B/W Rendering

I wanted to practice black and white rendering on the computer. The sketch took about 1/2 hour. The redrawing and filling with 50% gray took about an hour. And the dodge and burn took about an hour. That totals a little over 2-1/2 hours. The original intent was a 4x2" comic panel.

I think the biggest time consumer is the redrawing. This has given me even more incentive geta drawing tablet (or whatever the hell they're actually called). Then, I could use a stylus rather than a mouse. That would be soooo nice.

My thoughts on the pic: I'm not happy with it. It looks too much like a chalk drawing. I like the look of chalk drawings, mind you, but not when I'm trying for something else. This is not the look I had in mind. I tried the watercolor filter, and then remembered how fake that thing looks. I may need to find an entirely different approach.

I've saved the basic gray pic to play with. You may see this pop up differently rendered in a later post.

And an important note: On Wednesday, 6 July 2005, the Sci-Fi channel will host a Battlestar Galactica marathon. That means every episode of the new series for 12 staight hours starting at 9:00 am. I know what I'm doing on that day.

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Blues Traveller...Here?

Yes, you heard right. Blues Traveller will be in Peru, IL at Lou's LaGrotto Pizza House on August 6th. It's there 30th anniversary and they want to celebrate big. Tickets are $5 (which goes to charity, but I can't remember which one).

Who'd have thought that anyone that big would come to this area?

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Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm officially 36 years of age. Yes, boys and girls, that means that I am now closer to 40 than 30. Not that I feel it or demonstrate it in my behavior, mind you.

So, "How did your birthday go?" you may be wondering.

Well, I'm glad you asked. It was an emotional roller coaster. At the church, we had a congregational meeting to discuss the future of the church. (Unfortunatly, this was the only day we had available to do this.) At this meeting, session members presented our situation to the congregation. Then they presented the recommendation that we vote to close, with the last day being Reformation Sunday (last Sunday in October). This allows for four months of celebrating the congregation's heritage as well as grieving its loss.

It was a very difficult meeting for me. I've thoroughly enjoyed being a pastor to these wonderful people. I'm sure I'll see them here and there, but it won't be the same.

Enter, MissionBound to the rescue. She is in the area for a couple of weeks, so she took me to see Batman Begins. I really enjoyed this movie. And my favorite line: "It's not what is within, but what you do that defines you." Three cheers for postmodern psychology! Rah Rah Rah! (I should write more, but I'll leave it to that for now.)

Anyway, I felt much better after the movie and a couple of beers. Today is the final day here as Student Pastor. What's next is still up in the air. Hopefully, we will find out soon.

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Sweet Stick People

A friend of mine sent me this. I was tremendously amused.

I've scanned in my pic that I drew at the Gorilla Art Thing. I'm not posting it here though. To see it, you have to go to the forums and check out the "Visuals."

We have another user on the forums, who is way out of the area. I think we need a e-mailing list so we can send out invites. I'm thinking send out a few, and have those few send out to those they think might be interested, and so on. That's going to have to be the way this thing picks up: word of mouth.

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Boomer: W.I.P. #1

Title: Boomer: W.I.P. #1
In case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of the new Battlestar Galactica series. I decided to practice my drawing skills on a bit of fan art.

I saw someone do a few "work in progress" series. It was great getting to see how the artist's picture developed. So, I thought I'd do the same.

Time investment so far: 2 hrs. As you can see, I'm not very far into it. The final will be about twice as tall.

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Sunday

Sunday was an emotionally confusing day for me. The first part was really hard: my last Sunday in th pulpit in Ladd. On Wednesday (my birthday nonetheless) we will have a congregational meeting to determine the direction of the small country church. The options are severely limited. Thursday is my last day here. Then...who knows. Maybe I will have a minor part time position in a church with pizza delivery on the side until I can get something. Maybe I will do only pizza delivery. We'll see.

On the bright side, after a nap I went up to the Guerilla Art Thing in Rockford. That was a lot of fun. We had a couple of new people. Very cool. Travis Legge from Aegis Studios dropped in for a while. (Artsy-type FYI: I think Aegis is looking for artists, so check out the website and contact them.)

Afterward, I dropped off a mug to a friend of mine, and spent some time with InvaderTim. Didn't get out of Rockford until late.

So, the plan was to have the A-C fixed today. Turns out that they thought the problem was "X", but it turned out to be "Y". Meanwhile, I'm cooking in here. Actually, I'm more worried about my computer than myself. I can always hop in the tub to cool down if need be; the computer...not such a good idea.

Reminder: We now have the Gorilla Art Thing Forums up and running. So far, it's only myself (Acumenical Goliard) and timmy on there. We're trying to get every artist in Rockford to sign up (they just don't know it yet...which would be the temporary speed bump). It doesn't matter how good or...well...not so good you are, use the space to showcase your work and to connect with other artists.

Hmmm... Maybe flyers.

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"Gorilla" or "Guerilla"?

Last night I spent a bit of time putting together forums for the Gorilla Art Thing. Sure, I know that it's supposed to be "guerilla," but I was putting them together and liked "gorilla" at that moment. Ergo, the name.

Why? Well, I was looking at different free forums sites and wanted to put something together, but didn't know what to go with. Then I thought that they would really help with the gorilla gig.

It really didn't take very long. They have several skins to chose from. After picking a few (and yes, members have a choice of which one they use), it was just a matter of throwing in a few categories and boards. Voilla! Ready-made virtual community.

Now all I have to do is find out whether this is something they want. If not, I'll just delete them (no biggie). For me, I got what I wanted: a bit of experience setting up forums. Now, I am thinking of redesigning and customizing a skin.

The only downfall with these things is the banner ads. They stay until you pay. I don't feel like pumping $4 a month into cleaning up the board yet. Maybe in the future when I get more settled financially.

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We Were Outside

Tonight, we had our Historical Jesus DVD Discussion Group meeting at the Common Grounds BookCafe in Utica (they are no longer in LaSalle). We decided to take the TV outside and watched it in the garden area. That was awesome. It was a great discussion, too. Admittedly it was more geared toward "spirituality" than "historical Jesus," but great nonetheless.

Okay all, don't forget...


Poster by InvaderTim
Next Sunday, outside the Octane in Rockford, IL. Bring your gear. Let's get it on...the page that is.

Also, I mentioned "ssg" in a previous post. However, I thought it best if I showed a photo of him (which I stole from InvaderTim) sitting with InvaderTim(who now has a podcast. Go vote for him here, here, and here now).


Photo not by InvaderTim,
which should be obvious
since he is in the pic.
I hope that helps.

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Moving Down the Page

When I put together "Daddy's Home" I had a page layout in mind. I'm continuing with it. This leaves only two more panels to go. One is already sketched. The other, which is more complicated, is still blank.

Since I'm keeping track of time...

The sketch of the remaining panels (minus the one yet to be done) is 1 hour. Each of these panel colorings took short of 2 hours each. That means the 6 (for the first pic) +1 (for the sketch) +4 (for the renderings)= 11 hours so far. My guess is that I will need another 5 hours till finished. That will be a whopping 16 hours to complete the entire page. If that holds, then working full time, I can finish a page every two days.

Since a comic typically has a penciler and a colorer, I don't know whether that is a good speed or not.

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Going Ape at the Guerilla Art Gig

Title: "Daddy's Home"
Sunday evening was the Guerilla Art Gig (G.A.G.) in Rockford, IL. I already knew InvaderTim and "ssg". New to me were Jesus (the one who called us all together), Marika, and Brandon. We did more talking than anything. InvaderTim should have the podcast up soon enough. (I hope I didn't say anything too embarassing.)

I was torn between whether I should draw a tree or work on comic book art. I chose the latter. I sketched the above pic out while I was there, and brought it home to finish it. It would be approximately a 6x3 panel (about a third of a comic page). That thing took two hours to sketch and four hours on the computer. Crimeney, Danger Mouse! I'm definitely not happy with the time involvement on this one.

I think I've figured out one of my major problems. Even though I knew it would only be a 6x3 product, I worked in detail as if it were one of my normally sized works. There's a point at which detail isn't detail anymore, and the big learning curve is going to be in that area.

The coloring took about 3 hours, and was the most fun. I'm really enjoying this whole taking a half-assed sketch and rendering it into something pretty cool. It's amazing what a difference the colors make.

Anyway, back to the G.A.G.

They are planning on meeting every week...at least for a while. So, if anyone is interested, just bring your art supplies on Sundays around 1:00 pm-ish and join it. We don't bite...honest. (Can't vouch for the plastic sock monkeys though.)

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FPC-Ladd

The First Presbyterian Church
of Ladd, IL
This is the church that I'm currently serving as Student Pastor. Since I will be leaving at the end of the month, I wanted to give each of them a drawing of the building as my parting gift to them. Many parishioners have given me things that they made, and I wanted to give them something that I made.

It also served as good practice.

About 20 minutes ago I noticed how late it was. Normally, this would not be a big deal, but tomorrow I'm going to Rockford for an artist gathering. I'll definitely need a nap before I hop in the car.

I wonder how many are actually going to show up since it is after all Father's Day. I will be very annoyed if I show drive all that way and nobody shows up.

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A Change of Pace

Title: Who's Got Your Back?

Tonight I decided to try something a bit different: comic book art. Thanks to my buddy Tim, I have a few new techniques that helped a lot. (Dodge and burn, baby! Dodge and burn!)

For those who think comic book art is a breeze, think again. This simple picture took me 3-1/2 hours. That's about 1-1/2 hours more than I expected. And this is only one picture. Typically, a comic page has from 4-7 panels (that are smaller, yes, but usually more complicated. And, a comic artist is expected to complete a page a day...every day. That's a lot more than I'm capable of.

So, I'm happy with it. Maybe, I'll play with this style a little more. Who knows, maybe I'll even put out my own comic book some day.

And don't forget: this Sunday is the guerilla art gathering (G.A.G.??) by the Octane in Rockford @ 1:00 p.m.

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My Home Church

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Rockford, IL:
"Embracing Dynamic Traditions for a New World"

The time investment on this one was about 5 hours drawing time, and 3-1/2 hours computer work.

Someone has recently encouraged me to draw buildings and try to market the pictures. Well, I wanted interesting architecture to start with, so I drew my home church. The text is their new vision statement. (And a pretty cool one if you ask me.) They are in the process of erecting a new building closer to the interstate, which means that this beautiful building will eventually be sold. That made me think...might the parishioners want mementos?

Here's the plan: merchendise for a fund-raiser. Maybe done by the youth group. Maybe for another cause. Anyway, I create the wares and get a cut, but the rest of the profit goes to "the cause" (whatever that happens to be, I would suggest Rockford Urban Ministries if I had a say). Moreover, this gets the vision into the houses of the parishioners (maybe even on their morning coffee mugs), which is always helpful for leadership purposes.

Trying to sell this one is going to be a test case. (They are as of yet unawares of my wares.) I wonder whether there will be any other churches out there who might be interested as well. Maybe my friend Mike's church, Second Congregational in Rockford, IL. (And check out the sermons there. Mike and Shannon are really good.)

Here's hoping I have something here.

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Do Not Disturb...Especially if You are a Wasp

Title: Do Not Disturb
This has been in the works for a couple of weeks now. It feels good to have it done. I confess to having rushed the final stretch, but the drawing itself took around 10 hours. Much longer than I wanted to spend on it. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the outcome. (I'll turn the pic into a link as soon as I get it into my deviantArt gallery. It's a link now!)

Related to that, I want to announce that there is a guerilla art gathering on Sunday, 19 June, just outside the Octane in Rockford, IL. (Yes, that's Father's Day, and don't ask me what they were thinking.) It starts at noon 1:00 p.m. and will continue for quite some time. I'll be late, of course, since I have about 1-1/2 hour drive to get there after our church service finishes around 10am. But I do want to try to make it. The plan is to bring your gear and put it to work in the open air. It ought to be quite fun.

And now, for a rant: Last night there was a wasp in my appartment. (That would be a real flying wasp, not a W.A.S.P. like myself, though I was also in my appartment, which complicated things.) For the record, I do not work and play well with life-threatening creatures. As far as I'm concerned, wasps, bees, hornets, mosquitos, ants, alligators, octopi, and any other creepy-crawling thing fits into that category. In hopes that I might be able to find a more subtle way to slay this wretched thing other than direct violence (which could backfire), I used the appropriate channels: I called mom.

She told me to put out a jar of sugar-water. Then, once it was inside filling its belly, put the lid on and let it die. That fit really well with the old Scrooge McDuck addage, "Work smarter, not harder." She also said I should put on sandals just in case I stepped on it. Ick! So I filled a jar with sugar-water and put on sandals. But the evil being was nowhere to be found.

Finally, I decided to brave the computer once again. Perhaps, if I didn't bother it, it would not suspect that I was plotting its demise as I worked.

The plan did not work as intended.

The wasp never went into the jar with the sugar-water. Instead, as I was working, I apparently accidentally stepped on it with my sandal. Once I realized what had happened (which wasn't immediately), I promptly ground it into the first floor of the appartment building.

See, boys and girls, it just goes to show that a little motherly advice can go a long way...especially for those of us who do not do unnecessary pain and suffering.

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Just a Thought

I was thinking a bit today about the struggles facing today's churches. The little congregation that I'm serving right now is facing some serious difficulties. We are not alone in that. All over the U.S., small rural churches are confused about what to do.

Repeatedly, I come back to wrestling with the same difficulties when it comes to church life. The mainline church has effectively disconnected from the world in which it dwells. If Len Sweet's analysis in Soul Tsunami was correct a few years ago, then the current average age of the Presbyterian Church (USA) should be around 70 years old. And the church's regular pattern serves well for the senior citizen group. But when people throw up their hands and wonder "why aren't we growing," well, maybe it is because the church'es regular pattern serves well for the senior citizen group.

In no way should this be seen as being disrespectful for senior citizen spirituality, as if it is any less "valid" than young adult spirituality. But it is to say that the mainline has a problem adapting to much else. And where there is an unwillingness to adapt, then there will be a declining denomination. They kind of go together.

The church is like a boat being carried by the river of time. If you want your boat to work as it was meant to, then you actually have to pick it up and put it in the water.

The world has changed. To paraphrase Len Sweet, the bottom line is simple: change or die. If we truly value the possibility of making a difference in this world as distinct Christian communities, then we'd better figure out what we need to do to reconnect with the world in which we live...and soon.

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Could It Be? ... No Rain?

Every other Thursday, a group of us meet at the Common Grounds BookCafe to watch the DVD series "The Historical Jesus" and to discuss. On the off-Thursdays, I would like to get a group up to go to the labyrinth at Pilgrim Park (by Princeton, IL).

The labyrinth is a spiritual walk path. (To read about the Grace Cathedral labyrinth, click here.) It's not a hedge maze or a corn maze. It's a series of rocks on the ground in a patter that one walks. The walking time is spent in prayer and meditation. The one at Pilgrim Park is outside. This has been the problem.

The last two (or three?) off-Thursdays have been rain laiden. It's one thing to go out to the labyrinth and remember one's baptism. It is another to go out there and be drowned by waters flooding unrestrainably from the sky. Bummer.

Today, however, looks like it's going to hold out with acceptable weather. I should perhaps add a "maybe" in there somewhere, because it is getting a bit cooler out ther...and slightly darker. If it rains, formal complaints will promptly be filed, and the follow-up may include a sit-in protest...provided it doesn't rain.

EDIT: Yet again, we did not go. "Why?" you ask. Well, two reasons. First, it looked like rain. No, it didn't rain, but I thought it was going to. Second (and more importantly), I remembered at 5pm that if I wanted to use the labyrinth at Pilgrim Park, they want a bit of forewarning. This allows them to reserve it for people paying to go on retreat there if necessary, and lets the groundskeepers know that we don't bite. Maybe next time I'll remember this important bit of info before 3pm.

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