DRAWING GIVE-AWAY!

That's right -- an entire *week of drawing give-aways! Spread the word!

Check back every day for one new drawing that I'll give away -- all it takes to enter is a comment. Comments close at 11:59 PM EST of that day. I'll randomly choose one winner to announce the next morning when I post the next drawing.

I'm glad we've had this talk. It's something I meant to do for a while and now is the time to do it.

See you tomorrow morning for the first drawing!


*And by week I mean Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

"bit and run" 3

Poor, poor Mario 2. Well, as they say, "Always a Mushroom Retainer, never a Princess." Yet, even for all of it's oddities, Mario 2 manages a certain charm over me. I still enjoy the game quite a bit.

* * *

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

Inar

Have I ever posted this drawing?


I don't know that I have, though it was featured in my 2009 sketchbook, Princesses, Monsters, and things that fly :

* * *

I've spent the last day or so going through my office, cleaning and organizing.

As anyone who visited me, or my co-workers, can attest that over the course of this most recent animation job nearly everything fell into disrepair.

I've found a lot of drawings and things that I think would make for giveaways so I'll be putting something like that together next week.

So, until then -- stay frosty.

"Oliphaunt"

I'm very happy to show my first published Tolkien illustration.

It was done for Highlights, the most recognized and respected kids' magazine in the galaxy.

January 2010 issue.

* * *

And here's the actual piece.

I'm honored to be able to join the ranks of Tolkien illustrators, even in this very small way, and for such a wonderful client as Highlights.

"bit and run" 2

We can all agree on two things; Mario 2 is awesome, and Mario 2 is the weirdest game. But to the inhabitants of Subcon the other Marios must surely be the weird ones.

I like to imagine the sort of conversations they must have had around the water-cooler.


Especially when Mario 3 rolled around.

* * *

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

Flight 7

I'm moving forward on production of my story for Flight 7. I've had the story written for quite a while and last night I finished my thumbnails. I did them half size this time, rather than as you might remember with Walters I just scribbled out thumbnails practically the size of real thumb nails.

The reason for the larger thumbnails this time around is that this story Onere and Piccola has a lot of corresponding text and I need to plan it accordingly. And it makes it easier to show the story to people and let it explain itself. This is a first for me, typically all of my published stories have been wordless and you more or less followed the story in pictures.

I'm very pleased with the way this one has developed, I feel like the story is more "there" than in my previous works, and I'm looking forward to seeing it completed.

Speaking of Walters? --

You can see the pretty extensive behind the scenes production of my story for Flight 6, Walters, here. I documented nearly every aspect of making the piece,

The True Story of Larry Walters, or
How I came to make a 40 page graphic novel

____________________________

Walters, writing the story

____________________________

Walters, writing the story visually

____________________________

Walters, the first 10 pages

so very close

That's right, we are so very close to wrapping up production on what has been the largest animation project we've done yet. I'm really looking forward to posting about it because I've got an enormous amount of new work to show because of it. Hopefully in the next week or so.

Meanwhile, here's some more character development art I did early on in the project. Way back in October 2009. Man, that sounds like ages ago.

gifts

I don't usually give Christmas presents to my friends. I'm never really consistent with who I give presents to even when I do. There's no rhyme or reason why I ever give someone a present and ultimately, my guidelines for gift-giving are inconsistent.

Be that as it may,

Behold, gift 1 :


This one went to Richard, a friend I met this past summer at SDCC. A fellow Flight contributor and T.R. fan. Bully!

* * *

Behold, gift 2 :

And this gift basket went to Philip Hatter, the genius who crafted this incredible puppet for me.

There were a few other gifts that made it to other people but I don't have pictures of them. I did draw a Pikachu for my little cousin but I didn't get a picture of it.

* * *

I apologize for missing my posts last week, a couple notable things happened right on January first.

For one, I drew Terrible Yellow Eyes to a close. It was a wild run and I can't thank you enough for supporting it.

Secondly, I began my next personal project, "bit and run"

So, by way of apology for missing so many days of posts the last week we'll get a new post everyday instead of the regular M/W/F posts.

"bit and run"

So, what happens to you if you're me and you're embroiled in the midst of an enormous three month long project (with 2 or 3 somewhat smaller [but nearly as time consuming] projects) oscillating around your head? 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

* * *

For the last three months on this massive animation project (We're nearly, nearly done and I can't wait to be able to talk about it here, it's for a pretty big company that I'm sure you've heard of) 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, funny, and very kind.

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


"bit and run" is a series of Nintendo themed comics. It is comprised of two volumes, each ending in an animated short; a grand total of 26 comics, 2 shorts -- 6 months worth of Friday posts. Volume 1 runs from January 1 - March 26.

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

With out further ado, here's the first comic :


And if you're interested, here's the initial release day post over on GoNintendo.

These are quick, fun, and easy for me to do. I get a lot of enjoyment out of them and I hope you might too.

* * *

"bit and run" I think of as a "soft" project, it's one that's running in the background and pops up on Fridays. I'm still moving forward on my Alice project and Flight 7 story.

::Project 8-Bit Wonder:: is now GoNintendo desktop wallpapers!

I've partnered with GoNintendo, my favorite Nintendo blog to release my Nintendo inspired desktop wallpapers!

* * *

If you've visited my blog before you might pick up on a couple things. I love my wife, my cats, my work -- and I love Nintendo. For me, I get the most enjoyment out of Mario and Zelda games, the classic Nintendo. It's one of those things that's difficult for me to put into words so this is where, as usual, I turn to pictures. As a way of instant decompression, what makes the difference for me personally is being able to unwind, even for a few minutes, with a little Mario at night; keeps me sane when the workload is crazy.

Another thing you might have picked up on is that I like to fit in personal projects during my normal client work. Recently I've been involved with an all-consuming animation job and I've been averaging 15 hour days, 7 days a week, give or take for the last 2 and a half months. When I could sneak in a little time here and there over the past few weeks, I thought it would be fun (and instant stress relief) to revisit these Nintendo classics for a tribute :

• 3 Mario
• 3 Zelda
• 1 Metroid
• 1 Yoshi's Island
• 1 Kirby
• 1 Pokémon

My goal for this little project was to work with particular, iconic colors and flat, graphic shapes -- put them together and try to approach certain feelings or memories connected to the individual games.

I took a little license with some of them, but for the most part I tried to stay as true as I could to the original 8 bit colors.

I hope you will enjoy them!

With out further ado, here they are :











The above images were sized down a little by Blogger but --

Here's the link to get the whole set off Flickr!
1920 x 1200 and 1600 x 1200

the dragon puppet! in real, live video!

Here it is! -- the dragon puppet hath arrived.

Once again, a huge thanks to Philip Hatter!

And, once again, here's my painting that inspired the collaboration :


And the same dragon that I used for my card for the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con :



Behold :



To read more about this joint effort with me and Philip over at Thistledown Puppets, click here for a compilation of my posts explaining the project and to see the original painting which inspired the puppet.

projects

Sorry I missed my last couple days posting. We're wrapping up production on what has been, heretofore, the largest animation project we've ever done. When it's released you can be sure I'll be blogging about the creation of it. It's been an exhilarating ride, that is for sure.

* * *

What's that? You didn't think I had other side projects going on? With TYE and this massive client animation job? Indeed I do! Several of them.

Most all are "projects" though, compared with "operations" (see nomenclatures defined here)

Just to keep you up to date, primary ignition has commenced on :: Project 8 Bit Wonder :: shortly to be followed by -- :: Project Atlas :: running concurrently with :: Project White Rabbit ::

Again, these project codenames are thinly veiled. And there's not really anything to be all that secretive about. Atlas is the codename for my Flight 7 story, and you might guess what White Rabbit is.

:: Project 8 Bit Wonder :: I think, will drop this Friday, we'll see. It might actually be Monday. You can be sure I'll let you know.

SILENT NIGHT!

Here's an older one, from a year or so ago. The idea still make glad.

No matter what a dragon does everyone still panics.

Hairy Troll is helping the Hodges

Here's a drawing I've donated to Help the Hodges, a charity art auction set up by a friend of mine, the most well connected person I've ever met, Chad Frye.

I'll post the details of the auction (I think it's going up in January) when the time comes.

There is some jaw dropping stuff over on the auction, I mean you've got the likes of the legendary Drew Struzan to dozens of original Disney animation roughs, to a doodle by Pete Doctor (writer/director of Monsters, Inc., Up) a myriad of original comic art (Stan Lee signed!), even a drawing by the heroic Bobby Chiu.

Word is many more contributions are to join the already impressive collection.

* * *

I feel like my piece is pretty representative of what I most enjoy drawing; children and monsters.

And yes, the drawing is signed, this is an older scan.

Christmas Card 2009

Godbey Christmas 2009

previously.

Terrible Yellow Eyes, final postings

Hello Everyone!

I wanted let you all know, friends of Terrible Yellow Eyes, that I have made the decision to close the project with a final post, Friday, January 1, 2010.

This hasn't been an easy choice for me. Since I have close to a year's worth of free time wrapped up in the planning and execution of this project you can imagine that I'm attached to it. But I am ready to move on to other personal work and other projects. Naturally, the collection's not going anywhere, it will remain online, but I do feel the project has run it's course.

I want to say thank you. The response I've had to the idea has gone beyond what I imagined for it. The project has truly become what I had hoped for but did not imagine exactly possible. When I think about the the response, the show, and contributing artists involvement and the level of jaw dropping work, it's really nothing more than a testament to just how bad people love Maurice Sendak.

* * *

My goal all along for TYE was to honor the book and express my love for it in pictures because I just couldn't do it with words, no matter how hard I tried. I've been humbled by the response of so many incredibly hard working, gifted artists. I think I can also say I've made a few new friends along the way.

Putting together Terrible Yellow Eyes has been the fulfillment of a years long desire to do something more than just enjoy Where the Wild Things Are. Maurice Sendak has influenced me and countless others so profoundly, so completely altering the face of what a children's book is and what the medium can be, it seems the only thing we could have ever done was to just celebrate it.

Thank you all!

Cory

Santa Don't Miss Or Else

Here's a re-post from about this time last year, 2008. In case you may have missed it (or have been, in fact, avoiding it) it's December again. We made a little game for Christmas last year and once again it does seem seasonally appropriate.



Santa Don't Miss Or Else, or SDMOE, as I like to call it, is a brand new game made just for you by Portland Studios! Just in time for Christmas!

Mark made up the idea, I made all the art for it, Mark made it into a game, and the venerable Ben Kammer wrote and performed the music.

Take the Rudolph 2 for a spin! Drop some presents into the chimneys before the time runs out. Compete for the high score!

And for goodness sakes, don't miss -- or else.

Merry Christmas from your friends at Portland Studios.

Stacktastic!

____________________________________

My good friend Mike Boldt has accomplished what relatively few people ever do -- the publishing of his first book!

The Gophers in Farmer Burrows’ Field

In honor of the release of the book, Mike has held a "stack-tastic" celebration over on his blog.

Basically, you could either stack something (like the gophers do in the book) and take a picture, draw stuff stacked, or (as I chose to do) use page from Mike's book that he turned into a template and draw something in place.

I barely made it in time as "Stacktastic" closed the end of November, but I got in at the last minute with my stack of brush and ink dragons.

detail

Be sure and hop over to see all the other Stacktastic entries and see how they stack up. Hoo-boy! I'm as funny as ... I'm not funny. But, all the same, check out Mike Boldt's Stacktastic!

Zelda and Christmas cards

For me, Christmas means (almost) one thing -- The Legend of Zelda. It's only ever the week of Christmas that I get the time to play a game as involved as Zelda.

And every Christmas for about as long as I can remember (minus the college years) has had something to do with Zelda, in some capacity. Last year I played through "Link's Awakening" on the GameBoy (ten years late... though I beat it ten years to the day that I got the game -- and in a sling, so that's got to count for something.)


And it seems like every Christmas coincides with the release of a Zelda game, or at least on the off years I have an older game to go back and work through.

A Very Zelda Christmas, this year. What with the new Zelda DS release (which has got a beautiful theme! Listen : and the fact that though I got Twilight Princess for Christmas last year I've not have the hours needed to play it. Maybe this year. I've also got "A Link to the Past" I want to play again. I'm dismal at the original Legend of Zelda, I can't really make it anywhere without dying. And Zelda II just confuses me and I'm lost. I've got both of those off the Virtual Console on the Wii.

The number one thing you learn from Zelda? Princesses are always worth saving.

So Christmas is Zelda, and, making Christmas cards. For most of the years we've been married, Erin and I have made a Christmas card featuring us and our two cats, behold :

2007

2008

* * *

I'll be posting our 2009 card once they're in the mail. It might be my favorite of the lot.

* * *

Also worth noting, I'll be doing a post a day this week to make up for missing my posts last week.

Tomorrow -- stacks of dragons for the Canadians!