"bit and run" 7

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• bit and run 1
• bit and run 2
• bit and run 3
• bit and run 4
• bit and run 5
• bit and run 6
  
• What is "bit and run" ? Check out my debut post here.
• download my set of 10 classic Nintendo inspired desktops!
  

Alice and the Gryphon : stages

When I decide to photograph the progress of a piece, I inevitably forget I'm doing that and the spaces between photographs widens the longer I'm working.

Nevertheless, I managed to get the highlights of making my first piece for Curiouser and Curiouser : Inspired by 'Alice In Wonderland'

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Alice and the Gryphon. 8 x 10. Watercolor.

This weekend I'm set to begin the set of three small portraits that will accompany this piece.

I'm very glad to be having a little extra time to do these.

Alice and the Gryphon

I'm very happy to show my first piece for Curiouser and Curiouser : Inspired by 'Alice In Wonderland' another one of the awesome shows coming up at Gallery Nucleus.

I'm sure you'll remember Nucleus, they hosted the Terrible Yellow Eyes show back in September 2009.

The Alice show is coming up and in addition to the painting below I've got a series of small portraits planned as well.

Alice and the Gryphon. 8 x 10. Watercolor.

I was really excited when I heard about the show and even more so when Nucleus asked me to join. If you'll remember, back in October I had begun to plan for a series of Alice inspired pieces then I was waylaid by the enormous project (I still have to wait to post about it yet) but I managed to plan all my pieces for this Alice project.

Wednesday I'll post the stages of painting for this piece and you can sort of see how it came together.

"bit and run" 6

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• bit and run 1
• bit and run 2
• bit and run 3
• bit and run 4
• bit and run 5
  
• What is "bit and run" ? Check out my debut post here.
• download my set of 10 classic Nintendo inspired desktops!
  

My piece for "Brownstones To Red Dirt" charity art auction

These last few months have certainly been the times of charity art auctions for me. This piece for Brownstones To Red Dirt marks the third of such endeavors.

I'm pleased to do them and I do enjoy contributing in some small way, plus it's always fun to get an excuse to do a one-off, unrelated to any other project piece.

From the BTR blog about the project :

Two colleagues at Blue Sky Studios, David LaMattina and Chad Walker, have created a feature-length documentary about a pen pal program between a group of at-risk sixth graders living in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and orphans from the war living in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This Postcard Art project is an extension of the their film "Brownstones To Red Dirt" which features children from both schools. The kids in both places have inspired us all to want to do more and so we're putting together an art auction of original postcards based around the same central theme of the film in a fundraising effort to build a school for the orphans in Freetown, Sierra Leone and create a library for the youth at their school in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

The theme of sorts is pen-pals and all the art has been made on these little wooden postcards. It was an interesting surface to try and work on. I was expecting the watercolor to bleed a little but it actually stayed put pretty well. Other contributors to the auction have used more opaque media and I wish I would have tried something like that but I stupidly left myself little time before I needed to mail the actual piece. I'm happy with what I ended up with in any case, it feels pretty standard "Cory" to me, which is what I wanted for it.

I'm not sure when the piece will be posted, I just mailed it out yesterday morning but I'll certainly let you know when it's up for auction.

The making of a "bit and run"

Like I mentioned in my debut post; So what happens to you if you're me and you're embroiled in the midst of an enormous three month long project? 15 - 17 hours days, 7 days a week, give or take?

Here's what happens --

Your life fragments into two distinct pieces -- work and decompression/Nintendo

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For the last three months on this massive animation project I'd work like mad all day and crash in the early hours of the morning. But not before decompressing with a little Mario. Mario 2 and Mario 3, mostly.

I had to have some kind of in between time before sleep because if I just went to bed my brains would be buzzing with all that I needed to do and I couldn't sleep. So, Mario.

The result of this mix; delirious work schedule, little sleep, and Nintendo resulted in some of the silliest ideas I've ever had.

When I found tiny chunks of time in between the cracks of this enormous project I jotted those ideas down. I quickly amassed several pages of quickly scrawled jokes and notes of Nintendo related humor. Pretty specific, nerd humor. Like, if you haven't played level 4 of Mario 2 you're not likely to know what the crap is going on.

So, some of my energies I channeled into a series of Nintendo themed desktops that I released through GoNintendo, my favorite Nintendo blog. Kevin Cassidy, the guy behind it, is a stand-up fellow, fun to read, and very kind.

Now, what to do with the other ideas? They became my next personal project --


Once again I've partnered with Kevin and GoNintendo to release my work.

But how is bit and run made? I'm very glad you asked.

It all starts with this folder :

Occasionally I misplace the folder around my office. I usually find it later.


Inside you can see all of the quickly scrawled ideas spreading across a dozen sheets of paper.


Every comic, more or less begins looking something like this. A couple doodles and the idea written out.


From there I'll typically make a little more finished rough, at least a layout, like above, so I can get an idea about how it all plays.

Now, on to the digital future!

Here is my Nintendo folder. Pretty great, right? I took a picture of the screen.


So the first thing I do is make sure I've got my reference for the piece. I want to try and make sure I stick as close to the original colors as I can. I do make some exceptions. And in this case I wanted a refresher on all of the zillions of items to be had.


After that, I start drawing.

These comics are a little different than my typical work, they're more Little Golden book, I think. In a way. While my media is all digital I'm looking for a gouache-type painting approach.



As you can see with this exploded view, I make make everything on layers in Photoshop so...


...I can rearrange them as needed.

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The drawing is pretty straightforward after all that.

Below you can see a little demo of the brush I most often use for these pieces.


So there you have it -- start to finish, pretty much. A few hours.

These are incredibly fun to make, I get a lot of enjoyment out of making them and I hope you gain some small measure of enjoyment out of reading them.

"bit and run" 5

While most of my "bit and run" series focuses on Mario & Co., the occasional one will feature other Nintendo franchises. Today it's Zelda. And all the weapons that could possibly imply.

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• bit and run 1
• bit and run 2
• bit and run 3
• bit and run 4
  
• What is "bit and run" ? Check out my debut post here.
• download my set of 10 classic Nintendo inspired desktops!
  

Help the Hodges charity auction!

I was honored to be asked to donate to this incredible auction -- just look at the artists involved!

Chad Frye, the most well connected person I know, has gathered the greatest artists in the fields of illustration, animation, and cartooning to donate works to Help the Hodges.

The list of names is simply staggering -- everyone from Glen Keane to Peter de Sève to Drew Struzan, it's everyone awesome you've ever heard of. I hope you'll take a minute to look.

All proceeds go to the Hodge family. From the site,

On August 22, 2009 Matthew Hodge, the 17-year-old son of former Disney story artist and Big Idea productions director Tim Hodge, was in a serious auto accident. A train struck his car at 50mph as he was crossing the tracks. While Matt suffered neither broken bones nor any internal organ damage, he did receive severe head trauma causing him to remain in a state of coma today. Matt is a high school senior, a straight A student, and a drummer in his state championship marching band.

Being self-employed, the Hodge family has short term medical insurance that will not fully cover all of their bills. Additionally, with the care they are giving Matt, full-time work is not possible for Tim right now. This loving family is relying on their faith and the love of family and friends for their survival. This is a tragic accident that will forever affect their lives as the road to recovery for Matt may be a long one.

In an effort to help the Hodge family, the National Cartoonists Society Foundation is getting involved by hosting a fund-raising auction to be held on eBay. The NCSF is a fully licensed 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that not only helps fund educational endeavors for cartooning, but is there to help cartoonists in dire circumstances like the Hodges.

Here is my piece, already up for auction. It ends in four days so if you want it, you better move!

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Chad is updating the eBay auction every Thursday, as I understand it, so there's more and more going up each week.

Click here to see the entire auction.

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Be sure to check the Help the Hodges site to see what coming up for auction next!

"bit and run" 4

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• bit and run 1
• bit and run 2
• bit and run 3
  
• What is "bit and run" ? Check out my debut post here.
• download my set of 10 classic Nintendo inspired desktops!
  

DRAWING GIVE-AWAY : FINAL WINNERS!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! ...

The exciting conclusion to the ...
Grand! Ultimate! DRAWING GIVE-AWAY!

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First prize goes to ...

Stephen Davis!

Second prize goes to ...

C.!

And last but certainly not least,
third prize goes to ...

Joseph & Rebekah!

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Winners, please email me your mailing addresses as soon as you are able. You can find my email on my profile.

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I want to take a moment and thank everyone who commented! I'd be lying if I didn't say I was pretty surprised at just how many comments about science we all posted over the last week.

I'm really happy with the way this has worked, I hope it's been fun for you all too.

I look forward to more Grand! Ultimate! DRAWING GIVE-AWAYS of the FUTURE!


P. S. Thanks for putting up with all the science. I honestly don't know where that came from. We all learned a lot about photosynthesis, didn't we?

DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 5/5 GRAND! ULTIMATE!

The winner of DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 4 is ...

nicholas!

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Behold! The Grand! Ultimate!

Here is DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 5,
in 1st 2nd and 3rd prizes! :

FIRST PRIZE!

An original gnome watercolor, the very LAST available Princesses, Monsters, and things that fly (Sketchbook 2009), and ticket : mini-prints edition

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SECOND PRIZE!

Two prints! My two favorite ones, Siegfried and Brünnhilde and The Fairy Queen.

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THIRD PRIZE!

One set of ticket : mini-prints edition

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All you need to do to for a chance to win is leave a comment.

For fun, you can tell me your favorite animal. Mine is probably my cat and lab partner, James.

Remember! -- You must comment on this post for a chance to win this drawing.

I'll randomly select three winners and announce them tomorrow morning!

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Comments for this drawing close at 11:59 PM EST

If you're seeing this on Facebook, you'll need to visit my original post to comment. I'll only be counting the comments from my blog.

*Your choice of animal will not affect anything, winning or losing. You don't even have to do it. It's just for science.

Winner chosen by Random.org

DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 4/5

The winner of DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 3 is ...

davidpots!

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In any case -- on to the give-away! Here is DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 4 :


This one is pretty good! -- it's an original drawing and print from my Grimm and Other Folk Tales show, from the story Ivan and the Fire Bird.

If you like, so can see the extensively documented making of this piece, as well as an explanation of my personal history with the idea for it, here.

All you need to do to for a chance to win is leave a comment.

For fun, you can tell me your favorite ocean. Mine is the Atlantic.

Remember! -- You must comment on this post for a chance to win this drawing.

I'll randomly select a winner and announce the winner tomorrow morning with Friday's drawing.

* * *

Comments for this drawing close at 11:59 PM EST

If you're seeing this on Facebook, you'll need to visit my original post to comment. I'll only be counting the comments from my blog.

*Your choice of ocean will not affect anything, winning or losing. You don't even have to do it. It's just for science. And definitely not for photosynthesis.

Winner chosen by Random.org

DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 3/5

The winner of DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 2 is ...

Mel!

Hooray! Email me your mailing address and I'll get you your drawing (and print.)

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Behold! here is DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 3 :


A girl on a motor bike, thing.

All you need to do to win this drawing is leave a comment.

For fun, you can tell me your favorite planet. I always liked the sound of Neptune. Or Tatooine.

Remember! -- You must comment on this post for a chance to win this drawing.

I'll randomly select a winner and announce the winner tomorrow morning with Thursday's drawing.

* * *

Comments for this drawing will close at 11:59 PM EST

If you're seeing this on Facebook, you'll need to visit my original post to comment. I'll only be counting the comments from my blog.

*Your choice of planet will not affect anything, winning or losing. You don't even have to do it. It's just for science.

Winner chosen by Random.org

DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 2/5

The winner of DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 1 is ...

Keith Zoo!

Oh boy! Just email me your mailing address and I'll get you your drawing.

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And now, Behold! here is DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 2 :


An original page from my story Walters, from Flight 6. Included with it is a print of the final, printed page from the story.

All you need to do to win this drawing (and print) is leave a comment.

For fun, you can tell me your favorite kind of geometries (or shape) in your comment. Mine is a triangle.

Remember! -- You must comment on this post for a chance to win this drawing.

I'll randomly select a winner and announce the winner tomorrow morning with Wednesday's drawing.

* * *

Comments for this drawing will close at 11:59 PM EST

If you're seeing this on Facebook, you'll need to visit my original post to comment. I'll only be counting the comments from my blog.

*Your choice of geometry will not affect anything, winning or losing. You don't even have to do it. It's just for science. And geometry.

Winner chosen by Random.org

DRAWING GIVE-AWAY 1/5

The first day of my drawing give-away! What better way to start things off than with a drawing of Boba Fett!


All you need to do to win this drawing is leave a comment.

For fun, you can tell me your favorite element in your comment. My is Ba, Barium.

Remember! -- You must comment on this post to win this drawing.

I'll randomly select a winner and announce the winner tomorrow morning with Tuesday's drawing.

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Comments for this drawing will close at 11:59 PM EST

Again, if you're seeing this on Facebook, you'll need to visit my original post to comment. I'll only be counting the comments from my blog.

*Your choice of element will not affect anything, winning or losing. You don't even have to do it. It's just for science.