Misinterpretations of Life

Naaanananananan nananana nanana Bat Girl! Bat Girl!

2009-01-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Batgirl VS Clayface

Sketch, coloring this right now.

UPDATED! COLOR DONE!

You are FORBIDDEN.

2009-01-04T23:08:00.001-08:00

Forbidden Planet Poster Thumbnails.

So in my sparetime before my weekly Buffy/Angel roleplaying night, I doodled up these two thumbnails as ideas for my Forbidden Planet poster remake. I'm still tracking down the movie, and hopefully will have it soon to watch!

Otherwise, our Buffy, erm, Jenna the Vampire Slayer game went well. An old NPC from season 2 (we are in season 3) returned for vengeance on Gina (played by Dawn). Three people at the "cursed muffins." Mou ( my character) became a useless muffin, Weston became a deabilitated drunk (played by aaron), and Gina became bitchy and lazy. Only Jenna ( Kathy ) and Mr. Black (John) did not eat the muffins. I also introduced the new counselor for Jenna, Mr. Thadius Der`Mousse. He is head of Culinary and and Poly-Science at Cace? (Kace) Western College. He has assigned Nancy, a tutor, to help our Slayer stay on track at school. In the end, the team found Maria (the being of light after Gina for vengeance from their past college years) and defeated her. It was fun and silly and I was a muffin. :)

Woman of the Future!

2009-01-04T01:38:00.000-08:00

Altaira Morbius.

More Forbidden Planet. Will watch the movie this week to get a better idea for the poster!

For your viewing pleasure, pictures of Miss Morbius!

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0013428/

Forbidden Planet Challenge WIP - Dr. Morbius and CMDR JJ Adams

2009-01-04T00:15:00.001-08:00

Creepy and Cocky!

At least that's what I got out of the trailer. More of Altaira later. I love this drawing :3

A new year, a new place.

2009-01-03T22:59:00.000-08:00

I lost my keys. This is the consequence.

So, Dawn and I have both moved into her parents place (!). I decided to post some photos of my surroundings. I am sad to say that the "Wall of Nintendo" had to be greatly reduced and put into storage. It is at 8% strength now and will not be able to hold off a strong assault from China.

The TV and it's children

Dawn "Oh noes!" It's damn cold in this place

The wall greatly reduced... :(

My desk complete with a desktop, a laptop, two scanners, two portable harddrives (80GB and 250GB), a rock band 2 guitar, wacom tablet, a 2 dollar wireless mouse from weird stuff, coke from mexico keys, a virtual boy +3 games and stand underneath and of course, Godzilla guarding it all from up on high.

Joshua Cogswell, hurry up and return and be my roommate! The Wall needs to Return!

Robots+Chica=Awesome!

2009-01-03T00:22:00.000-08:00

Forbidden Planet!

Okay, maybe not yet. Jeff challengedme (well, suggested) that I do a poster remake of the movie poster for the original Forbidden Planet. Here's the original poster:

I will update in a day or two on my progress. Enjoy the sketches!

Happy new year's eve!

2008-12-31T18:19:00.001-08:00

Good evening everyone! I am almost done moving into my new place. I am actually blogging from my friend's iphone and it is awesome!

I think i will probablyy get one of these fancy little devices! The phone is great for checking.my email, deviantart, news, and blogging on the go. Hell, i am in the passenger seat right now bloggoling! AnywYs i will see you all next year! Have a great new years eve! ;)
Au

Now in HIGH DEFINITION!

2008-12-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

My christmas gift from Mr. Franzen: HD-DVD!

Booya. I have joined the last generation of high def. I will be enjoying movies from the past 2 years (not this year) in HD on my x-box 360. If anyone knows me well, I love old tech that really out of date. :)

This one, was out of date at release.

I will also be viewing this movie tonight on HD:

Oh yeah, you are jealous. Here's a pic of me and sam at my old place! :D OMG A PIC OF ME I MUST LOSE WEIGHT. (mother screaming at me in my head.)

Cousin of Kal-El, Kara steps in to save the day.

2008-12-29T04:12:00.000-08:00

Super Girl!

Okay. I may not be online the next few days. I will be moving into my new temporary home for two months until I can find a new place or move in with friends. Anyhow, I will also be posting limited sketches for now on as I begin to crank cool stuff for my upcoming sketchbook. More details on that later. For those who are interested I will be issuing a black*white and full color sketchbook. For roughly 30-40 bucks through lulu.com. Thus far, lulu seems the best without me buying books and then trying to sell them. Hardbacks sadly cost far more (40-50).

I'll get back to you all after the new year ( maybe ) so happy new year to you all!

Fighting evil by moon light~

2008-12-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

Retro-Sketch: Sailor Moon.

Ah, i've been in a retro mood as I've been packing and felt like doodling sailor moon. It's been nearly a decade since I last drew this pigtailed magical girl. I think it came out okay.... her arm tho after finishing; is a bit long... will go back and fix maybe but i like the way it looks. :)

From the darkest depths of space, only one girl can save man kind. Suzi-eeeeeee McFannigannanananananana!

2008-12-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

Suzie McFannigan Page 007!

So I decided to get back to my comic stuffs. :) I'm going to try to do two pages a month once school starts. This one took maybe 4 hours of work. And I am going for a very vibrant painterly look right now... actually each page I may experiment with color styles.

Anyhoo, crits welcome!

A psycho christmas.

2008-12-26T04:00:00.001-08:00

Psychonauts

Finished this fun sketch/painting of the Psychonauts crew prepping the tree for Christmas. Of course, Sasha there does not like his festive shirt. Anyhoo, twas fun to paint and doodle. Came out pretty neat and I enjoyed the semi-acidic colors. I ended up adding an overlay to warm up the image and increase the violet shadows.

Anyhoo, sleepy time. 6 day countdown until I need to be out of my home!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T01:01:00.000-08:00

Snow Bunnies.Just got home from Dawn's (Fiance) family's Christmas gathering. It was a blast. I brought Rock Band 2 and Wii Sports like this Thanksgiving. It was awesome. At some point people forgot to eat and were wailing, boxing, tennising, drumming, smashing, thrashing, bowling and all sorts of awesome fun. It was hilarious when we played Eye of the Tiger and the entire family sung along as well as many other songs. Even people who normally didn't play (cousin Steve) these kind of games wailed out on some songs. In all it was one of the best Christmases I've had in years.

It's something I've never really had with my own family. I recall many years of driving to Arkansas to see my father's family. They mostly ignored us and found ways to punish myself and my brother since we were half Asian. When everyone else was getting amazing gifts, gobs of cash, Jason and I would maybe get a $5.00 check or a hot wheels or a package of pencils. I always felt distant from my family and after reviewing my childhood, I can see why. Especially after tonight. I felt I belonged. Roy and Janelle (Dawn's parents) have accepted us into their home for the next few months as we get situated in the wake of my parents never-ending pursuit to make me feel the same misery they both had growing up. My parents still see me as that clumsy 10 year old who did what he wanted.

I'll be making some snacks to bring John and Kathy's (Long time friends, and hosts of our Buffy RPG game - now a year old!) Christmas celebration. I'll be making some sandwhich wraps in order to keep the mess down in the kitchen as we begin moving and packing the rest of the stuff in our little home. I will not be seeing my own family, I may send an email out to my brother, but to be honest seeing them would just upset me. I've all ready being feeling lost for the past few days, and I feel liek I've found myself after tonight. Maybe a little.

I am 26 years old. I want to be happy and have a career that makes me happy, and no one will stop me, not even my own miserable parents and their jealousy of me being happy.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a GREAT night.

Sandborn Out.

Almost there... right?

2008-12-23T00:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas.

Some sketchwork from Sunday's game and wip of my psychonauts christmas fan-art. :3

I am a machine.

2008-12-21T03:38:00.000-08:00

Milla Vodello.Yep. More Psychonauts fan art. I think I'll replay it again on Xbox... or on steam! Buy it again! :D Hmm we should get Doublefine to come to Cogswell again and show off Brutal Legends. That ruled when they came down for Psychonauts. Hint Hint. Wink Wink.

Okay. That's enough drawing today. Sleepy time.

Sandborn Out Cold.

Psychonauts' Lili.

2008-12-21T02:35:00.000-08:00

Lili.I failed to mention I bought some Copic multiliners. By the way peeps, the square/rectangle copics are being discontinued I hear. The sketch ones are a dollar more at my local shop now! I like the sketches, but I also like my fine tip and more ink. So buy up peeps, nice blue is a great sketch marker in my opinion! Later!

And things were going so well...

2008-12-21T00:26:00.001-08:00

"My name is Rasputin, but everybody calls me Raz."

Again, everything was going so well. No more EA. Registered. New job(s). Move in with my parents to save mon- oh wait. No. The last one got scratched due to my parents unbelievable hatred for what I do.

I got a call about dawn and I moving in with them this week. My dad decided to lay down some rules. First off he was furious I lost/quit my job. He yelled at me for not getting a real job and I should quit being an artist. His rules for us moving in were absurd:

Must be home before 10:00 p.m.
Cannot be up past midnight.
No eating past 8:00 p.m.
Can only use the stove if mom or dad are home.
My car cannot stay on our street (i don't drive it often)
I can bring nothing but a bed and my computer in when I move
No games.

Now, I work a pretty crazy schedule. I tend to work 10-12 hour days until past 10:00 p.m. I'm usually up late doing homework. I tend not to get dinner till 9 and stay up till 2 a.m. My family is never home. My car has no where to go. I am moving in and paying rent for a space to use, not to sleep. I work on making games.

That plus my father criticizing my choice in life to be an artist put me on edge this evening. I hung up. I may call back tomorrow, but he wasn't happy either. I've never really known my father. Most of my life he's been sort of out of the picture.

I'm still surprised to this day that my parents are not divorced. At one point my dad did live away from my mother for a year, didn't see him from when i was 12 until i turned 13. He came out of nowhere after being gone for a year and bought me everything in the comic shop. A nice gesture, but i look back and understand. He felt bad for being gone for a year in hopes buying me toys would make me happy. At the time, it worked, today I see it as an attempt to buy my love.

Looking back on my past, that's actually all I remember. I remember being punished ( a lot ) and being bought gifts when my father would return from months of long 15 hour daily shifts. It's probably where I got my own personality in a way, when I feel bad for what I've done or disappointed some one I want to buy them something and I tend to lose myself in my work when I am not feeling cheery. I also work long hours and overextend myself extensively (not as much anymore).

I don't want to be like that. I want to pace my life, enjoy my life. I watch my brother in his cage, he's 24 now. No college education, no job. He stays at home and take cares of the house for mom and dad. He's really their slave. I try to get him to escape, but my parents talk down about me so much when i'm not around he doesn't even want to hang out anymore. Though when I get him out of the house, he is cheery and genuinely happy. I know he hates it in there, but my mother and father have conditioned him to believe he can't be anything more than their caretaker.

I also feel that one day taking care of him will fall onto me when they pass. That worries me a great deal. Will my work be enough to support me, dawn and our future children and my brother? Probably not. I've done what I can to help him, but I don't think much more can be done. He's past the age to call social services, and I wish I did it when he was 17. When my parents, instead of helping him get better at studying; they removed him from society and put him in a "finishing school."

I went there, it was basically a school for high school drop outs. He's not dumb, he may be a bit slow, but he can be intelligent. I am at a loss as to what to do for my little brother, especially since I' know I've been a bastard big brother growing up an I too am trying to make up for past sins. Maybe one day he'll forgive me and leave that wretched house.

Anyhow, life goes on. I'll find a place I'm sure. Just keep in mind that I may disappear for a week or two until i regain my balance. :)

Sandborn out.

Hammering away. BUH BUM CHING

2008-12-20T01:18:00.000-08:00

Captain HammerSome captain hammer pose sketches. :)

Redheads.

2008-12-19T02:55:00.001-08:00

Penny.

Woot. Finished it. Been drawing like mad lately. I can't stop. Can you stop me? No you can't. :)

Copper top.

2008-12-19T00:13:00.001-08:00

Penny.

So my obsession with Dr. Horrible continues. Behold, Felicia Day as a cartoon character. I may change her chin a bit, since it kinda looks like an under bite when Felicia clearly has a big smile showing mostly top teeth. :)

I've been drawing a lot, and it makes me so happy. I don't know why.

He started out as Weapon X.

2008-12-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Wolerine.

Not much going on today. Getting some much deserved grief from work for leaving Tuesday. I wrote a lot of documents covering everything I know about the area I've been testing (primarily on my own and developing my own test methods). Ended up being a 9 page "how to." I hope it helps!

Getting paid at midnight tonight and buying Fallout 3 and Bioshock tomorrow. Won't be able to play them, but they are cheap at work so I will get them. :) More doodles later tonight!

Sometimes you just have to jump...

2008-12-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

Let's start with Penny from Dr. Horrible.

I've spent 11 months this year working within the game industry as a game tester. I worked for the conglomerate EA Games in Redwood City, CA. I've worked on the titles Rock Band and Rock Band 2 for all platforms and languages. After thinking it over, and hearing the same thing from everyone I knew: I quit EA Games this morning.

In the aftermath most everyone was surprised, I guess I was on the way to Full Time. Many were sad to hear me go, and I too was a bit sad to leave many friends behind. I have watched my own team of six-plus months dwindle and my morale for the team had reached an all time low. I've been drawing quite a lot lately and after this past weekend I came to the realization I was wasting away.

On the way home I was nearly in tears. I quit my only source of income, I wasn't sure of what was in store for me. This saturday I begin moving back to my parents with my fiance. My parents have been gracious enough to let us stay in their home so I can afford to finish school. Though, without the job at EA I will not be able to pay rent. I couldn't be a provider for my future wife this upcoming year, and in this economy; how would I find a job?

A few months ago I did some art for a small game company. I hadn't spoken with them in a little while and the other day I felt like saying thanks for the opportunity and reminding them I hadn't forgotten the fun I had working with them.

Upon arriving home I decided to check my mail. I was thrilled to see that the fellas from the game company replied to me. They were thrilled I emailed as well! In fact they were interested in bringing me on after the holidays once their next cycle ended in January. I was very excited. I also received emails about more commissions from Deviantart and a flood of people liking my Dr. Horrible characters illos. Someone was happy with my work, that made me happy. Is it wrong to be happy about something you did that made someone else happy or say "that's cool?"

I jumped today. I quit EA to work on my portfolio. I want to graduate and begin work in the industry so badly that I am willing to sacrifice my financial well being to make it. I quit this morning on a whim, not knowing the future. It felt good and bad to be so unsure of what was to come, and it felt amazing to see what could be the future. Graduation. Making art for games. Pixar. Who knows what holds when you let go of your shackles and do what you feel is right, and I never felt more right in my life than today.

Goodbye EA games, it was fun, but I want to draw.

Sandborn Out.

BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER.

2008-12-17T03:17:00.000-08:00

I mean, I'm speechless. Seems Joss Whedon, a man I don't even know decided to give me, specifically me, a birthday gift:

Joss Whedon's new television series Dollhouse premieres on Feb. 13 and will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

I mean, what better day to spend my birthday? Now make me head of animation revival of the buffy animated series and we'll have Christmas covered too. :D

Sandborn out.

NPH/DR. HORRIBLE Design!

2008-12-17T02:34:00.000-08:00

Dr. Horrible himself is done now. Two down... several to go? :) Turnarounds soon!

Dr. Horrible ownz me.

2008-12-17T00:39:00.000-08:00

I said i'd do it. I seem to be inspired lately. I think it's almost a form of fighting a possible fit of depression. :) The more I work, the happier I am. The more I draw, the better i feel. If I keep drawing, I wont' think of my lack of funding, the tough time graduating, or my parents hating the fact that their oldest needs their help. Go figure, that's life. My parents had me when mom was barely 20. It was her decision to keep me, guess I'll have that on my plate for a while.

Enough emo, more fun fun.

Started working on my designs for an animated version of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible. I actually would like to get his attention, in a goofy kind of way. I would love to do an animated short (time allowing). I just need to write one or have one written for me. I also like the goofy universe of Dr. Horrible's 45 minutes of fun. Haven't seen it? Go see it (jeff)!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog

It's best seen, not heard I guess. Expect a lot of updates this week. No school means more of me drawing. Plus, I like being happy. And making people happy with drawing, makes me happy. So I hope I'm making someone happy. :)

See ya!

From so long ago.

2008-12-16T22:52:00.000-08:00

So it was senior year in highschool. I wanted to be an artist. I wanted to do ANIME. Yes. Mr. Sandborn, that guy who obsesses over Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami and Frank Miller TODAY, but not back then. I wanted to do stuff like kids shows... I still want to now, but with a bit better perspective on things.

I think at the time my roommate (yes, my family kicked me out at 17 while in highschool. they helped with rent, but they didn't want me home) was watching lots of Sailor Moon. And things like Evangelion. I watched the whole series in one sitting loving every moment of it, until I saw the ending and the movie and I instantly hated it. Fun times. I grabbed this when Chelsey mentioned stuff from a year ago. I have pretty much every drawing since I was in fifth grade in a 50 pound box of pulp. I even have my first graphic novel about a kid who gets captured by aliens and fights his way back to earth.

I think I was always a bit loony, and it shows in my art. This one on the left is from an idea i think called "gem girls" or something silly. Go me. It wasn't until Jeff, yes jeff, you, broke my spirit in Drawing for Animation. Fail? Me? Awesome Anime artist? I bring this up because I heard someone was celebrating Jeff's leaving. He's a senior who turned in one year old work for his portfolio project when the requirement was to make 3 new models and he also, rumored, did other people's work in previous classes. Horrid work, but besides the point, I was mortified to learn that someone was glad Jeff Jackson was leaving Cogswell. I was furious to be true. This said senior apparently performed poorly in all of Jeff's classes. His work shows. You should see his organic models/designs. Atrocious.

Now my point is, I was a bit of a snobbish upstart myself when I came to Cogswell. I thought I had the answers, I thought I was hot shit. REAL hot shit. I wasn't. I was shit when I look at my work back then. I'm in no way the best now, but I've come a long way since the snobby anime artist I think. Jeff broke my spirit, but he was there to help rebuild it.

I know I've said it before, but think of this: look at the work of people who curse Jeff Jackson at school. The people who think he is too hard. That he is mean. Look at the people who love Jeff, or any other teacher that you hear is hard ass. Compare the work. I guarantee you, you will see an improvement in those who learned from Jeff and put the effort and time into proving to Jeff they can do the work. I know a lot of people who want to draw "their own way." Sadly, people have been drawing a lot before you, so if someone is willing to teach you their way and they are good; you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

After failing Drawing for animation i went on to take Storyboarding, Storyboarding II, Drawing for Animation, Animal Drawing (twice), Technical Drawing (wish i did a bit better, damn work!), 2D Animation (with dave!), an internship (with jeff), and Adv. 2D animation (with dave!). About two years of classes with Jeff and Dave. Probably the most productive 2+ years of my life.

I'm not the most articulate person, but thanks Jeff for being an awesome teacher and mentor and friend! I hope you break more people, since sometimes people need to know they suck before they can get better. :)

Daily Sketching... Let it BEGIN.

2008-12-16T21:31:00.000-08:00

I like the x-men...

Going to try to start this. Post every day some sort of drawing. Worked on this during my break at work. X-Men as pulp heroes in a cold environment. Thought it would be neat. I like Jean's outfit. Anyhoo, expect more tomorrow!

The top image is mostly some head sketches... playing with shapes and ethnicity. fun!

Next:

Dr. Horrible Animated Character Designs.

I talked about it on Jeff's last day, and I meant it. I'm going to start working on character designs... if it goes well I think i'll make a tiny short or music video in flash. Been doing a lot of Flash work lately and remember how much I loved doing animation... And considering next month I will probably lose my job at EA, I think I'll have enough time to work on this ambitious project!

Later all! Keep drawing!

More new stuff!!

2008-12-15T21:34:00.000-08:00

!

Got a commission! So I did some preliminary art. Doing a cover involving this character, Vex.

Check out the writing of Kyt Dotson!

http://www.millvexations.com/

Blue - The Painted Edition with Working Legs

2008-12-15T01:58:00.000-08:00

I went ahead and painted Blue. Fixed her legs since I became obsessed with them. Fixed them twice actually. Anyways, I'm happy with it now. This turned from a speed paint into a "gotta fix it... I know i'd hate myself if I didn't" kind of painting. turned out to be an hour 1/2 of painting.

Anyways, time to hit the hay!

See ya'lls tomorrows!

Yoda Challenge Practice! ROUND 1.

2008-12-15T00:06:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I decided to give Jeff Jackson's Yoda Challenge a shot. I looked up some reference and did this speed paint tonight (45 minutes, Photoshop CS2)! Had some fun, dropped the linework after about 25 minutes and then went in with more details. I did use reference from photos and enjoyed the pose i found for a practice paint... I don't like reference and i usually don't use it unless it's anatomy reference... so it was annoying to do so and i ended up changing things to my liking anyways. Gonna do another one later this week.... just felt like painting something tonight after working in flash all day long. Zomg Flash. Done with my flash work after tomorrow! Woot! Then to work more on my portfolio... almost there peoples! 3 contract jobs in the past 4 months can't be bad, right?

Sketch Dump! The Spirit Cards!

2008-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Some new some old! Sketch Dump! Some from Jeff Jackson's Last Day (THE MOVIE). :) JEFF WE WILL MISS YOU! WHO WILL KEEP UP THE STANDARDS OF THE TEACHER THAT IS EVIL BUT GOOD!? Oh and I put my spirit stuff in this post too!

So go to Inkworks.com and buy some cards and maybe you'll get one of my cards randomly ...

Today's grabs

2008-12-04T21:09:00.001-08:00

For thirty five U.S. american dollars I acquired the Phantom Brave and Disgaea 2 Character Collection art books and Uniracers for my SNES.

Both books are valued at least at 28 dollars each. Uniracers was just a fun grab. 15 each for the books and 5 for the game. Not as good as my purchase of Metroid Prime and XIII for the game cube for a combined purchase of $2.00.

So when i bought Persona 4 pre-order (so I get the awesome artbook and extras) I felt dirty. I haven't paid more than 20 dollars for a video game or entertainment in 6 months because of the work classifieds. I'm becoming spoiled.

Things acquired from the classifieds to date:

Phantom Brave PS2 - $20.00
Burnout Takedown PS2 - $5.00
Grafitti Kingdom PS2 - $3.00
Final Fantasy X Artbook - $20.00
Lost Planet 360 New - $10.00

And some more stuff I can't remember. I like work sometimes.

Here's some more images:

At .

Micro$oft

2008-09-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

So, today I attempted once again to resolve my XBOX 360. Here's a recap:

Two months ago I tried to get my XBOX 360 repaired for it's 3 rings of death. They said it was fully covered, so I said great. 2 weeks after the initial call, I receive no e-mail or package. I call again. They tell me they received my information wrong, so I tell them it again. Confirm it, and the operator says it's all good. 2 weeks go by. Nothing. I call again, they apologize for inconvenience and promise to send me a package slip in e-mail form. 2 weeks go by. Nothing. I call again, furious. They apologize again, promise me a month of live and then tell me that they will email it again. NOTHING.

So I called today. at 1 p.m. I ended up talking to Rep "emi" for nearly 3 hours explaining my great distaste in how I was being serviced. I explain how I went out and bought a NEW xbox 360 PRO because I was tired of waiting. SO the rep takes my info and puts me on hold. He comes back and tells me they can't make the package for some reason and I have to call monday AGAIN. I ask him about my live account. I recovered my live account on my new 360 and tried to renew the subscription but I was SUSPENDED. It's out of his hands, he says, because COLLECTIONS has it. Now this surprised me, since I've received no information regarding collecting on my account.

He then explains how they tried to contact me by some dead phone number that was mistyped into their database. I asked why they never e-mailed me. He said he didn't know. So they kept trying to charge to my credit card, which was stolen and replaced. He then told me I'd have to call again in the morning to collections to get it resolved.

I then ask, well, demanded compensation for this ridiculous amount of wait i had to endure with my xbox 360. He put me on hold for 30 minutes, came back and said he was sending me a new wireless game pad and the transfer tool/cable for my two harddrives. I thanked him and hung up.

To be honest, I wanted to murder him. He was doing the "best" he was capable of. The one thing I learned was that the way M$ does customer service is disgusting: Wait for the customer call if the company finds ANY errors. That's why I never received emails or phone calls. Their policy is to wait until I SEE A PROBLEM... otherwise, based on that policy, they are the best customer -non-service ever.

EXPLOSION

2008-09-03T01:42:00.000-07:00

Been busy. www.thesandbot.com is my new site. enjoy.

Figures, Suzie, and Mara Jade drool

2008-06-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

So i post again. This time some sketches! Enjoy! Some figure drawing and some fun sketches... Jeff, i will be doing a great blue faced demon from the star wars universe. Mara Jade will be involved....

Fairies taste like pop-rocks.

2008-06-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

They taste like pop rocks. My entry for Jeff's challenge... last month :) A little late, but whatever.

I return. WITH A PICTURE.

2008-06-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

Back from outerspace.... and all that jazz. hey peeps, I'm back. I'm going to post more often and a lot more quantity... for now enjoy this:

Painted this this evening after i felt a LOT better. Migraines = death. I'll be uploading some storyboards and sketches of Suzie. I'll also be working out a story path for her. I think I need to do some more research, but I'm liking the direction this is going.

Sorry, Jeff, but I've flattened her as much as I want to -_- but I am digging LXNG10 (the robot!) I'm much happier with his design, especially since I gave him eyes. Heh.

Later peeps!

New Post!~

2008-02-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

Good news! I work at EA Games now as a slave QA tester! HUZZAH! I think I will enjoy it, plus i've done some crazy artz.

Weekend Contest

2008-01-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

Requirements:

Theme: Abandonment

Gender: Any

Place: Jungle

Time Period: Modern

Additional: 2 Page sequential showing abandonment.

you have until monday night at midnight.

Weekend Challenge

2008-01-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

Okay people. Starting Friday at 11:00 p.m. I will be holding a CHALLENGE. I will release more info in the morning. Be prepared....

Sweeny Todd

2008-01-03T22:30:00.001-08:00

Saw sweeny todd this week, and well, it was gruesome! So I drew this hah!

Colors soon on my DeviantArt Page!

Killer

2008-01-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

In the end, she chose
that which called her bitch.
To murder, gun in hand,
Instead of doing his wish.

A girl angry at the world RAR! painted!

First Doodles of the Year

2008-01-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

First of the year! One is well, a vamp! hah! The other is one of my "moon" guys... :D

My Hands Live!

2007-12-22T09:17:00.001-08:00

It's been a while... but I have returned with stecheroos! In no particular order!! Enjoy and C&C if you wish :D

Sometimes lilfe kicks you.

2007-12-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

So my car sucks. My crown fell out. I got a gash on my arm today. And tomorrow I will scarely pay rent. And today I met a lead animator at Lucasarts.

Yeah. Life sucks.

Wait. No, it doesn't. I got to chatting with him about his work at Lucas and how they are seeking storyboard artists. So i asked if it was okay, well actually his wife said i should give my resume to him. I've been helping out pokemon players at my store for about 6 months now, and well most of them like me! I even get gifts O_O for being so helpful :D And today was awesome cus I got to meet someone in the industry. He told me it was a good company to work for and they need boards lots of them, and I told him i'd be most interested into applying. So what does this mean? This week I will be spending a majority of my time tweaking my portfolio and adding more and more storyboard/cinematic art as well as concept and emotion boards.

All in all, it's been a good day especially since the past weeks... well, have been god awful.

Not Good Enough

2007-11-22T02:07:00.001-08:00

I'm not good enough, says Cryptic Studios. I'm not good enough says Three Rings.net. I'm not good enough says EA Pogo. I'm not good enough says Double Fine Studios. I'm not good enough says several companies.

What am I good at then if I'm not good at what they want?

Is it the degree? The fact that I don't have a shiney badge saying "hey, I did it." Is it the fact that Human Resource are trained only to accept applications based on the tiny list they are given and have no insight? Is it the fact that I'm not sucking up enough to people in the industry? Is it because I may already be too old to join the game industry? Or am I too overweight? Or not enough of a certain race? Do I not meet the standards? What are the standards? I'd like to know.

I ask why I am not accepted when I get slammed. They almost all come back as this:

"You are not what we are looking for at the moment."

I'm hard working, dedicated, loyal, and willing to work long hours to prove myself as a worthy employee. I better get lazy. And have no skill or knowledge of my profession, or grab the coat tails of another artist and ride my way home until they figure out I'm a loser and fire me. Cus that looks like the way in than a good employee.

Right now I look at my portfolio, www.carrotswithjetpacks.com, and maybe they are right. I don't feel happy about my work in portfolio. Hell I don't feel happy at all about my work right now. Hell, I doubt anyone reads this post to know I don't feel happy period. I'm about 6 months away from being a Grad and no one wants me. Seems pretty sad, while I watch others whom suck the proverbial "dick" and get past all the HR bull. I'm just not that kind of person I guess.

I don't do environments, well I do, I just do them too slow. I like doing characters, and sadly everyone else does too. Lots do better than me. Hell I could list about 50 people on deviantart.com that rox my sox. Though, I think to myself I could rox them. What's stopping me from performing? What's preventing me from doing what I want to do to the MAX.

Sometimes I think it's work. I think work keeps me from doing art. But that's not true, i have 2 days off, and i force myself into idiotic drama at school in hopes to save what's left of what i care about. I care about my friends, whom seem more like my family than my parents. I've come to terms with my brother and we are good again, but still there's anger there. I've been sort of a bitch most of my life, and I guess this is Karma saying "Fuck you."

I don't have a car, that could also be a problem. Even if I got a job, I wouldn't be able to drive there. Or the fact that my tooth fell out, and I can't afford the dental, so I would fail the interview cus "he's not hygienic enough" or perhaps they'd pull the "he's too fat" option. I've got lots of options to hate, go ahead pick one.

So what do you want? What does EA want? What does Ubisoft want? What do the companies want? Slavery. I went on gamasutra.com seeking an art job that pays 30,000. None. None in existence. Found plenty for under 20,000 doing pixel art. I make less than 16,000 right now a year. Hell i barely pay rent and eat. I've lost maybe 5 pounds this month due to not eating. Great huh? Whatever.

So what do they want? I read what they want on the job postings. I SEEM to have what they want, but it's not enough. "Shipped Titles" for a "Junior Artist" job. Seems impossible, considering I need shipped titles for an entry level job. Thanks EA. You're brilliant. So that's what they want, no one. I'll send my resume out, with portfolio, and I won't make it past the door because I haven't shipped a title for an entry level job.

So what do they want? 2-3 years experience for Junior Artist again at Three Rings. I have experience in internships. That's not experience apparently.

So what do they want? To pay me less than what I am now because they could hire some guy in Brazil for half the pay. Most output with least input. Si senior, take my job.

So what do they want? Not to have Americans working in the company. After seeing the Casual Games Conference for IGDA at Cogswell, I've learned that the industry doesn't want anyone. They want to pay the least amount to make gobs and gobs of money and that means once i graduate and finally find a job, it will barely pay more than my job at the gaming store.

So what do I want? I want out. I sort of do. I keep looking at the way the industry is changing, with casual games, things like Spore and more emphasis on generated art: i feel obsolete. Will there be jobs for me in 6 months? Will the industry have a backlash and restart? Nah. Rhythm games require little art, and FPS reuse libraries now. And if Spore gets released and does well with it's "Procedural Graphics" where will I be? There's no Concept art for those games. There's nothing.

I apparently don't want anything. I want to draw. Maybe get paid for it. That's it. I just want to draw. Unfortunately the powers that be seem to be against this. I'll keep drawing. Drawing is what I do, it's how I survive. I would have never survived middle school or highschool if I didn't draw. It kept me out of trouble, it kept me quiet. It kept me alive. "Hey i'll beat you up today- but hey you draw x-men. Draw me x-men, and i won't kill you." "Hey you draw good. But I wouldn't date you. But you draw good" "We can be friends cus you draw, but don't tell anyone."

Did drawing help me? Or Alienate me? I was mostly quiet, drawing in the corner, usually whatever came to mind or new super heroes that always fought against evil and jocks. I'd draw weird stuff like Mushroom Detectives or A black dude with electric powers named Jolt (funny, DC released a character named Static which looked similar to mine ten years later after I submitted for a job in highschool). I drew all kinds, monsters, buildings, spaceships, etc. They look funny today, but hey I just kept drawing. In my pocket universe I was the best.

I came to California and there were better. I didn't like it, so I tried more. I tried anime, it was fun and wacky and I liked it. Eventually i found it boring and crippling. So I tried a more american disney style. I didn't like it much, but I liked the mixture of shapes of disney and story elements from anime series. So I begain mixing and mixing to get where I am now. It took a few failed classes, dropouts, and understanding that I wasn't the best there was. It took a lot of effort, dedication and love for the craft. I spent hours honing, trying, killing darlings to get where I am today. I still work hard for it, but sometimes things come naturally and I just let it be. I feel bad for those works, if it comes easy it seems wrong to me. It feels fake and that's how my work feels right now.

I feel fake. I feel all my art is fake and that I have no original style, that I borrow here and there, that I seek new things and can't keep on one project till the end. I'm restless with my art, it shows. I have no focus right now and I can only think it's because I'm worried. Worried I will fail. Fail everyone.

People rely on me every day. I feel their reliance, and it hurts that I just want to turn away and say no while saying yes. I don't want to be relied on. If you fail, you look a mess and it hurts everyone around you. So I crank it out. I'm the Machine after all, I sputter out art regardless of the time, stress, or people it's for. It flows out and that worries me. `Cus I'm not happy with it. Someone is of course happy with it. Some are not. And that hurts, I don't know why, but it does.

What do I want? I want to stop ranting. Cus this is a HUGE rant. And to be honest I just want to make stuff that's "Cool."

It doesn't have to be good... I just want to make people happy in the only way I know how. I want to show someone something shiney and ask "Is it awesome?" and i want to hear "Fuck yeah." And that makes me happy. If I could do that every day I would, but unfortunately i sometimes get "Fuck No, it's a terd." So I try again. Does that make sense? I dunno if it does, I guess it sounds selfish. This is probably why I'm all glowing when I make something I'm happy with. I'm rarely happy with my work. When I am you'll know. You'll get a random IM or email about it. And I'll bug you about it and respond with "LINK :D"

That means I'm happy with it and I'm hoping you will be too, cus it's nothing if I'm the only one happy with the drawing. Cus it's not really for me, it's for everyone else... and if everyone hates it then I failed right? But it's bonus if you and I like it :)

Rant End...

Suzie McFannigan

2007-11-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted any art lately. Thought I would. Suzie McFannigan! More Later!

300+ NES Games reached!

2007-11-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my silliness of my interpretations, and my love for the old; I went to the San Jose Berressa Flea Market. While there I went with Sam Fanzen, alumni of my school and good friend. (Whom helped me haggle with his own skills)

If you can't tell, from left to right on image one: ($2.50)Battle Chess, ($2.50)Ikari Warriors 2, ($6.00) Duck Tales (YAY). Second Row: ($2.50)Isolated Warrior and ($2.50)Kung Fu Heroes.

This brings my NES Count to over 300 unique NES games in my care. Only a little over 400 titles to get before I complete my collection, but hey, to reach 300+ titles is a monument in my opinion.

The second image contains Street Fighter Alpha 2($5.00) and complete Last Bronx ($10.00). Not a bad grab. Oh I also obtained this for about $10.00. This being that lovely orange "Stunner" for Sega Saturn gun games like Virtua Cop 2. Hells yes. I'm all about the Virtua Cop 2.

So I spent roughly $40 on some fun toys. I got 7 games and a stunner. plus some socks. :)

I also walked at least 2 miles today in the heat. Sam and I were walking the market for at least 4 hours scouring and revisiting for good deals. Sam actually got a 76in 1 famicom cart for $10, but we later found a similar cart (in yellow color) that was 42 in 1. Good thing we got the 76 in 1. We found about 20+ unique games, while checking the 42 in 1 had about 9 unique games. Huzzah for 76 in 1.

I will have to probably return and attempt to get Bases Loaded 2 and 3, for they had the whole set at one vendor.

In other news I stayed up quite late last night and played Arkham Horror with a bunch of classmates and local gamer at Game Kastle Johnny. We battled against the evil shub niggurath for several turns, sealing gates, killing monsters and such. For about 5 hours. We eventually gave in to cheating, handed out weapons, and despite our rigging of the game; Arkham Horror cheats better. We agreed we all died, and vow never to play that level again.

We also had delicious Wing Stop wings and strips. Twas a mighty adventure. As will be my "Season 8" adventure in Buffy the RPG (once i get it started and finish reading the core rule book). You see, I've learned something: An RPG gives you hours and hours and months and years of entertainment for only $40 or so dollars. And man I'm poorish). So I'll be possibly hooking up with some pals to write out a "Season" with some fun "Episodes" for our Buffy-ites to romp through.

And there I leave you. For now, I must attend the Game Dev. Club Console Game Night... :}

Sandborn

Trick or Treat... THE FINISHING.

2007-10-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

It's done! Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treatin...

2007-10-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on my Trick or Treat challenge for Jeff Jackson's Blog .

Here's a preview of it:

It's coming together, and i'm going for a more painted look. Or speed paint more precisely. Should be done in time. And that's all! Sleep is for the me.

Sandborn Out.

Zombie Fluxx - A Card & Boardgame Review

2007-10-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Card & Boardgame Review Vol 01

By Michael T. Sandborn

Zombie Fluxx, based on the original card game by Looney Labs Fluxx. Being that it is around the birthday of Fluxx and it is also nearing the time of demons to be let loose and zombies to flourish, it seemed right for Zombie Fluxx to hit. Now, I've actually known about this game for quite some time, being that I do work in a game store, I've been eying the pre-order for this little puppy for many weeks.

So many of you may ask: What the hell is Fluxx? Fluxx is a card game in which the rules are made up as you go and typically best with 4 to 6 players. The game starts off with a base rule that all players start with three cards in hand, at the a start of each turn that player draws 1 card from the deck and plays 1 card from their hand. These rules can be modified and goals are not predetermined and fluctuate through the entire game. Seems simple enough, but how do you win?

Easy, complete a goal. To understand how to win, you must understand the cards, here's a list of the current cards in Zombie Fluxx:

New Rules (Yellow Cards)

These cards change the rules. Allows players to make the game more frantic or slower paced as they choose.

Action (Blue Cards)

These cards are actions, do as they say and complete them.

Keepers (Green Cards)

These cards are used with Goals. New in Zombie Fluxx these cards can also be used in conjunction with the "Weapon Bonus" New Rule to kill Zombies.

Goals (Pink Cards)

If you complete the goal, typically having control of 1 or more keepers shown on the goal, you win the game.

Ungoal (Red Card) NEW

This is a new card, everyone loses if this card is completed.

Creepers (Black Card) NEW

These are zombies. Creepers are played immediately once drawn, you then draw another card to replace the creeper.

So with the knowledge of some of the cards, I'll go into the review!

In zombie fluxx, the biggest new thing is of course, the CREEPERS. Zombies that run ramped and prevent you from winning and completing tasks. Alive or dead. Instead of just making the Creeper cards completely evil, they have goals where they emulate certain zombie tactics. Some goals involve you having a Friend Keeper and no Zombies to win, while others want you to have one of each Creeper in order to win. These brings in a welcome amount in strategy how you deal with Creepers.

Creepers are also not dead cards when you draw them. You immediately replace the Creeper that you've drawn and play the Creeper. I've drawn in some games about 5 Creepers in a row to my dismay! Strangely enough, I found it quite easy to get rid of them. Creepers can be killed by Keepers with the "POW" symbol on them while the New Rule "WEAPON BONUS" is out. There is also Zombie Repellent that keeps all Zombies off of you, but be careful about killing a zombie. Certain ones will do other things if another is killed or even itself.

There is also the dreaded Ungoal. If there are five or more Creepers in play, and the Ungoal is in play; Everyone loses.

A lot of strategy is formed with the Creepers and Ungoal running ramped, as well as the goals that are very specific to Creepers. Zombie Baseball Team requires you to have 9 Creepers and the Baseball Bat Keeper to win. Hilarious! Or Brain Baseball with Baseball Bat and Brains Keeper. The goals are quite entertaining, and I'm sure you'll find your favorite Zombie movie reference somewhere in the game.

Also, Zombie Fluxx offers full color art! The art is done fairly well, bringing a great flavor to the game. My only complaint is some scaling issues and repeated imagery. Otherwise a bang up job from the artists at LooneyLabs!

After playing a few games, from 2-6 players, I've found a happy medium at 4 players. 6 had way too much stratagem forming for my liking and 2 players seemed a bit once sided. With four players the game played quick enough where we weren't lagging and zombies were always in excellent demand. And the game ended within 30 minutes. 6 players took nearly an hour, and strangely enough a 2 player game can definitely be nearly 45 minutes! Of course, with Zombie Jamboree, shuffle all creepers and keepers then hand them out, the game could go rather quickly!!

With Halloween coming up, and if you are looking for an inexpensive game ($16.00) to bring to the party that's both entertaining and easy to pick up, get Zombie Fluxx, just make sure your opponent has half a brain... or not.

Sandborn Out

I choose you sink hole!

2007-10-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

What you are looking at is possibly the most insane purchase I've ever made. Yes. I bought a Poke`mon the Trading Card Game Starter starring my favourite poke`mon: Turtwig. Here's a photo for your enjoyment:Yeah. He's that good. a ZERO attack for 10 and a 1 Grass Energy attack for 20. I know what you're thinking, it can't be any better. But it is, this deck is primarily Grass Poke`mon splashed with a few Dark Energy Poke`mon who only do direct damage. Now what does he evolve into? Grotle.

Not very useful, I more or less use him as a damage absorber. It's all about the final stage.
The superstar Torterra. He comes in, hits for 60 while healing 20 on all of your Grass Poke`mon. I played against the two other employees during break/lunch and I am currently 3-0. My first game was a bit long, being my first time ever playing Poke`mon and I was able to win via Prizes ( you get to win a prize card each time you defeat a poke`mon) and the other two were the same way with mass destruction and board control using a smaller basic poke`mon named Wurmple. Wurmple helped keep the bored paralyzed as I built up to Torterra allowing me to do massive damage. It was a good day over all, especially for only buying a Starter and 3 Booster packs of the game. Now, I don't call myself baddass, but I did well. Do I like the game, you may be asking yourself. Can he be serious? Sandborn's playing POKE`MON NOW?! Feh. I played when I was in highschool, it was fun enough then. Seems better now. Of course here's a brief list of the current CCG's (Collectible Card Game) I'm actively playing or have spent oodles of money on:

Magic the Gathering
Eve - Second Genesis
VS System
Universal Fighting System
Initial D
Pirates of the Spanish Main
Spoils (DEAD)
Star Trek the Next Gen
City of Heroes
Rocketmen
Star Wars (Old Decipher)
Star Wars Pocket Models
Hecatomb
And now Poke`mon.

I love CCG's. One of my favourite formats of games. Especially games that keep most of the math done with cards. I think Pirates, Rocketmen, and Poke`mon are the exception. My favourite game at the moment is currently Universal Fighting System due to it's complex deck construction, game flavor, and intense games. Magic is still fun of course in Limited format, but constructed I feel it is dead for me. Eve is interesting, but WAY to slow in my opinion, and sadly Pocket Models seems to be dead despite it's unique blend of the CCG, boardgame, and miniatures game.

Some of the others, of course are dead or have recurring themes in other games. Much of the location ideas in Star Wars CCG by decipher seem to be reincarnated in Eve and a lot of what happened in the failed Rocketmen was found in Star Wars Pocket Models shortly thereafter. And Hecatomb, well, damn, that game was amazingly wicked cool with transparent plastic pieces and a 5 sided card but unfortunately it was too unconventional and died but it's theme seemed to bleed onto the collectible miniatures game called Dreamblade (which also died recently, and yes, I have my own Warband for that game. Go Valor!)

Anyhow, It was fun. It being Poke`mon CCG. I'd recommend it as primer for CCG's in general. Which it really is :) And also, the Poke`mon Trading Figure Game is also most fun. One day I wish to meet again with the Gabe from PA and attempt to defeat him. :) Anyhow I leave you with this:

Something to waste your time with

Enjoy.

Suzie McFannigan - Zart Hunter!

2007-10-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Suzie's your average 15 year old girl. Raised by a robot after the death of her parents during the Zart invasion on Space Colony 12 near the Raigyl Sector; then thrusted into near slavery as an apprentice for a bounty hunter named Zrak`ak Zrak, even though he had a better reputation as a Master than his brother Trak`ak Trak, he was still quite demanding.

On her 15th birthday she became legally able to Hound on her own and joined the Galacitc Bounty Hunter's Guild. During a routine check up at the starbase, she learned that the Zarts were on a rise to attack Earth. Only Suzie got the transmission shortly after the Guild's starbase was destroyed. And here are some sketches...

SKETCHBOOK WIP's - "The Moon"

2007-10-27T14:20:00.001-07:00

The Moon is a Grimm's Fairy tale that I and many people at my school, Cogswell Polytech, are doing concept sketches for. What are they for? To get sweet sketches into a book to show off our skills at Comic Con 08. And well, I'll post here to show them since I usually post on DA (Deviant Art), but I've become bored and irritated with their "if it's not breasts, it's not art" deal. Curious, you'd think I'd get more input? :p

Here's some stuff for this week:

I like my interpretation of St. Peter. I imagined him as a sorta Elvis Presley/Law Man out for blood. I inserted the Devil mostly I wanted the four travelers to have a means to get the Moon. I mean, they stole it so cunningly, surely they had some help. Anyhow, time to work on my "trick or treat" idea. Later!

sandborn