legend, etc. Mostly, Murray just played bongos or tambourine, wandering about the stage looking like he was having the time of his life. Three or four songs had him out front belting the lyrics very much like his SNL Star Wars, those near and far wars or Scrooged end scene skills. A really fun show. Afterwards, while waiting for the crowd to clear so I wasn't standing in the mass, the blondes told me about themselves. Pleasant, handsy, single moms enjoying a night out. “My first concert was Joe Cocker, I was 17 and pregnant with my first, so it had to have been…” I was back in college, realizing I didnt know how to respond to aggressive flirting other than polite chatting and discreet mentions of my wife (which I didnt have as a response in college, but in this case, it wouldn't have helped.) “Oh, but you are here on your own? What are you doing after the show?”

Bill Murray singing at the Pageant.

After the show, I went back to my lovingly dilapidated hotel room, wishing I'd written down some of the songs that Murray sang because I'd already forgotten all but two or three, and thinking about the things that did change since college. All of the great art things I was going to do. Writing, movies, famous by 27. The energy of a life that hasn't met a mortgage or 100-hour work weeks yet. But between the concert pulling me back to that youthful artist mindset, the contemplation of individual creative expression at Planetcomicon and feeling like the movie industry wasnt reliable enough for a serious relationship anymore, I realized I needed to start completing some of the sketches and scribbles I had filled notebooks with over the years until I ‘could find the time to do them right.’

What cemented the need to finish things and book-ended the trip with a surprisingly wholesome interaction was a gentleman in a rural gas station bathroom. I'd seen him going in with his wife while I gassed up. Moving slowly, leaning heavily on a walker. Maybe 60, heavier set. After finishing with fuel, I went in to use the restroom, passing his wife standing nearby. The stall door was shut, but shoes were sticking out underneath, and he was obviously sitting on the floor inside.

“Are you okay?”

“Sir, I've fallen. Can you get help?”

Hoping to spare him some dignity after I couldn't jimmy the lock to get in to help, I got a clerk who had a tool that popped it neatly. A younger kid, probably a local footballer, came in to use the restroom, and the three of us offered to help lift the gentleman onto the toilet and scooted his walker to one side after making sure he hadn't hit his head.

“Oh no, I'm fine. I just slid off the seat. No balance. Brain surgery a decade ago. We have to call the fire department; they have a thing that makes lifting easy. It's what we always do.”

So his wife called the fire department while I stayed to keep him company. I'd been through two spine surgeries which has left me with nerve damage in both legs, so I'd spent a lot of time with a walker in the past and still have crap balance. I could relate easily enough, even though his trials were greater than my own. Soon enough, the fire department arrived, and I vacated to give space, wishing him godspeed. He was charming and happy, despite being stuck on a dirty bathroom floor with his pants half down for almost an hour. His example of not letting things outside your control get you down was an inspiration that kept me lit up all the way home.

This was early April 2025.

A couple of things to add to the mental grist mill that I've pulled inspiration from latel,y and hopefully you will as well.

The illustrations of Georges Beuville. His children's book artwork is amazing. So much energy in simplistic, well-calculated brushwork that looks effortless. I'm only sad that finding copies of his work here in the States is so difficult. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da10nmDmJOg

I've been reading up on Ozark folklore and superstitions and one of the authorities on the subject is Vance Randolph. Most of his work was published in the 1920s and 1930s and his book Ozark Magic and Folklore is one of his most famous. It is terribly laid out if you want any sort of flow or narrative structure as each chapter is grouped together by “Crops”, “Weather Sign”, “Ghosts” and then each paragraph within is an anecdote about something he has been told by Ozarkians over the years. Sometimes they contradict, many times he says I could find no proof, but they are all there. Good for basic knowledge of what things from a century ago persist in the area and what faded out that I hope to use as flavor text in a novel Ive got pages of notes put together over the last decade.

Ozark link
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ozark_Magic_and_Folklore/txnhppn0SrwC?hl=en&gbpv=1

I recently talked the Missus into watching B-rated horror movies with me when I realized she didnt recognize a few actors I was hoping to see at an upcoming Horror Con. Ill speak more to the list and that convention next post, but one we watched was Critters, a personal childhood favorite. Not too scary or gory, an easy entry into the genre. One of dozens of ‘small, impish, evil creatures that terrorize a family or group’ that became commonplace in theaters/vhs after the success of Gremlins in 1984. I feel like Critters is the most exemplary of the group (and Critters 3 was Leo DiCaprio's first film role). 

Critters trailer in case you would like a sample.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRGyKnW3zW4&t=1s

Till next time, creepy kids….

Red Markets---Aberrants---Ever-Vec

Upon contracting the Blight, the infected become classified as Vectors die within a few days. They develop into sacks of dead flesh animated by the sinews of Blight that have burrowed throughout their corpses. But on rare occasion a Vector never dies. They never bleed out. They retain the ability to climb, turn door handles and wield simple weapons. In fact, an Ever-Vecs body seems to replace torn muscle with more muscle, making them stronger and faster the longer they are mobile. There are multiple reports of the same Ever-Vec, a huge, mutated mass of Blighted muscle, swinging a parking meter like a club, murdering the inhabitants of the Cursed Settlement in several of its incarnations. 

Red Markets---Aberrants---Malignant

Red Markets---Aberrants---Mutant

Red Markets---Aberrants---Empty

Empties are also called blanks, dreamers, pacifists, and downers. They are an unfortunately common sight. 

The same mental remnants that cause casualties to gather in locations that they frequently in life goes haywire in an Empty. They do not bite, hunt or attack. They simply repeat an action over and over, stuck in an endless loop, mirroring an action they performed in life. Sitting in a living room, watching a blank television screen, scrolling on a long dead phone, with baseball glove in hand, waiting for a pitch that will never come. Somehow, these casualties are more haunting than the ones ripping your teammates apart. They are a reminder of the humanity lost and how the creatures you are gunning down may have been your neighbor or family days before.

Red Markets---Aberrants---Scarecrow

Another of the zombie classes that I illustrated for the Red Markets RPG, the Scarecrow. Part of the blight, the zombie virus, creates sinews of necrotic diseased flesh as it courses through the victims system. Sometimes however, the sinews tear through the flesh of their host. In the rare case a casualties sinew roots it to the ground, crucifying it upon its own Blight. The root like growths can radiate out, turning the area around it into a minefield of thorny black vines, ready to burst forth, ensnare and drain any creature with the misfortune of passing near. Entire enclaves have had to be evacuated as the roots of a scarecrow have dug under their crops and fortifications. 

For this one I went for some Struzan inspired, designerly clouds that in the end, Im not entirely sure they worked. I also set the Scarecrow in a patch of earth I spent far to much time rooted to. It seemed far creepier to be set within a heavily developed area instead of a remote rural spot.

Red Markets---Aberrants---Aerosol

The next Aberrant that I painted in Red Markets is the Aerosol.

 In the case of this Aberrant, its a casualty, desiccated and long gone. It barely registers as a threat. Then one of your crew sneezes. Then they all begin to cough. Choke. Blood from the eyes and ears. All begin to turn without having come into physical contact with the infected. For some reason, the rare casualty turns the Blight airborne, infecting all who come close.

I spent the majority of this illustration looking up decent mechanic shop/garage reference photos to make sure that the environment looked accurate without drawing too much attention away from the barely put together zombie. With each scene that I created, if there were just a few or single zombie in focus, I put together a backstory in my mind to make sure their injuries and clothing in the situation made sense.

If you are interested in purchasing Red Markets, you can do so here.

Red Markets---Aberrants---Converts

The convert was my first illustration for the Red Markets RPG. The convert is a zombie (or casualty in the parlance of the game) who keeps its consciousness, but gives itself entirely over to the hunger. It can also control huge armies of other casualties and, no one knows why, is always a child.

From the book:

I watched in shock as the enclave fell. I listened to their screams echo thoughout the valley. Near the end, the horde seemed to lose its focus....

Just as night fell, I watched one wander away. It was a little boy, in pajamas soaked with fresh blood, walking in a straight line though it pursued no prey.. On its head rested a SWAT helmet, dented with bullet impacts. Eventually, it turned. It looked at me. It saw me. The rolling cataracts of its eyes locked on mine. I was recognized, found unworthy, and abandoned as it moved on.....

Role Playing Illustration---Base Raiders and Red Markets

So for long time readers of this blog (Hi mom!) you will recall that back in late 2015 I was working on a feature film called "The Weight". The wheels of progress on films when not funded with Marvel money is usually pretty slow, so two years out and The Weight is in the festival circuit, not quite ready for wide release. Which is too bad, because it means Ive not got to watch it yet. It should be amazing, as everyone I was fortunate to work with on the film was amazing. The lead actor, Clayne Crawford, is currently tearing it up as Martin Riggs on the Lethal Weapon tv series, which is one of few shows Rachel and I try to keep up with. He was an incredible guy and deserves all of the great press the show is getting currently.

Anywho, as head of the Art Department, I had two guys who had to put up with my demands and thereby made my life a ton easier. Ross Payton was one. He is a big timer in the world of role playing games, running Ennie award winning podcast, Role Playing Public Radio.

Now, I had very little knowledge of role playing games outside of the osmosis a nerd has while interacting in our varied world of nerdality. I know I sat and watched a couple slow hours of a Vampire: The Masquerade game where a pack of werewolves were shaken off the sides of a van (I think). Ive filled out about three character sheets for D&D games that never progressed beyond the character sheet stage. And I wanted to create art for the games....which is good, because that's generally kind of an entry level illustrator gig these days and despite working as various forms of 'artist' for 15 years I am definitely still an entry level illustrator.

So between shots and during the long drive too and from set, Ross filled me in a little about what he did and I mentioned wanting to do some art. He was kind and commissioned me draw the cover to his newest expansion to a RPG he created, Base Raiders. Its rough, but I like it.

In retrospect I would have dropped the background character a little darker so she didnt fight for as much attention as the foreground characters. It was meant to impart a feeling overwhelming action, and its busy enough that it definitely does that.

Ross ended up having me on Role Playing Public Radio as a guest to speak about the film industry, gaming and gaming ideas within the bureaucracy of the entertainment industry. But, the bigger thing that I have to thank him for is introducing me to a friend of his who was putting together a group of artists. Caleb Stokes had invested something along the lines of four or five years of his life into an incredibly detailed and intriguing role playing game entitled Red Markets. To borrow from the Red Markets incredibly successful Kickstarter page:

 Red Markets is a tabletop RPG about economic horror.

In Red Markets, characters risk their lives trading between the massive quarantine zones containing a zombie outbreak and the remains of civilization. They are Takers: mercenary entrepreneurs unwilling to accept their abandonment. Bound together into competing crews, each seeks to profit from mankind’s near-extinction before it claims them. They must hustle, scheme, and scam as hard as they fight if they hope to survive the competing factions and undead hordes the GM throws at them.

Takers that are quick, clever, or brutal enough might live to see retirement in a safe zone, but many discover too late that the cycle of poverty proves harder to escape than the hordes of undead.

Red Markets uses the traditional zombie genre to tell a story about surviving on the wrong end of the economy. It’s cut-throat capitalism with its knife on your neck.

I ended up creating more than a dozen pieces of art for the massive tome that arrived a month or so ago. It doubles as gym equipment while doing bicep curls. Its huge. The amount of work that went into this game is humbling. And the detail...I cannot even fanthom the thought that was put into all of this. But it seems like it was worth every period and bullet point, because it seems to be going over incredibly well among the role playing set. Ive seen post after post of people taking photos of their setups and reporting that the Blight has hit different parts of the world. Its humbling to be a part of something someone enjoys so much. It feels different than most of my film work. I dont know. Somehow more personal. More of my fingerprint showing even if the concept isnt mine.

Over the next few weeks Ill be posting up my contributions to the game. Please, enjoy, comment and contact me if you are looking for an illustrator. 😀😀😀
 If you are into role playing, I highly recommend you purchase a copy of the book and immerse yourself.

Zombies and Heroes

I know, I know. Long time. Gimme a break. We had a baby, the beautiful and jolly Cordelia. On top of that, with the exception of three or four days,  my vfx studio has had non stop projects to keep me up late knocking out shots. Most days I get up with the girls at 8a, watch them and have family time until that evening when I start to work and keep going until 3a. Lather, rinse, repeat. I love my time with them and dont want it to go quickly, but there is a part of me looking forward to them both being in school so I have weekdays and normal hours within which to get work done so I can start getting regular sleep.

Enough complaining.

July 16th, the great George Romero passed away. It possible you only think of him as a director of some cheesy zombie movies. If thats the case then you must have found this blog through a very indirect google search. I mean, its probably true to an extent. But in this world of Walking Dead, Marvel and DC zombie variants of every character, it seems like zombies are everywhere.
But he was the Dude. The man. The guy who made zombies zombies. Before that they were the voodoo breed only. No rotting corpses walking around. But they werent really rotting corpses. They were a metaphor and horrific. Your nearest loved one could suddenly be tearing your intestines out and using them to floss their teeth. There was no safe place, no one you could trust. If there were people, there was the chance of being cannibalized, ripped apart while you screamed and gurgled.

We didnt watch a ton of scary movies when I was a kid. My Dad would have nightmares and he was a scrapper. He wouldnt run from the scary things in his dreams, he would punch and kick. So for Moms sake we didnt see many scary movies. We didnt have cable or any of that, so we would either get watered down versions of scary movies or rentals from the local VHS palace. So Critters would have the best parts cut out, aired on Sunday afternoons or we would get the borderline creepy, like Gremlins and the like. The first scary thing I can remember watching was when I was 10, on a tv show called Monsters. Kind of a variation on Tales from the Crypt. Weekly creature feature. One week they had soldiers in a fox hole, the dead enemy combatants pulling them into the walls and ripping them apart. Plus, this all time creepiest Goosebumps book.

 Zombies were stuck in my mind.

 So long story not as long, horror is now my favorite genre. Its usually the most inventive, has the most poignant social commentary, and will haunt your dreams. But zombies, those are my favorite. My first zombie film was the remake of Night of the Living Dead, which like the remake of Dawn of the Dead, I ended up preferring over the originals. But that said, I loved George Romero.

He shot his first films on next to zero budget, borrowing from friends and local businesses, ignoring Hollywood standards. Night focused on the question of "who is the true enemy? and race." Surrounded by friends and family now focused on your death, the bigger threat may be the person fighting next to you. This was all fallout from the Vietnam war. Dawn of the Dead focused on consumerism, capitalism and materialism set inside of a mall. I dare you to watch the shopping spree scene and not be reminded of Black Friday sales at your local box store. Day of the Dead may be he most poignant of the trilogy, rife with the political undertones of the Reagan era, the monsters become far less threatening than the military, all huddled away in caverns full of all of the hoarded items of yesterdays opulence, put there by people long since eaten.

IE, these werent just movies of blood, boobs and jump scares...look to Return of the Living Dead for that in all of its delightful glory.

Romero made smart movies in easy to digest wrappers. He shunned the Hollywood system, preferring to make as much of his films in his home of Pittsburg (until they tried to hose him and he went to Canada). So a young horror nerd who had high asperations of becoming a filmmaker, Romero was the man. The first film that I wrote and shot was a horror film, set in an old farmhouse, full of rotting ghosts and Romero references. I've got his autograph on my studio wall.

So when he died I mourned a bit. The local Alamo Drafthouse played Night of the Living Dead and I went dressed as Romero. And it got me thinking.

Why would I be so sad over the loss of someone I never met? Dont get me wrong, I tried. I drove to St Louis with friends over a decade ago to hit a Living Dead convention. We met the amazing Tom Savini, several actors from the films and incidentally, the incredible gem Tura Santana, who I also mourned at her passing. Romero was advertised as being the star of the show, but he was nowhere to be found. When I asked the information desk if we'd just overlooked him somehow I was told "oh, he wouldnt be here. He is filming in Canada."

I think it comes down to our modern day heroes.

Mainly, we dont have them. At least not like we used to. Or maybe its just me. There was no one I knew growing up that made me say " I want to be just like them!" No war heroes, no local leaders in sports, religion or life to idolize. My dad and grandpa were as close as it got, and they both made it a point to tell me to do better than they did, very aware of their flaws and shortcomings.

In college I started to look towards my interests for heroes and the list filled with directors. Spielberg, Kevin Smith, Rodriguez, Raimi and Romero.  Schultz, Davis, Frazetta and Drew Struzan were the art list. I suppose we create our own pantheon based on who we are and what we need at the time. I need(ed) creatives who came from nothing and made a name for themselves. Not for fame, but for the need to create. The older I get the more mortal they seem to become, but still we mourn when one of our heroes die and can no longer bless us with new work. A little less magic in the world. A few more Kardashians and Trumps.

Romero got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a few weeks ago. An honor that is well past due even if its a little dubious in the nature of that honor. But regardless, Long Live the Zombie King.

Fall Recap--- Life as a Production Designer and meeting childhood icons.

Before this October I dont think I had any clue as to what a Production Designer did. I could have taken a guess and been in the ballpark, but known nothing of the nuts and bolts. In early October a good friend of mine who I see as a standard of excellence in local projects (if she is involved then I know its worthwhile) asked if I would be available as an Art Director for an indie movie that was shooting in the area. Art Director I knew, I had been that on smaller scale stuff.

Imagine my surprise and brief panic when my contract said Production Designer.

So I googled.

Production designers are responsible for the visual concept of a film, television or theatre production. They identify a design style for sets, locations, graphics, props, lighting, camera angles and costumes, while working closely with the director and producer.

Turns out its mostly the same thing. On big films its almost more of an office job. They come up with color palettes, textures and the look of sets and all that goes in it. They are the big boss that set, props, wardrobe and all of that falls under.

With this being an indie, the crew was smaller and budget more limited. This mainly means I was more creative with ways to dress the spaces and learned the names of a few clerks at the local thrift stores (they have half price days once a month at the DAV, dontchaknow.) I also ended up creating a lot of art to dress the walls with on my own, rather than paying stock sites.

But, the big lessons learned for on set Art Department.

1) Ziplock bags of ice, opened and near the windshield helps to keep them from fogging over while actors are inside doing takes. Shaving foam wiped on then wiped off leaves a film that also keeps them from fogging.

2) Have multiple sets of license plates for the state and era you will be shooting in. Fake plates are always needed.

3) For props that will be handled by the actors, I found that small tupperware containers, each one designated to a specific character, saved me so much time and anxiety. I never had to dig for a fresh pack of cigarettes or remember which keychain I needed when I needed it.

4) Have on hand a broom, paper towels and window cleaner. You are in charge of cleaning up a set and making sure window smudges get cleaned between sets.

5) Unless they are supposed to be there. In which case come up with a way to do make it quick to reapply exactly the same every time. Our continuity supervisor was incredibly nitpicky, which probably prevented some issues in editing, but made our job a lot harder. For one scene we had a paper sign on a door. We only had the primary and a backup. Then the director decided he wanted the actress to plant a bloody hand right in its center. But then..."RESET!" We needed multiples to for each take. Luckily I had saved it on a jump drive and was able to send someone to print out new in the PO trailer. But this could have seriously messed with production and it would have been on me even though it wasnt in the script, discussed or planned in order for me to prepare. YOU MUST HAVE OPTIONS FOR EVERYTHING! The director wants the shot and if you are the only person who is keeping them from getting it then you either need to be able to think on your feet or be prepared to defend your position. Ultimately, this is why film budgets go so high. The Art Department must prepare for any eventuality, and if the scene requires building a cave, you had best make sure it can be shot from any angle. If its not, you can bet thats the angle he will want.

6) Actors who smoke in the scene do not want to try to smoke a cigarette each take. Second hand smoke hits the entire cast and crew. Use herbal cigarettes. They are all gross smelling, but the least gross were Ecstacy brand. However, any herbals proved impossible to find anywhere in Missouri outside of Kansas City or St Louis so I had to get them shipped in. Get lots.

7) Those 3m velcro hanging strips will be your saving grace to keep from angering the owners of the property you are in when you need to hang tons of new artwork and signage.

8) Because you need to fix/hide things fast, keep a pocket full of sharpies and several sizes of paper/post-its on hand. They hide logos or continuity mistakes quick and easy and if you are smart about what you write on them can add texture and detail to the scene.

We went through a LOT of Poloroids.

9)Take photos of everything, all the time. Label them in the shot if you can. If you think you only need the setup for one days shoot so you dont need to keep track, do it anyway. I guarantee you will need to match the prop placement. Plus, they will want it in the wrap binder.

Im excited for this film to come out. Its looking great and I got to work with some amazing people.

The lead is Clayne Crawford, who has been in a few incredible television series and next summer a movie called Spectral, which he described as Call of Duty meets Ghostbusters...as these are two of my favorite things Im super excited to see this.

One of my childhood favorites also had a role. Ken Hudson Campbell plays the local private investigator who is hired to find the aforementioned Clayne. Back in the day Ken was in a tv series called Hermans Head, which was like the Pixar film Inside Out, but 20 years earlier and for adults. Ken played Lust and while most of the jokes flew over this then 8 year olds head, the ones that landed rolled me every time. He was channeling Belushi for sure. He was also the iconic Santa Claus in Home Alone, he who helps set Kevin on his proper path.

I loved working with this guy. His subtle character ticks and little bits of business made him a joy to watch. Plus, he knows more dirty jokes and obscene Hollywood tales than anyone else I've ever met. Hire him for all the things. I want to see him on screen more.

Can you tell how much I liked working with this guy?

Random ink----Mum-Ra!

I've been working on some traditional skills. This was just a quick play around with a new brush pen. 

I did a podcast!

And I swear I thought I posted about it here already, but...

I did an interview with @rosspayton on his fantastic Role Playing Podcast Radio ( I was cast as theLevel 7 jaded vfx artist). http://goo.gl/HKamUZ


Ross is a friend from way back friend who used to do a lot of local film work and has since moved onto mainly writing. He is one of the lucky few who get to earn a living doing what they love from the comfort of their home studio, a right hard won by a decade of work on his part. He was my assistant Art Director on the movie I worked on in the fall and many of the discussions had on the hour drive to and fro was the impetus for this interview. Check him out and if you love his work then please contribute to his Patreon!

The evils of Instagram.

I realized recently that since I downloaded Instagram I quickly quit blogging (which was already at a minimal state to begin with). Social media is so quick! Instant gratification! Then I realized how hard it was to find my own posts in my feed just a few weeks later. Social media makes you feel more 'active' but it's a dust in the wind scenario. Posts on projects and artwork quickly become hard to find. Sure, to those dedicated few they can all be dug up later, but we are lazy and distracted people. If it takes longer than twenty seconds to find then it may as well be Atlantis. 

So, with that said, I'm hoping that this blogging app will help me combine the ease of phone posts with the need to create a constant body of work. Cross your fingers and bare with as I do some catch up posts in between takes on set. 

Crew gift ---- life in 401st

When filming a movie in the deep Missouri woods during deer season, hunter orange is truly the best crew gift. 

Instagram is the blog killer.

Ahoy!
 So, as the title suggests, I set up an instagram. It was mainly to be a toy nerd and follow designers...and then it became toy sellers....and then....well, its just so fast and easy to post photos up that remembering to do the same here became difficult. Plus, the app for blogspot sucks unless you throw down a little cash and how can I claim the life of a starving artist if I go around buying apps and whatnot.
 To recap since almost a year ago. We moved back to Missouri in order for our beautiful baby girl to be near family. Skyping with cousins and grandparents just isnt the same as being able to bite their noses in real life. An added bonus is how much our monthly bills dropped by moving back. Sad things we miss...well, thats a long list that goes from weather, geography, insects, events, produce, friends, etc.
 I've been working as a remote visual effects artist with a surprisingly heavy average workload. Im Mr. Mom during the day while Rachel is off educating young minds. So most of my work gets done from 9p-3a, which is kind of how its always been. For the first time in years I have a real office, with shelves and posters of the films Ive worked on and toys and everything! Its oddly exciting.
 As I mentioned in a previous post, in addition to the freelance work Ive also been trying to clean out projects that I have left behind. This includes 2 feature films, one short film and 2 concept paintings. I have notebooks full of ideas and things I want to work on, but as is the central point in the book Getting things Done, unfinished work (whether still relevant or not) hangs in your mind and weights you down. Im looking to lighten the load.
 Part of the new work is to push the illustration and sculpture side so that I can start selling castings and prints. Also, it will be nice to feel like an artist again as opposed to an overworked drone. Working in movies is awesome, but the hours can be gross. As  I have been reminded lately, to be a successful artist you cannot just post to your social media. It is transitory and hard to reference back to. But a blog, that lasts literally forever (whether read or not).
 So look forward to more regular postings!

Manticore Or cleaning out the closet

For this upcoming year I am trying to push myself more as a professional artist (and not part of a larger studio). So in order to clear out my head for upcoming projects I am trying to wrap up projects that I have started and left behind. This photoshop painting of a Manticore I started in June of 2012 and probably touched 4 times up until this week. My level of artistic skill has increased a great deal, so my work over the past three times were largely painting over my old work to make it...well...decent. Im wanting to do more card game style artwork, so this is my first step working towards building that type of portfolio. Comments, recommendations welcome. What is your favorite fantasy creature?

Independent toy design

So, this is something new I am into. Basically, making figures of my character designs allows me to make them real without having to animate them and adds in the slight possibility of being able to sell them to collectors!

I mentioned this years Comic Con was lacking in panels I was excited about. One that I was excited about was about Independent Toy Creation, hosted by the fine people from October Toys/Toy Break. Naturally, since it was the one I wanted to see it fell at the same time as Wootstock (nerdworld problems) and I had to miss it. But thanks to technology and foresight it was recorded and put on youtube!

If you are remotely interested in making your own toys, this video is a good place to get started.

The summer months and the fall arrival.

For the first time in a little while, the summer was kind of slow. June wasn't as terribly busy as we were told to expect, but I did get put onto night shift which made most social interactions outside of work rare. We wrapped Guardians of the Galaxy and it was an incredible film, breaking all sorts of box office records. One would hope that Hollywood would see the risks taken with this property (Previously indie director, B-rated cast list, weird characters,talking raccoon and a walking, blinking tree) and try out some fresh stuff. However, I have a feeling what it means is there will be more space movies with classic 80s music as their soundtrack and zero passion. But, whatever, its their piggy bank.
 We also wrapped Ninja Turtles. While it was not as successful as Guardians, I still loved it. (In my opinion) the characters were spot on and all of the rumors (and based on early scripts justified) that had kept me leery of the film were not there. It was actually pretty accurate to the original comic story. I worked on a couple of other projects over the summer months as well, but those werent as noteworthy in my mind.

 

























We did go to the Rockwell to watch Jeff Goldblum sing jazz, which ranks pretty high up in my awesomest things ever list.

 That leads us to San Diego Comic Con 2014....which was just weird.


   Its the best way I can think of describing it. It just seemed slightly off. We walked into Hall H twice without having to wait in line. This in itself is huge as sometimes the line to get into Hall H will take you (and has taken us) more than 10 hours to get through. There were fewer panels I was excited about seeing, fewer celebrities/artists/actors there that I wanted to meet and I went in with a light backpack that never really got any heavier. Wootstock was once again good, but last years show was an impossible act to follow. There were many random celebrity sightings.

I met some cool folks and hang out with one of the coolest folks out there, Mr Tyler Rhoads. I got more signatures from one of the creators of Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman and finally remembered to get a photo with him.

I got to get some books and coin of the realm signed by Patrick Rothfuss (read his books and his blog if you are even remotely into fantasy). I did get to meet one of the Godfathers of modern day visual effects, Phil Tippet. He was incredibly cool and I was amazed by all of the films from my childhood that he was responsible for the iconic imagery (pretty much anything with a dinosaur in the 80s-mid 90s).
 

 But it all was just meh. I dont think I am jaded, but rather its so expensive that a lot of artists are choosing to stay home and get work done and earn money rather than breaking even by attending. Also, several studios are blaming lackluster box office profits on the negative reviews of clips shown at the convention (as opposed to the more likely scenario of the films just not being great to begin with). Ill still try to get tickets to next years, but if I dont I wont be upset.

 Home for a day after SDCC and Rachel and I went on our first vacation as a couple by ourselves. We had gone on trips where we were visiting people we knew and with other folks, but never just the two of us without seeing anyone we knew. We wanted to do a west coast tour. We took the train rather than driving because Rachel was 7.5 months pregnant and we wanted to both be able to enjoy the scenery.


We took the Coastal Starlight, which is an Amtrak train that has all the fun old school amenities such as observation car, dining car and sleeping bunks. It was a good time and a nice relaxing way to spend a day and a half after having just spent a week surrounded by people at all times at comic con.



We got off the train in Portland then spent a day there, Seattle, Vancouver and Astoria, Oregon. For those film nerds out there you know Astoria is where they shot scenes from the Goonies (and Short Circuit, 1941, Ninja Turtles 3, Kindergarten Cop, etc, etc, etc). It was a beautiful, sleepy little cannery town who were incredibly pleasant considering how many random nerds probably end up trooping through their yards.




Then, the big news.....

WE ARE PARENTS!

Exciting, terrifying, sleep depriving. Persephone Rose Claunch arrived a couple weeks early, but other than a bout of jaundice is doing well. Her sleep schedule is still off, so she sleeps days and parties at night, but otherwise seems to be enjoying life outside the human submarine known a mom and we are loving our little girl!

Life in the 401st----The more you know, the more you learn. Listen to this man.

One of the best breakdowns of why Edgar Wrights films are pure genius while most comedies lose their luster after the first viewing. Watch, Learn, Laugh.


Edgar Wright - How to Do Visual Comedy from Tony Zhou on Vimeo.