Jawbone #241: One Jelly Belly Lane

Yet another solocast, full of Jelly Bellies, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans and anger, just below the surface. Join the fun!

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Caption This: 3-23-09

Starter Sketches

I don't know if anyone will have any interest in this besides me, but I thought I'd post it for posterity anyway. It might be too inside baseball, but for some artists, it might serve as helpful.

Whenever I start working on a new image, especially if it's a more involved image, I like to do a little "starter sketch" to get me rolling. Basically, the starter sketch is just a blueprint for me that I can refer to as I'm working on the finished image. I started noticing that my desk and floor has become littered with this little scraps of drawings, so I thought I would post a few. If people find this interesting, I may post more.

This is a starter sketch that I used for some art I did for Paul and Storm. The only direction Paul gave me was that he wanted to give an illustration to Mythbusters host Adam Savage. "Maybe handing him something," I think was the idea. So in about 30 seconds I sketched this:


I originally wanted to do something fully digital, with some basic shapes to represent Paul and Storm and Adam. After a few tries, I realized I was losing Adam's personality, so I decided to go with a caricature pencil sketch of the three of them. Here is how it ended up. (the little JoCo was an afterthought):



Today I did a new image for Jonathan Coulton's song "Blue Sunny Day". He had told me a few months ago to start honing up on vampires. So I kept that in the back of my mind, waiting to hear what the song sounded like. I was able to hear a live version of the song a few weeks ago, but I didn't start drawing it because I always like to hear the studio version of his songs before I draw. After he released the song yesterday, I listened to it, read his notes about the song and then formulated a mental image of what I wanted to do. As soon as I get to that phase, I do the starter sketch, just to get the idea down on paper. This is what I came up with:



I had a color scheme in my head, based on the song and I knew what I wanted the finished product to look like. The elapsed time between starter sketch to when I begin to work on the art varies from 15 minutes to a day, depending on my schedule. Here is the finished art in all its glory:



Anyway, rather than throw these little sketches away, maybe I'll post a few. It should be noted that not all images start with a starter sketch, Only more complicated ones and even then it's really for blocking and size purposes.

Ta-da!

Original Signed Artwork Available on Ebay

For all those interested, the ORIGINAL pencil sketch artwork for the Zombie Clown print that was sold during Red Nose Day is available right now on Ebay. It is signed by me with all proceeds going to benefit Comic Relief. Go forth and bid now!

Caption This: 3-16-09

Caption this, suckas. (Sorry, I don't feel like being overly creative this morning. A lot like the people who made this monstrosity.)

Red Nose Day Is Here!

A few weeks ago, I posted that I would be participating in Red Nose Day. Well, I have joined the ranks of others such as John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, Rifftrax, Adam "Apelad" Koford, Ken Plume of Quick Stop Entertainment, John Robinson from NeedCoffee and many others to help raise some dough for Comic Relief, via Red Nose Net.

So here's what I'm doing: For TODAY ONLY (3/13/09), I am making a print named "Clown Zombie" available via Zazzle.com. This print will only be sold for one day with proceeds going to benefit Comic Relief. It's a great cause and I highly recommend you get involved, donate in your own way and just have some fun!

Here's my friends, Ken and John to tell you more:



Remember, you can pick up the VERY LIMITED EDITION PRINT right here. So go. Now.

UPDATE: Thanks to all who bought the print. All in all Ken and Widge made around 4000 pounds for Comic Relief. Good on them!

Jawbone #240: Twitt-i-quette

It's a big show tonight, folks! Tonight, the voice and heart of Jawbone, Scott Fletcher and Neil join us. We talk morning DJ's, embarrassing moments Twittering and more. Thanks for listening and if you like the show, please subscribe using the links below!

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Music, Art and Love

I do a lot of art for people. A lot of the time, I don't really get to see the end result. Case in point. My friend Jonathan Coulton enlisted me a while back to create a cartoon of himself for his guitar picks. A interesting job to be sure. I didn't even know the guy used picks, when he played, but okay. I'll humor the guy and draw a cartoon of him. Well, I sent the art to him and never got to see the end result. In fact, the few times I saw him in person, I asked him if he had any on him to spare and he didn't or HE SAID he forgot.

Time passes and I get a tweet from one of my followers asking me if that was my art on the JoCo guitar picks. I regale this poor follower with my 140 character tale of woe. He in turn, sends me a link to blog post about someone who is perplexed by the caricature of JoCo. The post includes a photo of my art.

I quickly type in JoCo's URL, hoping to chastise him on his own turf. Then I see he has posted an awesome video by an Israeli musician named Kutiman, who has basically remixed YouTube to make awesome songs:



After watching this video and the many other videos at this site, I'm okay with being snubbed by Jonathan. Oh hell, I can't stay mad at the guy. He's such a sweetheart! HUGS!

Anyway, enjoy the linkage.

Medina Ohio City Council Meeting

Caption This: 3-9-09

Heath Ledger lives. At least in the form of a creepy ski mask. I got this gift for my son's 12th birthday last week and it seemed too good to pass up. So have at it!

Jawbone #239: The Cinematic Titanic Fireside Chat

This past weekend, the cast of Cinematic Titanic rolled through Cleveland, Ohio leaving many laughs and guffaws in their wake. Nora and I were fortunate to sit down with the entire crew (Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstien) before the show and for a wonderful fireside chat. We talk to them about doing the live shows, improving, and of course, Mystery Science Theatre 3000. They also share a Roger Corman story that has never been told before. All in all, it was a great opportunity and also completes our list of MST guests on this podcast. As a refresher:

Mike Nelson's Interview
Bill Corbett's Interview
Kevin Murphy's Interview

Thanks for listening and if you enjoy the show, please subscribe!

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Caption This: 3-2-09

I changed my avatar on Twitter and Facebook. Thought it would make an interesting Caption This this week. Have fun!

Financial Crisis Explained: Video Game Style

Finally, someone explains what the hell is going on with this global financial crisis in terms that even I can get. Thanks to Laura for the link.

Jawbone #238: Krinkle-Clump

We're back after a rather long hiatus! Tonight Nora and I chat about wallpapering, moving appliances - plus we celebrate four years of Jawbone Radio by bringing up chimp mauling, chimp attacks in the news, face attacks, face transplants and much more. Thanks for listening and if you like the show, please subscribe.

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Caption This: 2-23-09

Where Have We Been?

As some of you have noticed, there was no show last week and there most likely will not be a show this week. Literally since we did the last podcast with Coulton, we have been dealing with on and off sickness/flu and tons of little stresses. I thought we might be able to do a show tonight, but I'm losing my voice and I feel like someone has a voodoo doll of me and has been poking me in the gut all day long.

Rest assured, though, that we will return next week in full force. Our guest next week (if we can get our schedules synced) will be Mythbuster's Adam Savage. And the following week, our guests will be the gang from Cinematic Titantic. Thanks for hanging with us and hopefully health will break out around here soon.

Red Nose Net Zombie Print Preview

Red Nose Net Zombie Print Preview
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

I will be taking part in Red Nose Day on March 13th. This is a day encouraging doing something funny for a good cause. It was started by the Brits and the tradition is being continued here with Red Nose Net.

My contribution to the cause will be a limited edition zombie clown print that will be available for sale for ONE DAY ONLY - March 13th. Here's a little preview of the image. Also, you can take part in Red Nose Day as well, by creating something humorous and funny online during the day. More info can be found here.

Remember, the print will be for sale for one day. So stay tuned for progress as I get my art done.

Lady Goes Into Hysterics After Missing Flight

I should try this the next time I miss my flight. For the record, this is not my mom.

Caption This: 2-16-09

Caption This: 2-9-09

Coraline: Is This A Film For Kids?

Since I twittered that I was going to see the new Henry Selick/Neil Gaiman film Coraline with the kids, a lot of people have been asking me to give them my review of he film and if it is safe to take their children to. Even before we went into the theatre, other patrons were warning me in the lobby that this movie "was not for kids" and that they would be harboring nightmares for weeks. (To be honest, I was made to feel like I was a neglectful parent for even walking into the theatre with my gaggle of children. But I digress.)

Well to answer the question, I would say that it is not a film for "very young" children and more than likely not friendly for kids below the age of six. As many of you know, Nora and I have a baseball team of varying ages here. My two oldest (ages 13 and 11) had read the book this past summer and enjoyed it. In fact, they prefer the book over the movie. My younger three (ages 9, 8 and 6) had not read the book but had a vested interest in it, not only from their older siblings, but also because the commercials featured music by They Might Be Giants. Their interest only continued to grow when they found out that former Jawbone guest and friend, John Hodgman played the part of the father/other father in the film. Add in the fact that we are huge fans of Henry Selick's visual style, it would appear that my family was destined to see this movie.

One thing I love about this film, as is the case with all of Selick's work, is the handmade quality of the film. Its been said before, but it bears repeating, these movies by directors Selick (and let us not forget Aardman Animation) are labors of love. Emphasis on the labor. It employs the stop-motion animation style of film-making which, in this age of CGI and computer animation, seems like a dying art. But the charm of this film are the imperfections of the animation. The Harryhausen-like fingerprints that adorn the talking cat's fur. The choppy movement of the circus mice dancing on top of red rubber balls. In a CGI world, the animation would look fluid and seamless. But is the very fact that the animation is imperfect that makes it perfect in so many ways. I cannot praise Selcik and his team for keeping this style of animation alive and well.

Regarding the age appropriateness of the film: I was paying close attention to the reactions of my two youngest (I sat close to them during the film, in the event that the suspense got a bit too much). My eight year old daughter was squirming a lot, especially during chase sequences, but that was expected. And my youngest, although he said he was not scared during the film, I think was a bit rattled by the more creepier sequences.

I was expecting the creepiness, but what took me by surprise was the theater sequence in the middle of the film that featured some rather - ahem - well endowed older ladies who were wearing close to nothing during the performance. Granted the characters were puppets, but that sequence was a bit uncomfortable for me to sit through with my younger kids. Luckily, the well-placed sequins did not fall off during the show.

I felt there is a very good teachable moment in the film. When Coraline enters the parallel universe, she falls in love with how different and wonderful the world seems to her. Only when she is pulled in too deep does she realize her mistaken judgement. I found this as good way to talk to the kids about good and evil and how sometimes the bad things are things that at first feel great and wonderful. It was easy for Coraline to be enticed because she was unhappy. And that's usually how evil works. When you're too deep in, you may find it hard to correct your path. Needless to say, it made for some interesting dinner conversation after the film.

All in all, I would have to say that Coraline is not the kind of family fare that you can attend and checkout mentally as a parent. But if you and your children are up for some good creepy fun and want to be visually entertained for 100+ minutes, Coraline is a definite must see. Also, I would hope the Blu-Ray will bring some cool special features, as I would LOVE to see more behind-the-scenes.

Jawbone #237: Coulton - Best. Interview. Ever.

On this episode of Jawbone, we welcome back to the program our good friend, Jonathan Coulton. Along with getting all retrospective, we talk about internet fame, my art and his music, more on the Year of The Coulton and plus a Jawbone first - a live musical performance! Also, JoCo talks a bit about his new DVD/CD combo coming out soon called BEST. CONCERT. EVER. Thanks for tuning in and if you enjoy the show, please subscribe!

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Flight of The Conchords Poster Contest

Flight of The Conchords
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

I am entering the Flight of the Conchords poster contest with this little entry. I spent way too much time on this poster and probably should have been doing something else. And I'll probably end up doing more. But for now, it is what it is.

While I'm on the subject of contests, a huge congrats go out to Adam Koford and Marcus Parcus, two of the original hobo artists who won this years New Yorker Eustace Tilley Contest. As you may remember, I won with one of my entries in last years contest. I missed out on the deadline for this one, mostly because it wasn't run through Flickr. But I love all the winning entries, especially Marcus' Watchmen-inspired image. Too cool!

Jawbone/Cinematic Titantic Meetup?

Listener Rebecca from Chicago suggested this little plan for those hoping to attend the Cinematic Titantic event in Cleveland:

"In an effort to boost my flagging spirits, The Boy suggested that we track down an upcoming Cinematic Titanic show and, by hook or by crook, go there. As it happens, the closest show will be in Cleveland.

This is where youze guys come into the picture. But not in a stalk-y, stabby way. I thought it would be kinda cool if we could see how many JawBoners we could round up out there in your listening community who would also want to make the trip Cleveland-ward and see the show. We could all meet for dinner / drinks / brunch whatever before or after the show or something. In a restaurant, of course. I'm not suggesting that you host America for the weekend."

So, what say you? Is anyone coming into Cleveland that weekend? If so, would there be any interest in an informal get-together? Please post in the comments.

Caption This: 2-2-09

Today is Groundhog Day in the US. And what better way to celebrate than with a photo of such an animal. Enjoy Captioning!