Mongrel Blog

New Blog

2011-08-17T14:44:00.006-04:00

I've stopped using this blog.

Check out my new blog: thebigcountry.tumblr.com

-NGC

2011-04-07T19:33:00.001-04:00

Here's a sketch I did while brain storming for Kid Minotaur. It's supposed to be a Dutch Demon... I guess it is.

Bar People.

2011-03-24T22:49:00.004-04:00

I like to go to bars. Even though I don't drink very much, bars are great places to anonymously draw people.

These were all from one bar in Culver City, CA.

Life Drawing.

2011-03-24T10:20:00.002-04:00

I went to life drawing last night a brought my markers along, this is one of the drawings I made:

Favorite Movies

2011-03-23T01:15:00.007-04:00

This is a little break from the usual posting of artwork. Instead I'm going to make a list of my favorite movies!

1. The Circus - Charlie Chaplin (1928)

While hardly Chaplin's most acclaimed or well remembered film, it is my favorite film of all time. As with all of Chaplin's films, The Circus is filled with emotion. The love story between Chaplin and Merna Kennedy is simply heartbreaking. Chaplin manages to make the audience laugh and cry for the ever-affable Tramp. The ending to this film is one of the most poetic moments in film history. While Chaplin's equally excellent films like The Gold Rush and City Lights are considered his classic films, The Circus is Chaplin at his most pure. When I want inspiration; I watch this film, it never fails.

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark - Steven Spielberg (1981)

I saw this film when I was about five-years-old. My father bought it on VHS and let me watch it with him, and while I don't remember the first time I saw it, Raiders would be a staple of my weekends all the way through elementary and middle school. I have seen this film over 100 times, probably over 200 times ... I've lost count by now. Despite being a childhood obsession, Raiders is simply great film making. Every inch of the frame is used, the characters are captivating and the story is enthralling. I still watch it quite regularly... I even have the bullwhip and hat.

3. Play Time - Jacques Tati - (1968)

Such a offbeat and beautiful film. There isn't much of a plot to Play Time, instead it is simply an exercise in observation. Even though it isn't quite 'laugh out loud' funny at first, this film is one of the funniest ever made. Play Time simply follows Monsieur Hulot around a gray and modern Paris. During the film he runs into a beautiful American tourist, meets up with an old army buddy and causes chaos in a swanky night club. It has perhaps the greatest production design in any film. I can't really say anything to give this film justice... GO SEE IT!

4. A Serious Man - Joel and Ethan Coen (2009)

My favorite Coen Brothers film. A Serious Man takes a bizarre look at an ordinary story that is somehow laden with religious, scientific and philosophical themes. It is a deep film, on the same level as Barton Fink. It wasn't much of a box office hit, but it made quite an impact on me.

5. True Stories - David Byrne (1986)

Simply marvelous. David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) takes us on an informative trip through the fictional town of Virgil, Texas. Although it doesn't have any recognizable story structure, the visuals of the film make it absolutely stunning. Spalding Gray makes a great appearance in this film as the town civic leader. The film is also a heartwarming, non-judgmental look at small-town America. Not bad when you consider the Talking Heads song The Big Country wherein Byrne says: "I wouldn't live there if you paid me to".

Well, that's my top 5!

I'll be putting more cartoons up soon.

Storyboarding is a time consuming process.

2011-03-18T16:03:00.003-04:00

For those of you who don't know, my goal is to be an animation story artist. I've been working on a few storyboards to buff up my portfolio in time for the Pixar/DreamWorks/Blue Sky/Disney internship/apprenticeship deadlines.

It takes a lot of work to get good storyboards. Below is an image from one of my boards about Crusaders looking for treasure. It's pretty cute and funny, I love it because it gives me a chance to pay homage to my favorite adventure movies in the form of a cartoon.

Girl in the Rain

2011-03-10T15:21:00.005-05:00

I drew a picture of a girl in the rain.

Kid Minotaur in 3D.

2011-03-03T16:14:00.005-05:00

I started making a CG Kid Minotaur, I'll post more as it develops, he's looking pretty cool so far.

-NGC

UPDATE - 5:30pm

It took less than an hour! Here's a more complete model:

Kid Minotaur Design.

2011-02-22T18:26:00.004-05:00

More Kid Minotaur drawings. The KM comic itself is in B&W but being an animation student, I couldn't help but do a color character design.

2011-02-01T13:13:00.003-05:00

Here's a promo comic for Kid Minotaur. Click to view it in full size!

Kid Minotaur

2011-01-17T21:26:00.003-05:00

Here's the promo poster for my upcoming comic: Kid Minotaur. It's a serious restart to the series that I began as last year.

The first book (Meet Kid Minotaur and Some Other Weirdos) will be premiering at Heroes Con in Charlotte on June 1st, 2011. It's one of the 3 debut comics for our new company: Tallboy Comics.

If you end up at Heroes Con this June come and find TALLBOY.

-NGC

Red Spirit

2010-10-06T00:04:00.003-04:00

Here's a sample from brand new project I'm working on... it's the spiritual successor to Snr Muerto... only completely different.

It's still in it's infancy and this is just a color sketch, but I like it.

Definitely more as it progresses, I've got some good character designs brewing for this same project.

So...

2010-09-25T16:59:00.004-04:00

I haven't updated in a while... The reason is pretty simple: I was in Los Angeles, CA, interning for Cartoon Network Studios on the show "Adventure Time".

It was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I even got to "pitch" my own show to a bunch of great artists and new friends.

Here's one of my storyboard panels for my show "Professor Honeydew's Trying Circus" :

I like the show's concept, I'm revising the concept to make it even more fun and crazy and visual.

If I remember to, I'll update with more art from the project.

also, Bayou.

Señor Muerto

2010-05-23T19:51:00.003-04:00

Here's something fun.

2010-05-17T20:47:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd post this sketch I did of a crusty dude I saw at the bus station on Trade St.

He was hanging around and smoking cigarettes, I liked his looks.

Meet Kid Minotaur.

2010-04-26T17:00:00.003-04:00

This is from my in-progress comic book Kid Minotaur, part one of which (a 40 page book) will be coming out in June.

Blast from the past.

2010-04-23T00:58:00.004-04:00

Here's some nostalgia.

From all the way back in 2006, this is a sample my first attempt at a legit comic book, a creepy WWII horror story which I never pushed beyond part one. (there were four parts total)

My style has changed a lot since then, I hardly ever use gradients like that anymore, it seems kinda tacky in retrospect.

I spare you, the internet, the misfortune of reading the book. The story was nifty, but way too violent for my current tastes. That and the writing was just bad in some spots.

For these reasons it shall remain lost to history... unless you look my name up on lulu.

Freaks #4 - Frances O'Connor

2010-04-21T00:59:00.007-04:00

Born in Minnesota in 1914. She was born without arms, but was otherwise was developmentally normal and healthy. She has several close-ups in Freaks, detailing the control and dexterity she had of her feet.

Bellow is one of the scenes which featured her prominently, unfortunately the audio is missing.

Positively 4th Street

2010-04-17T13:44:00.004-04:00

I've been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan these days.

Bayou Reel

2010-04-15T16:02:00.003-04:00

Here is my DP's reel for Bayou Blues. It doesn't have any animation yet... but it still looks nice.

DP Reel - The Bayou Blues from Eric A. on Vimeo.

Freaks #3 - Schlitzie

2010-04-15T15:46:00.007-04:00

Born Simon Metz in the Bronx in 1901. Born with microcephaly and a severe mental handicap. Schlitzie is perhaps the best known "pinhead" in history. He toured with Barnum and Bailey Circus and over a half-dozen other freak show troupes.

He died in 1971, exactly two weeks after his 70th birthday.

Here's his big scene in Freaks:

That's a wrap... for now.

2010-04-09T12:08:00.001-04:00

We finished the live-action production of The Bayou Blues Monday night.

It looks nice.

nothin to it but to do it

2010-03-21T01:23:00.006-04:00

The Bayou Blues shoots in 12 days, it's coming down to the wire. Everything is in place, the film has been cast, storyboarded, designed. Now all that's left is for me to coach and my actors. As it turns out, it's quite difficult for an actor to chase a raccoon that is not really there, it's even harder for them to wrestle an invisible alligator...

for anyone who's interested the script is available online.

http://faculty.uncsa.edu/film/scripts/winter-10_yr3/connelly,nathan_the_bayou_blues.pdf

With that said, I've also been diligently working on building my portfolio and also feeling inadequate when I see the work from students at the top animation schools like Cal-Arts... Jesus Christ, those kids are brilliant... too bad they're competing for the same jobs as me.

A couple of days ago I sat down and did the Blue Sky Studios story internship test. It only took me a few hours to do 60 panels and I'm quite please with how it turned out. After the deadline in April I'll upload my test. Anyway, it was a good reminder how much I love story art, being busy with Bayou and Mongrel has kept me away from doing my story exercises.

Here's a little cartoon I did to match my mood.

Sketches.

2010-03-17T13:12:00.005-04:00

Here's some sketches from life drawing!

Update.

2010-01-21T13:57:00.003-05:00

Work. Work. Work. Here is a lovely animation exercise I did in Flash a little while ago.

Freaks #2 - Daisy and Violet Hilton

2009-11-19T12:14:00.006-05:00

Born in England in 1908, these conjoined twins played a large role in the film Freaks, providing some of the most humorous and touching scenes. They also starred in the 1951 film Chained for Life. They toured in sideshows until the 1960s when their manager abandoned them in a Charlotte, NC drive-in theatre. They settled in Charlotte and worked as grocery baggers until their death from the flu in 1969.

Freaks #1 Johnny Eck

2009-11-17T12:55:00.008-05:00

Bellow is the first piece in a series of digital prints I'm working on. The series will consist of the real-life personas of the freaks from the 1931 film "Freaks".

Here is Johnny Eck (1911-1991). Born without legs, he got around on his hands and was remarkably agile and dexterous. He also had a genius intellect and was a skilled mechanic and visual artist.

Here's one of his most prominent scenes in Freaks

Update

2009-11-15T19:17:00.005-05:00

The Mongrel movie is moving along nicely, we've recorded voices and are now recording foley and assembling the soundtrack. I've been fast at work constructing the elements of the film in Corel DRAW to eventually animate. Below is more concept art!

Beyond the world of Mongrel is the world of The Bayou Blues, my 4th year thesis film. An animation/live-action hybrid film (Think Who Frame Roger Rabbit?)

Below is an early character sketch Bandit, an animated raccoon within the film.

Storyboards

2009-11-15T18:52:00.005-05:00

Storyboards are done, they've been done for a while now. Here is some art that doesn't give anything away!

More Promos.

2009-08-18T17:21:00.006-04:00

Construction phase for scenes one and two are underway. Storyboards for scenes three and four are in production.

And here's another sample, click to enlarge.

Poster

2009-08-13T20:46:00.004-04:00

To prove I actually am working.

news.

2009-06-30T00:05:00.005-04:00

I'm currently storyboarding for the Mongrel movie. I'll update when I have more done.

Other than that, I've jumped on the digital bandwagon, here's a self portrait... more soon!

news.

2009-05-15T20:36:00.003-04:00

Walter's Bright Idea is nearing completion. The final product will be placed on this blog as soon as it is finished.

In other news: my fourth year animation/live-action film tentatively titled "Acadian Waltz" is gaining a lot of momentum. I have a good feeling about this one.

"The Lovable Atomic Mongrel Makes a Friend" begins pre-production soon, updates sure to come with that one. Over the summer I will be doing a lot of storyboarding for both projects. It's an exciting time.

Progress

2009-05-01T16:00:00.005-04:00

My animation work is coming along smoothly, in a few weeks my 30 second animation
"Walter's Bright Idea" will be finished.

Rough animation will be finished in 4 days.
Clean ups and finalize in 2 weeks.

Here are some samples from the development phase:

My necessary annual post.

2009-01-25T22:51:00.006-05:00

There will soon be a complete change of focus to the Mongrelblog.

As my loyal reader may know, I am an animation student. It is a bit ironic that drawing all day keeps me from making my mongrel book. But there is change a-brewing.

From this day on, Mongrelblog will be a production blog detailing and updating my loyal public (both of you) on the progress of my animations.

The films are:

Walter's Bright Idea (ETA: May 2009)
The Lovable Atomic Mongrel Makes A Friend (ETA: May 2010)
Untitled Cajun Film (ETA: May 2011)

A few months ago I made this little ditty in under an hour. Enjoy:

Update

2008-02-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

I have several new sketches, problem is I have no time to pencil, ink, digitize, vectorize and color them. When I get a chance, I will bring more.

Here's an old offline one.

Mongrel is alive!

2007-11-22T15:39:00.001-05:00

There are a few more on the way, but they will be in the book, which has been revived, ETA February 2008.

December will bring plenty of time to work on this book, after that, it's just the easy part: getting it published

more cartoons

2007-09-26T13:55:00.000-04:00

more delays

2007-09-19T10:15:00.000-04:00

I haven't worked on the mongrel in a while, I've mostly been busy with work and school. But, I have a wacom tablet to make up for it.

Sketches

2007-08-05T16:36:00.000-04:00

I've been pretty busy lately, so I haven't made many finished cartoons, but i have made about 15 sketches, so while you wait, enjoy a few.

Delayed

2007-07-25T23:47:00.000-04:00

unfortunately there haven't been any new Mongrel cartoons for a month because of work and a nasty 2 week bacterial infection. I will start work on more very soon, unfortunately the book is now delayed a month.

never fear, i have a gift to make up for it:

As you can see, the Mongrel is happy, as you should be.

I promise more soon, and it is not an empty promise this time, I used up all of those recently.

In other news, I am in the writing phase of another comic book, I don't think I will have time to draw it, so I am on the lookout for any artists looking for a free script.

That is all for this post, and before Monday, there will be more Mongrel.

More Mongrel soon

2007-06-24T22:34:00.000-04:00

10 new mongrels are on the way for the book, 3 of which will be put on the site. Eventually i will post the origin story as well.

keep tuned.

Got to love that new Mongrel smell

2007-06-21T11:21:00.001-04:00

As promised, here are the new L-A-M cartoons straight from the upcoming book (due this July)

Welcome

2007-06-20T08:10:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the temporary home of the Lovable Atomic Mongrel cartoon, a few new ones are on the way, and eventually it will be moved to a permanent URL.

In the meantime revel in the classics: