Artist Block
I had my first case of artist block over the past few days. I had to do a cover for my DC sample involving Batman and Poison Ivy and I couldn't come up with anything! I knew I wanted to do something iconic, but somethign that told a little story nonetheless.Basically, the story involved Batman, Poison Ivy (possibly), and a buncha gold bars.My first idea involved Ivy and Bats battling on a golden tree. Could've been interesting, but I couldn't come up with a specific angle or concept. Plus, I tried making some studies, and a golden tree isn't the easiest thing to do!Then I thought about another idea, with Ivy standing over the Bat costume, but with flowers and leaves sticking out of the holes. Sort of going in with a Kelley Jones vibe. In the end though, I thought that approach might be a bit too misleading.So in the ed, I went with something far simpler. Ivy in the foreground, with a few gold bars strewn about. And Bats in the bg, tied to a cactus (ouch!). Here's how it turned out:
Double Feature
Generally speaking, I'm not that much into watching movies. I find them a bit dull, because you just sit there and take information in. I'd really rather play games, or just come up with my own images (in my head, of course). If anything, I watch movies for the social experience of it all-- hanging out with friends and such.So its a little bit of an oddity that I've seen two movies in the past two days.The first was Stealth, a new action picture starring Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, and the dude from the Hulk (somethin' Lucas). I wasn't too excited about the movie at first-- I thought it was going to be a kids' show. And for the first half or so of the picture, it was. But as the movie progressed, I have to admit, I ended up liking the damn thing.Particularly impressive were the plane scenes, and not just the dogfights. I admired the fact that the director was able to start a cut outside the plane, and then zoom in close to inside the cockpit, in one smooth shot. I don't think they even do that in anime!Also impressive were the blurring effects, which was an excellent way to convey speed. I personally think comics as a whole are a better vehicle for storytelling than movies, but sometimes I see something in a flick that I just know will never translate as effectively in print. Sigh.The second movie I saw (alone) was Citizen Kane. Greatest movie of all time, Orson Welles' masterpiece, blah blah blah. It's a bit of a shame that this is the first time I've had the opportunity to see the movie that a lot of people talk about when it comes to excellent cinematography. Sometimes when something is overhyped in advance, the actual experience becomes a bit hollow (House of M anyone?).I'm happy to say that when it comes to Kane, the hype is on the money.The story was intriguing, and the performances were ahead of their time-- but I don't really care about that! The sheer number of intelligent, well-thought shots, transitions, and sequences in this movie is absolutely astonishing. I know I'm going to have to watch it several more times to really get all the nuances that Welles and his cinematographer, Gregg Toland, put inside each piece of film. The one unfortunate thing about Kane is how nuanced it is. The subtleties in the performances of the actors is what allows Welles to stick to pans and zooms as opposed to just cutting to another element during the progression of the scene. I've learned that nuances don't translate very well in comics, especially vocal performances, which are always supplied by the reader.I'm not really into the cinematic style of storytelling these days-- blame Grant Morrison and Marvel Boy-- but as far as that approach goes, it all started with Kane.
