tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65179829386899136582024-03-07T00:38:59.566-05:00Kill The Captains: the art & production blog of Ben LevinThe art & production blog of Ben LevinBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-82820074878564502842012-06-28T19:54:00.002-05:002012-06-28T19:54:19.530-05:00You're wondering now...Just in case anyone has been wondering why I've had no updates in "forevs". I've moved all my blogging action over to my main website <a href="http://benlevin.net/">benlevin.net</a>. So if you want to see new drawings by me, go check there. And if anyone still checks here and refuses to go anywhere else, well then maybe I'll just repost everything here. Who knows.<br />
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-65945639459824166612011-01-20T19:52:00.003-05:002011-01-20T19:55:58.282-05:00For Tax Reasons Goes To Genericon!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/5373484277/sizes/o/in/photostream/"><img border="0" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5044/5373484277_5c86221bb1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">February 11th-13th, Matt and I (<a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/" target="_blank">aka For Tax Reasons</a>) will be all up in Troy, New York for <a href="http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/" target="_self">GENERICON XXIV</a>! 48 straight hours of sci-fi, anime, and gaming (of the video, table and live action varieties). Of course, like any self-respecting convention, there will be PANELS PANELS PANELS!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We’ll be running two of the previously exclaimed panels. A how-to animate panel- where Matt and I will discuss producing independent shorts, the creative process and showcasing work. As well as a screening and Q&A panel- where we’ll take on all the scathing questions and criticisms the viewing public has been <i>too afraid</i> to voice over the internet. And as a special surprise† we’ll be screening our never released <i>Ronin Dojo Community College DX</i> cartoon!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Go to <b><a href="http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/" target="_self">genericon.union.rpi.edu</a></b> for more details. We’ll be chilling there all weekend, and should have a table up. So if you’re in the NY area, come around and hang out.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">†no longer a surprise, specialty withstanding</span></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-15492852539263011622011-01-13T02:24:00.003-05:002011-01-13T02:26:55.413-05:00Chach Rules!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/5351246410/sizes/l/in/photostream/"><img border="0" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/5351246410_cfb3c2ea38.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/5351246410_cfb3c2ea38_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This past weekend I hauled my butt back to DC for <a href="http://tmle.terrorware.com/">the Max Levine Ensemble's</a> 10 Year Anniversary Show. It was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I've been too.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I started playing in a band right around the time TMLE started up; the Konami Code for anyone interested (we were once mentioned in Game Pro at the height of our "success"). We dabbled in the same DC/MD/VA punk-ska-anything scene, and knew each other from hanging out at the Corner Kick- this indoor soccer place where our friends from <a href="http://www.dcska.com/">DC Ska</a> / <a href="http://www.rudeindc.com/">Rude In DC</a> would put on these awesome shows with local bands. At any rate, fairly early on my journeys as a teenage songwriter it became evident that TMLE were operating on a much different level than I was. Their first songs right off the bat were so insightful and nuanced, yet still fun and catchy at the same time. Whenever I heard a new song from them, I would say something like "Oh yeah, I've thought about that too" or "So you <i>don't</i> have to slam a slogan over someone's head to make a statement". Plus, on top of all the punk rock, they had a sense of humor. So seeing them live was always a rad time. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm rambling. Point being, I was impressed with them when they started and I'm still impressed with them today, and super glad they've been going 10 years strong. It was so fun to see everyone come together for the show, see all the old faces and friends, and feel all the super posi vibes. And of course, it was great to hear them play <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJRUCaiHgko">Pizza Guy</a> again.</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-48034204970274337362011-01-04T23:50:00.014-05:002011-01-05T01:31:06.187-05:00That's the second longest Monkey Island post I've ever seen!<span style="font-family: arial;">Over the holiday break, I had the chance to get reacquainted with an old friend. Not one of my high school chums, I see them fairly often. I'm talking about graphic adventure games.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The story starts when I got an iPhone! (<-- Read in Oprah voice) First app I purchased proper- THE SECRET OF MOTHERFUCKING MONKEY ISLAND! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><a href="http://www.miwiki.net/images/thumb/Final-MI-Keyart_sm.jpg/250px-Final-MI-Keyart_sm.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.miwiki.net/images/thumb/Final-MI-Keyart_sm.jpg/250px-Final-MI-Keyart_sm.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 350px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 250px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">It is so awesome to have that game in my hands. I'm not too hot on the Special Edition graphics (though it's fun listening to the new voice overs), but with a simple two finger swipe you're back in original game mode. Only complaint, I think the music from the forests on Mêlée Island™ weren't included. That was one of my <a href="http://www.scummbar.com/mi2/MI1-CD/10%20-%20Mele%E9%20Forest.mp3">hauntingly favorite synth reggae</a> tracks.<br />
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After all the excitement of having an app everyone else played months ago, I got sick and was stuck in bed with a fever. I found myself rocking even more graphic adventure games. <span style="font-style: italic;">Legend of Kyrandia 2</span> and Telltale's <a href="http://www.telltalegames.com/bttf"><span style="font-style: italic;">Back to the Future: The Game</span></a> and <a href="http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tales of Monkey Island</span></a>. I love the writing, acting and graphics in both of Telltale's ventures. <span style="font-style: italic;">Tales</span> is an especially welcome sight for sore eyes. Between the third and fourth iteration of the Monkey Island series, the graphics had moved from this, with <span style="font-style: italic;">Curse of Monkey Island</span>:<br />
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</span><a href="http://ui13.gamespot.com/588/miwally_2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ui13.gamespot.com/588/miwally_2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 375px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">To this, with <span style="font-style: italic;">Escape from Monkey Island</span>:</span><br />
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<a href="http://screenshots.en.softonic.com/en/scrn/49000/49790/3_46_emi_05_screenlg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://screenshots.en.softonic.com/en/scrn/49000/49790/3_46_emi_05_screenlg.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">I was sad too, Guybrush. Personally, nothing tops my nostalgic love for the EGA graphics in the first two Monkey Island games, or the way the box art captured my imagination (<a href="http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7130/tattoo1w.jpg">I know at least one guy feels the same).</a> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">But we can't live in the past, and I really dig what Telltale is doing.<br />
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</span><a href="http://gamerinvestments.com/video-game-stocks/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tales-of-monkey-island_idol_highres.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://gamerinvestments.com/video-game-stocks/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tales-of-monkey-island_idol_highres.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 336px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 599px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
So I was moved to do<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/5325717294/sizes/l/in/photostream/"> a little Monkey Island tribute</a>. Click <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPYkEOB0vnXv3PN3r6PHOHAX_jouEsVK-IjtRI5mMbbdCoHy3V_LEWn1yzjv025982FY98ci09OECMPJU09qL3Mhf2xX20qAOMqTQXvDovHyaRKemPN5ib13_uehTh2jRMvvoG-WXinyc/s1600/still.jpg">HERE</a> to see the original.<br />
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</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/5325717294/sizes/l/in/photostream/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/5325717294_a8fe5cf17c_z.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 410px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 600px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPYkEOB0vnXv3PN3r6PHOHAX_jouEsVK-IjtRI5mMbbdCoHy3V_LEWn1yzjv025982FY98ci09OECMPJU09qL3Mhf2xX20qAOMqTQXvDovHyaRKemPN5ib13_uehTh2jRMvvoG-WXinyc/s1600/still.jpg"><br />
</a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-42616241377942139302010-10-12T00:33:00.004-05:002010-10-12T01:33:54.772-05:00to every kid who ever got picked last in art class<span style="font-family:arial;">I got some new Ronin Dojo Community College DX artwork finished up. Hum some Pokemon music and watch this one evolve. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFSesO3vDwI">Dum dum dum dum. . . </a></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdz_D3fLtwflMmBsIH4OC02Bf0ibAi8ovwa7_a3l9UIoQlPPw_HRwFBEH0KkPXTAdbTpLTdlN6nIJ1YnlOeUeKjjNg3RLEGhDQyOMNoDVV4ago4saWDcREZUS_CNldt06IJySc8XWNkpb/s1600/coversplashrough.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdz_D3fLtwflMmBsIH4OC02Bf0ibAi8ovwa7_a3l9UIoQlPPw_HRwFBEH0KkPXTAdbTpLTdlN6nIJ1YnlOeUeKjjNg3RLEGhDQyOMNoDVV4ago4saWDcREZUS_CNldt06IJySc8XWNkpb/s320/coversplashrough.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527029611098946018" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYtsrvmx7KGbYGAAUEBzG_Dda8M2BR4R5BZ3DnVdjxkHfc3-FSqz0kM2fQdfh1de5c3gKW0fgO9LUfRJT3123K8rjzkZ8ahmVMUSqGZYHVbOP4uPwcMx9I9qzgiM4dmHxgxZL9aefKlU5/s1600/RDCCDX_Splash_001-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYtsrvmx7KGbYGAAUEBzG_Dda8M2BR4R5BZ3DnVdjxkHfc3-FSqz0kM2fQdfh1de5c3gKW0fgO9LUfRJT3123K8rjzkZ8ahmVMUSqGZYHVbOP4uPwcMx9I9qzgiM4dmHxgxZL9aefKlU5/s320/RDCCDX_Splash_001-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527029780101020162" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/5067177346/in/photostream/"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5067177346_ecf8c0757d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Did some experimenting with a lot of elements in these. I really wanted the characters to pop off their surroundings, but I didn't want to paint everything by hand. Since I had drawn the characters and the background on separate layers in Photoshop, I decided I would just make the background lines lighter. <br /><br />When coloring, I selected each background object using the magic wand, expanded the selection at least 3 or 4 pixels into the line, and filled it with the paint bucket on it's own layer. This really bit deep into my line, and made each layer essentially over lap one another.<br /><br />I stacked the layers in the order they actually be on each other. Then I dropped the line layer down to 30% opacity. This left the line slightly gray, and because I had 'over filled' each object, no uncolored white space showed through. </span><br /><br /><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5066566899_4ff63f8820.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5066566899_4ff63f8820.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">I also added in shadows and highlights with a textured brush, and made a layer with the blending mode set to "overlay" and lightly brushed some flat areas to give them a faux, painted feel. Again, an attempt to make the characters stand out from the background.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5067177484_558dd6d224.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5067177484_558dd6d224.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">For a final touch, I tried putting a slight airbrushed vignette around the edges. To help keep the focus. Just brushed some black on a layer with the blending mode set to "overlay". </span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5066566721_7b7c9e482b.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5066566721_7b7c9e482b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm still experimenting with diff ways to color and paint backgrounds, if anyone has suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'd really like to try some with no lines at all, but that might involve just straight up painting in Photoshop. That is not my forté. Also, these three drawings will have text on them, if you're wondering why there's so much extra space on the top and bottom.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Side note: messy rooms are a pain to draw. Lots of details, lots of colors to pick out. But it pays to push yourself extra mile, otherwise it just feels empty and flat. If you can't push yourself to do it, just find someone to yell at you about it. I had <a href="http://whoajordie.blogspot.com/">Ms. Jordie Bellaire </a>on my case this time around. <br /><br />I need to get better with my background details I think, more photo reference or something. There is an awesome example of a fully fleshed out, messy room over at <a href="http://megacarter.blogspot.com/2010/09/boom.html">Meaghan Carters blog</a>. Great specifics. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4oCDAXQC34">It's the little things. . .</a></span> <span style="font-family: arial;"></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-16324444925860361962010-08-26T22:31:00.012-05:002010-08-27T01:06:42.995-05:00Rough Drawings from a Person Who Does What Is Roughly Considered Drawing<span style="font-family:arial;">Here are some rough pieces of Ronin Dojo Community College DX artwork I've been working on. Thought I'd share them with the interwebs. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGK8wkJtxjeGUDgmMZZkSRF5Ur5h-mQOu0vn_CBqEYcaWHURstOyMT12tTkOSwHwQ-u7BNyp3-6k6BgLR1X8tWDbSQ6ODLigMhLgWBv8S4N-FfBlAfvEU5XokHQoZxcwgOP5YzunVr-JN/s1600/RDCCDX_Splash_001-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGK8wkJtxjeGUDgmMZZkSRF5Ur5h-mQOu0vn_CBqEYcaWHURstOyMT12tTkOSwHwQ-u7BNyp3-6k6BgLR1X8tWDbSQ6ODLigMhLgWBv8S4N-FfBlAfvEU5XokHQoZxcwgOP5YzunVr-JN/s320/RDCCDX_Splash_001-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509927409784923458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">These first couple might be used for posters. I was attempting to work in some interesting angles; trying to emulate the classic epic, anime ensemble pose. I had to keep pushing myself to make the gestures feel kinetic and alive. Still don't think I pushed it far enough.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzPzKiuT7_LndMmzEdyVXs5jfrTGOAM8oxntppAbSJZCKx2tpI2Y9tKMqWJRweI5z0xanyCF6rHC2jOGul8y4HtGxSAke1C8DxuF6a3dJFWRhRIjYbk0DITnSIU9QINjup4l4Xr6-6kNq/s1600/RDCCDX_Splash_002.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzPzKiuT7_LndMmzEdyVXs5jfrTGOAM8oxntppAbSJZCKx2tpI2Y9tKMqWJRweI5z0xanyCF6rHC2jOGul8y4HtGxSAke1C8DxuF6a3dJFWRhRIjYbk0DITnSIU9QINjup4l4Xr6-6kNq/s320/RDCCDX_Splash_002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509927558747558386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">More fun with perspective and faking a fish eye lens type effect. In this one, you can see an unmasked version of David, the mysterious third nerd from <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/animation/IIUMKUS/">IM IN UR MANGER KILLING UR SAVIOR</a>. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FKAtwZQqO5YW3BadCTQs20b1M21ZBGQY592j-E95gBW3rVi_PQX1cTuMCCKBM0YWieYk3GPyxf8gmzCLopCWQAdReEyEgQJGERhwwQYa360zdv-cPvkPmz_i4y6_OIVTkCSlkNs-ldYq/s1600/RDCCDX_MARK_REALITY.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FKAtwZQqO5YW3BadCTQs20b1M21ZBGQY592j-E95gBW3rVi_PQX1cTuMCCKBM0YWieYk3GPyxf8gmzCLopCWQAdReEyEgQJGERhwwQYa360zdv-cPvkPmz_i4y6_OIVTkCSlkNs-ldYq/s320/RDCCDX_MARK_REALITY.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509927794328665122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">A more standard use of perspective with this one. Unlike photography and live action, cartoons don't have that inherent sense of depth. You have to go out of your way to build up that sense of space and reality. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">If someone had battered me over the head with the rules of perspective starting when I was like five- <span style="font-style: italic;">maybe</span> I'd have mastered it by now.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGbMK8gpO0-iVwzzYy-1jhZWyFBENqkpxIHgSvRZCCl9IqlfVcMVeA46ZBELmNfN40bzRCHvbp1mSdwk3eDhq6zaKOaq0a-vBRrR5OWJQ7U5Gg4zmynltefzvVSnN4k3CcZ4Nm8pYbWuV/s1600/RDCCDX_MARK_FANTASY-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGbMK8gpO0-iVwzzYy-1jhZWyFBENqkpxIHgSvRZCCl9IqlfVcMVeA46ZBELmNfN40bzRCHvbp1mSdwk3eDhq6zaKOaq0a-vBRrR5OWJQ7U5Gg4zmynltefzvVSnN4k3CcZ4Nm8pYbWuV/s320/RDCCDX_MARK_FANTASY-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509927693199910866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">While working on these, I was paging through <a href="http://radhowto.blogspot.com/">Rad Sechrist's blog</a>, along with <a href="http://www.theartcenter.blogspot.com/">the Art Center blog</a> he contributes to. <a href="http://radhowto.blogspot.com/2010/07/comic-con-demo.html">Lot of great tips and inspiration up there.</a> Definitely check it out if you're an animator, illustrator or <a href="http://theartcenter.blogspot.com/2010/04/florian-satzinger-gravity.html">if you like ducks in steam punk looking suits</a>. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />I'll try to be a little Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance here, and say that it's a good thing that I'm 27 and still learning about drawing and animation. Embarrassing, but good.</span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-30133871518977010352010-08-12T19:41:00.011-05:002010-08-13T00:23:32.165-05:00Going Digital Saves You The Pain of Trashing Stuff<span style="font-family:arial;">Phew, it feels good to be back on the ol' internet. For a couple months I was on a little work hiatus. As in a hiatus from being on the internet because of work. Not to be confused with a hiatus from working, or the 1954 B-Movie <span style="font-style: italic;">Hiatus From The Black Lagoon</span>. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRnuEDA5YiLP4BrBYIHOMjn2AWIjiJzuq72FDgp5gLccn-W2mQVJoGpYkUjgatZxuKZgT0koYwoncSFSIHB3K0f0US9ChX-gMpuNHHDWudPSMn-xho2Hz0WZ_in0Zb5kEJCrrwOl6pg9-/s1600/hiatus_from_black_lagoon_sm.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRnuEDA5YiLP4BrBYIHOMjn2AWIjiJzuq72FDgp5gLccn-W2mQVJoGpYkUjgatZxuKZgT0koYwoncSFSIHB3K0f0US9ChX-gMpuNHHDWudPSMn-xho2Hz0WZ_in0Zb5kEJCrrwOl6pg9-/s320/hiatus_from_black_lagoon_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504707238430934786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">So now that I have nothing going, what better to do than blog.<br /><br />I took a little break and went back home to Maryland. My parents requested I clear out some of the mess I've accumulated in the basement storage room, or they'd call whoever cleans up the houses on <span style="font-style: italic;">Hoarders</span>. During my digging and crying, I ran across a couple boxes worth of animation.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxXvptjLQI-RBrYR8alHR_63vpokUnKsPxPVW82KbOy5PCwH-rRlykDPNrw9SauNdpB5EZGJxYqaUmSKUoQVLv_fPiuTzdtads8K-bvv8C0VA5IjVdWE44_rce6FU3IAy4BLGXbkbCQ4W/s1600/Old_Animation-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxXvptjLQI-RBrYR8alHR_63vpokUnKsPxPVW82KbOy5PCwH-rRlykDPNrw9SauNdpB5EZGJxYqaUmSKUoQVLv_fPiuTzdtads8K-bvv8C0VA5IjVdWE44_rce6FU3IAy4BLGXbkbCQ4W/s320/Old_Animation-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504688295779225538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">This represents only a fraction of <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">For Tax Reasons'</a> work. I think some of <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/animation/IIUMKUS/">IM IN UR MANGER</a> is in there, the heads from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1FE6E6E8EE45A821">G.O.P. P.S.A.'s</a>, and part of my Got My Number music video.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCrfIqG1RzIiyZE5MmMyuj7IXZ-Xxc9N_mvypY23h2BVVtYIJiViEWwFFji2df7XdRthGJGbyJ1yzU3GkbUSP3MVj2L9Qy08qX6ZC3zWGkARBF4qmkrWw_EgZO0rUv6VBInWa4GE-Ixpl/s1600/Old_Animation-7.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCrfIqG1RzIiyZE5MmMyuj7IXZ-Xxc9N_mvypY23h2BVVtYIJiViEWwFFji2df7XdRthGJGbyJ1yzU3GkbUSP3MVj2L9Qy08qX6ZC3zWGkARBF4qmkrWw_EgZO0rUv6VBInWa4GE-Ixpl/s320/Old_Animation-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504688448653706338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">It's almost as tall as Marley! And would be even taller if Matt and I didn't cut so many corners when we animate. Of course, if we didn't cut any corners, we'd probably only have two shorts online. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I kept a few of the drawings, but threw most of them into the recycling bin. They're all scanned and saved on various hard drives; pretty pointless to keep around. Even if I became ridiculously famous in some bizarre twist of fate, nobody would ever want the majority of these drawings. Since Matt and I work with so many layers and libraries, they're mostly bodies without heads and random arms:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpo02lfeHR4VH41IZD2EE2ZQ1_KImTKPL86o-FFa1oC4nP3nJ0hAagHUgi-39k1EIDCi0ENmVCk7DT51BdN1OcGv7oTcyzjiHIhthTGo5auA1hqOP2JtZbxK7Gz8bfpUKE_DYsU-Un5Ka/s1600/03182002190936.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpo02lfeHR4VH41IZD2EE2ZQ1_KImTKPL86o-FFa1oC4nP3nJ0hAagHUgi-39k1EIDCi0ENmVCk7DT51BdN1OcGv7oTcyzjiHIhthTGo5auA1hqOP2JtZbxK7Gz8bfpUKE_DYsU-Un5Ka/s320/03182002190936.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504709822625435362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The only way someone would EVER want those drawings is if I become a crazy eccentric billionaire- and after I die Sotheby's auctions off my state and includes them in some 2 for 1 deal with a real live genetically engineered Centaur. Only then would somebody MAYBE want those drawings. Fancy auctions do 2 for 1 deals, right?<br /><br />As you can see, I work hard to validate my decisions to toss anything. </span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-52017767623590987392010-03-17T00:40:00.011-05:002010-03-17T01:08:23.205-05:00Last post with a weather theme<span style="font-family:arial;">My lasts two posts referenced the snow, and this one again is about the weather. I know, very mundane. But I was super pysched about it getting a tiny bit warm in New York. So I drew this.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/4440271986/"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 381px; height: 272px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4440271986_8a53c091fc_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Initially, I couldn't decide which warm weather outfit to put her in- so I made outfits for each season. I was pretty much playing dress up with my drawings. Whatever, I'm comfortable with that. I may break up each figure and make a separate season surrounding for them. I dunno.<br /><br />Everyone in New York gets excited when it's a tad bit warmer. We're so brutally demoralized by walking in the winter, that any warmth feels like the Keys or something. Ok, enough weather talk.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRCkEj04oJX3228oGz6VR5QLdstWy6vdhId6qTJt3eUlQ0_-pR6LtAWVSu00N4TTDHBjoLr9VxzVUrk3UoKH2ogoZZwioSpAfq6WXK_QqLe1hkA2xgjyeLykZik0b-zGu_nOfUvB9qUCi/s1600-h/Mark_Head_Progress.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRCkEj04oJX3228oGz6VR5QLdstWy6vdhId6qTJt3eUlQ0_-pR6LtAWVSu00N4TTDHBjoLr9VxzVUrk3UoKH2ogoZZwioSpAfq6WXK_QqLe1hkA2xgjyeLykZik0b-zGu_nOfUvB9qUCi/s320/Mark_Head_Progress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449476261192381810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">In other news, I've almost finished updating the Ronin Dojo Community College DX heads. Last up, Mark. If you can't tell the difference between the old and the new- JUST LOOK AT HOW CROOKED THOSE EYES ARE. Man, so glad I have guides in Photoshop.<br /><br />I also gave a little update to the <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">For Tax Reasons</a> website banner and logo. Following the nice pixel art tutorial on <a href="http://www.derekyu.com/?page_id=219">Derek Yu's site</a>. I took our old logo:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGTLLrSUqw6xIj8ZuW6sP1tnZFs9ltUV8tqVr9EC5ilOLuAiYf_VsSjXNnXktQEqxvov2zim_QU2SoFbFwYUKVwKYsKOHSJhuv-mO9HN85LNG4yF1LHwQU82iEfpRH7X1IEpOfa0UN8zC/s1600-h/ftr_logo_sm.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGTLLrSUqw6xIj8ZuW6sP1tnZFs9ltUV8tqVr9EC5ilOLuAiYf_VsSjXNnXktQEqxvov2zim_QU2SoFbFwYUKVwKYsKOHSJhuv-mO9HN85LNG4yF1LHwQU82iEfpRH7X1IEpOfa0UN8zC/s320/ftr_logo_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449477500851725426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">And made this!<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW9ssJ_6uRwBw8mPLcZ_F-dHoQgocxuJaIyG2eGHOkJwomQD2ybmdg5g-ANt7WVxv9LBQvwzifOrdp2NvQaPTid-RAKtHuqilKd3n9ajRJ-mfJhoN25CX4Cmti_3YTvwc72qkMY9C4Vkc/s1600-h/NewFTRLogo_Still.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW9ssJ_6uRwBw8mPLcZ_F-dHoQgocxuJaIyG2eGHOkJwomQD2ybmdg5g-ANt7WVxv9LBQvwzifOrdp2NvQaPTid-RAKtHuqilKd3n9ajRJ-mfJhoN25CX4Cmti_3YTvwc72qkMY9C4Vkc/s320/NewFTRLogo_Still.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449477772724900002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Whoops, that ear should be self-lined. Whatever, this won't probably stay as is for long. I am totally losing my hair, so eventually this will have to be updated to reflect Bald Ben. Comparing the two logos you can see I receded my hair line a little bit to keep it true to life.<br /><br />Anyways, thanks to Derek Yu. That tutorial is super helpful. Also, thanks to Andrew WK. I just came back from his NYC show, and oh man it was awesome! I partied so hard I got diarrhea. Shwarma is not the thing to eat before you're gonna go jump up and down for an hour. I can't stop telling people about this.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-67563333803360190952010-02-26T02:27:00.008-05:002010-02-26T02:47:38.316-05:00Snow Stopping Me Part II: Bad Boy. Can't Stop. Snown't Stop.<span style="font-family:arial;">Last time I updated, it was totally snowing. And now I'm updating again- and it's totally snowing again! What are the odds of that. . . in the month of February.<br /><br />Well, it's fitting because this post is kind of a sequel to the last post. I'm still fixing up the head library for <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/animation/DPODW_1/">Ronin Dojo Community College DX</a>. Right now I'm on Barry. Watch him evolve:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihgwfY3KVSEWenaT3zy2GXKlpmOS7qlXBm8H8sy0vxYMXmhxT_zE_hzbzbazVSbDQDD8uQBECy9Z7PqEOVNh1wt-_p3gJ0vz-AN_Khq4SarS2y1EJUKLYQByXJqg1M_a8jWxW_lNVjw5l/s1600-h/Barry_Evolution.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihgwfY3KVSEWenaT3zy2GXKlpmOS7qlXBm8H8sy0vxYMXmhxT_zE_hzbzbazVSbDQDD8uQBECy9Z7PqEOVNh1wt-_p3gJ0vz-AN_Khq4SarS2y1EJUKLYQByXJqg1M_a8jWxW_lNVjw5l/s400/Barry_Evolution.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442451665697047218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Eh the skull was kinda just for fun. I don't know why I drew everyone with such flat pointy heads, and hair stuck straight to them. It just goes to show how much your skills can progress </span><span style="font-family:arial;">even </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> within a few years. Or if you want to see it half empty- it just goes to show that you never know how much you suck until it's too late.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And in continuing with the sequel-ity of this update. Here are the t-shirt designs I finished for the band </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.myspace.com/theheatmachine">The Heat Machine</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/4388006619/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 450px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/4388006619_7b4ff9930b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/4388770930/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 465px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/4388770930_e1a8b6c958.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;">And here's the other one I posted the other week that the band didn't end up using.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCi4L8BwjFnwvxwwCE5HyPKOqhaNP3bWdV7NHQ8pPKpFDqusTS2voilw6oTZsDphXBBZNu-rKfp0780-0YPOqaR5E7Rt1max5WuadJQGsfKhxzASfylVAonWf2HHJ6eLhYGrhdDRSTDr_/s1600-h/HM_Design_07_COLOR.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCi4L8BwjFnwvxwwCE5HyPKOqhaNP3bWdV7NHQ8pPKpFDqusTS2voilw6oTZsDphXBBZNu-rKfp0780-0YPOqaR5E7Rt1max5WuadJQGsfKhxzASfylVAonWf2HHJ6eLhYGrhdDRSTDr_/s400/HM_Design_07_COLOR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442454259830965186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I hope they turn out good on the shirts.<br /><br />I was gonna draw another snowy girl drawing, but I already did a lot of drawing today and I'm all drawed out. So next time, another girly drawing.</span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-47283297320694100842010-02-11T02:19:00.008-05:002019-07-26T00:42:59.627-05:00There Snow Stopping Me From Updating<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://frankensteinsninja.wordpress.com/">Mr. Matt Burnett</a> (the other half of <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">For Tax Reasons</a>) and I had a fun radio interview last Friday. We called in to the <a href="http://popmediaprimecast.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Popmedia Primecast</span></a>, to have a chat with Dom and Dusty. The show was originally broadcast on </span><a href="http://www.kane1240.com/pop_media.htm" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><strong>KANE Radio AM 1240</strong></a> <span style="font-family: "arial";">but you can listen to the whole episode in mp3 format <a href="http://www.kane1240.com/pop_media.htm" style="font-weight: bold;">here</a>.</span> <span style="font-family: "arial";">We kinda rambled a lot, so if you get bored with hearing our voices, check out the other episodes they've got posted. There are some sweet guests talking about fun nerdy pop culture stuff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br />In other For Tax Reasons news, I've started updating all the head files for the Ronin Dojo Community College DX characters.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPbwti9sNk6E-DiiRAj_ukRGVu9WLujACU2fQKgP09_6jIrnG3MTCIMRRGYA5Q_qDgqjGTAyE7zVLkGQJ5zaZq5rxhKoARW6Cx69-Gyuhd95OjkaVK_bp6fbqYPbDS7nSNsM4LEbMlkw_/s1600-h/Hank_3-4_1_Rough.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436887693471692610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPbwti9sNk6E-DiiRAj_ukRGVu9WLujACU2fQKgP09_6jIrnG3MTCIMRRGYA5Q_qDgqjGTAyE7zVLkGQJ5zaZq5rxhKoARW6Cx69-Gyuhd95OjkaVK_bp6fbqYPbDS7nSNsM4LEbMlkw_/s400/Hank_3-4_1_Rough.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">They were originally drawn on paper and scanned in. So I'm redrawing them straight into the Photoshop using my Cintiq. Making them hi res enough for HD, and doing some slight redesigns along the way. And by that I mean, fixing my shitty drawings.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IT4yi9NTLatUmVzYqNIaU-XeoK82Pf2eXY8yYnsdokgelQxJbGdf-_D8FPLBSBO4y1uDyNjzgnqvvmDqQXM1dhtt7xdgF7YyeA8LtbVRcB0pGylBwPG0F9IG0yalP9_luStpdCaHk00o/s1600-h/HM_Design_01.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436888424696207298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IT4yi9NTLatUmVzYqNIaU-XeoK82Pf2eXY8yYnsdokgelQxJbGdf-_D8FPLBSBO4y1uDyNjzgnqvvmDqQXM1dhtt7xdgF7YyeA8LtbVRcB0pGylBwPG0F9IG0yalP9_luStpdCaHk00o/s400/HM_Design_01.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 358px;" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">I've also been working on some sketches for this band <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theheatmachine" style="font-weight: bold;">The Heat Machine</a>. They're an awesome ska band from Nebraska, or NebraSKA as I say. I definitely urge any third wave fans to go to their <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theheatmachine" style="font-weight: bold;">myspace</a> and check 'em out. One of my favorite new bands out there for sure. Or at least, new to me. They just released a <a href="http://interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=51571&">"No Coast Dance Party"</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> on Asbestos Records.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> <a href="http://interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=51571&" style="font-weight: bold;">BUY IT</a>. It is good.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzawZG7c3GCcbVK-WRDCcdLjHONq1lgnzmqrGrJ9UTZ0OOtHzh4czW78ab-4EyLt1Z0jDzYYAM5NEmuGiSao38PO9dxxFkNky2Pi-HhsmLscaeVTkr4FupDqM6ITuexthYoHodTkfu7Kz5/s1600-h/HM_Design_04.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436889039380361890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzawZG7c3GCcbVK-WRDCcdLjHONq1lgnzmqrGrJ9UTZ0OOtHzh4czW78ab-4EyLt1Z0jDzYYAM5NEmuGiSao38PO9dxxFkNky2Pi-HhsmLscaeVTkr4FupDqM6ITuexthYoHodTkfu7Kz5/s400/HM_Design_04.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 342px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjdlb4JP3D6ixs0V26piRV_lxDw3U6k8RvpsjqJZxJwHjwNMhbs1hs-UbZgCoH6vT_lHrKYbC0w_VLtwKSamFJttD3ygk50S80hFr9RjIikzGK800RLkUXMhUFXGyArao_UnbRph-FP8h/s1600-h/HM_Design_07.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436889159321643970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjdlb4JP3D6ixs0V26piRV_lxDw3U6k8RvpsjqJZxJwHjwNMhbs1hs-UbZgCoH6vT_lHrKYbC0w_VLtwKSamFJttD3ygk50S80hFr9RjIikzGK800RLkUXMhUFXGyArao_UnbRph-FP8h/s400/HM_Design_07.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 360px;" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">Not sure which of these we're gonna use, but I thought I'd post the roughs here anyways.<br /><br />That's all for nows, I'll post the final stuff when it's done.</span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-27496530308745094082010-01-28T16:05:00.006-05:002010-01-28T16:21:14.923-05:00New Sites!<span style="font-family:arial;">So after spending a couple weeks wrapped in code, I've finished redesigning the websites for both <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">For Tax Reasons</a> and <a href="http://www.benlevin.net/">Ben Levin Dot Net</a>. They're a bit easier to maneuver and link around, and no more ancient iframes.<br /><br />I also drew some new banner artwork for my site. I call it A Circle Pit Landscape. Here it is in stages- as I like to present things.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTz2aG1307NTzqXo2nWlRZh4WanUgF0S-6X5oueNah1eYj0yvA7dDI6h6ASHTcpTCkbiw083a4t6jGwpWfIlVxciw_G4ppCAnmFyizkjm2vTMB54dSheR8pOTmo8TaR-I311lJQpy1nVFm/s1600-h/Rough_Banner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTz2aG1307NTzqXo2nWlRZh4WanUgF0S-6X5oueNah1eYj0yvA7dDI6h6ASHTcpTCkbiw083a4t6jGwpWfIlVxciw_G4ppCAnmFyizkjm2vTMB54dSheR8pOTmo8TaR-I311lJQpy1nVFm/s400/Rough_Banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431900472576386706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zWaZh9QqzcyGdAR5VT_wYz8qmNBU3-p4yXltofmHdMqOvpTl57qs3z-8T7WR-jba2mh21m4zDe4xjxSR3R2dnjwJOXnbC61sawb9Wr0mye6X1I09ESKYElXaI3HK7BwVDOuqpASR5q5L/s1600-h/Clean_Banner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zWaZh9QqzcyGdAR5VT_wYz8qmNBU3-p4yXltofmHdMqOvpTl57qs3z-8T7WR-jba2mh21m4zDe4xjxSR3R2dnjwJOXnbC61sawb9Wr0mye6X1I09ESKYElXaI3HK7BwVDOuqpASR5q5L/s400/Clean_Banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431900614230376210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/4308591394/sizes/l/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dmDe0GI8CUOl695bsxfejK5SKURPb_Rn0wcOZrenSnzlWRyLi4_bxqaIPujE1WOiTaexv98VSYW-0bQdm8lwNXIEF3m8hR6JkUeM3JICKOCMqk-JxAnfxq1dH_0jFCzDH4Eb_Ugpfl-i/s400/Banner_Fullsized_Color_med.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431900793427891314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Also, the <a href="http://www.teenagebottlerocket.com/">Teenage Bottlerocket</a> video is up on Youtube. Now you can watch it in sharp HD quality. Thanks goodness, I didn't sit around for months drawing in 5806 x 4158 pixel Photoshop canvas' for so everyone could watch a small chunky compressed version. I sat around for months drawing in</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">5806 x 4158 pixel Photoshop canvas' for so everyone could watch a sharply compressed version. Oh yeah. So sharp you could cut Gouda on it. Go ahead and put a hunk up to your screen and (as Bravo says) watch what happens.</span><br /><br /><object height="243" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EtGIVp91Zyg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EtGIVp91Zyg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="243" width="400"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-56849489489173379662010-01-18T01:38:00.014-05:002010-01-18T03:37:13.215-05:00New Stuff For 2010!<span style="font-family:arial;">Finally, some new stuff coming out. Firstly, you might have noticed I've got a new blog header. Thank goodness, that other one was old and had not aged well. If you want to see a bigger version, you can check it out on my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/4283757041/">Flickr photostream</a>.<br /><br />In a year, I'll probably be sick of this header too. Maybe even a couple months. Hell, I may not like this drawing tomorrow. Man, you know what? This drawing is crappy. I'm scrapping the blog altogether.<br /><br />Ah, I can't do that. Not while you were halfway through reading this post. Or if you're a bot, skipping straight to the bottom so you can make nonsensical comments about iPhones. So time for the second bit of news.<br /><br />I finished my <a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=102177239">Teenage Bottlerocket music video for the song "Bigger Than Kiss"</a>!<br /><br /><object height="344px" width="406px"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=102177239,t=1,mt=video"><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=102177239,t=1,mt=video" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="344" width="406"></embed></object><br /><br />It's premiering today on Myspace in the videos section right up there with Three Six Mafia and JD from Le Tigre. What a motley crew.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CgxJOq9JWHzvwXvnuE9ys-Plen3n7uZ3lWwq4M3EJBS4NNXzS8cdtj7n_akGtDR-CD4e54uMzArMx4Kdgp0NNcKBr7qVAmRBuFBHuo_qXbDkW39xKMqpBs-BFCcuKYL8NQnRHPbfKeN0/s1600-h/TBR_Premiere.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 321px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CgxJOq9JWHzvwXvnuE9ys-Plen3n7uZ3lWwq4M3EJBS4NNXzS8cdtj7n_akGtDR-CD4e54uMzArMx4Kdgp0NNcKBr7qVAmRBuFBHuo_qXbDkW39xKMqpBs-BFCcuKYL8NQnRHPbfKeN0/s400/TBR_Premiere.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427987577590628546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Really glad to have it done and out for the public to see. Hope people like it. If not, well screw you, I drew it all by myself.<br /><br />If you still haven't bought the new album, <a href="http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/747">They Came From The Shadows</a>, I highly suggest you do. Got onto a lot of Top of 2009 lists on <a href="http://www.punknews.org/">Punknews.org</a>, and if bearded Lawrence Arms fans like it, it's gotta be good.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xBmz8tHTN28cDBlR8NEW9fLRfJDz6c-lkRYCYGlfHDreNs277BubryK-ugT4BEJh1I9T0rV_imYKOF8ujPgyrrJFUTq283IXTo2FMLkujmfIaW-k-wv61wvHialYxFFKahGu1a4UG_a/s1600-h/TBR_wide_still.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xBmz8tHTN28cDBlR8NEW9fLRfJDz6c-lkRYCYGlfHDreNs277BubryK-ugT4BEJh1I9T0rV_imYKOF8ujPgyrrJFUTq283IXTo2FMLkujmfIaW-k-wv61wvHialYxFFKahGu1a4UG_a/s400/TBR_wide_still.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427976596737165298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I believe that's the last of the leftover projects from 2009, so I'm ready to tackle 2010. Matt and I have some new For Tax Reasons projects planned, most importantly a new Ronin Dojo Community College DX series. So stay tuned to your internet tubes.<br /><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-73046391832187027642009-12-07T00:44:00.009-05:002009-12-07T01:22:02.602-05:00Evolution of a Shot<span style="font-family:arial;">I'm nearing the 7th inning stretch with the Teenage Bottlerocket music video. Thought I'd share some drawings and show the magical metamorphosis of a shot</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We start with the larvae, a detailed storyboard.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLgdsR7lEpT6EyScYivBw5Babg-ULQIcLi3R06gMcGf9Kj_L-Irtjt7OMjNIx88WPRkjaDEyalwEhy4INd040y9qFi-IDWdtibztVNFJP5nJ_n1Q0HnWF4ij5rNet4X0mc7wZpsCJe36D/s1600-h/042-board.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLgdsR7lEpT6EyScYivBw5Babg-ULQIcLi3R06gMcGf9Kj_L-Irtjt7OMjNIx88WPRkjaDEyalwEhy4INd040y9qFi-IDWdtibztVNFJP5nJ_n1Q0HnWF4ij5rNet4X0mc7wZpsCJe36D/s400/042-board.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412366204358992818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">It's amazing how much information I can convey, with several deft strokes of the digital brush.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Next, the shot wraps itself in a cocoon of sketchy blue lines and enters it's pupa or "rough" stage.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wcBQvXQXYKRDfgXDYT_w6FNfVFA2JDY7Y6ziFGN6Uw-FAEvNsQgv1eotMkC7EoOmpwpVyDz9h4MjMh_-NvXU2DIPPtUihRZmj7oAjbrNLZHe39WiLx2TzZL_WRE5wjvvaFAHkMtHIVoh/s1600-h/042-rough.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wcBQvXQXYKRDfgXDYT_w6FNfVFA2JDY7Y6ziFGN6Uw-FAEvNsQgv1eotMkC7EoOmpwpVyDz9h4MjMh_-NvXU2DIPPtUihRZmj7oAjbrNLZHe39WiLx2TzZL_WRE5wjvvaFAHkMtHIVoh/s400/042-rough.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412366147208507026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Finally, after hours of pupation*, a clean drawing emerges and thrusts it's gloriously detailed wings to the world.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjcS_oIBethXoBdaVnly3RsHe4OnU09UA9S0oU8j9HuqQS5bQoCmMIS5-nEkjtiJiVTETsFlFDsUTvVtBHkhPMixw2eJc4GaI0lPmBibCt9J3jAC9LTK3DQ3sUwBEqqRPw229_kBTYb2t/s1600-h/042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjcS_oIBethXoBdaVnly3RsHe4OnU09UA9S0oU8j9HuqQS5bQoCmMIS5-nEkjtiJiVTETsFlFDsUTvVtBHkhPMixw2eJc4GaI0lPmBibCt9J3jAC9LTK3DQ3sUwBEqqRPw229_kBTYb2t/s400/042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412366055364288386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">In the coming days, the shots will fill itself with a rich palette of hues and tones. But these moments of glory are fleeting, for the lifespan of a typical shot of animation in this music video is merely a second. Such is the nature of animation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Thanks for reading this far, and for letting me stretch that metaphor paper thin. As a show of gratitude, some extra drawings.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzT8F1UPWu7yl_GSIbSWy8MP2KT9dGloqAKBUxW4ur6XrbaVOEq-Mo2mg1NGvRkHJHqwqecSHQvhMbMLixSIdFW53bO-VPViTymuhRTpkx9NsYCU6PUwNy2GR7YAEZbdK5QfgLt_5OGhQc/s1600-h/031.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzT8F1UPWu7yl_GSIbSWy8MP2KT9dGloqAKBUxW4ur6XrbaVOEq-Mo2mg1NGvRkHJHqwqecSHQvhMbMLixSIdFW53bO-VPViTymuhRTpkx9NsYCU6PUwNy2GR7YAEZbdK5QfgLt_5OGhQc/s400/031.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412370216545049058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlQtokgE5HjbKSTcVP8owzcjdN_aOa50jMzz83UuKm2VXJRgJSNqCtMH2p7vrhDDq8FKpGItMQgZ1KT4Mhc1qO0NAg2CDCPivp89REEQ02NSBhZrhvAaWei3otEdEdN0uGX6jsuXeRw96/s1600-h/028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlQtokgE5HjbKSTcVP8owzcjdN_aOa50jMzz83UuKm2VXJRgJSNqCtMH2p7vrhDDq8FKpGItMQgZ1KT4Mhc1qO0NAg2CDCPivp89REEQ02NSBhZrhvAaWei3otEdEdN0uGX6jsuXeRw96/s400/028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412375069887608162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWktAMoOYl1tBGPJo0nL76Ut9jmyLI3U7yQnqYbODSbYwFPwcmm3t8qnA32A2w1EGpzcIrzI8DLXN6LDNZpwDr4SxSvLipNfhF7g1Zl2bYA_m-b3GDphx1LZjuzPArY2BLwKuE6LwkNj7/s1600-h/040.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWktAMoOYl1tBGPJo0nL76Ut9jmyLI3U7yQnqYbODSbYwFPwcmm3t8qnA32A2w1EGpzcIrzI8DLXN6LDNZpwDr4SxSvLipNfhF7g1Zl2bYA_m-b3GDphx1LZjuzPArY2BLwKuE6LwkNj7/s400/040.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412370089994946066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">* First time ever using that word.†</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" >† Look at me, I'm David Foster Wallace-ing the shit out of this post.¶<br />¶ I mean that in the nicest way possible. ®</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" >® I'm sorry.</span><br /></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-36481262839905044822009-11-23T03:00:00.013-05:002009-11-23T04:06:49.362-05:00Exposure Therapy<span style="font-family:arial;">Crowd shots and walk cycles. Two of my least favorite things to animate, and coincidentally, the two shots which have been plaguing me for the past week. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">They're both for the Teenage Bottlerocket video I'm working on, and</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> I finally finished cleaning them up, and they look pretty coool- so check 'em out.<br /><br />First out the gait (wamp wamp) is the walk cycle. This was a little tough because it was a 2 point perspective walk. Here's the initial rough test. <a href="http://frankensteinsninja.wordpress.com/">Matt</a> helped me look it over and figure it out. I didn't approach it with the best geometric planning, but eventually I came out with this.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz2BYedc4X4iq8Iea-UaAjXTeIOa4s3P8vlpLunbwlnBUdzLE3Ak6_ll8sE556ORfTLH9Ov_nv8y90xwRNizA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Here's a quicktime version for better viewing.<br /><br /><embed src="http://benlevin.net/objects/media/Tests/004_TEST7_sm.mov" autoplay="FALSE" align="CENTER" height="270" width="480"></embed><br /><br />Next up is the crowd shot. Oy vey, this took a while to do, but to see it in motion is pretty satisfying.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><embed src="http://benlevin.net/objects/media/Tests/008_TEST3_sm.mov" autoplay="FALSE" align="CENTER" height="270" width="480"></embed><br /><br />Surprisingly, it doesn't take too many drawings to create a convincing loop of a jump. The two characters jumping in the back are only 4 drawings. The girl in the front has a little hop and some extra follow-through, so she's 7 drawings.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizm5SAVK2dQajAvRgONPMxUQ4b93tACtfH42zFtRrGUPZqG0uuRG5Np82fMi6LiD9OJOzjpQPDkS2tB2Oclf4da1kqWhRReHLVYM3Dz3OrvVUSJVnuaq6eDzx9C2eT_0ivgosKqlPph7R5/s1600/008_LINES_sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizm5SAVK2dQajAvRgONPMxUQ4b93tACtfH42zFtRrGUPZqG0uuRG5Np82fMi6LiD9OJOzjpQPDkS2tB2Oclf4da1kqWhRReHLVYM3Dz3OrvVUSJVnuaq6eDzx9C2eT_0ivgosKqlPph7R5/s400/008_LINES_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407212558459207490" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >What it looks like with all the layers on at once</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The head nod of the girl with glasses took a little bit to figure out. In the end, it was also only 4 drawings of her moving her head up and down in an even motion. At first, I had her jerking her head up and down, to try and emphasize her nodding to a beat. It looked too much like her boyfriend with the glasses was ramming her from behind, so had to scrap and rework it. I think the final product with looks fairly non-sexual, so I'm happy with it. But the seed has been planted, so maybe now that's all you can see in it.<br /><br />That's all folks, for now. Sweet dreams until I finish another interesting shot.</span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-63161527417750856932009-10-04T00:20:00.012-05:002009-10-04T01:30:28.053-05:00Some Sneaky Peekies<span style="font-family:arial;">Lot's of work going on right now, mostly on stuff that cannot be posted on the internet. However, what I DO have to offer is a sneak peek at the video I'm working on for <a href="http://www.myspace.com/teenagebottlerocket">Teenage Bottlerocket</a>.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWIjZtBnfLrsje7C6vkBn0HZdvLRcOsEztwOY-c6p9-dtnVWxIhfLn7XfZS0Mp2YG6yqF5xDjDiwksETUDd2eAbeeOqlvX9bKpK5jSnDLuj9w-EL7_OemnzfTATnAdbcCvaZuO26T2YFy/s1600-h/TBR_025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWIjZtBnfLrsje7C6vkBn0HZdvLRcOsEztwOY-c6p9-dtnVWxIhfLn7XfZS0Mp2YG6yqF5xDjDiwksETUDd2eAbeeOqlvX9bKpK5jSnDLuj9w-EL7_OemnzfTATnAdbcCvaZuO26T2YFy/s400/TBR_025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388615329375579810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg-zB05ZrOljTZG2J7xT5_PLWTPiGMCGEFIAjFI5uWV3zSpObJDUoIhyphenhyphenrsVhSmPZZdWJw4v6lxw-zMHOkOnOeeW1WkkakZL-mb-CECo8As7zsvgv_U7UKxCqAaEQMws_WhVUIzjyToPr4U/s1600-h/TBR_015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg-zB05ZrOljTZG2J7xT5_PLWTPiGMCGEFIAjFI5uWV3zSpObJDUoIhyphenhyphenrsVhSmPZZdWJw4v6lxw-zMHOkOnOeeW1WkkakZL-mb-CECo8As7zsvgv_U7UKxCqAaEQMws_WhVUIzjyToPr4U/s400/TBR_015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388614751255562162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4Rpo4kgg6fHXYKcYdk8JIgxfLc0didi9AK_ZzILbbGT4L-ih5aplUU9eJGldrIB-ZFO-9cG30jJyVaEYGkgw-2jtyRuzs9YaXESAw_S1ObQoU30urGdM3F_zVqzshuMVCUJHdbWrkQwQ/s1600-h/TBR_026.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4Rpo4kgg6fHXYKcYdk8JIgxfLc0didi9AK_ZzILbbGT4L-ih5aplUU9eJGldrIB-ZFO-9cG30jJyVaEYGkgw-2jtyRuzs9YaXESAw_S1ObQoU30urGdM3F_zVqzshuMVCUJHdbWrkQwQ/s400/TBR_026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388614670902235170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It's for the song "Bigger Than Kiss" off their Fat Wreck Chords debut<a href="http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/747"> "They Came From The Shadows"</a>. Which you should <a href="http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/747">go buy right now</a>.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCV8aeVMatr4-3mqMrdosugzTDKO1SWXm_L2ZbspuM6otLfZONimMrNVojKmjoON3ItW9v8nYTdrapvNT7CjBqom_iv230GhymUs4sy-of02Cf8iRSRJpM-UfxCViFJHzSzE81HTlEL7tf/s1600-h/TBR_036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCV8aeVMatr4-3mqMrdosugzTDKO1SWXm_L2ZbspuM6otLfZONimMrNVojKmjoON3ItW9v8nYTdrapvNT7CjBqom_iv230GhymUs4sy-of02Cf8iRSRJpM-UfxCViFJHzSzE81HTlEL7tf/s400/TBR_036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388614352800373762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMttC5lQGUo7D_LzBilAUUsxvwaMA87WR2R3ksdwF_sN_mb47hrkoAUSqmxhyLxO2z8mq475-efSs2_QHL26w-WX6VL3J4EAA2SnqiajEelxcJWjUjZyF9W4rq3zR8u8jEUahvqs57tfwP/s1600-h/TBR_028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMttC5lQGUo7D_LzBilAUUsxvwaMA87WR2R3ksdwF_sN_mb47hrkoAUSqmxhyLxO2z8mq475-efSs2_QHL26w-WX6VL3J4EAA2SnqiajEelxcJWjUjZyF9W4rq3zR8u8jEUahvqs57tfwP/s400/TBR_028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388614576804405554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLF_OBJonfHsG6-kedCMePDCCGgPVLL9W__PIoDaPRU4zNwpxTl2eJAn3xICsRfNvoPZF9N1anE-AESTt_igv6VrBJLp_C3vLDMtdvSqJ8MKLZOWEKJG9B42fmbTevAQKu6CERhnhFMRZ/s1600-h/TBR_043.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLF_OBJonfHsG6-kedCMePDCCGgPVLL9W__PIoDaPRU4zNwpxTl2eJAn3xICsRfNvoPZF9N1anE-AESTt_igv6VrBJLp_C3vLDMtdvSqJ8MKLZOWEKJG9B42fmbTevAQKu6CERhnhFMRZ/s400/TBR_043.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388614265131073042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The album is awesome. All of the songs are rad pop punk jams- there's some love songs, some sci-fi songs, some fast angry shit thrown in there too- it's sweet. I don't know why I'm not writing music reviews for a living. Anyways, if you don't believe my 90's surfer-bro critique, check out the video for the track "Skate Or Die".<br /><br /><object height="238" width="392"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-03q9VE0sOk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-03q9VE0sOk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="238" width="392"></embed></object><br /><br />My video should be coming out in late November, but I'll have more updates before then, hopefully some tests and colored-in stuff. Until then, catch ya later <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flcv_TnH7Mk">most excellent blog dudes</a>.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nqdIZGhAAwzb5cGYJdDHkXXZWLS6LT793OxrVUs2gtSI1hVTa4snc8xXWOCNve-kfzlMPaJCvbRuHcp7MYFLlXHhqsN22vZzdV4yg5GQ0WnPo0ULZqN3VI7fz78S2LKtZOkZVZSgSpVn/s1600-h/TBR_044.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nqdIZGhAAwzb5cGYJdDHkXXZWLS6LT793OxrVUs2gtSI1hVTa4snc8xXWOCNve-kfzlMPaJCvbRuHcp7MYFLlXHhqsN22vZzdV4yg5GQ0WnPo0ULZqN3VI7fz78S2LKtZOkZVZSgSpVn/s400/TBR_044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388614146398536290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-47656873103458016732009-08-16T23:22:00.011-05:002009-08-17T10:16:12.527-05:00Obligatory Post About Promoting One's Boyfriend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgof0Iin6qeDEBfnEZwWc6Vmw1fq_wRyct0p-fottLZLVIt2Cx2PVFgttksM7T715kHY3FS4Ujhv3T9tvTalGG34zqTRtJLXTk6dqfZq3MnhUnb_KZiqYvcFUjxQIVe6vYwV_ClUGfI_oFW/s1600-h/MatchGame_DCM09.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgof0Iin6qeDEBfnEZwWc6Vmw1fq_wRyct0p-fottLZLVIt2Cx2PVFgttksM7T715kHY3FS4Ujhv3T9tvTalGG34zqTRtJLXTk6dqfZq3MnhUnb_KZiqYvcFUjxQIVe6vYwV_ClUGfI_oFW/s400/MatchGame_DCM09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370799348077762306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The 11th annual sweaty, 72-hour improv fest that is the Del Close Marathon has finally come to an end. My face and feet hurt from all that respective smiling and standing. Big ups to all the performers, especially Ronin Dojo voices <a href="http://www.ucbcomedy.com/talent/view/1270">Tim Martin</a> and <a href="http://www.emilytarver.com/">Emily Tarver</a>. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Speaking of which-</span><br /><br /><object height="259" width="427"><param name="movie" value="http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/embed/9e68180bbd99768dc613f3ce562097db"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/embed/9e68180bbd99768dc613f3ce562097db" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="259" width="427"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Here's a video that was posted a lil' bit ago starring Mr. <a href="http://www.ucbcomedy.com/talent/view/1270">Tim Martin</a> (Seth/Hank Henderson). It's called the <a href="http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/play/4646">Octopus Job</a>; written by Joe Wengert, directed by my favorite improv teddy bear <a href="http://www.willhines.net/">Will Hines</a>, and also starring John Gemberling- whom Matt and I did a little animation for on "Fat Guy Stuck In The Internet". Naaaaaame droppppiiiiinngggggahhhhh. Sorry, I like to pretend I'm part of the scene.<br /><br />And while we're on the subject of other peoples videos, For Tax Reasons will be taking part in a free animation screening this Wednesday in NYC called Midsummer Night Toons.<br /><br /><object center="" align="" height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5924675&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5924675&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />It will feature some sweet animated shorts and several episodes of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwOys7qEhGU&feature=PlayList&p=DEB597E400C65EA6&index=0&playnext=1">Ronin Dojo Community College DX: The Digital Pirates of Dark Water Saga</a>. Check out the above trailer, and come out to watch. Here's the info.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Wednesday, August 19th 2009</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">M1-5 Bar/Longue</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">52 Walker St. (b/w Church + Broadway)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">9:00-9:30</span><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;">Aaaand finally, I finished the poster for <a href="http://www.myspace.com/carlapalooza">Carlapalooza</a>.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/3828487113/sizes/l/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlbg6JO3boe51hwzsGZE5VAXjH0UuRNuVhavtFBcmqUK8pLbwuwO087Mrp4agZbypHGc7o21H5-w6rdmI3FdqauWRdFd8f85kqvMhtZXGXTAoIaB-8xkW-b5uPxXTe9ra8nrs9jPRPIMw/s400/Carlapalooza_2009_Medium.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370792871956055874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">It's a punk benefit for the National MS Society, September 25th-27th in NYC. Lots of sweet bands playing for a good cause.<br /><br />Ok, I'm going to go rehydrate. Tomorrow, the drawing marathon begins.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-45645645320431464562009-08-07T00:29:00.015-05:002009-08-07T02:31:00.292-05:00A Hastily Thrown Together, Vaguely Themed Post<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />"Geology is a study of pressure and time. That's all it really takes, pressure and time. . . that and a goddamn big poster. . ."-- Red, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Shawshank Redemption</span> </span><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;">So here's a quick post about a couple things I've been working on. This is a rough version of the poster for Carlapalooza 2009. It's a punk show Mr. Chadd Derkins puts on to benefit MS. I drew </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/2693214198/in/set-72157606313669148/">the poster for the 2007 show</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and Chadd was nice enough to ask me back.<br /><br />So for this year I</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> decided to run with the battle theme again. Check it out. </span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTfIO6w67H62or2oQMAdu33IpfaG25ooJvpv1Lv-6IAc8_ZLEtUGVT316jQ8ch3QPH4JJRYwESQWYEmByUXjgglTgCV82cAb5af4dsiZLQTRDukKE0gb63Rk53OqsVlu3hkfHu9kkNgFD/s1600-h/Carlapalooza_Rough_001_sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTfIO6w67H62or2oQMAdu33IpfaG25ooJvpv1Lv-6IAc8_ZLEtUGVT316jQ8ch3QPH4JJRYwESQWYEmByUXjgglTgCV82cAb5af4dsiZLQTRDukKE0gb63Rk53OqsVlu3hkfHu9kkNgFD/s400/Carlapalooza_Rough_001_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367091615982314802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Looking a the old poster, I felt like it was a bit flat. I decided this year I should make the angle a bit more dynamic- throw in some perspective. It should be my official motto for 2009- "throw in some perspective". That or "fruit on the bottom". I don't know, I've been eating a lot of yogurt lately.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">The project I've been steadily chipping away at is the Teenage Bottlerocket video. (this is my attempt to stick with this post's theme.</span>)<br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gPzEr3EybowADoIUdl4e02HByQTU2gxUzDzw2ZKlQQxKxCxaXsDXl23gxMwj-PCeBJJ9chWgXMJ77VaQvZrIl6du5e-v-53X4KmLxz4tm3MBRU9B-dAxJyhaDxVg82VP7t1H5amCZL5G/s1600-h/015_rough.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gPzEr3EybowADoIUdl4e02HByQTU2gxUzDzw2ZKlQQxKxCxaXsDXl23gxMwj-PCeBJJ9chWgXMJ77VaQvZrIl6du5e-v-53X4KmLxz4tm3MBRU9B-dAxJyhaDxVg82VP7t1H5amCZL5G/s400/015_rough.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367091413825079938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> One thing I've learned, while making this video, is it's hard to draw hands holding drumsticks. I don't know why, but it's always looks weird when I do it. I think it's the thumb placement.<br /><br />It's double-y frustrating when you have trouble drawing hands. Not only are you failing at something so essential and basic, but you have the perfect reference right in front of you and you still can't figure out where a knuckle should go. Baffling.<br /><br />Something I DO need photo reference for are the dreaded crowd shots.<br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEA_MXejLFpwpmXzsA-evsamU_bQtz6tYR1vkaFWVcIcGbCLjs6zi8ezqK9CuFwR2OHlLdKBv3Km3M1Csbjat5XfEYqs_IGFpdDHmUvVkbOLQv64415J1CGkjNdlZvq4oG6yW20miGS_Oo/s1600-h/008_ROUGH_sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEA_MXejLFpwpmXzsA-evsamU_bQtz6tYR1vkaFWVcIcGbCLjs6zi8ezqK9CuFwR2OHlLdKBv3Km3M1Csbjat5XfEYqs_IGFpdDHmUvVkbOLQv64415J1CGkjNdlZvq4oG6yW20miGS_Oo/s400/008_ROUGH_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367091327803070834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">It's always tough to come up with a bunch of random characters and poses. I usually have to look up some photos from shows and just pick out people from the crowd. Otherwise, I end with these really lame, unimaginative people cluttering up the scene.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Thank goodness for the internet and Flickr though. Because I mean, seriously, how often do you look at a man's crowd shots.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zjVShr1NYCtu7h4dkKPHA99Qn70_TMsQVz1H_mWFiNnmZ-slDjL9cGFEOAhQCfaDVTXpjSWtfov_GvR_0JVR3aYM-oaKE57OmHwW42_fJOxgAi5mcbtrRYi7tMVFzttlqNjSAg6Nsr8h/s1600-h/Shawshank_Discovery.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zjVShr1NYCtu7h4dkKPHA99Qn70_TMsQVz1H_mWFiNnmZ-slDjL9cGFEOAhQCfaDVTXpjSWtfov_GvR_0JVR3aYM-oaKE57OmHwW42_fJOxgAi5mcbtrRYi7tMVFzttlqNjSAg6Nsr8h/s400/Shawshank_Discovery.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367114556796304754" border="0" /></a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-71573424384541274062009-08-03T01:49:00.007-05:002009-08-03T02:40:40.177-05:00Hardly Art, Hardly Garbage<a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/objects/images/merch_images/tom_keeping_the_fire_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 357px;" src="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/objects/images/merch_images/tom_keeping_the_fire_2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">After wrecking my way through 4 silk screens- I now present TWO NEW RONIN DOJO COMMUNITY COLLEGE T-SHIRTS!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The first one is a sweet baby blue number, which you can see Mr. Tom Callow rockin' in the picture above. I don't know if anything else could make that shirt look as cool, outside of a dragon or something. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/objects/images/merch_images/RDCCDX_Blue_CU.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk3Orb5hF3V1MDRSUe-jEuLWL5M7iUY_Ulk4NE90IwcRXwWG88yqm-EWxjLM5KRcI5hgSF1iF4KQQ6MiJNH85ffnPR75pAIWcP1MIAQ8PBJ7JGBAIjooga0Kfrh8NxiaZ67AT33nwf8fC/s400/RDCCDX_Blue_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365632350236159746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The second is a yellow and black on white number, in a very punk rock fashion aka I line all this shit up by hand, so it's got a fun DIY feel to it.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/objects/images/merch_images/RDCCDX_2Color_CU.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3I0IhPkEF-lB-ITO8nOeT0qGzMw2IYX-4aivWKmth4eiOizWkjx7vqKtbJsI8IiUudQlT6G30Ocj2s3n5nfp5Tik86q5s_cmQ91-p8kjq6whT9AVRhYnj6X0k2ScJIJf5fm6ukpkzKzo-/s400/RDCCDX_2Color_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365632517897719266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I don't have a cool picture of someone in this shirt, but feel free to order one and take some picture of yourself in it that challenges the epic-ness of flames and a staff.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Both are hand printed onto American Apparel fine jersey tees. Available in the </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">For Tax Reasons</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> merch section in about every damn size that exists INCLUDING the lady sizes- or "girly" sizes as they're called in the industry. Seems more polite to call them lady sizes though.<br /><br />We're hoping to have some more non-clothing merchandise up soon, but until then go <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">check them out</a>, buy one, and take funny pictures of yourself in it. It'll be sweet.</span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-40477161499002168762009-07-23T22:51:00.013-05:002009-07-24T13:54:43.072-05:00I'll Sleep When I'm Dead<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/3750803959/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 299px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2491/3750803959_78583f12ac.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Still getting over the post-Otakon euphoria/withdrawal. I never went to sleep-away camp when I was young...er, but I assume this is the feeling you get when you leave camp. You're back to reality, your same old routine, and don't get to hang around all your camp friends all day who are dressed up like Street Fighter characters. That's what happens at sleep away camp right? I mean, I went to day camp. I just assumed when you went away for more than one night, dressing up was a pre-requisite.<br /><br />Anyways, several news updates. Firstly, Matt and I have some made some massive <a href="http://www.fortaxreasons.com/">For Tax Reasons</a> plans for the upcoming months. We're hoping to release some merch to fill out our very small selection. Planning to have some posters and a new t-shirt design.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/3751593644_6584efb251.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/3751593644_6584efb251.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">We WOULD have had the new shirts for Otakon- BUT I've been struuuuggling with silk screening lately. Everything that could possibly go wrong in the making of these new shirts has gone wrong. I've gone through 4 screens now. But I'm not giving up! I have put TOO much money into this operation and have too many blank American Apparel shirts that aren't my size.<br /><br />Anyways, we should have new shirts coming up soon.<br /><br />Secondly, I finally joined the Twitter machine. So if you want to see the random thoughts I have as I sit around animating, follow me:<a href="http://www.twitter.com/ben_levin"> twitter.com/ben_levin</a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Finally, I'm back to work on the music video for Teenage Bottlerocket. We've switched things up and I'm now doing a video for their upcoming full-length debut release on Fat Wreck Chords "They Came From The Shadows". It'll be dropping September 15th, which means, I cannot reveal details of the super secret new song that's in the video. But I will give you a peek at the storyboards I just finished today. Check it out.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrg1lz0D1ki3QzypLyuK4MhTpEFmlyGWLE8XHgP2AxagAutTd9f5lQtM6zkm3oHf73gdUQ5KjjQPZTxegC2cWV-z8juWAmaK67ym-0hcc8XMSh1k_FHFGrsF0-3qx3vpmJESJwVef5IVe/s1600-h/TBR_Board_Section.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrg1lz0D1ki3QzypLyuK4MhTpEFmlyGWLE8XHgP2AxagAutTd9f5lQtM6zkm3oHf73gdUQ5KjjQPZTxegC2cWV-z8juWAmaK67ym-0hcc8XMSh1k_FHFGrsF0-3qx3vpmJESJwVef5IVe/s400/TBR_Board_Section.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361883708918821602" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I know, right. Total album spoiler. Ok I'm out, my back hurts.<br /><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-88430557098620679882009-07-17T23:39:00.004-05:002009-07-18T00:40:06.612-05:00Holy Plug Suit Gatchaman! It's the final episode of RDCCDX: DPODW!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/3730777911/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 395px; height: 296px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/3730777911_46c62e929c.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Whew, we just got back from day one of Otakon (day two if you count standing in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/3730777985/">pre reg line Thursday night</a>) and it was awesome!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/3730778961/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 294px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/3730778961_1e53934fcc.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Our panel "Let's Talk Animation! with For Tax Reasons" went off without a hitch, and surprisingly there were more than 10 people in attendance. In fact, the whole room was filled with fans. And they actually wanted to watch each episode of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwOys7qEhGU&feature=PlayList&p=DEB597E400C65EA6&index=0&playnext=1">Ronin Dojo Community College DX: The Digital Pirates of Dark Water Saga</a>. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">We were just thinking we'd premiere the last episode as we'd promised, but they asked for it.<br /><br />So now that the otaku's have seen it, we're throwing it out to the internet. So here it is- the final RDCCDX: Digital Pirates of Dark Water Saga, it's Episode 4: "End of the Road".<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k-jcu9hkFPQ&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k-jcu9hkFPQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="226" width="373"></embed></object><br /><br />Thanks to the Otakon Staff, Panel Ops, and the A/V crew for helping us out and twiddling with the sound each time I annoyingly asked. Thanks to Alan from <a href="http://otakugeneration.libsyn.com/">Otaku Generation</a> and Scott for helping us with the Otakon stuff. Thanks to all the people who came out to the panel and laughed and asked questions. Thanks to Tim Martin to providing hilarious voice acting, Matt Mayer for making some sweet 3-D titles and helping us with compositing, Darrell for coloring and taking photos during the panel and <a href="http://fartaxreasons.blogspot.com/">Zack</a> for video taping the panel and giving us his advice.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3730778745_b886d95abb.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3730778745_b886d95abb.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-25946864049409855272009-07-09T01:04:00.006-05:002009-07-09T01:25:52.731-05:00The Shape of Punk To Come<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PvTwQi24sB8&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PvTwQi24sB8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="226" width="373"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This is a little promo I cut for the For Tax Reasons panel at Otakon, where we'll be discussing DIY animation and screening the final episode in the Digital Pirates of Dark Water story arc. If you're going to be at Otakon here are the panel details.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Let's Talk Animation! with For Tax Reasons</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Friday, July 17th @ 1:15 PM</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Baltimore Convention Center, Panel 2</span><br /><br /></div> <span style="font-family:arial;">As you can see, it's almost a week until Otakon, and we've got roughly 30 or so shots left to finish the cartoon. The countdown is on. If we bust our asses, we can do it. I've been testing out some background colors, here's a rough assemblage of what it's going to look like.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwYKiQ_wtlnSIvyHAVbH94ntaGhi0YHUSV-jYggHEgJZYFEyKzptND5oueCZBbSnY0wZePbdStchznags26H8iuATi5jPdxkalZCZuAc1Ev4UoHi5E_5cFHqczt-xMcTI-yI1C6pVRDcw/s1600-h/Ep_04_001_Rough_Assemble_sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwYKiQ_wtlnSIvyHAVbH94ntaGhi0YHUSV-jYggHEgJZYFEyKzptND5oueCZBbSnY0wZePbdStchznags26H8iuATi5jPdxkalZCZuAc1Ev4UoHi5E_5cFHqczt-xMcTI-yI1C6pVRDcw/s400/Ep_04_001_Rough_Assemble_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356339361101805330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The shot isn't that big, but that's what the whole Photoshop file looks like. Anyways, back to work. I hope people show up for this panel. Not that I mind talking to an empty room, but you know, it always helps you seem not crazy. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-35984702359482245642009-07-03T09:58:00.007-05:002009-07-03T12:36:48.707-05:00RDCCDX: Digital PIrates of Dark Water: Episode 3.5: You Are (Not) Loved<span style="font-family:arial;">Here it is, the second to last installment in the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Ronin Dojo Community College DX: Digital Pirates of Dark Water Saga</span>. It's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6shqKLrxKU"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Episode 3.5: You Are (Not) Loved</span></a>.<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J6shqKLrxKU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J6shqKLrxKU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="226" width="373"></embed></object><br /><br />This is the first of the RDCCDX cartoons produced with our new digital workflow AKA draw directly into the computer on Cintiqs. However it wasn't completely digital. We were still using our old head library, which had originally been drawn in pencil on paper, scanned, and then vectorized</span><span style="font-family:arial;">*</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> in Illustrator. The sharpness of the vectorized lines in the head drawings help match them with the body and background lines drawn with the Cintiq, but they're not as smooth, you can still see a lot of bumps in them.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDOM7oGXAxThr01keGldQHFziZlW3amqOc_O35fmPHcRfJkGGq3c8d658GkTMbw9BWM_UVDMlqvjoGZOCjqm2-QIRolxamzyieo_8KV5Zy-z33sBhsWq6OdBWBmZFnmUl7FhcbKDq4Mda/s1600-h/Vector-Cintiq_Comparison.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDOM7oGXAxThr01keGldQHFziZlW3amqOc_O35fmPHcRfJkGGq3c8d658GkTMbw9BWM_UVDMlqvjoGZOCjqm2-QIRolxamzyieo_8KV5Zy-z33sBhsWq6OdBWBmZFnmUl7FhcbKDq4Mda/s400/Vector-Cintiq_Comparison.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354251495319279762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">If you haven't read my blog before, Matt and I created a library of head positions, mouths and eyes for each character, which we reuse over and over so save drawing time. And even though we had used these head libraries only several months ago, opening them up for this project was a like opening a time capsule. All of the characters looked slightly off model to me, which is a bit strange because there is no official model sheet we have. The heads looked too long, and their features were spread far apart. It's strange how character designs evolve as you slowly progress as an artist, and just evolve with the repetition of drawing them over and over and getting to know them better.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8CNfliI9KD5bJugMdZr1wTclTcl2lMUgroHqIdyG9mFacA0gD_ebTBejq-DtrjrS0cD-jc7lWf-OZpBBfq21bd3mMNCIzff0XQDg654JX6SFL0Le0ZibHW1WhesFt-6I5lI269qOiVNQ/s1600-h/Barry_Head_Comparison.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8CNfliI9KD5bJugMdZr1wTclTcl2lMUgroHqIdyG9mFacA0gD_ebTBejq-DtrjrS0cD-jc7lWf-OZpBBfq21bd3mMNCIzff0XQDg654JX6SFL0Le0ZibHW1WhesFt-6I5lI269qOiVNQ/s400/Barry_Head_Comparison.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354254827020477602" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Shit, looking back on the other episodes I can see the progress Matt and I have made, and I'm a little startled. I would change a lot of things. In Episode 2.5, Jerry's head is should be much bigger, his body look too adult for him. And the backgrounds and perspective are so flat on everything. Oh well, what's done is done. I'm not going to pull some Lucas bullshit and redo them. Only out of laziness though. However if anyone wants to give us tons of money, I'll pull some </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebuild_of_Evangelion">Anno bullshit</a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> and redo them in crazy awesome looking movie form.<br /><br /><br />*if you're confused about what I'm saying when I refer to the vectorizing pencil lines process, read <a href="http://killthecaptains.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-we-animate-part-ii-software-method.html">this</a>.<br /><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-38121890010905931342009-06-29T21:58:00.009-05:002009-06-29T22:39:01.838-05:00We clamour onward and repeat ourselves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRwBbDyUQA5mvjPFObWISR7_6G4StqcwbG3sVmmFKFVSKEIIjC1i-3DPY5NiN53w0S3Z8PINrij7lu2yZdn3hKTO2grbheVD2gf4WpkdqSZSu5ofMFfDZ_bwr7in4uli1909XnO_INATO/s1600-h/Tim_Recording.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRwBbDyUQA5mvjPFObWISR7_6G4StqcwbG3sVmmFKFVSKEIIjC1i-3DPY5NiN53w0S3Z8PINrij7lu2yZdn3hKTO2grbheVD2gf4WpkdqSZSu5ofMFfDZ_bwr7in4uli1909XnO_INATO/s400/Tim_Recording.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352953120256591634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">We recorded the audio for the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Ronin Dojo Community College DX: Digital Pirates of Dark Water Saga Episode 3.5</span> today. There's Tim pouring over the script, intensely- because he's a genius. You can also see my thigh and my forearm in there too- they are also intense.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptU9Nc-l0KQTT4Atu18hI0_O64EBlRn5l7sASDEkDhniMLESSf4qOhSAJiSYea8lI2DJ4EJbdBmGLKJaG5-vpiWIaoG_IC3AamLT71w2-NmRLt4AnyswkfCyN2ryXMPvon5dPLvpAr5K5/s1600-h/RDCCDX_35_Still.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptU9Nc-l0KQTT4Atu18hI0_O64EBlRn5l7sASDEkDhniMLESSf4qOhSAJiSYea8lI2DJ4EJbdBmGLKJaG5-vpiWIaoG_IC3AamLT71w2-NmRLt4AnyswkfCyN2ryXMPvon5dPLvpAr5K5/s400/RDCCDX_35_Still.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352955410652563778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Interestingly enough, this episode takes place in a car with characters- sort of like in my short <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOhwPn8ws1o">She She She She's A Bombshell</a>. Once again, I reprise my role as the annoying dude in the back seat. As you can see in this detailed storyboard, that's my character, Mark, sitting in the back seat. Bombshell was 7 minutes long and took almost a year to make- this episode is 1 minute 40 seconds and we're hoping to make finish it in like three days. The difference is, this time we have the luxory of a head library, Cintiqs, and two sets of hands on the job. It will be an interesting comparison.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So with a freshly cut animatic under our belts we're hoping to have this baby out by Thursday. Should be possible, we just have to stick to our schedules and not do too many extraneous things like oh I dunno, write blog posts.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">I better go.</span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-74064513123987230562009-06-26T00:58:00.007-05:002009-06-26T01:13:22.157-05:00FOR TAX REASONS IS GOING TO OTAKON!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevin/3660840703/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 348px; height: 315px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3660840703_8c2b3f4336.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Yep, you read it correctly in the blog post title. <span style="font-weight: bold;">July 17th - July 19th</span>, Matt and I will be hitting up <a href="http://www.otakon.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Otakon 2009!</span></a> This time, we won't merely be spectators ready to plant their asses in folding chairs for 80+ hours of anime. Nope, this year we'll be hosting a panel!<br /><br />It's going to be called <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Let's Talk Animation! with For Tax Reasons"</span>. We'll be there taking questions and discussing DIY animation; how we do it, how you can do it and how it destroys lives. And to top it all off, we'll be screening the final episode of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwOys7qEhGU&feature=PlayList&p=DEB597E400C65EA6&index=0&playnext=1">Ronin Dojo Community College DX: The Digital Pirates of Dark Water Saga</a>. Which we have yet to animate. . . yeah we're cutting it kind of close.<br /><br />So yeah, I gotta get back to drawing the backgrounds for Episode 3.5, which will be coming out next week. And as soon as we get the exact panel times I'll post them. So if you're going to be at the convention, come to the panel and say hi, or shout derrogatory remarks at us from behind a Trigun cross or something. I dunno, I need to have more recent anime references by July.<br /><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6517982938689913658.post-40181496153988163482009-05-12T00:40:00.012-05:002009-05-12T10:25:20.323-05:00How We Animate: Part II: The Software & The Method<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Exactly three months ago, I had written a long ass blog post, which I never got to post, about the For Tax Reasons animation process. How we went from paper to digital with out the aid of Cintiq's. But then we ended up buying Cintiqs, and our process was turned on it's heads.<br /><br />Anyways, so I'm going to post about our old method, because this is the internet- and the internet is for sharing information, and maybe this can help somebody out who wants to work on paper but still produce a sharp and clean animation.<br /><br />So, with out further ado, the man with a million voices- "How We Animate" Part II. The process of taking animation on paper and putting it into a computer.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >HOW WE ANIMATE(D): PART II: THE SOFTWARE & THE METHOD</span><br /></span></div><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Teh Warez</span><br /><br />These are the programs you'll need.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adobe Photoshop,</span> for scanning, cleaning and coloring<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adobe Bridge/Adobe Illustrator</span>, for cleaning (you're going to need at least version CS2 so you can use the Livetrace tool)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adobe After Effects</span>, for sequencing and compositing everything together<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Cut Pro</span>, for editing together each shot<br /><br />So this software is kind of expensive, but I found <a href="http://thepiratebay.org/">this one website</a> which has some really good discounts on it. So go and check that out if interested in trying out this method.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Step 1: Scanning</span><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUFe9H2VTzwrSScQIN601Vy_dRw1c4T9PNbbZutxFUYCp1u4Z4HokADe6cYv0I0TIs9ahwNiUogBnjMKBCG47k46H8FN_Qde6BU9R8ugJyfNTJTS6_xxsBpNOoJAVK9JWR_tNfPPiV6ju/s1600-h/Scanner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUFe9H2VTzwrSScQIN601Vy_dRw1c4T9PNbbZutxFUYCp1u4Z4HokADe6cYv0I0TIs9ahwNiUogBnjMKBCG47k46H8FN_Qde6BU9R8ugJyfNTJTS6_xxsBpNOoJAVK9JWR_tNfPPiV6ju/s400/Scanner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334829093873244034" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >So first things first, Windex your scanner real good and tape a peg bar to it. This is how you're going to keep all of your drawings registered to one another. Remember, you're going to have to keep that peg bar taped in the same place, and use the same scanning marquee until you finish scanning a shot. So if you need to use your peg bar for something else, like stirring some lentil soup your making- go do that first, and then tape down your peg bar.<br /><br />Do a preview scan and select the area which encompasses the entire shot and maybe a little more. It sucks to scan 80 drawings and then realize the last one is outside of your scaning area. Settings-wise. I suggest scanning everything at at least <span style="font-weight: bold;">300 DPI</span>. It helps keep the detail for the Livetracing step later on, and if you ever decide to zoom in with a camera move things won't look shitty. If there are any level adjustments you can do no the scanner to improve your image go ahead and set them now, but most of your adjusting will be done post scanning.<br /><br />So this is a good chance to introduce <span style="font-weight: bold;">ACTIONS</span>. Actions in Photoshop are going to be a huge help through this entire process. Open your Actions window, and click on the little menu thingy on the upper right hand corner to make a new action. Name your action, and then run through these scanning steps. Photoshop will record your each menu item you choose and everything, and later on, when you "play" the action, it will do everything automatically. Actions are big help for the whole process. So here's the scanning action:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRy919gY01ts5AzEdFqQtsh3RsEuuwse-iRES6V1nIXR9x2KYq7rOM951tpCdBDeg4CqFdE6vGd6BJI3IpnZtxJNoWakxba2V5bxCaPC0vN7ftTnD8HHnhhFtj4Y-DDsgocEI11pmKxb_d/s1600-h/NewAction.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 379px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRy919gY01ts5AzEdFqQtsh3RsEuuwse-iRES6V1nIXR9x2KYq7rOM951tpCdBDeg4CqFdE6vGd6BJI3IpnZtxJNoWakxba2V5bxCaPC0vN7ftTnD8HHnhhFtj4Y-DDsgocEI11pmKxb_d/s400/NewAction.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301953388957945586" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">a.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">File > Import > (Your Scanner Name) TWAIN</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You'll be routed into your scanners own interface, hit Scan. After it imports the image you'll be back in Photoshop.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">b.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Image > Rotate Canvas > 90º Clockwise or Counter Clockwise</span> depending what side of the scanner you're using.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">c.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Double click on the Layer</span> to change it from a locked Background to Layer 0.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">d.</span> Then hit </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span class="mw-headline"><span class="Unicode">⌘</span></span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Shift U</span> to Desaturate the layer- or- Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I do this because I don't need any of the color information, and it just takes up more memory. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">e.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Save your file</span>. Now, to make a Save command appear in an action, you should go to your Actions menu, and select Insert Menu Item. Then choose File > Save.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For you newbies: Save it as a Photoshop file, not a JPEG, which would compress it and not allow for layers.</span><br /><br />Now stop recording by hitting that little square stop button, and you've got your <span style="font-weight: bold;">Scan action</span>.<br /><br />Here's what one of our scans looks like:<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFV0QI2khiLTXFVFduIJHp0Tcv1A18Y3S7ivz-a9GoSsqDKxVXWtpcSBYw3spcBaGVHoPK5meenzN1mwDQWG6M6woo46J7E3hcQtvUIaURiKmkoRO68JNItaSrxOFNEcULpm6Jku5x331/s1600-h/SCAN_EXAMPLE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFV0QI2khiLTXFVFduIJHp0Tcv1A18Y3S7ivz-a9GoSsqDKxVXWtpcSBYw3spcBaGVHoPK5meenzN1mwDQWG6M6woo46J7E3hcQtvUIaURiKmkoRO68JNItaSrxOFNEcULpm6Jku5x331/s400/SCAN_EXAMPLE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334832385460505570" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Step 2: Leveling(sp?)</span><br /><br /></span>So, you've got all your drawings scanned. Preferably in folder labeled Scans, in a sub folder labeled by shot number. I like to keep my raw scans around, just in case I screw something up. Now it's time to make those Scans look a little sharper by leveling them. Duplicate the Scans folder, and rename the copied folder "Clean".<br /><br />It's time to use the Level tool in Photoshop. </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >( </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span class="mw-headline"><span class="Unicode">⌘ L </span></span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >- or - Image > Adjustments > Levels)</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLN5YqM6TgKMN34k3XLd-P_IBgqZ5BSpwtgCJWRZ9Q6nJzhW_4m6vLyTq5ZMjmFurCKBTDJULRBP6x44tOc8hJyB6-9V28GSexUjSrkFpVSpIjDnUTAeFqa24r8vS8dVXx7itY1SVRTQYo/s1600-h/Leveling.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLN5YqM6TgKMN34k3XLd-P_IBgqZ5BSpwtgCJWRZ9Q6nJzhW_4m6vLyTq5ZMjmFurCKBTDJULRBP6x44tOc8hJyB6-9V28GSexUjSrkFpVSpIjDnUTAeFqa24r8vS8dVXx7itY1SVRTQYo/s400/Leveling.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334834437927534802" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Drag the Black and White input arrows back and forth, and try to get the white of the paper to be white and the line to be as black as possible with out crunching the image like this:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8_hlrXuVNvqUBC66KVhKFIukWvos_egzmupO0q-XpsA4qrlHsYkigYAqitBA2wHiAHnPeLkWa_y7nXkJsr1rUPff-5OxAgluE2-CcJE36SmiDeU-cf8kF4gSFCgGzflWj_omfRiWUROs/s1600-h/TooMuchLeveling.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8_hlrXuVNvqUBC66KVhKFIukWvos_egzmupO0q-XpsA4qrlHsYkigYAqitBA2wHiAHnPeLkWa_y7nXkJsr1rUPff-5OxAgluE2-CcJE36SmiDeU-cf8kF4gSFCgGzflWj_omfRiWUROs/s400/TooMuchLeveling.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334836051948815010" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click on the image for the full effect.</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >When you think you've got a decent level which will work for the drawings- <span style="font-weight: bold;">make a Level Action</span> with those settings. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Now you can go to <span style="font-weight: bold;">File > Automate > Batch</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > and you can Batch level a whole folder of Photoshop files using the Action you just made. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKFXlJo3uVXmsGGqlwOnmiREpwvMIgpOcVz4K4IYPPxkyqLR6ZgTY_1GHwf5_29wRbnv2Ct6b9pAu4z-qsqN4LC-eKOumU-DZ-OdjMdADnz4edk_cfLyUMih6cbt1KSFlkbyQ9hLG8upu/s1600-h/LEVEL_EXAMPLE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKFXlJo3uVXmsGGqlwOnmiREpwvMIgpOcVz4K4IYPPxkyqLR6ZgTY_1GHwf5_29wRbnv2Ct6b9pAu4z-qsqN4LC-eKOumU-DZ-OdjMdADnz4edk_cfLyUMih6cbt1KSFlkbyQ9hLG8upu/s400/LEVEL_EXAMPLE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334832385668530370" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Step 3: Cleaning</span><br /><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >This is where things get a little crazy. We're gonna use Bridge and Illustrator to vectorize the lines of your drawing. This is to get rid of the gray half pixels and make your lines more defined and solid black. This will really come in handy when you're at the coloring stage. When you're lines are sharp and solid black, you don't have to waste time zooming in and coloring over white specks by hand. I made <a href="http://killthecaptains.blogspot.com/2008/08/vectorman-aka-bitmaps-versus-vectors.html">a confusing post about this before</a>, but I'll explain it again here.<br /><br />Open up one of your leveled Photoshop files in Illustrator. Select the layer with the image on it, go to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Object > Live Trace > Tracing Options</span>.<br /><br />Click the "Preview" button so that you can watch how Illustrator traces your image as you change the settings. These are two of the settings I use.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This for a more rounded approximation, but smoother line.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii4PYyVwLOYsU9egzPOyTvAOVb3xm5CnI4i3xqaPnMUQNhuHU8RR6brBXjGcVvo_brpe9uo6ix53q6NqGO0YNmMtzQb7j_b4MSj9VxQzV2_WQ-zW3xiGi29KtmX1N8m-p0TcMNcD8Mv7X/s1600-h/Postrace01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii4PYyVwLOYsU9egzPOyTvAOVb3xm5CnI4i3xqaPnMUQNhuHU8RR6brBXjGcVvo_brpe9uo6ix53q6NqGO0YNmMtzQb7j_b4MSj9VxQzV2_WQ-zW3xiGi29KtmX1N8m-p0TcMNcD8Mv7X/s400/Postrace01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301976013855824370" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">And this for a closer match to your pencil line, but rougher.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQv5ZEVgK5D0sxDDR5L39dA9P6xpVK6VCQJ_PJ_SJK848VwU_9x8ytVVLOamIy1znrNPvY4Oornz9ZZl2MXf9Niqm4WhvyRFBPUVswrxQUZEsBuUdicPSiyg3cFLMLoum3uudzeziYAAQH/s1600-h/closerlivetrace01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQv5ZEVgK5D0sxDDR5L39dA9P6xpVK6VCQJ_PJ_SJK848VwU_9x8ytVVLOamIy1znrNPvY4Oornz9ZZl2MXf9Niqm4WhvyRFBPUVswrxQUZEsBuUdicPSiyg3cFLMLoum3uudzeziYAAQH/s400/closerlivetrace01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301975216367804594" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >You might have to tweak these settings to fit how you're drawings look. It's not perfect, but it really helps the quality of your final image, at the sacrifice of some details. Like these little Flash looking lines the computer makes.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisw2h7khVqD8t9h5s4p6N6qUsHHu0nl8voJr9WT-ooxfur9wwektAg6o-Hhvb1fbhoUCSLdTVJOw912Dl3S8NXXqcClBlfdlrt44yix8Ohy88-9o7jmNqjoN-nUFPpfssUYwkhzWuqiH9U/s1600-h/LIVETRACED_CU.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisw2h7khVqD8t9h5s4p6N6qUsHHu0nl8voJr9WT-ooxfur9wwektAg6o-Hhvb1fbhoUCSLdTVJOw912Dl3S8NXXqcClBlfdlrt44yix8Ohy88-9o7jmNqjoN-nUFPpfssUYwkhzWuqiH9U/s400/LIVETRACED_CU.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334832391979788018" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Once you've figured out a setting which works with your scans. Open up Bridge. Select your Clean folder. Go to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tools > Illustrator > Livetrace</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipZqoJapi9t70EigS6UASHF8XHzgYqOkELKn91msqn-rOGEfapH38c0lQ1iQHoZWWK226LO2NA0TaHG8O6lUCrMval1Nq6VNJ1VbNGYdyWoDo0vBqVQNAG2Bvq6oZyhI0XIvmZAXWoDGA/s1600-h/LiveTraceTool.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipZqoJapi9t70EigS6UASHF8XHzgYqOkELKn91msqn-rOGEfapH38c0lQ1iQHoZWWK226LO2NA0TaHG8O6lUCrMval1Nq6VNJ1VbNGYdyWoDo0vBqVQNAG2Bvq6oZyhI0XIvmZAXWoDGA/s400/LiveTraceTool.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301976724834054994" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Select your Preset, Basic RGB and Choose your Destination.<br /><br />And BOOM Bridge will Livetrace the whole folder for you. See, not that hard.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihP0sQ_dYOZJth3haAmIB7UkC1pnAcgX6uafl3zQoDzkjD3Fyrepp_dTGkcgJw2c-cvgOIidcNhgI7qx3RkY8z_eyyQZwtsLq8V-sHri8HMT5qAQL5A5mnzTa7174fqKee2LpFf5a0WkvS/s1600-h/LIVETRACED_EXAMPLE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihP0sQ_dYOZJth3haAmIB7UkC1pnAcgX6uafl3zQoDzkjD3Fyrepp_dTGkcgJw2c-cvgOIidcNhgI7qx3RkY8z_eyyQZwtsLq8V-sHri8HMT5qAQL5A5mnzTa7174fqKee2LpFf5a0WkvS/s400/LIVETRACED_EXAMPLE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334832391251046770" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Step 4: Almost Coloring</span><br /></span><br />Now you've got a Clean folder full of AI (Illustrator) and PSD (Photoshop) files. Copy those AI files into a new folder called "COLOR". You're going to <span style="font-weight: bold;">bring these Illustrator files BACK into Photoshop</span> to color them.<br /><br />Open up Photoshop and import the .ai files. Make sure you're importing at atleast <span style="font-weight: bold;">300 DPI</span>, and using the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Media Box</span>, not the Bounding Box as your selection area. I dunno, Illustrator is weird with it's boxes. Sometimes you also have to rotate your page set ups in Illustrator too if things are like coming in tall ways and they should be wide ways. You'll figure it out.<br /><br />Save, these new PSD's. These are what you're going to color and stuff. But coloring of course is another post, because this one is all ready way too long.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE END FOR NOW</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So, that was our process for getting a scanned drawing to have a clean sharp line for easy and quasi-professional looking color. This was our work around for both: not having the skillset for drawing directly into the computer using Wacom tablets, and not having the advantage of the more expensive Cintiq, where you can draw directly onto the screen. In some upcoming posts I'll talk about how we color, and how it's been working on Cintiqs. Until then, I'm gonna shut the fuck up cuz this is way too much writing.<br /></span></div></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906126479179213489noreply@blogger.com9