LFG: ‘Richard’. Part Four?

This is a mini update. Why? Because I felt like it and I like to support insomnia. It does a brain awesome.

I finished the las of the sanding and I went straight for a base coat of navy. I really didn’t want to bother documenting this minuscule update, but I was .. convinced otherwise. I was really surprised at how well the paint bonded with the resin. I’ve never worked with anything like it before and I must say .. I like it. Ehem.

A little less conversation .. a little more action please!

LFG 'Richard' - Base coat (and better lighting)

LFG 'Richard' - Base coat - Nice close up!

LFG 'Richard' - Base coat - Jedi Mind Trick or Esplody hands?

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This is actually right on schedule .. imagine that, and with that – *poof*.

My goatee is drooling again.

LFG: ‘Richard’. Part Three!

Another ‘LFG’ Richard update. And here we go!

I basically got the over all statue done – sculpted & sanded. It’s got a base coat of primer on it as well as some Tamiya putty in the gaps & cracks and such. I’ve included an animated gif turnaround at the bottom. Now to do another pass w/ the putty and then I start painting. WOO.

Also you may notice the colors are off – or inconsistent. I ran out of light bulbs, and forgot to buy some today. Also the board moves in the gif.

Also I’ve been working on a project w/ a good friend of mine, when I get information back from said friend I’ll post what I made.

Now time for Richard Pictures!

LFG Richard - 6th Build.

LFG Richard - 6th Build.

LFG Richard - 6th Build.

LFG Richard - Spin Around

And on that note, I’m going to In-N-Out, getting a burger and then I’ve got freelance to knock out the box.

I’m very happy with the progress on this statue. Especially since you couldn’t tell that I broke both of the arms off in an accident of sheer awesomeness (read: stupidity).

Stuff happens, you have to deal with it as best as possible.

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My goatee demands animal fries!

LFG: ‘Richard’. Part Two!

Here’s a quick update on ‘Richard’. It’s late and I have work early.

Simple hood buildup with shoulder pads.

LFG Richard - Fourth resin build up.

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More detailed shoulder pads with the beginings of hands and building up of arms.

LFG Richard - Fifth resin build up.

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It’s coming along. A little slower than I thought, but I’ll have it done soon none the less.

My goatee demands sleep.

Dunny Custom: ‘Zombie Bunny’

As a designer toy collector .. or whatever they’re called .. I can say that I do not like getting duplicate blind box figurines. Especially when they are ones that I don’t particularly care for. They just kind of crowd up the back of my case and shelves in little piles. And for a while I actually stopped collecting because I had run out of room. Well that all changed when I got a giant glass shelf, well the only thing that changed was where my pile of unwanted doubles. That’s when a good friend of mine Mike ‘The Wolfman’ Holcomb said “Hey Brandon, we should make our own custom dunny’s!”. To which I replied “Why haven’t I thought of that sooner!?!”.

Quite side note – This is a Dunny – http://www.kidrobot.com/2008/ds5/?p=about – It’s a 3″ toy made by Kidrobot that comes in a ‘blind box’. They have different series of them – currently Series 5 is on the shelves. I get them from either Munky King, the L.A. Kidrobot store, or the site MyPlasticHeart.

So I researched some templates for Dunnys (a Kidrobot toy) and I found a very nice pdf you can download for yourself at Reactor-88! So after some brainstorming/zombie boardgames Mike & I decided we should make zombies. So armed with that concept, the template pdf & Photoshop I whipped this together:

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny color study

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So we finally met up and started work on the Dunnys. It turns out, I’m a very slow painter when there is a TV on. Actually – I’m just easily distracted. Here’s a shot of the base white coat build up.

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny base coat.

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So yeah here was is a picture of Mike’s finished zombie and my still work in progress one. For his first one I still think it looks awesome – and REALLY creepy. Mine however has a bathing suit on.

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny work in progress.

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Here is it once I sat down and focused. I think it turned out really well. Lots of pictures!

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny turn around.

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny.

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny.

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny showing the scale.

Dunny Custom - Zombie Bunny better scale.

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All that’s really left to do is blast it with a coat of Matte Finish and then I’m either going to put him in my display case or sell him. I’ll probably put a post in the Kidrobot forums under they’re customs section.

I also have the next design already printed out, and the paints already mixed.

If you’re interested in having a custom of your very own – **Contact me** –

My goatee smells like paint.

LFG: ‘Richard’. Part One!

So I haven’t really updated my blog with anything art-ish since GaDzooky. I’m sorry, but to make it up I’ll show you what I’m working on – Deal? Awesome. Lock the daughters up, hide the old people It’s RICHARD! From the awesome web comic ‘Looking For Group‘ by Ryan Sohmer and Lar Desouza. It’s going to be for a charity auction to benefit a children’s charity in Montreal. The rest of the details are being worked out, but Mr. Sohmer mentioned how cool it would be for me to do a large sculpture, and that’s when the idea hatches. Do a Richard statue. Nothing pounds ‘Looking For Group‘ into your skull like a menacing Richard statue. And that’s all she wrote. I’m going to post my build process, as I get a little more time to work on this.

Also there’s something else that’s special about this. I haven’t really sculpting anything (from scratch) since I broke my hand in 06. It was quite .. daunting to dig through my old tools and get to work. And I must say, I’m surprised that I didn’t pick them up earlier. Not only that – I’m using something that I’ve been trying to get my hands on for a while – 2 part RESIN. And I must say – it’s odd to work with at first, but I love it now. I definitely over-estimated how much resin I would need and will probably start making some of my own toys once I get some time (Can you say Holiday Customs!?!?).. Enough words – PICTURE TIME!

This is the concept drawing that I’m basing the sculpture on. Source material was grabbed from the LFG website and compiled for easy use as well as color reference. I like the pose.

LFG Richard - Concept & Color Study

So after I finished the concept I went on over to Kit Kraft (woo!) and picked me up the supplies needed to make my concept into something I could bludgeon a puma with, or cut myself with..

LFG Richard - Glue, Wire and a pair of pliers..

First build up of Resin, learned very fast that I can’t plow through the sculpting process – Resin sags w/ too much weight.. Also it’s a lot more messy than wax and super sculpty.

LFG Richard - First resin build up.

Gradual build up of the Robe as well as the tunic/tabard thingy. also I do realize that the sharp line on his chest makes it look like he has breasts – something that I will take a Dremel to tomorrow night – or at the very least sand down w/ 300 grit.

LFG Richard - Second resin build up.

Made the flaps that hang down from his tabard as well as started the process of giving Richard a face and shoulder pads. They look saggy, but I assure you they don’t anymore.

LFG Richard - Third resin build up.

That’s it for now, I will have another installment either this weekend or by Wednesday. Just a side note I have 3 other things that I’m working on, of which I can only show this and a painting I put on hold due to a lack of desk space. I’ll most likely post that in between the next Richard installment. I am a busy mr. brandon.

My goatee has resin in it.. ewww.

Gnomon & Munky King! Overdue!

So my pc decided to forsake me and crap out. But after a shop vac, a can of air and a screwdriver it now seems to be .. somewhat stable. Somewhat being the operative term.

I’m close to getting 1000 page hits and I just wanted to say thank you for stopping by and taking interest in my work. Thank you! And now on to the cool stuff!

So as you may have read, I had two firsts on September 26th. I had my first Los Angeles Art gallery at the Gnomon Gallery! and my first submission to a custom art show with Munky King! Both happening at roughly the same time, and about a mile and a half apart. I can say it was a blast, stressful as hell and awesome at all the same time. I met some amazing artists, and got to confuse people with my paintings.

Below are some of the many pictures I took that night, Enjoy! And if you were able to see them in person, let me know what you thought! I’d love as much feedback as possible!

Munky King Entrance – They packed so much awesome work in such a small space. I love going there. I can’t help but feel inspired.. Even if it’s an hour drive!

Entrance to Munkey King - I wanted that huge FUNKEY!

Candid picture of onlookers checking out the various custom FUNKEYS!

Candid picture in the back gallery.

Close in shot of GaDzooky! And yes, that’s my name!

GaDzooky!

Then I went over to The Gnomon Gallery where I would remain for the rest of the night! Big huge gaping awesome thanks to Brian Whitmire for putting up with my crap and letting me be a part of an amazing event. It hopefully will be the the first in amongst many future galleries.

When you made it through the winding maze of the Gnomon back parking lot, you were rewarded with a DJ, various wine or beer and cheeses. Oh yeah.. and highlights of some of the artists’ pieces projected on the side of a building CLEARLY seen from North Cahuenga Boulevard. I almost choked on a wedge of cheese when I saw this.

Silly Cephelapod - You can see that from the road!

A snapshot of me standing next to my name! It’s still weird to read it.

It's a me! Mario! Wait no that's wrong.

And here is me (again!?) standing in front of my hung pieces. I’m glowing because it was hot, I like wine, and I was giddy.

Me & My work! And an awesome flash .. meh.

So yeah! I’ve been exasperatingly busy with stuff aside from my computer dumping on me. I shall have updates again soon. Possibly a post tomorrow or as soon as possible.

Trying to clear my plate to take on some Halloween work. Halloween work? I’ve said too much.

My goatee has paint in it?

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky. Build Process & Done!

Wow, 3 days and GaDzooky is done! I can not wait to see how it looks amongst the other Funkeys at the Funkeys: Custom Art Show and Charity Event. But as promised here is my process. Or well.. what I was able to photograph.

This is going to be a huge post! Rawr!

Final (one of many)

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky - Final with last empty can of joy.

Here is the original FUNKEY w/ the Munky King postcard flyer on my desk.

Blank Funkey from Munky King

Start of Super Sculpty build up of Tail and Blades.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky clay build up (one side)

Start of Super Sculpty build up of Tail and Blades. (cont)

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky clay build up (cont)

Color study done while waiting for Super Sculpty to bake. (I need epoxy clay)

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky Color study.

After the clay baked I then used Tamyia modeling putty (smells like crap) to build up the gaps between the blades, tail and the actual Funkey. For some reason – I didn’t take a picture of it. I blame it on the fact that I was working w/ semi toxic materials and wasn’t wearing a respirator. Meh, So after I sanded ‘m good and proper and did multiple build ups of putty it was ready to be primed.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky all primed and ready to go.

Now the fun part – Painting him. I put down a base coat o’ green and then worked from there.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky - Why so green?

Now I got down to business and starting building up the shapes.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky - Eyes, mouth, belly .. nails.

A shot of from the back.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky blocking continued.

More linework, 2 cans of Espresso and half a glass of green tea later and I’ve finished the head.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky Head done!

Heres’s a shot of his butt.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky detail pass continued.

DONE! I am so happy with how it turned out, I really am. It’s great. And I hope it gets a warm welcome amongst the other FUNKEYS.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky Finished!

RAWR!

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky - RAAWR!

Here is a shot of me holding GaDzooky. Woo!

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky in hand!

Last picture for now – Me holding GaDzooky. It’s 6.30 in the morning, I’ve walked to 7.11 twice for coffee and I was pretty sure a raccoon was making a nest on top of my head.

FUNKEYS: GaDzooky and his fuzzy owner.

Thanks for checking out my process build for GaDzooky. If you’re in the Los Angeles area and are free friday night, you should take a trip out to The Gnomon Gallery for Osmosis and while you’re there hop over to Munky King’s Funkey’s Show. They’re about 2 miles apart and well worth the trip!

I’ll have more pictures of GaDzooky as well as my hobbit self from the show and such this weekend!

** Side note **

GaDzooky is the first of many tribute projects (of various forms) in memory of my brother Garrett Dicks who passed away in May.

My goatee must prepare for awesomeness tomorrow.

FUNKEYS: Art Show & Charity Event!

I have been a very busy Brandon the past few days and there are a bunch of little updates, and not enough time to hit them all, but I will address this one.

I received permission on Monday to have make a custom ‘Funkey’ for the Funkeys: Custom Art Show & Charity event being held at Munky King in Hollywood.

9.26.08
7 – 11PM
Munky King on Melrose

FUNKEYS: CUSTOM ART SHOW & CHARITY EVEN

I’m freaking super stoked that I got in, and am quite grateful to Amelia at Munky King too!

Well .. this is what I’m going enter into the show! (I will build a page that documents the build process later as I don’t have the time to do that now.. ‘I ain’t got tiime to bleeeed!’) Basically I have to have the whole thing done and at Munky King by Thursday afternoon.

Funkey Custom - "Gadzooky" Color Study

The only point of real concern is that both of the shows are on the same days, at the same times. I will be at both, most likely I will be at the Gnomon Gallery for most of the time. I will be at Munky King .. I just don’t really know when yet. And instead of trying to think of how to arrange all of this – I decided to just get “Gadzooky” done and deal with those details later. Oh by the way – it’s a tribute piece to my brother Garrett, and the fact that proceeds are going to the Mattel Childrens Foundation and Art of Elysium makes me want to make this as awesome as I possibly can with the little time I have.

And on that note, my goatee beckons for pink lemonade.. leeeemmoooonaaaaaade.

Osmosis Art Show!

I would like to announce that I am taking part in the Osmosis Art Show being held at the Gnomon Art Gallery in Hollywood California. I was given the awesome chance to show my work along side many talented artists whom work at Blur, especially my good friends Brian Whitmire and Nick Whitmire (They’re twins – no really).

So if you are in the Los Angeles area you should totally come check it out!

The opening ceremony will take place on September 26th at 7pm at Gnomon Gallery

If it changes I will be sure to notify you immediately.

** THE RECEPTION IS AT 7:00pm on FRIDAY SEPT. 26th **

I hope to see you there!

** On display – Silly Cephelapod, Pick-A-Nick Baskets!, The OctoKing, and Broken String**

**All are available for purchase**

Prints are available of Pick-A-Nick Baskets and Broken String now! (PayPal)

"Silly Cephelapod" -16x12 Acrylic on Masonite panel

"Pick-A-Nick Baskets" - 8x10 Acrylic on Canvas panel

"The OctoKing" - 9x12 Acrylic on Canvas panel

"The Broken String" - 8.5x11 Digital Print

My goatee is sleepy.

Corner of My Eye. Part Done!

Wow, that was quick.

The hardest part was coming up with a name. Really, I had about 10 that I went through before a friend recommended the final one – “Corner of My Eye”. It was a blast to paint – and I’m getting a bit more in sync with the coloring process. I think it’s going to be the beginning of a sequence of pieces that are Dungeons & Dragons themed. Why? Well, in honor of Gary Gygax for one and well – because I always thought the monsters were freaking neat.  And I’m happy to say that I didn’t spill any paint on myself this time – Here is the final version: ‘His eyes are always watching, unless he gets distracted by shiny rocks. Oh a kitty!’

"Corner of My Eye" - 5"x5" Acrylic on Canvas

Also here’s a watercolor painting I made on Friday when someone basically shouted ‘hey! make me a drawing! A tiger!’ on teamspeak and I kindly obliged. I have a hard time drawing cats, for some reason, and that’s what took the longest. The final watercolor took 20 minutes.

20 minute Session Painting - Tiger - watercolor on 5.5"x8.5".

My goatee wants to sleep. So I shall oblige.