This:

1. crisis
2. crisis
3. crisis
4. crisis
5. crisis
6. crisis
7. crisis precipitated by the resolution of previous crises
8. new crisis
9. further crisis
10. additional crisis

The hiatus is now on, until further notice.

Where Eagles Fish

Got back from Seward 20 July. Working on stuff like this (in addition to a new resume):

So, a bit busy. Enjoy.

Pachyrhinosaurus: An Experiment

I did this in two days, and it is now available as a photo print directly from the artist (me) for $75 and shipping:

And I did this as an experiment. I've been trying to get faster at some of the turnaround on my work. Now, the subject is pretty familiar (one of my favorite subjects, in fact), I had a few models on hand already (I didn't really have to design from utter scratch), aimed for a less rendered style, preferring something more graphic, and I've even lots of experience with even the most painful aspect of the picture (the horsetails, of which I've painted godzillions at this stage).

But the idea that I can compose, choose a color palette, design, block and fill a drawing/painting in less than two days is now feasible to me. I still need to get faster, I feel, as well as better, but this is a solid start.

(Note: this isn't a promise that every project I undertake can be completed this quickly, merely a step in my education as I look towards altering my workflow and develop a production environment.)

An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Dr. Dawkins,


So this happened, and as of this writing, you haven't offered any apology. I don't know what will happen, but Rebecca Watson has been nothing but perfectly reasonable throughout this.


You are, at times, an effective speaker, an eloquent writer, and this is why many people are, I think, so surprised by your reaction to Watson's original issue.


So I hope you'll apologize and mean it, and not do this again, and perhaps think about what you write a little more before writing it. But if you're thinking you're not actually deeply in the wrong here, and do not intend to apologize, or actually intend to entrench into the posture you've assumed for yourself, you should know something.


You've often defended feminism against religion's more odious transgressions, but you are now well on your way to not only diminishing what you've done, but undoing it completely.  People don't like being told their problems are tiny compared to the problems of the world. Relatively speaking, every problem, big and small, is tiny when compared to something larger.


When you deflect the concerns of someone who has had their tea poisoned by ironically suggesting that this is as large or larger an issue than a thousand people dying of drought, it raises legitimate doubts about your previous work.


And you need to understand this, in order to be effective and trustworthy on this matter in the future.


I'm actually going to close with a piece of Biblical advice, one which I often endorse to creationists who dismiss the knowledge and expertise of scientists, because it now applies to you:

Luke 16:10-12, KJV:  "10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"

(And here's the New Living Translation: 

¹⁰ “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹ And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?")

Yours in all sincerity, S.E.

Comment moderation

Now in place.

My #10oclockart for Twitter

Screenshot off the tablet:

How's that TikiCosmonaut coming along?

Cars 2

We went to it. We saw it. We enjoyed it.

Of course, it won't be a hit with everyone, but artists and animators who understand and enjoy the art of caricature should get a kick out of it. Is it better than Cars? Eh, not really. Is it better than Toy Story, I think so. And how was the short? Pretty kickass, honestly.

For some reason, every time I see a PIXAR film, I'm awfully tempted to fire up Sarcosuchus_imperator and do a CG project. If only it weren't so expensive in terms of electricity to run Maya and the RAID it runs on... (I really kind of need to be paid to run the big iron these days, but, that might not be enough to stop me.) I think it's worth pointing out that few other CG films really give me this sort of thrill. Dreamworks, for all of its efforts (even the good ones), never really makes the level of energy it takes to actually inspire me to create something. Non-PIXAR Disney often has a similar problem, as does Warner's animation. Exceptions are pretty notable, however, even if the CG is comparatively minimal.

It's also worth seeing on the big screen. The grandeur and effort in terms of shaders and lighting PIXAR invested into Tokyo, Italy, and London for these virtual locations are nothing short of amazing, and are packed with humor (subtle and otherwise). (Of course, not owning a large flat panel liquid plasma LCD display teevee, perhaps this is a distinction that's sort of lost on folk nowadays.)

All in all: worth it, and I'll see it again.