Norseman Using ArtRage

Convinced by my friend Simon Rodgers, who's I'm sure having a great vacation as we speak in his hometown in Ireland, I finally purchased ArtRage. I'm impressed by the paint textures, the simplicity and ease of use as compared to Painter (and not to mention the price). This was a half an hour quickpaint cocktailed with a slight Photoshop. Great software.

"Murmillo" / Marcos Mateu

Finally an artwork as promised. Can't sleep one night so I decided to do something. I saw an old sketch I was planning to paint a long time ago. It was inspired by an old 50's epic film titled "Demetrius and the Gladiators" starring Victor Mature. That film was the sequel to the classic "The Robe", the very first film shot in cinemascope with Richard Burton and Jean Simmons. Both are part of the list of films I love to watch when I was a kid (hey, only re-runs on Holy Week, I'm not that old!) and inspired me to work in the industry. Finally after a long wait, I was able to paint it, not in oil (thank goodness no mess!), but in Photoshop in three and a half hours. The painting depicts a Murmillo (with an Ernest Borgnine physique) entering the arena facing the uncertainty of survival. Love this historical subject when I was a kid.
On another note, my very good friend MARCOS MATEU is moving back to Dreamworks. Last Friday was his last day at Sony and honestly, it hasn't sunk in yet that he won't be at the studio when we go back to work on Monday. It's definitely different for me and my friend Marcelo. Marcos is incomparable and I've never met any other artist with such caliber. Definitely I echo how Marcelo described him in his blog - a virtuoso! Marcos gave this Roman drawing to me during our first few days working together in Surf's Up while jokingly talking about how to do production design in a live action movie. What a priceless learning experience for me working with him. All the best my friend.

Another Proud Daddy Ad Again

If you picked up your newspapers this morning, more likely you came across this Old Navy flyer. It's my youngest daughter on the cover and it's national, too. She's also in Old Navy shops nationwide at the toddler section. Sorry guys, can't help it. I'll definitely post an artwork soon.