2/19/2007 - California Part deux |
Starting the third week in Burbank, and still haven't found a good cheese place. OK, Trader Joe's is pretty good, but I am missing all my favourites. Why must I be this cheese addict!!
That being said, I am getting back in shape as everything seems to be around 20-25 minute away on foot- groceries, work, etc. That's good :)
Loving the people I am working with; a very nice, very talented bunch. I am learning a lot. I've just passed the very first deadline. Hopefully will reach the next one with not too much trouble either.
I've been noticing these signs a bit everywhere in the studio- first aid and Earthquake kits. Guess it is something seen often here in Cali, but that is a weird reminder for me as to where I am now...
(and for those unfamiliar with Avatar, the girl in the closet is Toph- she controls earth) |
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2/8/2007 - California on my mind |
Made it!
After trouble with paperworks, that delayed my trip to LA for a few days, I am finally settled in Burbank, staying with a friend. Work on Avatar has barely started for me, and this is how it felt last Friday, my first day...;)
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1/22/2007 - Big News!! |
Allright, finally ready to announce this (big nervous breath intake):
In one week from now, I will be joining the talented crew of Avatar, The Last Airbender, and help with the storyboards.
You've seen me post a lot of fanart about it recently - and most of these were done BEFORE I was even contacted. I've just been a big fan of the show for a while, and you can bet that was one opportunity I had to take (I just hope I can do it justice, worry beads just thinking about it!)
At first, I wanted to keep this quiet. See, I've been having a lot of fun with the rest of the Avatar fandom artists...and I didn't want it to change. I love this crowd, I love their work, I'm having fun with them! But let's face it- many of them would find out eventually, and I didn't want to cause any anymosity with a "why didn't you tell us!?!" accusations or...whatever. I can't judge people's reaction in advance. It may be good, it may be bad.
And keeping it quiet almost felt like I was lying sometime. I didn't like that at all.
I hope you guys will still let me crawl amongst you, let me keep doing my little parodies and comics for fun...cause I am still one big Avatard!!!
A few notes:
This happened really quickly- passed a storyboard test in December (while having a leg infection, drawing in the hospital waiting room...). Got it right (ouf!!!), and had about a month to prepare.
As I write these lines, I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about what is going to happen in season 3. Nothing, nada, nyet. I am as in the dark about the story as the rest of the world, and am looking forward to see what will happen, like everybody.
Please, do not ask me to give you secrets of the show once I know a bit more. I will be under contract, and that means the Confidentiality Clause must be upheld. I will be sworn to secrecy. I really wish I could tell you, but it will be professionally impossible. Sincerely sorry about that.
So there, cat is out of the bag.
Miu!
(below, little goodbye card I did for my friends at work...still can't believe I'm going, feels like something will happen and it will all get cancelled or something)
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1/17/2007 - Doodlelly |
Yeah yeah, more Avatar schtuff. Sorry about that
It all started very seriously, practicing battle poses, when it quickly degenerated into a Calvin and Hobbes moment.
I don't control these characters, and they let me know any chance they get.
(on another note, I am happy to say that my grandma and grandpa- both over 85- are enjoying playing with the Wii. For the moment it's just the bowling on Wii Sports, but I may get them the bass fishing game soon)
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1/10/2007 - Fun Times! |
Got so many things happening at the same time...and most of them I can't talk about yet. Corporate secrecy and all that, you know the drill.
And that means there will be a small hiatus on the mini comic Horus, as I will recharge my creative batteries.
I've kept doing silly Avatar comics and put them on the DA account-
http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/
One of them is actually starting to grow into a bigger thing than I thought- an Avatar parody, doing an hommage to Leo Ortolani's Rat-Man at the same time. (Leo Ortolani- genius Italian cartoonist whose writing and comedic timing was the biggest inspiration I had in the past 10 years- now if only his books were translated in English!)
So after the Harry Potter project, here's the start of the retelling of the Avatar's story... |
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12/19/2006 - Happy holidays! |
What a freaky month December has been- caught a bad cold and then a leg infection! But the health is coming back to normal, so I should be able to celebrate the upcoming holidays properly...with alcohol! Because of the medication, I couldn't drink anything, and I'm usually not a big alcohol drinker. But dang if the fact that I suddenly couldn't simply made me want to drink more and more!
There also should be big changes job wise, and I may tell more later on. For the moment, sit and wait.
Item 1- Time to start pimpin' !
I'll have a ten page story (art by me, story by J.Torres) in an upcoming Teen Titans Go comic. #40, coming out at the end of February. This is a split issue, where two artists illustrate short stories.
Item 2- Still in total Avatard fan mode, and the season finale got some wheels turning in my head. This joke will go over the head of anyone who doesn't know the show, but what the hey (rough pencils with quick Photoshop colours added on for les cheapness)
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11/16/2006 - The next two weeks |
Busy busy time approaching!
FIrst- le Salon Du Livre De Montréal (the Montreal Book Fair), that will have plenty of book authors (over 1000), and quite a few comic book artists as well. The BDQuébec forum has a pretty complete and up to date list:
http://www.bdquebec.qc.ca/forum/detail.php?forumid=20&id=2057&page=1
So many I want to see, with special attention to Jacques Lamontagne (Les Druides) and Jeff Smith.
It's going to be so weird seeing him outside of the usual San Diego- US convention tours and such.
Then next weekend is Expozine- more than 200 participants for this small press fair! Really great atmosphere last time, so I'm definitely looking forward to this year:
http://www.expozine.ca/en/2006.php
On a last note...yesh, I'm still an Avatard. Still having too much fun doing funny comics with those guys. I do wish I'd have the time to do something more...thoughtful, and this is what they had to say (I swear this dialogue just popped into my head!). Quick rough pencils, with quick colours added
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10/25/2006 - Avatar comic 3 |
Still in Avatar fanart mood, and not about to stop.
Colours on Flight almost done! Will finish this weekend
This friday-going to a giant puppet show- a play based on Clive Barker's book "Weaveworld" Not for kids puppet, this thing is rated 16!
Why am I writing like this-oh, the excitement of finally getting a certain difficult character design at work approved YEEEEEEAH!
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10/17/2006 - Fanart craze |
That's it, I'm officially an avatard.
I can't seem to help it, ideas just want to burst out of my head with these characters. I had to reign myself in and stop doing Avatar fan art, because there are other projects that need my attention! I give myself two weeks to finish everything before returning to fanart production.
Then I'm going to force myself to calm down again as I want to start work on Horus 2.
Presently listening to the insanely weird songs of Quebec group "Les Trois Accords" new album, Grand Champion. It's just so much fun to sing along!
Leaving you with two Avatar fan comics. One in colour, and the other just in B&W. I do realise this may not be understood by everyone...but so is the nature of fanart. (watch the show, it is great fun!)
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9/26/2006 - Legalese pitfalls |
Some of you may have noticed that I took a drawing or two away. That's so I could avoid any troublesome legalese pitfalls, have lawyers gunning after me, the whole thing.
Basically, to be absolutely safe, I can't post any illustrations actually used in a production, even after the product is out.
But there are a few things I need to clear up with the resident lawyer:
What about portfolios, and what if said portfolio is online. Would adding a big watermark over the piece be considered sufficient.
What if a piece you create, on your freetime and at home, you end up donating to the production but it has already been put on your website (there are Teen Titans drawings that I did in that situation)
What if it's a piece of art that ended up not being used in the production. Can it be shown once the product is out.
The answers I'll get may not apply to everyone: different companies, different policies. Still, these are questions one has to ask more and more in the era of blogs, online galleries, and companies who like to let loose their packs of hungry lawyers after you.
On a quick lighter note:
Went to the Ottawa Animation festival-had a blast
Friend Jim Murray has put sample pages of a comic he's working on. Note, he's also looking for a publisher. Go look, drool and pass out. Awesome pages (you can scroll through a few, and even get a close up of a few images):
http://www.jimmurrayart.com/Ashcan_01.htm
I started a gallery at Deviant Art. Me bad, but I really like how that gallery works in term of interaction.
http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/
Here's one of the recent images I uploaded on it. I'm becoming more and more an Avatar fan, and soon may be able to wear the "Avatarted" badge with pride...or not.
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9/1/2006 - It's sketchy time! |
Well, I'm off the Kim Possible game now. It's all up to the programmers to fix the last few bugs. As with all projects so far, we got our team/project t-shirt. Everyone gave ideas as to what would the design be and..well...not a lot of us were actually pretty serious. I gave them a weird, doodle drawing and it was the one chosen! Oh boy...
You should have seen the Bukake shirt! Heehee!
My not so serious design that got chosen anyway:
I should be going to the Ottawa Animation film festival at the end of September, and to an Egyptian Symposium at the beginning of November in Toronto , about Hatchepsut. I shouldn't miss it: it's material for the Horus comic! Yes, I'll finally get back to it after I finish with the Flight 4 story. |
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8/7/2006 - Hooray! |
Allright! We're back and this time, with extra ID protection against spam! Woo! Big hand of applause to the nice folks over at the Drawing Board for that (remember that pledge drive they are doing! I'll be doing my part soon).
To celebrate, a new drawing!
What if the cast of Kim Possible were applying to get roles in a Harry Potter animated serie. Hmmm...
I do realise most of the jokes may get totally lost, if you don't know the worlds of Kim Possible and Harry Potter. Sorry about that, I had to do this!
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7/29/2006 - Stupid stupid Spam |
Ok, I'm stopping the comment function on this blog, because a stupid SpamBot decided it would be fun to post loads of %$#?# .
Although it's always fun to read your comments (and many many thanks to everyone who took the time to post, it was always greatly appreciated), I just hate going through and cleaning up every entry.
The only place in the world where I allow chaos is my room (with slight overflow in adjoining rooms, but minimal).
Until I find a way to screen comments/stop SpamBots, comments are off limits. Anybody has a good trick for that, let me know.
Oh, and I promise to post some drawings soon. Much sooner than updating my website, though that too is in the works. That old thing really needs some major overhaul!
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7/25/2006 - SDCC 2006: The Aftermath! |
Back to the daily grind after a fun weekend in San Diego.
Let me apologise in advance for so few pictures: it's like I keep forgetting I have a camera.
Took the Air Canada flight from Montreal to San Diego, with a stop over in Toronto, where a lot of the comic creating crowd of Toronto boarded the same plane. Crossed J. Torres path, but didn't really take the time to chat with him. What a shame.
This year, me and a few friends were staying at the Westin: well located, friendly staff, can't ask for more. I'll try and get a room there next year.
Highlights of the show:
Wednesday: preview night. Time to get the boxes and set up the booth. Time also to say hi to the people I hadn't seen in a year. That's always the best part.
Thursday: Amy had shown us the great sketchbook by Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch), so me and Rad Sechrist went hunting for that. It was great to meet Chris! At the end of each evening, we had a rubberband fight with the Those Guys sitting right accross our booth. Went to see a projection of the documentary "Dream On Silly Dreamer", describing the last days of Disney's traditional animation studios. I ended up nodding a lot, remembering having to go through similar type of events, though on a much much smaller scales.
In the evening, we went to a party where we mingled we Jeff Smith, Charles Vess, Scott McCloud, Raina Telgemeir and many others. I had way too much drinks, enough to beat Michel Gagné at "who talks more when they are drunk". Woohoo!
Friday: regretting that last wine glass from the previous night. I am in a haze until 5pm, when the last bit of hangover finally drift away. Got to meet Francesco Francavilla, artist of the Black Coat, got a Bruce Timm skecthbook (not meeting him though *sigh*), got two Mignola sketchbooks for friends at work. Went to the Eisner awards to cheer on some friends. Andy Runton won for best children book. I drew a happy Owly and Wormy on the evening's program. As the evening wore on and on, my sketches of Owly and his friend got more and more darker. This is going to be my last time sitting through the Eisner. It's just too long, boring, and with no surprises.
Saturday: Tried to get into the LOST panel, only to be turned away along with a few hundred more fans. Room 20, the biggest of the von, was filled to capacity. I was looking at the nearby stadium, wondering if they could have held the event there. They probably would have filled it too. I was planning to go to the Avatar panel later that day, but I ended up being a line Nazi at the Flight booth during the Jeff Smith signing. All went well, the crowd not being too big. Ouf!
That evening, group supper at Buca Di Beppo, great italian place. Afterwards, a stop over at the sketchbook session (it was midnight). We didn't bring out any sketchbooks, but there were three DS doing the rounds so we were having fun with Pictochat. Afterwards, short visit to the Hyatt.
Sunday, the last day: time to make last purchases, make last goodbyes, do one last party.
Treasures gathered at the convention: Original art by Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin) and Linda Medley (Castle Waiting)
Skecthbooks by Stephen Silver, Pascal Campion, Louie Del Carmen, Brian Froud, Bruce Timm, all the Those Guys group, and many others.
The Dream on Silly Dreamer DVD, the Afterworks anthology, Rose and Isabelle Vol.2, and many wonderful trades with many talented artists.
And my absolute price: Justin Ridge has given me the most wonderful sketch of Aang and Sokka (Avatar, The Last Airbender). I just can't thank him enough, I'm so happy!! I'm posting it here for all to see (art by Justin Ridge)
I also uploaded a few pics on Flickr. I may ask a few of the people I was with for a few of their pics too, since I've been so lazy with taking photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmatte/sets/72157594212185015/ |
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7/18/2006 - SDCC, here I come! |
Another year, another San Diego Convention.
I know some people hate going there now, because of the sheer size. To me, it's the best moment to see nearly everyone I haven't seen in a year! Really looking forward to that.
I'll be arriving early Wednesday, and spend 99% of my time at the Flight table. The 1% remaining will be me going to the LOST panel Saturday morning. Woo!
(ok, I'll actually go to a few more panels and events).
I'm afraid I won't have that much new material with me this time. Only a mini comic with Stick Daemons. And when I look at all the other sketchbooks that will be available...I can only call myself a lazy @$$.
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6/22/2006 - Extras, extras! |
Digging through the computer, I found these two image that were done during the Teen Titans game production. They ended up being added to the unlockables' gallery. Considering I had done these for fun and during my free time (not a lot of that usually), I'm rather happy.
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6/21/2006 - Cat and Mouse |
This is full frenzy around my place: finishing some Potter stuff (y'know, that comic I was hinting about a few posts below?), got some Teen Titans stuff done (will show later, I promise), hurrying in doing illustrations for the Kim game, gotta do a mini comic of stick daemons for SDCC aaaaaand...done these two for a show at the Nucleus gallery. Ink, watercolours on Papyrus paper. Watercolour acts weird on it. The hieroglyphs simply say "cat" (miw) and "mouse" (penw). Thank you dictionary!
These are for the Flight exhibit, to celebrate the new book (volume 3) coming out next week June 27th. Rejoice! I've seen it and it looks great! I'm so pumped to start working on Flight 4. The next one is going to rock so hard...
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6/9/2006 - Avatar |
I took a little test to do illustrations based on the show Avatar, The Last Airbender. I didn't know anything about it when I started, except for a few images glanced here and there on the web. I went and got the DVDs, and was pleasantly surprised to discover a very well made, written tv animated serie.
I don't know if I'll pass the test (with a bit more time and practice, I'd do better justice to the characters...guess I'll just have to keep drawing them for fun  ), but I know I've had a great time being introduced to this little universe. Already looking forward to the next DVD, in July.
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5/26/2006 - |
Sorry for the delay in posting: work caught up with me after a week's vacation spent in Sedona Arizona with the parents. I could post pictures later on, those that show the environments. Who wants to see me and my parents right?
That's it! The Teen Titans video game is finally out! Woot!
I do hope people have fun playing it. Me...not really my type of game. It was so much work: having five characters at all time on the screen, and up to four players could jump in at any time. That's already a lot of demands on the engine, plus you have to add enemies, FX, environments...and respect the original time schedule.
Technical stuff y'know.
To celebrate, I thought I'd post a bit of storyboard, a scene that had been cut out of the game early on. Not a spoiler.
Aaaaand....one last little sketch: a quick work doodle, à la "Survivor", about getting voted off the island (using Drakken and Shego...yeah, don't ask)
There, reminding us it was the last episode of Lost this week. Gotta wait now to see what happens next. Dang cliffhangers! |
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4/27/2006 - Thumbnails for an unused story |
When it was time to give our outline for a next Flight story, I cooked up a simple 4 pages...too simple actually, (when you start doubting your idea, drop it!) and I ended up proposing another story instead.
This one will probably forever stay at the thumbnails level.
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About Me
Random thoughts, doodles, Egypt news and any other cool discoveries I happen to stumble upon.
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