Secondlina's Panels

As usual, December started and the money is a bit low. A combination of Christmas gifts (Yaaay), medical stuff (boooo) and taxes (aw man) have truly drained my bank account. I also wanted new boots because my feet are always cold, and that took a chunk (but the boots are amazing! I will never want for shoes again...) I just got paid for some illustration work. It's gonna go back up. I prefer to be low and get awesome gifts for all my friends. I still have money for food, rent, internet and Superhero movies, so i'm good. This made me think of all the people who have rotten Decembers because just the money require for rent, heating and food is putting such a strain on them.

So I took a little bit of the little bit I had, and donated. We have a thing at the bookstore, it's a book donation. They have it in all the bookstores in Quebec. It's basically - people donate a book, and it's sent as a present to a kid in a family in need. Books are still luxuries in this day and age (and public libraries are inestimable treasures for knowledge). The donated books are NEW. People buy the book at the store, and then place it in the box with a note or a drawing. If I have enough money by the end of the month, I want to donate another one. A really good one. With an epic story. and i'm going to make an awesome drawing to donate with it.

Hey, as anybody heard about the time capsule apartment? There's this apartment in Paris that has stayed untouched since WWII. I find this sort of thing fascinating....

A tiny Rise of the Guardians fanart has been doodled, as promised...

And by tiny, I mean look at them cuties.



Yesterday, I managed to finish the cover for Namesake's book two. now i'm working on the bonus story. So far so good! I have less time to do random art, but hey, such is life. The weather really makes me want to draw some Snow Queen inspired art.

That is all for now!

-Isa

 The trailers for Kung Fu panda 2 and Puss and Boots are now available online (click on the name to see the videos). I have no idea how good these movies are going to be, story-wise. I'm hoping they will rock. Then again, I like Dreamworks and their films, so i'll probably be happy with the result. And you really can't trust a trailer. However, I can honestly say that visually these movies look stunning. I mean, WOW. Especially Kung Fu panda. The colros, the fur, the fabrics. DAMN.

I also hope they will reference the original fairy tale in the Puss in Boots movie. Just... Because.

- Isa

 


So yes, as this comic puts it, the exterminator never showed up. They canceled on us. 

The bedbug situation is currently this : Link and I cleaned everything we owned, thoroughly, and packed it all away in plastic bags to prevent bedbugs from going in the cleaned stuff. We also vacuumed, bleached, scrubbed and generally exuded cleaning revenge upon the little critters. Basically we did all (and then some) of the things listed on the document given to us that needed to be done BEFORE the exterminator showed up and sprayed the floor with deadly poison. And he NEVER DID.

He re-scheduled on Tuesday. So now everything we own has to stay in boxes and bags until then, because if bedbugs get int here, we pretty much have to start over. 

This situation is honestly ANNOYING. Those who know me well know I much I love being in boxes/suitcases/etc. It realyl plays on my nerves. So i,m having a bit of trouble concentrating. 

I did draw a bit, mostly sketches I won't finish because there's always a little detail that bugs me. This time : MEGAMIND!



Click for bigger version on deviant art. 

Aw, yeah. I bet he has an anti-bedbug gun. That he invented as a child. Because he feared the nursery rhyme.

- Isa

Animated features should unite....to beat Harry Potter!

As said yesterday, i'm going to be gone all weekend. I probably won't get to check Lj posts. So, if you can't reach me all weekend, that's why! don't do anything interesting without me (like taking over the internet!)

Oddly enough, one Deviant art again (and here) my art got compared to Dr Seuss once more. I really need to go check out Dr Seuss' books. I mean, i've seen the "Grinch" animated movie, which is kinda like Seuss' style but I don't see a resemblance. Maybe i'll see it more when I check out he books?

In other news - Link finally got an interview for a position in a video game company! I'm also applying to positions in other video game companies for 2D artists. Wish us luck. I'm making a tiny portfolio on "carbonmade" for the occasion.

Oh gosh, I watched the Nostalgia critic's two videos on top 11 Christmas specials (so 22 films, really). I got hit by such a wave of Nostalgia. Man! Some of my favorites were "Frosty the Snowman" and the Muppet's Christmas carol and Garfield's Christmas movie. The critic had also included South Park's "Critters Christmas". That made me laughs. That's a South Park episode I never tired of.

Yeah, I watch South Park. It's one of my guilty pleasures! I didn't actually like the show in it's first 5 seasons (when it relied on toilet humor). Nowadays, it's more of a social critique geared at mocking society and offending pretty much every social group in existence. It's cruel, rude satirical fun. I know a lot of you aren't into shows like that. But I really like this one. I'm really amused by the latest storyline with the kids dressing up as superheroes. That was hilarious!

Gark. I posted almost everyday this week. Yet, I drew no comics, neither for Namesake or here. I really gotta concentrate on comic-making. I'm such a fickle artist. Boooooo.

- Isa

 

Just a little sketch of Princess Serenity from Sailor Moon. Inspired by the "Tangled" art book.

You guys "Tangled" comes out sooooon!!!!

This is SUCH a good year for animation. And with Ghibli's new feature "Arietty the Borrower" coming out in December, it's just going to get better. I just can't wait for this movie too. I love stories with "little people". And I love the Borrowers. And Ghibli. 

In a somewhat related note, i'm kinda getting tired of all the Dreamworks bashing. It's no secret that I adored Megamind. However, upon reading reviews of the movie online, I felt like the negative reviews were written by people that may have not have seen the movie at all. For starters, they got major plot points fully wrong. And also, almost all these reviews opened with the line "Dreamworks sucks". 

Personally, I love a TON of Dreamworks movies. All the Shreks minus the third, How to Train your Dragon, Megamind, Prince of Egypt, Road to El Dorado, Antz, all feature among my favorite movies. Yeah, it's true, Dreamworks does seem to be very different from Disney. They have more "pop" references and have animation that seems to speak more to teens and adults then children. But is that really deserving of so much aggressive reviews? Even "How to Train your dragon" reviews opened with the line "Look, Dreamworks stopped sucking!" I found that wasn't fair. It's a good studio. Their work is just different. Not all animation companies can produce the same thing. Disney has the heartwarming. Dreamworks has the zany. And sometimes, they trade (Darkwing duck anyone?). Dreamworks are learning to be more subtle in their style (Megamind's pop culture references were very fitting of the character and story). So people really should give it more of a chance and stop dismissing it just because "It's Dreamworks". I'm sorry, but not being Disney should not be a crime.  So they had a few flops. So did Disney. The only flop-free studio seems to be Pixar. For now. Critics have been pretty harsh on Disney lately too (Bolt and The Princess and the Frog got ripped the shreds) but never on the grounds that they were a specific studio.

Little joke to conclude - You know how everybody jokes that Dreamwork's M.O. is to have critters do something critters that do something critters don't do? Well, the new M.O. seems to be "Gadgeteer genius switches sides, has a scaly companion, defeat something big and powerful and gets the girl while learning to be himself". This fits both Hiccup and Megamind. New trend? Perhaps.

- Isa

 Okay. MEGAMIND REVIEW!

The non spoilery part :

Well, I loved it. I feel this movie exists in the same unvierse as The Incredibles, Dr. Horrible and Despicable me. It's not the best movie of the yeah, but it has a nice mix of humor. It's a storyline similar to the Incredibles (in the sense that it subverts then confirms and plays with various superhero tropes) but with a bit more goofyness. The goofyness mostly comes from Megamind himself who is flamboyant and fun and has what I think is the BEST ANIMATED SMILE EVER. His smile is adorable and hilarious and wonderfully natural. Plus I have a thing for goody-two-shoe villains, i'm quite happy. So yeah. Good movie. I don't think it tops How to Train your Dragon, but it's still in the same vein. Most of the humor is based on wacky body movement and language and witty dialog. So I had fun.

Also, good god, so much leather.

The movie had an interesting storyline, but it wasn't unpredictable. Like Megamind himself, it's good old predictable villainery. However, the different twists and turn to get to the classical points in the movie that are interesting. It's kinda like the movie is a weird baseball game. They hit all the usual bases, but they do wacky and intricate backflips instead of running to one or another in a straight line. The way the story is told is really interesting too. Basically, you kinda expect where the movie is going, but the ride to get there is the original part. And I find that often makes the best stories. Familiar yet twisty.

My favorite part is how they decided to open with the ending. Very interesting storytelling choice.

And now for mild spoilers and spoiler-ish art :

( Mild spoilers. Read if you've seen it, or if you're going like... tomorrow )





Oh. Stay after the animated credits. Little spoof visible there.

And I must say : teen Megamind is the cutest thing ever. End of story. 

And the music is by Hans Zimmer, so officially chock full of epic.

ALSO "BAD TO THE BONE" PLAYS. This had me rolling in my seat, laughing.
- Isa

 

Just a little "How to train your dragon" fanart to end the week on a high note. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, aka them twins. Ruff is a bit girlier then I wanted her to be, but I love the inking, so i'm just going with it.

I moved stuff today. My workplace was moving from one office to another bigger and better office in the same building, but we still had to move stuff for most of the day. I ending up doing my actual job from like 3 to 5 pm. I left pretty tired. And glad to be going home.

Tomorrow, my extended family is visiting me. It's pretty rare. Back when I was a kid, I saw my extended family about 5 times per year because they lived so far. I don't have a really close relationship with them, but i'm still happy they are visiting.

And free time will obviously be dedicated to drawing Namesake paaaages. I'm having way to much fun drawing these.

I finished reading Castle Waiting yesterday. OMG. That comic. It's crazy. It reminds me of the epic that is BONE. Because of the black and white art and the incredible backgrounds and expressions. The whole thing is a huge fairy tale mockery bonanza. I love it. I really should thank my friend Sandra for lending it to me. We keep leading comics to each other. Been a while since I spoke to her though. I almost feel like I should make a list to make sure I keep track of people. Ack.

Busy life, heh?

-Isa