deviantART: by:charco

deviantART: by:charco http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:charco&section=today deviantART RSS for by:charco en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:18:21 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png no internets http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28631121/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28631121/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:38:50 PST

Treeline: by #resurgere

]]> =charco Let's Talk Shop http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28484249/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28484249/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:56:39 PST
I'm using bristol board for the bigger stuff I'm doing, and have no problems with it besides the cost. Pens...I'm having trouble finding the right balance. I might be leaning too hard on the pens and fudgin them up, but the Staedtler fineliners keep stuttering with their flow. Copic pens (I've a 0.1 one here) practically doesn't flow at all...am I just too used to photoshop or something? Might I have clogged the tiny tiny tip on this thing... I don't leave lids off. Ever.I use a brushpen a for a lot of my inkwork, and SWEAR by it. However, trying to draw archtecture with a brushpen is tricky.

MOVING ON

SCANNERS.

I'm in the market for a good A3 scanner, owing to my newfound love of bristol board and its inability to fit in my scanner. I've got an EPSON 1200 series, and its never let me down. Well, the occasional scan drops when you put it over 600dpi, but I won't hold it against it. Any suggestions for a successor, or BETTER YET, anyone selling an A3 scanner?

Now for the digitally inclined.

Cintiqs. Intuos 4s. Anyone here own either? I'm thinking the cintiq would be worth it if it does exactly what it says on the tin. I have a feeling NOWHERE in Ireland sells them, which will make it interesting if I go that route. I know the intuos 4 feels a lot more like real paper, but my 3 does the job as grand as look-here-draw-there goes. Jonesing for an ability to rotate, without having to get CS4.

WHICH LEADS ME TO CS4...worth it? I LIVE in Photoshop, completely.

SO IN SHORT, I'm trying to soup up my workflow, and need to prioritise my spending. Help a brother out with any feedback you can, and in return I will make EVEN BETTER ART Â¬.Â¬

My lungs are giving me schtick today, so not as much progress is being made as I'd like, but YESTERDAY'S work made me shine with pride when I took it out of the scanner. Which will probably get a 'meh' from the rest of the world, but I LIKE IT. I'm not allowed to post any of the stuff I'm working on till the book is out, I'm afraid. So you'll have to wait.

But despite sickness and deadlines, HAVING A BLAST.

Jetting back to Ireland on Wednesday, for the remainder of the year at least. Will I be back? I don't know. We'll see how things go.

Flats aren't looking too bad back home. Hopefully work will keep happening. LIFE, WOO.

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]]> =charco COMMISSION HER GORDON http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28126421/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28126421/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:21:48 PST
[link]

I want. Can't afford.
Will paint something to equivalent value.

Anyone care to hook me up?

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]]> =charco Shameless Promotion. http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28101436/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28101436/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:48:55 PST
â Be one of the first 10 commenting on this journal entry, and I will add you to the Feature List.

â For each of the 10 first people answering this journal I will put his/her avatar and three deviations from his/her gallery on the list.

â If you answer, you'll have to do the same in your journal, putting me in the first place, and completing the list with another 10 people. That's 11 total. The idea of this is not to get a free feature, it is to spread art around for everyone!

I was featured by

so in turn, I'll feature...

00.

01.

02.

03.

04.

http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/28087669/ Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:11:27 PST

Give him some love, and tell him I sent ya

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]]> =charco down on the UPside http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27991702/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27991702/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:38:08 PDT
I tried to write something sensible just now, but failed.

Wow.

EDIT:

Refine, refine, refine, until its better than the rest. Or something like that. I have been painting all day. Its still not finished. This hasn't happened in a very long time. Feel guilty for quitting before its done.

Listening to Bon Iver. Was recommended by a good friend, and I have to say, it fits PERFECTLY into what I'm looking for. Check em out. I'm using Songza.fm

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]]> =charco Limited Edition http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27871517/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27871517/ Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:59:09 PDT

HOORAY.

Today, I'd love to be making stuff like

, who has left for a while :/

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]]> =charco Pretentious Crap http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27848780/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27848780/ Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:37:46 PDT
Oh yes.

I'm working on something new, in a sort of marriage between animation and illustration. Yes, I know that its nothing new, but I've been meaning to work on my storytelling, as well as work on my backgrounds/painting in general. I had this idea when I was UP TO MY EYES in caffeine whilst staying overnight in an airport.

had a couple of other ideas too, which still- by the light of day- seem like good ones. So more on that in the FUTURE.

But for now, I'd say I'm two days away from having this finished. 3 if I get sprucey with it.

Then I foresee a MASS amount of figure drawing and research work for the next load of scouting work that's coming.

So all in all, I'm enthused, productive and WITH A PLAN.

Well, sort of.

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]]> =charco Direction http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27702360/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27702360/ Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:52:25 PDT
Hells yeah.

There's no need to compromise...even if I need another job, so be it.
If it takes a little longer, so be it.

Needless to say, I'm doing hella lot better.

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]]> =charco No Longer Young http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27515560/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27515560/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:36:15 PDT
Speaking of driving, lessons are crazy expensive. I'm gonna shell out once my next cheque clears, otherwise things could get a little tight. Speaking of finances and moneys and things, I'm at the point of giving up...well, giving up might be the wrong word...taking the beaten path for once.

Thinking of giving up my directionless faffing about in the world of digital art, and becoming a graphic designer. Its fairly solid work, reputable, and in a ways creative. I don't have to travel the world for work, and its something that fits more or less into my skillset.

What do you guys think? Go for that, or 'thats crazy, you'd be great at XXXX'?

I've just been unimpressed by my own work as of late, and I think it might be time to wake up and smell the coffee. That being said, commissions ALWAYS open.

Yay, birthdays are fun. In delay of doing the whole LEARN QUARK AND INDESIGN, I have a painting in mind.

has made me a lovely offer, which I plan to take him up on...mwahahaha.............

Right, that is all, merry day to you all.

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]]> =charco Uh Oh http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27350595/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27350595/ Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:20:59 PDT
WHAT I AM GOOD AT, I learned, is that I can flush a toilet with my feet if I have already begun to wash my hands.

+1 Life Skill

Now to be a little less shit each day, I'm heading to a coffee shop to draw the crap out of everything. And drink coffee.
<3 coffee

Cough is NEARLY gone. YAY.

Reading 1984, which is weird for me. I enjoy reading IMMENSELY, but never seem to find much time for it. XMen also mentions it in the issue I was reading this morning. -yes, I read comics a fair amount, as they're short bursts and don't steal days away from you.

K. NEED COFFEE.

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]]> =charco Reboot http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27333244/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27333244/ Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:03:05 PDT
Now is a time for new beginnings, doing things better, being better, living better.

The summer pretty much rocked me to my core. I achieved what I set out to do, and got plenty in return. But like all things, it has come at a cost to my health, my social life, my productivity and possibly even my sanity. So now its time for me to take stock and decide where I need to be and upskill.

That means a hella lotta drawing, a lot of going to the gym, and I'm sure a load of other things I haven't factored yet. Loads of tutorials, and APPLYING them.

If I box clever, all of my work could tie together to make one coherent project, or a pick n mix of different styles and approaches.

So yeah, in short, this boy is back in town and ready to paint the town red (or green/blue, and varying values/mixes of said hues)

Gonna be looking for crits too, so if something looks off, let me know.

Cheers guys.

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]]> =charco 999 http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27106233/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/27106233/ Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:18:37 PDT
Do I think the world is going to end? Not because of that, anyways.

Be well, and a good morrow to you all.

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]]> =charco Whoa http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26932874/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26932874/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:42:51 PDT
This...is big.

Any solid sources on this? All I have at this point is conjecture.

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]]> =charco Awake http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26795914/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26795914/ Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:48:10 PDT
So WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO? Besides working my ass off?

I've been drawing! My longstanding career with Scouting Ireland has taken a new and interesting turn, and I'm fresh off redesigning characters and about to dive into a heapload of paintings. CANT WAIT. I have no less than a hundred thumbnails around me, and its gonna be great.

I'm finishing at INK.digital at the end of this week, and plan to catch up on EVERYTHING I've been neglecting due to INSUFFICIENT hours in the day. The rest of this week is going to be mental as everything finishes up, but we'll get there in the end.

A positive mental attitude make SUCH a difference, you wouldn't believe.

I'm BINGEING on Doctor Who, and love it to bits (I KNOW I've mentioned it before)

I've been playing Pokemon on my Gameboy- which is a bit sad as I have a DS sitting on the shelf. I'd love to get some new games and devour them, but I've grown attached to my party AGAIN. Its silly. Oh, and grass types SUCK.

My DREAM TEAM would be Kadabra, Gyarados, Jynx, Blastoise, Pikachu, Pigeot, but I'm a long ways off that. I've a Nidorina thats proving to be very reliable indeed. Kadabra level really fast though. My venusaur is about to hit Bill's PC permanently. My Pigeotto is suprisingly crap... I miss my Farfetch'd. Any recommendatons for a good flying Pokemon? My Charmeleon knows flash (regrettably) so I'm not going to waste one of his attacks on Fly.

I fully expect, by Christmas, to have a wicked love of Team Fortress 2. I plan these things in advance.

OH, bought all of Battlestar. GREAT to work to. Its subdued, often intriguing with a good storyline and soundtrack. Hell yes please.

My wacom has been sitting on the kitchen table for the past week, which is a little sad. Ah well, I'm doing other things. I SHALL MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR IT.

Stay safe everyone.

Treeline: by =resurgere

]]> =charco Greetings from the land of Nod http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26757348/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26757348/ Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:29:37 PDT
I've been .............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Night night.

Treeline: by =resurgere

]]> =charco Fish Fetish http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26424891/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26424891/ Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:06:18 PDT
Having a bit of an off day, but thats nothing strange or worth kicking up a fuss over. What IS, however, is the fact that Doctor Who continues to amaze me. Sterling writing, and great acting. I didn't think I could give a crap about K9 before. NOW I CARE.

I like it when I care about fictional characters. GOOD JOB DOCTOR WHO CREW.

Right, so I'm looking for a new game for the DS or PC, something I can dip in and out of and enjoy........ohholyshit.

I forgot I'd bought a new computer.

.....I can play mass effect now.

Holy shit.

ROBERT MAMMY DADDY FANNY WHICHEVER, PLEASE POST IT TO ME.
Oh snap. Thats a whole lot of win right there. NOW that laptop has justified its existence. You can forget about that offday thing. HELLYESPLZ.

Treeline: by =resurgere

]]> =charco Y'know what? http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26173597/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/26173597/ Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:43:35 PDT
Its been a long while since I've gotten to do this- what used to be my daily routine. Its nice to get back to it.

Tomorrow will see me inking and colouring what I worked on today (not for fun, but it shall be enjoyed) and if I get some time I'll make some more inroads to some 3D stuff for shits and giggles.

Going home for my brother's wedding this week. Wow, that sounds odd. Will be great to see everyone, not to mention the wedding itself.

Things could definitely a whole lot worse than they are right now.

Treeline:

by =resurgere ]]> =charco 4th of July http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25728289/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25728289/ Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:53:29 PDT
Today is a day for getting things done, and so far it rocks.

In other news, I have less than a week to decide if I'm moving back to Ireland or not. Gulp.

Treeline: by =resurgere

]]> =charco Devious Journal Entry http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25652603/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25652603/ Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:41:28 PDT

, and this is what I had to do:

RULES
=====
1. Post these rules.
2. Each tagged person must post 8 things about themselves on their journal.
3. At the end, you have to choose and tag 8 people and post their icons on the same journal.
4. Go to their pages and send a message saying you tagged them.
5. No tag-backs!

8 THINGS ABOUT ME
===================
1. I know the words to most Disney songs, and an inordinate number of 90s pop songs
2. I am slowly learning that what I want, what I need, and what I have are rarely all the same things, but almost always are a combination of 2 of said criteria
3. I enjoy using big words. I don't do it to sound smart, I do it because its the quickest way to encapsulate what I want to say. Case in point.
4. I have been immensely lucky in life in terms of opportunity, and I have squandered most of them. Which leads me to
5. Wicked low self esteem. This is helped by the knowledge that everybody is insecure to a degree.
6. I sing a lot. I have to restrain myself from singing most of the time. Even as I type, I have '10 out of 10' by Paolo Nutini spinning round my noggin
7. I'm good at almost everything I try, with the exception of manual labour and driving. Not particularly great at any one thing though, POSSIBLY related to point 4.
8. My belief system seems to be a parallel dynamic of bitterness and cynicism against all things mankind clashing with a karmic optimism and belief in the better nature of people. In short, the universe is pretty damn awesome, but we're really fecking it all up. Myself included.

Eh? Tagging?

(congrats to your dad and stepmum on the wedding!)

Treeline: by =resurgere

]]> =charco Been a long time http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25628472/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25628472/ Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:11:40 PDT
Ooh yeah!

So, here I am. I've been lurking in the background for the past month. Commenting less, faving even less and not much to show for it. Its been a pretty weird and wild ride.

Just over a month ago I moved back to Scotland. Its been a strange mix of homesickness and meeting up with old friends, as well as making some new ones. Working in the studio has pretty much drained me most days, and what little time I have is spent working on freelance jobs that are nearing completion. The work is challenging, and the people are interesting.

Its been this odd feeling of no-training-wheels...which I suppose I should've had after college, but there you go. A lot of things have been put into context, and there's a lot of things I regret and a lot of things I don't. The future is a dangerous path, with every opportunity of getting much much better. I don't know if I'm being naeive or hopeful, but I really do feel closer to my end goal.

I was living with

for a while, and things have been quieter without him. All the best in your new job mate, everyone's been asking for ya

I went to Edinburgh for my brother's stag last weekend. Was great to get out, meet up with some of my homies and have the craic. May it happen soon again. Got some good drawing done on the train, so some of that may siphen its way through to the interwebs with a bit of luck.

All the best everyone.

C

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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A true double edged sword, where idiocy meets idyllic.

But best of all, you bring us webcomics. Know any good ones? Post some links, and we'll all have a merry oul time.

XKCD [link]
Penny Arcade [link]
VG Cats [link]
Felicity [link]
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal [link]
Road Crew [link]
threepanelsoul [link]
Muddled Comic [link]

Not webcomics, but interesting
PostSecret [link]
One Sentence [link]

OK guys, hook me up

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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10- ]]> =charco Sunshine http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25027376/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/25027376/ Sat, 30 May 2009 05:28:55 PDT
Its SATURDAY, and I'm not working. This is a first. Also, finishing for the day, before dinner. Its fantastic. Its..what, just after one. I've been shopping, sketching, restrung a guitar and soaked up some sun.

There's a lot of things I miss about back home- people mostly, but things are going great here. Eating right, exercising, working a good solid day, learning ALL SORTS of things...even the weather's been good so far.

So I'm happily limping around, meeting random people I haven't seen in years.

Freelancing be damned, viva la employment!

(That being said, I've still got time for commissions

)

My dad's coming over tonight with the rest of my stuff, so I can get back to working on my own computer/guitar/DVDs/Books.

There's also a bunch of red tape crap going on, but thats to be expected. Its worth it for the free medical cover :3

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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10- ]]> =charco Off to see the Wizard http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24918614/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24918614/ Sun, 24 May 2009 14:53:15 PDT
I'll be off radar until I get a new computer, or have mine shipped to me.

has kindly offered me a loan of a computer to keep me up and running, so that may keep me attached to the virtual world I know and love.

My carry on luggage is ridiculous-
1 wacom tablet
1 wacom mouse
320 Barry's Tea Bags- Red
320 Barry's Tea Bags- Green
24 packets of cheese and onion tayto.

No sketchpads, ipods, DS or nothing. I have my priorities in order.

ALSO, I find seeing all my DVDs, Comics, Art Books, Reference material and computer peripherals stacked in a mound of MINE quite satisfying. Yes captalism is very shallow, but above the deeper part of me is a shallow surface.

ONIONS.

They've got layers.

I DON'T like parfait.

....and largely because I don't want my last words here to be a shrek quote, I shall finish with a line from empire records

'I'm gonna tell Corey how I feel by 13.37 today.'
'That's an excellent time.'

EDIT- Flat is gorgeous. Place is swank and comfy, and I'm trying not to grot it up too much. Been walking around all day. The city looks oddly like a zombie movie today, and even saw a lovely area cordened off with tape and little numbers placed on the ground. From the blood, I assume they were filming the Count's section for Sesame Street. 1 ah ah ahhhh

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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10- ]]> =charco Life http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24861004/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24861004/ Wed, 20 May 2009 17:26:37 PDT
You wouldn't believe how many times I keep telling myself this, on par with my crossing-traffic mantra 'don't die'

It seems I may be moving back to Dundee. This is very sudden, very strange, and is a bit of a shock.

This means that I'll have to cancel any and all plans for conventions, possibly even London, depending on work finishing. Barcelona I can live without, but the north ones (QCon and 2D) I was really looking forward to. Steady money is steady money, though, and its still in a creative field. Selling out? Maybe. We all gotta pay the bills. Time to man up.

Times like this, its hard to get that quote OUT of my head.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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Give us a text on 00353 86 1595171 or drop us a note or email.

Yes, some good things may be happening.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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I've been a bit 'blegh' the past couple of days, so I apologise for not getting back to people's emails and comments and things.

I went to LIFE DRAWING this week, and its the first good class I've had in about four years. I'm discounting the Dundee years because the models there couldn't pose if their lives depended on it. Turns out my old visual language teacher was the teacher there, so that was a blast from the past.
First drawings were awful, but soon got back in the swing of it and had a BLAST. Two hours flew past- used up an entire sketchpad. Oh, brushpens seem to be working really well for me- I tend to draw better from the fear of god ink puts in me, and good ol' charcoal is there to bring in some tones. I haven't lost my speed, which is my favourite skill. Looking forward to possibly getting some colour studies done in the future- the yellow lights mixed with the blues of a rainy dusk could pull out some interesting pieces. Also, attractive lady models trump old guys every time. Especially because they're my weakness.

I'm all about the self improvement. XD

Also, spent a lot of the day studying people in Jervis St, perched with a sketchpad in KFC. Some great people interaction there- a real treat to get to sketch people comforting each other/full on rows. I might post up some of my sketches if anyone's interested.

STAR TREK- Saw it. Smiled. Laughed. Loved it. I'm a fan of the original. The new one holds true in the right places, and boldy goes to all the right please also. The concept and design was fantastic, and of course Ryan Church was involved (paranoid fear I've gotten his name wrong). Good direction, Pegg worked well. Spock was perfect, balancing the two halves of Spock as well as, or if not better than Nimoy himself. Kirk won me over. I hated him by the pure look of him, which, like James Marsden, is the point entirely. Stupid little boy from the trailer is still stupid. I see why, as a character establishment it was put in, but it probably wouldn't have been missed if it ended up on the cutting room floor.

...didn't Kirk have a love of vintage cars though? or was that just Tom Paris?

BSG has settled in my brain at this stage, and its definitely got my thorough respect- if for only its soundtrack alone. Perfectly matching the mix of religion/military/transience/war themes, Bear McCreary does a bang up job. The final five/four theme is particularly memorable.

OH, ANGEL NOT FADE AWAY #1 is out. Go pick up a copy! I'm responsible for the colours on that baby, with ~stephenmooney on pencils/inks. In a giddy thrill upon seeing it on the shelves, I may have bought a moxy load of comicbooks, including another volume of Scott Pilgrim. If you haven't read it, and are pretty much -me- then its perfect for you.

Plus, Edgar Wright is making a film of it. As in Shaun of the Dead Edgar Wright, and he's a perfect match IMO. So go out and buy it before it becomes cool. But after you buy Angel

Eh, working on several paintings at the moment, including a Bererker, Hellboy, possibly some environmental work, and expect some more colours of other people's lines- convention season is here and I want some more polish on my portfolio.

BUSYBUSYBUSY charcoOUT.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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10- ]]> =charco Dragonball Evolution http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24691776/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24691776/ Sun, 10 May 2009 18:07:31 PDT
[link].movie.

Goku was Shia LeBoeuf in TF. Except with kung fu, WHICH, coming off a back to back screening with a Jackie Chan movie, left HELLA lot to be desired.

Never before have I seen such a horrible mishmash of people missing the point.

Yamcha was perfect. Stupid, ugly, right voice. Nowhere near well enough to save the movie though.

I would rather pay GOOD MONEY to see X Men: The Last Stand again than watch this for free.

Unless its to show a fellow DB fan what has been done. Then, it depends on how cruel I'm feeling.

I have good news. I won the April Monthly IFX challenge for my 'I for one welcome our new overlords' pic.

I would go on, but a lack of sleep and movie induced rage prevent me.

I'll fix this in the morning.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link]

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10- ]]> =charco Harmony http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24645656/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24645656/ Fri, 08 May 2009 03:06:33 PDT
I've dealt with synaesthesia before- experiencing one stimulus as another- hearing colours being my favourite example.
I've been thinking about the ararngement within one form of stimulus- say the mix of a song and whether or not it can be reflected in another form dynamically and accurately. The goal is the ultimate music video really.

Getting it right for one picture is difficult enough, but following the change AND telling a story is incredibly difficult. I know interest can be generated by pure CONTRAST, and therefore avoiding purely following the music could be advantageous. What I need to do then is compliment it, like writing an extra line of music to the original tune, and converting THAT to a visual medium.

Oooh this is sounding like fun, but if the song is good and finished, would the visual riffing be overkill? Or the fact that the other senses remain unstimulated mean there's plenty of room for advancing the idea without clogging it up. Having it as a seperate cue (as opposed to the orginal track) would add a lot more freedom for creative editing, and free up a lot of ground there.

The song I'm currently trying to whack a music video out of has a very unusual time signature, which is making boarding it an absolute nightmare. Also, ANIMATION? ME? What? Methinks this is going to be an AFX job.

Also, on a much quicker note, I might try and make a meal to match a song. Damn you Ratatouille, getting me thinking.

Stop me if I start talking pretentious arty bullshit. Oh....wait.

In other news, Barcelona Con is coming up, as is the 2D Festival up the North. London after that. Polishing up my folio before then, hopefully good things will happen. Need to get better first though. Time for some colorist plugging-

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, and together we saw the Amazing Adventures of Sniktbub and the Profitable Franchise.

No spoilers here, don't worry. Well, maybe some.

There have been some great comic to film adaptations recently, and there has been a long history of horrible adaptations. With such long established characters, wrapping the concept in a 90 minute package whilst remaining true to the source is incredibly difficult.

A lot of things can go wrong.

Either one part of the production team will let EVERYTHING down (Tobey Maguire's inability to handle sarcasm, Joel Schumacher's presence in the Batman franchise, Elektra).
The film studio forces terrible changes destroying what could have been awesome (X-3, Spidey 3), or the studio doesn't actually ADAPT the story and you're left with a behemoth thats just too long to watch (Watchmen, ironically)

Some comic movies I have LOVED, namely Iron Man, Hulk, and Blade.

I see a definite link between the comics I DON'T like, and the films I do- they're one and the same. Always loathed Tony Stark, but Robert Downey Jr turned me around completely, as with Ed Norton as the Hulk. Their performances were significantly awesome, and everything else was there too- the effects/music/writing in Iron Man and the excellent direction in Hulk (I have never felt so much sympathy pain for unimportant characters).
Blade I'd never heard of before Snipes donned the fangs, aside from a brief appearance in a Spidey cartoon.

This of course, put me on a slightly defensive position going to see Wolverine. Like pretty much everyone, I'm a big Logan fan. Jackman's well cast, and the other crew looked promising, and all seemed to look well. The first half of the movie was ticking all the right boxes for me- less lycra, with a condensed sensibility of the comic material. Then it all goes tits up in the second half, as if a row caused the GOOD writers to leave, and allow the film to be finished by generic hollywood flunkies who do their job well. Kaboom, Pow, Zap.

The tendency rings true- if you're a fan, you won't like it. If you're not, you will. Its a good film, if you just take it on its own. Alison left the cinema entertained. I left with half my molars intact.

In an inadvertent way, this is a BRAVO to comic book writers (Particularly Bendis, have a lot of love for his stuff right now)- you are too cool for cinematic school. VIVA LA COMIC BOOK

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Firstly, one of the publishers I'm working for's site has gone live, check it out-> [link]

I provided the colours and inks for Jenna Blue, which is a great story with lines by the stylish Steven Gendron. They also have a page here

, including a wallpaper I put the inks/colours on

Secondly, after talking about it for AGES, and never doing anything about it,I decided to start a webcomic

The aim is to update daily, we'll see how it goes.

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10- ]]> =charco Science Fiction http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24491372/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24491372/ Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:03:27 PDT
Reading through IFX at the artist bios and nearly everyone has 'I've always loved SF imagery blahblah blade runner blah blah' and I always shrugged it away for one reason-

I didn't like Blade Runner.

Yes, I see WHY people like it, but I just found it immensely BORING. Well, I guess I just watched it at the wrong time and fell prey to being overhyped.

So, in my mind, not liking BR=not a scifi junkie. That is, until I listed my favourite shows of all time

-Star Trek TNG
-Stargate SG1
-Firefly
-Quantum Leap
-Space: Above and Beyond

Hmm, guess that clears that one right up.

Battlestar was good- very good, but hasn't earned a place up there. That is one show that should be watched once a week, and NOT in marathon.

I'm a little confused of why I'm not raving about it. The visual design is fantastic- everything is completely in style, well designed and forms the world of the show perfectly. The greco-roman/futuristic thing was handled EXCEPTIONALLY well. The characters were good, there were good issues bandied about. Cliches were not adhered to. EXCELLENT acting by Adama. Well cast. Still, I left the show thinking 'Thank gods thats over' rather than 'frack yeah!'

Maybe its just over-saturation, having cleared four seasons in under two weeks. Time will tell on that one.

In the meantime- huzzah for science fiction, especially well thought out SF that doesn't ignore the 'science' part of its moniker.

Also, writing GOOD Sci-Fi is INCREDIBLY difficult.

Now if you'll excuse me, its time to go paint some hookers.

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10- ]]> =charco HEY YOU http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24393731/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24393731/ Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:47:50 PDT
Check out

if you dig sweet 3d work.

Pat's awesome. Over the years, he's taught me a bundle, even made 3d versions of some of my pics- which ALWAYS brings a lasting smile to my face. Lately, he's been polishing off some stuff for his reel, including a full body model of Blacksad.

Which is also awesome. Read it if you haven't.

Now for some thumbs, seeing as I've got this subscriptionmajjigger

Go give him some love!

OTHER PEOPLE whose art adorns my bedroom

i really have to take down the old one after you made me a replacement

(I might have to get a new pic from you, Ed and Jason are showing their age- the ink is fading!

(Can you remember what?)

I don't have a picture of Jay from you yet, but you crop up in other pages/

(con sketch)

No, not your ID

JPPF!

I think I've two of yours actually.

My nephew did his take on your pic of Jay, so they're sharing a spot

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10- ]]> =charco Spring Cleaning http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24380375/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24380375/ Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:03:45 PDT
Tonight was one of those nights.

Here I sit, exhausted. Plans of following IFX workshops have succumbed to tiredness and intimidation. USUALLY, the morning after a cleaning spree is super productive, so I'm leaving the IFX stuff out.

All I know is, I have infinitely more socks than I had previously estimated.

Work has been slowed marginally by the presence of a small window in the corner of my screen showing me Battlestar Galactica. I'm halfway through season 3, having started the show on friday last. Its good, but not overwhelmingly awesome. Its blurring with Space:Above and Beyond in my head. Then of course Dean Stockwell turned up, and it took me two episodes to notice. Thats a good thing- that means I was watching my photshop window and not the stream

My DVD collection is happy as it stands, now that I have Firefly, Avatar, and FMA altogether. They're shows I've respected, and enjoyed, and coveted ownership of for a long time. I'm looking for a new epic series of awesome. Battlestar is good, but I'm not sure its 'there' the rest of the show will prove itself I guess. SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME that they're packing a BSG boxset with truncated corners like all the paper in the show...obvious marketing is obvious.

I think I'm officially a comic book geek, with no reservations. Phil Spiderman is no longer my fav comic, nor is X-Men. I'm really enjoying New Avengers at the moment, and Thor isn't dissapointing. Not by a long shot.Now of course, I want to delve into the less obvious Marvel Chars, as well as some (GASP) DC stuff. Anything you guys recommend?

00:03 Right, its officially past my bed time.

Merry christmas folks.

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10- ]]> =charco Stolen from the Rocket Gal http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24354085/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24354085/ Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:17:56 PDT Name: Ciaran
Date of Birth: 01-10-84
Birthplace: dublin ireland
Current Location: Meath Ireland
Eye Color: brown/GOLD wth
Hair Color: dark brown/black
Height: 6ft
Heritage: Some spanish, some irish, some norse- varied enough to have been told to 'get out' of my own country
Piercings: no
Tattoos: no

Favourite
Band/Singer: Incubus, Pearl Jam
Song: Billy Joel- Pianoman
Movie: Fifth Element, The Crow, Incredibles
Disney Movie: Lion King
TV show: Firefly, BSG,NCIS, Grey's Anatomy
Color: blue/orange
Food: good food
Pizza topping: bbq chicken
Ice-Cream Flavor: mint chocolate chip (Claire, you have damn good taste.)
Drink (alcoholic): jack and coke
Soda: club orange <3
Store: Centra, although Tesco has better range. Lidl has a place in my heart too.
Clothing Brand: Brands never seem to fit. Whatever fits me, plus he awesome stuff I order online from various artists/thinkgeek
Shoe Brand: GENERIC COMFORTABLE TRAINERS
Season: Summer/Autumn
Month: july
Holiday/Festival: christmas
Flower: Red rose
Make-Up Item: WHOREBRUSH. I dunno, I'm a MAN.
Board game: Scrabble. Bring it.

This or That
Sunny or rainy: sunny
Chocolate or vanilla: vanilla
Fruit or veggie: veg
Night or day: depends. I do like me a bit of night, but love a bit of sunshine. DAY, if the weather didn't completely suck balls all the time
Sour or sweet: Sweet
Love or money: love
Phone or in person: In person. I hate talking on the phone. EMAIL preferred!
Looks or personality: personality. Definiely
Coffee or tea: tea <3
Hot or cold: Hot, I fricking love hot weather.

Your
Goal for this year: Get a steadier job, move out/get a car and DRIVE IT, learn z brush and re-learn maya, get better at drawing EVERYTHING and find a way to do all this without being tied to my desk 24/7
Most missed memory: my brother
Best physical feature: Wow, I really don't know... MY BEARD
First thought waking up: Hmm, I should really get a clock by my bed. It is now somewhere between 8 and 11am.
Hypothetical personality disorder: WTF kind of question is this? Hypochondriac!
Preferred type of plastic surgery: Don't get me STARTED.
Sesame street alter ego: God, probably Ernie :/
Fairytale alter ego: NO IDEA
Most stupid remark: everything i say. big mouth has i.
Worst crime: I've done some bad things, but for the sake of public record- vandalism, graffiti, theft.
Greatest ambition: DARKLIGHT CRISIS
Greatest fear: death before completion, failure
Darkest secret: LIKE I'D TELL YOU?
Favorite subject: art
Strangest received gift: a calculator and set square. This was halfway through ART college.
Worst habit: being LAZY.

Do You
Smoke: no
Drink: yup
Curse: yeah
Shower daily: yeah
Like thunderstorms: love
Dance in the rain:yes
Sing: yes
Play an instrument: several
Get along with your parents: yes
Wish on stars: yes
Believe in fate: jury's still out.
Believe in love at first sight: POSSIBLE, but highly improbable

Can You
Drive: Sort of. Not really
Sew: HELL NO. What I have done with a needle and thread should never be called 'sewing'
Cook: yes
Speak another language: yes
Dance:Yes, some more instruction would be nice though

Sing:yes
Touch: WHAT? yes?
Whistle: yes
Curl your tongue:yes

Have You Ever
Been Drunk: today? no. This week? Yes.
Been Stoned/High: Inadvertently, yes
Eaten Sushi: yes
Been in Love: ...
Skipped school: Alllll the time
Made prank calls: yes
Sent someone a love letter: yes
Stolen something: yes
Cried yourself to sleep: yes

Other Questions
What annoys you most in a person? evangelical anything- that includes atheism- chill the hell out
Are you right or left handed? LEFT
What is your bedtime? I wish it was around 10.30, but really its between 12-2
Name three things you can't live without: Wacom, Guitar, Friends/family
What is the color of your room? that curious blurring of teh lines between blue and green
Do you have any siblings? yes
Do you have any pets? No.
Would you kill someone you hate for a million dollars? If my getting away with it was certain- probably. Don't HATE anyone though.
What is you middle name? A lot of personal information going into this thing. If you guess you're probably right. I'm IRISH.
What are you nicknames? Charco, Sacul, Fathead, Lucas,
Are you for or against gay marriage? for
What are your thoughts on abortion? choice
Do you have a crush on anyone? Yeah.
Ar... ]]> =charco Life, drawing http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24329263/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24329263/ Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:12:26 PDT
Fighting a downward trend, I've decided to try some new avenues.

-Drawing from reference photos- Finding this a rather stiff way of working. I was told of this when I was doing life drawing a ways back, and NOW I get it.

-Posemaniacs [link] a very useful site, although so far I'm getting very bogged down on little things. A bigger window would be nice too A great resource for applied anatomy.

-MUSIC VIDEOS. By now you're all sick of seeing my plug for Owen's stuff in my sig myspace.com/owenmooney
Well, he's after asking me to put together a music video for one of his songs, namely Train Wreck.
I'm going to take this as an opportunity to stretch my directorial muscles (its been a while), learn about using live plates, gain some editing/compositing experience and tie together some other 2d and 3d elements. Its gonna be different to what I've worked on before. Better, at least thats the plan.

Vehicle and Weapon Design- Yeah, I haven't forgotten that list I made AGES ago. I'm simultaneously working on the female form and vehicle/weapon designs. There was an unusually good response to the gun designs I posted, which suprised me. Hopefully my concept cars strike a chord too.

Lykos is on hold. Plot seems a bit too contrived to me. There's definitely something GOOD there with the characters, but needs more of a coherent and striking storyline. Once ~alanbeirne is finished his exams, I'll start mulling things over with him again. With that, I've turned my focus to DLC once more. Now, there's going to be more weapon/item design going on, as well as trying to figure out the whole architecture thing. In the past my approach has seemed unnecesarily awkward...simplifying things should speed things along. The script's gotten another revision too, and I'm happy with the way its going now.

While unemployment and recession bark at my door, I have to say things are going well. The weekend was filled with LAN parties, family returning home, frisbee, guitar jams and ice cream.

Hoping to head up to Dublin during the week for some reference drawing and general sketching tomfoolery. Anyone wanna meet up send us a text, or a note if you've lost my number

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10- ]]> =charco Cheeks:Unclenched http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24109706/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/24109706/ Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:37:06 PDT cheeks-74 was having a naming contest for his new book.
I like coming up with names for things, so I threw in a couple of suggestions.
I seem to have won.

This has made my day.

As =Kweli said- 'Oh boy, how can you brag about winning that contest, "i made up Cheeks: Unclenched" but then again, HOW CAN YOU NOT BRAG?!'

in short- WOOHOO!

I get two books, so if you're a super HUGE Cheeks fan let me know and I may share my spoils with you. Otherwise, I've got someone in mind already

Now for a celebratory changing out of rainsoaked clothes and getting a cup of tea!

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10- ]]> =charco Commission Rates http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23962034/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23962034/ Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:49:40 PDT
Simple Pencil Sketch- $5

Pencils+Digital Inks- $10

Pencils+Inks+Flats- $20

Full Colour- $30

Colouring your work $35

For another character, add 50% of original price
For background, add 50% of original price.
For original art to be mailed, add $5
For colouring your work, I would need a high res TIFF preferably, although jpegs are acceptable.

OCs, fanart, unusual requests welcome.
Payment through paypal only.

1- If interested, note me with the type of picture you would like. I will then email a watermarked sketch for clarification.
2- Once full payment is recieved, a high res jpeg or TIFF will be emailed.

Unless otherwise requested, I retain the right to display created artwork for promotional purposs.

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10- ]]> =charco Comics and Horror http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23860535/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23860535/ Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:15:50 PDT
I wrote a list just now, but NDAs and crap blargh.

Hurm. Anyways, I've enough to keep me busy. The lykos prequel is going well, and some of the pages are up on my comics blog [link] I'm scouting around for other jobs, and that may in fact turn out to be a pun.

:Iconthalia-is-crazy: is looking for someone to do layouts, and that would fairly rock- twofold.
A- I love Thalia's work, its very animated in terms of gesture and expression. Would love to work with her.
B- Lackadaisy is being sold at the same stall as the proposed book. Would love to meet Tracy, her stuff blows me away.

Please God, I'm good enough and get the job and kittens and puppies rain down from the heavens (at low velocities to prevent a NASTY amount of cleanup)...if not, I keep looking. The future's bright. The future's orange. The future's bright orange.

Right, back to work.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Spring http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23794156/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23794156/ Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:00:59 PDT
Spring- Feb, Mar, Apr
Summer- May, June, July
Autumn- August, September, October
Winter- November, December, January.

I get that in the southern hemisphere that its pretty much opposite, but where's this whole today being the first day of spring come from?

WHY DID GROUNDHOGS GET INVOLVED? SILLY GROUNDHOG, YOU DON'T CONTROL THE TILT OF THE EARTH OR THE SUN.

Today in Ireland it is warm and sunny. All day long, which is the weirder thing. For those uninitiated to our climate, it is not impossible to have sun, rain, sleet and snow within an hour.

Apart from this talking about the weather, things are going pretty excellently. I'm halfway through pencilling the warmup story for Lykos, and its going well. I do ever so like drawing on bigass bristol board.

Other project I'm not allowed talk about is going well, and thats pretty much all I can say there.

In the name of hunting down commissions and freelance work, I'm starting to do up samples for each type. So expect a little bit of everything over the next two weeks or so.

Hope everyone's doing well,

C

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Happy St Patrick's Day http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23743988/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23743988/ Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:57:46 PDT
Could kill for a shamrock shake. No McDonalds for about 20 miles though.

SLEEP. Yes, thats what I was going to talk about. A lot of the more successful artists I see on here tend to have a love/hate relationship with the aul temporary death. Its odd that I find myself more and more able to stay up working long nights. Yes, it makes me cranky, but if I'm working I won't be talking to anyone, will I?

From some people's tweets, many seem to be cranky bitter people, so I question this- are they narky people, or just in need of a good night's kip?

I'm tempted to go for a nap now myself. Very unusual day. Very.

First, I have a page of pencilling to finish. I'm after writing a ten page mini story for Lykos, just to get a feel for it. Enjoying it so far- tis an interesting challenge.

More to follow on this later.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco enDOLPHINS http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23640140/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23640140/ Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:24:40 PDT
Scowering the jobs fora, as well as my ol' favourite ImagineFX. I've taken on doing a daily sketch challenge...ie do something every day for a whole year consecutively. I'm working most days anyway, and everyone needs to warm up, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Started watching the Wire, and while it is EXCEPTIONALLY well directed, its not really drawing me into its world. I've watched four eps so far. I'll give it another two and then leave it.

Commissions still on for operation PAINTER. Hey, wait...that notice is gone from my inbox...hope its not over.

Right, in short, big caffeine fuelled thumbs up. I'm off to read, write, and draw comic books.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco EDIT http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23606902/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23606902/ Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:29:23 PDT
Watchmen happened. It was long epic, and blue in every respect. I REALLY don't know how mainstream is gonna take it. I loved it, because I'm the target audience. My mum asked me if she'd enjoy it...I said no XD

My run on Angel is nearly over, but I have to say I'm super stoked about how the pages are coming out, particularly in this issue. Can't wait til its in stores

Oh, and keep an eye out for Vincent Price Presents #7, which goes onsale shortly. Forbidden Planet in Dublin should have it (they have the earlier issues already) so I can't wait to pick up a copy. [link]

emmm, yeah, thats all my news.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco I can't stop laughing http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23536397/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23536397/ Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:26:57 PST [link]

watch it, love it, have its babies.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Things beginning with J http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23518530/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23518530/ Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:19:39 PST

All do these people are made of win, and produce pretty much what I want to be able to do. Not doing a moany 'OH GOD I'M AWFUL', more a 'THIS, THIS IS WHAT I'M AIMING FOR'

In attaining that goal, I'm debating whether or not to scavenge these people's works, copying curves and styles til they feel familiar or cracking how they colour their work until I can match it. On one hand, it gives you a physical memory of how they work, but on the other hand you're learning shortcuts without necesarily understanding the why.

Unless I deconstruct their anatomy and construction while I go...hmmm.

What do you think, peeps of the interweb? Assimilate like the borg, or journey solo (although through scientific endeavour) like the federation?

...at the moment, my stuff looks too damn Don Bluth/Fred Wolf-y. There's this intangible Irish quality to my stuff. Not the good WILD AND CELTIC Irish, more the embarrassing post offices and 1970s RTE Irish feel. Maybe a change of venue is in order. I'm rambling, the end.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco London Film and Comic Con http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23486697/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23486697/ Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:16:31 PST
Flights booked.
Tickets booked.
Looking at hostels at the mo. Anyone else heading?

YARR!

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco SAVE FERRIS http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23427262/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23427262/ Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:10:56 PST
I was looking to buy it anyhows, so this is awesome. Only problem is, I'm a few bucks short on my paypal account.

So COMMISSIONS are open.

Paypal only

$10 for pencil sketch
$15 for digitally inked sketch
$20 for flats coloured
$30 for full colour

That's per character, no/simple background. Any subject matter, quick turnaround. YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Exposé http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23362758/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23362758/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:56:13 PST
haha, wow, this should be interesting.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Zuda anyone? http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23343157/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23343157/ Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:51:08 PST
In light of the new revelations with Diamond, and its potential destruction of the indie comics market, I've sarted looking into online alternatives for distributing (read- selling) my stuff. Zuda's monthly competition seems interesting. Pretty much a voting based dash for a publishing deal on the site, and in quiet whispers in different parts of the net I hear there's significant financial payoff plus a decent % profit margin. The website itself steers clear of talking about money, and some of the wording in the contract looks unusual...

So do any of you use these online comic host sites, and have good/bad experiences with them? Now is a turning point for indie comics, and either they will thrive or fail. I've voting on the former, and trying to take part.The last thing I want is a bad site gumming up my prospects...so are there any ones like zuda out there? I'm about to head over to wowio and myebook....any others?

IN SIMILAR NEWS, I'm two pages into a new story I'm working on called Lykos (and by that I mean pencilled, inked and coloured). Takes place in the darklight universe, but completely different cast and setting. Its just going to be a one-shot for now, but its definitely open for expansion.

So, fun is being had. And hard work, too. Gotta have that.

Hmmm, I think its time for a poll.

The end.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Sting in the Tale http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23302075/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23302075/ Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:29:35 PST I'm using Maya 7, the last release before Autodesk made a moxy load of changes. Its a very inutitive program, and the only remnant of Max I have is trying to hit F9 to quick render something.
Anyways, was working back into the set of Sting, feeling the oddest sense of deja-vu. Turns out I was tweaking an old file, and a lot of the changes I made were done elsewhere. I DID, however, model a much better phone- and I'm chuffed with that. A fire extinguisher and a rotary fan (AAAAGH) to model and I'll be happy with the amount of props.

Kind of a calm before the storm here at the moment, as a lot of things are geting underway shortly. I need to up my colouring game considerably, as well as everything else. But isn't that always the case? Yay, its Friday! With Epic Con last weekend, the past fortnight has felt like one LONG week, so I'm looking forward to catching up on some zs this weekend, as well as a trip to my local.

Hope everyone's doing well. Time for some colouring practice now- hopefully I should have something good for you this evening.

Ciao,

Ciaran

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco A New Challenger has appeared http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23231164/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23231164/ Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:54:10 PST

has entered the game! Go give him some love, as the Irish comics posse grows here on dA.

Speaking of comics, I spent the weekend at EPICcon, a convention organised by Omega Society at NUI Maynooth. It was interesting. I didn't really have any merch to sell, so I decided to do a load of inkwash pictures and sell sketches on the day. Met some really cool people, some...not so much XD but all in all I had a good time.

It was originally a sci-fi con, so pumped on Angel and Firefly I dove striaght in only to find anime had taken over. So a lot of Final Fantasy happened, but got to do some Calvin and Hobbes and Turtles sketches too, so it was all cool. Many buses and trains happened, but it was definitely worth it as I hadn't seen ~stuffdotcom and =kitten-chan in AGGGGGESSS.

Singing competition also happened later in the day. I didn't win. I did, however, get the best laughs of the night with my EPIC re-enactment of the greatest joke ever told (for the comedy section).

Finished another chapter of one of the books I'm working on today (minus corrections), so its definitely a bookend day.

In short: Its all good.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Moving to the Country http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23097607/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23097607/ Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:45:29 PST

There's a lot to be said for living in the country. For one thing, the houses don't have numbers. And the road names depend on where ou happen to be at the time. The postman has a really tricky job. People have worried about sending things before, and I've said 'just say Ciaran Lucas, Athboy' and it'll get to me.

Its been topped. We just got a letter delivered to both my parents, sans surname. True, they had the road, but that's pretty impressive in any case.

Myself and a lot of my friends are all at a crux- either leave now or you'll be here for life. I used to think that was an awful thing- to be stuck in a small town, forever. But this isn't the fifties. Travel is quick and affordable. Cars/buses/trains/planes can take you anywhere, and the internet can bring almost anything to you. You have to live somewhere, so why not be surrounded by friends and family?

(One setback, if you dove into the dating pool around here, you'd break your teeth.)

The one thing about this world is that it never stops changing, and I'm cool with that. But for now, there are far worse places to be than right here. In time, I'll probably go off somewhere in search of fulltime employment, a place of my own (in the sun) and someone to share my bed with (thats not to say I'm not looking now

)...but for now, put on the kettle, its time for a cup of tea.

----
Unexpected FEATURE TIME

Speaking of this country, and by this country, I mean the island. More definitively NORTHERN IRELAND, and someone who lives there called Adam Law,

has released the first issue of Felicity [link]
I covet this. Intellectual property made flesh. And not shit or contrived. Good solid story, well planned and well executed. Even/especially the website. Adam's been a particularly prominent inspiration to me since I first saw his work- which is odd, because I was working with his older brother James beforehand.

WHY SO?

Great character designs. Doesn't shy away from details (For those of you who haven't tried, guitars are HARD)and knows how to cartoon and simplify when needs be.

Things are well thought out, and well presented.

Rate of Change over time- constantly improving, and not letting that hold him back.

I've probably featured him before, but I wanted to bring Felicity up, because its fresh out of the oven. And now, as ALWAYS, I turn this to talk about my little project. After reading some Hellboy, I became enamoured by the concept of VERY short stories told in sequence. Reading Felicity, the whole 46 pages thing took me aback. Much more meat to chew on, so to speak.

I'm no longer putting off DLC on the basis of 'oh I'm not good enough'. I'll reference as I go, and work my classes around what I need to know for an issue. Also, not rush the first issue. Writing is now my focus. I'm rejigging the script a little. And by a little, I mean a lot. I've to re-enhance the broadstrokes again, to make sure everything ties in with the master plan.

Speaking of plans, a marketing plan would be worth thinking about too.

---

Hmmm. Anyways, I've colouring to get back to. Finished inking the current chapter of the book I'm working on, so THATS good news. Making good progress.

C

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco The Internet http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23036115/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23036115/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:53:58 PST
[link]
[link]

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Firefly http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23034581/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/23034581/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:40:05 PST
I'd been holding off; I'd been waiting. For years people have been telling me how good Firefly/Serenity is, and I took it that one day I would watch it all. In one sitting. Well, two. Three if you count having to go to a meeting.

Either way, a lot of Firefly has happened. Now, I shall report on this, why it is single handedly the best and worst thing ever to be shown on television.

Firstly, the premise- a western in space. I wasn't too pushed on it at first, particularly with the theme tune. I know it was Joss's baby, but the olde west VISUALS and music might've pushed it a little off in my mind. The juxtaposition was deliberate, and probably the best result achievable. Didn't help the show in terms of stay-on-the-air-ability. Buffy and Angel both had EXCEPTIONALLY catchy theme tunes, and even after hearing it about ten times last night, I cant recall the Firefly melody.

This show is clever, in a way sci-fi fans talk about, but never really see implemented. BSG has some elements, but FF was first. Well, before NEW BSG, I'm rusty on my old.
The chinese influence, SILENT space shots,the design of the ships, the use of BULLETS, all very practical, very believable, and very enjoyable to watch for those who knew where to look. My favourite thing has to be when Wash was coming alongside a vehicle- deliberately, and a proximity alert sounded. Thats the kind of thing that would usually be forgotten about unless it was an EMERGENCY and they hadn't been looking. Having 'companions' take on a geisha-like existence, a very new and unusual twist.

Storyline. Wow, I could have its babies. Its well thought out, in every respect. Clearly a lot of room for character growth. Simon smelt like Wesley to me, probably owing to the glasses and the way he dressed. But instead of going the way of Wesley, a Peter Petrelli hair thing started happening. I have to say, I didn't like Simon. I wanted Jayne to kick his ass. Which is a very good thing. I cared about the characters.

Jayne. Man, I love that character forever. I always scratched my head about Mr Baldwin's casting in Angel, but he was MADE to play Jane. The character is well written, particularly his flaws and what passes for his morality. All of the characters have Joss written all over them, in the best of ways.

Now's where my spelling of the names breaks down. Well, not just yet. River was intriguing for the entire show. Nothing could suprise you as to what she could do. The cover to Serenity had given me a misconception from day one as to what she would be like, and I WAITED PATIENTLY to fill in. I wasn't left disappointed. But was left wanting, and I'll get to that.

Kaley, didn't like her too much at first, but she grew on me. I'd say another season and I would have loved her character, but well...ugh, I'm not going to talk about individual characters any more, as it'll just anger me. There's clearly plotted growth for these characters, far beyond what has been seen. I could see it, hear it, feel it. I want more, and the fact that the series has stopped fills my heart with rage and sadness.

Wash is a loveable scamp, Zoe was badass, loved Inara (as well as the fanservice she provided, hah), Book was an UNTOLD MYSTERY.

Now there's the part why its was the worst thing to ever happen on TV- It was cancelled. I've heard there was some bad slotting, and directly competed against American Idol for ratings. Here's a show with a solid story, great crew, well directed, with A FUTURE, and a plan. Along comes the banal sputem of moneymaking tv headed by the never creative/always diminishing Simon Cowell, well it was like losing the war all over again. Incredibly poetic in the grand scheme of things, but dammit....you know what? I think it may have been too high brow for television. Not in a pretentious Frasier kind of way, more in a fully crafted kind of way. Might it have spun out like other shows have, falling into sagging storylines and stagnant characters? Probably not, but I guess we'll never know.

Firefly was not a popular show, but it was an exceptionally good one. Crushed under the weight of financial competitors, its loss has been the final nail in the coffin of mainstream television for me. I, for one, am going to buy the DVD boxset, and whatever comics I can find. Its continuing existence in comic form renews my faith in the comic medium to play the edge of the bellcurve and handle stories that TV doesn't want to hear.

Firefly has the same sheen to it that I want DLC to have, the same camaraderie, the same heart. I support Firefly because of what it is, what it represents to me, and what I know it should be. To everyone who contributed to this show you have my full and unequivocal praise- good job. This is what tv should be.

Ladies and gentl... ]]> =charco NYCC http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22980863/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22980863/ Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:14:21 PST
Next year, believe it.

I shall be there, and I will be ready!

But for now, slippers and a sketchbook shall suffice.

And tea...dont forget the tea.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco This is worth a journal http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22880108/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22880108/ Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:41:52 PST

, a fresh face on dA.

Go give him some love, and tell him I sent you

For those of you that don't know/haven't been paying attention, Stephen's the man behind the lines for the Angel run I'm working on.

Which ties me over nicely to colouring vs linework. At what stage is it OK to modify the linework when colouring? I mean specifically colouring OVER lines, and smoke/steam renders.
I know it probably varies from artist to artist, but I tend to leave as is.

But then I saw this version

of this

As far as I'm concerned, that one blows mine out of the water. I'm still on this whole self improvement thing, so I've been picking apart why I think its better.
I came up with

a:background supports the actions more, with those flagging lines helping the gesture
b: noise/very light texture that makes it look like watercolours. I like it.
c:restrained lighting. I tend to go a bit mental with the lights. More thinking, less brushing.
d: Those trousers. Which is where this all started. The inks are pretty solid on the trousers and gloves, and I clung pretty faithfully. It goes against my principles of not potentially butchering someone's lines, but they did such a _good job_ it makes me think.
e: shinier hair. I know a lot of n00bs can just do little spot highlights and call it a day, so I've tried to steer clear of them. A bit too much so. Leather=shiny, in many cases, and in this shot a shinier jacket would have worked much better. Oh, for the record, Angel's coat is SLIGHTLY GREENER than Spike's.

What say you? Paintovers- acceptable, or ruining someone's careful planning?

---
Back to my self-teaching, things going well. A little slower than at first, but you can't spend EVERY night practising. Found two more books lying around the house with more in-depth anatomy and a variety of poses...so the research continues.

In reference to something

said (a few years ago), I need to work up some of my 'b' projects. I can't just expect to launch into DLC and not mess it up. So, I've a sidestory called 'Lykvs' which could be pretty fun to do. Three issue story to fit into the Darklight Universe. Writing it well is proving quite difficult. I shall overcome, and have fun doing it. Yeah, its a werewolf story...but not a generic one. Not by a long shot.

Right, thats enough of that. Back to work

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco WHAT TO DO THIS EVENING http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22837612/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22837612/ Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:34:27 PST [link]

I have this song in my head, and I couldn't be happier.

How does everyone take their tea?

Tuesday is both dragging along and flying past. Jazz radio adding a lilt to a normal day's work. I'm in the mood for doing something interesting this evening.

WHAT TO DO?

Advice/suggestions welcome.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Homework http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22716160/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22716160/ Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:16:13 PST
-Anatomy male
-Head and neck
-Torso
-Arms
-Legs
-Hands and Feet
-Face
-anatomy female
-hips
-chest and shoulders
-neck and shoulder girdle
-hands and feet

-posing, different weights/builds

-Clothing
-tops- vests, shirts, blouses, jumpers, combat gear, capes
-bottoms- jocks, socks, boxers, panties, bras, shorts, skirts, trousers, full dresses

-footwear
-high heels, platforms, runners, men's shoes, boots, 'sensible' shoes, sandals

-weapons
-small sidearm, from a six shooter up. Lots o reference
-Medium firearms- rifles, shotguns, Machine guns, etc
-Large firearms- Sniper rifle, rocket launchers, miniguns
-handheld weapons, swords, daggers, staffs, other miscellaneous weaponry, grenades.
-hats
-mens and womens. fun :/

-Cars and machinery, large props
-classic cars, sports cars, SUVs vans, trucks, f1 cars, fire trucks

-Architecture
-castles, churches, graveyards, modern buildings, hella lotta rubble and earthquake photos, gardens, bridges,
towers and the like

- animal anatomy,
-lizard, mammal, fish, bird
-skeletal structure
-muscular structure
-rendering
-gesture and movement

-Creature design
-Now the fun begins

-Pushing my perspective
-now the fun gets realllllly irritating.

-Comics and storytelling

So um, yeah. Thats my plan. I figure about ten weeks to get a first run through. Anyone care to join me? I'll be posting up my progress daily with any luck, and by the end of it I should be much better off.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Relevant http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22707402/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22707402/ Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:56:03 PST
Given my LACK of knowledge, I'm going to pretend I know and hypothesise two futures.

1- Obama follows through on his homeland promises, with token gestures for international ones. Iraq will be messy and drag out, eventually ending in a whimper. America will close its doors economically not in theory or publicly but in quiet practice and subtle nudges. This will build up America from the inside, and force other economic unions (read- EU) to build itself up in a similar manner. When we dig ourselves out of our current recession, then international trade will flourish and be stronger than ever.

2- Obama either takes too long going about his business, gets killed, or gets sidetracked with a big ass war. America stays weak, the recession continues, and China plays a master stroke and bails us all out like America did after WWII. China rebuilds the world as top dog. I don't know enough about China's trade/labour laws to say whether this is a good thing. But seeing as there was that whole censoring google thing a while back, I doubt it'l be in our best interests as individuals.

On these baseless assumptions, we are either saved or screwed.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco Back to School http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22671462/ http://charco.deviantart.com/journal/22671462/ Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:07:10 PST
So I'm going back to the drawing board...well, before the drawing board actually. To the textbooks.
I'm going by the assumption that I know absolutely NOTHING about anatomy, and learning the entire body section by section.
I started last night with me aul china the torso, and the difference is a bit embarrassing.
So I shall continue.

Its funny, the more I get hung up on anatomy, the stiffer my poses get- which is obvious I guess.
What's funny is that its like the old guitar advice- 'learn all the theory in the world, then forget it'
I can gesture just fine- especially on a teeny tiny scale, I'm just out of practice.

So much of this is confidence, I had forgotten. I watched as Liam Sharp did a sketch for me back at the con. I hadn't seen someone draw that fluently since Ballyfermot. An eye opener, definitely- but all in a very good way.

If this sounds like 'AW I'M CRAP BAWWWWWWWW' its not meant to. I'm a sucker for a challenge, particularly if someone says I amn't good enough. Even if its me.

GAME ON.

Oh, comic book artists...if any of you read this...Where's a good place to buy some good paper, like bristol board or the like? I need to do some shopping.

PLUG TIME BABY- CHECK IT- [link] ]]> =charco