Creators: Tim Burton

Creators

A growing list of influential artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Tim Burton

Whether you like him lately or not, at some point you loved something that this guy had a hand in.  Some think that he has "jumped the shark" or has become a parody of himself, but in spite of either I can't help but admire Tim Burton for being an artist that's true to himself... or at least, a version of himself.  

But hell, I wouldn't have chosen to talk about Tim Burton as an artist/filmmaker that I admire if I just wanted to gripe about him.  To be honest, there's a lot more to like about Tim Burton and his work than to dislike (as far as I'm concerned.

I'll start with the fact that he was a Disney animator back in the 80s, with apparently some uncredited work on that horrible Black Cauldron movie and not much else.

He was let go for wasting too much time animating his own pet project called "Frankenweenie."

Soon after he directed a version of Aladdin that involved Robert Carradine from Revenge of the Nerds, Leonard Nimoy, and James Earl Jones.  Never thought all of them would be together for a project?  You can definitely see the budding style that Burton will come to be known for.  Plus, freaking Darth Vader as the Genie... Awesome.

Next on this list is a childhood favorite of mine, Pee Wee's Big Adventure.  If you've never seen this, or haven't seen it since you were a kid, you're due for a rewatch. You have only yourself to blame if you hate it.  I still will occasionally tell people "Large Marge sent me."

BEETLEJUICE!  I have to say, I wish Keaton was still making movies with Burton, because I think he would liven them up...

...like this.

Burton's Batman movies are my favorite live action versions of the character.  I love Nolan's trilogy, but the Gothic Gotham and graphic designs of Burton's two films feel like batman.  It also helps that Keaton is my favorite Bruce Wayne/ Batman.  He plays it weird and detached like Batman aught to be.

I think Returns is my favorite of the two.

Can't talk about Tim Burton without talking about his stop motion.  I attribute any stop motion film done today as resulting from the creation of this movie.  It made stop motion a viable storytelling medium rather than an outmoded special effect tool.

There are many more Burton creations I could laud (Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow) but I think I'll just skip to the one I like most.

Big Fish is a spectacular film.  In some ways it doesn't feel like a Tim Burton movie, and I think that is why it has such a transcendent feeling about it.  He didn't get caught up in his "Schtick" and worked hard to tell a story well.  There were a few Burton-y moments, but the overall palette of this movie is much more colorful than most of his other work. Instead of getting only the gloomy and subdued parts of life, we see life in its full spectrum: From gloom and mystery to triumph and wonder.  In big fish, we see the artist in Tim get out of his comfort zone and express something that reaches out beyond his usual audience and strikes a chord with the world beyond Edward Gorey's neighborhood.

So long.

I'm Only Funny On Paper

I'm Only Funny on Paper

A Comic.

For a change, i thought I would show off a moving picture instead of a still one.  This is just part one, and eventually I'll add some sound and throw it on Youtube.  But for now, just enjoy a weird little animation featuring a giant mutant monster I made using Pivot.

TGIF!

TGIF!

Super Jesus Man

Excerpt from Quetzalcoatl Part: 1

TGIF!

Creators: Homer

Creators

A growing list of inspirational artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Homer

In my comeback update week, I thought I would use my creators slot to pay respects to one of the most influential personalities of the ancient world, Homer.  Though history can't make up its mind about whether or not the blind poet existed as some suggest, or that he was a fabrication that was added onto previously existing work by another poet(s).  But regardless of whether or not Homer was singular and blind, he, she, or they have heavily influenced storytelling,

The two ancient epics attributed to Homer are of course the Iliad and the Odyssey, which we all had to read some chunk of at some point in school.  m sure there were many who didn't care for it, but I am one of those who loved it.  Just like the poet, the story's authenticity is up for debate as well.  Did the Trojan war happen really?

Really?

I don't really care if it's historically accurate or not, because for me, the value in the stories is allegorical and literary.  The play of characters upon one another and the depictions of the vanity of the gods and stupidity of mankind are of interest here.  Out of the two of them, the Odyssey is my favorite.  Being one of the first written examples of the hero's journey in the west, it has become the basis for how to tell an adventure.  The influence of a husband and father's journey to rejoin his family can be seen in plenty of other stories written and filmed since.

I'd recommend reading  the poems, but if you'd rather watch the movie, you'll still get it from some of these. 

A good version of the Iliad.  TNT does some pretty good ones.

A good Version of the Odyssey.  Apparently this is the whole thing on Youtube.

An awesome version of the Odyssey.

And of course...

Later.

I'm Only Funny on Paper

I'm Only Funny on Paper

A comic.

"Super-memory" has never been one of his superpowers.

Creators: Yanick Paquette

Creators

A growing list of inspirational artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Yanick Paquette

It's been too long since I have done a post like this, but that ended today when I picked up Swamp Thing #18 and knew I had to praise the hand behind it:  The hand of artist Yanick Paquette.

I have had his work in mind since I started doing posts like this, but today, after reading the latest issue of Swamp Thing, I just had to make his post today.  Yanick is the kind of artist I envy and wish to emulate because his work feels like it comes naturally for him to do, and yet I'm certain there is a long and involved process needed to do it.

I'll start with a cover image he did, though I'm well aware that many artists can make gorgeous covers but at the same time have mediocre interiors.  This is not the case here.  I this cover, you can see a great example of Paquette's style: Strong attention to detail and texture, drawing from life and live reference.  Its both realistic feeling yet stylized enough to look somehow better than real.  One thing's for sure, I think this is how Swamp Thing would look in real life.

Just a glance at his Interiors and you can see his strength as an artist goes beyond the cover.  the same care, texture and detail comes out on every page.  For me, one of my favorite tricks of his are his panels, more specifically how he divides them.  These exotic and colorful breaks seem to come out of the titular character himself.  And of course I won't fail to mention the monsters this guy draws.

Yikes!  Those things are fantastically nasty!

But he doesn't just draw great monsters, but also great people. He also knows how to create drama in a panel despite simplicity.  I would call his style more akin to Surrealism rather than a Bryan Hitch-like photo reference realism.  Paquette comes far enough away from his references to allow them to feel right next to his other drawn lines.

I'm a big fan of his double page spreads, he really uses them to show as much as writer Scott Snyder tells.  and that is an excellent balance to strike in a comic.

While Swamp Thing isn't the only thing he has done, it is the work I am most familiar with.  Now that his run on swamp thing is apparently over, I'm very curious about where his career will go.  Personally, I'd like to see him continue drawing monsters.

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite images.

See you soon.

I'm Only Funny On Paper: The 50 States Project

I'm Only Funny on Paper:

The 50 States Project.

This project started from an idea I came up with while talking to a friend about superheroes.  The specific comment made was, "What would a superhero inspired by Ohio be like?"  I took that comment and set out to create a superhero for every state, representing their state as critically and humorously as possible.

Super American Patriot Man

Though not inspired by a state, He was a bi-product of when I started drawing  concepts for various state-based Superheroes.  The result you see here is something I'm equally proud and ashamed of.

The Hero that Started it all. Wanting to create a more perfect version of Captain America, I stumbled upon Super American Patriot Man! He is a self-proclaimed supersoldier with a ninth grade education and a fist aimed squarely at justice.. er, IN-justice. With his bat "Ol' Glory" and his twin "Screamin Eagles" this hero is out to save your day... after he makes a stop at McDonalds. Ideal Casting: Kevin James