It's SUNNY over here in Kirkland! I thought it would be raining the entire time. A lot of people out now enjoying the sunshine.



We must have brought some better weather from LA , but I know it can change any minute up here.

I'm pretty excited to be heading up to Washington State at the end of the month to be working with the best in the business and to be seeing some old colleagues.....

The creators of this guy:



I'll definitely be enjoying the immense variety of fresh seafood that Washington offers. I think it's going to be raining the entire time. What a complete contrast to living right next to the beach here in So Cal.

Go here to sign the petition:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnersh ... d=11303956



Here is more about the bill in an article on AWN:

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=Colu ... amp;page=1

"Dear Artist Friends,
I received this information on artists copyrights from another artist. This is about a bill composed in committee to go before Congress which will in effect strip all artist’s rights that they have enjoyed since 1976. Instead of the artist having an automatic copyright as soon as he/she creates something, it will require registering the copyright with companies who will make tons of money from the artists. Works not officially registered will be considered “orphans” which will allow companies and individuals to use them in any way they like without fear of being sued. The law will protect the infringers rather than the infringed. All artists need to familiarize themselves with this unfair bill and protest to their representatives in Congress.
Please click the link below to learn about this proposed change. Pass this information along to fellow artists. We need to protect our rights. Sincerely, Jack Ragland"


And here is more clarification on the Illustrators partnership website:

http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/ ... term=00264

I've added a bunch of concept boards for the Iron Man trailer(s) that I did last year on my website in the work section. It was supposed to be a custom shoot for the Superbowl spot. The 3d model (which I posed and lit for this job) was courtesy of Industrial Light + Magic.

Two of my all-time film favorites that have influenced directors, actors and all walks of people throughout the generations.

Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune.

I bought those 2 books back in 2001 and they're both really good reads. Especially if you're into Kurosawa's films, Mifune's acting, as well as the relationship Kurosawa and Mifune had as director and actor. Particularly in some of the best films made in film history.

One of the main reasons why I am very interested in samurai is that my mother's side are descendants of samurai and it's in the bloodline.

And, yes, that is a small figure of Mifune's character, Sanjuro from the film, Yojimbo that you see. There was a line of figures(made by Kaiyodo in Japan) from Yojimbo including Kurosawa that were black and white and color.