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Something from the past...

Happy New Year everyone... a little late , but still well-intentioned.

Recently I needed to clean out some stuff from my storage unit (how many boxes of unused VHS videos does one person need to store?) and decided to also go through some of my old wprk boxes. I found some stuff that I think some of you might find interesting. At least I found it interesting.

Here's a Roto-scope frame from the first film I ever worked on - Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. If I recall right this scene was never used, but I thought it was a great shot that showed some of the main characters and the actors that mimed their parts. Just like in regular animation the voices were recorded by actors (including John Hurt as Aragorn) and then the 'roto-actors' would act/pantomime to the recorded voices that were played back for them. It sounds awkward, but worked remarkably well.

Underneath is a drawing I did myself many years ago of Aragorn, Boromir and Gandalf based on this roto. This was probably towards the end of production and I'd been animating (sort of) for awhile. It doesn't look too bad considering how little I knew at the time...

Happy Holidays...

...to those of you who have already enjoyed your holidays and to those that are about to.

Just a little update...

It's nice to hear all the positive reactions and interest in 'the project'. This time of year not much usually happens as far as decsions go so we're hoping that something will happen in January. In the meanwhile I thought I'd share another commssion. I assume everyone will recognize Power Girl.

I've never drawn her before and I knew very little about her except what I saw from Adam Hughes. My drawing is not nearly as good as any of his, but whose are. AH! is easily the best artist working in comics today. And it 's not for the obvious reasons...I love his faces

an update...

Well, a lot has happened this last week or so .... and hopefully a lot more will happen soon as you'll read down below.

For the last month I'd been testing for the position of Character Designer on the latest Marvel/Lionsgate direct-to-video. Normally I abhor testing - mainly for the reason that I've never received any actual work for taking a test. And, even though they finally decided to pay me for the final test, my record remains in tact. True to form I didn't get this particular job and, needless to say, my plan for the future is to stick to my guns and never take that type of test again - especially if it's unpaid. I could go on and on about how I feel about these types of tests, but I won't bore you with that...especially when I have something much more positive to talk about.

I mentioned earlier that I had optioned a book with the hope that I could get it financed for a feature animated film.....well, for the last 3 months my producing partner and I have been going around to various studios and pitching the project. Most of the pitches have been going very good and all the reactions have been positive, but nothing concrete had developed - yet.
Now I'm not the best pitcher in town (quite an understatement), but this project comes in with such a big name - the author's - that it virtually pitches itself. I've had my friend, Francesco Francavilla, do some beautiful presentation drawings and I've put together a description of how I want to handle the film and this is what we go in with. We also go in with a positive attitude and view the studio as a partner in our endeavor and not the enemy.
The reason why I bring this particular aspect up is because a thread on a forum I frequent was started by someone who was proud of his antagonistic attitude towards those that he was pitching to. If you're curious about reading about it a friend of mine discusses it on his BLOG - just scroll down to the topic "More Nonsense". He pretty much states my opinion and he has a link to the original forum if you're that interested. (Stay a bit and check out the rest of his blog while you're there - he's putting together a really unique film and it's an interesting read).

Anyway back to the update: last week we had a pitch with a studio that went even better than expected - it seems we have the type of film that they've been looking to produce. In the parlance of the biz "it was a slam dunk". Hopefully in a short amount of time we should hear more and I'll keep everyone up to date as much as possible - without jinxing it too much that is. We also have other studios that we're still talking to just in case...you never know.
So you can see why I'm not too broken up about losing the character design gig. That was actually just to keep me busy and my hand drawing - especially since for my project I intend on hiring others to do the design work.
I'll show you this one piece by Francesco just to whett your appetites a bit, but I doubt anyone will be able to guess what it is.


Clearly it's not your daddy's animated film....

A few more scenes...

Recently Boyd Kirkland gave me a CD full of art I did on X-Men:Evolution - it contained a lot of stuff I had some how lost before I was smart enough to back everything up. It had quite a few scenes of animation including scenes I'd animated of Kitty and Rogue dnacing from season 1 (our homage to Buffy) , some more dancing from "A Walk on the Wild Side" and a couple of walk cycles and even an FX test for Cyclops. All of which I've now added to the Animation section of my web-site.

Also a 'No-Prize' needs to be awarded to Blaze Rocket! Blaze Rocket's sharp eyes caught this image on The Ultimate Avengers DVD

and correctly identified the Alpha Team member third from the left on the top row (though my hair isn't quite that white - yet). Besides yours truly the team also includes Curt Geda (top left) and several other UA crew members.

Speaking of which, I also had a little fun with some of the photos in Bucky's house. This one was based on my parent's wedding photo - though the photo of Bucky with President Truman was based on a photo I found on-line.

Wonder Woman Day - Oct 29th

Recently I was asked to create an original piece of art for a charity auction in honor of Wonder Woman Day. It seemed like a very worthwhile cause (it supports shelters for battered women and children) so I did just that and I wanted to make sure everyone here took a moment to look at all the wonderful art created by some great artists. I'm humbled by being included in their comapany. You might want to even bid a few of them...


...And don't forget to also check out Romeo & Juliet:Sealed with a Kiss opening this weekend. Here's a list of the theaters.
If you can't make it to a theater then just go on-line and buy a ticket for Saturday ;)

Living the Dream...

I know I usually just talk about me and promote events in my life, but I thought it would be nice to stop staring in the mirror for awhile and talk about someone else for a while.
An old friend of mine, Phil Nibbelink, has done something most of us in the animation industry only dream about: making a feature film single handed! Can you imagine making a 78 minute film all on your own? I can't even fathom it.
The name of his film is Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss. It's a retelling of the classic Shakespeare play using seals in an underwater setting. Not only has he completed this amazing feat, but it's being released Oct 27th! I know Bill Plymton (and probably others) have done this before, but I suspect that this might be the first time it is a more typical family film and not an 'art' film.
I met Phil way back when while I was at Disney's during the Black Cauldron (boy, is that ancient history) when he shared an office with Andreas Deja. He is mostly responsible for the great Gwythaint chase in that movie. That sequence still stands heads and shoulders above most animated action sequences in my opinion. I consider him not only a friend but to be one of the animators that have had an influence on my own growth as an animator. Unfortunately I don't have much call for animating these days, but I'm glad he's figured out how to keep doing what he loves.

He animated it all on Flash and painted the backgrounds with Painter and from what I can tell from the trailer it doesn't look like typical flash, but looks like normal 2D. He recorded the dialogue in his basement studio using himself, his children and friends for the voices. Hmmm...He never called me for a voice..oh, wait...I can't act...maybe that's why.

He drew around 112,000 drawings (mostly on ones) using a graphics tablet - except for when he used a program called Moho for some limited shots and crowd scenes.
I've known many animators over the years who have dreamed of doing this and some have even started the process, but I don't know many that have actually been able to see it through to the end and then manage to get it released to theaters.
I don't know about any of you, but I'm going to go to a theater and support this with the hope that this could happen again.
If you're so inclined also here's a list of theaters that it's going to play in.
And here's the web-site for the film for more info and a trailer.

What's new...

Well, now that the is Kurt staright or Gay controversy has died down and I've actually hit a slow spot in my freelance I thought I'd update everyone as to what I've been up to.

I'm on the downhill side of the Spider-man 3 books. My son is in the process of painting them and they're looking even better than the X-Men 3 books. I'm just starting up a set of books for Shrek 3. Besides catching up on some commissions that's about it for me art-wise.

The really BIG thing I'm working on is a project where I've optioned a book from an extremely famous artist with the intent of getting it made into an animated feature.Even though I have the option I'm a little hesitant to disclose too much info on this yet - maybe it seems like I'll jinx it (?). Anyway me and a fellow producer are shopping it around to several studios right now and hopefully I'll have some real concrete news about it soon. This will be the first animated feature based on one of this author's books - though it's certainly not his first feature adaptation. I guarantee you that this particular film will span several genres and fan bases and should please anyone who is a fan of fantasy, comics, animation and of this author. Have I teased you enough?

In the meanwhile here's another convention sketch....it's of Rogue in the Savage Lands

A little clarification....

In my last I answered a question that really threw me. It was the one concerning all the Gay fan pairings of characters. My answer seems to have caused a little stir over on the Marvel Forum so I felt I had better clarify my answer a little before it gets misuderstood futher.
I said we felt Kurt might be Gay. That doesn't mean we ever played him as Gay or implied in anyway he was Gay. To be honest I doubt everyone thought this way - but I know I did. As to his incarnation as a priest in the comics we had no interest in using that aspect of him whatsoever - as far as I knew.
The other concern was a flip comment I made about Risty and Rogue. This is where the clarification really comes into it. Mystique was Gay so that would make Risty Gay - we even had some fun with using purple as her main color and her earring, but it was all subtle enough not to be claear to anyone too young or not in the know. Did it appear a Gay character was hitting on Rogue? Yes. But was Risty/Mystique actually hitting on Rogue? No. She behaved as many mothers might behave, but when those concerns are translated into those of a same-sex peer it can appear as if there is more to it than that. Especially since we were able to keep Risty's secret for so long. My comment about a possible weird relationship between Risty and Rogue was probably a mistake. It was a joke and probably not a very good one...oh, well.


Next time I'll bee more careful with any jokes - I've got a very dry sense of humor that my wife tells me isn't always clear to others... ;)

A 'few' questions...And answers

A young lady, Blaze Rocket, sent me a few questions and instead of just e-mailing her back the answers I thought I would post them here. I hope she doesn't mind, but this way I've got fodder for a new post too....


BR: Will there ever be a "How to Draw" for any Brotherhood members? I`d love to see Wanda or Pietro, and I know plenty who would be interested in one on Toad. Freddy would be a good one, as drawing "larger than life" characters isn`t something that most people get instruction on. A drawing tutorial for Mystique that simply said "see all above" would make me giggle. Oh! And the Professor! Wheel chairs are hard! That`s my personal reasoning as to why the she`ar hover chair come into existence. Somewhere along the line, someone said "Screw wheels. I`m giving him a hover chair."

SG: The "how to" pages that were put up on my web-site weren't created specifically for this web-site, but were created for the show for the overseas studios to use. Due to the limited amount of time that I had at that time - between creating new models for every show and directing a third of the season's shows gave me very precious little free time. So I usually only made these construction sheets for characters we were very concerned about going way off model. The main good guys. I know that may not seem fair to all you fans of the brotherhood and other bad guys, but we had to make a call as to where to focus my energies. Though on the bright side I am adding a Blob walk cycle pretty soon to the animation section - hopefully that will satisfy you somewhat.

I also hate drawing wheel chairs and other props like that, but unfortunately we felt that it was better for the show for him to be in a more standard wheel chair than the hoover-type chair. I did cheat a little though and based it on the one used in the movies.

In interviews, it`s been stated that the new recruits got the short end of the stick, as it were, in that when an episode needed "tightening," their "B" stories were the first to be cut. Will any of these "B" stories ever be shared with the fans of the show?

When a script is being created often things are cut and added to make the script better for a variety of reasons. I doubt any of these B stories will ever re-surface - mainly because I doubt anyone could remember them.

In the "future vision" Professor X gets at the end of season four, were these teasers actually based on stories that the Evo team wanted to do, or perhaps had plans to do and weren`t able to... Or were they just teasers, perhaps a nod to those fans who also enjoy the comics?

To my knowledge the next season's shows had never been seriously discussed (this usually only happened after the next season was green lighted) and these visions were created as just a way to wrap up the series for the fans - and ourselves.

If, miracle of miracles, Evo was revived and renewed for another season (or four, so long as we`re dreaming), would you and the rest of the creative team return to work on it?

Anything is possible...but I seriously do not believe there is any chance of the show coming back after being cancelled so ong ago at this point. Unless DVD sales are huge (like Family Guy) I wouldn't hold my breath.

Between DVD extras, in-show statements, and statements made on former WB web-pages, there`s some confusion as to the proper ages of characters. How old, exactly, were the characters of Evo supposed to be? Minus Logan, as that would just be cruel.

We never determined specific ages other than the obvious ones. Kitty was young enough to just be learning to drive in season 2 (if I'm remembering right) and Scott and Jean were seniors. Most of the characters were discussed in more general terms. Like so-and-so was in their 30's or so-and-so is younger than Kurt, etc.

Realizing and taking into consideration that Evo was a kids show, was there ever any sort of family back story or time line developed for the Maximoffs and their daddy? Specifically...
The last name "Maximoff" seems to indicate that at some point, Django and/or Marya Maximoff were involved. Were they?

If there was any discussion then I never heard it or was involved.

A DVD extra states that Pietro is an Eastern European exchange student. Any truth to that?

That's news to me.

Storm says that Pietro and Evan have been competing since they were babies. Is that a literal statement or figurative?

That's also news to me.

Magneto looks to be about 12 when he is rescued by Captain America and Logan. How old then, would he have been when Pietro and Wanda came about?

Hmmm...let's just say that Magneto led a very active senior life. Actually we never discussed this concern.

What happend to Magda, the Maximoff mother? Was Anya ever considered? What about Polaris?

These things were also never discussed to my knowledge.

How old were Pietro and Wanda when Wanda was institutionalized?
Who`s older- Pietro or Wanda?

Pietro was probably 8 and Wanda was probably 6. But I could be wrong...

Do you have a favourite character in Evo? A favourite to draw?

As I've mentioned before my favorite characters were Rogue, BoomBoom and Wanda. Mainly because I think the new concepts we created for them were so unique and different then the comics. My favorite to draw would probably be the easiest to draw...Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Todd.

You`re obviously aware of Evo`s on-line fandom. What are your thoughts on the homosexual parings that crop up- usually Lance/Pietro, Amara/Tabby and Kurt/Todd?

No, actually I wasn't aware....and I'm not sure I want to explore those ideas too far. As far as who was Gay or not we subtlely tried to indicate that Mystique was living at one time with Destiny and raising a child (Rogue). We also tried to indicate that Risty was Gay (Mystique in disguise) and she was flirting with Rogue - which actually leads to a very weird situation on it's own merit. Some of us also kind of felt Kurt might be Gay, but that was never addressed in any way on the show.

What are your thoughts on such things as fan sights, fan fiction, fan art, and fan flicks?

I think they're all good fun and help to keep the shows alive. At first I was a little shocked at the amount of them, but it did help us understand what type of impact we were actually making on the fans. I'm sorry to see some of them disappearing - but I guess it was bound to happen since the show has been off the air for some time now.

What advice would you give to an aspiring animator?
What was your education like?

Things have changed quite a bit since I started in the business, but I would suggest that anyone interested in the industry should learn CG, as well as drawing and to learn other aspects of the business like storyboarding. And study film - not just animation.

My education was mostly on the job. Though in retrospect i wish i had gone to school once you start earning money it's very dificult to take time out to go back to school.

So...all the questions are answered --somewhat and I've added another post. Not a bad morning all in all...

Running late...

I just wanted to post something quick for those of you who have ordered sketchbooks and posters...I just wanted to let you all know that they will be coming, but I've been extremely busy with deadlines and now I'm going out of town for a few days. Just be patient and I'll guarantee you that they will show up at your homes soon. Just hang in there.

In the meanwhile, here's another sketch I was commissioned to do back in San Diego.

It's Jean Grey dressed as a queen of the sea - or something. I swear this is actually from a comic. I think it was Byrne arc. The guy had reference for me to use....

Posters available...

Sorry if it seemed to take a long time, but I finally came to the decision to make the SDCC poster of Rogue available for the same price I was selling it for at the convention - $10. BUT that will only be for the continental US. If you want it shipped elsewhere it will probably be more a little more and we can discuss it on a case by case situation.
If you want one just pay via PayPal to my e-mail address: steve@stevenegordon.com and make sure you indicate that you're paying for the poster.

A sigh of relief...

Sorry it's taken me so long to post about the Comic-Con, but the minute I got back home I was immediately swamped with deadlines for the SM3 books I'm working on. Last night I finally met the most urgent of those and now I can finally breath.
Anyway, it's about time I mentioned the Con...Whew....that was one long weekend. I had a great time meeting many fellow artists that I'd only corresponded with and greeting a lot of appreciative fans. It was very interesting being at the Con from the other-side of the table. This was the first time I participated in that fashion and it was very different. Once again I want to thank Senti for sharing his booth with Francesco and I. He's a great guy and quite an artist. You should check out some of his stuff...http://www.sentiart.com/
I also got to meet Francesco Francavilla in person for the first time. We've worked together and have corresponded for about 2 years and finally were able to look at each eyeball to eyeball - or something like that. This guy is amazing and if you haven't heard of him yet you soon will. You can check him out at http://francescofrancavilla.com/
Despite how busy I wasI did find a chance every now and then to wander around and pick-up a few sketchbooks, but not as many as I would have liked. I also drew some convention sketches and hopefully I'll be able to post them soon enough.
here's one...
I'm sure all of you have heard that this year's con was bigger than ever and it was estimated that 125,000 fans filled the convention center. It sure felt like it. I haven't decided whether I'm going to do the booth next year or not...I might just wander around and see all the sights and enjoy it that way...I'll have to think about it...

And away we go...

I'll be leaving for San Diego in just a little bit. Hopefully the traffic will let up some by the time we hit the 405. Either way I'll be driving for at least 3 hours - probably closer to 4.

For anyone interested I decided to bring along some original sketches to sell as well. If you're in the neighborhood remember to swing by and say "Hi". I'll be in booth #4609.

Next week I'll report back on how it all went...

Because so many asked...

...I thought I would let everyone know that after the convention I will try to make the poster shown below available for sale over the internet. I will have to look into how to best ship it and ways to keep that cost down, but as soon as I know I'll let you know.
Thanks for all the interest....kinda makes me feel good.

Good SDCC news...

I haven't mentioned anything concerning what might happen at the San Diego Comic Con because I didn't want to jinx it. But it's confirmed...I will be sharing a booth at SDCC this year after all. Senti of Skelanimals and http://www.sentiart.com/ has generously offered to share his booth with Francesco Francavilla and myself.
We will be at booth #4609 near the Illustrators and Fine Artists section. It might be a hair crowded, but it sure beats walking around the convention and trying to sell my sketchbooks out of a backpack.

Now I can finally breath a little easier...especially since I went ahead and had some posters made just for the Convention. I was originally toying with finishing the John Carter of Mars picture, but not only was I running out of time, but after some feedback it seemed not as many people as I would've thought even knew anything about the book. So I decided to go with a new drawing of a character that had caused a legion of fan-sites to sprout up. I hope you'll agree I made the right choice.
What I'll be doing is selling the posters (and signing them) for $10 each or if you by a sketchbook I'll include a poster for just an additional $5. They're 18x24.




I'll also try and do as many sketches as I can and I might even take some commissions - time allowing, of course.

Hopefully I'll see some of you there.

Heroes Con

I wanted to let anyone living in or visiting the Charlotte, NC area know that my good friend Francesco Francavilla (the artist of The Black Coat and other comics - as well as the master of my web-site and the designer of my sketcbook) will be at the Hero Con June 30 to July 2 - Friday to Sunday of next week selling his sketchbooks - and he'll also have a few of my sketchbooks to sell as well.
Here’s a link: http://www.heroesonline.com/con-indie.htm and here's a link to Francesco's web-site: http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/ . It's well worth a look and you might just become a fan of his.
This is a drawing I did awhile ago of The Black Coat. These are really fun comics - they're a kind of a cross between the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh and Batman.

A Gathering of Gargoyles...

As promised, Saturday I sat on the panel at the Gargoyle convention, A Gathering of Gargoyles. It went pretty well - although the panel participants almost outnumbered the audience. Well, not quite - but almost. It was intimate and very casual and it was good seeing some my friends Boyd Kirkland, Frank Paur, James Peters and Gary Hartle again. They're all great guys and it was fun catching up with them.
Afterwards I participated in what is called a Mug-A-Guest...I'd never heard of this type of thing before, but it was an even more intimate way to meet with fans and answer some of the questions that wouldn't have been appropriate at the panel.
I had a good time and if asked I'd be glad to participate again.

What do I know...?

...we'll soon find out.

This Saturday, June 24th, I'll be participating in a panel discussion at the Gargoyles Convention. The panel is "Adapting Stories & Characters from Comics to Film" and starts at 12:30PM. I'll be there with Frank Paur, Boyd Kirkland and a couple of other artists. The panel will be 90 minutes with a 30 minute signing to follow. I'm not sure how much I'll have to contribute, but hopefully I'll won't just sit there like a lump staring at the audience.

It'll take place at The Hyatt Valencia (near Magic Mountain) 24500 Town Center Drive, Valencia, California 91355

I'll also bring along some sketchbooks to sell - of course.