Freya

closeup/reversed

Hello everyone, this is a portrait of our dog Freya. Done in Painter X. I have now painted all the animals in our house :D

Posterized!

Hi guys, here is something I was messing around with for the Armadillo Brigade. Just throwing things out, not sure if I like it. I am working on a few collage type pieces to try a different style. I will post them soon.

Men of the Sea

Hi, this is a practice sketch. Done in a couple of hours in Photoshop. I began it last night but forgot to save while I was working and then the dreaded Photoshop freeze happened. I lost it all when I was almost complete. I have got to learn to save :D
So I did another version. Have a good day everyone.

The Day it Happened

This was done mostly in Photoshop with a little work in Painter. This is one of our cats and it is what I imagine would be one of his childhood moments.

Logos Galore!

A.A.F Tank Museum

I visited the A.A.F. Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia again over the weekend. They had a special event this weekend, where you could watch a demonstration of a real military flamethrower (one of the very few in the world) . The Flamethrower as you can see from this video is intense.They had a manikin setup named Flammable Fred, which promptly became engulfed in flames. It really shows what kind of a nightmare war is to imagine that hitting your friend. The heat coming off the flamethrower was incredible and you could feel it from a pretty far distance. The video shows him starting to purge the fuel, and after that I didn't realize the camera was still rolling. They also had a tank crushing a car and sub machine gun demos. It is a really interesting historical museum and is worth the visit.

More Concepts...

Hi Guys here are a few more concepts working off the brigade/military badge idea. These are rough concepts just like the previous posts, meant merely to brainstorm. The top image on the right contains some softer type concepts possibly for the women in the group. Let me know if you would like any of the ideas tweaked. Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has a good upcoming weekend.

More Armadillo...

Hi Guys, here is some more work done on the Armadillo Brigade project. I know the first one is maybe not the most eco-friendly but I still liked how it came out. I will be churning out more concepts next week. Feel free to critique and comment. I hope everyone has a good day.

Armadillo Brigade!

I am currently working on designs concepts for one of my good friends. He is currently helping to form a photographic alumni group of his alma mater. He asked for my help in designing stickers/logos/t-shirts. Here are some of the things I have been working up. Let me know which designs are working and I will continue to post some more designs. They have also just started a blog, their isn't much yet but stay tuned. http://armadillobrigade.blogspot.com/

The STaRE!

Photoshop &Painter X

Hi Guys, I have finally painted all the cats in the house. His name is snowball and if you ever happen to cross paths with him don't stare. You will lose everytime. He is a sweet cat, but he really does not blink and it is funny yet creepy at the same time. I tried to capture that in this painting and below are some reference shots. Let me know what you think and have a good day.

Rorschach!

Rorschach is one of the most interesting characters in the Watchmen and so I thought I would do some fun sketches of him. He is an interesting symbol of justice, and you have to love the mask. Done in Painter X and Photoshop, about half and half.

Watchmen Movie Review

Hi Guys, here is my late review of the Watchmen movie. For anyone who has read the graphic novel you will definitely know that the novel lives up to the hype. So how does director Zack Snyder's interpretation work on the big screen? Well, the short answer is not very well. Visually the movie brings the illustrations of Dave Gibbons to stunning realization. This along with the fantastic opening credit sequence are the two high points. From there on it becomes a noble failure. Casting was great in that they used less known actors, but their were some weakspots, like Mathew Goode, and Malin Akerman. Malin Akerman looks like Laurie but, fails to capture Laurie's character. Mathew Goode is a good actor just not right for the role of Ozymandias. The music is one of the most dissappointing parts of the movie and is probably the worst in a movie I have seen. It is jarring and missed placed and pulls you out of any emotional scene. It also adds to the dairy farm sized amount of cheese in the movie, that is not in the novel. The story is pretty much untouched except for the ending which was not well done. There were also a few parts that were changed to up the gore factor. Also there is a graphic sex scene which comes off like comic geek porn and is pretty much an insult. The main gripe I have with the movie is that the movie strips any emotional connection with the characters and ruins the detective story. The end of the world is imminent and as viewers you don't really care. In the end, the movie becomes a shallow visual companion to the great graphic novel. Watch it to satisfied your curiousity and at best it should be a rental.

New Cameras like to Travel...

Hi guys, we recently got a new Nikon D40 camera and we have been having a great time learning to master its power. Here is a sample of some of my wife, Margaret's, lovely skills with the camera. The first is a still life she set up, and the second is a preview from our recent weekend trip to Asheville where we got to do some nice relaxing in a great bed and breakfast.

Asheville Trip

Margaret Photo*

Margaret Photo*

Margaret Photo*

Asheville Trip Continued...

Margaret Photo*

Margaret Photo*