justin segal's blog

new Monster Dad

2010-05-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

I've been putting my "monster dad" character through the wringer, and wound up scrapping the old version entirely in favor of something more expressive, more limber, and more . . . well, just plain more fun to draw!

I can imagine this guy having a world of adventures beyond my current book project. I haven't even named him yet, but he's become a fast friend.

Monster Dad

2010-05-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

One thing I wanted to tackle this week was exploring whether my "monster dad" could act at all (I mean, drawing him once doesn't tell me much. Could I draw him again? In different poses? Could he emote at all? . . . and what kind of character was coming through?).

The first thing I discovered was that there's very little difference between a cow, a dinosaur, and my monster. But I want a design that's simple and likable. This may not be the final version, but I like it enough to stay in this basic "envelope" for now. More acting explorations ahead!

Cocoon

2010-05-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "cocoon" . . . and the little monster tucked safely inside mommy's little tummy is about to birth a whole new project.

This is an early study for a children's book I'm cooking up, all about a little monster and his daddy. If you asked my son Max, he'd tell you it's autobiographical . . . and maybe it is.

After all, all the best stuff comes from taking the hidden stuff out of hiding.

Ahead

2010-04-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "ahead" . . . and what a perfect theme, since Zero2Illo's 12-week challenge is all about looking ahead. I'm still trying to find my way forward, but I'm having a ton of fun doing art along the way.

This little fella knows that whatever's out there, it's ahead. Let's go find it!

Monster in the Zoo

2010-04-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

I was sorting through old family photos — dusty, archival stuff no one's seen in years — and came across this picture of my mother and her sister at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Apparently the zoo had just captured a Grønkle (at least, I think that was the name scribbled on the back of the photo!) and the girls had rushed right down to see the thing for themselves.

Actually, I did this for Monsters in Real Places, which is a totally fun blog. The idea is to take a photo and insert a monster. Because we live in a world with monsters. Photos don't lie!

Detective

2010-04-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "detective" . . . which was fine for my little monster, as he felt like quite the detective sneaking through the woods that snowy morning. Whatever that scent was swirling in the breeze, he was determined to find it, and then pounce on it, and eat it, because what else could a monster do? . . .

O, Lucky Day!

2010-04-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

How time flies! It was January when I received my newly-minted diploma in Advanced Character Animation from Animation Mentor, and what a ride it was! I came to AM (Animation Mentor) knowing next to nothing, and now having graduated I know . . . that I love animation.

I really had no idea: no idea how many things are involved in making animation — not just concept and story and entertainment, or body kinetics and physics and timing and motion . . . animation is all these things and so much more. I had no idea 3D animators had to know how to draw (enough to plan and explore character and posing, at least that much!). No idea that animators are . . . well, actors! (that performance has to come from somewhere, right?). I really just had no idea.

And that's the beauty of Animation Mentor. They can take someone with no idea and teach them what they need to know — step-by-step, building on the basics — until they can put a film together.

It's time, then, to share my Animation Mentor film: "O, Lucky Day!"

I'll start with the animatic (which is just a rough assemblage of storyboard sketches, a good way to solve a lot of problems before animation begins):

"O, Lucky Day!" animatic from Justin Segal on Vimeo.

And now, the finished film:

"O, Lucky Day!" from Justin Segal on Vimeo.

Do the blood, sweat and tears show?
I can't wait to make the next one!

Linked

2010-04-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "linked." This piece started out being about the links we all share (witness the telephone pole in the background), and wound up being about the more-important, smaller links between friends.

Really, this has been a week all about links and new friends, thanks to Jon Woodward's amazing 12-week challenge! Jon has brought so many people together to share and enjoy art, it's become a real happening. The feedback, the fun we're all having is incredible. If you're interested, it's not too late to join!

I had fun drawing these little monsters. It looks like other folks enjoy them too: here's a blog post from Rylan, an aspiring illustrator in her own right (who, I should mention, is only 4!). Rylan liked my monsters enough to try drawing them on her own:

Thanks, Rylan! I may keep drawing these monsters and explore their adventures some more . . .

Dip

2010-04-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "Dip" . . . one of those words that has so many different meanings. Just when I was thinking about a disastrous dip in the road or the dip of the Loch Ness Monster's back, my son Max came along and suggested someone dipping his foot in the water instead.

I always do what Max says.

How to Train Something . . .

2010-03-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just saw "How to Train Your Dragon" . . . yup.

on Giving and Getting ... and Zombies!

2010-03-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

. . . another one of the coolest things about the blogosphere is everyone's not just blowing their own horn. Sure, we all want to tell the world when we've got something new to share, but mostly it's all about the back-and-forth, and that includes shouting about someone else's blog when you've discovered how awesome it is.

Susan Mordigal of Susan Beth Studio has given me the Renee Award, which acknowledges friends in cyberspace — people who've really been there with support or laughter or in a crunch, even if they're people who've we've only met . . . well, virtually. Whatever small support I've been able to give Susan, she's given me that back and then some (Susan herself has been given the Renee Award and it's richly deserved). Thanks, Susan!

I've also picked up the Zombie Chicken Award from Barbara Desmond of Melancholy Musings. This award celebrates the Tao of the zombie chicken: excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These bloggers produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their blogs!

I pass this on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers (I risk the wrath of zombie chickens by failing in this task!). No worries . . . I can think of many, many wonderful bloggers who are more than worthy of the Zombie Chicken Award:

The Sketch Blog of Jon Davis

Check out their blogs!
Let's all do our part to keep the zombie chickens at bay!

Rescue!

2010-03-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "rescue." Grandmother may think she's rescuing Little Red Riding Hood, but if you ask me, it's Red who needs rescuing from the blood-crazed, axe-wielding grandma. And where was PETA when the poor wolf needed a hand? Fairy tales are twisted, twisted things.

Jungle abstract

2010-03-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

From the archives . . . a jungle meditation. I haven't done anything abstract for awhile, but I should. Abstractions are good for us. They force us to unfocus, to see into the middle-distance where our imagination dances free.

The 12-week challenge!

2010-03-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

One of the wonderful things about the internet is how it levels the playing field. It doesn't matter whether you're the most-famous artist in the world or someone who does art just for themselves, just for fun. On the net, everyone's having a gallery opening, and no one has to eat those tiny squares of cheese . . .

. . . but even with that, there's something hard-wired into civilization that always asks: "what are you doing with it?" I'm sure some incredible Mayan artist carved a calendar wheel detailing humanity's fate til 2012 and his wife said: "Great, but instead of making one giant wheel, why don't you carve 100 tiny ones and we'll get rich for a change?!" . . .

Jonathan Woodward is an aspiring artist. If you check out his portfolio here, you'll see he's already very good and loving it. He's wanted to be a thriving, successful illustrator for at least half his life, and probably a lot longer. He's created and maintains a fantastic blog called "Zero 2 Illo" (check it here) which not only charts his own journey toward an illustrative career, but functions as a fantastic resource for all aspiring illustrators and creative types . . .

. . . but civilization is scratching its head again. Thus Jon has launched the 12-week challenge:

It's a little push, a collective shove to move everyone's art — and their careers — a little bit forward. It's a chance to say: "we all want this; let's do it together!" Over the course of 12 weeks, Jon will set tasks or goals, share tips and resources, and link everybody into one collective leap into the future!

I want to be part of that. How can I not want to be part of such positive energy and collective goodness? If any of you feel the same, no matter how you feel about your art . . . come join the party!

Paving over Paradise

2010-03-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest experiences I've had in my life is trekking through Nepal. I had a chance to explore the rich diversity of the country, from the cattle-choked metropolis of Kathmandu to the arid deserts bordering China in the North to the lush jungles approaching India in the south. But one of the highlights, above all, was hiking the 150-mile Annapurna Circuit, which many have called — hands down — the greatest trek in the world.

The Annapurna Circuit takes hikers from lush rice-paddy filled valleys, the Marsyangdi, up over Thorong La, a 17,769-foot high pass (higher than any place in the continental US) and back down into the Kali Gandaki valley, a wide, dust-filled journey between cliffs that's mystical and magical and exhausting and ... wonderful.

And now ... it's being paved over with a road.

Ethan Todras-Whitehill writes a wonderful piece about it in today's New York Times ("Last Footfall in Nepal" — read about it here). It really is a tragedy — although, of course, the locals who are against it are those that make money from the trekkers ... which is only about 15-20 percent of the population. To everyone else, the road represents progress.

Ugh.
What price progress when we're paving over paradise?

If you'd like to read more about my adventures in Nepal, check out my book "Nepalese Travel Odyssey" (available here or here). This isn't a book about the Annapurna trek, specifically — more about the wonders of Nepal and the adventures I had just getting around the country. If you ever dreamed of having far-off adventures, it will give you an idea just how "exotic" far-off exotic places can be.

Expired

2010-03-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lag in posting. A special thanks — huge thanks! — to those of you who came calling to see if everything was ok or to kick me in the arse to get more artwork on the blog! I love that! . . .

. . . the truth is, I've been in one of those slumps where nothing I produce pleases me. Everything I've sketched or painted the past couple weeks I've sniffed my nose at — even throwing away digital files after Photoshop paints and all. It's all part of the process, I know . . . this business of trying things and trying again. Not everything is going to work for me — especially since you've got to fail to succeed, and I'm still very new in the process of exploring and discovering my style, etc . . .

Enough with the complaints. I'm getting an iPad in a couple weeks, so I'm super-excited about being able to sketch and paint directly onscreen. Expect a flood of new explorations!

Here's a quick sketch for Illustration Friday's challenge this week: Expired.

The Mysterious Disappearance of David Lang

2010-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing that fascinates me above all else, it's strange and unexplained things in our world. In that category falls all kinds of things — UFOs and why our Moon "rings" like a hollow bell when struck, for example (NASA did a test on this during the Apollo landings). Then there's the mysterious disappearance of David Lang, which occupies a curious corner of my mind . . .

Lang was a Tennessee farmer in the 1880s, quite normal in every way until the day he walked into his fields and — in full view of his wife, children, brother-in-law and a local Judge — vanished into thin air! One moment he was there; the next, gone.

There was no trace of him on the spot he vanished, no hole in the ground, nothing at all except . . . the grass where he disappeared grew higher and thicker than anywhere else, and no animal would go near it. His family called out for him, and could hear his voice calling back, calling for help, but the calls grew fainter and eventually faded away. David Lang was never seen again.

Had he slipped into another dimension? Been abducted by some invisible beam? No one knows. Whatever happened to him, one thing is certain: he was a brave pioneer into mysterious new worlds. And that's Illustration Friday's word for this week: brave.

Thor

2010-03-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Art Jumble's theme this week is "Thor" . . . and while this isn't quite Stan Lee's version, it definitely owes something to his creation. Doesn't everything owe something to Stan Lee, after all? . . .

My truth . . . revealed!

2010-02-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

A short while back my friend Andrew Finnie awarded me the ~~bald-faced liar~~ Creative Writer's Award, the rules of which state I tell 6 "bald-faced" lies about myself and one surprising truth. It's time to reveal the truth!

1. I entered the "Draw or Die" marathon and sketched for 96 hours straight.
No, I made that marathon up, but it sounds like lots of fun. Get everybody into one room with a bunch of art supplies and— (I did stay up for 96 hours once, during film school).

2. I once leapt off a train moments before it derailed — and amazingly, was unhurt!
Thank god this was a lie (but I used to leap off speeding cars — I was training to be a stuntman at the time . . . and fortunately, never got hurt).

3. I have eaten 1,313 different species of plants and animals (and counting).
I do like all kinds of foods and have tasted exotic stuff like crocodile and water-buffalo and bugs, but I really have no idea how many different kinds. So I made this one up.

4. I once grew 2 inches in one night.
No, not me. But I've heard of this happening!

5. I've seen a ghost (and even put my hand right through it!).
This one is true — cross my heart. It wasn't even one of those vague white-mist type of ghosts, it was a semi-transparent person with hair floating about as though underwater. The ghost slowly faded away after I put my hand through them, smiling the whole time. Amazing!*

* congrats to Andrew for guessing this was the truth! Well done, mate!

6. I've climbed to the top of Mt. Everest.
Alas, no . . . the closest I got was climbing Thorung La in Nepal (I spent the night at very high altitudes, higher than any peak in the continental United States. It's freezing and hard to breathe at those heights!). You can read about more of my Nepal adventures here or here. Anyone who hasn't been there . . . I highly recommend it! Namaste!

7. My name isn't really Justin Segal. That's just the name I use as part of the Witness Protection Program. Oh damn . . . I wasn't supposed to tell you that.
Ha ha.

Perspective

2010-02-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "perspective" . . . which is cool, because there literally IS no such thing as one single perspective — everybody has their own view on things, even if they think they're looking at the exact same thing. It got me thinking about shifting points of view and how people see what they want to see . . .

Somehow, that got me pondering how monkeys feel when they've been caged for scientific experiments. It's a subject that's always torn at me. I always feel bad for the monkeys.

Winter Games!

2010-02-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

Monday Artday's challenge this week is "Winter Games!" . . . and with the Vancouver Olympics still in full swing, I can image people everywhere are getting into the "gaming" spirit!

A blessing and a curse

2010-02-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've been blessed and I've been cursed. Sir Andrew Finnie has awarded me the ~~bald-faced liar~~ Creative Writer Award for entertaining my readers and making them laugh!

It's not entirely Andrew's fault. Apparently, he himself was awarded this distinction by Susan Beth Studio, and she in turn got it from someone named Weezel. It's a chain-mail type thing, and I think you can tell what I think about chain-mail (thus the "curse").

The rules of the award state I should tell you 6 bald-faced lies about myself and one surprising truth. I will leave it up to you, kind reader, to see if you can guess which one is the truth! (answer to be revealed in a future post):

1. I entered the "Draw or Die" marathon and sketched for 96 hours straight.

2. I once leapt off a train moments before it derailed — and amazingly, was unhurt!

3. I have eaten 1, 313 different species of plants and animals (and counting).

4. I once grew 2 inches in one night.

5. I've seen a ghost (and even put my hand right through it!)

6. I've climbed to the top of Mt. Everest.

7. My name isn't really Justin Segal. That's just the name I use as part of the Witness Protection Program. Oh damn . . . I wasn't supposed to tell you that.

Ok. I'm supposed to nominate seven new people to continue the chain. But I choose to spare seven people instead. I award them the opportunity to tell what truths or lies they wish . . .

Propagate

2010-02-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "propagate" . . . which immediately brought to mind a pastoral image of laundry fluttering on the line, row after row of laundry in a quaint domestic scene. It was a beautiful, tranquil image [ sigh ] . . . but then, I decided to sketch something that made me laugh instead!

Adrift

2010-02-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "adrift" . . . I think there's nothing better than mixing Old World low-tech stuff with the future (steampunk rules!), so the image of a tiny wooden river raft drifting through space immediately came to mind . . .

Between the Splines

2010-02-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

I came across this little cartoon while digging through the piles of work from Animation Mentor. This was done just for fun — kinda an in-house gag for animators. It makes me miss the times when I used to cartoon regularly . . . the comic muse is calling me!

Mystic

2010-01-01T06:08:00.000-08:00

Monday Artday's theme this week is "Mystic" . . . which was tons of fun to explore. I sketched a swami sitting on nails, wizards, mentalists, and in the end . . . found that real mysticism came from the simplest thing. Magic that seems effortless is the best kind of all.

Ninja Cat

2009-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

Thought Faucet's weekly theme is "Ninja Cats" . . . which is actually kinda redundant, to my way of thinking: cats slink around and pounce like ninjas most of the time, anyway! Doing this sketch got me thinking about textures and fabrics, though . . . something I definitely want to explore in the near future.

Pioneer

2009-12-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "Pioneer" . . . and I like to think pioneers are born, not made. They start exploring right away and never stop.

Hoarse Horse

2009-12-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

Monday Artday's challenge this week is "Horse!" . . . how I doodled myself into a teacup I'm not sure, exactly, but once I saw the horse holding it, I couldn't take it away . . .

Undone

2009-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "undone" . . . whatever that means. "Undone" can mean so many things . . . something unfinished, or the opposite: something that's finished off, killed, ruined (I sound like a thesaurus just pondering the possibilities). It can mean something that's taken apart, deconstructed . . . or something that was finished and now is being dismantled. A good theme is one that gets you thinking, and this one certainly got me going!

Holiday Card

2009-12-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

Art Jumble's theme this week is holiday cards. With help from the entirely-fictional American Coal Manufacturers of America (that sounds a bit Python-ish, actually!), I offer this holiday greeting:

Hatch

2009-12-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "hatch" . . . which send my mind wandering in two directions at once: hatching from an egg and a spaceship hatch. I couldn't let go of either one and wound up sketching an egg-shaped spaceship my little robot is "hatching" from.

Twilight

2009-12-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

I've just joined Art Jumble, a fantastic community of artists sharing illustration, comics, and animation. This week's theme is the film "Twilight" . . .

Hippity Hoppity

2009-12-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

Monday Artday's theme this week is "Frog!" . . . anything to do with frogs. And why not? Frogs are fun! They can be any color you want, and bent or stretched like Gumby. Frogs are illustrator's candy.

Crunchy

2009-12-04T20:25:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "crunchy" . . . and as far as I'm concerned, every theme is a great excuse to draw monsters!

Mine

2009-12-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

Animation Mentor's sketchbook theme this week is something "undiscovered" — or rather, the moment something undiscovered becomes discovered! Thinking about unearthing something made me think about digging, and when it comes to digging . . . no one cares about their "find" more than a dog and his bone.

A Little Elf Magic

2009-12-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

Monday Artday's challenge this week was "Elves," either the woodland sprite kind or one of Santa's toy makers. I think I wound up splitting the difference . . . as my pen found its way to a magical sprite who's busy making presents.

I won Monday Artday!

2009-11-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the wonderful Mike R. Baker, I've been chosen as winner of the Monday Artday challenge! Monday Artday is a blog of over 400 artists, and a challenge phrase or word is given each Monday for them to illustrate and explore . . .

To see my winning entry, "Gratitude", click here:
http://justinsegal.blogspot.com/2009/11/gratitude.html

It's very inspiring to be recognized for one's work, I have to say. "Gratitude" is what I'm feeling, not just for Monday Artday and other blogs that allow artists to share each other's work, but for everyone who visits and leaves comments, making the art work that much richer . . . thanks, all!

Entangled

2009-11-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday: entangled

Feast

2009-11-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

Animation Mentor's sketchbook and Monday Artday share the same theme this week: "Feast."

Even though everyone's thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and harvest festivals this time of year, I can't help remembering all the years I spent awake at night, waiting to be eaten by some giant monster — I was afraid I'd become the feast instead!

Gratitude

2009-11-22T06:41:00.001-08:00

Monday Artday: Gratitude

The Road to Snail Island

2009-11-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday: music

Lucy

2009-11-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

for the AnimationMentor sketchbook ...

Unbalanced

2009-11-18T12:04:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday: unbalanced

From the Sketchbook

2009-11-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

Is there anything greater than the random stuff that fills a sketchbook? Here's a few samples from the last day or two ...

Bubblegum disaster

2009-11-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

for the AnimationMentor sketchbook ...

Morning

2009-11-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday: Blur

Robot Dino!

2009-11-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

Speed painting for AnimationMentor's sketchbook ...

Skinny

2009-10-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "skinny" . . .

Cooked!

2009-10-27T18:04:00.001-07:00

Monday Artday: Chicken!

Quick Sketch

2009-10-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

IF: Fast!

2009-10-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

That Haunting Moon

2009-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Monday Artday: Werewolf

No Tricks

2009-10-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Monday Artday: Jack-o-Lantern

. . . and another one!

2009-10-20T09:40:00.001-07:00

Another entry for the TS3 Poster Contest . . .

New TS3 Poster Contest!

2009-10-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

My entry in the TS3 "new poster" contest!

Carrot Power!

2009-10-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Evolution of snowMan

2009-10-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday's theme is "frozen" this week.

Medusa, the Early Years

2009-10-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

It's kinda hard to make friends when everyone you look at turns to stone . . .

Flying!

2009-10-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

A quick sketch for this week's Illustration Friday theme: "flying" . . .

Yum!

2009-10-06T09:27:00.001-07:00

Another quick sketch. Practice, practice!

Monster Under the Bed

2009-09-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

A quick sketch.
I need to do more of these!

Ideas that got away

2009-09-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm polishing my first animated short, "O, Lucky Day!" . . .
. . . I can't help thinking back to all the ideas that almost got made instead, but somehow got bumped aside. It's fun to dream!

I'm an alumni now

2009-09-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend marks the first time in a long while I haven't had an assignment due.

I'm an AnimationMentor alumni now! I've decided to celebrate by starting this blog again.

New website

2007-10-26T09:36:00.001-07:00

Be sure to check out my website!
http://www.justinsegal.info