nate f.

Mextendo Marcus

2011-11-23T14:55:00.001-08:00

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

2011-08-17T22:43:00.001-07:00

Started playing this last night, and the art direction is just stunning - it also happens to be a lot of fun to play. I have been a fan of Michel Gagne's for years, so getting to play a game that is pretty much set in his brain is incredibly inspiring and beautiful to look at.

Sometimes I get caught up looking at the backgrounds, scenes, monsters that I end up not paying attention and get killed. I'm a nerd. It's all right.

So I was thinking about it all day today at work and then came home and made some nerdy fan art.

If you're a Gagne fan, or a Metroid side scrolling fan, and you have an Xbox 360, it's definitely worth checking out. If you're not a fan of either, check it out anyways because it's good, and if you don't like it, you're an anti-goodgameite.

Talk to the Roba Hand

2011-05-26T10:34:00.001-07:00

Something I drew while waiting downstairs for a meeting about pretzel moneys.

Portal Vid - Life of a Turret

2011-05-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

These guys made a video about the life of turrets awhile back, and it's pretty good. Admittedly, I am a little obsessed with Portal lately after finishing Portal 2 and then reading the Final Hours of Portal 2 (which is an amazing read if you are at all into game development).

If you haven't played Portal 1 or 2, this won't be funny. Move along.

Zombie Claymation

2011-05-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Lee Hardcastle made this short and it's awesome. It's gory, it's good, and there's zombies. Oh and it's low rent awesome claymation. I love it.

Problem Solverz - Awesome Banditz

2011-04-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

/Blatantplugforshowiproduce on

New episode of Problem Solverz on Monday. It's gonna be hot. It's got the villain from Fast n da Furious Tokyo Drift, DK (Brian Tee) in it as a tough guy racer dude. There's elevator racing, intrigue, thievery, undercover brothers, kidnapping, and cans of beans. Really at this point, how can you not watch?

/Blatantplugforshowiproduce off

Breakin the Lawz

2011-02-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

Breakin da Lawz from Nate F on Vimeo.

What is better than watching the Empire on a killin spree, bustin' some Rebel asses? Ewoks getting dead? Twilek hookers being fed to Rancors? Droids being exploded? Whiny Empire fools getting Force choked? And of course Luke getting beat up by flying boxes? The answer my friends is nothing is better ...

Take that stupid Ewok!!

Awesome Minecraft Videos

2011-02-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

If you have never played Minecraft (an amazing game for PC / Mac), then you won't fully get the funny / cool aspects of the following two videos. It's easily one of the best and most innovative games of 2010, and strangely enough almost impossible to explain to people why it's cool.

Basically if you like to build stuff with Legos, and you like open ended sandbox style games, then it's very much something you should check out.

Even if you haven't played Minecraft, these are both amazing videos. Excuse me while I waste my rainy weekend indoors catching up on some Minecraft...

New iPhone Tapper Game

2011-02-08T19:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently Midway is making a reboot of the arcade classic Tapper called "Tapper World Tour" developed by Square One. For some reason Don Bluth is attached to the project, likely directing animation and character designs. I have to wonder what they are going to do to plus the gameplay - power ups / additional actions / tilt control? Some modern updates to classics have come out to be incredible updates (Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Pac Man Championship DX), so I'm hoping this gets an equally respectable treatment.

From what they are calling "actual in game screenshots" it looks slightly dated in regards to art direction, reminiscent of yet another 1990s-esque Leisure Suit Larry game. Boring, unthemed HUD assets round out the package. Maybe it's just harder to come up with edgy visual treatments for the update like some of its competitors, but this is where it is definitely a little lacking. Maybe it will have some really kickass animation instead.

I'm not holding my breath, but I hope they really knock it out of the park and plus the gameplay and hopefully try new things rather than just depend on a reskin and name recognition as a sales crutch. The Tiki Bar iPhone game we made last year at Caldera Studios was definitely influenced by the original Tapper, having hectic patrons harassing you as they crowd around the bar, collecting tips, serving drinks...

Well here is a link to a newsfeed from 148Apps and followed by the facebook fan page to the game if you are interested in reading more ...

148 Apps - Tapper World Tour
Tapper World Tour Facebook Fan Page

5 Reasons the Tron Xbox Controller Rules

2011-01-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

I love my Tron Xbox 360 controller. It's the coolest thing ever. I remember when I saw the e3 blog post about, I drooled all over my keyboard and it shorted out the spacebar. Luckily my friend bought it for me for Christmas, which led me to write about the 5 reasons the Tron controller is better than all other controllers...

1. It's cooler - It gives you 25% more nerd coolness. All other nerds will bow to your superiority when they compare it to their flaccid, regular non glowing controllers.

2. It's visible - You won't step on your controller when it's sitting on your messy serial killer floor covered with old junk mail and photos of people you're stalking.

3. Blue lights make your gadgets awesomer - Any time you add blue LED lights to a device, it becomes much more futuristic and technologically powerful. It's the equivalent of a "Powered by NOS" car sticker, it just LOOKS like it makes your Xbox faster.

4. You will be less likely to throw it - I cracked my regular Xbox 360 controller the other day while playing Call of Duty Black Ops after it magically came out of my hands with force towards my poorly carpeted floor. I would never throw my Tron controller because the lights make it look more gadgety and fragile, like a Japanese Sony Walkman from the 80s.

5. It says TRON on it - yes there's nothing like putting a nerd symbol on an already nerdy device that makes your girlfriend not want to sleep with you. Make sure you don't brag about this to any of the female species, only to your friends who actually laugh at all your Star Wars Jar Jar jokes.

Alfe and the Problem Solverz

2010-12-30T18:40:00.001-08:00

Alfe is on a new show at Cartoon Network called Problem Solverz. Lots of people on youtube hate it, but I like it, because Alfe is cool.

Also here's the Problem Solverz blog, but I think only Alfe posts there, but he's the coolest one anyways, so whatevs...

Problem Solverz BLOGZ

Plaid Man

2010-12-28T12:28:00.001-08:00

Tron Legacy

2010-12-07T22:49:00.001-08:00

Got lucky and managed to find myself at a Tron Legacy screening tonight. Rubbed elbows with pseudo celebs and enjoyed the Imax 3D nerd fest. Somehow, it exceeded my expectations; they did a great job making a good solid matrix-y action film but kept true to the Tron universe while making it pedestrian enough that non nerdy girlfriends can enjoy.

If you are a Tron fan, you will not be disappointed. If you are just semi interested in seeing it, you will still have a great time. If you hate computers and Jeff Bridges' Dude beard, then you will likely not enjoy this film.

I applaud Disney for resurrecting one of my favorite films and making an awesome sequel that does the original justice, unlike so many of the recent sequels that have destroyed my fragile, sheltered childhood memories.

(Klingon Discommendation to Star Wars I, II, III and Indy IV)

It was easy to be worried that my highlight of the evening would be taking a leak at the urinal a few spots down from Leonard Maltin (which totally happened), but Tron Legacy was a kickass film for a Tron nerd like me.

Lastly, the soundtrack is pretty cool (and only $4 for the mp3 album on Amazon) - bought it as soon as I got home - don't forget to look for the Daft Punk cameo when you watch the film. ;)

New Blog Design

2010-12-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

That old blog design was reaaaaaaally old. It made my poor blog look like it was stuck in 2002, so I've updated this to look like the future, or at least like a poor man's Mac website.

Meanwhile, we've been doing a couple 'Borracho y Gordo' webcomic updates over at Tiki Machine, so go check em out!

The Adventures of Borracho y Gordo

Fallout New Vegas

2010-12-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

So I started playing Fallout New Vegas a couple weeks ago, and it's pretty amazing. It's not as good as Fallout 3, but it's still a great game.

My character is a latino sword specialist with a penchant for 1800s Winchester rifles. He also carries no fewer than 3 rifles, 2 pistols, 1 shotgun, 3 cqb weapons, a grenade launcher, enough dynamite to tunnel through a mountain, and a rusty spear at all times, but still manages to get killed by poisonous flying insects.

I imagine it's only a matter of time until they make a Fallout MMO, which I would probably try to avoid at all costs for fear of losing my life force into that vortex of a game. It's bad enough already that this one will suck down days of my life.

Funny - my friend Nick hates the Fallout / Morrowind games because you can just steal EVERYTHING from every single house you walk into, and that drove him nuts. Then again, he's not much of a sandbox game guy; he needs boundaries to live.

New 1982 Tron Trailer

2010-11-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

Tron Trailer 1982 from chris drew on Vimeo.

This guy made a fan trailer of the original 1982 Tron movie, which makes the film look much more Michael Bay than it actually is. Don't get me wrong, I love Tron, but the editing and pacing in that film has very little to do with this trailer.

Very fun trailer and well done even if it does make the film look super exciting.

Scuba in Grand Cayman

2010-11-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

Grand Cayman Scuba from Nate F on Vimeo.

So a few weeks ago I got the opportunity to do some scuba diving in Grand Cayman.

Check out my super pro iMovie scuba video footage filmed on my point n shoot.

I hung out with some turtles underwater, and then I ate some turtles above water.

It was a conflicting experience. Btw turtle tastes like flank steak.

Tron Trailer 3

2010-11-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

New trailer for Tron came out on Monday and it looks pretty amazang. I enjoyed reading the comments about the new trailer and someone was bitching why the main character was a white nerdy guys and how all movie heroes now are white nerdy guys.

Someone needs to bring moose knuckle Tron costume man out of hiding.

Also why is Tron 1 no longer available on DVD? Blasphemy!

Seattle and the Space Needle

2010-11-08T14:55:00.001-08:00

On a recent expedition I went to Seattle, and I realized most people there are on island time. Everyone moves around slowly and leisurely, only unlike island time, nobody is happy. Everybody is in depressed sad panda mode.

It's like the perfect counterpart of LA - everyone in Los Angeles is pissed off and moving fast, and in Seattle everyone is sad and moving slow.

Similarly to Los Angeles, they have bad traffic and no effective public transportation system, which is maybe also why everyone is in a bad mood there.

Well it's a cool looking city despite its abnormally high suicide rates. I will have to go and visit again and next time bring my scuba gear.

Baby Scorpions

2010-10-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

My old pet scorpion that I had to give away had babies last week, so I went by and saw them yesterday. Pretty much nobody on my crew wanted to adopt scorpion babies except the guys with tattoos - and one of those guys wanted to adopt it because his wife has always wanted a scorpion.

I miss the days coming home from work and watching my scorpion trying to escape her tank, and then wondering if I should just let her run loose around the house to cause havoc, eat all the noisy annoying crickets and to scare the hell out of my roommate. I still remember my friend Kelsey telling me when I got the scorpion, "You're going to become that creepy guy who just sits in front of their weird spider tank late at night and watches the thing for hours on end."

Well if you live in the LA area and you want to adopt a baby pet Emperor Scorpion (btw their venom is pretty harmless - like a bee sting), send me an email.

Bioshock Infinite

2010-09-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Some games are starting to become really incredible in terms of art direction. Bioshock stunned me when it originally came out, it is still one of the best looking and immersive games in terms of environment, creating a believable departure from reality.

Props to the team on making this new game, they took the whole main street / turn of the century USA / steampunk vibe and ran with it.

Awesome.

Kona Skate Sticker

2010-09-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Some Jim Philips / skate inspired Tiki Machine logo pinup art I made this week for the upcoming Monster Mythos art book. Would love to get vinyl stickers of these made, but the damn custom cut charges on it would be super expensive.

Success, happiness, and the pursuit of soda

2010-09-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

I tripped over this video today, and was totally inspired by the guy in it. He's the owner of this soda pop / beverage store called Galco's in LA. He just talks about his business and what he does, which is basically selling soda, but the guy is passionate about his profession. So passionate that it is infectious and inspiring. At the end of the video you want to be this guy ... and he sells soda.

Seriously, if you've never been to Galco's, it's worth the pilgrimage if you're in the LA area. He's got a great selection of beers too, but his soda selection is unparalleled. You can also order online off his website if you don't live in the center of the universe, like me.

Main Street, USA

2010-09-13T15:35:00.001-07:00

Took this Main Street photo last week and it got me to thinking about the design aspects of it. When you visit Disneyland, you have to think Walt Disney had it right when he designed Main Street. Sure, you might say, "Well it was Harper Goff that REALLY designed Main Street." I wouldn't disagree, but it's amazing no matter who you ultimately give credit to.

Yes, Walt stole the evening lights idea from Tivoli Gardens, but it works amazingly well. That plus the music, the sparkling lights in the trees, the gaslamps, the warmth of the lights coming from the storefronts, the smellitzers pumping out aromas of baked goods and waffle cones, and another hundred small details that you don't catch all work perfectly together to create this ridiculous sense of magic and nostalgia that you really can't put your finger on.

They created it so that Main Street was the perfect opening and closing to your visit to Disneyland park - it works to tell you a story. It's not a story with a linear path, but more of an immersion, something that forces you to take a departure from your daily experience to an idealized past. Just as it takes time to ease an audience into a story, Main Street performs the exact same function - allowing us to transition from the real life city to an imaginary city, but one that is warm and comforting, like a nostalgic home that we never experienced. By the time you walk down to the hub, the castle, you are ready to experience the adventures of the park. If the castle were at the front of the gate where you enter, the experience would likely be mediocre.

Disneyland is always amazing to me from a storytelling perspective, because that's how the Imagineers all approached it. They were not trained as civil engineers and architects; they approached the land the same way they would make a movie - they were telling a story, and that's why the park works so well.

3G Show Opening Report

2010-09-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

Went to the Autumn Society's 3G group show opening at Gallery 1988 on Friday, despite my deep seated fear of being mauled to death by a an overcrowded room of belligerent hipsters. 3G standing for Ghostbusters, Gremlins, and Goonies. All the pieces were themed after those three movies and the place was packed to the gills with art.

Hundreds of people were there. The art show was awesome. It whipped a horse's ass.

Eric "the Gute" Gonzalez was spotted amongst the masses of art opening patrons. He had some cool pieces in the show too. He's showing us how sore his thumb is.

Out front there was about twenty Ghostbusters in full uniform making sure that no poltergeists were admitted into the show. Yes, that's the Ecto-1, and I wanted to steal it.

For some reason the Back to the Future Doc Brown Delorean was there. Both the Delorean and the Ecto-1 were double parked out front. You can see the 5-O rolling up in the background ready to issue tickets to any nostalgic cars not following the vehicle code. That was my cue to leave and go eat Italian food, although watching the Ghostbusters negotiate with LAPD about the parking job, if you squinted, you could imagine it was a real Ghostbuster arguing with NYPD about fake construction permits ...

Seriously though, great show if you're in LA, like Gremlins, Ghostbusters, or Goonies - lots of the pieces are completely affordable to buy and impress all your geeky friends.

Gallery 1988
Autumn Society

Chemical Brothers

2010-09-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

One of my friends ended up having to get rid of his Chemical Brothers tickets and I ran off to the Hollywood Bowl last weekend to see them. I figured it would be cool to see, but kind of boring to watch them just sit behind the consoles and essentially mix tracks. They end up having a giant screen behind them projecting video with accompanying lights and lasers.

Everything that you see on the video is all pretty nuts and abstract and exactly timed with the music. It's kind of like watching a live music video.

Anyways, I shot some video with my iPhone and it doesn't do it justice, but check out the size of the screen and notice how the lights behind the screen are timed out to surround the animation on screen. It's definitely worth seeing if you like electronica or the Chemical Brothers.

The washed up / burnt out raver people watching was pretty good too. No video of that unfortunately.

Untitled from Nate F on Vimeo.

Alohawz Fridayz

2010-09-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's a holiday weekend Friday. Run from the confines of your deskz and head for the hills, beaches, bars, and debase yourselves for the last remnants of summer when you can wear white without social indemnification.

Also if you're in LA, check out the Gallery 1988 show right now - the 3G show: Gremlins, Ghostbusters and Goonies. It's a group show there with a bunch of Autumn Society peoples, chock full of some kickass tribute art to those 3 films. Props to those guys.

/Film preview / plug here: http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/09/03/cool-stuff-the-3g-art-show-ghostbusters-goonies-and-gremlins-part-4/

Some of the dudes / chicks in that show are doing art for our upcoming Tiki Machine art book, so check that out too if you haven't seen it. http://tikimachine.blogspot.com/

Gegenes Ruff Color

2010-07-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here's another work in progress piece from the upcoming folklore monsters compilation art book being released by Tiki Machine. The book should be pretty awesome. We've got some amazing artists together to make this one. If you haven't checked out the blog for Tiki Machine, get over there and take a look at the art!

This ugly guy is a 6 armed giant who's kind of foul tempered and generally makes life miserable for all the humans that meet him.

I'll be posting more of my color art from the folklore monsters book over the coming weeks, so look for it soon.

Tooth Gnome

2010-06-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

My friend was complaining that his tooth hurt. I told him a gnome lived inside of it. You be the judge.

Catalina Divin

2010-05-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, not an art post this week, but this was a cool video I shot over the weekend while doing some scuba diving in Catalina. There's tons of cool stuff to see while diving but sometimes I love just lounging around underwater and watching the kelp move in the current.

This is pretty shallow, maybe 20 ft of water right near the end of our dive as we leave the water, but it's one of my favorite parts of this dive spot.

Disneyland Commercials

2010-03-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

So I don't often post videos here but I love Disneyland and there is something appealing about oldsy timesy commercials. Check out these amazing 1970s era Disneyland coaster ads. I especially love the animated coaster in the Space Mountain one, and the animated lightning strike on the Big Thunder spot.

Found these gems over at Franklin Ave., a great blog about Los Angeles stuffs.

Melaikhryseoi Sketch

2010-03-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

New sketch for a group art book that I'm in with a bunch of people. We're publishing it through Tiki Machine, which is a small indie press that Mike Collins and I have been working on for the past year or so.

The book is a collection of folklore monsters illustrations from a bunch of kickass artists. Should be pretty cool stuff. Look for the book around the end of summer this year.

Helmo!

2010-02-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Ruhspect

2010-02-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

Monstro Brook

2010-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Scorpion Daze

2009-10-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

So I have a pet scorpion at home and he doesn't do a whole lot. I think I feed him too much and he's just fat and hangs out in his coconut house all day and night. Anyways, I named him John Rambo when I got him after the all American war hero who saved us all. Some days when he does come out I imagine him reciting one liners from the various Rambo films.

That ghostly green color is the color he turns when I turn his blacklight on. I think the real Rambo might turn that color under a blacklight too if he weren't covered with mud, guts and blood.

Adventures In Traffic

2009-09-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

So this is what happened to me on the 5 freeway the other day, and I think it's a good real life example of why you don't flirt with girls in World of Warcraft (of which I'm happily clean and sober from for 3 years now). I mean really, why would you put "ELFMAGE" on your license plate? I didn't see any swords, wizard materials, or armor in his backseat, but maybe he was a big LARPer and just doesn't carry that stuff with him normally. That or he's a big dungeons and dragons nerd. I don't know ... all I know is it was a disappointment on my morning drive.

Labor Day Pinup

2009-09-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

A little pretty pinup art for the laboring masses on Labor Day. Go out into the world and eat bbq and potato salad as your summer drifts away into a drab Tuesday. Happy Labor Day!

Little Eiffel

2009-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

If you've never read about Gustave Alexandre Eiffel, he was the guy who built the Eiffel Tower and tons of other steel structures, including the frame inside the Statue of Liberty. The guy came from humble roots and ended up being a master builder, never stopped learning, and in the later years of his life he became a scientist, studying aerodynamics.

One of the best Pixies songs is all about him ... "Oh Alexander, I see you beneath the archway of aerodynamics."

Rock Band H8R

2009-09-02T15:47:00.001-07:00

So I really don't care for Rockband all that much. I sorta got off the Guitar Hero / Rockband train awhile back, and no I'm not a hater, but I just don't have room in my room for a drumset and 2 more guitars (that and my dumb guitar hero 2 flying v guitar broke), so I just don't usually play unless I'm at someone's place (1) and I've had a few drinks (2) and I'm looking forward to annoying someone (3).

Cue this last weekend in Colorado (1), where my friends and I drank vodka (2), and made a new band for Rockband 2. We tried to make our characters as obnoxious as possible and then go play online to try and get people to exit the game as soon as they saw how stupid we looked (3). Unfortunately since we had 3 players (guitar, drums, and a mic), everyone who joined was just happy to play with a full band, so our plan didn't work at all and instead we just had ridiculous characters, in the end making us look stupid in the real world. Social experiment #486 ... failed.

So here's my rendition of my sweet bass guitarist, "Chata". Yes he's wearing tube socks.

More Mt. Whitney

2009-08-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a partially complete comp of a retro travel poster for that dumb Mount Whitney. I'm still trying to figure out why I made a travel poster for a place that I cursed and can't stand hiking. Maybe I illustrated it because I'm still confused why I hiked it in the first place, but there was no enlightenment coming to me so I stopped.

Well I'm not hiking it again, and I'm not going to finish this piece or draw anymore sketches of that crap on crap cracker of a mountain.

Cheveaux Noir Mlle.

2009-08-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Playing with more brushes and what better way to play with brushes than to make a little pinup girl.

I was looking at Marc Davis paintings the other day and I was amazed how great his girls looked and he rarely put much detail in the eyes, it was almost all eyelash and makeup.

Hipster Mustache Award

2009-08-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

I saw this guy over in Echo Park a few weeks ago, and he was a nice enough guy, but his mustache really upset me. It was far too coiffed and far too pointy. I felt very conflicted. On one hand he was a generally ok fellow, and one of the girls at our table was quite smitten with the man. On the other hand that mustache made me very angry and i wanted to liver punch him. I think if he was French, or a 1920s flight commander, or if he was a Baron I might have given him a pass, but that mustache was egregious.

UNAUTHORIZED USE OF MUSTACHE!

Hiking Mount Whitney

2009-08-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I went to hike Mount Whitney. It's been a goal of mine for a few years now, being the tallest mountain in the continental 48 states, but now that I've done it, I'm not so sure it was a good idea. It was 16 hours of hiking and I had practically no sleep, my legs felt broken, my psyche scarred, and the trail itself wasn't particularly pleasant. I'm not sure why people hike it, but here's a before and after picture of me (yes I felt like Smeagol after I was done and yes the hike was like going to Mordor).

Nerd Town Hipster

2009-08-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Spending time in Echo Park bars makes me want to draw ironic nerd hipsters. These guys are dangerous. Distract them by leaving a chaff of 1980s Nintendo cartridges on the ground as you run away.

Mad Brook

2009-08-11T11:11:00.001-07:00

Santino, Mike Collins, and I all did pieces based on our friend Brook a couple of weeks ago - basically about Brook getting mad over a pretty good prank we got him with. For the full story about one of the greatest hot dogs ever invented and a great prank, visit Mike's blog, Creative Ace s.

Below is my piece, followed by Santino's rendition of sad Brook, and Mike's pretty accurate representation of very mad Brook.

Forgotten Betty

2009-08-03T22:39:00.001-07:00

Here's some art of "Betty" from the new Caldera Studios tiki game that we didn't use. Jeff and I were sad to see her go because she just didn't jive with the art style of the game (despite suggestions to redo all other art in the game). Her new version is a little more round headed and a little less sultry, but still cute. I'll post some more of the TikiBar game art as we get things finalized, but I was sad to see Betty fall to the wayside, so I figured I'd post her.

Sad Brook

2009-07-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

One day I walked into Brook's cube and he was on the phone with the cable company and he was very sad. I think most cable company phone calls make people angry, but not Brook. It just makes him sad.

Gurls With Bangs

2009-07-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Just messin with some new brushes over here ... I do think every guy is a sucker for a girl with Betty Page bangs. Maybe because it's such a pinup iconic thing? I have no idea.

One girl told me that every punk rock chick has to go through the phase where she chops her hair and wears the Betty Page bangs and then quickly figures out that it was a terrible idea, spending the next year growing her bangs out.

Tiki Drumma Tonga Toni Di

2009-05-14T21:28:00.001-07:00

Tonga Toni Di. He loves to bang on the drums and he loves his grog. When the sun goes down he hits the drum twice as fast and howls at the moon. When the sun comes up, he plays for the sea and then runs into the jungle and hides until the afternoon when he drums some more to scare away the sun and bring back the moon.

Post 100! - Samurai Otter

2009-05-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

SpellFlyer!

2009-04-01T20:55:00.001-07:00

Hey! It's another iPhone / iPod Touch game - unfortunately unless you are between the ages of 3-7, you probably won't find this game very enjoyable. It's an "edutainment" (not a big fan of that word) game where you fly a plane to spell words and are rewarded by a sky full of fireworks. Lots of fun if you don't know how to spell. If you're able to read this blog post, probably not so much.

Steamboat Mountain built this game in a matter of a few weeks for a production company called Zero260 up in Seattle. This game has another great soundtrack and we even got to record some voice acting. I worked as Lead Designer on the project and for the first time in my life made something that wasn't just mindless entertainment. Now kids will know that if you spell poorly, your plane will go down in flames ... well ok, not in flames, but will smoke and make it fly all crazy. ;)

(Btw the poor quality screencaps - that's some sort of compression issue. When you buy the game it won't have artifacting, I swear!)

Itunes Store - SpellFlyer

Abby Crabby Iphone Game

2009-01-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

I've been busy the last couple months working on lots of crazy stuff, but this was the thing taking most of my time - designing a little Iphone / Ipod Touch game called Abby Crabby. It was the first Iphone game that this company Steamboat Mountain Designs made, and their second Iphone app, and it came out pretty danged good.

It's basically an old school arcade kind of game, like Missile Command or Space Invaders, but in the Pacific Ocean with piles of trash falling and smashing baby crabs (ok the smashing baby crabs part is sad but the game is fun!). Part of the game sales proceeds go to the Monterey Bay Center for the Future of the Oceans, so for a couple of bucks, you're saving the earth and getting a fun game for your Iphone to play while you're in line at the market.

Anyways, here's the link to the game if you want to check it out! Abby Crabby! (I think it's even on sale for a buck right now...)

Jeff Mathews and I came up with the concept and gameplay, I designed the look of the game and Jeff used his magic brain to code it. Randy Willig did our sound effects and Marcus Baide came up with some kitchity katchy carribbean music. Thanks to Jeff and Steamboat Mountain Designs for giving me the chance to work on this fun game.

Check out the gameplay video after the screencaps!

2 cars and a half a motor

2008-04-23T14:31:00.001-07:00

Been studying some of Ed Newton's car stuff. That guy is the godfather of kustom car art, and the dude behind lots of the cool Ed Roth stuff during his heyday. That lower drawing is just the same car but in Powerpuff style. Been spending too much time around the Powerpuff crew I guess ...

Macho Purple Monster

2008-04-04T19:58:00.001-07:00

Here I was looking at my used cintiq 15 that I've had for a few months that I bought off a friend - I finally hooked it up and messed around, drawing this monster last night, but here's the weird part. That color palate you see there ... totally not me. He was purple with blue hair and a grey blue background. It's some weird export problem with photoshop / flash. When I upload here, it's all psychadelic. Maybe it's better that way.

Buck Rogers In The Land of Chromeo

2008-04-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

Jeez I haven't updated this in awhile. I won't give you any excuses, but I will give you this Buck Rogers Chromeo video I put together. I love Buck Rogers and I love Chromeo. It's a match made in heaven.

Tiki Detective

2008-01-11T17:34:00.001-08:00

You wouldn't want the Tiki Detective after you. He's bulletproof, he's angry, and he's made of tropical wood. Think if you mixed Philip Marlowe with Pinocchio and then punched Marlowe in the face and made him mad. That's Tiki Detective.

Number Six Is Not A Number

2007-12-17T17:41:00.001-08:00

He's not a number; he's a free man. The Prisoner is one of the weirdest shows you'll ever watch. It's like a 20 episode long Twilight Zone episode about a guy who's been abducted. Anyways, I've been watching through the series again, so I did a sketch of our hero, Number Six.

I need a jeep

2007-12-12T11:28:00.001-08:00

I was thinking about buying a jeep recently, but jeeps just lack that panache that I'm looking for. Maybe if I could get one of these I'd be happy. It probably gets horrible mileage though.

Clean Ur Guns First

2007-11-28T16:38:00.000-08:00

Italians know how to make nicely designed cars, furniture, clothes, and guns! Is there anything they can't do? (Ok ok gun nerd, I know one of those guns is American). 50 points to whoever can name all the guns. I know I couldn't.

Annoyed Android

2007-11-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, he's a robot and not an android, but "annoyed robot" doesn't rhyme.

Sad Pointy Head

2007-11-06T12:30:00.001-08:00

Poor pointy head always gets confused with hood wearing jerks.

Whale Drinx

2007-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's more of a sea bass than a whale...

Figaro, not the Cat

2007-10-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Although it looks like an old 60s eurocar, it was made recently as a retro modern car by Nissan, but unfortunately only released in Europe and Japan. Otherwise, I'd probably already own this car. Poor US, always getting the tablescraps of car design...

You're a Wolf

2007-10-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Old gypsy woman spoke to me, said, "You're a wolf, boy. Get out of this town."

Warbirds Sketches

2007-10-12T10:41:00.001-07:00

WW2 warbirds are cool. I'd love to fly a P51 or a P38 to work if I could. Unfortunately there are no airfields next to Cartoon Network and I don't have a WW2 fighter plane.

Weekend Warrior

2007-10-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Another Ed Rothian creation from last week, this one was for my pop's birthday, and yes that's a Prius.

Wednesday's Skull

2007-08-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

Red Sur La Couch

2007-07-19T18:42:00.001-07:00

Le redhead de random sur cette sofa. Voila! She's wearing socks ... why would I draw a girl with socks and no shoes. I can't stand socks.

Skelet-o and Ghosty

2007-07-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

More teasers from the pinball machine ... Two more vinyls from the land of haunts.

burthdays for bums

2007-07-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Self portrait of me 5 birthdays from now or artwork from the new pinball machine. You decide.

Skylane

2007-07-16T14:26:00.001-07:00

In my notes this is a Skylane sketch. I don't remember what it is though.
I frequently write the wrong name down of the car I draw; not sure why that is.

Hawt Rod

2007-07-16T10:41:00.001-07:00

How Do You Draw Chowder?

2007-07-11T17:23:00.001-07:00

I started drawing Chowder during a meeting and then I realized halfway through drawing him that I didn't know how to draw him from memory, so I just finished it off and drew him Ed Roth-esque style. Yay meeting.

More Monstas

2007-07-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Painted these kiddos last week - test subjects for the pinball machine. I've never painted little vinyl toy blanks before, but it's pretty fun. Nice doing something physically tangible when you spend so many days doing digital art.

Creatures Pinball Teaser

2007-06-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick teaser piece for a pinball machine that I'm doing artwork for over at Snow Mountain Pinball, working title "Creatures".

String Devils

2007-05-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

Made this the other day after seeing this great band the String Devils at the Cowboy Festival. Drawing band artwork again ... crap am I back in high school?

Itralian Suit

2007-05-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

My Roomie

2007-03-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

My roommate and I happen to work in the same building, and whenever I walk into his cube he looks like this. He's not smelly like an onion and he doesn't exactly have a round head, but why not. Onions are great vegetables.

Daytime Emmy

2007-02-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

So, we recently found out that the shorts that we've been working on at Cartoon Network for the last year or so have been nominated for a Daytime Emmy. We fall into the Daytime Emmy Children's Broadband category, which basically means content specifically created for cellphones and/or the internet. The short that got nominated was Billy and Mandy "The Uninvited" starring everyone's favorite, Dracula. I think you can still dig it up on YouTube. Kelsey Mann directed, Darrick Bachman writing, and Robert Alvarez & Sue Perotto on timing direction. All I can say is HUZZAH!

The Man With 2 Glasses

2007-02-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

I saw this guy the other night when I was at dinner having some kebab. He had on his normal glasses, then he had a set of reading glasses on top of that, and there he was sippin his beer, eating his kebab, reading the paper. I've since been told lots of people wear 2 sets of glasses. The only time I wear 2 sets of glasses is when I go see Captain EO.

Friends of N

2007-02-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

Not sure what this is...

Veet

2007-02-07T23:25:00.000-08:00

Concept for a friend's show.

The Aviary

2007-01-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

The aviary was always one of my favorite places in the zoo, because it was the only cage you could go inside with the animals. Well you could do it with the other cages too, but the outcome may not be so favorable for your health insurance carrier.

Orangey

2007-01-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

Been thinkin' about simple sock puppets to make. This one looks sorta salamander / wormy. Guess it's the pinky orangey.

The Outlaw

2007-01-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

Another sketch of one of Ed Roth's inventions, "the Outlaw." This is probably his most famous car after the Beatnik Bandit. Yes, I know I wrote Beatnik Bandit on the drawing. I'm not sure why I did that.

Cow Breakfast

2007-01-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

Rainbow Six, 1957

2007-01-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

I, like so many other nerds have been playing the new Rainbow Six game as of late, and I wondered if it were around back in the 50s, would it have had a friendly terrorist killing mascot? I believe it would.

Do you like SUSHI? NO! I love it!

2007-01-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

I had crispy rice sushi for the first time yesterday and it was good.

Mad Moody Color

2007-01-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a colored up version of that Mad Moody / Harry Potter sketch. Color by Peter Nguyen.

L'il Squirt

2007-01-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

Quick sketch based on Pete Oswald's version of L'il Squirt, the mascot for the Burbank Fire Department.

Tick Tick Tick

2007-01-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

It would be much more interesting to be a maniacal robot creating diabolical plans than to be watching tv on a Wednesday evening. I think I'll go watch some tv.

Mad Moody

2007-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

I watched Harry Potter 4 again last night and I had forgotten about that Mad Moody character. A pretty creepy old codger with a bum leg and a magical eyeball who appears half crazy at first. There's something fun about the sea hag crotchety old grumpy pants characters who also happen to be very wise and dangerous. The book of course has way more Mad Eye Moody parts, but as I remember he's in book 5 and 6 so invariably, we'll see more of old smartass in the next movie.

gods of war

2006-11-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I listen to too much heavy metal at night ... I draw vikings.

Dancing Bears

2006-11-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

I was talking about dancing drunk russian bears with Michele today and sketched this up. Probably had it in my head from that Basement Jaxx video and that russian vodka bear animation. That and I just love bears because they look cuddly but could rip your skull clean off without breaking a sweat.

California Cruiser pt 2

2006-11-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

I liked the cruiser sketch so much, I decided to clean it up and make it purty. The original bike this was based on had a V8 in it and hauled some serious ace. Now if I just had a shop to actually build some custom hot roddy stuff in...

The Weekend is for Mischief

2006-11-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

California Cruiser

2006-11-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

Ed Roth's cars were amazing. I miss that era of custom car designs that just doesn't exist now; then again his cars came from an era of automotive industry that was much more luxurious, muscle bound, and streamlined than what we have today. Now we have the complete homogonization of car design and very few ever stand out from the pack that roll off the factory line.

Cartoon Network Podcast

2006-11-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

So, Cartoon Network just launched their "podcast" on iTunes, which is actually a vodcast, but that hasn't become a hip term yet, so podcast it is. Anyways, it features one of the Billy and Mandy shorts we did, and it looks like they're going to feature more of the shorts I've been working on here as the new podcasts get released.

This first podcast has one Billy short (one of the Billy Birthday Shorties - "Makeover The Top") and a promo for Class of 3000. It's nice to see Cartoon Network getting more of a presence online (youtube doesn't count), hopefully this will be a regular thing.

Here's the iTunes link so you can check it out:
Cartoon Network Podcast

More Billy Birthday Shorties

2006-10-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

So here's shorts #2-6 of the Billy Birthday Shorties, which includes our favorite out of this group, #5 "The Uninvited", starring Dracula, everyone's favorite sexy senior citizen.