I Recently Bought The New Book On Maurice Noble: "The Noble Approach", Covering His Thoughts On Animation

Attended TCAF 2013 on Saturday afternoon, and felt fortunate to pick up the last copy of Basil Wolverton's 'SPACEHAWK' book from the Fantagraphics table.. Also very much enjoyed chatting with artist Jim Rugg and purchasing his 'SUPERMAG' book.. Great show!!

The other day, I unearthed 3 pages of Storyboard Cleanup, which I had zero memory of. Not only couldn’t I identify the series, but the time period escaped me, as well. After posting it to my Instagram, a few kind souls volunteered that it was actually from: “My Dad The Rockstar”, which aired in 2003..

The only thing I knew for sure, was that I did the Storyboard Cleanup job for my friend: Rob Walton. I’ve only ever done cleanup for him. Usually, at times of extreme deadline crisis.. I thought it’d be fun to lookup the episode online and make a few screengrabs to compare the finished broadcast shots to the initial storyboards..

The episode was entitled: “High Infidelity”, and was the 4th show of the 1st Season. I recall making the storyboard panel grid myself, and the underlying blue rough drawings were mine too, based on pencil roughs Rob provided. Looking at the finished shots, I was a bit surprised to how graphic the interpretations were.. I didn’t have any model sheets to work from. And simply did my best to glean volumes and construction of the characters, from Rob’s roughs..

This was a Nelvana cartoon series, co-produced with Gene Simmons of KISS fame. The Layout Supervisor was my late friend from Sheridan College: Kevin Klis.. I recall that some of the layout work was also farmed-out to George Elliott’s studio. But I don’t know the extent of that arrangement..

A keen eye will spot a few bad Layout tangents that managed to slip thru.. On the 2nd page of screengrabs, the first few shots almost appear to have the kid bully (“Buzz” Sawchuck) reaching into the van. Who’s arm is it?  it’s really supposed to be the arm of the bald tropical shirt dude, leaning on the van window.. On the 3rd screengrab sheet, you can see that there is a bad leveling error of that same bald dude, sandwiching the bulk of his body BEHIND the actual van seat he’s supposed to be sitting in?!.. I think the unfinished rough of the bald dude falling out of the van was simply a gag that Rob suggested, that was not even in the script..

Like I say, I can’t recall. But it was a fun job to work on. Thanks!

A page I bought directly from Mignola, at the 2001 SDCC.. I had a few others, but hadda sell 'em on eBay a few years back. This one though, I couldn't part with.. It's going to the grave with me!

A commission that I did back in 2004, for a Gordon K. (from San Diego).. He had a very unique request for a trapped Animé-style Mermaid.. Thankfully, he also provided me with a good deal of reference material..  I tried my best to incorporate everything he'd asked for.. Hopefully, he enjoyed the result?

Recently, I’ve been enjoying the nostalgia of a Facebook page dedicated to 'The Drawing Board' message board: an original Internet meeting place that is long gone. At the time, it was a great place to post your artwork, learn drawing tips, or just talk shop with like-minded creatives.. The long-running monthly “Drawing Jam” has been recreated on the FB page, though. And this was my most recent effort, working from a photo of actress: Chloe Sevigny.. Tried to work in a kind of Robert McGinnis approach to her legs and feet. Not sure how successful I was.. But it certainly was fun to try drawing it!

In exactly 20 days, the new Nickelodeon cartoon series I’ve finished working on, will make it’s TV debut. I’m very eager to see/hear the reactions to (what I can only describe as) the most extraordinary animation project I’ve had the good pleasure to work on!

Seen above, are a small handful of the Layouts I completed, for the premier episode.. The show had a stellar cast of "Yowza Animation” talent, working magic on all aspects of the show. And the production pipeline was unique and innovative, in more ways than I can accurately describe.. Suffice to say, it’s highly unusual to have all of the environments “built” as 3D models first, that were then turned into specifically “hand-drawn” 2D location backgrounds!

It was a unique experience for me especially, as I’d also worked Layout on the short digital web-series on which this show was based, back in 2014. But I think that fans of the original web shorts will be even more amazed at the amplified depth and detail of the worlds, as now presented in “Welcome To The Wayne” TV series.. Hope you’ll all enjoy watching it!

Last month, we held a “Post-Its Art Show” at work.. All the artists in the studio were invited to participate. The organizer asked me to do a series of promotional ones, to help get things started.. Sharp-eyed comic nerds will recognize my riffs on the art styles of: Dan Clowes, Jack Davis, and Wally Wood?.. These were a lot of fun to do, and the show turned out really great!

JOE DUDLEY -- Courageous Candy Store Owner!

Sketchbook study of an old comic-book panel found in a “CRIME DOES NOT PAY” reprint volume.. The original artist was Dan Barry, I believe. I like the idea of doing a small ‘zine with isolated panels like this one. And I’m hoping to use this image in the future, for something along those lines..

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN !!

A commission that I did back in 2004, for a Josh S. (from Ottawa).. He wanted me to draw "The Old Witch" from EC Comics' 'HAUNT OF FEAR' title,-- for which I was only too happy to oblige!  I tried to incorporate all of my favorite "Ghastly" Graham Ingels bits, into my own version..

I’ve been busy creating new artwork for “JackTober 2022″, lately.. The Day 22 prompt, was: (you guessed it) “The HULK”!!! Added a bit of digital color to it, using Photoshop.. It’s based on one of Jack Kirby’s classic poses. But I played around with some of the character proportions and other details..