Overload Update

Now that Seattle's annual two-week heatwave is over and the temps are now in the "reasonable" zone (with lots of lovely sunshine left to go around), I can take a break from the maelstrom of projects that is my life and update y'all on what's been going down in Toddwannaland.

Mystic East: A World Resource for Arrowflight is available.  It has gone live on DriveThru RPG and RPGNow.com, and is going up on other stores soon.  We're currently scrutinizing print proofs as well.

Cover draft

Editing is proceeding on All Aboard!, the MacDowell Sisters' memoir.  I'm simultaneously adapting it to screenplay, which means I'm studying the historical record as well.  It's very interesting what Edie and Grace left out - but the memoir is, after all, a PR device, so mentions of their marriages and children who died are given little mention.

Did another pass on Green Light and passed it along to three trusted film associates.  We'll see what they think about the revised third act.

Boo!

Shriek X is almost done with layout.  It will go live just in time for fall/Halloween roleplaying sessions.  Mark Bruno wrote an outstanding skeleton several years ago, and Gavin and I stitched an unholy monster together over his framework. 

Meanwhile, discussion has begun on the subject of The Collectibles season two.

And that's the scoop.

Happy Birthday to Mucha

I just wanted to post a quick message to observe the 150th birthday of the man who is certainly my favorite Art Nouveau painter and possibly one of my favorite artists in any movement.  Alphonse Mucha.  Wikipedia has a pretty thorough biography, so I won't go into historical detail.  What I will say is that Mucha was arguably at the center of a movement which successfully combined commercial art and fine art for the first time in history.  Some art historians criticize the movement as a "youth" trend or for "lowering" fine art to mere advertising design. I prefer to think the Nouveau movement elevated advertising design to the realm of fine art (and don't think fine art lost anything in the bargain).

Like Mike Myers, I tend to think art is art, either good or bad.  But to draw an artificial line between "high art" and "low art" is both disingenuous and counterproductive.

Here's to you, Mr. Mucha.  Your art continues to inspire many, and will always hang on my wall in some capacity.

RIP Frank Frazetta (1928-2010)

The art world lost one of its treasures yesterday.  Frank Frazetta was one of my idols, not just in his professional career of more than half a century, not just because of his revolutionary painting style and realistic treatment of human anatomy, but also because the man pioneered illustrators' rights in the world of commercial art.  It is because of the latter that many of my working artist friends retain the copyright to their work after delivery.  Used to be 100% work-for-hire.  The pulp magazines would pay artists a pittance and end up owning the original art.  Frank was among the first to employ the concept of publication rights and various licenses.  Nowadays, work-for-hire contracts are the exception.

In the above paragraph, I noted his realistic treatment of human anatomy.  Famed for painting lush fantasy landscapes populated by scantily-clad barbarian warriors, princesses and slave girls, Frank put meat on his subjects.  Unlike the subjects of artists to follow, like Boris Vallejo (who used bodybuilder models), Frank's characters weren't slick and full of unnecessary detail.  They might be muscular and huge, but it wasn't overstated.  His men were just as naked (if not more so) as his women.  His women had curves.  They had boobs, and tummies and dimpled asses.  I think it was probably my exposure to that ethic of "normal-as-beautiful" at such a young age that somewhat influenced the physical traits I found attractive in a partner. 

He was also the master of capturing an incredible amount of energy in one moment and putting it on canvas.  Look at any one of his hundreds of pieces, no matter if it's an action shot or a character in repose; the people in his paintings are simply exuding an energy of their own.  They're alive, in that one moment captured.

There is simply too much to write about Frank, his influence upon generations of artists, illustrators, filmmakers and photographers.  About his influence upon popular culture in general.  About his influence upon the business side of commercial and fantasy art.  But his legacy is clear, and will be felt for generations to come.  I'm proud to have lived in his time.

Fair winds, Frank.

Out With the Old

My horoscope yesterday: "There's only one way to make room for new life: You've got to let go of the old stuff that's holding you back from getting there. This is your moment to shake free of whatever it is that happens to be weighing you down. Shake hard!"

No kidding?

Interesting that I should have chosen to go through a box of old photos yesterday (and purge quite a few). Unfortunately, that put me in an emotionally precarious position, and that led to misunderstandings and communication gaps. Which then led to self-loathing and approximately four metric assloads of "grr". Not my best day ever. For real.

For reasons unknown, I also chose yesterday to destroy all my old tabletop wargame terrain. Stuff I'd spent time and money creating, yet was sitting in a box, mocking me and my new life. I showed it. Broke it apart and stuffed it in the garbage to get picked up today. Who's laughing now, wargame terrain? Honestly, there's not much of my own work I've destroyed over the years, but sometimes as a creative type, one must exercise one's right to destroy one's own work which does not please. There may be some deep stuff that needs to be explored in a counseling office, but damn it felt good at the time. By the way, if anyone is in the market for a UNA army for the AT-43 game, I have one to sell. Cheap.

But Friday is a new day. I have a packed schedule. And I'm treating myself to a massage, damnit. And I get to have coffee with my sister. And we have the play at Youngstown tonight. And a fun weekend in the works. And the Seattle-Arizona game. And more unpacking. Unpacking is fun. The bedroom will get organized this weekend.

Grab Bag!

Feeling bunches better today. The headaches are still a pain in the cranium, but they're manageable now.

I'm bouncing around in my office chair to my '80s playlist while working on the Bullshot Crummond poster for Twelfth Night Productions. Let's just say I make good use of the Union Jack. I worked on the show in high school, and can't wait to see what Rick Springer does with it at Youngstown. I think having a graphics project and deadline in front of me helps to re-focus the creative side of my brain - which in turn will benefit the OA pilot screenplay. We have a production meeting tonight that will focus on the pitch. Looking forward to hammering out the strategy.

I'm feeling re-energized, creatively. This is a good thing.

Last night I was Facebooking and took a peek at my friend Mark Mezadourian's friend list to see if we had any mutual friends beyond Palo Alto High School alumni, and lo and behold, I stumbled upon an old friend from my days at LACT (now apparently called The Bus Barn Theater... ugh), April Stewart. We were in Once Upon a Mattress together, and she was the lead in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon-Marigolds, which was directed by my roommate at the time, Bill Quinlan. Turns out she's the voice talent behind several of the female characters on South Park. So I've been enjoying her work for years without knowing it. Anyway, it was good to get back in touch. Hi, April! Congratulations on your recent maternity!

Finally, a shout out to TBGE, who sent me the pic below this morning. I usually don't go hyper-political on this forum, but I gotta say, I find it very, very funny.

Okay, off to find some lunch, then back to work...

TRAINS AS A POLITICAL METAPHOR

The Birds, and Better Know Your Todd

As most of you know, I love summer nights at Alki, if only because I obnoxiously point it out every thirty seconds. So when Kayleigh asked if we could go get some dinner at Pegasus and then feed the birds, I said, "hells yeah!"

Here's the trick: go during the week, when it's not crowded. On weekends, you can be assured of a complete absence of parking spots within four or five blocks of your destination.

So we had daddy/daughter time at Pegasus and then took our leftover garlic bread out to the waterfront and started tossing pieces on the concrete. Within seconds, we had an Alfred Hitchcock scene in our hands. A horde of pigeons (yes, I know a group of pigeons isn't technically a "horde", but they kind of resembled invading Mongols, so I stick by my terminology), and a gang of tough seagulls moved in, getting quite animated over the scraps of bread. Just the sort of thing Raechelle loves only slightly more than having schools of fish nibble the dead skin off her feet at a fancy spa.

Hung out with Tyler a bit and watched some TV, then folded laundry (on my recently cleaned downstairs countertop). Got a call from Dave Alpern, whom I've known for almost a decade and have never met. He's in town with family and we'll be getting together Wednesday night for dinner and Erin McNamee at the Swell. Raechelle will be staying out here anyway, and she happens to like Erin, so it's a party.

And speaking of the girl, I've been made aware that some of her folk aren't all that sure of what I do for a living. So I thought I could cover the basics real quick like:

1) I run Deep7, LLC, a publishing company that I founded with Samantha and Ron in 1999. We have over 30 published titles to our credit, including the official Red Dwarf roleplaying game.

2) I do freelance graphic design. Keep in mind I haven't updated the portfolio site since the week before Samantha died. Sometimes I do CD packaging for bands, or posters for plays.

3) I'm transitioning into full time film direction (having several screenplays and a number of short films like this one to my credit, as well as a feature and television series being pitched or in development).

I've been making money in art since I was 14 and published my first 'zine. I've been paid for both acting and voiceover work. My first full-length film (directed as a junior in high school) was featured on a PBS young directors series back in 1986. I spent a decade in the videogame industry as a concept artist and art director before getting my soul back. My work has appeared in titles from Microsoft, Sierra and Boss Game Studios. I wrote, directed and voiced animated shorts for multimedia innovators Hyperbole Studios. I once wrote full time for a year and a half, selling some short stories to various genre magazines and getting a novel optioned by Warner Books. I authored a comic strip that ran in newspapers and later on the web. I co-owned a geek boutique at the West Seattle Junction. I recorded 3 albums for an indie record label in the SF Bay Area and a bunch more on my own label. Chances are, if it has to do with the commercial aspect of art, I've done it at some point.

I think that about covers it.