My Class Project - Josh

I’ve been taking a Commercial Illustration course in the evenings since the beginning of February. It’s been really helpful to have something like a class to push me and make me work on my drawing skills. The focus of the class is more on the process of illustration then on the final pieces, so we take a lot of time focusing on the development process. In commercial illustration, the client and/or art director want the artist they hire to keep them well informed on the development of the piece. They don’t like surprises, so the artist will send thumbnails, value comprehensives, color roughs and other areas of refinement so the client can give feedback along with their approval or disapproval every step of the way. I’ll show you some examples of these steps from my first class project.
The assignment was a black and white Anthropomorphic Animal illustration done in the style of a children’s book drawing. Anthropomorphic Animal basically means an animal imitating humans appearance and/or behavior (example: Disney’s Robin Hood). Each student drew three words out of three hats. These words were of an animal, what the animal is and an adjective. From these words we had to create our illustrations. I pulled the words Tattooed, Baboon and Queen.
We started by drawing thumbnails of ideas, and these are what I came up with:
From the feedback and criticism of the class and teacher, I choose a combination of the last two as my final.
From there we had to come up with different value comprehensives (AKA lighting and shadow).

After more feedback I choose the last value drawing for my final piece. The final was drawn using black colored pencil on coquille board. This is the first time I’ve drawn on a coquille board, and I rather liked the texture. The piece did not turn out as good as I hoped, but I was really rushed to finish it after being sick for over two weeks. I basically had two days to draw it in time for the due date.

Aside from taking this course for practice reasons, I’m also using it as material for a mentorship with an animator from Disney. I don’t want to share his name without permission, but I can let you know that he directed most of the episodes of one my favorite cartoon series, Animaniacs! I’ve been running all of my work by him for more valuable feedback and criticism.All in all this has been a good experience and I really hope I can grow from it

Baby Talk

Trekkie’s Log, Star Date -314892.30418943544

On Saturday (2/9) Katie, our friend Susanne and I went to the large Dome building at the Queen Mary for Star Trek: The Tour!Finally, a place where I could unleash my inner Trekkie!Yes, I publicly confess that, although I consider myself to be a sci-fi fan in general, I am specifically a Trekkie.No, I have never dressed as a character nor have I taken the time to learn Klingon and vacation at a Klingon language camp, but I have seen all of the movies and almost every episode of the shows (except "Enterprise" of course), and I have attended a few Star Trek Conventions. Star Trek: The Tour was not nearly as geeky as a Convention, in fact it was more Non-Trekkie friendly in that it was more like an interactive museum then a nerd fest.They had all kinds of sets, costumes, and props on display, including a few shows and motion simulators.There was an audio tour available for rent but I assured the girls that there was no need for one as long as I was with them. I proved this by being able to explain just about every prop, costume, and set that we looked at, whether they asked me to or not.I proved my Trekdome even further when we took two different trivia quizzes and I was able to correctly answer every question 100% correct to confirm my status as a starship captain. (And Jesus wept.) But hey, it was more fun than a Jem'Hadar drunk from Romulan Ale on Dabo Night!We had a blast, and I loved being the one who knew more than Katie and Susanne (the honor students) for once in my life.I don’t want to discredit Katie and Susanne, they are Star Trek fans, just not "Trekkies."For about 200 bars of gold pressed Latnum (that’s Ferengi for $17) we were able to buy a photo we had taken of us on the original Enterprise Bridge set.As usual, we needed to dress for the occasion, so Katie made the really cool T-shirts you see us wearing in the photo. And, yes, she does have Vulcan ears! She got them at a costume shop a couple years ago because she played a North Pole Elf at a children’s Christmas party, good thing she never throws anything away! The camera setup is made for group pictures so there is a large gap on the right side of the image. Instead of trimming the image and cutting off some of the set, I decided use my own cheap effects and added some Tribbles to fill in the composition.We also took a picture on the Next Generation/Enterprise D bridge, but we didn’t pay for it so we don’t have any proof that it happened. There was also the option to purchase a holographic beaming up photo that was pretty cool but it was way too expensive for our taste. We also shot a really goofy video where we were "green screened" into a 5 minute scene with Captain Kirk and the original Star Trek series cast. Ours was so fabulously entertaining that we exited the glow of the spotlights to thunderous applause but, again, it was ridiculously expensive to purchase the DVD of said scene so, we passed. We ended the day by watching the famous Trouble With Tibbles episode from the original Star Trek series.

Set a course for the unbridled glorification of hot green alien babes, and the Captain who loved them. Engage!

(Kenfield Trivia: In case you’re curious, yes, that is the correct start date for 2/9/08 10:00AM. Yes, we are that geeky, but not as much as the person who made THIS site.)

T-Shirts!

Josh created a little design piece for our friend Micha Snell, who used it for a T-shirt idea about "Big Tippers."Click HERE to read about it and/or to purchase one if you're interested!

The Mountains Win Again

As you may or may not know, we’ve been getting some rain down here in Southern Cal, and BOY did we need it! Not only is the rain great for the soil but it clears out the haze and smog, making it look a lot cleaner here. For instance, on a Saturday (1/26) there was a break in the rain clouds resulting in a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day. With the thick dirty air washed away, we were able to see all the way to the mountains, and MAN what a gorgeous sight!They were caked in snow creating a striking contrast to the surrounding terrain. We took these pictures from Mountain View Park (which is where I proposed to Katie almost four years ago) on the corner of Bastanchury and State College in Fullerton- across from the Summit House for all you locals. The park has a breathtaking view of the valley below.Believe it or not, on a clear day such as this last one, you can actually see all the way to the cluster of buildings that make up downtown Los Angeles.We actually had trouble finding a parking place near the lookout point because everyone and their dogs were out to get a view of these now rarely seen giants. We spoke to one man who had moved here from out of state last May and didn’t even know these mountains were there until now. There were cars everywhere on the road, many with just their hazard lights on, so people could stop and get a quick snap shot of a side of California that is usually hidden from us busy city dwellers. Sadly, now the curtain of smog is closing and these snow-capped peaks will soon be completely out of sight again. Thankfully, though the photos hardly do the scene justice, we were able to capture some of the beauty before it faded away.

More Comic Con ’07 Starring Us!

Hi everyone, Josh here!
Sorry for not posting anything for a while.
This is kind of old news but a few months ago Ryan Agadoni shared this video with me. It’s from comic artist Rob Scrab and it covers his visit to last years Comic Con. (To read more about Rob check out my July Comic Con '07 post.) About a minute into the video, at the part where Rob is discussing the SCUD poster art with colorist Jack Grey, look in the background. You might recognize Katie, Amy (Ryan Agadoni’s wife), Frankie Franco, and myself. Katie is wearing her now iconic knitted Princess Lea cap.

Now I can finally say that I’m in a Rob Scrab video!!

Speaking of Katie’s cap, it was quite a hit and everyone kept complementing her for it. At one point while we were looking a stand a guy behind the table told Katie "Wow! Cool hat!" He then ask Katie if she we mind taking a picture with him. Katie said yes and suddenly he pulled out a small Ken size doll of himself, handed it to Katie, and took a picture! After taking back his miniature clone he said thanks and gave Katie a small button with the words "LittleGeorge.com" on it. We went to the website and found this picture!I guess that wraps up our fifteen mintues of pseudo fame!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Happy Christmas everyone!This year we spent Christmas with Josh's sister Lani, who came from Hawaii!

Ever wanted to see Josh in a kilt? No? Well, too bad.This is when we attended the Christmas party for the Scottish bagpipe band where Katie plays a snare drum.

North Pole Workshop (Part 2)

I’m trying to make an annual tradition for myself to design themed attractions for different seasons. I have one for St. Patrick’s Day and one for Christmas. This is an interior attraction/experience which acts like a small theme park. It allows visitors to explore Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole, while also providing educational attractions that explain various elements of the Christmas season. This post picks up where my last post from Christmas 2006 left off (click HERE to read last year’s).
I’m starting to paint my rough drawings from last year. Here is the North Pole landmark.And the exterior of the Entrance Building/Room.The Entrance Building/Room contains all kinds of Christmas imagery such as toy soldiers, nutcrackers, Christmas trees, lights, toys, etc. Everything is deigned to look like it’s made of wood using large round friendly shapes. The room is one big circle where the visitors enter from large double doors on the south side. On the north side is a large, round, stylized Christmas tree that appears to be halfway embedded in the wall. On the east side is a very large fire place that actually functions as the Front Desk.On the west side is a solider box and inside stands a large six foot tall Nutcracker.Four large toy soldiers stand against the walls.This room will come to life with various forms of effects and animatronics. A secret entrance through the Christmas Tree will be revealed and lead the visitors to the Workshop.Till next year ...

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Here she is in her 2001: A Space Odyssey pose.Yes, she has feet.Yes, she has hands.And the first obligatory embarrassing naked picture.

Last Christmas Nut

Last Christmas I made a fake teaser trailer for The Nutcracker as if it was a live action film based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's book. You can read more about it HERE.

If you missed seeing it or would like to see it again, you can watch this version in Quicktime:

Or this version I have on YouTube:

If you would like to have a high res version please send me an email at jkkenfield@gmail.com.

IT IS READY!

I’ve finally finished my little project which is currently titled "Plato Journey."

This is a short comic booklet that acts a proposal piece for a graphic novel.Once the reader goes through the short wordless comic they will come across the following text:

This is a project I have wanted to attempt ever since I was a junior in college, and it has gone through various forms of evolution to become what you see now. This booklet is a proposal piece for a graphic novel that I would like to fully develop. I wanted to use a creative platform to present comparisons between Plato’s philosophy and Christian Theology. The idea began as a book where Plato would have a night long discussion with an angelic being over a fire in some ruins. (For a time I thought it could also become a two man play.)

But one day I drew this sketch and I realized that the topic of this book could be explored through more than simply a dialogue between two characters.It could be a journey filled with locations, creatures, people, and events that present the discussions in the book both visually, and through the text/dialogue.

The angelic being will also act as a guardian protecting and guiding Plato through this journey against evil/demonic forces that seek to either destroy or convert him. There is no complete script written for this project because I lack the skills and knowledge of both Plato’s work and Christian Theology to create such a story. What I seek is a person who can provide the topics/issues that should be discussed and how those discussions should be played out. If possible, I also seek a capable author who can work with me in developing the complete narrative, while I provide all needed visuals. Together we would decide on the most effective way to tell the story, utilizing images and dialogue to portray these complex concepts.

Due to the subject matter, this book may not be a mainstream seller; instead I see it being of use in more educational circles. By making it a graphic novel, I hope to draw interest from a broader audience than just philosophy and theology majors. These drawings are not final nor are the character designs. I plan to apply a more stylized design for the look of the settings and characters.

So with all this I’m basically saying, this is what I can do, but I need other people’s skills to help in creating a complete graphic novel.

It’s been an interesting learning process working on this project. I have learned the more proper way of inking a page even though I drew the entire project using a regular ballpoint pen. If I actually get to work on the real graphic novel, I plan to use more appropriate inking tools.

If any of you would like to have a copy of this booklet or if you know someone who would, please send me an email at: jkkenfield@gmail.com It’s available both as a printed booklet and a PDF document. If possible, a donation of $5 would be helpful to cover the cost of printing and mailing.

Come out of the cave.

Kenfield Trivia Question of the Day

How many people are in this picture?

Here's a hint, the answer can be found in our previous post.

Or just click HERE!