Virgo

Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Virgo.

In western astrology, the sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Virgo is considered a "feminine", negative (introvert) sign. It is also considered an earth sign and is one of four mutable signs. Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury, but Ceres has been strongly suggested as the ruler of Virgo for some modern astrologers.

Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Virgo individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in Virgo roughly from August 23 to September 22. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from September 17 to October 17.

Virgo is the only zodiac sign represented by a female.

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According to one interpretation, the Virgo constellation depicts Astraea, the virgin daughter of the god Zeus and the goddess Themis. Astraea was known as the goddess of justice, and was identified as this constellation due to the presence of the scales of justice (Libra) nearby, and supposedly ruled the world with her wise ways until mankind became so callous that she returned to the skies, disgusted. Virgo is also identified with Persephone, daughter of Demeter (goddess of agriculture and guardian of marriage). Persephone was the goddess of innocence and purity, then later on became the Queen of the Underworld, when she was abruptly snatched away by Hades.

Another possible myth is one about Asclepius the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology. He was the son of Apollo and Coronis. His mother was killed for being unfaithful to Apollo and was laid out on a funeral pyre to be consumed, but the unborn child was rescued from her womb. From this he received the name Asklepios "to cut open." Apollo carried the baby to the centaur Chiron who raised Asclepius and instructed him in the art of healing and hunting.

The astrological symbol of Virgo is said to represent the arms and torso of the virgin holding a sheaf of wheat.

paper studies

We got in a stock of paper samples the other day.

I spent a little time messing with them this morning. I really liked the BFK Rives 400 gsm. It took the paint in a way that felt good. They all felt good but the 400 was great.

A point for you if you can name the movie that the bottom left study came from.

Leo

Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Leo.

In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Leo is considered to be a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered a fire sign and is one of four fixed signs.

Leo is ruled by the Sun.

Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Leo individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in Leo roughly from July 23 to August 22. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from August 17 to September 16.

Gemini

The star twins.

This was one a little challenging because the only reference I came across seemed to imply that Gemini should be represented with two long haired dudes hugging or holding hands. Twins indeed.

In the end I found a solution that I was pretty pleased with.

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Gemini is the third astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Gemini. In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Gemini is considered a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered an air sign, and is one of four mutable signs. Gemini has been closely associated with the planet Mercury and is considered to be ruled by it.

Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Gemini individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in the sign of Gemini roughly from May 21 to June 21. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from June 15 to July 15.

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The constellation is associated with the story of Castor and Polydeuces. They were the brothers of Helen of Sparta and traveled with Jason on the Argo. In the myth the twins shared the same mother but had different fathers which meant that Polydeuces was immortal and Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Polydeuces asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together and they were transformed into the Gemini constellation.

dragon : reprise.

Remember when I was hung up on dragons for a while? Me too.

Here's one I never got around to finishing. It's got a dead baby dragon in it and somewhere along the way I lost steam. I was on my 6 or 7th piece and had been at dragons for over a month.

Probably an OK time to lay off.

Aries.

Aries, the ram, is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac. Originating from the constellation of Aries. In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Aries is considered a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered a fire sign, and is one of four cardinal signs. Aries is ruled by the planet Mars. Being the first sign in the zodiac, Aries is associated with the astrological 1st house.

Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Aries individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in Aries roughly from March 21 to April 19, by definition beginning at vernal equinox. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from April 15 to May 15.

The mornings' post brought to you by Wikipedia.

ursus arctos horibillus - illustrated.

My friend Ben recently wrote a list full of wisdom over on the Portland blog,

"Top Ten Things to Never Do With
or Without an Ursus Arctos Horriblis."

I decided to illustrate it. Enjoy.

Capricorn, the sea-goat.

Capricorn.

I recently completed a series of Zodiac signs for a project here at work. Unfortunately for my poor sea-goat, that portion of the project fell through but fortunately for you dear reader, because now you get to see a few of them.

I'll be posting them through out the week, peppered in and amongst regular postings.

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Unrelatedly, Justin has begun a series of posts on his "Hobbit" pieces. Hop over and check 'em out!


Cheers.

Cory

robo suit.

That was last night.

boo! -- 5/5 !!!

Frightful, vacant pumpkin eyes!

Click the top banner to see my entire week of Halloween posts.

Or, if that's too much work, I've got them all archived here... with thumbnails! :

boo! -- 4/5

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boo! -- 3/5

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boo! -- 2/5

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boo! -- 1/5

boo! -- 4/5

Fire. Pumpkin fire. Pumpkin spice? I hear people like that.


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I can trace my fascination with pumpkins to an almost specific time, about this time of year, nearly 21 years ago.

My pre-K teacher had made pumpkin pie. She brought it to school, uncovered it, and showed us. I remember having this fascination mixed with intense dread at the site of that pie. I got myself so worked up over it that I actually threw-up.

And that is a true story.

boo! -- 3/5

Blah! Be afraid of minos giving candy.

Afterthought of the morning : maybe the piece of candy should have been a worm.

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A friend gave me a nice quote about this. He said he really enjoys my drawings of "hairy, agitated beasts performing very precise tasks."

- H. Benjamin Kammer

boo! -- 2/5

The second in my series of five very scary posts.

Enjoy!

boo! -- 1/5

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I'll be delivering one monster a day until the big day so check back to see the new installments.

Make no mistake, they are all very, very scary.

We'll cap off Halloween with a special 8 panel story. Huge, right? No, not really. But it was fun.

Eat some candy and scare your friends!

Blue Goblet Ornaments, now available!

BGO is live and looks really great. I really proud of this set and I hope you will find it useful.

Here's a shot of all the ornaments.


You can check them out here. I'm told there's a 33% discount for the time being so get em while they're hot!

watercolor for a wedding.

An old friend of mine is getting married tomorrow. Congratulations, Ben. Here is your present.

finals / storyboard comparison.

For fun, and because it's a nice break in the hectic schedule of getting this done, here's some comparisons, from the storyboard to final art.

Illustration Friday : "Late"

Hopefully not too late.




Of course not! He's Cody Webster, dang it! He's right on time! Er, it will never be too late for him. Because he'll always make it. Yup. That's it.

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This is some final art for the third commercial in the Cody Webster saga.

If you like, you can see the previous two commercials and get a little teaser of the third here. Or just click on my top banner. It's the post right before this one.

Or, if you're into having more options, you can visit Cody in his natural habitat over at Worthwhile.com

You can check out the hot little flash banner of Cody and see his commercials there too.


* Essentially Cody represents the clients of Worthwhile. They are awesome, they are heroic, but sometimes they need a helping hand. Cody himself gets into scrapes that are just over his head, that's where Worthwhile steps in and gives him a boost.

Cody's stories are an amalgamation of all sort of over the top spy genre-type things.

Cody III - storyboards.

*Note: Facebook viewers, you'll have to hit "view original post" at the bottom to see the imbeded YouTube videos.

You know Cody Webster.



And who could ever forget part II ?



Well. You knew it had to be coming. The third and final installment in the Cody Webster saga.

Behold, some storyboards. This final installment plays on a couple themes established in the first spot but events unfold a little more unexpectedly this time around.

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The Cody Webster shorts have been an interesting thing. They're always obliged to be completed quickly and they've been a tremendous learning experience for me, both in storyboarding and economy of creation. Meaning that, with a limited budget, what can I do within those parameters to get the most out of the art and the time.

I boarded the entire (as it stands 2 minutes! that'll have to be edited) thing yesterday, start to finish in 8 hours. Almost 200 storyboards, colored, and I put together the animatic with a scratch track and sound effects.

I enjoy getting a solid chunk of time to see a project (or part of project) completed in one sitting. It's probably because I'm lazy and played video games a lot.

I like to do things in one (no matter how long) sitting. Like when I needed to beat Sonic 2 one afternoon as a kid. I hate that Metropolis Zone.



And so you know, I didn't make this video. I just found it.