FANGORIA 2010 MACHINE/ "Steampunk" Time-Machines

After seeing my friend Peter's Halloween concept, a friend of mine sent me a link to this which I thought you all would find interesting and fun!

This group of people in England made a Halloween attraction in their garage. IT"S GREAT!

FIRST, WATCH THIS:

(Note: If it doesn't fit, double click on the movie and it will take you to the video posted on YouTube.)



THEN, WATCH THIS (the engineers view):




WOW! GREAT JOB, GUYS!!!

(I like how when they go way into the future, the whole earth is covered in water due to the global warming/melting of the ice caps.)

I always used to call this genre "Jules Verne-style" but I guess the "official"/commonly used term fot it is "steampunk".

WHAT IS "STEAMPUNK"?

According to Wikipedia, the term "steampunk" was coined by a science fiction writer K.W. Jeter in an effort to find a general term for the works that were being written about in the mid 1980's/early 90's with regards to science fiction stories that took place during the Victorain-era (1837-1901).

The style would be derived from how people of that time would have envisioned such machines/devices. Most of these devices were operated via steam power (like a steam locomotive) because that would have been the greatest source of power available to them during that period with a brief introduction to electricity.

Examples of this can bee seen in 'The Wild Wild West' in both the film version (1999) and the television series that ran from 1965-69.



The machines and devices were built of riveted steel and brass but were fashioned with an elegant and ornate feel as opposed to the "grungy" post-modern industrial style depicted in such films as 'Blade Runner' (1982) and 'Alien' (1979).

One of the earliest depictions of Victorian-era science fiction would be the French film, 'A Trip to the Moon' (1902).



Since then, the more popular depictions of Victorian-era inspired time traveling/science fiction devices have been Harper Goff's design for the "Nautilus" from Disney's '20,000 leagues Under The Sea' (1954).



"The Time Machine" from George Pal's 1960 film based upon H.G. Wells' novel.




The inside of the Fangoria Machine and my friend's steampunk drill/Halloween project is reminiscent of the one in 'At The Earth's Core (1976) starring Peter Cushing (after watching it, its hard to believe that he was Grand Moff Tarkin!)



Then there's the time machine form the Nicholas Meyer's film, 'Time After Time' (1979).




and the "Omni" from the (1982-83) television series, 'Voyagers!'



I have to admit, 'Voyagers!' was/is a guilty pleasure of mine. I remember in the episode "The Trial of Phineas Bogg", The time-traveling Voyager, Phineas Bogg is called back to home to stand trial for breaking the Voyager code and the villainous prosecutor, Drake had his own "pimped-out" Omni made of silver which was unique and untraceable.



(a SILVER Omni?! Whoah! How cool is that! --I was 12 yrs. old.)

Drake was eventually discovered to be obstructing justice and fled only to go back in time and be hunted as being "Jack The Ripper" and...

oops...'guess I'm "geeking out". 'better go...

(but first let me leave you with this cool picture I found of the DeLorean time machine from 'Back To The Future')



Alright, now BACK TO WORK!!!

Gargoyle Candelabras

Here are some candelabras I made last year that were inspired by the stretching room gargoyles in the Haunted Mansion (look closely to see the detail):





Materials: wire, plaster wrap, DAS modeling clay, wooden candle cups and a faux finish with acrylic paint (Liquitex Black & Iridescent Antique Gold).

HALLOWEEN S.O.S.

After taking a much-needed hiatus last year, my good friend, Peter Montgomery, is back and is planning an awesome Halloween display this year!

In recent years, he's made epic displays such as a sinking pirate ship (which I helped him design and build) and a crashed loco motive accompanied by his very own brand of animatronic animation. This year, he's planning to build a huge drilling machine bursting out of the ground of which the Victorian design is inspired by Jules Verne's 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'.

"Check it"...


(artist rendering)

...but to build it, he needs OUR help!

Peter needs to raise his goal of $2,200 to complete this project and he's asking for contributions through a fundraising program online called: Kickstarter


If you've ever seen one of Peter's fantastic displays and thought "I wish I could do something like that." Well, here's your chance! Think about it, this year you could actually say, "I helped him build that thing!" and mean it because, honestly, he can't do it without you.

To help Peter make it happen and make Halloween special for so many people, CLICK HERE to make a donation.

We Thank You in advance for your support!

Art Show: Creeping Beauty

My friend Eric Pigors of ToxicToons is having a reception tonight for his art show. I'm going to try and make it.

It's at the Hyaena Gallery located at 1928 West Olive Ave. in Burbank, CA




I love his artwork. I always thought it would make for a cool animated project! Maybe a Halloween television special, hmmmm....

I'M BAAAAAAAACK!

Why, hello folks! 'long time, no see.

I'm back and I brought my Death Certificate! I see you brought yours....;-)

First, I apologize for not posting updates since April. (I know,...Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger!!! ) but I've been very busy with work and family and I've also been prepping for this special time of year...yep...the Costume Express, Oriental Trading Company and Grandin Road catalogues came in the mail and the grocery store has their candy display up....

Its official...THE START OF THE HALLOWEEN SEASON!!!! HOORAY!!!!!!

(oh, yipee.)

WHO SAID THAT?! hmm...probably my wife...

Anyways, I'm happy and excited to see there's a few more followers joining us. That's good because there's lots of cool stuff coming ahead and I can't wait to share it with you. And to kick it off, I've included a special treat, something from my childhood (and if your of my generation maybe yours, too!).

Back in the mid 70's, Winchells Donuts had a promotion, a floppy (vinyl) record called 'Hear the Monsters'. Do any of you remember it?

My brother and I used to play it on our Show-N-Tell record player. We'd either draw the curtains or turn off the lights and listen to it. It was scary but (*sigh*)it was fun.

Anyways, enjoy!

ANIMATION DAILIES 4/26/10

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ANIMATION DAILIES 4/12/10

Here is the animation I did on the "Tap Dance Kid" and "Dr. Facilier (a.k.a. the Shadowman)" from 'Disney's The Princess and the Frog'.

Princess and the Frog-James Lopez from James Lopez on Vimeo.

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ANIMATION DAILIES 3/29/10

I know that some of you were anticipating to see the animation I did on "Dr. Facilier". I'm still in the process of putting those scenes together and I should have something to show at the next round of dailies in two weeks.

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ANIMATION DAILIES 3/15/10

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ANIMATION DAILIES 3/1/10

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COMING SOON: ANIMATION DAILIES!

Back in the day, Disney used to show the animator's completed tests for the week at a thing called "dailies". Every Monday morning, we used to walk over to the next building or down to the theater and watch all of the shots cut together (without sound). The silence was deafening. You could hear a pin drop. There would be a quick "flash" of a slate so you you see which animator animated the scene. Then we'd go back upstairs and say, "Hey..."Joe"... I liked your scene in dailies!"

Well, considering all that's going on (or rather what's NOT going on) at the studio these days, I felt as though I had to do SOMETHING so I became inspired and decided to be proactive and vigorously resume work on my own personal projects. To help motivate me, I figured if I hold my own "dailies", it'll keep me productive.

I have several projects in the works and I'd like to share my progress with all of you. Here's the official invitation:



So basically, every two weeks. I'll post a movie of various animation pencil tests and color scenes from my various projects. "What are they?", you ask:

'America Sings': is an animated version of the extinct attraction at Disneyland.

'Sweating Bullets': was the original title of the Disney film 'Home On The Range'. The original story involved a skeletal ghost cowboy named "Slim" and his spectre-like posse, "The Willies" (wonderful play on words) who would steal cattle and devise a plan to run them all off a cliff in one huge act of vengeance for trampling him to death. It would be up to a single calf named "Bullets" and a one-legged jack rabbit named "Lucky Jack" (in which Slim wears Jack's foot around his neck) to save them all! I'm sure it would have been great (or at least better than what they ended up with)!

I figure. why let that concept go to waste? So, for Halloween, I would use video projection to show various Halloween-themed shorts introduced by the vultures from 'America SIngs' and this subject of ghost cowboys, set to the song "Ghost Riders In The Sky". It just seems like the coolest thing.

'Hepcat Swing': is a 5 minute short-film that I am collaborating on with a member from the band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy who is composing the score for this musical set in 1940's Los Angeles during the zoot suit riots.
I love the architecture of the old buildings in Los Angeles, especially on Wilshire Blvd. I love jazz/swing music and swing dancing so I put them all together into one animated film!

Stan Lee's 'Time Jumper' and intro to the "motion comic"

Disney announced they were purchasing Marvel 4 billion dollars. The ink wasn't even dry when I got a call from the Special Projects division to do a series of model sheets (turn-around poses and facial expressions, etc.) for a joint Disney/Marvel project called 'Stan Lee's Time Jumper'. (To find out more about 'Time Jumper', Click Here.)

They gave me a series of visual development artwork of the characters to use as a jumping-off point.

Seeing that I was in for a challenge as I would be going into territory I've never gone before, I figured I should do a research trip to the comic book store. In this case, it was 'House of Secrets' on Olive Ave. in Burbank.

I spent the afternoon there discovering how much comics have changed since I remembered them as a kid. I was being re-introduced to a familiar but yet strange new world. I bought a few books on drawing style for modern-day comics called 'Drawing Crime Noir for Comics & Graphic Novels' and 'Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy' by Christopher Hart. They were really helpful.

Through researching, I discovered several classic illustrators such as John Burns and Robert McGinnis and became inspired by their work as well. And so began my "crash course" into graphic novel illustration!

Over a three week period, I did several pencil and pen & ink sketches pictured below:

































I showed these to the client and they absolutely loved them! I actually got an applause!

When my peers at work would come by to visit and chat, they'd see what I was drawing and they thought I was doing freelance during work hours. Nope, this was legitimate!

Now, I wasn't done yet. I had to clean-up the drawings. In the comic-book world, they call this stage, "inking". So I went to the local art store and bought me a pack of vellum paper and tried out ink pens. I found the ones I liked and went to town!
























Now...about the motion comic....

the client asked me if I saw the show. I had seen what I thought to be, what we would call in the animation industry an "animatic" but it turned out to be the actual show.

It was then that I was introduced to the revolutionary new product called the "motion comic". It can best be described as a moving slide-show.

Words don't do it justice, you'll have to Check It Out for yourself!

The show is available on iTunes. You can download the entire series for $7.99.

Actually, this motion comic-thing isn't new. Back in the 80's, a progressive rock band called The Alan Parsons Project made a music video called "Don't Answer Me" in which the style resemble the motion comics of today.

The 80's: Popcorn N' Kandy

Remember, tuck and rolling-up your pants? Taping songs off the radio with your cassette recorder? Richard Blade on K-ROQ? Patrick Nagel artwork? Staying up late to watch the premiere of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' on Friday Night Videos? 'The Cosby Show' and 'Family Ties' on Thursday Night. "Be There!", "Where's The Beef?", "I'll Be Back."...big hair, turned up collars, 'Members Only' jackets...

...gotta love the 80's....

Well, my friends Bert Klein and John Iskander wrote a script for a musical comedy about teen angst set in the 80's. They were looking for someone to do some artwork to go with their pitch packet so a did a few designs.

(So I don't compromise their script idea) The basic story is a love triangle between these three characters. Our protagonist "Popcorn" (which is a nickname given to him because he works the refreshment stand at the mini-golf/arcade) is in love with this girl named Kandy (probably short for Candice). Together, they're "Popcorn n' Kandy" (cute, eh?). Well, there's one person who stands in their way and that's Darwin Lee, the preppy cool kid at school. Granted, it resembles the movie 'Valley Girl" but trust me, the story has an originality and charm of its own!

I like the story because being a teenager that grew up in the 80's, I can relate to the main character.



These are alternate designs for the character Kandy:



Popcorn had a sidekick which was like his "Jiminy Cricket". It was a little boy who idolized "Mr. T" (from the 80's t.v series 'The A-Team').

[NOT PICTURED]


One thing I do is I listen to music of the era or genre that I'm designing for. In this case I was listening to a song called 'Cool Places' by Sparks. When I would listen to see song, I saw a title sequence. At the time, I was just starting to use Flash to do animatic storyboards for Renegade Animation Studio on the 'Hi-Hi-Puffy-Ami-Yumi' show for Cartoon Network. This would have been about the year 2005.

With the title sequence, I wanted to do a "flashback" theme for the audience who experienced the 80's to get thrown right back into it and for the younger audience who hadn't experienced the 80's a "crash-course" in what was popular. I threw in some names as place holders and basically came up with this:





MORE TO COME....

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New stuff for Halloween 2009!

First, I made the local paper! Click here to read the article.



I made candleabras inspired by the elevator gargoyles in the Haunted Mansion for last year but this year I faux painted them and bought new battery operated candles that ran off of AAA batteries rather than the hard to find cel batteries.





This year I got one of my characters stolen! It was the old man with the earphone. I had it out on the yard one night and in the middle of the night someone took it but left behind a few pieces. I guess this'll learn me to tie my stuff down.

I filed a police report (mostly for the story). The police came and asked for a description of the stolen item. I said,"He was about 5/7"...long white beard...wearing a white sheet..." and we both laughed at how silly the situation had gotten. It sounded more like a kidnapping!

So I had to come up with a replacement quick so I had this tea pot thing Ii had sitting around that I always intended to make as part of my display well...I finally used it! My daughters wanted to help with HAlloween this year so i let them paint the metal rebar holding up the teapot and cup so you couldn't see it.





BTW-the water is tin foil twisted up and covered with plastic wrap.