thee anticonnor: Caterwail's Diary - offset

My Pathfinder rpg partner Connor made a diary for his character as well. You can check it out here:



thee anticonnor: Caterwail's Diary - offset: "Adventurer's Journal of Caterwail - Day 1 Let me preface that I am quite sure that my memoirs will be edited for posterity's sake (to prese..."

Gjorn's Diary entry

My beloved diary. You won't believe what happened to me today. I was strolling around Nirmathas and came across an opportunity. I was told there were missing dead bodies in the wilderness. I could not pass the opportunity up and went along with a bard, elf, and human thing. Then, the most unthinkable event happened my dear diary - you won't believe it!

Wolves attacked us in our search! They were monstrous beasts! I've never encountered wolves of this kind of sturdy. The spells Aunt Vera taught me paid off however, and this helped in killing the wolves. The bard and elf seemed very confident. It was as if they were toying with the wolves. I do believe the bard even sang during this stressful time. Interesting indeed. What other secrets does this land offer? Only death and time will tell.

I examined the wolves closer once their dead bodies lay on the ground. I have to admit, these wolves were nothing special. I must have been imagining the possibilities in combat and gave these wolves much more credit than the deserve!

Okay, I'm bored now. Off to find the missing bodies.

-Gyorn

Gyorn The Travelling Gnome Sorcerer

A friend of mine started a Pathfinder game once a week and I'll be joing him as a player. Pathfinder is somewhat like Dungeons and Dragons but operates under an open game license.

I was asked to create a character to play as and this is what I've come up with: Gyorn The Travelling Gnome Sorcerer. Gyorn comes from a family of morticians and has a fascination with the dead....especially reanimating them in undead form. Because of this nature Gyorn is perceived of not necessarily being pure of heart, however he is not hellbent on dominating the world with undead skeleton warriors. He is much too lazy for that.

Every once in awhile I'll try to chronicle his exploits here to entertain you. Don't be shocked if he dies...a lot.

Hiatus?

Hiatus? Well, I suppose so. I think it's a combination of being busy and getting obsessed with staying up too late the past few weeks. My folks were in town when I disappeared for this stretch and I was enjoying home cooked meals. I was also obsessing over Castlevania which also took some time away from sketching late at night. Admittedly, there may have been a bit of "sketcher's block" mixed in. If anything the time off has allowed me to recharge and I plan to get back to sketching this weekend. I'll catch up with you folks later.

Classic Villain: The Mummy

Halloween can't be Halloween without a Mummy shuffling around. Hmmm... I wonder if The Mummy can (and will) be upgraded?

Villain Stream returns

Live Stream for October 15th

Ustream has returned

By sheer luck I remembered my password. I'll set up a stream- maybe tomorrow morning.

Classic Villain:The Wolfman

Since we are in Halloween month I figure this would be a good time to reminisce about classic villains. I thought I'd sketch The Wolfman today. Lately I've noticed werewolves in games, movies, and pop culture gravitate towards the lycan style (longer nose, more wolf than human etc.). I have no idea if there is an actual "lycan style", but hopefully that makes sense. I thought I would go with the "Wolfman" style - more human than wolf. Yep, I made up "wolfman style" just now as well.

I always liked the black and white Wolfman as a kid, and wanted to sketch something closer to that, it also appears the remake favors the classic visuals of the original movie as well. One of these days I'll have to netflix it.

I wanted to spend more time on the sketch but I have to get to work. Oh well, I'll put up what I have.

Birthday Beast "Jamnar Steenx"

Steenx likes to show up at birthday parties unannounced and uninvited. She usually steals the scene from deserving birthday boys and girls with her obnoxious behavior. She also acts clumsy for comedy relief. Plus, she's really stinky.

By the time she leaves a path of destruction lies behind her. This ultimately ruins the party leaving the birthday boy or girl on clean up duty.

This birthday beast is for my sister. Happy Birthday!

In Utah

I decided to fly into Utah last minute to celebrate my sister's birthday. Shhh, it's a surprise.

Jambi The Black Cat With Thermal Goggles

Jambi The Black Cat loves to scare humans and play on their superstitions. He is always on the lookout for new ways to walk in front of unsuspecting victims to bring them bad luck. Today he has discovered thermal goggles. He can now detect heat signatures from a great distance so he can plan his attack. Be vigilant.

Ustream login problems

I've run into a few snags. This is a major bummer. I'll repost a new time later when I get this fixed.

Live Sketch tonight at 4:30pm pacific time

I'll attempt another villain tonight. Feel free to stop by.

Scare Crows

Ole' Man Farmer Butterfield was in for a shock one fateful October evening...

They learned. The crows learned. The crows adopted the same fear tactic used on them for years and assimilated it.

Ole' Man Farmer Butterfield clutched his rifle loaded with salt pellets tight to his chest. Fear began to engulf him and he understood. The inevitable was coming that chilly night.

Reminder to my Gamer Friends...

Ok, I' going to get nerdy and fanboyish today.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow comes out next week for Ps3 and Xbox. To celebrate the occasion I decided to draw a "Hunchback". People who played the original Castlevania will understand why I drew a hunchback as a villain today. Nothing caused more swearing at the screen than seeing one of these guys bouncing around with their erratic pattern on top of Simon's head.

I can't wait to swear again. Mine's on pre-order.

King Size Dread

There once was a ruler known as King Dread. As his name implied he was dreadful to his subjects and often pointed and laughed at peasants in particular.

One of his favorite things to do was nap in beds. He would often barge into a person's house, sleep in a bed he deemed fit for a king, and then leave an unmade bed behind without a thank you. Many subjects were distraught by this and even cried.

One day King Dread was wandering in the forbidden, haunted mystical forest and came across a witch's house. He kicked the old hag out and took a nap on her bed. When he awoke he emerged from the house refreshed. Much to the witch's dismay her bed was unmade. "Curse you King Dread, from this moment on you will never find a bed that suits you!"

POOF! was the only sound heard as the witch zapped him. What emerged was scary indeed. King Dread's body was changed to stone to king sized proportions. After smashing the witch's house he has since wandered the land searching for a bed fit for a king.

Birthday Beast "Benny"

Birthday Beast "Benny" shows up to birthday parties and gnaws on presents. He's teething.

Happy belated birthday to my nephew Tejas! This drawing is for him.

Live Feed tonight @ 8:30(ish) pacific

I'll be doing another live feed tonight around 8:30 pm pacific time. I wanted to try a night feed this time.

Weight Scale Scoundrel

Weight Scale Scoundrel loves to stay in shape and workout. He also wants to discourage all competition from keeping up with him. He places his weight on scales of anybody wanting to see their weight loss in hopes of discouraging them. I swore he visited me the other day.

First sketch to go "live" tomorrow

I'll aim to broadcast on my channel at 7:30 AM pacific time. This will be tomorrow, Tuesday September 21st.

Here is the broadcast channel:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jimbostreams


Yeah I understand, that's a little early, so if you can't make it you can always watch the archive. Tell your east coast friends and they can give you a review if you can't wake up.

Who will the villain be? Stay tuned...

Villain of The Day's first live stream

Well, I did my first first broadcast today. My broadcasting skills need a lot of work to say the least. However, I might as well start somewhere. Some things I'll research is the video quality. I wasn't thrilled with the end result and I'm guessing there is a way to improve on it. My mumbling through the video isn't helping either. Hope some of you get a good laugh at my incoherence at least.

As I figure out a working model for this I'll try to give out an advance message on facebook, here, etc.

Visit here for the video, (try to ignore my reading of the instructions at the beginning, sigh):

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9688097

Researching...

Hi folks. I'm going to "attempt" to sketch a drawing live soon. I was talking to my friend Corey about it, and he was selling me on Ustream. If I end up setting something up you folks will be the first to know.

Sneak Attack Turtle With Dynamite

The boxing glove didn't work. He's trying dynamite now. No one will see her coming.

The Wrinkler

Sometimes when I get a load of nice, clean clothes from the wash I like to let them pile up on the floor as a special reward to myself. By the next morning as I hurry to work I pick up a shirt from the same pile only to discover how insanely wrinkled it is! This is the work of The Wrinkler.

The Wrinkler can transport to different piles of clothes from any house, any neighborhood, and any country. It knows no bounds. I've seen its work all over. If you have a pile of clothes in your house, it will find a way. You have been warned. Curse you Wrinkler. Curse you.

In Utah

I'll post when I get a chance. I'm in Utah celebrating my nephew's 1st birthday!

Polarbear Flamethrower

Polarbear Flamethrower is mad at the society. He used to sit and ponder about different ways of taking over the world. Unfortunately there is little one can do living in the Arctic.

Then one day he discovered a flamethrower encased in ice. The wheels of evil thoughts began to spin in his mind. He now burns off chunks of icebergs sending them to civilizations as harbingers of doom.

Starcraft 2. That's where I've been.

I'll return to more villainy starting tomorrow. Over labor day weekend I got obsessed with Starcraft 2 and disappeared into a protoss warp prism. What I find frustrating is the game itself is just okay. But they put these damn achievements in there that I just had to get. I actually lost sleep happily trying to get those.

Arguably, the biggest strength in Starcraft was their multiplayer function delivered through their Battlenet servers. Unfortunately, this has been utterly destroyed in Starcraft 2 with "Battlenet 2.0"... In my opinion this puts the longevity of Starcraft 2 in doubt. I suppose I found a villain today after all.

Left Sock Sally

Left Sock Sally is the villain who steals our left socks out of the wash. It is some kind of twisted hobby for her I guess.

Special thanks to Corey Vuelta for this villainous idea

Honkosaurus

Little is known about this rare dinosaur. Honkosaurus couldn't eat meat or plants. He honked to let the other dinosaurs know about it.

Beer guzzler

Sometimes after falling asleep on the couch I'll place my slightly sipped beer on my dinner tray. The next morning I tend to wake up sipping the hoppy barliness of room temperature beer. (It's morning, I don't know any better.)

Then shock sets in. My beer bottles are empty. The beer guzzler has struck again during my slumber. I must be vigilant.

Tree Hugger

Tree Hugger frolics through the forest hugging anybody she can see, preventing any work from being done.

Dr. Drool

Dr. Drool wanders the countryside drooling people into submission to do his will. He has yet to be arrested.

Armstrong T-Rex

I got tired of seeing my beloved T-rex dinos pushed aside for what passes to be "stronger" and more "bad assier" villains. Jurassic Park 3 was guilty of this as well as King Kong. In both cases I was rooting for the T-Rex. Is this all because T-Rexs have puny arms? Well, I had my T-Rex go to the gym. Behold, Armstrong T-Rex. This T-Rex will never be "strong armed" on screen. Let's see what happens when King Kong takes Armstrong in an arm wrestling contest for starters. FOOLS!

Soggy Cereal Dampener

Sometimes when I enjoy my Capn' Crunch with Crunch Berries I dance around my apartment with joy. Upon returning I usually find my cereal soggy with a lack of crunch. The Soggy Cereal Dampener has struck again. He sneaks up to unsuspecting cereal bowls and applies more milk. This is easier for digestion since he has an organic straw for a mouth.

The Armchair Schemer

He sits in his armchair all day pointing out the flaws of failed villainous plans on tv. He also comes up with his own nefarious plans (based on tv) and does nothing about it. Lucky for us.

Cows That Didn't Jump Over The Moon

Everyone knows about the success of how the cow jumped over the moon. No one ever talks about the number of cows that have tried and failed. Believe me, they are up there. Bitter with defeat they want nothing more than to destroy our planet. Using space debris they are formulating a plan.

BullPucky

He cheats at hockey.

Seriously Mad Cow

Annabelle is not the average mad cow. She is seriously mad. She waits and waits, daring any passerby to ask her what her problem is. By the way, she's from Jersey.

Upgraded Villain: Minotaur with cell phone GPS and sports drink

It always bugged me how the Minotaur was stuck in the labyrinth. It wasn't his fault his mom tricked the Cretan bull into copulating with her in a mechanical cow suit. On top of that they keep him in a maze to keep him confused.

Now it seems like a bunch of punks go down to his pad, tease him and/or kill him, and run away laughing just because he exists.

No more.

I've upgraded him with a sports bottle and GPS phone. He'll never get lost again. I also gave him workout clothes. Air Jordan shorts will make him feel like a winner.

Bina The Boring Buffalo

I wanted to let you know that boring buffalo enjoy traveling in herds. Keep your eye out. Bina hates wine but drinks it anyways. She slowly grazes from conversation to conversation blinking occasionally. Bishr and Bina are dating.

Bishr the Boring Buffalo

Bishr the Boring Buffalo attends social events and activities with the intention of "boring" it up. He usually has little or nothing to say or add to a conversation. He wanders from conversation to conversation simply to stare and ruin any participants' fun.

Pterrible Pteranodon

Pterrible Pteranodon was instrumental in prolonging the great fires of the Cretaceous period. Instead of using his water balloons for good, he would drop the balloons on the unsuspecting heads of dino citizens below. His senseless pranks may have played a hand in ultimate dinosaur extinction.

Bad Breath Bear

Henrietta The Bad Breath Bear hates friends. If she made any she would have to share. She has perfected her defensive mechanism to thwart friendship.

Vera The Vegetarian Vulture

Vera took a controversial stance against the vulture community. She got tired of eating meat. Because of this she never helps to clean the landscape of dead carcasses making other vultures work harder. She likes broccoli.

Martini Hyeni

Martini Hyeni is not a typical hyena. He never laughs. Ever.

Noticing that he did not get along with his hyena brethren he turned his attention to a local hipster bar. Donning a turtleneck he infiltrated the bar and sampled his first martini. He never looked back. He changed the last letter of his hyena name to rhyme with his favorite drink.

Martini Hyeni can be found at various hipster bars in the city. Since he has a permanent look of seriousness he rarely has trouble fitting in. His goal is to never laugh at any joke that comes his way. He ruins the confidence of comedians everywhere. He also carries a man purse.

Thudian and Mundoose Episode 2: Mundoose smelling his armpit

I decided to switch gears today to give the 4 fans of Thudian and Mundoose a peek at some production drawing. These drawings center on Mundoose checking his "freshness" by smelling his armpit. When Huge Suj, Head Writer of Thudian and Mundoose, scripted this sequence I laughed out loud. When Abua Braham, Lead Voice Actor of Thudian and Mundoose, delivered the lines I laughed out loud once again. As I crudely translated these talents to visual form I'm hoping many people will laugh out loud. Only time will tell. Perhaps I'll distribute dollar bills out and buy some laughs.

ROUND 1....FIGHT!:

I had two choices when I got to this sequence (which is common in this production).

One choice was to "act" with what I have in the Thudian and Mundoose archive and keep going forward -or- Visit the realm of the unknown and come up with something from scratch. The perils of going the archive route is knowing that I don't have the right drawings and try to "just get by". I felt this sequence needed more than just archive drawings. The problem with going "from scratch" is not knowing the outcome as well as potentially impacting deadlines. In the end I said "bah! This sequence needs the right drawings!" The crows outside agreed.

This drawing above was wrong on a few fronts but got the idea rolling. From the underlay image of Thudian I could see some potential visual conflicts with Mundoose invading Thudian's space. There are too many lines fighting abstractly with each other that could diminish Mundoose's action. I liked Mundoose's expression and line of action, but I'd have to experiment. This lead to....


ROUND 2....FIGHT!:

Round 2 had the same problems as Round 1. However, the most important action is not obscured. Mundoose is easier to see sniffing his armpit compared to Round 1. Sold!

Once I'm happy with a drawing it needs to go through a clean up and color phase for animation. This is considered...


ROUND 3...FIGHT!:



Round 3 provides the results suitable for animation which usually goes twelve rounds. That story is for another blog entry. Finally, I'm sure many of you are wondering if Mundoose passed his freshness check. The sketch below should help with the confirmation.

ROUND 1(again)...FIGHT:

Deceptive Transcriber Alternate Version

There are a few Deceptive Transcribers out there that I want you to be aware of. This version encourages people to est more by deceiving them. He wants company.

Deceptive Transcriber

I'm on a diet (somewhat). Since injuring my knee I've been watching my calorie intake to offset my inactivity. Enjoying the finer things in life like Chips Ahoy! and Twix bars is a luxury at best. The other day while at work I decided to go the vending machine to find something to munch on.

I marveled at the choices. "Twix? No, that has 150 caloriesish! Man, Twix bars are the best! Sigh." I said aloud to myself and to the ants on the ground hidden in the grass. People in the vicinity hurriedly walked away.

Then, through the machine glass I saw it:




"100 calories in this bag of goodness? Awesome! What a wonderful find!" I said as I purchased the treasure, walking away happily through the grass. I started munching with glee and pride. "What a wonderful, healthy find!" I said with a mouthful. Then I turned the package around and saw this:



Servings per container....2? That means 200 calories!? I'm holding a tiny bag of crackers and somehow this is two servings!?? Two servings for who? Pesky skinny elves who live in a haunted magical forest? I could've had my Twix!!! It would've been much healthier.

"Who could have done this?" I cried with tears welling in my eyes. Then the realization kicked in. "CURSE YOU DECEPTIVE TRANSRIBER!" as I shook my fist to the heavens.

The Deceptive Transcriber wanders the land writing deceptive formulas on innocent corporate packaging. He is obsessed with being the skinniest transcriber on earth and will stop at nothing to keep it that way. I must be vigilant.

Magapede

Magapede is locked in constant battle with Bookworm. He insists on reading magazines. He loves the articles.

Sneak Attack Turtle With Punching Glove

This guy is a jerk. He sneaks up behind victims and slowly nudges them with his punching glove.

High Slacks Pete

Pete was just an average guy... until one morning he pulled his slacks up too high disfiguring him for life. Pete turned to a life of crime and became a part of the seedy underworld. He wields a gun and and scimitar to show he means business.

Gus The Angry Gussied Up Penguin

Gus hates being forced to wear a suit everyday. He takes his anger out on other penguins by bonking them on the head with his cane. I regret giving him a top hat. I'll draw him again someday.

Grilled Cheese Masher

He runs from town to town smashing unsuspecting victims between slices of grilled cheese sandwiches. He wears a loin cloth.

Chaos Chameleon

This is one of those "non villain" entries. I figured I would end the week with Chaos Chameleon. His comic is meant to be derivative and cliche' filled. Chaos himself is a bit of a mystery and oddball. He fights crime because it's there (and there isn't much else going on in the town of Dry Gulp, his stomping grounds).