MOTION GRAPHICS REEL 2011

Some select cuts from recent motion graphics/animated work. Mostly from my tenure at the QVC studios in London, with a few self initiated projects thrown in for good measure.

Design/Animation: Michael Lomon
Music: Batdance by Prince ©Warner Bros

Whilst I tend to avoid posting work 'work' related posts on this blog, there's a short animated sequence at the start of this reel that's linked to a drawing originally in the CRIMINAL #1 comic - so it's all inextricably linked you see!

PAZ: Character Sketch

Appearing for the first time in MBTF#2 is Paz - subject to a hefty dosage of mutation during the Ultralima disaster, (that means nothing to anyone just yet i'm afraid, but don't worry dear - everything will fall into place!) Paz is blessed/cursed with an extra pair of hands or two along with some facial, optic deformation. She resides above the Red Eyed Chaser bar with her two older brothers. I'd tell you more but it's getting late and this UK heatwave humidity onslaught is sweating my senses dry.

Page 7 MBTF#2

Pencilled MBTF page including the first rendering of The Red Eyed Chaser public house as seen in the previous blog post in sketch form. This building is FUN to draw!

Slightly less fun to draw is the machinery seen in the bottom layer of panels. The idea here involves a primitive release mechanism for a secured ladder, leading to the elevated back door of the Chaser - only for those in the know of course - friends and family of the establishment.

Whilst my personal understanding of physical force meets mechanical design is somewhere in the region of limited to nill - This contraption has been put together by someone with a mind for DIY in the comic world - slipshod though it may be. Therefore, the release should work, if only theoretically, in a distant dream, in my mind. You'll have to trust me - but if everything were weighted and counterbalanced correctly - this mess of cogs and springs would 100% work - I swear it.

This is perhaps the sort of thing that works more effectively in animation; Wallace and Gromit being the obvious go to point for madcap, intricate, domino effect inventions. But hey - No Pain, No Gain Baby.

MBTF#2 - The Red Chaser Designs

Rough pencil concept sketch for a public house in the Chrome sector of Nova City.



The general idea is that of a Heavy Metal bar built of metal/plastic scraps from a vehicle manufacturing trade now extinct in this comic book world.



The rest of the sector will follow similar stylistic tendencies, but the 'Chaser has had that extra bit of care and attention laid out in it's eagerness to impose and impress.



The demon sculpted into the wall is an idea inspired by a metal karaoke bar easily spotted for anyone who has ever had the opportunity to walk around Shinjuku - Tokyo.



Killer!

MBTF#2 Underway!

Having spent a month or so straightening out the chaos that resembles story progression in the world of Metal Between Two Faces - issue 2 is now being pencilled.

In my world, things tend to get underway with large chunks of sprawling, spidery text in note books, followed by rudimentary script and text descriptions panel by panel, then quick layout thumbnail sketches in pencil or ink.


Only after the entire issue is layed out and the pacing seems to flow, do I start considering the nitty gritty details such as, how the hell do people look in a world like this? What do they wear? Does George Lucas use his facial hair to hide a double chin successfully or does it simply draw attention? If beer and tea both contain laxative elements - am I slowly but surely dehydrating due to a reluctance to drink plain water etc..



These initial sketches tend to get mangled up and re-formed once the real drawing starts. Kinks like exaggerated face lengths and generous noses/moles/growths crop up as the characters flesh themselves out on the page. In fact, once I start drawing at full scale, I tend to deviate from the initial layout thumbnails as miniature comedy/drama possibilities become apparent.

Stay tuned for more thrilling updates into the mind of this humble comic book creator!!! Cripes!

Bristol Int. Comic Expo

At the Mercure in Bristol floggin' wares with Spabbyland man Seb Burnett and Miho. We varied our sales technique as the day progressed, starting at a point of mild passivity and ending in a state of unfettered desperation; if only because the price of one beer equaled two comics sold. There's a reason to get motivated!

Met some lovely peeps and picked up some uber comics. Heard of Harker? Slick as, great detective/occult shenanigans from Ariel Press. How about Thom Ferrier? Tales from the G.P's practice of depravity and desperation. How about Paul Duffield's Signal? Lovely sprawling colour layouts - dream like, otherworldly sense of wonder and all that. How about Roger Langridge - a real pro - loads of indie stuff he does besides the Muppet Show comics such as the tales of Doctor Sputnik and Spud - Great Stuff!

New Character Designs

A couple of character designs for an as yet un-named, highly mysterious project being penned by Dawn Crumpler. Velocity Wilde and Harmony Hustle - both unusually alluring for my pen's work!