A Universe of Trouble is Half Done!


Not only is the project half completed but I met the self-imposed deadline of reaching this milestone by June, 2016 (OK, I was off by five days.) 

When I stopped work on “Adult Toy Story” in April, 2015 and started this project, the intent was to quickly get a compelling story out into the world. I got off to a slow start with the first three episodes taking about six months to complete. But once I got further into the project, became more adept at reusing my art and animation and finding pre-made art, I began to complete episodes faster. As a result, I completed the next six episodes in six months.

When doing a project, it’s the small victories that count. American society is about BIG—big money, big houses, big cars, big mouths. We as a culture have a disdain for the small yet effective. What I’ve learned from doing this project is that every little effort put into the project reaps some kind of benefit. Every time I have to figure out how to accomplish something, I’ve learned a new tool or skill that can be used at a later time. So doing six episodes in the time that it originally took me to do three is a huge win for my confidence that this project can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

As Melissa Dinwiddie says, "think tiny and daily":


Drawing Principles from Famous Artists Foundations Course

In my endless quest to improve my drawing, I reviewed the old version of the Famous Artists Illustration Course and purchased some new Famous Artists Courses.

I was less impatient this time and that made all of the difference. As a result, my eyes were opened to a kernel of knowledge that I had overlooked before. Seeing what I had not seen before was a reminder that, unlike 20 years ago, I am now ready to receive this information and act on it.

THIS was my revelation:



That’s it. These two illustrations changed EVERYTHING for me!

Now, I had been told 20 years ago while working at an animation studio to “think 3D.” I had read about “drawing through” objects. But those lessons just didn’t CLICK! I don’t know why, but this simple yet essential idea that EVERY OBJECT is 3D and should be thought of as such just didn’t find a home in my brain.

Until now.

Looking at these illustrations, it all SUDDENLY MADE SENSE! Now I finally understood how EVERYTHING is a 3D object, including clouds and mountains.

This shows the importance of studying from a variety of sources. Some would dismiss the Famous Artists Courses as dated and in some ways they are (is it important to learn how to draw different types of hats when men don’t wear hats anymore?) But due to the updated version of the Foundation Course, I had a significant and game-changing epiphany.

Drawing principles have not changed and it’s those principles we need to master if we want to be skilled artists.

A Universe of Trouble Episode 08 Storyboard



Production for this episode has begun. I'm allowing myself two weeks for a completion on Sun. June 12. But the goal is of course to complete it sooner. It's important to complete these shorter episodes quickly to allow myself more time for the longer or more complicated episodes.

Thank You, Gary Vaynerchuk!

A new production record was set! I completed Episode 07 in a record 7 days. I saw an opportunity to knock the scenes out and I took it.

The reason I've doubled my efforts recently is because of the man whose name is in the title of this post, Gary Vaynerchuk.

Gary is an entrepreneur with a simple message: if you're complaining about your life, start fixing it with hard work and patience. It's a message that speaks loudly to me and one in which I have a deep belief.

After watching some of his videos, I realized that I wasn't working hard enough. I THOUGHT I was doing everything I could to complete this project but the REALITY was that I wasn't. I was working hard but not hard enough.

 Once I decided to hustle harder, I completed two episodes in record time AND I'm now on track to complete this project on my Choice A deadline, Dec. 31, 2016.

Here's Gary on hard work and patience:


A Universe of Trouble Episode 07 Storyboard


"A Universe of Trouble" Episode 07 storyboard (I still call it "The Repairman" on the storyboard sheets because it's less to write.)

My production pace has picked up and improved.

Episodes 01-03 were the true learning experience episodes. I was beginning to figure out how I wanted the series to look and how to create that look.

Episodes 04 and 05 took less time and involved more pre-production and use of other artists' artwork and the 3D program Cheetah3D.

Episode 06 flew mainly because it didn't have a lot of scenes.

I'm about to begin production of Episode 07 with an efficient system in place. The main part of this system is reusing art and animation from previous scenes. For example, I may draw a new Repairman figure but I won't paint her. Instead, I copy the painted parts from other pieces of art and paste it into the new drawing. That saves a tremendous amount of time in not only painting but retouching as well.

I keep reminding myself that this IS a learning experience, I'm not an expert and this is a normal part of the creative process. And with this new system in place, I'm more likely to complete this project at my preferred deadline—Dec. 31, 2016—as opposed to the B deadline of May, 2017.

F.O.C.U.S--Follow One Course Until Successful from Tyler Perry

This is one of my new mantras. I got it from Tyler Perry:


This wass a HUGE mistake I made 15 years ago. I was trying to do too many things at once and the result was that NOTHING got done! Now, it's simple: I'm making a web series and I'm practicing my drawing. That's. It. And already I've seen results and improvement.

Follow one course until successful.

Four Lessons Learned While Creating an Animated Web Series

Now that I've completed 5 of the 18 episodes for my web series "A Universe of Trouble," a few lessons have been learned:

1.  Reuse/Re-purpose Art

For the first 2 episodes, I did a lot of drawing and watercolor painting of the art. It wasn't until I got to episodes 03 and 04 that I realized that I should stop thinking of every scene as a new painting and should instead think of how I could reuse an old painting. Instead of physically painting new art, I simply cut and pasted the textured paint from old art into the new art. And we're done! Also, with every new episode, I try to reuse art and/or animation from another scene whenever possible to save the time of creating something new. If, however, the only solution to telling the best story is to create new art, then I design the easiest solution.

This works best if each element (for example, eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc.) are kept on separate layers. Then the individual layer can be altered without affecting other parts.

This was drawn and painted for Episode 01, Scene 03.

This is the same art as the previous for Episode 03, Scene 14. Instead of drawing and painting it again in a new position, all adjustments were made in Photoshop


2.  Important to Stay On-Model

 Despite having made a model sheet, after the 3rd episode it became obvious that the Old Man character was looking different in almost every scene and in every episode! It was such a glaring mistake that I took one week of my staycation to fix it. I was annoyed that I had not kept the character on-model in the first place but I was pleased with the results of making him more consistent. Now those episodes look a little less amateurish. Now I know that I need to carefully stay on-model or simply reuse the old art in order to maintain the character's consistent look.

Yes, all of these are supposed to be the same guy! This is how the Old Man looked in different scenes in Episodes 01 and 02. Although I like all of these variations and his look improved with time, since the majority of the art looked like the top, far left version, I made that the standard to which all the others would be matched.


3.  Let Go of Perfection

 This was one of the easier lessons to learn. Once I saw how long each episode was taking, knowing I had 18 of these to complete, I stopped being precious with details and instead focused on "good enough" remembering that my goal is simply to get the work out into the world to the best of my ability.

4.  Create a Plan of Attack

 Before starting Episode 05, I went through the entire storyboard and planned how each scene would be approached. I determined which scenes needed drawing, painting, digital retouching, 3D art, stock illustration and stock videos. Then once I got to each scene, I had already started thinking about it and the solutions and output came faster. Pre-production is just as important as production.

Those are all of the lessons for now. I'm sure there'll be more as this continues.

A Universe of Trouble--Episode 05 COMPLETED!

I've gotten so into grinding and hustling to get these episodes completed that I've neglected the blog.

No more!

Episode 05 is now completed:

Repairwoman checking her location.

Flying Eye remote camera leaves repair ship.

Flying Eye traveling over terrain of mysterious planet.






Production on Episode 06 has begun!

"A Universe of Trouble" Episode 06 storyboard.






New Web Series Title & New Storyboard

First, I've changed the name of this web series from the original story's title of "The Repairman" to "A Universe of Trouble." I like the new one better because it describes how I see the series proceeding after the first season.

Second, below is the storyboard for Episode 05:







New Wacom Tablet

In 2010—as I discussed HERE—I replaced an old Wacom Intuos 2 9" x 12" tablet with a Bamboo Pen tablet. (Funny that my original intention was to go paperless considering everything I've done since then has been on paper. I just can't kick the habit!) It was working great…until now.

It's developed an issue with the cord and since I'm on a take-no-prisoners mission to get my Repairman webisodes completed FAST, I don't have time to deal with flaky equipment. Also, I got more than its $70 price out of its use so spending $90 to replace it with something newer and better is neither a mental nor a financial strain.

After some quick research on Wacom's site, I chose the Intuos Creative Pen & Touch Tablet (Small). Actually, I chose the pen only version but upon discovering that B&H Photo was selling the more advanced model for the lesser model's price, it made sense to go with the more advanced model. Also, the "Bamboo" line has been phased out and basically replaced with the Intuous models.

The tablet looks great and works wonderfully. I didn't purchase the Wifi accessory but know that it's an option.

Thank you to B&H for not only a decent price but for the fast shipping that allowed me to get back to work quickly.

The Repairman Web Series Episode 01

If there was any question as to whether or not I should have put my 5-minute film aside to do a serialized story based on a Harry Harrison short story, the completion of this first episode put those questions to rest for me.

It did take longer than I originally planned (4 months from beginning to end) but ALL of my projects take longer than what I first plan. Ultimately, the goal of the pivot was to get work completed as fast as possible. In the time that I made this episode with it's beginning, middle and end I would have maybe completed ONE of the 60+ scenes in Adult Toy Story.

I'm happier with this project's progress.

I'd love to show you the final episode but I think the series can be better appreciated once there are enough completed episodes to release to you on a weekly basis.

Instead, I made this teaser trailer. Any and all feedback is welcome so please don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Thanks!


Boulet's Watercoloring Technique

If there's something I would've paid money to know is the specific thinking and approach that Boulet uses for his watercolors.



I LOVE this stuff! It has such a beauty, richness and depth to it.

Boulet has posted numerous time-lapse videos of himself painting but it's not possible to see exactly how he does it. I must not have been the only one wondering because he's finally posted a video that not only explains the various types of water-based paints but summarizes his approach to "l'aquarelle" with the succinct term "La Gougoutte" or "L'il Drop."


This is "the secret" to Boulet's watercoloring success for FREE! AND the video has an English translation!

I tried this approach recently while painting my webisodes and it helped tremendously.

If you've struggled with watercoloring and are interested in a doable method, I recommend you watch Boulet's video.

Major Project Pivot

I've had my eye flare up with chronic conjunctivitis (pink eye.) I've had trouble sleeping. I've felt anxious and stressed.

All because of my concerns about completing Adult Toy Story in a timely manner.

I recently came to the conclusion that despite my best efforts, completing ATS in less than TWO years was simply not going to happen. Now that I recently turned 46-years-old, I can't justify waiting that long to get my work out into the world.

So I decided to pivot.

Once the pivot decision was made, the stress and anxiety subsided. The pivot felt right.

 I have a tough dual goal: to get work out into the world and to improve my drawing, animating and storytelling skills.

Accomplishing this goal has been a multi-year challenge. I accept and embrace this challenge. But at the same time, I need to be realistic and smart about it.

After some self-assessment and re-evaluating, I decided that I do not presently have the skills to animate ATS quickly and the lack of progress was depressing me.

I DID realize that I can quickly do an animatic. So it's not full animation but it's not entirely static either.

All I needed was a short story and I found one in the public domain. It's called "The Repairman" by Harry Harrison. I divided this story into 18 episodes and each episode is divided into scenes. Each scene requires drawing, painting, animation, audio and compositing after I've storyboarded the entire episode.

This is still a LOT of work BUT it's going significantly faster than the work on the film.

Page 1 of Ep.01 storyboard
I'm calling this switch from the film to the webisodes a "pivot" rather than "quitting" because I'm leaving the film temporarily. I love ATS and WILL complete it. I just can't complete it now so it makes sense to work on something I can complete now. As long as I'm working on any project, I'm improving my skills, learning more about Toon Boom Animate Pro and getting closer to fulfilling my vision as I see it.

Coming soon: a rough version of some of Episode 1!



Learning to Ink with Crow Quill Pens

Falling in love with John J. Boulet’s work inspired me to make my own web comic. To set it apart stylistically, I decided I’d ink it with a crow quill pen (the best way to get a variety of line widths) and color it with watercolor. But how to start?

First, I researched what the pros do. The old Famous Artists Course said to use a Gillott 170 and 290 nibs so I bought those first. Then I discovered a recommendation from Dave Sim’s book “Cerebus Guide to Self Publishing”. In it he explains in detail how to use a crow quill pen and specifically that a Hunt 102 nib was used for Cerebus. So I bought that, too!

Second, after buying the nibs (and the appropriate pen handles and waterproof ink), I downloaded practice exercises for the pen found from an Internet search. From what I’ve learned, using a crow quill pen is like anything else…a matter of practice.






Surprisingly, drawing all of these lines with the three different nibs isn’t monotonous. I enjoy the sensation of drawing with it and look forward to using these wonderful tools to enhance and set apart my comics.