Graphic Novel Draft

Working on a graphic novel pitch with a local author. These are the first 9 pages of the rough draft.

 

Comics

Lately I have been putting most of my creative energy towards creating short comics for my friends new zine called "Cherry Crush" you can check out the Etsy page here: (https://www.etsy.com/shop/CherryCrushZine)

This short comic is called "Ghosts In The Oil Paint" and is featured in issue #2: Rituals. I am working on another short for the christmas issue called "A Christmas Corner". Stay tuned!

Tasty Tuesday Animations

Here are all four intro animations including sound that I did for WDIV's Tasty Tuesday segment with Brandon Roux.


Tasty Tuesday Ice Cream




Tasty Tuesday Cookies




Tasty Tuesday Candy

Tasty Tuesday Popsicle

And here is an example of how it looks on air during the broadcast

Animations for WDIV

Here are a couple animations I have been working on at WDIV, there is no sound, other people will add that before it airs.

For a segment on the morning show called "It's So Hot Out"

For a segment featuring Brandon Roux called "Tasty Tuesday" I also directed him in the WDIV studio to act out the faces shown during the animation.

Another animation for "Tasty Tuesday", this one didn't get used because they thought it was too creepy.

This Is What I Do In My Free Time

Just a picture I drew, I used the photoshop skills I'v been learning for the background, heh.

I drew the letters and arranged them in photoshop. Everybody was coming in with ideas for a new design for the Vote 4 The Best Detroit campaign and I didn't want to feel left out. Although I don't think this is quite what they were looking for!

A character I designed using the letters from the Vote 4 The Best slogan.

 A new twitter banner for the Flashpoint page. Devin wanted his updated picture and they didn't like my previous background because they couldn't tell what it was.

A background I created for a Tasty Tuesday animation I'm working on with Brandon Roux.

WDIV Election Stuff and Hour Detroit Poster

Here is a poster I helped put together for WDIV. I created the "BEST" logo, typed all the text, and rearranged the page to make sure everything fit.

Here are some lower thirds I did for all of the upcoming candidates for mayor, city council, and police commissioner. I also created their question cards. 

Connect With Us at WDIV

My friend Kenny took this picture of me for the Connect With Us section of the Click On Detroit App. The IPhone screen has been photoshopped in.

I created this We'll be Right Back sign for the WDIV internet viewer although they didn't end up using it. I created the Connect With Us Facebook and Twitter logo as seen above.

WDIV Day Three

Today I worked on the Sunshine Awards web background, I cut out the updated images of the news anchors and replaced them with their old pictures. I used the burn tool to make the images pop more.

And here are the IPhone images I created yesterday being put into a commercial spot.

I also put the main pictures in these frames and created the text overlaying them.

WDIV Assignments 2

Today at WDIV I worked on making mock IPhone pictures. I used a template for the various buttons and bars, found pictures online, and edited the text to fit a generic news theme.

Created this entire image from scratch using basic images on the WDIV server, Google, and an IPhone template. I found generic news stories to put in the columns.

Took an ad out on the bottom and created the "Sunrise 5:55 AM", matched it with the other text and added the sun beside it.

Created bars, buttons, and text while removing an ad from the bottom.

First Assignments at WDIV

Well today is my second day at WDIV, these are the assignments I did - banners, backgrounds, and avatars for two WDIV twitter accounts.

WDIV Twitter Banner at https://twitter.com/Local4News

Screenshot of how it looks online

WDIV Flashpoint Twitter Avatar at https://twitter.com/flashpointon4

Flashpoint Twitter Banner

Flashpoint Twitter Background

Screenshot of how it looks online

I recently had an interview with the creative director at WDIV Detroit. It was a graphic design job and I didn't end up getting it for various reasons, most notably the fact that I am not a graphic designer, but he was very nice and gave me some homework to help improve my portfolio.

Dunkin' With Bernie

Catching Up With The Tigers

Quest For The Cup

Apple Vs. King Animation

An animation I did for flash class my senior year, never posted it here for some reason.

My new character animation, something iv been working on for the past week or so. Originally animated the character traditionally using pencil and paper during my freshman year at CCS, just decided to bring it into flash and clean and color it. Then I figured id animate some explosions and put him into a revolutionary war era battle! I may end up using this character more :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pclq637S4o

As Streetlights Come and Go

Whew, I am finally done. After nearly a year, it feels good to have this under my belt.

Streetlights come and go. When the snow falls, will you touch my lips? If cars drive past, do we stand together, motionless? A fire beneath our feet. I see these mistakes, and a bee has lost its wings. The mailbox is starting to get mad, the phone doesn't answer me anymore. Midnight rush hour, goodbye summer breeze. The spirits are present. Can you hear them? They want to know about us. So will you run with me? The rails are covered in rain. Can we write our will across the sky? If this is what it means, can we jump? Do you know where to land? In the stars? Or in the sea? Why don't you look at me? Iv been looking for you. This darkness helps me see, and here it is. Don't look at yourself that way, I love your wings. The sound of droplets bouncing from pamphlets, and your eyes just won't let go. To the beginning of all this, we stand at the edge of our balcony, red drapes illuminate your skin. If you can see this far into the sun, grab my hand and nothing will stop us. I can't say I understand, but this will never end. The birds will talk, and the trees will watch. Do you know what it means to never stop?

As Streetlights Come & Go Narrative Test

      Iv been thinking a lot about the sound for this, my senior project. Its due in 1 month and the narrative is not as good as it needs to be. Im not happy with my voice for this I dont think. Im gonna have to get somebody to do it. The music on this test is from Kare Kano, but eventually I hope to use music created entirely by me.
      The project itself is an extremely different style than I have become accustom. Using flash is a far cry from After Effects, and its a very far cry from paper cut outs and stop motion. The result has been an anime style that has surprised me, and I really enjoy creating it this way and honestly, it is what Iv really been aiming for ever since I began drawing dragonball z at age 9. I can really see where my work is heading these days. My awakening drawing abilities have allowed my mind to really explore topics dear to me. I can now follow in the footsteps of my favorites such as Cowboy Bebop, Kare Kano, Gravitation, Hajime No Ippo, Great Teacher Onizuka, and of course Dragonball Z.
      This particular film is pretty experimental. It just follows a character through a winters night and day as he decides on where to go with his life from here. By the time the semester is over I will have been working on it for 9 months. I plan on continuing work through summer though, and really try to flesh it out. Im excited with this so far, its not as good as I had anticipated, but one day, my television shows will be.

Narration Preview of "As Streetlights Come & Go" By AJ Powers

          
Heres the original writing that has become the narration for the piece:                                                

Streetlights come and go.

When the snow falls, will you touch my lips?

If cars drive past, can we stand together, motionless?

A fire beneath our feet, calling to you. I see these mistakes, a bumble bee has lost its wings.

The mailbox is starting to get mad, the phone doesn’t answer me anymore. Midnight rush hour and summer breeze, the spirits are present. Can you hear them? They want to know about us.

So will you run with me? The rails are covered in rain.

Can we write our will across the sky?

If this is what it means, can we jump? Do you know where to land? In the stars? Or in the sea? Why can’t you just look at me? Iv been looking for you. This darkness helps me see, and here it is. Your light is showing itself, calling to the air. Don’t look at yourself that way, I love your wings.

The sound of droplets bouncing from pamphlets, and your eyes just don’t let go. To the beginning of all this, we stand at the edge of our balcony, red drapes illuminate your skin. If you can see this far into the sun, grab my hand and nothing will stop us.

I can’t say I understand, but this will never end.

The birds will talk, and trees will watch, do you know what it means to never stop? 

And just for kicks, heres the original animatic

Rainbow in your Jail Cell *SITCOM TEST*

             Iv been working on a sitcom with the cast of the Rainbow in your Jail Cell. The Apple, the Princess, the Alien, and the Human all trying to live life and get by the best way they know how.
        In this test I sort of threw some voices on. I didnt write any dialogue before I started to animate, so I just had to think of what they were saying on the fly. Its kind of stupid but oh well, It took me 10 minutes. Then I just threw some basketball sound effects and some bbc library outside sound effects. Im gonna keep working on this for a while. It wont be my number 1 priority, but I wanna see where I can take these characters.
        Ill have to write a script first next time, just something simple. Ill put it up when im done. Eventually I envision this being in the same vein as south park, the simpsons, family guy, etc... but with a dragonball z, gravitation, super mario world twist :D. The characters will hang out around the kame house, just talking and playing basketball and fighting. They will get into relationships, go to school, and go on adventuress. They'll learn life lessons and connect with the viewer. They will also get into fights with the bad guy. It obviously wont be ready for the next few years, but hey everything starts someplace.

Sound Test

Squash Wars script 2

          SEQ. 01 - THE SQUASH AND THE CAVE

          SEQ. 01 - INT. CAVE - NIGHT

          An old, tired, and battle worn Squash is sitting silently by
          a fire in the back of a dark cave.

          His blood soaked sword sits beside him.

          The scar across his eye begins to sweat as he looks deeper
          and deeper into the blaze.

          Suddenly a noise breaks his stare. Standing up, he clamors
          for his sword.

          As he begins to carefully step towards the noise, an old
          pineapple stumbles out from the darkness.

                              PINEAPPLE
                    *Hick* *Heh*... Why hello thah
                    stran-jah! What be bringan ya
                    round' here at this time o'naight?

          The Pineapple doesn't seem to notice or care about the sword
          being pointed in his direction.

          He continues to stumble about and drink from his flask while
          taking a seat on a rock.

          Looking up, he suddenly notices the gnarly and torn up
          appearance of Squash who has just gotten done fighting in a
          battle.

                              PINEAPPLE (CONT'D)
                    Oh... my, we gots us a warrior on
                    our hands. Ah'just look at what the
                    worlds been doin' to yah.

          Squash relaxes and sits back down.

          He begins to dig through his nap sack, pulling out a
          notebook and pen.

          He begins writing.

                              PINEAPPLE (CONT'D)

                    And a poet too, heh hah! Mind if I
                    take a gander? I happen to be quite
                    the writah mahself.

          Thinking for a second, Squash hands the leatherbound, beaten
          up notebook to the old drunken Pineapple.

          He looks at it for a while, reads a bit here and there,
          flips through for a while, until suddenly he freezes.

          He holds his breath. His eyes begin to bulge out of his head
          and his chest shakes.

          Squash looks up curiously and their eyes meet.

          Pineapples tone changes, he suddenly looks very serious.

                              PINEAPPLE (CONT'D)
                    Whea did this map come from? If you
                    don't mind meh askin'.

          Squash looks up.

          He watches as Pineapple slowly points the familiar map in
          his direction.

          His mother's map.

          She had given it to him before the onset of the war, and it
          is one of the only things left of hers for him to hold on
          to.

                              SQUASH
                    Ah, my mother's map. She had
                    recieved it from her mother before
                    her. Does this map mean something
                    to you?

                              PINEAPPLE
                    And your motha's name?

                              SQUASH
                    Charlotte.

                              PINEAPPLE
                    Goodness... yeah... Charlotte.

          It is apparent that the Pineapple somehow knows the mother
          of Squash, a strange shimmer begins to grow in Pineapples
          eye.

                              PINEAPPLE (CONT'D)
                    My that was so long ago. Ah those
                    whea tha dayhs!

          Pineapple stands up and begins to pace, laughing and making
          noises, garnering gestures as if remembering moments from
          his youth.

The Rainbow in your Jail Cell

When an apple, a human, and an alien find themselves floating along in an epic adventure, they discover a strange planet with dark circumstances. A king must be kicked to the curb and the princess must be saved, or else it could be the end of humanity!

Squash Wars Synopsis

Synopsis Rewrite

            The day begins as Squash rolls over in bed, looking outside his large 2^nd floor window. The morning sun casts down upon him, filling his spirit with warmth. He rises and goes to school like normal, and everything is perfect and fine for 3 weeks. Then the Cucumbers arrive in droves, a stench filling the air. Hired as mercenaries by the evil and bewildered Apple King of the Fruit Empire, they roar through the village like a plague, devouring its resources and separating the people. Led by Captain Serendipity, the Cucumbers pillage and burn everything in their path, capturing slaves and getting the land ready for sale. With the one eyed master tactician Sergio as Serendipity’s right hand man, this band of Cucumbers is different than the raunchy bunch of hooligans the Squash Village had grown accustomed to in the past. Squash and his family are split up in the chaos, but the fighting is suddenly stopped as a cavalry unit of the nearby Pumpkin Tribe decides to intervene on its way home from defending territory in the south. Squash is miraculously rescued by a young and mysteriously heroic mercenary pumpkin named Ibrahim, who carries a strange confidence, and simply could not bear witness the reality of carnage, injustice, and cruelty on his first trip to the battlefield, so running from his own army, and departing the country, he drops Squash off in the care of his own mother, Aspasia, and departs for ancient far away realms, presumably the Land of our Ancestors.

An extremely wise and happy widowed woman, it quickly becomes apparent that Aspasia is where Ibrahim gets most of his good qualities. She is an outspoken teacher of peace, but, being a woman during times of war, she is careful to not draw much attention, and she is the sole teacher at a small school she runs out of her own wages from working at the nearby Iron mill as a coordinator. Squash is the only yellow student she has, and being a fellow gourd, there is a natural rivalry between him and the pumpkins, but with Aspasia’s influence, the other kids become very easy going and show Squash unexpectedly genuine hospitality. They will all eventually forge a tight bond through many greetings and goodbyes, remaining true brothers and sisters throughout the story.

 In seeing the world as it could be, this is where Squash begins to believe in himself. He has seen Aspasia lift ignorance from his classmates and bless them with vision, so he sits back and watches, thinking if Aspasia can be such a teacher, and attain such a goal as to help turn these profoundly clouded pumpkins into genuinely carefree ambassadors of unconditional love, (who will overtime prove to carry an astonishing capacity in understanding their own situation and how it relates back to everything around them), than Squash feels he can realize his own goals of helping the community that has helped him grow and has helped him become proud of being alive. Absorbing sadness and lingering in bliss, Squash eventually becomes every emotion, basking in each peculiarity and spreading it like a sprinkler, dripping it upon everything, the houses, schools, the factories, the people, a scared and confused community, biting off more than they can chew; asking for help.

He eventually gains a job helping Aspasia with everyday tasks and saves the money to get his own small hut near the school. Studying hard, he quickly becomes a good and clever student. He reads every chance he gets down by the river, and during breaks, practices with his sling, setting up sticks and trying to break them in half without uprooting them. He begins to gain confidence as the years pass. He starts to take part in the local combat competitions. His unique and impressive repeat performances lead him to be noticed by the leader of the Pumpkin Tribe, Duncan III. He is allowed to join the military academy as an honorary citizen after Duncan declares him a kindred spirit. Squash begins to tell him all about his past tribulations and the growing resolve in finding his parents and taking back Squash Village from the clutches of Serendipity and Sergio in the now controlled Fruit Empire province of Squash-On-Yah, A heavily fortified city-state where his home once stood. Squash also desperately wants to earn peace within him self while helping society to regain its balance during these dark times of a new breed of scarily honest and purely, manipulatively, poignantly, evil, spreading its fear through the self-created, desperately alone, hopelessly bewildered souls that wander life in a stupor, never looking past random reflections.

End of episode one

            After 1 year in the academy he becomes well respected by his mentors and fellow students. After proving himself in a duel against one of the best young warriors in the tribe, he earns a prized position, becoming captain of the 1^st sling regiment. He continues to earn respect, proving himself in small skirmishes against bands of Cucumbers along the northern border. He gains a reputation with the enemy as a particularly fierce sling warrior, drawing the attention of Serendipity, and even the Apple King himself. He has been known to engage armed soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, using just a rock in his hand, and never losing. With his charisma, he quickly gains a following among his companions. He comes to lead his band of 24 through many battles and he maintains the best survival rate of any band in the tribe, the leader again takes notice and sets him aside.

It soon becomes clear that Duncan III has bigger plans for him than a simple captain or even a general.  He wants him to depart on a long and dangerous quest. A mighty journey through territory unknown in search of a lost object, an item rumored to be so powerful it could end any war before the battle begins. Though he must first seek out a wise man currently living in Olive Town who goes by the surname Onizuka, and consult him on how best to sneak through the captured territories and into the largely abandoned, forgotten, Continent of the Ancient Ancestors.

Squash is allowed his pick of 4 of the best soldiers in the tribe, along with a controversial gift personally from Duncan III, a royal gemmed sling stone that symbolizes an intelligent leader with unmatched perseverance. It is said to have belonged to King David himself, kept by his son Solomon and housed within Solomon’s Temple. Such an object intimidates Squash, he is not sure he can live up to this gift. Squash accepts it gracefully though and feels a profound change within his thinking, he suddenly sees that all the trials in his life so far were only trying to prepare him for this epic journey through space and time, lasting generations and maintaining its grasp, pulling him along with the stars. Pushing him unbound towards the future, he begins to dance with the clouds.

Squash deliberates on his gift along with which companions to bring for many days. He eventually decides on Rumplestiltskin – his most trusted friend at the academy, an axe-wielding maniac with a heart of gold who has never lost a duel. Stonewall – the absolute top archer in Squash’s graduating class, and the carrier of first place awards in each of the top 4 events for archery 3 years running. With gorgeous long black hair and a defiant attitude, he has earned a reputation for honesty and brutality, he has begun to feel a sense of rivalry with the fun natured captain, Squash, possibly leading to feud. Next he decides upon choosing Ping yang – a young tactician and performer of eerie magic. She eventually shows profound untapped abilities to see into the future. On account of her naturally mystic nature, the tribe ignores her out of fear, leading her to become very quiet although quite content and consistently happy. Leaving Last but not least, Pistachio – the comedic relief and master of potions, chief witch doctor in the tribe. He has the strange feature of appearing very large sometimes, and extremely small on other occasions. Depending on his mood it would seem his entire physical structure changes slightly. His energy can sometimes expand so far and be so true to their owner during battle that they cast shadows on his faults, exposing only his strengths, and making him look gigantic and intimidating, scaring the enemy and his companions alike. He is rarely in a fighting mood though, and chooses to act on his light hearted, goofy, and strangely poetic states of being even during battle.

End of episode 2

So the group gathers and decides on a plan before setting out, to be continued in episode 3 with the groups first deadly encounter, a band of warrior grapes from the fruit empire have gotten lost and see Squash and the gang as an easy meal! See what happens next time, on Squash Wars!

An Update on my upcoming junior film "The Rainbow in your Jail Cell" (title pending)

    Well iv been thinking a lot about what to do with the characters themselves. How do I want them to move, act, what noises should they make. Could they even talk briefly? Iv really been experimenting with their movements. I do tests over and over of the apple walking across the screen. Iv been getting into the fight scenes animation. I think its going really well, its very fun for me to animate. I dont think my animation is there yet though, Im gonna have to do many more tests before Im ready to shoot the final scenes. The story is coming along well, I want to put more emphasis on the princess and her relationship with her father the king. Iv been working on some traditionally animated facial expressions for the princess, I want her to look very sad and defeated at one point when her father packs her in a game of basketball. Im thinking of having her join in on the fight rather than just watching sadly, maybe she can be the one to give the final knockout punch. I really want this to be about the characters. I have to work a lot more on little facial expressions and eye movements, body language, interaction on screen. I really want to go into depth with the castle and whats inside of it. I have a lot of props drawn out so far, but I still need to make them all paper cut out props. Im having a lot of fun animating, I have 2 minutes of rough animation so far. Its not what it can be yet, and Im only using the normal cameras so far, so I think this is gonna turn out pretty cool. I really want the fight scene to be explosive and intense. I have to work on animating some explosions and work really hard on closeups and action shots mixed with long beautiful scenery shots and facial expressions. I still have a lot of cutting and drawing to do, but im having a good time doing it so this should be a fun and educational experience.