Final Story Reel

http://www.vimeo.com/17811888

Oh, finals...

It's finals week here at school, and it sure shows. Students studying like mad, finishing projects, and being irritable and exhausted. Fun stuff, this is. I, however, don't have any actual written exams. I just have a lot of projects, and now that I am done with all my projects, I get to sit back and relax while I watch all my friends study their butts off in attempts to meet the grade needed to either keep that scholarship, or to simply pass the class. I almost feel bad ... almost. I would have had an exam, but I failed that class before we got that far (due to laziness). Not that that really matters in relation to my week; I wouldn't have studied for more than maybe fifteen minutes and still gotten a decent grade on it.

For your viewing pleasure, here is some crazy sketch I did last year. I mean crazy as in psychotic.

First three pages of storyboard hw

Miscellanious stuffage.

The Kitchen Krusaders

For storyboarding we were put into teams of three and given a random name, in which we had to create a team for. Each person had to create their own character, and have the character relate to their theme word in some way. My team's word was "appliance," and I immediately thought "I wanna do something with a toaster." I've been attempting to draw western style super heroes as of late, and so I decided to make Toaster Head. He's based off the character of Spawn.

Attention to Detail

Apparently I enjoy holding dead fish while wearing a sombrero and not wearing pants. I've never actually done that, but now I really want a sombrero and a dead fish.

Thief Storyboard

Aspect to Aspect

Yep. Nothing here except some guy getting punched in the face. This is the part where I make a lame joke about that being the punchline. Har har har.

Exaggerated Expressions

Things are always more interesting when you think about what will happen. Try not to live in a fantasy world where half the things you talk about never happen in real life. That way, you won't be disappointed when your awesome plans don't end in a nuclear explosion.

I know many things.

Life and college suck.

Right now I'm at a point in the journey of life where I question the point of it, and hate/loathe/dislike many things - more so than usual. I've been slogging through the past two weeks, and the pressure is taking its toll. Even though Thanksgiving break is only 4 days, two of which I will be spending in a car, it cannot come soon enough. Okay. I am going to go eat some food now and maybe go to sleep. Not sure if I want to go to sleep, not because of all the homework I still have to do that is due for tomorrow, but because I know that when I do go to sleep, I won't want to wake up. But then on the other hand, if I'm asleep, I'm not awake. I probably won't be going to storyboarding tomorrow (which is ironic seeing as that class is what this blog is for.)

#$%@ hate that class..

Music Video synopsis

Rough Script

Impact Report

Ivor Slanely

Director: Tyler Johnson

Wide establishing shot of barn yard.

When first higher pitched trumpets kick in, closeups of Heino’s clothes and features.

At 00:13 sec, Upshot of Heino, looking triumphant. Hold until right before end of trumpet hold. Wig blows off.

Heino searching for wig in barnyard.

Around 23 sec, wig is spotted on top of cow.

At 27 sec, Heino approaches cow. Cow runs away.

Heino chases cow, but loses sight of it.

Heino looks around for cow, then sees it on top of barn.

47 sec – Heino begins climbing barn.

51 sec – reaches top, approaches cow

Heino trys reasoning with cow

Cow flees

Epic chase scene involving explosions and gunfire

At end: Heino catches cow, disembowels it, and gets wig.

I win at irony.

A Cynic is not a type of vegetable.

So, I woke up on Monday morning at 7:45 feeling like I normally do that early: really freaking tired. After my 8:00, I got down to business working on a drawing. I spent easily five hours on it. Then I had a class at 6. Aside from some breaks, my day was mostly spent working on things. Strangely, I was in a good mood, and not having my normal negative thoughts.

I woke up on Tuesday, and this day went just as well, if not better. I got glowing reviews on my drawing, and had an overall good day. Right before bed, I told my roommate, Shawn, "I've been happy and not cynical since yesterday." Lo and behold, I awoke Wednesday morning back to my normal self. :)

Character Exploration

Emotions

Gargaragahharhghar

This actually happened. Just like that. Seriously. I dislike that class.

NOTE: No, I did not forget to color in the third panel. I was drawing my comic on top of the assignment I should have been doing. The paper is white. Like me. I am so white.

What is "life?" I know "Halo."

Based on a true story.

Character Bio

For storyboarding class we were randomly assigned a character to write a music video for. I got Heino, which is some German singer who is an albino and bald. A bald albino German singer. Bowchicka ... no, just ... no.

Name: Heino
Favorite Food: Sardines
Favorite Hobby: Skinny Dipping
Biggest Fear: Goats
Favorite Place to Sleep: Under your bed
Lives: A cardboard box on a small island in the Pacific
Favorite TV Show: Dora the Explorer
Favorite Obnoxious Sound: Crying infants
Dominant trait: Albino
Grew up: In various foster homes across the globe.
Parents: Dad was in an insane asylum when Heino was born. His mother went to one soon after.
Best thing ever happened to him: Winning the lottery. Unfortunately, the money was all spent on one wig, which he lost.
Worst thing that ever happened to him: A freak accident involving radioactive tapioca pudding which eliminated his ability to grow hair.
Backstory: Heino was born into the family, to and . His father was put into an asylum for the act of , and was residing there when Heino was born. His mother was soon after sent to an asylum due to severe dillusions. Heino was left parentless, and sent to live in foster home after foster home. No single foster home could keep him, as his appearance (being an albino) frightened the other children. One foster home was located near a nuclear weapons testing facility, and some radioactive fallout landed in Heino's tapioca pudding, causing his head to burst into flame. He has never been able to grow hair since. Heino enjoyed singing in the shower, and would shower for the sole purpose of singing. After reaching the age of 18, he was on his own, but couldn't find work. He was found by a talent scout while singing loudly in the shower in a hotel room. Now he tours the world and fights alien zombies in his spare time.

Emotions and Emulation

So, we had to do a comic focusing on facial expressions, and also had to ink one in the style of a different artist, so I decided to kill five hundred-thousand-million birds with one stone.

Three of my favorite comics...

For Storyboarding class I am supposed to post my three favorite comic artists. So, here they are:
Rooster Teeth. Drawn by Luke McKay
Cyanide and Happiness. This particular one is by Dave.

Foxtrot by Bill Amend

Another Rant!

Words. They are used by everybody everyday. Some words convey similar meanings, but no two words mean the EXACT same thing. And then we have the plague upon language; slang. I am not condemning slang, and those of you who know me know that I use slang often. I know all of you know what slang is, and if you don't, you need to come out from under that rock.

I'm not gonna rant about slang. No, that would be both pointless and hypocritical. I am going to rant about a select few slang words that my generation has so happily embraced. If you have used one of these around me, you probably have already heard some of this, but even if you haven't, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what words I am about to rant about.

First off is the biggest pain in the English languages side. That's right, you guessed it; "legit." I cannot tell you how sick I am of hearing "This is legit" or "That's so legit." Usually, this is out of context. As a noun, "Legitimate", which is the root of "legit," (just in case you were too stupid to discern that yourself) essentially means "Real, not false. Lawful. Genuine." "Legit" basically means whatever the hell you want it to. Okay, not really, but it seems that way. People will be describing something as "cool" and say that it is "legit." Let's say I pull off a kick-flip on my skateboard (I can dream, can't I?); if five people watch me accomplish the feat, I guarantee at least one will say "That's legit!" Erm, no ... it's not.

Now, you could easily argue with me that using "legit" in the above context is correct. Well, sucks for ya; it's not (See what I did there? I used slang.). Yes, the kickflip was a true, genuine kick-flip, and it may have also been very cool (more slang!), but using a shortened version of the word "legitimate" is incorrect usage of the word. No shit it was a legitimate kick-flip. I don't think it's possible to fake one. But saying that the kick-flip was "legit" makes you sound like a moron. It's sort of like stating the obvious. You don't walk around saying "See that green grass? That's legit," or "See that building? It's legit." Yes, the grass is green, and it is a real building. Very good observation, Sherlock. Maybe if you ever get in a car accident and your arm gets lopped off, you can tell the paramedics "See this blood? It's legit!"

Saying legit not only makes you sound like a fool, but it also makes you seem like a tool, which brings me to the next word in this little rant that maybe five people will read; the word "Tool." It's not as widely used as "legit," but that is probably due to the fact you can't replace a word of exclamation such as "cool" or "awesome" with it, but it is still overused.

What is a tool? Literally, it is anything used to accomplish something. My fingers and this keyboard are both tools used in the typing of this (offensive) collection of words. Now, can you guess what our wonderful culture has done to the definition of this word? Now, people can also be tools. I suppose they could have been considered tools back in ancient times too (Warriors were tools used by their rulers to conquer), but now the word has expanded it's meaning.

Let's have an example. I have a sleeveless t-shirt with the "Vans" logo printed on it. I also wear Vans shoes. Does this make me a tool of Vans? You could easily argue that, yes, I am being a tool. I am being used to advertise Vans. But then I would ask you to go take a look at yourself. What are you wearing? If you wear Aeropostale or American Eagle, or anything with a brand name on it, guess what! You're a tool too! Let's say you shy away from brand names. Let's suppose you prefer wearing flannel shirts, v-neck plain-white tees, and tighter fitting jeans. Now you're being indie. Whoa, looks like you're also being a tool, as defined by the modern culture. You're a tool to society now, seeing as indie is now the big trend (NOTE: I am not picking on anyone/thing indie. I'm just using it as an example, seeing that it is so dominate now.) The same could go for punks, emos, scenesters, even business men/women. I could even argue that you're a tool for driving a car. It's not that hard to do.

Seriously, people. In the modern culture, we are all tools, especially in America. The world is dominated by corporations now. In order to get almost anything now, you need money. GUESS WHAT!? NOW YOU'RE A TOOL OF MONEY! And at the same time, you're a tool of the government and the country whose money you are using. Sucks for ya.

I am neither condemning nor condoning the usage of these two words. I myself use them at times. Although, if I do say "legit" about something that I meant to say is "cool (or whatever crazy synonym I would use), I will slap myself on the inside. As much as I hate calling people "tools," I will succumb to this at times. There are people who are legit tools (See what I did there?), and have absolutely no idea how much they are being used. I own a few items of apparel from the brand Fox Racing. I have two t-shirts, and one pair of jeans. Now, if I also had socks, a hat, and shoes (if they even make those) I would consider myself a tool. If I also owned a pair of Fox boxers, I would start to question my sanity. Maybe not if I wore all these items on different days, but if I wore all Fox all the time, then yes. I would be an obsessed tool. But even then I still have problems with the usage of that word.

There were at least two other topics I mentioned that I could easily rant about, but I will refrain from them for now. I mean, I wouldn't want to look like a tool, now would I? That wouldn't be very legit. :)

PS: The picture is of a legitimate tool. We call it a "wrench." It is generally used to tighten or loosen things.

This blog is the best blog ever ...

Okay, so if you haven't played Metal Gear Solid, you wouldn't understand the Youtube video that is referenced in this. The main point of the part this comic is based on is there's a conversation between the protagonist and some guy, which basically can be summed up in "This gun is the best gun ever." It's not just the phrase, but more of the way the guy says it. Long story short, we grabbed the phrase and ran with it ... for at least five hours.

If you want to hear it for yourself, Youtube "Metal Gear Awesome," but be warned; the language is explicit. If you have played Metal Gear, you'll get a kick out of it.

Blat blat!

So, I needed some way to vent all my built up RAGE and FRUSTRATION, so, I grabbed Shawn's old board (mine is currently out of commission due to two missing screws), my iPod, and skated around for over an hour while blasting my eardrums with Five Finger Death Punch. Then, ironically, I stopped by the lake, and just sat and thought while taking in the sights. After a half hour, I resumed with the hearing-loss and muscle-fatiguing. Hooray for exercise!

Preliminary Sketches

First Journal Comic

F to the A to the I to the L: FAIL.

I fail at a lot of things. Today was one of those days where I probably would have been better off staying asleep. I almost died on my skateboard (I shot off in the EXACT same motion that cost me a femur,) I sucked at Halo 3, had general fails of knocking things over, and just failing at getting through this life in general. Aside from my artwork; that is the one thing I am consistently good at. Well, usually. Depends on how awake I am.

Click on the super awesome picture to blow it up (make bigger, not kaboom.)

Super Special Awesome Stuff

So for my storyboarding class we are doing "Comic Journals," which are basically journal entries in comic form. I am super stoked for this assignment, so stay tuned for those. In the mean time I will indulge you with a super awesome short story with a very positive moral:

"Not long ago, in a small forest there lived a colony of platy...platypusses? Platypy? Platypeople? There were a bunch of those duck-billed mammals that lay eggs living within close proximity of each other. Then, one day, one got bitten by a plague infected flea. Then they all died. The End. =]"

It's been awhile.

I haven't felt like ranting about meaningless things as of late. That's not to say that there isn't anything to rant about; I'm just lazy. :p
So, I have been thinking (oh noez!), and I have come to the conclusion that I have some rather interesting life goals. Aside from the standard "Get married, have kids, get an enjoyable job, visit _____" I have some better ones. Here they are, in the order that I remember them:

• Get a complete Red Ranger suit. Real helmet, boots, gloves, and belt.
• Acquire full ninja outfit. Weapons included.
• Get an awesome motorcycle.
• Get another awesome motorcycle. A crotch rocket. Customize it and paint it to match the Power Ranger suit.
• Free-climb a building.
• Attempt to bring back No Fear: Bloodshot.
• Get a hidden blade like in Assassin's Creed.
• Use hidden blade to bring back No Fear: Bloodshot.

Obtainable? Yes. Probable? Not sure. Getting a motorcycle and customizing it can get pricey.

Rant and Rabble

Let's just get that rant up and out of the way...

Me, being my amazingly (dis)organized self, just spent the morning looking for something. Heck, I even cleaned my room while searching. The item that I was so desperately searching for was a pen tablet for my Mac. I eventually found it in a box. The tablet, that is. Not the electronic pen used with it. No idea where that sucker is, which brings me to my rant ...

I think putting GPS tracking devices in items should be mandatory. Instead of individuals paying a fortune on a single GPS device, the government should give every U.S. citizen twenty or so to install in their most prone-to-be-lost items. If I had a GPS unit in that pen, I wouldn't be looking for it. In fact, I'd probably have finished the amazing piece of artwork I was going to use it to make, but instead I spend my time searching the deepest darkest depths of my room for about six inches of plastic and wiring. Left your cell phone on silent? NO PROBLEM! Just activate your tracker pad and you'll know where to find your communication device. Lost keys? Hit the "FIND" key and WAH-BAM!, keys found! Seriously, Obama. Instead of wasting money and time on pathetic attempts at making America less sucky, start issuing tracking devices to he American people. Hopefully people will only use them on their own objects, and not other people's or other people.

That out of the way, I forgot what I was gonna say. Oh, right. So, the site skin is too dark and stuff so I'm gonna change that ... eventually, maybe. As much as I like fire (it's very exciting!), it leaves everything too dark. So yeah. If anyone knows CSS code *cough*shawn*cough*, I would like help making a new design, as my knowledge of CSS is limited to one highschool class that I goofed off during. :p

Here is a picture of a World of Warcraft wiener mobile I made a while back in Photoshop:

Teknologee r t3h suxorz :(

I am typing this from my Macbook while sitting on the floor a mere foot from the TV, but I am not watching the TV. No, the only reason I am sitting on this floor in front of that Godforsaken piece of technology is because my wireless is being janky and the xBox 360's ethernet cord is tangled up with all the other wire stuffs. Because of the tangle, I cannot remove the cord from the entertainment center, (the pieces of wood that the TV and all our TV related stuffs sit) so here I sit, rather uncomfortably, while my mom watches a movie.

I have been trying to fix my wireless connection for the past two hours, all to no avail. It's odd; it worked fine over Christmas break, and even for the first week or two of the summer. Then it randomly just went "KABOOM" or "BLAM" or some other explosiony sounding noise (BJSKEWSHOOSHKBSHOOM). Being my lazy self, I just sort of ignored this fact and continued using my computer for nothing but Spore (one of maybe five games that works on the Mac) and being an expensive paperweight - what a Mac should be used for, right? No...but that's a subject for a different time. Right now I feel the urge to rant.

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS MAY CONTAIN LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN, FAMILY PETS, AND A FEW SPECIES OF DOLPHIN.

I. HATE. TECHNOLOGY.

Yeah, I said it. I hate technology. It never works for me. It's always been "Why magic toaster no work? I plug in, but no toast!" Yet I love it! I love it so!

Unfortunately, nowadays computers and such are so advanced that in order to solve a problem, one must got through sometimes countless steps, and for the un-tech savvy, this may take hours, even days ... months ... years ... *shudders*

What ever happened to the good old days where if a computer wasn't working, all one had to do was one simple step. No manuals, no google forums, just one, simple step: A swift kick/fist pound. You may be laughing to yourself right now thinking "Pssh. Silly doofus, that never actually worked." Well, guess what Mr./Mrs. cynic: Just because Myth Busters hasn't had a segment on it doesn't mean it didn't. I constantly kicked the old family computer (from the 90's ... *shudders*) and it always would unfreeze or whatever.

Well, I just had to shift my computer again because my mom's dvd remote's signal wasn't reaching the player. She wanted to fastforward through a part, and when she finally got it to, it wouldn't stop when she wanted it to. This seems to happen a lot.

In short: Technology is retarted yet genius, sour but sweet, lame yet awesome, gangster yet governmental, and what ever other analogies you can think of.

Of Biking and Street Sides

Today I went for a bike ride that lasted a little over an hour. Pretty good for having broken my femur only a little over two months ago, eh? Don't ask me how far I went because I really don't know. Not that I couldn't find out, it'd actually be really easy. I'm just incredibly lazy when it comes to thinks that really don't matter.

So, I was riding my bike, looking all gangster like usual (I was wearing grey-camo cargo shorts, a black sleeveless tee with skulls on it, my Vans, and a sweatband with a red and white skull on it on my left wrist), I decided to take my normal route, doing a loop at a park, and doing a lap at another park. On the way to the second park, I had to take a left, go down a hill, and then take a left to get onto another street that enters the park. Also coming down the hill were a pair of, if the one was who I thought he was, recent highschool graduates (graduating highschool is no amazing feat, but that's a rant for another time.) They were riding on the left side of the street. I took my right, and stayed on the right. I looked behind me, seeing no oncoming cars from either direction, and took my left turn onto the street.

One of the guys yells at me "Maybe if you'd ride on the right side of the street you wouldn't have to look behind you!" This bothered me, not because he was calling me out on something, but because of his own ignorance. First off, riding on the right hand side is where one is supposed to ride. Next time you happen to see a "pro" cyclist (one of the guys wearing spandex and a sleek helmet. Think of Lance Armstrong.) on the street, pay attention to what side he's on. If he's going the same direction as you, unless he's got a death wish, he'll be on the right.

Then I got to thinking about what the kids were wearing (I can call them kids because I'm older. :P) One was wearing a polo. A POLO. Now, that may seem like I'm just making fun of his fashion sense. Those of you who know me know that the chances of catching me wearing a polo are slim to none. But this wasn't just a normal polo. It was an ugly yellow polo. Sort of like the yellow of mustard.

Now, this still may not seem like much, but you don't know how hot it was. It was ninety-degrees. NINETY-FRIGGIN'-DEGREES. Maybe this guy is a trooper, but somehow I doubt that, seeing his weight. Yes, he was on the larger size. From what I've observed, fat people tend to sweat more than us skinny folk. Not that there's anything wrong with that, especially if you enjoy being grimy and carrying around a repulsive odor. But I digress, I would rather have him wear a polo than no shirt at all.

Back to the 'which side to ride on' comment, it also saddened me that, in order to boost his self-esteem, the kid felt the need to yell a "ur doin it rong" statement at a random stranger. The most depressing part about it is that he was the one doing it wrong. But whatever. I'll let him bask in his glory of stupidity. He's probably forgotten all about the incident by now, which is only logical; it wasn't a big deal. He was, after all, the one who knew what he was doing.

Random fish on a bike ---->

A Questionable Fad

I figured I'd start with this one, seeing as it is what propelled me into starting one of these hellish blogs.

Today's youth are ruled by fads. Some of these fads last for a while, and some die very quickly.Some fads are actually decent, while other fads are just plain stupid, the latter of which brings me to the topic of this essay/rant/whateverthehellyouwanttocallit.

The sticker on the hat.

That's right. Today's youth are obsessed with keeping the big, shiny, gold sticker on the top of the flat brim of their hat. But why? Is it considered "cool" to keep the tags on all of one's clothing? No. So why is it so "gangster" to keep the sticker on a hat? For one, if you wear that hat like most youth do (at an angle with the brim tilted upwards), unless your a midget, most people aren't going to see your shiny gold treasure upon the brim of your hat.

Is it kept on to show authenticity? Or maybe to show off how much disposable income one has (or just how much of a consumer whore he/she is.) Is it a size thing? Larger heads do not mean larger brains. Many dinosaurs had colossal skulls, and look where that got them (before you say something like "Well the giant meteor hit that's why!," I could also point out elephants. They have huge heads, but seeing as they're not the dominant species on the planet, I think my point is proven.) Maybe it's just kept on because it's shiny. I mean, all throughout history shiny things have been coveted, and with the modern hip-hop culture, well...

I have never done this, but apparently when one pulls the sticker off another one's hat, the "victim" becomes very upset, and if the sticker doesn't stick back on, they will go drop more cash for a new one (hat, that is. At least that's what they'll tell you.)

My take on this fad is that it's stupid. Almost as stupid as sagging (not necessarily showing the boxers in general, but the kind of sagging in which the sagee's ass is hanging out and they waddle while walking and occasionally have to hold their pants up.) A hat is a hat, people. Nobody needs to know, let alone cares how much your hat cost. As long as it is aesthetically pleasing, most folks won't care. A shiny (not to mention tacky) gold sticker that draws the eye away from the design of the hat is rather bothersome( although, in most cases the design either is a team logo, or just looks retarded). In the end, all it does it make people mention the fact you have a sticker on your hat.

Now, I am in no way attempting to offend anyone. Trust me, if I was trying to do that, you'd know. What I am trying to do is probe people's minds and see if I can get a reasonable answer as to why people keep the sticker on their hat. I can understand a majority of current fads, but this one's appeal eludes me.

<---A hat with both 59fifty sticker AND a graphic of a retarded pair of sunglasses.