Posts by Jumping Toaster:
06/13/2010
June 13th, 2010A beautiful shot of some sharks an eel and a sea turtle in the Tropic Zone at the Vancouver Aquarium.
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06/12/2010
June 12th, 2010A sleepy-lookin’ crocodile at the Vancovuer Aquarium.
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06/11/2010
June 11th, 2010More jellyfish at the Vancouver Aquarium!
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06/10/2010
June 10th, 2010A jellyfish at the Vancouver Aquarium.
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Illustrating Techniques of the ‘Toaster’
May 17th, 2010With most of my illustrations I start by blocking in my characters in non-photo blue pencil. I prefer the Staedtler 0.5mm mechanical pencil lead, but feel free to pick up the wooden pencil ‘Copy-Not’ type. I draw in the non-photo blue because let’s face it, when you’re ready to scan if you’ve made a mistake or make additional changes the scanner won’t pick it up. After the rough sketch is blocked in, I go over the illustration again in a thinner 0.3mm black lead and clean up any lines that might affect the image when scanned.
Next I scan the image or character at 600 dpi and save it as bitmap. I take it into Photoshop and run a series of ‘Actions’ I’ve developed to clean up the scan, convert the image, resolution, create selections, and even folder directories of the original scan and the working copies! You gotta love Photoshop for helping save you time by developing basic ‘scripting’ in the form of a palette anyone can use! Still within Photoshop, I complete the coloring and special effects, save the working copy before I run yet another ‘Action’ that will save another ‘flattened’ copy in a different folder to use for the final greeting card layout. I’ve always preferred the motto ‘Better safe than sorry’ in saving multiple copies of my digital work after experiencing several losses.
Using the flattened image, I complete the layout in a nicely reduced file size and my illustrations are ready to be developed at the local print shop! Each finished card measures 4.25 x 5.5 inches and comes with one standard white envelope and is printed on 12 pt card stock paper with a glossy finish. You get two greeting cards on a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cards stock.
This ‘Action’ palette has really saved me time in a number of different ways. Namely the multiple copies in different stages of completion, where you can go back to a ‘pre-flattened’ copy file and change the color of the character and other aspects of the image. Seeing as how I’m typically scanning in black & white drawings, it made sense to write an ‘Action’ to clean up the fragmented pixels and other commands so I didn’t have to continually do the work over and over again for every new scan. Don’t forget to add the ‘Save Copy’ and set up folder directories in your ‘Action’ it’s a great way of ensuring you have a backup of the illustration!
Enjoy
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Websites That Make Me Smile Part 6
May 16th, 2010Just a few to mention this week, that really caught my attention. The first one is a blog instead of a website, but the artist is John Kricfalusi creator of Ren & Stimpy so you know it’ll be good! John K has a great imagination and style, which is why I fell in love with his work. He continually pushes the envelope in animation and humour, from the obscure backgrounds to his characters ever changing facial expressions John K has changed the way we perceive animation. Pick up a copy of The Ren & Stimpy Show ‘Uncut’ Season 1&2 for the commentary John K and the rest of the Spumco team provide throughout the three disc boxed set. It’s like getting a private animation lesson in your own home! Or you can donate a little cash to John K’s Curriculum and follow along as John takes you through the fundamentals of animation and cartooning. It’s amazing to see how the comic/animation industry has evolved with technology to bring the reader so much content at the touch of a button. Which is why a lot of animators are now blogging or streaming live podcasts to keep up interest in their work because of the number of ‘up and coming’ artists out there.
Another way artists are raising cash for their projects is through Kickstarter.com Though the site is still in BETA mode, Kickstarter.com is an incredible platform. “Its’ purpose is funding, but we find ourselves gaining so much outside of collecting pledges. For us, Kickstarter has been a powerful tool to connect with a community passionate about our work.” Quote from Lumi Corp. Check out ‘Frog in a Suit’ and donate a little money to Joe Murray’s Kaboing TV idea and help get it off the ground! Perhaps some of you don’t know who Joe Murray is; well he’s the creator of Rocko’s Modern Life that was aired on Nickelodeon back in the 90’s. A truly brilliant ‘independent’ animation show, which created 52 episodes and had legions of fans and followers across the globe. Kickstarter.com is great place to witness new up and coming talent and provides a means of funding your own project. Perhaps Jumping Toaster Productions will ask for funding to produce a couple of Beany & Ralf animated shorts when the time comes.
Lastly, a neat little website Exploding Rabbit.com who produced the Super Mario Bros Crossover video game! A great flash game that recreates the original Super Mario Bros for Nintendo and allows you to play as characters from other classic Nintendo games like Megaman, Metroid, and Contra just to name a few. Great frame rate speed, online playability without having to download any of the content and to put it simply great Nintendo action! Jay Pavlina, the creator has some funny videos of him playing his own game for additional content on his site. Great job Jay, you’ve fulfilled one of my ‘pipe dreams’ from the 80’s and allow me to play as Megaman and blow the Goombas to dust!
Enjoy
🙂
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05/16/2010
May 16th, 2010An illustration of a ‘chained zombie’ for one of four greeting cards I’m currently working on. The completed card will feature children playing ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ with the zombie filling in for the donkey and his severed arm will serve as the tail.
ALL MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED! Unless otherwise provided in writing from Designer. No person(s) may not make or permit alterations or manipulations of images beyond the requirement of slight or reasonable image enhancement (i.e. alterations of contrast, brightness, color balance, re-sizing, and cropping), consistent the reproductive needs, that do not materially change the integrity of any image. Alterations or manipulations include but are not limited to additions to, subtractions from, or adaptations, alone or with any other material.
Drawn to Life
April 5th, 2010I love my Nintendo DS Lite that I got for Christmas, I especially love the fact that my DS plays Game Boy Advance games! So many cool retro-games like Super Mario 3, Castlevania, Zelda, and Metroid, just to name a few that you can still find on eBay or craigslist. Personally, I find ‘recently-released’ games can’t hold my interest and provide a challenge that’s worth my money. Then I came across a great title that instantly peaked my curiosity; Dawn to Life ‘The Next Chapter’ by THQ coincidentally ‘Best of E3’ Winner 2009.
Looking at the box-art and the back it looked like a simplified version of Photoshop Illustrator meets Mario. I dropped about 40 dollars, picked up a copy, took it home, and Blamm-O! I was enthralled in the creative world of Drawn to Life! You couldn’t get me away from the cursed device. My evenings after work mainly composed of drawing the next object needed to complete the level. From carrot surfboards, to inflatable-women platforms, I made a very surreal game of my own starring my own hero Gangstapus! He was a mean purple pimp octopus, with a Rolex watch, fedora and rusty prison shiv. The drawing palette that you use to create your hero is pretty straight forward with a build in ‘help’ button in case you don’t recognize a certain tool. For the artist or anyone familiar with Photoshop they included some nice blending option tools that you can use to amp up your creation! The game also included an option to trade your creations with other users via WiFi connection, however you can only carry a maximum of two hero creations on the cartridge.
Overall the game itself is pretty linier, and takes no time completing it within a few hours if you choose the ‘default’ game objects to use. The content you provide as the ‘Creator’ is really the meat & potatoes that makes this title worth while to spend about 30-40 bucks on. For a long time now I’ve wanted my own side-scrolling game featuring my own creations and now I have it!
Check out the official website here: http://www.drawntolife.com/
All images, logos, designs and trademarks are of THQ Inc. Licensed by Nintendo
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04/05/2010
April 5th, 2010Waiting for a Beany & Ralf comic strip?
ALL MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED! Unless otherwise provided in writing from Designer. No person(s) may not make or permit alterations or manipulations of images beyond the requirement of slight or reasonable image enhancement (i.e. alterations of contrast, brightness, color balance, re-sizing, and cropping), consistent the reproductive needs, that do not materially change the integrity of any image. Alterations or manipulations include but are not limited to additions to, subtractions from, or adaptations, alone or with any other material.
03/10/2010
March 10th, 2010Preparing the ice, down on Robson Street Square.
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