Here’s a re-post from last Easter. Sorry I didn’t get to make a new Easter Jaxxon illustration this year.

Jaxxon was created for use in Marvel Star Wars’ Star Wars 8: Eight for Aduba-3. This big bunny was created in homage to Warner Brothers cartoon star Bugs Bunny who often addressed strangers with the generic nickname “Jackson” in his 1940s cartoons. I thought it would be funny to use Jaxxon for an Easter card.

Isn’t it interesting how the slightest edit can make things sooooo different?

I am pleased to announce the completion of my 2nd Sketch book.  The Adventures of Spencer Brinkerhoff III Year Two will have it’s debut at WonderCon in San Francisco on April 2nd.  It can be ordered through my online store or picked up in person at the convention.  Just like last years sketch book, it is 14 5″ x 7.5″ full color pages of sketches an illustrations available for only $5.00.  There is a sketch card spot on the front of the book for a commission black and white sketch for an additional $5.00.

Back in December I finished up a series of instructional videos for Academic Business Consultants (ABC). They were made for the Wounded Warrior Project which is dedicated to helping “Honor and empower wounded warriors.” I worked on the scripts, narration, audio recording, illustration and animation. The video below is all about Internet Protocol.

The butterfly effect is a metaphor that simply states that small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events like a domino effect. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different. (Thank you Wikipedia).

I have children.  SIX of them.  Then there are cousins that come over and friends etc.  So there are few things that startle me these days.  HOWEVER, I was walking to the office to start my day when I stepped on a small plastic thingy.  When I first picked it up I thought it was a button, but the back had two little posts on it and then written across the front it said, “DO NOT REMOVE”.  ummm, well, uh oh.  I have NO idea what this came from, but it’s got to be bad. *flap, flap, flap*

Quite ironically, on Valentines day I heard about what Wired magazine called a “Really twisted love letter” to George Lucas.  The People vs. George Lucas is a documentary film about the love/hate relationship between George Lucas and his fans.  It was created by an open internet call to fans to submit their opinions, videos, or images.  Over 600 hours of footage has been narrowed down to 96 minutes for the premiere tomorrow at 6:30PM at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin Texas.

So here’s the root of the controversy.  In 1977 we were ALL introduced to Star Wars.  It had a huge impact on me and help to foster my imagination.  In one scene in particular a rogue smuggler is hired to transport the aged general Obi-Wan Kenobi and his knight-in-training as they seek to return the stolen plans to the princess Organa.  Before they could take off the smuggler was cornered by a bounty hunter.  With a gun pointed in his face, he decided to shoot first and ask questions later.  Well, that’s the way I remember it, but in the 1997 Special Edition re-release we see a version where the bounty hunter Greedo shoots first.  Then in the 2004 the scene is changed again so that the two fire at almost the same time.  These changes to the film really upset a lot of people.  This documentary film seems to be a way for people to express their love for Star Wars and their frustration for the changes made to it.

I first heard about this documentary film from it’s director Alexandre O. Philippe.  He contacted me asking for my permission to use my print depicting the showdown between Han Solo and Greedo.  The print was made for the Star Wars Celebration Japan and as such, Lucasfilm holds the rights to it and I couldn’t authorize him to use it in the film.  I was flattered to have been asked to have my artwork used in association with high-profile industry professionals and George Lucas collaborators, including the legendary Gary Kurtz, Sandy Lieberson (former Head of Production at 20th Century Fox), Dale Pollock (author of SKYWALKING), Producer Anthony Waye (JAMES BOND 007), David Prowse, and the great Neil Gaiman.XXXSo I came up with a solution and I made a new illustration.

Here’s the trailer for the documentary film.

When I was a kid I loved to read the “Choose your own adventure” formatted books.  Like the cliffhanger serial films of my father’s generation, these books would put the main characters into perilous situations and then pose a question to the reader.  Should the hero return to camp?  then turn to page 23.  It created an interactive experience that made me feel that I was part of the story.

I just watched a video advertising an new kind of interactive adventure. I’m not a fan of Horror movies, but this is how the adventure movie works. Audience members upload their phone numbers at the beginning of the movie, then during the movie the on screen character picks up their phone and calls one of them. The audience member then “helps” the person in the film by giving them directions. Watch the video and see how awesome this is!