I'M HUGE!

Josh's New Year's Resolution

2010-12-31T12:59:00.000-08:00

to check out Josh's New Year's Resolution.

Where Ox and Ass are Feeding

2010-12-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

Our friend Ted Jager (who currently lives in Thailand) sent us an email with an idea for a short comic. We thought it was pretty funny and developed this:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

Nutcracker - Josh

2010-12-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

Here's another attempt of a Nutcracker I've been doodling for a while in various past sketches (1, 2, 3).

This is further exploration into a story concept about the Nutcracker from ETA Hoffman's original book.

Wrestling With The Big Dumb Ox - Josh

2010-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

I made this t-shirt design for a professor I know and his class. They are celebrating the fact that they read through and discussed St. Thomas Aquinas' entire Summa Theologica! It alone is 3,011 pages in English translation. The professor is Dr. Greg Peters, who teaches in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University.

Merry Axe-mas - Josh

2010-12-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

To kick of the Christmas season, I thought I'd post the actual Guest Comic that I drew and Matt Wilson wrote for the web comic Axe Cop. It also acted as a promo for our graphic novel of Scrooge and Santa.

MST3K Month

2010-11-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

We've always looked upon the month of November as Mystery Science Theater 3000 Month. Mainly because while the show was still on the air, they would have an annual Turkey Day marathon every Thanksgiving. This means 30 straight hours of MST3K, which included themed host segments.

To go with this month's theme, Josh has begun work on creating his own cartoon adaptations of the main characters. So far, he has drawn the great trinity of the cast:

Tom Servo

Crow T. Robot

Joel Robinson

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Streaming Show Featuring Us!

2010-11-02T16:42:00.001-07:00

The Comic Book Club live show will be on in 15 minutes. Matt Wilson and I will be guests promoting Scrooge and Santa.

GO HERE TO LISTEN

Scrooge and Santa Website and Interview!

2010-11-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

We now have the official Scrooge and Santa website up and running! CLICK HERE to visit.

From I'M HUGE!

I created all the visual elements and our amazing website designer somehow made it all work!

We nearly sold out of our stock of Scrooge and Santa graphic novels at the Long Beach Comic Con! There were only 5 copies left.

Tomorrow night Matt Wilson and I will be featured guests on the COMIC BOOK CLUB live show in NYC! We'll be talking about Scrooge and Santa via phone here in CA. This show is a podcast so that those of you who can't make it out to the live show can listen to it latter! CLICK HERE to checkout podcast on iTunes if you want to subscribe.

Long Beach Comic Con - Josh

2010-10-28T00:23:00.000-07:00

I realize that I'm very late in announcing this, but Matt Wilson and I will be promoting Scrooge and Santa at the Long Beach Comic Con (10/29-31). Arcana (publisher) will have a booth (#406) where Matt and I will be part of a small team running it. We will be passing out small candy canes like these to help promote our graphic novel.

If you can come to this Con, please stop by the booth and say "HI". Love to see any of you!

(Don't forget, you can order your copy of Scrooge and Santa at Urban Collector.)

6th Wedding Anniversary

2010-10-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

As of today, we have been married six years. In keeping with our annual anniversary pumpkin carving tradition, we designed and carved this lovely jack-o-lantern. Nothing says, “Happy Anniversary!” like gutting a big orange gourd, stabbing it repeatedly with a sharp object, and then filling it with fire. Here’s to six wonderful years!

Chesterton Humor? - Josh

2010-10-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Been reading G.K. Chesterton's book of "What's Wrong With The World", and made a quick doodle of the old dude last night.

That lead to a short comic:

It's a reference to the to the "Dedication" in the book. It's meant to be a kind of "drop your monocle" joke, but I don't know if it's actually funny. CLICK HERE to check out the dedication and the entire book.

Here's a version without the explanation for you Chesterton Fans (Chestertonians).

Gave It A Chop

2010-10-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

My good friend Ethan Nicholle is the co-creator (along with his kid brother) of the successful webcomic, Axe Cop. Ethan was nice enough to let me draw a guest comic for this great series. Matt Wilson wrote the comic and as a result it became a semi-promo for Scrooge and Santa. You can view our guest comic on the site by clicking on the icon below.

Ethan wrote a nice intro for our guest strip on the main page (at least while it's still up).

Place Your Orders!

2010-09-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

OK folks! You can now actually place your orders for Scrooge and Santa!

Just go to Urban Collector and search for "Scrooge and Santa" or just CLICK HERE.

It's started!

Josh's Online Portfolio

2010-09-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Josh finally has an online portfolio!

You can check it out at:

joshkenfield.daportfolio.com

Scrooge and Santa - Comic Con Report (Josh)

2010-09-05T14:36:00.001-07:00

I realize that it's a bit late in announcing this, but Comic Con went well!
From what we know, at least 17 books were sold on the main floor!
For being an unknown book, by two "unknowns", without prior promotion, we are very happy with how it sold. It was at times surreal, since Matt and I sat behind a big booth (Arcana Comics) and actually signed copies of our book. We have been attending Comic Con together for the past 7 years, so it was very poetic that our first comic would be created together and premiered at the Con. (Forgot to mention that we saw our printed comic for the first time at Comic Con.) Wow, just a couple of years ago I was presenting on a panel and this year I'm "working the Floor". It seems like every I go, I get more and more "involved".

Thank you to Matthew Wilson, who put much investment into this project and who was able to make it a reality!
Thank you to Sean O'Reilly (CEO and Owner of Arcana Comics) for being willing to have this story published!
To all the friends and comrades who sought us out and bought Scrooge and Santa, and to all the complete strangers who ran across this and chose to invest in a completely new book, we give a big heartfelt THANK YOU!
And last, but certainly not least, an enormous THANK YOU to my amazing wife, Katie. Without her willingness and patience to take care of our daughter and other needs, this project would not have happened. I love you Darling!

If you (or someone you know) would like to get a copy of Scrooge and Santa, you can soon place orders through Arcana Comics in October. We will be posting news and updates throughout the Fall. In the meantime please visit the Scrooge and Santa Facebook Page.

Publishing for The Con - Josh

2010-07-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

I realized that I never announced on our blog that the work for the graphic novel SCROOGE & SANTA is finally completed! The publisher (Arcana Comics) is working on getting the book completed in time for Comic Con (July 22-25). This year I will actually be sitting at a booth on the main floor, promoting the book! It seems that the more I attend the Con, the more I get "involved". If any of you are attending, please stop by the Arcana Comics booth #2415. Love to see any of you!

Plato Comic Booklet

2010-06-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I created a presentation booklet acting as a proposal for a graphic novel, titled Plato Journey. It was drawn during my breaks at my last job using a ballpoint pen I got from a hotel. This was made before I knew anything about drawing comics and it was a good learning experience. (For Example) One thing I learned was, don't draw a comic with a ball point pen.
If you would like to check it out, you may now download a PDF version by clicking HERE.
Enjoy!

Graphic Novel Progress - Josh

2010-05-14T20:59:00.001-07:00

If I've appeared to be unsocial to anyone these last couple of months, it's mainly because I've devoted any moment I can spare on a graphic novel project. This is the same one I mentioned in a PAST POST. It's a Christmas story that deals with Scrooge and Santa. The story was written by Matthew Wilson.

I'm about halfway through the 3rd act, so the end is almost in sight. Right now the book is in black and white and soon to be colored. A Lettrist is currently working on all the text. Here are a few page samples of my work-in-progress (the font is not final). This is my first graphic novel and comic book, so it's been a real learning experience.

Crafty Card

2010-04-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

Josh made this card for Katie's birthday, celebrating her crafts.

If you're wondering about the dog, check out THIS POST on Katie's blog.

Josh's Commercial Acting Premier

2010-04-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Remember THIS BLOG POST? Well, here's what that was all about.

Click on the video after it starts playing to watch it in Youtube.com (recommended).

Work In Progress

2010-03-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a comic book that has a Christmas theme. Here's couple samples:

A Personal Post from Josh

2010-03-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I am currently unemployed and have been for nearly a year now. That is a sobering confession for me. Even though my family and I have kept our heads above water, it will not last forever. I need a job, one that can help support my family (a wife and a little girl who will be 2 in May). I have been searching for work through various methods but one thing that has always proven to be most effective is asking friends and associates. My last job was actually three jobs in one and I was shared between two different departments, I hope that shows I am capable of doing good work. I have never left a job on bad terms and all my employers have been happy with my work and attitude. My last job was with a bank/mortgage lender where I and the majority of my coworkers were laid off. Ever since college I have done freelance illustration work on the side and ideally I would love to work in a job field where I can put to use my artistic creative skills, but if that is not a possibility I am open to whatever is out there. We currently live in Southern California and if we need to move in order to get work, we will strongly consider it.

If you would like to contact me, please send an email to kenfieldkreations@gmail.com or through Facebook.
Thank you for taking the time read this.

Sincerely,

Josh Kenfield

More Coloring!

2010-02-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

This time I'm coloring for the presidential campaign of Axe Cop.
Axe Cop is an online comic sensation, illustrated by my friend Ethan Nicholle. Unlike his past Eisner Award winning comics of Chumble Spuzz, Axe Cop is not his original idea because it all came from the mind of Malachai, his kid brother. It's a really fun series because you have Ethan's great drawings telling stories that follow the logic of a 5 year old boy. I love it and it's getting a lot of attention in the online media! Not to mention, TV networks are approaching Ethan to make a cartoon series and even some movie studios are looking into make a feature film!
I've colored a few things for Ethan in the past but recently he asked me to color something for Axe Cop.

This design has become such a hit that already there are tons of requests for t-shirts and posters! (click HERE for more info)
I also made a small piece of "fan art" a while back for this great series.

I CAN COLOR!

2010-01-17T19:09:00.001-08:00

Last November I got to be a Lead Colorist for Doug TenNapel's latest graphic novel called One Bad Island. This means that I established the color pallet for the book so that other Colorists could use it to color the entire book. I personally colored several chunks of pages myself. It was a lot fun to work under Doug and it was great learning experience!
There are no images that I can share from this book, but there are some drawings in this video:

For those of you who don't know, Doug TenNapel (WEBSITE LINK) is the creator of Earth Worm Jim, a great collection of comic books, some cartoon shows, and a few films. His latest film project is with Hugh Jackman and his company (CLICK HERE TO READ).

2009 Holiday Sketches - Josh

2010-01-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

During our trip to Minnesota for Christmas and New Years, I whipped up a few sketches when I had small amount of free time.

My beloved 89 year old Grandmother, while she was talking with my Sister.

These were drawn while Katie and I were enjoying our favorite MN coffee chain, Caribou Coffee.

Merry Sunshine

2009-12-22T00:21:00.000-08:00

We wanted to wish y'all a Merry Christmas but we'll let The Hoff do all the talking for us, because nothing says Christmas like a German god prancing through the streets of Euro Disney.

Cracking!

2009-12-20T14:22:00.001-08:00

Aside from a few Nutcrackers from Josh's childhood (he used to collect them), we have been building our own collection since our first year of marriage, one Nutcracker for every Christmas. The one with the big head on left side is this year's addition.

Stasis Software Logo Design - Josh

2009-12-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

A logo I designed for App company Stasis Software.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

2009-11-26T10:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone!

(Sorry, we don't have a picture of the family to post.)

Super Mario Bros. Theme Park Attraction - by Josh

2009-11-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

I've recently started to play around with the 3D software Google Sketchup, trying to find away to incorporate it into illustrations. This is my first test. What I did was create a very basic 3D model in Sketchup. I then took a JPG from a certain angle of the model and painted over it as my bases for an illustration. My goal was to see if I could create a drawing where it would not be blatantly obvious that I used a 3D model.

The drawing is an exterior of a Super Mario Bros. Theme Park Attraction that I made up. I plan to make this a part of a series of drawings where I also explore the interior and the ride itself, which is primarily a motion simulator.

The setting is the Super Mario Bros. Plumbing Service Center. Mario and Luigi have created a plumbing company and they have opened their doors for tours and plumbing recruits. The company guarantee is that they will send a plumber to you not matter what the terrain (land, water, or air). From these headquarters they blast their plumbing vehicles, like cannon balls, from the four large pipes at the top of the building.

5th Wedding Anniversary

2009-10-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

As we do traditionally, we made up some SPAM Musubi and enjoyed it with some good IBC Cream Soda, while sitting down in front of warm flickering light from our Anniversary Jackolantern.

Prayer Book Illustrations - Josh

2009-10-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned to provide 20 illustrations and a cover piece for an updated publication of The Guild of the Living Rosary of Our Lady and Saint Dominic. I was asked to adapt a particular collection of stain glass windows into simplified illustrations.

Fifteen of the drawings were based on the actual windows (two of which are seen above). The following drawings had to be fabricated to match the same style and look.

I was able to design the cover using this photo.

The book is expected to be published toward the end of the fall. My thanks to Canon David Baumann for providing me this opportunity.

Wardrobe Design - by Josh

2009-09-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

For the first time I was commissioned to design wardrobe for a performance that was more in the line of "fashion" then "costumes". The client was performing arts organization, City Opera in LA. These designs were for the orchestra members of a concert performance

Klash!

2009-08-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of summer I (Josh) was hired to create a series of illustrations and designs for a curriculum written for summer camp programs. The program, titled KLASH OF THE KINGDOMS, was created by our extremely creative friend Steve Burrows. Everything I drew was under his detailed guidance. When I was a kid I never went through any kind of program that was this well thought out and richly imaginative. The program was initiated at a camp that Steve and his parents own and manage in Nevada. The camp is called Cowboy's Rest.
This is an illustration I made for promotion materials.

Some banner designs.

Every team has a different shield each taken from the Gospels whenever Jesus says, "The Kingdom of God is like ..."

These shields were put on to physical shields, along with being on team T-shirts.

All the shirts included either of these designs.

The program begins with a video telling a story about a mythical land where all these different kingdoms reside.The video was told along with these illuminated style drawings. Kind of like the opening sequences in classic Disney animated films.

These are maps of the mythical land and show the dramatic "before" and "after" change which happens in the story.

The 2nd map was recreated in a full scale painting.

I also created my first drawing of a blue print for a set piece that was built. Below the blue print is my conceptual drawing of how the set would look when painted.

Katie and I went to work at the camp to help with some creative tasks. Katie painted over 50% of the castle wall.

This is how it all turned out. (I did not design this promo pic for the camp, except for the "Klash of the Kingdoms" letters.)

JOIN US

2009-08-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

For more info CLICK HERE

Shock-A-Con - by Josh

2009-07-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Comic Con '09 and had a total geek-fest!
The guys I went with somehow got a room at the new Hilton that is literally next door to the San Diego Convention Center. This year (like every year) Katie and I made a T-Shirt for the occasion:Katie and Sofie stayed home for this year's Con but she was there in spirit through the way I collected autographs. Katie came up with an idea to make a Comic Con Autograph Clock:Clock Wise - Bill Corbett (RiffTrax/MST3K-Crow), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Steve Purcell (Sam & Max), Iain McCaig (Concept Artist-Star Wars), Gis Gimly (Illustrator), Jeff Smith (Bone comic), Bridget Jones (MST3K), Tom Fulp (The Behemoth-Castle Crashers game), Kevin Murphy (RiffTrax/MST3K-Tom Servo), Dan Paladin (Artist-The Behemoth), Doug TenNapel (Earthworm Jim/many graphic novels), Mike Nelson (MST3K-host)

I realize that I never posted about Comic Con last year ('08) but it was also a blast! Not only did Katie and Sofie join me but there was the 20th anniversary for Mystery Science Theater 3000 and I got to be on an actual Comic Con panel for the showing of short film Superpowers! Katie made an outfit for Sofie which we had our "heroes" sign.Clockwise, starting with the sleeve- Trace Beaulieu (Cinematic Titanic/MST3K-Crow/Dr. Forester), Kevin Murphy (see above), Frank Conniff (Cinematic Titanic/MST3K-TV's Frank), Rob Schrab (Scud/Robot Bastard), Bill Corbett (see above), Joel Hodgson (Cinematic Titanic/MST3K-Host), Mike Nelson (see above), Steve Purcell (see above), Dough TenNapel (see above).

An Oh So Sweet Moon Landing

2009-07-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

What do get when you mix too much free time, staying up past midnight, watching Space Movies all day, eating nothing but sugar and diet coke?

A true work of art!

Game Night

2009-06-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Aside from posting on this blog, I (Josh) also share another blog called Game Night.Game Night happens every Saturday evening when a few of my friends get together and just have fun playing video games (mostly on the Wii these days). I find it very therapeutic. So for gaming interest and generally interest in all things nerdy please stop by.

A Touch Of Creativity Brings Good TV Back To Life

2009-06-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Katie and I have finally started watching the wonderful series of Pushing Daisies and we really enjoy it.I personally love this show in it's entertaining characters, witty dialog, great plots, and beautiful production design. The cinematography really got my attention and appreciation. It feels like the creators of this series put some evident hard work into every episode. The basic premise of the show focuses around a pie maker named Ned, who has the ability to bring the dead back to life by touching them. However, he can only keep them alive for a minute or another life is taken, a second touch will return the once dead individual back the grave. The dark material is handled in way that is surprisingly light and fun in a fairytale manner.If you're interested, here is the pilot episode:
The rest of the episodes can be watched HERE.

Birthday Trek!

2009-05-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Josh spent his B-day in Disney's California Adventure and ended the evening by seeing an advanced screen of Star Trek at the Achlight in Hollywood.He's gone warp speed for this movie!

New Project

2009-05-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

Josh has begun a NEW PROJECT.
This is something that he will add to and develop over time.

Thanks to Randall for building this site.

What We Did Last Saturday

2009-04-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

More to come!

Jon Barr Memory

2009-04-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Jonathan Barr tragically passed away in 2004, but some fun memories of him remain alive. The following event took place in the summer of 2000 at the cabin of my friend Adam Snell's grandparents in Texas. Adam is the dude in the red hat and Jon is the dude in the white shirt.
Warning: the conversation you're about to read is extremely nerdy!I took some artistic license with this but I am accurately quoting Jon and he did slam into a tree after swinging away from it.
Here's to you Jon!

Will Knit for Cash

2009-04-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

As some of you (our loyal blog readers) know, I (Katie) have been knitting scarves for a little over two years now. They are nothing fancy, just a simple rib stitch in a single color, about six feet long and a few inches wide. As soon as I started knitting them, the first thing everyone wanted to know was whether I had thought about selling them. Well, I’ve made excuses long enough. I have finally taken the plunge and opened an online “etsy” shop. For those of you who are wondering what that means, “etsy” (pronounced “et-C”) is kind of like the folksy, craft fair version of ebay. All items bought and sold on the site must be handmade or have vintage appeal. I have no idea whether I’ll sell anything but I thought it was worth a shot. You can find my shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6323085. I have also started a separate blog for those of you interested in pictures and descriptions of some of the fun things I make, you can find that at www.theduckinghampalace.blogspot.com. So spread the word. There are scarves to be bought!

Just to see who's paying attention, the FIRST person to make a comment on Katie's new BLOG gets a FREE SCARF!

Tetris Break

2009-03-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

HAPPY B-DAY KATIE!

2009-03-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

It was Katie's Birthday Yesterday!
She spent the day in Disneyland (a free B-Day Pass) and partied down at the Frozen Joghert Haus!

Wile Sofie

2009-03-19T01:40:00.001-07:00

Katie Sham-Rocks!

2009-03-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I (Josh) work up to find this sitting in the kitchen!Katie also made these cotton stuffed cubes and pyramids as toys for Sofie!

St. Patrick’s Day Project – 02 (Josh)

2009-03-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is an ongoing annual project that I try to add more to every March. Check out my last POST on this. Sadly, all I have to show right now are just some rough pen sketches from my small sketch pad.
For this year I’ve included an addition to the stone chamber with the pot of gold. This room is round, and lined with Stonehenge-like arched pillars. Many vines and roots cover the room flowing out from the ceiling which is designed to look like the underside of a huge tree and its roots. This will hopefully suggest that the audience is standing beneath an enormous tree that was seen on top of the exterior of the attraction. After the magical event takes place (see last POST), the many roots and vines magically come to life. In the arch opposite of the entrance, the vines and roots collect together like fingers of snakes and form in the center a large face of the mysterious Green Man.The face come to life and welcomes (in an ominous manner) the guests to a magical realm of Celtic folklore.He then introduces the audience to various elements and creatures of Celtic folklore. As he does so, vines and roots part in various arches to reveal ancient relief images of the subject manner the Green Man speak of. Once his presentation is complete and all the arches (including the one the visitors entered through) display their images, the Green Man bids them to enter his realm. The plant work that formed his face parts to reveal an exit to the next part of the attraction (a motion simulator). Once the visitors leave, the vines close and the room resets itself for the next group.I drew these sketches of my version of Leprechauns (sadly I have not had time to color and render any of these drawings). Based on various descriptions of these little people, I learned that they burrow into the earth and that some have large pointy hats. So I decided to combine these two elements by giving them hats that can act as drills which they use by magically spinning fast so as to dig into the earth. Aside from red vests, I picture them with very earthy tones to match their forest environments.My Leprechauns also have bodies and digits resembling a frog’s. This is so they can jump fast and far, along with clinging onto trees.
Hopefully I can get more made on this.

My Bloody Valentine

2009-02-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

This is the Valentines Card that I (Josh) made for Katie this year. We have a personal link between Valentines Day and Little Shop of Horrors.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

2009-01-01T15:01:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 !!!
Check out Sofie's blog for more pics.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2008-12-25T01:15:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And as Tiny Sofie observed, "Squee! Gurble! Dadadada! Drool." (Translation: "God bless us, every one!")

A Little Nutty

2008-12-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
As you can painfully see we have not been posting anything for a while now. Life has just been personally busy in ways we cannot avoid and so it has caused us to neglect our blog. We've whipped up a collection of posts and now we're trying to find time to actually put them together.
It's Christmas and I (Josh) don't have much to show you but I do have this very rough sketch I threw together yesterday during my 15 minute break at work.
It's a design of the Nutcracker for a personal project of mine. The Nutcracker's form is actually a cursed man from an origin story in the Nutcracker novel called The Hard Nut. I've wanted to see the Nutcracker book by ETA Hoffman adapted into a film for while now, and until that happens I've been slowly designing my own! Another example I can show of my work on this project is the concept for a teaser trailer. (I know, I show this every year. TRADITION!)

More to posts to come!

Surf’s Up In Print

2008-09-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

The surfing coloring book that Josh drew a while back (see past POST) has been published! It got a plug in the OC Register, so we’ll see if that helps sales. You can get more info and order the book HERE.

Long Time, No Post

2008-07-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
You’ve probably noticed that we have not posted anything for a while now and that is mainly due the fact that our computer keep crashing on us every five minutes. This makes it very difficult for us to use the internet for anything, especially posting on our blogs. We hope to get a newer computer soon, in the meantime we’ll try to put a few posts up if our computer will let us.

My Girl – by Josh

2008-06-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

My parents told me last Sunday (6/8) that they finally had to put Maile, our black Labrador, to sleep.She left this world at the ripe old age of 13 which is a good lifetime for any dog, especially a Lab. My family had Maile longer than any animal we have owned (all of our other pets have either been killed or we’ve had to move), and we’ve never had a more affectionate dog than her. She could never get too much attention, you could pet her until her fur fell out and you would still not be done petting her.
For being a Labrador, Maile was … um … unique, in that she did not like water and she was not very good at hunting or retrieving. When she would sit by the back door and see a small critter in the yard she would bound off barking after it. The critter would then make a dash for the left and Maile would dash for the right. God bless her, she was not a very bright dog, but we loved her and she loved us even more.When I was still living with my parents Maile was kinda my dog. We got her as a small pup on my 16th birthday, but she sure didn’t stay small for long. First her head grew and then her legs shot out overnight. She walked around like a newborn faun, with her legs wobbling and shaking.Anything could cause her to fall over which our miniature dachshund (Kukui) loved, because she would get Maile to chase her and then make sharp turns causing Maili to crash and tumble. One of my favorite memories of that period was a day when I got home from school and came to the back yard calling her name; she was on the opposite side of the lawn and ran towards me. About half way her right leg stepped in front of the left causing her to tumble forward head first. This happened so quickly though that she made a complete roll landing back on her paws and continued on running. I don’t think she even noticed.As Maili got older (and larger) she became more and more affectionate and was always there to cheer me up on even bad days. After my sister and I left for college Maile became my parent’s dog and substitute child. Our good next-door neighbors (also empty-nesters) equally loved Maile and they, along with my parents, would hand her off between them throughout the weeks. In short Maile was never short on attention, and she got a little spoiled. So even though I live out of state, it’s a good comfort to me that Maile died knowing she was loved.Maile
1995-2008

Kenfield Trivia: Maile was named after a leaf from Hawaii that is worn as a lei for special events like weddings. Our dachshund Kukui, was named after a nut which is also worn as a lei in Hawaii. We also had a cat that was born in Hawaii and moved with us to Dallas, we very “creatively” named him Kitty.

Sofie's World

2008-06-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
We have created a blog that is solely dedicated to our beautiful daughter Sofia. The main reason this blog exists is for the Grandparents who live out of state (and Josh's parents are about to leave the country) to have a way of watching Sofia's development from far away. Of course anyone else in the family and friends are also welcome! If you like to have access to Sofia's blog please send us an email at jkkenfield@gmail.com. And now for your viewing pleasure a video of the cutest hiccups ever.

Class Theme Park Project

2008-05-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Spring Semester is over and I just turned in my last project for my Illustration class, taught by James Dowdalls. For this project we needed to create a perspective drawing of our own original theme park. I came up with a few ideas and made the following thumbnails.From there I narrowed my ideas to these two concepts.The class and teacher said that although my American Tall Tale theme park was the best concept, the Folklore/Mythology theme park was the better illustration, so I chose to go with the latter.I took the thumbnail and created two color concepts.The class wanted me to take the second color comp. into my final. Around this time Katie gave birth to our beautiful daughter so I we a little busy and distracted from getting my final piece done in time for the due date. Unfortunately I had to turn in my piece with what I had made so far.The class really liked what I made but I’m not satisfied with it. If I get a chance in the near future, I would like to redo it with a new color palate that will unify the elements better. I would also like to redraw the overall image with a better design and composition.

Presenting: The New Shortest Kenfield!

2008-05-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

Before:After:

Sofia Ceilidh Kenfield was born on May 8th (the day after Josh's birthday) at 10:33PM! She was 5 lbs. and 9 oz. and 17 1/2 inches, a tiny little thing and simply adorable.Katie went into labor around 6:30PM and within 4 hours she gave birth!Mommy and Baby are both doing fine!

Praise God!!

PS: Sofie’s middle name is pronounced KAY-lee. We’ll give a thousand points to anyone who can figure out the origin and meaning (those of you who know because we already told you are disqualified).

Class Poster Project

2008-04-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

For this project we needed to make a poster for a stage production and the medium was up to us. I chose to create my final piece using Photoshop. Our teacher told us not to worry about text, such as the title, or other poster graphics.
The two plays I chose were The Nutcracker ballet and a new play that is still being created titled The Mercy. The Mercy is a play that I helped to create, in that I have been providing feedback, direction, ideas, and designs. The Mercy is a play about Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor (he said "TORA TORA TORA!") and a man named Jacob Deshazer who was in the Dolittle Raids (the USA's first strike against Japan after Pearl Harbor). Jacob's plane was shot down and he was placed in a Japanese prison camp till the end of the war. Fuchida, although a war hero, became a reject of society following the war. Both of these men went through great suffering and both experienced great mercy in different forms. They became a means to help the healing after WWII between Japan and America. Aside from the historical story, the play is ultimately about God's mercy and forgiveness of us and how He empowers us to forgive and show mercy to others.
The first thing we were instructed to do was create a collection of thumbnails.The class and the teacher then chose two (2) of the thumbnails to explore and refine (the thumbnails circled in red).The Nutcracker thumbnail shows the figure of Clara (the main character) standing in the middle. The figure of the Nutcracker is in the center of Clara's figure. The eye and eye patch is of Judge/Godfather Drosselmeier, who is a mysterious character that sort of haunts Clara.In the last thumbnail I included more detail of the characters; however, I chose to go back to the original thumbnail idea and make it more graphic using silhouettes.
The Mercy thumbnail comes from an element in the play. The following text is an excerpt from the script and it takes place just after Matsuo Fuchida leads the attack on Pearl Harbor, which is done as an abstract dream: "samurai surround Fuchida and he extends his hands, in fists. Two samurai clap them within a white, rectangular wooden stock, though whether it is shackles or honor is ambiguous. Fuchida's head drops, and he opens his hands. They are in red gloves, and his splayed fingers make the Rising Sun over the white background (Japanese war flag)." I based my design of this poster from this part in the play, although I thought it would look better with fresh red paint on the hands.

I explored some color variations for the Mercy and the Nutcracker posters. I chose to go with the Mercy poster as my final, but I hope to someday develop the Nutcracker poster.

This is how the final Mercy poster turned out. I think if I had to do it again I would make the red paint thinner, without so many ripples and drips. It kinda looks like ketchup!
After completing the original design, Katie and I discussed how we could include some Japanese characters into a new design. I was able to find the translation of the word "mercy" into Japanese characters and painted a rough version of how it could look.

I think it almost resembles a crucifix. I personally like this design better but I feel it needs more work.
If I can make the "actual" poster someday, I would rather take a photograph of someone's hands being covered in red paint instead of creating an illustration. I would then adjust that photograph accordingly in Photoshop to resemble this design.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE !!!

2008-03-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Katie's birthday was on Wednesday (3/19) and I’m a little behind on announcing this, but better late then never.
Kenfield Trivia Question: What fictional character does Katie share her birthday with?
Answer: Number 6, the main character from the 1960’s miniseries The Prisoner, created by and starring Patrick McGooen.Katie pointed this fact out to me when I showed her the first episode of The Prisoner, where in Number 6 states his birth date quite clearly. I’m just terrible at remembering birthdays and Katie (knowing this) showed me that if her birth date ever slips my mind, all I have to do is pop in the pilot episode of The Prisoner (I own the complete series on DVD) and Patrick McGooen will tell me.A quick side note: In just about every episode there is always this funny little Butler who appears to work for the head honcho of The Village, called Number 2. Number 2 is played by a different person in every episode, in fact the cast is always changing except for Number 6 and the little Butler.
On her birthday I drew this card for Katie:It opens from the middle.

My Class Project - Josh

2008-03-06T23:22:00.000-08:00

I’ve been taking a Commercial Illustration course in the evenings since the beginning of February. It’s been really helpful to have something like a class to push me and make me work on my drawing skills. The focus of the class is more on the process of illustration then on the final pieces, so we take a lot of time focusing on the development process. In commercial illustration, the client and/or art director want the artist they hire to keep them well informed on the development of the piece. They don’t like surprises, so the artist will send thumbnails, value comprehensives, color roughs and other areas of refinement so the client can give feedback along with their approval or disapproval every step of the way. I’ll show you some examples of these steps from my first class project.
The assignment was a black and white Anthropomorphic Animal illustration done in the style of a children’s book drawing. Anthropomorphic Animal basically means an animal imitating humans appearance and/or behavior (example: Disney’s Robin Hood). Each student drew three words out of three hats. These words were of an animal, what the animal is and an adjective. From these words we had to create our illustrations. I pulled the words Tattooed, Baboon and Queen.
We started by drawing thumbnails of ideas, and these are what I came up with:
From the feedback and criticism of the class and teacher, I choose a combination of the last two as my final.
From there we had to come up with different value comprehensives (AKA lighting and shadow).

After more feedback I choose the last value drawing for my final piece. The final was drawn using black colored pencil on coquille board. This is the first time I’ve drawn on a coquille board, and I rather liked the texture. The piece did not turn out as good as I hoped, but I was really rushed to finish it after being sick for over two weeks. I basically had two days to draw it in time for the due date.

Aside from taking this course for practice reasons, I’m also using it as material for a mentorship with an animator from Disney. I don’t want to share his name without permission, but I can let you know that he directed most of the episodes of one my favorite cartoon series, Animaniacs! I’ve been running all of my work by him for more valuable feedback and criticism.All in all this has been a good experience and I really hope I can grow from it

Baby Talk

2008-03-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

Trekkie’s Log, Star Date -314892.30418943544

2008-02-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

On Saturday (2/9) Katie, our friend Susanne and I went to the large Dome building at the Queen Mary for Star Trek: The Tour!Finally, a place where I could unleash my inner Trekkie!Yes, I publicly confess that, although I consider myself to be a sci-fi fan in general, I am specifically a Trekkie.No, I have never dressed as a character nor have I taken the time to learn Klingon and vacation at a Klingon language camp, but I have seen all of the movies and almost every episode of the shows (except "Enterprise" of course), and I have attended a few Star Trek Conventions. Star Trek: The Tour was not nearly as geeky as a Convention, in fact it was more Non-Trekkie friendly in that it was more like an interactive museum then a nerd fest.They had all kinds of sets, costumes, and props on display, including a few shows and motion simulators.There was an audio tour available for rent but I assured the girls that there was no need for one as long as I was with them. I proved this by being able to explain just about every prop, costume, and set that we looked at, whether they asked me to or not.I proved my Trekdome even further when we took two different trivia quizzes and I was able to correctly answer every question 100% correct to confirm my status as a starship captain. (And Jesus wept.) But hey, it was more fun than a Jem'Hadar drunk from Romulan Ale on Dabo Night!We had a blast, and I loved being the one who knew more than Katie and Susanne (the honor students) for once in my life.I don’t want to discredit Katie and Susanne, they are Star Trek fans, just not "Trekkies."For about 200 bars of gold pressed Latnum (that’s Ferengi for $17) we were able to buy a photo we had taken of us on the original Enterprise Bridge set.As usual, we needed to dress for the occasion, so Katie made the really cool T-shirts you see us wearing in the photo. And, yes, she does have Vulcan ears! She got them at a costume shop a couple years ago because she played a North Pole Elf at a children’s Christmas party, good thing she never throws anything away! The camera setup is made for group pictures so there is a large gap on the right side of the image. Instead of trimming the image and cutting off some of the set, I decided use my own cheap effects and added some Tribbles to fill in the composition.We also took a picture on the Next Generation/Enterprise D bridge, but we didn’t pay for it so we don’t have any proof that it happened. There was also the option to purchase a holographic beaming up photo that was pretty cool but it was way too expensive for our taste. We also shot a really goofy video where we were "green screened" into a 5 minute scene with Captain Kirk and the original Star Trek series cast. Ours was so fabulously entertaining that we exited the glow of the spotlights to thunderous applause but, again, it was ridiculously expensive to purchase the DVD of said scene so, we passed. We ended the day by watching the famous Trouble With Tibbles episode from the original Star Trek series.

Set a course for the unbridled glorification of hot green alien babes, and the Captain who loved them. Engage!

(Kenfield Trivia: In case you’re curious, yes, that is the correct start date for 2/9/08 10:00AM. Yes, we are that geeky, but not as much as the person who made THIS site.)

T-Shirts!

2008-02-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

Josh created a little design piece for our friend Micha Snell, who used it for a T-shirt idea about "Big Tippers."Click HERE to read about it and/or to purchase one if you're interested!

The Mountains Win Again

2008-02-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, we’ve been getting some rain down here in Southern Cal, and BOY did we need it! Not only is the rain great for the soil but it clears out the haze and smog, making it look a lot cleaner here. For instance, on a Saturday (1/26) there was a break in the rain clouds resulting in a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day. With the thick dirty air washed away, we were able to see all the way to the mountains, and MAN what a gorgeous sight!They were caked in snow creating a striking contrast to the surrounding terrain. We took these pictures from Mountain View Park (which is where I proposed to Katie almost four years ago) on the corner of Bastanchury and State College in Fullerton- across from the Summit House for all you locals. The park has a breathtaking view of the valley below.Believe it or not, on a clear day such as this last one, you can actually see all the way to the cluster of buildings that make up downtown Los Angeles.We actually had trouble finding a parking place near the lookout point because everyone and their dogs were out to get a view of these now rarely seen giants. We spoke to one man who had moved here from out of state last May and didn’t even know these mountains were there until now. There were cars everywhere on the road, many with just their hazard lights on, so people could stop and get a quick snap shot of a side of California that is usually hidden from us busy city dwellers. Sadly, now the curtain of smog is closing and these snow-capped peaks will soon be completely out of sight again. Thankfully, though the photos hardly do the scene justice, we were able to capture some of the beauty before it faded away.

More Comic Con ’07 Starring Us!

2008-01-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, Josh here!
Sorry for not posting anything for a while.
This is kind of old news but a few months ago Ryan Agadoni shared this video with me. It’s from comic artist Rob Scrab and it covers his visit to last years Comic Con. (To read more about Rob check out my July Comic Con '07 post.) About a minute into the video, at the part where Rob is discussing the SCUD poster art with colorist Jack Grey, look in the background. You might recognize Katie, Amy (Ryan Agadoni’s wife), Frankie Franco, and myself. Katie is wearing her now iconic knitted Princess Lea cap.

Now I can finally say that I’m in a Rob Scrab video!!

Speaking of Katie’s cap, it was quite a hit and everyone kept complementing her for it. At one point while we were looking a stand a guy behind the table told Katie "Wow! Cool hat!" He then ask Katie if she we mind taking a picture with him. Katie said yes and suddenly he pulled out a small Ken size doll of himself, handed it to Katie, and took a picture! After taking back his miniature clone he said thanks and gave Katie a small button with the words "LittleGeorge.com" on it. We went to the website and found this picture!I guess that wraps up our fifteen mintues of pseudo fame!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

2007-12-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas everyone!This year we spent Christmas with Josh's sister Lani, who came from Hawaii!

Ever wanted to see Josh in a kilt? No? Well, too bad.This is when we attended the Christmas party for the Scottish bagpipe band where Katie plays a snare drum.

North Pole Workshop (Part 2)

2007-12-23T23:21:00.000-08:00

I’m trying to make an annual tradition for myself to design themed attractions for different seasons. I have one for St. Patrick’s Day and one for Christmas. This is an interior attraction/experience which acts like a small theme park. It allows visitors to explore Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole, while also providing educational attractions that explain various elements of the Christmas season. This post picks up where my last post from Christmas 2006 left off (click HERE to read last year’s).
I’m starting to paint my rough drawings from last year. Here is the North Pole landmark.And the exterior of the Entrance Building/Room.The Entrance Building/Room contains all kinds of Christmas imagery such as toy soldiers, nutcrackers, Christmas trees, lights, toys, etc. Everything is deigned to look like it’s made of wood using large round friendly shapes. The room is one big circle where the visitors enter from large double doors on the south side. On the north side is a large, round, stylized Christmas tree that appears to be halfway embedded in the wall. On the east side is a very large fire place that actually functions as the Front Desk.On the west side is a solider box and inside stands a large six foot tall Nutcracker.Four large toy soldiers stand against the walls.This room will come to life with various forms of effects and animatronics. A secret entrance through the Christmas Tree will be revealed and lead the visitors to the Workshop.Till next year ...

IT'S A GIRL!!!

2007-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here she is in her 2001: A Space Odyssey pose.Yes, she has feet.Yes, she has hands.And the first obligatory embarrassing naked picture.

Last Christmas Nut

2007-12-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas I made a fake teaser trailer for The Nutcracker as if it was a live action film based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's book. You can read more about it HERE.

If you missed seeing it or would like to see it again, you can watch this version in Quicktime:

Or this version I have on YouTube:

If you would like to have a high res version please send me an email at jkkenfield@gmail.com.

IT IS READY!

2007-11-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

I’ve finally finished my little project which is currently titled "Plato Journey."

This is a short comic booklet that acts a proposal piece for a graphic novel.Once the reader goes through the short wordless comic they will come across the following text:

This is a project I have wanted to attempt ever since I was a junior in college, and it has gone through various forms of evolution to become what you see now. This booklet is a proposal piece for a graphic novel that I would like to fully develop. I wanted to use a creative platform to present comparisons between Plato’s philosophy and Christian Theology. The idea began as a book where Plato would have a night long discussion with an angelic being over a fire in some ruins. (For a time I thought it could also become a two man play.)

But one day I drew this sketch and I realized that the topic of this book could be explored through more than simply a dialogue between two characters.It could be a journey filled with locations, creatures, people, and events that present the discussions in the book both visually, and through the text/dialogue.

The angelic being will also act as a guardian protecting and guiding Plato through this journey against evil/demonic forces that seek to either destroy or convert him. There is no complete script written for this project because I lack the skills and knowledge of both Plato’s work and Christian Theology to create such a story. What I seek is a person who can provide the topics/issues that should be discussed and how those discussions should be played out. If possible, I also seek a capable author who can work with me in developing the complete narrative, while I provide all needed visuals. Together we would decide on the most effective way to tell the story, utilizing images and dialogue to portray these complex concepts.

Due to the subject matter, this book may not be a mainstream seller; instead I see it being of use in more educational circles. By making it a graphic novel, I hope to draw interest from a broader audience than just philosophy and theology majors. These drawings are not final nor are the character designs. I plan to apply a more stylized design for the look of the settings and characters.

So with all this I’m basically saying, this is what I can do, but I need other people’s skills to help in creating a complete graphic novel.

It’s been an interesting learning process working on this project. I have learned the more proper way of inking a page even though I drew the entire project using a regular ballpoint pen. If I actually get to work on the real graphic novel, I plan to use more appropriate inking tools.

If any of you would like to have a copy of this booklet or if you know someone who would, please send me an email at: jkkenfield@gmail.com It’s available both as a printed booklet and a PDF document. If possible, a donation of $5 would be helpful to cover the cost of printing and mailing.

Come out of the cave.

Kenfield Trivia Question of the Day

2007-11-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

How many people are in this picture?

Here's a hint, the answer can be found in our previous post.

Or just click HERE!

Happy Anniversary To Us!

2007-10-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday (October 23) marked three years of wedded bliss for us! As is our tradition, we ceremonially mutilated a gourde to commemorate this joyous time of year. There is nothing quite like carving your love into an unsuspecting pumpkin and then forcing it to pose for pictures, here's the best one...Also, as some of you know, "our song" is by the most bestest band in the entire universe and we thought it would be fun to share it with you all this year. Please enjoy....

Why Sean Missed His Spanish Test - by Katie

2007-10-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

I realized today that I’ve been car accident free for over a year now! It boggles my mind that it was only a short year ago when I unwittingly plowed into another car causing expensive enough damage for our then insurance company to eventually send me a nasty letter. Basically the letter was to inform me that they were breaking up with me because I’m a hazard to myself and others. They would have been happy to keep my husband who has no record of speeding tickets or at fault collisions but me, I was out. What jerks! I decided to take my business and my husband’s perfect driving record elsewhere, saving time and money (just like the commercial says), and vowed that I would never crash into anyone again. So far I’ve kept my word.Looking at these pictures, it seems like so long ago. Mostly because so much has changed since then. At the time of this accident, I was stressed out, on my way to a job I hated. I hadn’t even made a dent in that day’s thirty mile commute when the traffic on Malvern Avenue stopped inexplicably. I’m not sure what exactly distracted me but it was in the two seconds that my eyes weren’t on the road that I managed to cause about $3,000 of combined damage to the front of our Corolla and the rear bumper of some poor guy’s brand new Honda Civic (the guy’s American name was Sean and he missed his first Spanish test of the semester at Fullerton College because of my reckless behavior). I find it a little annoying that at the moment of impact I had both hands on the wheel, I was not on the phone, I did not have a drink or food in my lap, I don’t think I was even listening to the radio- and this was when I got in an accident? Normally I’m eating a cheeseburger, changing a CD, and practically doing my taxes while I’m driving but somehow I had managed to avert disaster every other time I was behind the wheel until that day. The tow truck guy, who was way cool and had Jesus tattoos all over his arms and neck, towed my crippled car back to our house (instead of the insurance company’s lot- it was the Thursday before a holiday weekend and apparently the insurance company’s whole office had already taken off because after the basic report was taken, I wasn’t able to get a hold of a person there until Wednesday of the next week- again, what jerks!) and parked it on the curb in its usual spot. Josh had ridden with the carpool that morning so I was able to drive our other car into work. Yes, you read that right, I still went into work that day because it was the end of the month and I was the only one who could do the end of the month invoices so that the company hit its billing goals- as I said before, I hated that job!

The end to a "perfect" day was getting home that evening after hating my job all day and finding a parking ticket on the wrecked Corolla- A PARKING TICKET!!! Apparently, the street sweeper, showing no mercy even though the car was obviously having as bad a day as I was, decided that the inconvenience of having to drive around my broken car was worth $75 to the city of La Mirada. Personally, I would rather have the gutters filled with dead animals and rotting sewage than give the city the satisfaction of charging me to park on the curb but, then again, I grew up on a street that didn’t even have sidewalks so I guess I’m just going to have to get used to these fancy city folk. Where I come from, it was perfectly acceptable to park your fifteen primer grey Chevy Novas on the dirt in front of your house whenever you wanted. No one pitched a fit, no one issued you a ticket, and you could barely smell the dead animals and rotting sewage.

Believe it or not, this story has several happy endings. For one, our current insurance company doesn’t consider me to be a menace to society and secondly, somehow we managed to dig up enough money to pay our deductible with the old insurance company and the Corolla ended up better than ever after all of the repairs were done. I decided to fight "the man" by contesting the parking ticket. By writing this letter to the city:

I also sent a copy of the towing receipt and the above wrecked car pictures. It worked! My whining paid off and they excused the ticket. It was empowering. So empowering that two months later, I had worked up enough courage to quit my horrible job. I gave them a month’s notice though- I wasn’t empowered enough to shove everything off my desk and storm out in a fit of rage like I should have. Either way, I’m glad to be free of my "end of the month invoice processing prison." I can only hope that Sean went on to ace his Spanish class, paving the way for an academic scholarship that made it possible for him to win a Nobel Prize in something. Or, perhaps he was an evil genius and by causing him to miss his Spanish test, I thwarted his plans to take over the world. We may never know.

Josh's Update

2007-10-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, Josh here! Long-time-no-post!

Much has happened or is happening.

I got to draw my first coloring book! It was a fun little project for a surfing themed book designed to resemble a surfing sport magazine.There is also a small project that I worked on a while ago but I forgot to post about it. I got to storyboard my first infomercial! This was done within a 24 hour period, in that I got called by the advertising company one morning and they wanted the storyboards done around the same time the following day. The infomercial was for a device called a Jog’R, which is a strap that’s designed to help you jog-in-place.Currently, I am wrapping up work on my Plato project! I’ve been slowly working on this for about a year now, mainly because I was unable to touch it for an almost two semester period. It’s so nice to finally have time to sit down and focus on this without other jobs getting in the way. I’ll create a post explaining all about this personal project as soon as it’s done.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

2007-08-02T08:36:00.001-07:00

Today is August 2, which means it is my Grandma Hansen’s birthday. No one knows how old she actually is because she has been turning "39" years old every year for as long as I can remember. My parents love to tell the story about the time we were at an "Over the Hill" party for a church friend, Cliff, who was turning 40. Using my second grade powers of deduction, I proudly announced my observation to the whole room exclaiming, "Wow, Cliff is older than grandma!" Kids really do say the darndest things, don’t they? Anyway, the above picture of my mom and grandma was taken last November at my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding. Not bad for "39" huh? HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

Comic Con, As Viewed From Beneath Princess Leia's Buns (by Katie)

2007-08-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

For me Comic Con was really just an excuse to draw the envious gazes of fellow geeks with my knit Princess Leia hat. Even Michael Cera (who played George Michael on the hit TV show Arrested Development) made the comment, "Cool hat," as he and his entourage passed us while we stood in line for the Fururama panel. I posed for about a hundred pictures with strangers and had to explain to just about everyone I talked to that, "Yes, I did knit it myself. No, you can’t buy them already made. No, I can’t knit one and sell it to you because it’s not my own design but if you want to purchase the pattern and knit one for yourself, go to www.ansleydavies.etsy.com." I’m actually going to contact Ansley Davies, creator of the knit Leia, and find out if she would be interested in having a booth next year. If we both started knitting now, we could have at least a hundred hats ready to sell at Comic Con '08. We could make a killing! We’ll see.

Anyway, as Josh mentioned yesterday, the overall Comic Con highlight for me was getting to shake the hand of the brilliantly funny and talented Mike Nelson. He was pleasant and personable and smelled good too- a welcome respite from some of the unearthly body odor I came into contact with throughout the weekend. He signed the DVD we bought from his booth- Night of the Living Dead, complete with his own witty and entertaining running commentary- and thanked us for being such big fans. Yeah, just big fans- it’s probably good that he doesn’t know I was mildly stalking him for a few months last year. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him I guess. Anyway, Josh and I failed to capture any proof of this friendly exchange between us and one of our favorite people due to the fact that the camera was sitting in Matt Wilson’s car about eight blocks away, so I guess you’ll just have to take our word for it. The following moments; however, were preserved for posterity and are presented here for your viewing pleasure… Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, I’m surrounded by geeks in San Diego.
Would somebody get this walking pile of Legos out of my way? Does anybody else smell that?Q: What’s better than one knit Leia?A: Three knit Leias!We tried to bum some pipe weed off this guy but he was fresh out…hmmm, why am I not surprised?Is that what my hair looks like from the back?If I kiss it, will it turn into a prince?No, it will just try to eat Josh……and so will this thing if he’s not careful.

Some of the other amusing sights at Comic Con ’07 were…Spongebob and the voice of Spongebob - try to guess which one is made of Legos!A guy dressed as a half-witted robot dressed as a green dog - so disturbing, yet so profound.MUPPETS! Josh is just inches away from touching Kermit inappropriately but if you could see who was just out of frame trying to touch Josh inappropriately, you’d be horrified.It was quite a weekend. Even The Flash needed a nap by the end of it.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend of the geekiest indulgences. Thanks again to our friend Matt Wilson for letting us stay with him Saturday night (on Mickey's dime)- that hotel room was bigger than our house! I hope next year we can go for the full four day experience (even if it is on our own dime). You are all invited to join us- I’ll even give you a discount on a knit Leia!

Comic Con 2007 - Josh

2007-07-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

Josh here to tell you guys about my Hero Worship Experience at Comic Con ’07.

For starters, we met with the creator of Sam and Max (S&M), Steve Purcell! He was still setting up his booth when we saw him and was kind enough to chat for a short while, autograph a sketch book and take a picture.Steve has a great ongoing S&M adventure comic online at the Telltalegames website. Telltalegames has been making since last year a new computer game of S&M, and it is being released in a series of episodes like a cartoon show. Speaking of which, S&M the animated series will finally be released on DVD, based on the original comic book series.S&M was created by Purcell back in the 80’s. After that time Steve went to join Lucas Arts as a head artist and with them created a great computer game based on his characters called “Sam and Max Hit the Road.” Steve will also have a republication of the S&M comics in one book at some point in the fall!Just across the isle from Steve was Doug TenNapel,who is most famous for creating the video game and cartoon series of “Earth Worm Jim!” Doug, for several years now, has been creating a series of graphic novels such as “Creature Tec.” His latest novel “Back Cherry” was released at Comic Con and so I of course asked for a copy and had it signed!As Doug was handing it to me he spoke in a low cautionary voice warning me that this is his first rated R story. I tried to assure him that my friends and I are not easily offended by such material, but he still seemed concerned. Dough is a Christian and incorporates his beliefs into just about everything he creates which is why he was so concerned about his readers. I have not yet had the chance to read through “Black Cherry” but so far Doug has done a great job in all his works so I’m sure I’m going to enjoy it.

My next hero visit was with the great and shiny Rob Scrab! Rob is a real Renaissance Man who got his start with a cult hit comic book series call “Scud: The Disposable Assassin.” The series came to a sudden end and left many fans upset that there was no real completion. Rob got into comedy and joined an improv. group for a while called “The Dead Alewives” who are most famous for their “Dungeons and Dragons” sketch. (“Where are the Cheetos?” is Rob’s voice!) After sometime Rob came to LA and made a big hit online short film called (please pardon the wording) “Robot Bastard” (RB). It’s a fun action packed flick with a creative production design made of cardboard and other junk. Following this Rob somehow co-wrote an animated film based on an idea of his titled “Monster House.”These days Rob is a writer/director of a Comedy Central series called “The Sarah Silverman Program” and he is finally creating the last chapter of his Scud comics series! WHEW! Rob is also good friends with Doug Tennaple and has worked with Joel Hogson (former host of Mystery Science Theater 3000 or MST3K) who helped him create effects for RB. Aside from Joel, Rob has also worked with a few other famous MST3K members, which leads to my next set of heroes. (CAUTION: I have provided some links to Rob Scrab’s website and other related sites but be warned there is material that you may find offensive.)

Right there on the coast of sunny San Diego, Katie and I had a fun little chat with Minnesotan comedy hero, Michael J. Nelson!(Sadly we did not have a camera with us.) Mike, as some of you may know, is the other former host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, my favorite TV series of all time! Katie loves MST3K as well but she is more of a fan of Mike, so both of us were thrilled to meet him. At the time we saw him there was no one else around, so it was a kind of intimate relaxing environment. After hosting MST3K for many years Mike has gone on to write books and worked on other various comedy projects. Recently Mike move to San Diego and created a great online project called Rifftrax. Basically what they do is create a series of audio commentary tracks for various films in the style of MST3K. But it is up to the viewer to provide the movie either by renting it or purchasing it. The audio track can easily sync up with the film and HIGHKEEBA! you’ve got a comedy track! Mike has also teamed up with Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbertt (Crow T. Robot & Brain Guy) who are two other members of MST3K, to create The Film Crew. It’s basically the same idea as MST3K only it’s just these three “nuts” and no silhouettes at the bottom of the screen. This time they are making fun of Public Domain films which means no headaches in keeping the rights to a film, a big problem with the MST3K series. We got to see The Film Crew at a panel presenting their latest project to a large crowd of excited fans.It was the most fun I have ever had at a panel in Comic Con! These guys are better live then on TV! I hope they come back next year because the crowd was eating them up!
I can’t end this post without thanking my dear friend Matt Wilson. We have been attending Comic Con together for many years and this time he treated us like royalty. Thank you Wilson!!! Well, there you have it. My nerdum is all worn out. Till next year!

Superpowers Online Premier

2007-07-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

The short comedy film Superpowers is finally online!If you would like to view our fun little flick just click HERE.

I've gone Deviant!

2007-07-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

There is more work to do but like many great artists before me, I now have a Deviant Art Gallery! Please feel free to stop by!
-Josh

This One's For The Kids - by Josh

2007-07-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

Well, all my work is done on the summer camp program. It wasn't really completed but it did finally end due to time.

One of the projects I worked on is this small four page comic that acts as a flyer for the camp program. This is my real first attempt at drawing and coloring a comic book, lettering and graphics not included.The following images are the cast of superhero characters featured in the program. The drawings were made to be a series of posters, one for each character. I was not able to color all of them. Graphics such as font and logos were added later.

For those out there who know a certain friend of mine, this entire curriculum was created by Steve Burrows!

How We Spent July 4, 2006

2007-07-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYBODY!

Josh has been bugging me for a whole year now to tell this story so, I thought it would be fitting to relive it on its anniversary. It is sure to be a classic 4th of July "tail" for years to come. So, here goes….

It was July 4, 2006. After realizing that it was over one hundred degrees inside our house and that all of our food had either melted, disintegrated, or spontaneously combusted, we sought refuge in the good air conditioning and sustenance of the Cheesecake Factory. By the time we decided being at home would no longer be a safety hazard, it was dark outside and the 4th of July festivities were in full swing all around us. It seemed like there were insane amounts of explosives shooting into the air from every one of our neighbor’s yards. I hadn’t seen anything like it since I lived in the "909." Josh and I decided to enjoy the spectacle from our front step since the likelihood of someone catching our house on fire was high and we preferred to watch it burn down from the outside rather than the inside. The sky was filled with bright bursts and loud bangs and there were more people out and about than I have ever seen on our block.

As we watched explosion after explosion come dangerously close to igniting someone’s roof, we noticed a semi-large dog, making his way across our front lawn at full speed. He was headed straight for us, and before we could even figure out what was happening, the dog had stopped right at our feet and appeared to be looking for shelter from all the noise by nuzzling in between us. He was noticeably terrified and, judging by the way he was panting, had probably been running for a while. We weren’t really sure how to react. The dog obviously belonged to someone but no one around us appeared to be missing him. He was wearing a collar but nothing else- no license, no ID tags, no clues as to where he might have come from. We yelled over to some people that were in our neighbor’s yard. It wasn’t their dog. We yelled as loud as we could, "Did anybody lose a dog?" No answer, just more deafening booms. The dog was obviously getting more distraught and we weren’t quite sure what to do.

We decided maybe he was thirsty so I went in the house to get some water and Josh stayed with the dog trying to calm him down. In the time it took me fill up a small container with tap water the dog managed to find its way to our open back door. I could hear Josh yelling from outside, "I think the dog is in the house!" as I turned around to see the dog walking casually through my living room. Josh’s suspicions were confirmed when he finally caught up to the excitement just in time to see the dog make his way to our kitchen floor and comfortably lay down like he owned the place.

We were baffled. A strange dog had taken up residence on our kitchen floor and we had no idea what to do. He was still panting pretty hard but no longer looked scared. He just sat there perfectly content to suddenly be a part of our family. We cranked up the air conditioning and all of the fans to drown out the ongoing festivities outside. This dog was large enough to kill us both if he suddenly snapped and went on a rampage, so we made sure to speak softly and not move too quickly as we scooted the small bowl of water toward him. We didn’t have dog food on hand so we decided a few slices of bread would probably be okay for him to eat- the only other choices were Marshmallow Peeps or melted Spongebob Squarepants fruit snacks.

While the dog decided to take a nap, we tried to figure out what to do. The Humane Society and Animal Control could be of no immediate help to us. Their suggestions were to either wait till the next day when they could send someone out to pick the dog up or just drive him to the nearest shelter and drop him off ourselves. I wasn't wild about sharing a confined space with a dog I didn't know for a twenty minute car ride to Downey so we decided to take the dog for a walk and try to figure out where he lived on our own. We just happened to have a dog leash on hand (a remnant from the previous Halloween- it's not nearly as weird as you are probably thinking it is) so we pulled it out and as soon as we started talking about going for a walk in that excited talking-to-an-animal voice, the dog's tail started to wag.

There were no objections form the dog when we latched the leash onto his collar and led him outside. By now most of the neighbors had exploded anything they could light on fire so things were winding down for the night. As we paraded the dog up and down the streets, we hoped that he would just suddenly remember where he lived and lead us there but he didn't appear to be in a hurry to get anywhere. In fact, he was very well behaved on the leash and didn't even get that excited around other dogs we passed. Someone somewhere had trained this dog. We talked to everyone who was still outside and no one recognized this dog or knew of anyone who might be looking for him.

There was a brief moment of hope when, upon hearing the sounds of some kids (probably playing with explosives) in a nearby cul-de-sac, the dog's ears perked up and he gently pulled us toward the noise. There were several families in the cul-de-sac cleaning up the remnants of their flaming fun. None of them thought the dog looked familiar though. We warned all of them that this was not our dog and we didn't know how friendly he actually was but some of the kids ignored this and wanted to pet him anyway. The dog seemed to have no problem being pawed by tiny hands and surrounded by high pitched squeels and laughter so we suspect he may have come from a family with young children. Unfortunately, none of these families were his so we decided to return home, unsuccessful in our mission.

As we headed back in the direction of our house, the dog seemed to almost be leading us, like he remembered exactly where our walk had begun and when we came within a block of destination, he broke into a bit of a trott and lead us right up to our front door, tail wagging, tongue hanging out, happy to be...home? By this time, I had already decided to name him Sparky (get it, Sparky?) and was trying to figure out how we could hide a large animal from our landlord and the guys living in the "real" house behind us. Josh and I have both wanted a dog since before we got married so this was almost an answer to prayer but the reality of the situation was that this just wouldn't work out. Not now anyway.

We took several stunning photographs of Sparky and printed up a bunch of "Found Dog" posters that we planned on putting up all over the neighborhood the next day. Everything was set, we would keep Sparky in the gated area behind our house for the night and feed him some dog food that our friend had agreed to bring over in the morning. Once we got the posters up, we would give it a couple days and if we didn't hear anything, we would give in and call a shelter to come pick him up.

I would love for this story to end with us being the heros who reunited a lost dog with his family. I would even settle for an ending with us saying goodbye to Sparky as they took him away to be adopted by someone who could keep him. Unfortunately, the real ending is rather anti-climactic and offers no closure- which is why it's taken me a year to figure out how to tell it without it being a total bummer at the end so, you can either insert your own happy and exciting conclusion here or just read the real one below.

Basically, when we got up the next morning and went outside to check on our visitor, he was gone. There was no sign of him anywhere. Only the side gate, unknowingly left open by one of the residents of the house behind us. We were sad but hopeful that Sparky had either remembered where he lived and returned home, or been picked up by someone who kept him as their own. We will probably never know. But even now, every time I see a grey and black dog anywhere near our neighborhood, a part of me wonders if it might Sparky, trying to find us- if only just to relive those few hours we all shared last year on the Fourth of July.

Transformed

2007-07-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

Just wanted to let everyone know that we just got back from the theater. Guess what we saw before the release date?

Too Much Time On My Hands?

2007-06-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

Last month for Josh’s birthday I decided I wanted to get him tickets to an upcoming concert but wasn’t sure which event he would most prefer to attend. I narrowed it down to three choices and put together the following "comic book" to present them to Josh. There are a few semi-obscure jokes that may or may not be funny to you if you don’t know the back story but everyone that has seen it in person has chuckled at least a bit so I decided to make it available to the entire world. Here it is in all it’s cheesy glory:
Just in case you’re wondering, Josh chose #3, Alison Kraus and Union Station at the Greek Theater tomorrow night. We would still like to see Weird Al but we missed the boat on getting tickets for any of the OC Fair performances so we’re going to have to wait till the end of his tour when he comes back through SoCal. Also, you may have noticed my "subtle" subliminal message about the Keith Urban concert- I guess it worked! (see June 26 post)

The Perfect Alibi (by Katie)

2007-06-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

If for some strange reason I was ever named the prime suspect of a crime that happened the Saturday before last, and was dramatically asked the question, "Where were you the night of June 16, 2007?!" I might have difficulty deciding whether I should use my rock solid alibi or just take credit for the crime and go to jail. After all, would anyone even believe me if I told the truth? I wouldn't have even believed it myself if you had told me I would actually be where I was that night. I can picture myself on the witness stand with the "edge of your seat" courtroom suspense becoming unbearable and everyone waiting for me to answer. I would decide that jail probably isn't worth it and then slowly lean forward and mumble something about being at a concert into the microphone. From there, they would undoubtedly want to know the details of said concert and, to ensure the credibility of my statement, I would have to offer up a painfully precise description of the evening. There would probably be many shocked faces, audibly sharp gasps, and maybe even fainting- depending on who was telling the story afterward.
So, just in case by some freak coincidence I am wrongly accused of a crime I didn't commit and in order to clear my name I am forced to testify on my own behalf, revealing where I actually was on June 16, 2007, I would prefer you read it here in my own words, rather than those of the over-sensationalized press.
Now, for those of you who care enough to actually still be reading, I was ... drum roll please ... at-a-Keith-Urban-concert-experiencing-the-Love-Pain-and-the-Whole-Crazy-Thing-tour-live-and-in-stereo-at-the-Staples-Center...there, I said it. Now you know.
Okay, okay, I know you're probably thinking one of two things, "So what," or "Who the heck is this Keith Urban guy and why does Katie seem so self consious about going to his concert?" (or perhaps if you know who he is and you are mildly obsessed with him like I am, you may be wishing you got to go too). For those of you who really just don't care, I give you permission to stop reading right now, I won't be offended- just don't blame me when everyone is talking about how this one ends and you don't know because you didn't bother to read the whole thing. Now, for those of you who do wish to continue reading but don't already know who Keith Urban is, let me introduce you. Keith-everyone......everyone-Keith. Keith Urban has been on the country music scene for several years now but was most recently in the news/tabloids for marrying Nicole Kidman (who is almost as pretty as he is) and then a few months later, just days before the release of his latest album, checking himself into rehab. Now, with his life back on track, he is touring the world showcasing his latest album and greatest hits including, "Stupid Boy," "I Told You So," -referred to by Keith as a "ckeeky sarcastic love song" and "You'll think of me," -referred to by me and Josh as the "Suh-weater Song" (ask us why sometime- don't worry, it's not embarassing or even that funny).
I guess I feel a little rediculous about this whole thing because my initial interest in Keith Urban was his scruffy good looks and well-styled hair. Somehow, I've reverted back to being a junior high girl. I can't exactly pinpoint the moment I decided to start listening to country music radio just to hear his songs or when I made the decision to buy one of his albums, then all of his albums, and tickets to his concert, and a comemorative T-shirt and life-size poster at the concert. (I'm kidding about that last part- I only got the poster). I guess the road that brought me to this point has been a gradual journey paved by Country Music Television (CMT) when I was between jobs, KFROG 95.1FM, and the newly back on the air Go Country 105FM. I had never been a fan of country music before all of this- except for a very brief time in 1992 when my family was so caught up in the "Achy Breaky Heart" craze and the legendary mullet of Billy Ray Cyrus, that we actually bought the album and listened to it...a lot. So, I guess maybe I'm just a product of my raisin'. After all, I am a white girl who lived in "the sticks" (also known as the Inland Empire) for about eighteen years- sounds pretty redneck to me. Why should anyone be surprised that songs about horses, beer, and tractors are suddenly appealing to me? This does slightly complicate my theory that I am secretly Canadian but hey, Keith Urban is from Australia so I guess it doesn't really matter. All I know is I had a great time at the concert singing along to every word of every song. Josh was a good sport and sat there beside me the whole time probably wishing country music had stayed in Texas where he left it. I have no way of knowing how long this little phase of mine will last (again, I'm like a junior high girl) but I do know that June 16, 2007 will live in my memory as the night I breathed the same air as Keith Urban...and a few thousand other people in boots and cowboy hats. It's great to feel thirteen again, without actually having to be thirteen again.
- Katie

Hipahipa! Part II

2007-06-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Congrats and 100 points to Adam for submitting the correct answer to our June 11th word scramble. And another 100 points to Adam for being the only one to even make an effort. Yes, the answer was "King Kamehameha Day." Josh came up with the fun illustrations based on the items we ate drank, and watched in celebration of Hawaii's famous monarch. But what do these things have to do with Hawaii?
Hawaii consumes massive amounts of Spam- more than any other US state. Hawaiians prefer eating the canned meat in a dish called Spam Musubi- and so do we.Spam musubi has become a favorite "special occasion" food at our house. It's fun to make and to eat! Check it out at [wikipedia].
I honestly didn't know pineapple wine existed until I walked into BevMo and found a bottle of it in the dessert wine section. Produced and bottled by Tedeschi Vineyards, LTD. in Ulupalakua, Maui, Hawaii, the description on the back reads, "...a soft, dry fruity, wine with an unmistakable pineapple bouquet." Mmmmmm pineappley.
And last but not least, being the rabbid Mystery Science Theater 3000 fiends that we are, we managed to track down the one and only episode (that we know of) where the characters watch a movie that is set in Hawaii, "Code Name: Diamond Head." As usual, the movie is terrible and the jokes are funny- especially after a little of the Maui Blanc.
In the true spirit of Aloha, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. Mahalo to King Kamehameha for giving us a great excuse to celebrate. Hipahipa!
Mark your calendars (June 11, 2008) and feel free to come share in the fun with us next year!

Hipahipa!

2007-06-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

One hundred points to the person who can figure out what today's date has in common with these things...Unscramble these letters for the three word answer:
MKAGMEYHANDEIAKAH

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Superbusy

2007-06-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has obviously been a very long time since our last post. This is not because we’re lazy but because we have been very busy both professionally and personally. I’m not sure how the average blogger finds the time to make posts in times like these. Anyway, let’s get ya’ll up-to-date!
The short comedy film of Superpowers has been completed and had its premier in San Diego on Saturday May 26.We got word that it was a huge hit and due to the audience demands, shown three times!
We missed the premier since we were in Dallas for the wedding of my lifetime friend Randall Knuton to a woman who is a true blessing from God, Ryanna. I was the Best Man! Thank you Randall and CONGRATULATIONS to both of you!! Speaking of weddings, my friend Ryan Agadoni also got married on the same day to a wonderful girl named Amy. CONGRATULATIONS!!
Superpowers was a great film to work on and I feel very grateful that my friend and director Mike Olson let Katie and I share in the creative development. I completed the comic book pages that were featured in a great opening credit sequence created by Jared Gerbrandt and Nathan Morgan.These pages were created using Photoshop, they do not exist in real life! I basically pasted the comic onto some scanned paper that I crinkled and then added a rough paper texture along with painting in some paper stains to show decay. Katie provided all the text for the comic book and the opening credits themselves! The film will be available online soon and when it is I'll let you know.

These days I’ve been working a large illustration and design project for a summer camp curriculum with a superhero theme. How funny is that? The projects are many and diverse (character, logo, costume, set, etc.) One of the projects I’m working on is a small four page comic that will act as a flyer for the camp program.
Here is a sneak preview:This job has taken up most of my time these days. I’ve been working on this while going to an 8-5 job with traffic, a life drawing class two days a week, my birthday (May 8), our trip to Dallas, and our computer was down for almost two weeks. I hope to have more info and images in my next post!

Better Late Then Never (SPD-01)

2007-04-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last year for St. Patrick's Day (SPD) I began an annual project which I shared with some friends. The following is the email I sent out:
3/17/06
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
I thought I'd share with you guys something kinda unique for this day. Instead of celebrating the life of the man who brought the Gospel to Ireland, I did what any average Joe would do and designed a theme park attraction.
This attraction is not a St. Patrick Day theme, instead it is a tribute to Irish myth and folklore, but it is hosted by Leprechauns. I actually came up with the idea when I was a freshman in College, but I haven't drawn anything for it until now.
I apologize for how rough and crude these drawings are, I made most of them during my breaks at my job within the last day or so.
I have only scratched the surface of designing this attraction. After the "stone room" comes another section that transforms into a motion simulator, and there is even more after that! I might continue drawing all of this, or I may just wait till next year and make this an annual tradition.
Well, thank you for taking your time to read about my crazy ideas, and have a HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
Back to Present Day: This year I was swamped with personal and professional matters that kept me from getting any more drawings done on time for SPD. About a week ago I got this drawing done during my morning break (I latter painted it in PS). It is my first attempt at designing a Leprechaun. I followed a few descriptions from various folk tales, such as the face and the red vest.Kenfied Trivia: Katie's mother tried to bribe her doctor to ensure a SPD birth, but was unsuccessful and Katie came two days later by way of emergency C-section. I guess mom does know best.

The site that may never be

2007-04-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

During October last year, I did a good chunk of drawings for a Superpowers! website. It was deigned to be completely done in Flash animation. The navigation buttons sat on the side of the main frame and were designed to look like elevator floor buttons, in fact the whole site was designed with an elevator theme.Within the main frame was an elevator room where Smiley and Darko would stand around in various poses and with small bits of animation (ex. a tapping foot). The doors would open and close revealing different areas of the site along with some fun random images. Speaking of random, if a visitor happed to press the big red button something wacky would happen. Such as . . .Sadly the web designer was unable to finish working on the site. However, he did design the opening page.
Kenfield Trivia: Even though it doesn't show too clearly, Katie created the floor design for the elevator. Ten points to anyone who finds the hidden "signature." Hint: Try tilting your head slightly to the left, standing on one foot, and whistling Dixie (purple monkey washing machine). No, but seriously, there is something hidden in the squiggles.

Post-Hiatus Post

2007-03-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hi ya'll!
Still alive and drawing!
As I said in my previous post, I'm working on creating a fake comic book to use as the opening credits for Mike Olson's short film Superpowers! This is a rough drawing I made that shows what the final comic might look like. Katie is supplying all the font including the credits themselves.The opening credits will be drawn in a 1950's style comic introducing the two main characters and their history together. It will all be tied together with an exciting music score written by the Livesay twins! So far it sounds fantastic!
I'll let you guys know how it turns out when we're done, which should be soon!
BTW- Check-out what would have been the offical website for Superpowers! I did all the art for it and I will post what was not used sometime later.

Drawings that Fit

2007-02-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

Back in October I made these drawings for a comedy short film by Mike Olson titled, “Superpowers!”The film is about a caped crusader called Darko The Night Watchman, and his archenemies, Smiley, set in a 60’s style Adam West (Batman) world. These characters get stuck in an elevator together at a point when their careers are on the way down. The drawings I made are the comic book versions of the characters during their prime years. I designed these characters with Mike before the script and casting was completed.When Katie and I visited the set during the shoot we had a very surreal experience. While my eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the studio a tall figure in a cap walked up to greet me, I don’t believe I returned the greeting very well because I was in shock. It was Darko in full garb! Now, just to clear things I have done a little costume design work in the past mainly for stage productions, but this was very different. Not only was this guy dressed in a fantastic Darko costume, but it was exactly like my drawing! I thought that the costume designer was just going to use my drawings as a base to work from but never did I expect the costumes to turn out just like them! Matt Biedel, the actor who played Darko, was a very nice guy and he did a great job with his performance.The man who built these wonderful costumes was Randal Sumabat, another nice guy. He comes from San Diego and worked on these outfits during his own free time within a very limited schedule! Randal, in a very giddy way, showed me his work on the Smiley costume, and again I was floored!Matt Gaydos, also a nice guy, played Smiley and pulled off an equally great performance!I am credited as the Concept Designer for this film and I still have more work to do. Currently Mike and I are designing the opening credits of the film which will feature more comic book drawings of the characters. I’ll be sure to tell you guys more about that later!
- Josh

WWW (Part 2)

2007-01-22T23:28:00.000-08:00

The Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) rules the land of the Winkies from her castle. To protect her stronghold and maintain control over the Winkies the WWW has armies of bees, crows, wolves, Winkie soldiers/slaves, and winged monkeys.The WWW does not carry a broomstick; instead she bares an umbrella which gives a hint of her fear of water. When Dorothy splashes the WWW she does not melt away into steam as much as she turns into a pile of mush! The book illustrates this with the description of brown sugar melting. Since she is so vulnerable to water I came up with an idea of her skin being cracked and brittle like dry soil.I also came up with idea that she has cast some kind of spell on her body to make her immortal. This spell, however, is also a curse because even though she is still alive her body is decaying and falling apart. Kind of like the curse in the black comedy film Death Becomes Her. I created an example of this by drawing her left hand.The WWW possesses a Magical Eye that she can use to see across great distances. I came up with the following idea of what it could look like.The Eye pivots and its midsection can extend like a telescope. I also thought it would be interesting if the WWW stole a green emerald from the Emerald City to use as a type of magical lenses for her Eye.The WWW also possesses the Golden Cap which is a magical hat that allows it's wearer to give three commands to the Winged Monkeys. "Twice already the Wicked Witch had used the charm of the Cap. Once was when she had made the Winkies her slaves, and set herself to rule over their country. The Winged Monkeys had helped her do this. The second time was when she had fought against the Great Oz himself, and driven him out of the land of the West. The Winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this." The WWW uses the Cap to control the Monkeys for a third and final time in kidnapping Dorothy and her friends. Later Dorothy would use the Cap herself to carry the team back to the Emerald City.I came up with this image of what the Golden Cap could look like. Since it seemed like an ancient device, I gave it an Aztec influence since the Winged Monkeys come across as an old warrior race in the book. The only thing missing in this design is a ring of diamonds and rubies. I'll try to figure out how to make that work later.

I don’t believe that the WWW is really a witch at all, kind of like how The Wizard was not really a wizard. A Witch in the Land of Oz seems to be a being that naturally possesses magical abilities. I believe that the WWW was just a normal Winkie that envied and desired the magical powers of real Witches. Since she didn’t have magical powers of her own she had to obtain or make magic items that could make her powerful, such as her Magical Eye and the Golden Cap. With the building of her magic abilities she became power hungry and eventually took over the land of the Winkies.

BTW: If you would like to read the chapter in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that features the WWW just click here.

More to come!

Puppetmasterpeice

2007-01-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Almost a year ago I was browsing through the Documentary section of a DVD store when something caught my eye, mainly because it did not belong in that section. The title and appearance of this DVD case got me really intrigued. Before I even read the description on the back I already new that I wanted to see this movie.Strings has got to be one of the most well made original film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s so refreshing to discover something that isn’t the same old recycled crap. The story plays out like an ancient Greek tale about two feuding tribes. An old warrior king dies leaving his son a message to end the endless carnage between their people and another powerful sect. But an evil advisor, envious of the throne, steals the message before it gets to the prince and lies to him, saying that the king was killed by their enemy. So the young brave prince goes on a false journey of revenge only to be taken down a path he was not expecting filled with danger, punishment, and forgiveness.Strings is a film that takes place in a world of marionettes. This is not a film that has marionettes pretending to be human characters, the puppets know what they are. This is a race of people whose life force comes from the “strings” that descend from the heavens. They carve their young out of wood and connect the strings that the mother grows to the child, giving it life. Death is caused by the severing or destruction of the “head string.”Not only does this film show how life is given to these marionettes but it explores the functioning of the world in which they exist. For example, when a city is under siege, instead of using a set of doors to block the city gate, a large bar is raised over the entrance creating a barrier that blocks the strings of the outsiders, preventing them from entering the city. What impressed me even more is not only did this film explore this unique world and race but it did so in a manner that did not slow down the story. That does not happen often.

So if you want to see a film that is very different from anything you’ve seen before, checkout Strings. It’s Kenfield approved!

WWW (Part 1)

2007-01-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

Frank L. Baum’s Land of Oz books have been a wonderful part of our American culture. What I find so special about the Oz books is that Baum has created for the USA what C.S. Lewis did for England in his land of Narnia. Like Lucy and her siblings leaving rural England in magical ways Dorothy and others have left rural North America (such as Kansas.) Oz is the magical land that Americans can claim as their own! Generations have embraced and explored them over the years in many ways.

Whenever someone mentions the Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) an image that comes to our minds is that of a lean, green woman dressed in black with a pointy hat and a nose to match. Top this off with an evil cackle while soaring through the sky on a broom stick. This design originated in the MGM film based on the first Oz book and it has been imitated ever since in other books, films, and now a wonderful musical (Wicked!). However, no one seems to think of the original WWW from the words of Baum’s description or W. W. Denslow's illustrations. She’s very different from the pop culture image in more ways than one, and she is wicked through and through, not a misunderstood victim of circumstance. Not to mention she is a very small part of the book.Anyway, I thought that I would take this opportunity to show you how I explore and design a character and my example will be the WWW.This is the basic form of the character that I am going to use as the platform for the rest of my work.

I will continue to present a series of posts covering my design exploration of this OZ character.

Texas Love Found In The Philippines

2007-01-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

My dear and life long friend Randall Knutson is getting married! I know that some of the people who read our blog know Randall which is why I'm sharing this exciting news! Randall and I have been friends since we were in second grade in Duncanville (South Dallas) Texas. Later we would find each other again in Manila, Philippines and attend the same school through junior high. We found each other again in Duncaville and graduated from high school in the same school system that we were in durring second grade. Throughout these years our friendship has grown stronger.

I am so excited and happy that Randall is getting hitched! But I'm even more exited that he is marrying an amazing woman, Ryanna. The journey of their relationship is even more exiting than the journey of our friendship. Read their story here and find out why!

The wedding will be in Dallas, Texas on May 26.

CONGRATULATIONS RANDALL AND RYANNA!

North Pole Workshop (a themed environment)

2006-12-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

For a little while now I have been designing an idea for a small, indoor themed environment/experience of Santa’s Workshop. It’s basically like a very small theme park with attractions and other themed activities. Imagine taking an area of Disneyland (Frontier Land, Toontown, Fantasyland, etc.) and making it a small, separate theme park. I have a few sketches of the main entrance to the Workshop and I hope to draw more soon.

The entrance area will be outside as opposed to the rest of the Workshop which is indoors. Towering in front is a landmark formation of the North Pole. I wanted this pole to appear at first to be man (or elf) made but when you get close you get the impression that is a natural creation that appears to be growing up from the earth and bursting through the ice.

Just past the Pole is this small building that contains a “secret” entrance into Santa’s Workshop which is suggested to be hidden underground. I thought it would be fun to somehow make this building appear magically from the snow when the visitors approach it. This one room building is what I call a “Crowd Divider.” It breaks up the visitors into smaller groups for a more controlled and smoother entrance into the attraction. A good example of a Crowd Divider is the stretching elevator room in Disney’s Haunted Mansion. These kinds of rooms also help to set the tone in order to prepare the visitors for what they are about to experience, rather like an Overture for a theatrical production. This room contains every image possible of Christmas in our culture. For example the building itself is deigned to resemble a Christmas Tree.

In the center of this round room is this globe showing the complicated flight path of Santa. It is designed to look like it was carved out of wood.

Above this globe is this dome ceiling that wraps around the base of the tower’s vault. In this dome are suggested silhouettes of iconic structures from around the world.

A long pole that hangs from the center of the tower reaches down to a spot just above the globe. Attached at the base of the pole is the “North Pole” sign that points at the top of the globe. Also attached by a rod to the pole at the spot just below the dome is a small model of Santa’s sleigh. The sleigh rotates around in a circle (this is due to the pole that is slowly spinning) suggesting Santa’s flight around the world. I’m still in the midst of drawing the rest of the elements of this richly detailed room. Whatever I don’t finished designing this Christmas I will continue developing during every Christmas to come, as is my tradition.
There are much more exciting things to come!
Preview: This room will become completely animated and a whole sequence of events will occur around the audience leading to the secret entrance.

Why We Missed Church on Sunday (Part 4 of 4)

2006-12-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

I stopped the car and motioned to Josh to come listen to the scraping. Puzzled, he took a look at the front driver’s side tire where the noise was the loudest and then just started laughing. Fearing the worst, as usual, I said, “Oh great, what now?” He looked up and with a slight chuckle, he said, “Darling, you ran over a cone!” When I had pulled into the gas station earlier, in my distress, with limited visibility, I must have inadvertently taken out one of the safety cones near the driveway of the gas station. Just as we were regaining our composure, two mysterious gentlemen in an unmarked pick-up truck showed up and said, “Hey, you already fixed the tire?” Realizing that this must have been who “Joe’s Towing” sent to help us out, we apologized for beating them to the punch and explained our new dilemma. They managed to un-wedge the giant piece of orange rubber from under the Corolla and we all went about our merry ways. All I could think on the way home at 2:00 a.m. was that this was “one for the blog.”

Why We Missed Church on Sunday (Part 3 of 4)

2006-12-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

After obtaining the necessary phone number, I got a hold of Josh who had been sick for the past four days with a hacking cough (which is why he wasn’t with me in the first place). Thankfully he had not yet taken his nighttime cough syrup so he was okay to drive. I sat in the Corolla with the doors locked and memorized Josh’s cell phone number while I waited for him to come rescue me. When he arrived, we were optimistic about changing the tire ourselves with the help of the instructions he had printed from the internet. We managed to get all of the crap out of the trunk and uncover the spare along with the necessary tire changing tools. Everything was going fine until we got to the part where you are supposed to unscrew the lug nuts. Josh tried and tried to get them off but, possibly due to his weakened state, they wouldn’t budge. We decided to take advantage of the free 24-hour roadside assistance that our car insurance offers and resigned ourselves to wait for the estimated thirty minutes it would take for someone to come help us change the tire. After about twenty minutes, and having seen a guy, possibly under the influence of some mind-altering substance, urinate on the air/water machine, we were getting impatient so Josh started wrestling with the lug nuts again. Since I was wearing real shoes and he wasn’t, he asked me to stand on the lug nut loosening tool (whatever it’s called) so that the leverage would be enough to loosen the lugs. It turns out that 135 pounds (yes that’s my real weight) was just the right amount. We also speculated in our most intelligent “sciencey” sounding voices that the metal must have cooled and contracted since our last attempts so even if we had tried this method before, it may not have worked. We got the tire swapped out with no other problems and called the insurance people back to cancel the roadside assistance that had not yet arrived. We decided to cautiously depart the gas station and head home. I agreed to drive the Corolla very carefully since there was basically a plastic tire on the car now. As I started to pull out of the driveway, I could hear some kind of scraping sound. My first thought was that we had done something wrong and now the car was probably ruined but then I realized the scraping was coming from the front of the car so my next thought was that the engine was probably about to explode because I had put too much stress on it by driving who knows how long on three regular tires and just the rim of the rear driver’s side tire… To be continued…