Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Book release announcement


Thank you everyone for being with me on the road to 'Framed Ink' becoming a reality!
My publisher, Design Studio Press regretted to announce today that there will be a slight delay in the books arriving to the U.S.
They are phenomenal in making sure they get only the most exceptional products into your hands, and for that I'll say they had to be patient with the printer while they manufacture a book of the highest quality.
Although DSP unfortunately will not be able to provide a finished copy of the book to you at Comic con 2010, they invite you to look through a preview copy there, and receive 25% off of your purchase of 'Framed Ink' while getting an autographed illustration print from the book from me.
So please visit with me during Comic con 2010 at booth 1701 on Saturday 24th between 1PM and 2PM. Any books purchased at the show will be shipped for free as soon as the books arrive into the States in August.
Sorry about the inconvenience and ...I will see you very soon in San Diego!
Thank you.

(By the way, all sorts of news, updates and miscellaneous about the book usually appear in my other blog, exclusively dedicated to it).

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Gracias a todos por compartir el camino hasta el estreno de 'Framed Ink'.
Mi editor Design Studio Press me acaba de comunicar que habra un pequeño retraso en la llegada de los ejemplares a los Estados Unidos. DSP son excelentes en presentar al publico solo los productos de la mejor calidad, y en este sentido hay que decir que el trabajo con el impresor ha sido mas largo de lo previsto con tal de conseguir este nivel que siempre requieren.
Aunque desafortunadamente DSP no tendra disponibles para la venta general ejemplares de mi libro en el ComiCon dentro de unas semanas, os invitan a ver de primera mano un ejemplar final de muestra, un descuento del 25% al comprar alli 'Framed Ink', y una lamina de una ilustracion del libro autografiada por mi.
De modo que estare encantado de veros durante el Comi con en el stand 1701 el sabado 24 de Julio entre la 1 y las 2 de la tarde. Los libros comprados alli seran enviados gratis tan pronto como las copias lleguen a los Estados Unidos en agosto.
Sintiendo el contratiempo, espero veros pronto en San Diego!
Gracias.

(Por cierto, todas estas noticias y mas sobre el libro van apareciendo en mi otro blog, dedicado exclusivamente a Framed Ink)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Movies movies, 2 (& update)




-In 1998-99 we worked on 'The Road to El Dorado' where our cameras followed Tulio and Miguel, through the cities of southern Spain first and the jungles of Mexico later on.
I also did a lot of workbook in that production, but what took the most of my time was leading the team that designed the lighting for the whole film. We used warm gray Pantone markers and whiteout on paper for that, and the only adjustment we could do to our artwork, if we thought we needed to, was playing a bit with the contrast with the use of the photocopy machine. It was definitely a more time consuming process that would be nowadays with all the technology available!
The first sequence of drawings reflects the moment in which Tulio and Miguel make it to the Golden City through a concealed passage, with the help of Chel.
-The shot of the construction site (The Prince of Egypt) depicts the oppressive atmosphere of the people in it, playing with the heavy, vertical shapes of the columns on top putting visual pressure on the 'tiny looking' characters underneath.
-Finally, a workbook sketch for a scene during the 'chariot race' sequence at the beginning of the film, trying to establish the dynamics of the moment and the hot lighting of the location.

UPDATE: My friend Jesus Duce has just surprised me in his wonderful blog 'Pecios' posting up a really old work of mine. A short graphic novel (full story) that dates back from 1985. It was originally published in the magazine 'Creepy' (Toutain Editor).
Thanks Jesus!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Movies movies...




Three shots from The Prince of Egypt.
The first one I did back in 1995 shortly after we got started coming up with visual ideas for the movie. As we were getting ready to start layout at some point the studio needed to see on paper how the movie could look like and how the drama of the story could be reflected on panels. This was one of the compositions I came up with trying to visualize the claustrophobic life in the construction site.
The second shot is a design I did once in production, one of many for the cloud formations above the Red Sea right before Moses parts the waters.
Finally a dramatic scene by the shore as they are caught between the ocean and the troops chasing them, with an indicated camera move for what we used to call 'workbook', a part of the process between storyboard and actual layout in which we would refine the compositions, lighting and camera moves, both as individual shots as well as in continuity.

Friday, June 11, 2010

'Drawing with light' classes



Good morning everyone. From August 14th and for 5 Saturdays I will be teaching a class at the LAAFA (Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art) on drawing storyboard and graphic novel panels with light.
We will work from model and photographs, and we will also analyze actual pieces of artwork to decipher all technical and theoretical aspects of it.
The Academy is located at 16296 Saticoy Street in Van Nuys (818-708-9232) and, if you would like to know more details, please click on the link.

So, to the ones that want and can make it, I will see you there soon! :)

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Some widescreen shots





I hope I didn't post these time ago. Anyway, here are some of the shots I was going through these last days. They were originally taken in the more traditional camera 'squareish' format although, as I usually do, cropped the living daylights out of them to take them where I thought they needed to be ('widescreen' is the word!). The yellow cab one is somewhere in San Francisco, three people in a hurry to get out of the beautiful Huntington Gardens (Pasadena), one of the film sets of 'Devil in a Blue Dress', and another Huntington gardens shot ... a la Maxfield Parrish.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Palm readers and mystery houses

Back now to where we left the graphic novel.
Our heroine finally got her wish come true and was definitely present the moment the undercover envoy got inside the palm reader's office to gather vital information in order for the operation to proceed... After that point, things were to get uglier. And uglier. (On a curious note, the first date of publication of page 22 was Halloween 2006, which I thought was an interesting coincidence given the visuals and story theme of it).
Also, one more view of the ghost house design I did for 'Ghost VFX'. This time it's the entrance hall.