Ooh, double post

More hacking.
Things I'm unusually bad at:
1) drawing ellipses.
2) weapons.
I'm going to overcome those handicaps and be handicapable.

City By The Bay

I love Pelican Bay. I really do. The friendships I've forged here will last a lifetime. The only question is how long will that lifetime last?! I was beaten and left for dead in the showers last night, but I seem to have "been saved" by an all-knowing triune god. "Only in prison," as my cell-mate used to say before the T.B. took him.

Quantity, not Quality

That's me, today. Showed Satyricon to my USEM students. "Kids, don't steal Hermaphrodites."

Three process drawings of skull guy. This is driving me nuts, putting these up because a) they need a $%@% of a lot more work and b) they still suck. That being said, I'm putting them up because a) Daily drawing b) they remind me that you can't half-ass this stuff. It takes time, focus, and concentration. Since those three things are in precious short supply, I'm hoping the humiliation of putting up half-assed stuff will drive me to increase time, focus and concentration. That sounds bleak.

Oh, and I look and feel HAGGARD today, but not to worry, I dressed "dumpily" to help offset that impression.

Some things about today for posterity

1) It was beautiful.
2) I ate at Subway.
3) I played Grand Theft Auto 4 in 3D animation class in the name of research. Thanks, Kyle.
4) Went to Fred Meyer and got some Pokemon cards with Sam.
5) Worked more on skull alien. Oops, don't have him at home, so here's an old rough concept for some warriors that lived around Crater Lake and developed an armor system powered by human blood.

Two on Monday

Didn't write no blog this weekend. But did keep up the daily drawing regimen continuing the alien concept. Applause. The lighter one is actually a later version. As I post these images, I realize they look almost exactly the same. I've failed to follow the cardinal rule of working general to the specific. I've just been tickling this thing. Duh. It drives me crazy when my students do that. It's so much easier to tell people to do stuff than to do it myself. Speaking of which, time to go teach. @#$%, I need to get some work done.

80's music on in the Beanery. Some of it good. Much of it bad. I still hate Duran Duran as much as I did as a teenager.

Busy (as a morning sunrise)

Been working away this morn getting Legends From Camp to stream on the web. Not sure if this is ultimately a good thing. Watching video on the web really does suck. On the other hand, never getting to see something sucks as well. I want Legends to go out and have a life in the world, but I seem constitutionally incapable of distributing copies of it myself. This way, at least, it can be seen now and then by actual flesh and blood people. Imagine. Prattle. More when I upload it.

On the daily drawing end of things, here's an early stage of a sci-fi character design from my sketch book. I'm going to paint up the skull dude in 40-shoppe. Stay glued to your set for the updates. Yeah, I know, Mars Attacks. Who says 5th generation design can't be fun? These started as concepts for a 2D flash video game I've been designing with my son.

The 3 Stages of Heroic Man

Last night, as I returned to Pelican Bay, I was thrilled to find that the inmates had put together a collection to commission me to create a great mural for the recreation yard! They were quite clear that the subject of the work was to be "The 3 Stages of Heroic Man," and that I, as the embodiment of their rough and tumble heroic ideal, was to be the model for our Hero. You can imagine my excitement at such a challenge! I feverishly set to my sketchbooks, and after a sleepless night and not a few cigarettes' worth of paper, I posted my proposal in the cafeteria for all to see. The tumult was such that the guards fired several warning shots and were about to institute a "lock-down" until they too were transported by the genius of my design! Oh, the gaiety! If you had only seen the spontaneous bonhommie 'twixt guard and inmate, I have no doubt you would have wept as I did at the precious power of almighty Art to move friend and foe alike. Is there nothing that art (and the artist!) cannot achieve?! We are truly living on the cusp of a great age! What a precious gift it is to be an artist in these daring and heady times!

Oh would that I could stay and talk a very blue streak about the ecstasy of this day, but I must away to this great responsibility, my commission--my vocation!

Wednesday, eh?

Doing fine today (thanks for asking), save for a subtly increasing wave of existential dread engulfing my entire physical and emotional consciousness. How do you say it. . . ah yes, "It's all good." Hrmph. Indeed.

Let's see, trying to get in on the streaming video bandwagon so I can get Legends From Camp up on the web. Also got back to the website and am now realizing what a pain in the @@s it is. Oh well, at least I can harangue my students. "@#$*, kids, you just have to work at this &*$# until you get it right! Sob. Cry. Excuse me. . . I just get so emotional because I care so much about art and beauty and such . . . oh. . . hmmm, guess no one's actually here. . . uh, guess I'll go get a slurpee. . ."

And, yes, a bandwagon isn't really something you "get in on," is it?
Yeah, got to "get in on" this bandwagon thing while it's still hot.
Hrmph. Indeed.

And yes, as I'm sure you've already figured out, the above "graphic" isn't one of my daily drawings. It's the design of a tattoo I did for a fellow Pelican Bay inmate. Charles Schulz ain't got nothing on me.

Non-Solipsistic Stuff

Daemon Skull, by Matt Lawrence, 2008

1. SOU alum Steve Hammond's MFA thesis, Negative Capability, has some inspiring insights into the creative process. Well-researched, thought-out, written, and illustrated. An excellent resource for all of us fighting the creative fight. I recommend it as an antidote to writer's/drawer's/animator's/designer's block. Here's a temporary link to it. Steve, let me know when you get it posted on your blog, and I'll link to it there.

2. SOU alum Matt Lawrence has a new blog with some of his goodness. He's been busy animatin' and drawin.' Keep an eye on it. His stuff's been really developing lately. Coolio.

Century Plus 1

Similar theme/comp from a month ago. . .

Century of the Self

Yes. It's my 100th solipsistic post. Ta-rah. Hoot. Woot. Time for coffee.

BTW, Century of the Self is an excellent documentary series by Adam Curtis chronicling the rise of the individual as the dominant social unit and the corresponding blah blah blah.

Quiet. Obstinance.

Solitude disappears slowly and steadily. Civilized life takes a constant toll. Forsake the stupid. Look for the good, the meaningful. . .uh, like in this drawing. . . Oh, and I did miss a day (Sunday) of drawing. So if I tell you I draw EVERY day. I'm a %$%#ing liar.
Also, don't misspell obstinance as "obstinence." Very poor form.

Mouse Monkeys

More mouse drawing. A rough sketch? I could come back to it later. Who cares? Commemorative portrait of myself and friends?

The Dail Dale

Funny. I actively, petulently didn't want to draw today, so, I did this on my home computer with my mouse while waiting to take Sam to Pokemon League. Ha ha. Daily mission accomplished. Barely. Mouse drawing rules. Ugh.

Mission Creep II: Eccentric Hulagu

Time for more drawing and less prattling. These posts is too wordy. Words bad. Pictures good.
And so, I give you, "Miles Inada in the Year 3000," and my incipient return to daily drawing.

Guardians of the 21st Century

Some early Happiness Hole concepts.

Revenge of Meat Space I - Roger Shimomura

Roger Shimomura, The Gook, acrylic on canvas, 2003

Last week I got to meet Roger Shimomura who came to SOU as a visiting artist in conjunction with the show Artist as Social Critic at the Schneider Museum of Art that includes his work. I've known his work for quite a while as a) he's a well-known artist b) he's a well-known Japanese-American artist c) people would see my stuff and say, "You should check out Roger Shimomura" d)he's done some stuff with my dad ("well-known poet," "well-known Japanese-American poet" etc.) e) he was good buddies with Frank Okada (well-known painter, well-known Japanese-American painter-etc) who I studied with at University of Oregon.
Anyhow, I finally got to have lunch with him and see him lecture on his work. This was very cool because a) Roger Shimomura is a hard-core artist who's been bringin' it for a long time. You learn a lot and get inspired by being around such people. b) Visually, he's got serious game. You learn a lot and get inspired by seeing refined, thoughtful work. c) Roger's a cool, approachable, good guy. d) The generational thing. It's always inspiring to realize that what we're able to do now, artistically, is built off of the developments and paths blazed by earlier artists. Whether we appreciate it or not, it's still true. e) Got me thinking about The Camps (Japanese-American Internment Camps) again, and realizing that keeping things alive and in the public eye is a big function of art. f) We got to talk about Frank Okada who died in 2000, and I miss Frank. So, check out Shimomura's work if you're not familiar with it. It's strong stuff.

Return to the Rogue

Just got back to town after a whirlwind trip to Eugene for the DisOrient Film Festival. T'was good. I'll write more about it later. Seeing my stuff in a different context in front of strangers always gets me to thinking. Sometimes that's even a good thing. Here's a self-portrait from a few years back--The last remnants of hair (Scott Hamilton hair-do) date it to 'round 2003, I'll wager. Oh, it's dated--duh-- Feb. 2002. 6 years ago. . . gulp.

Steve Hammond & DisOrient

images by Steve Hammond--enemyarts.com

Check out SOU alum Steve Hammond's MFA thesis animation here. Sir Steve just finished his MFA at Savannah College O' Art N' Design (S.C.O.A.N.D.), and capped it all off with a very nice 2-D animation. His website is enemyarts.com and it is good.

Also, I'm going to start using other people's images when I post about them. Seems to make a bit more sense than just putting up my random stuff.

In other news, I'm headed up to mighty Eugene, Oregon today to attend the DisOrient Film Festival which is screening Legends From Camp. I'll be on a panel likely to center on art and politics. . . .

Something Good To Look At

Is Jennifer Harlow's animation blog. It's a great resource for anyone even vaguely interested in animation. Jen studied at SOU for a year before heading off to the Starfleet Academy of animation schools, CalArts*. Her blog is a fantastic blow-by-blow of her first year experience in the animation BFA program. Check it out!

*Okay, so we'll make SOU the Deep Space Nine of animation schools--colorful, soulful, conflicted, compelling, and a bit isolated. But damnit, it's a place where a man/woman/shapeshifter can make a difference in this galaxy.