lazy day

Kif, Tylor and I have spent the day on the balcony.
It must be close to 30 degrees and it's been sooooo nice!
I have lots of should've, would've & could'ves today, but I opted for bugger all and am pleased I did so.

Going Ape (Part 4 of 4)

Wrapping up this series, here's Doctor Zaius:

Of course the good Doctor is one of the most recognizable characters from the Planet of the Apes franchise, but I suspect more people know him from this:

Fan Art Contest

Hi all,

Kei and I thought it would be fun if we held a contest on our DEVIANTART page to get everyone drawing!
It's been so much fun, we thought we'd post it on the blog too!



Prizes: We're giving away a copy of our 'Guy Sketches' signed with sketches inside by Kei and myself.


Topic: Do your version of one of our paintings in your style!

Submission and Deadline: June 8th by 12:00 midnight eastern time.
-Submit as many entries as you wish.
-Post the submission on your blog or Deviantart page and email the link to info(at)imaginismstudios.com with the subject title: 'Art Contest'

Please submit NEW artwork only, which means artwork created for this contest, any artwork posted after April 13th. Any artwork before this date will not be accepted to this contest.

Have fun drawing and painting everyone! We are excited to see what you'll come up with!

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If you don't have time to draw, that's ok as well. We'll be giving away a signed copy of Guy Sketches to one of our random 'FOLLOWERS.'

Check out all of the fun entries so far!

things that make me happy

TAKING A LONG BATH.





















JERSEY. ALWAYS JERSEY.


























SLEEPING.



















BBQ WITH FRIENDS. PREFERABLY IN JERSEY.

HORSERIDING.

The Ballad Of Gay Tony

Liberty City is about to get a little more fabulous. Rockstar Games has announced The Ballad of Gay Tony, the second episode for Grand Theft Auto IV. This episode's focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities.

The Ballad of Gay Tony stars Luis Lopez, a "part-time hoodlum" and "full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince," better known as "Gay Tony." As usual, he'll have to juggle competing loyalties while also trying to determine who is "real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price."

Rockstar Games is proud to announce the fall release of both the second episode of Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony - exclusively for download on Xbox LIVE online entertainment network, and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which will include both episode one The Lost and Damned, and episode two The Ballad of Gay Tony together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City delivers two games on one disc - the all-new episode The Ballad of Gay Tony and the first episode, The Lost and Damned - together on disc for the first time - for Xbox 360 for $39.99 and will not require a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto IV to play.

The Ballad of Gay Tony will release on Xbox LIVE this fall for $19.99 or 1600 MS points and requires players to have Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.

Source: 1up.com, rockstargames.com/theballadofgaytony

short stories

• I have 6 tomatoes growing nicely on my tomato plants already!
• I have managed to eat two proper meals today - and got to keep them!
• Tomorrow I get a grocery home delivery and pray to god it won't be that same sleezy delivery guy that asked me out once before.
• My settee was to arrive last week, but still no sign of it...
• I have finished writing my first home assignment on leadership and values. Feels great to study again!
• I'm off to see that new Wolverine movie at the pictures tomorrow.
• Kif woke me up this morning, and after my initial frustration of being woken up "so early" I realized I'd slept through my alarm! I owe Kif one big time!

Going Ape (Part 3 of 4)

General Ursus:

He's from the second movie--Beneath the Planet of the Apes, which is easily the most boring of the series. However, I wanted to represent each species of ape, and Ursus happens to be one of the gorillas with a more interesting uniform, so here he is.

Aretha Franklin painting.

This painting was done as a step by step for 3D Total magazine. Still working on the DVD, it's coming along very well!

Also I wanted to let folks out there know that my next course on Caricature at Schoolism starts on the 24th of July. For questions or more info on Schoolism and my course on Caricature, please visit Schoolism.com

you don't know Jack Schitt, do you?

confession

Oooouuuuch....

Despite the purring Kif inside my jumper and pain killers inside my intestines I feel a bit sick.

Why? Because I've just over-indulged!

For those of you who knows me well/seen my bathroom it won't come as a surprise that I am a toiletrieholic. I loooove toiletries!

Bathfoams. Deodorants. Showergels and face masks. Even pretty razors and tweezers gets my attention. I'm such a sucker for anything that smells nice or is wrapped up in pretty packaging.

I usually order my stuff from a British website named http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk since I don't think Swedish shops have much to offer. And after being sick, bored and stuck in bed for a few days I thought I deserved to pamper myself.

And so I put in an order just now. For more money than I dare to write down. Let's just say that it's more than my electricity bill, phone bills and internet bill put together on an average month.

update (and a cat story in disguise)

Still in bed. To cut a long story short I spent Wednesday in A&E where they did all possible tests and found out what's wrong with my stomach.

I was given a presciption on morphine tablets and the pain is now bearable. Also I've been given tablets to cure the thingiemagig in my belly. Yesterday and today were spent in bed as I still feel quite weak.

And the cats... Well, these cats:

Yesterday they were overwhelmed with the fact that I was in bed all day. They snuggled up to me and reeeeaaaaaally made the most of the opportunity of cuddling the whole day.

Today it's a different story:

Tylor is still being faithful, even though not as impressed as yesterday. But he is obedient and lies next to me purring soothingly. He's making very clear he does this for me and is not at all interested in a cuddle himself really. I mustn't stroke him or his tail starts whipping.

Kif is booooored. He jumps up and down on my stomach (because he's noticed he gets a very quick response by doing so!), screams as he runs up and down the bed in something I interpret as "well come on now you lazy bugger! Chase me!". He takes great joy in chasing my toes or fingers as soon as I move them. Licking my eyelids as soon as I close them is another safe bet of getting my attention, he's figured out.

Tylor is defending me and telling his brother to piss off. Kif is enjoying this tremendously.

Needless to say I have live entertainment in bed. They are wonderful, make me laugh and I love them dearly. I just wish I could be slightly more bright and alert to enjoy it all.

Going Ape (Part 2 of 4)

Cornelius, Zira, and baby Caesar, from the Planet of the Apes:

I wish I had a chunk of time to expound upon my deep fondess for the Planet of the Apes movies, but I don't. Consider yourselves lucky!

Anime North this weekend! Subway sketching postponed until next Sunday.

We'll be at Anime North this weekend! This will be our first time at an anime convention. I wonder how different it is from a comicon?

Also, Subway sketching postponed until next Sunday.

Also... here's a funny film by all around super talented Alain Huynh

down memory lane

Is there anything nicer than an old couple holding hands?

yes, I have stolen this picture from the internet. So sue me...

Today I saw an elderly man and a woman in the pharmacy. He helped her get up from the chair as it was their turn. They looked so in love. Later, on my way home, I saw the very same couple walking slowly, hand in hand, whilst eating icecream in the sunshine.



My thoughts went to my own grandparents. When my grandmother got old and fragile my grandparents started to hold hands.



I never liked my grandmother. She treated me and my mother really bad. I don't think she was very nice to my granddad either. When I was little I was scared of her, and in my teens I grew to despise her.



But something inside me changed when I once saw my grandparents walking through a park together. She was fragile by then, and my grandad - as always - handsome and proud. They walked side by side, hand in hand. it was an air of tenderness and reverence around them.



Later in life I have found out things about my grandmother's life. Things that makes me a little more understanding to why she was the way she was. And I am glad she had my granddad by her side all along. Holding her hand.

this made me laugh

He: I like the fact that you're so intelligent.

She: As if you'd know. Idiot.

Bubble Bath !

This was a gift for our good friends Bill and Ikumi..
I'm glad to have found friends who love pin-ups! (Btw, Bill is the king of pin-ups!)

Bisoux,
Kei

Going Ape (Part 1 of 4)

"Lawgiver, who knows the future?"

In case you were not aware, this is the Lawgiver, a character from the Planet of the Apes movies.

Do I have a figurine of the Lawgiver, as a constant reminder that ape must never harm ape? Yes, I do. Am I the world's biggest dork? Likely.

Mr Wong's Laundromat

Rockstar Games finally released the new feature for GTA Chinatown Wars, Mr Wong's Laundromat. The newly opened webgame will allow Social Club members to earn and transfer cash/multiplayer skins back to their linked Nintendo DS.

Today, we’re excited to announce the grand opening of Mr Wong’s Laundromat on Rockstar Games Social Club. This webgame allows players of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars to log onto Social Club and test out their money laundering skills in an effort to win cash and unlockable multiplayer costumes that can then be used in their copy of Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS.

Players can earn up to $10,000 per day working for Mr Wong, a local Chinatown 'businessman' who's helped more than his fair share of cash trickle seamlessly and undetected through the streets of Liberty City over the years.

If you need to add your Nintendo DS Friend Code to your Social Club account (needed to transfer any money/multiplayer costumes you earn from Mr Wong back to your game) you can click here to visit the Social Club account linking page and follow the detailed instructions. You can also play Mr Wong’s without having a DS Friend Code linked to your Social Club account and submit scores to the top 50 leaderboard.

Once you have successfully linked your account with the Social Club, all you need to do to receive your rewards from Mr Wong is sync your Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars’ game save with the Social Club. To do this, visit any safe house and click on your “Pink Fruit Laptop”. Once in the “Pink Fruit Laptop” screen you will see an option to “Sync Stats” which requires a valid Wi-Fi connection. Any money and or costumes that you had accumulated in your piggy bank will be zero’ed out on the Social Club and added to your game save during the sync process.

As soon as your sync is complete with the Social Club, please make sure to save your game. If you have retrieved money and/or a multiplayer costume but do not save your game, they will be unrecoverable if your DS loses power or you reload your save game. Users can only accumulate up to $10,000 dollars within a 24 hour period from Mr Wong. Once this limit is reached, a user will no longer earn money that can be pushed back to the Nintendo DS for that day but will still be able to submit high scores to the leaderboard.

Finally, multiplayer costumes are earned in succession and if you earn a new multiplayer costume your old one will be overwritten.

the manager meeting

Yesterday I had a friend around for a late lunch. When she left my stomach started to hurt more than usual. By 8 pm I was in agony.

This morning it was even worse. I couldn't stand up straight. I went to the doctor, and sent a text message to my colleagues saying I wouldn't make it to the manager meeting we had planned this morning.

When I left the doctor's (with pain killers and stomach pills of some sort) I checked my mobile phone. There was a reply from one of my colleagues saying another manager was on her way to pick me up.

And as I looked up, there she was. She gave me a big hug and said "right, we're taking you to the Emergency unit. This has been going on for too long and we're all worried about you."

I burst into tears. How wonderful they all are!!! I explained I'd been given medicine and that I would give it a try before rushing off to the A&E. My colleague said OK and drove us off to our conference room.

There they had made warm, lovely soup for me.

I am truely blessed with being surrounded by wonderful, caring people.

holy smoke!

At 7 am this morning I woke up with the feeling something was seriously wrong. I found it difficult to breathe. Then I smelled the smell of something burning. It was intensely strong.

I threw myself out of bed, thinking I'd forgotten to blow the candles out before going to bed last night. Soon I realized it wasn't coming from my flat, but someone elses.

To be woken up like that freaked me out, and before I gathered my thoughts I will admit I was flapping a bit. However, after calming myself down and starting to think clearly, I figured the smoke in my flat was coming from a neighbouring flat's fireplace. You see, the fireplaces in my building mustn't be used as the chimney has cracked, but sometimes an old biddie does anyway. And then the whole house fills with smoke.

I opened the bedroom windows to get some fresh air. My lungs were about to explode and I got my inhalors out. I haven't had to use them once this year so far, but this most certainly triggered the good old asthma. (In all fairness I'll admit it's this time of year it starts every year. This year it just got kick started a bit!)

I went back to bed. Closed my eyes and tried to get my breathing in controll. Then I remembered what I'd dreamt just before waking up:

I was out walking in the woods somewhere. The sun was shining through the branches and I was happy. Then I heard childrens voices and soon saw two boys carrying a third boy, slighly younger than the other. The two walking boys were carrying duck tape and a plastic bag as well as the young boy.

All of a sudden they put the plastic bag over the young boys head! I told them not to play with plastic bags, as it could be dangerous. All three boys laughed and said it was just for fun. Then they got the duck tape and cellataped the bag tight around the young boys head! And the boy was choking!

Hmmm... The smoke making me not being able to breathe combined with watching an episode of CSI the night before obviously had serious effects on my subconsiousness!

Nathan Cameron Painting

This is a digital painting I did of my friend Nathan Cameron. I saved each step and there will be a step by step of this painting featured next Month in CG Arena's Digital Magazine. My Aretha Franklin will be featured as a step by step in July's 3D Total Magazine. Stay tuned for both of these.

Nathan is a good friend of mine who's a talented director/editor, he's filmed, directed, and edited music videos and short films . . . really cool stuff. He and I are currently finishing up my DVD on sketching . . . working on the editing end of things.












Detail. I felt it important even though I was going for a more realistic rendering to keep it brushy and loose in areas. It's painted and I want people to see that.






Here's the main reference of Nathan that I used for my painting.

a cavalcade of cat loving

Tylor couldn't lie still in my lap today - the fuss pot smothered me with cuddles

and Kif enjoyed the sunshine in the chair next to me:

We do have a pretty lovely life, we do.

It's a Stretch...

Resident yogi from the Street Fighter series, Dhalsim:

click above for larger view

My previous Street Fighter pieces have all been pretty static--starting with this one I'm trying to pepper in more dynamic/interesting shots. Okay, I'm tired and busy, I spare you from further rambling!

the end of the floor story

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now all that's missing is my settee to arrive.

Until then I'll stick to the Harem- look. Tylor, in the left hand corner, seems to like it!

sunny but cold

Today the sun kept teasing us all. Shining for a bit, disappearing for a bit.

The cats were out on the balcony sunbathing when all of a sudden it got really cold.

Kif and Tylor ran in. But couldn't really resist checking out

the going ons outside.

They sat there, close together to keep warm on their scratching pole, looking out over the square.

Bless them.

Water Worlds SOLD OUT!

Water Worlds was a great success! It sold out quicker than all our other books with maybe the exception of Subway Sketches. A huge thank you to all of you that purchased a copy. You're the reason we are able to do our independent art.

We're wrapping up our Life Drawing book soon. Hopefully get it to the printers by the end of the week.

Much love from Imaginism Studios!

hazy day

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a haze. Not sure what I want, not sure what direction to move in.

Today was one of those days. Woke up missing Jersey. Missing my travels. Thinking I really should get a job with less responsibility. Look after myself more. Feeling like all I do is wrong, that I'm crap at most things and perhaps it would be better if I didn't get out of bed at all.

After 13 hours at work the feeling lingers on. I am exhausted. Too tired to get to bed even.

Tomorrow I'm hosting a conference in a department I've only been to once before. I haven't had time to prepare, as today was spent hosting a conference in my department, followed by trying to sort out arguments and upset feelings...

... Perhaps I should've listen to that inner voice that told me to stay put in bed all day today.

Fascinating.

Let it never be said that I can't admit when I'm wrong. And yes, that was a double negative.

A year ago, if you had asked me about the-then-upcoming Star Trek movie, I would have said, "Why bother? End the franchise, it's over." Star Trek had been dying slowly for years, and I was not a fan of Alias or Lost, and therefore not a fan of J.J. Abrams.

Well, I watched Star Trek over the weekend--it was good, and the franchise is back. Not only was I wrong, I'm glad that I was wrong. Mr. Abrams you now have not only critical and financial success, but also the respect of this nerd. I'm sure that must mean the world to you.

Here's Spock:

click above for larger view

I may have enjoyed the new movie, but just to be clear, this is Leonard, not Zachary. Or Spock Prime as they're now calling him.

Aretha Sketch pt. 1

Aretha sketch . . . will be painting this one so stay tuned.

Android Jones, Thanks TCAF, Alvin Lee's Schoolism Classes

Here's a little drawing I did at TCAF. Thanks to everyone that came out to see us! We had a great time.
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A friend of ours, Andrew (Android) Jones is coming to Toronto. He is one of the founders of CONCEPTART.ORG, an amazing artist and mind. We at Imaginism are all VERY excited about attending this event. Mark down your calendars for this May 15th and show some love and support Toronto! See you there.

Here's the LINK

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Schoolism:
Alvin Lee's course:
'Building a Powerful Comicbook Portfolio' starts May 29th
Registration is at SCHOOLISM.COM

the drunken idea

During last night's BBQ a wide variety of subjects were talked about:

• the taste of ecological wines
• should we go blueberry picking together in August?
• wether to buy new furniture or not
• how to make carrot marmelade
• the pro's and con's with living in Stockholm
• hair extensions
• our jobs

The list could be made endless. However, the more wine we consumed, the more we started to talk about relationships and men. Shiler and Kamil are married, and their view on married life was really interesting to hear. Sofia and I are single, and of course we talked about the difficulties of meeting a descent man.

It could well have been the wine talking, but I came up with an idea: what if Sofia and I asked our friends to find us a single man to go on a date with? Someone they'd think would suit us?

Say I have 20 friends here in Stockholm. If each and every one of them were to introduce me to one man each, I would have 20 dates awaiting me without having to make the slightest little effort of being on a man hunt!

I think it sounds kind of fun, if nothing else. So suggestions on your single, mature and pleasant male friends please!

the end of the story

The carpenter did turn up yesterday. I refused to get out of bed and open my front door when he ringed the door bell. Thought "as he took my house keys with him when he left yesterday he might as well bloody use them".

He rang the bell a couple of times. I stayed put in my bed. The cats too, giving me moral support to the fact that I made the right decision not to get up.

When he finally used the keys and let himself in, I screamed "Good morning. I'm still asleep!" to which I got a non-definable grunt as an answer. I figured he was in a bad mood (probably from having to go into work on his day off), thought it served him right and went back to sleep.

I woke up by the sound of the front door closing and the noise of a set of keys being dropped off into my letterbox. I smiled to myself as I got up and checked the livingroom. It's all done and looking pretty damn good.

Now I'm waiting in aticipation for my new settee to arrive!

saturday night

I will tell you the latest on the livingroom floor and angry Dana.

But not tonight.

Tonight I'm off out for a BBQ with my lovely friend Shiler, her husband Kamil and our mutual friend Sofia. I will drink wine. Lots of it!

Laters!

yep, I did have a fit!

The builders left after 6 pm last night. And still no bloody floor in sight.

I asked what would happen. The guy said "someone" would probably turn up today (Friday) and sort it out. I sighed, but kept my calm.

Today I left my house at 8 am. No builders had arrived by then, but I tried to close off the hallway (leading in to the bedroom and bathroom) so that the cats would have room to move about without getting a chance to sneak out, were the builders to arrive.

All day at the course I attended (and what a course!! I loooove it!!!) I worried about the cats. Had they snuck out with unattentive builders? Were they OK?

I got home just after 5 pm. No builders in sight, but the floor boards were in place. But only half the skirting boards! And there were packs of floor boards still blocking my kitchen. Sacks of sand blocking the hallway. Big binliners full of trash piled around the livingroom. Tools (sharp ones, not suitable for laying around in a household where there are cats). They hadn't returned my keys, but no note told me when they were planning to come back.

I was tired. Felt like crying, but told myself it was OK.

Then I noticed two black handprints on my newly whitepainted wall. I was livid. And then, as I went into the bathroom, I noticed they'd used my toilet! And left the toilet seat up!

I lost it. Had a fit from hell. Phoned the manager, who of course had finished work for the weekend. I tracked him down via google, and got hold of his private mobile number. As there was no answer I left a rather unpleasant message on his answer machine.

Two minutes later he phoned back. Apologized profusely and said he would sort something out. Then he phoned back another 2 minutes later and told me the guy who'd messed things up today will come tomorrow (even though it's Saturday!) and won't be leaving until he's finished.

Good. But I won't believe it until I see it.

Not So Secret

He's the least secret of all secret characters, but he's still bad-ass. From the Street Fighter franchise, Akuma!

click above for larger view

Akuma's greying temples are seen in some of the offical art from Street Fighter III, but generally are not standard. I decided to include them, because I like the idea of this being the most 'current' version of Akuma, relative to his imaginary age. I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore. Bedtime!

rant

I can't cope any longer! I'm having a fit!

The bloody carpenters have been here all day yesterday (to rip out the floor boards in the living room). They turned up at 7.30 am this morning and they are still here! 5 pm! And there's still no bloody floor boards on the floor as they've done it wrong 3 times and had to start all over time and time again.

I'm going insane. I can't get to the kitchen. They have even put building stuff all over my drawer with work paper that I desperately need to get to (and study) before tomorrow morning. I am stuck in my bedroom with my beloved boys. We are all booooored shitless! And I will have a serious fit in a minute.

Learn How to Talk to Moms !

Here's the second book from the "How to" series by super-kid and (New York Time's Bestselling Author) Alec Greven, that I had the privilege of illustrating! It's a really wonderful book that reminds us all (no matter what age) how to be good :)
Alec is such a thoughtful kid, I could have used this when I was younger!

Also, the "How to" books have now gone GLOBAL! With editions in German, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, UK, Czech, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Vietnamese and Hebrew!!!













HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

-Kei


P.S. If you're around the Toronto area, we will be at TCAF this weekend!