Celebrity Encounter Art Lesson 1

I'm noticing that as I encounter these birds of paradise a.k.a. CELEBRITIES in Los Angeles, that I am waaaaaay to cool to whip out my camera and get all pappo or razzy on their asses.

I usually affect that "You don't impress me but that guy standing BEHIND you has me utterly captivated." demeanor while furtively making mental notes about EVERY detail of their appearance.

Or in the case of Mr. Mike Tyson, I just didn't want the guy to beat my ass. Plus I value my ears. They're cute, tiny, and perfectly proportional to my head.

But seeing Mr. Tyson at my local Pinkberry's was too much of a hoot to NOT share with you all. So without further adieu, I am going to introduce you to my FIRST EVER Celebrity Encounter Art Lesson.

Lesson 1: See and Draw Mike Tyson!


Step 1: If Mike Tyson was a Shape He'd Be A....

The first thing I noticed about Mike was that he looked like a block.

So everyone grab your pencils and draw a basic square...or rectangle like me. He was kinda puffy too...so don't be so rigid with the lines or sharp with your edges.

Step 2: Mike Tyson's Turtley Proportions


Because Mike Tyson has almost zero neck, feel free to draw his head in the body. Like turtle!
Define his waistline in the middle.


Step 3: Mike Tyson's Sassy Figure Comes Together

His years of tough training have blessed Mr. Tyson with arms and legs that could mortally wound a tiny 115 pound girl who is subtly trying to take a photo of him with a camphone.

Step 4: Mike Tyson in TECHNICOLOR!


Mike was in an almost all white outfit. To be frank I was too busy staring at his face tatoo to notice what color his shoes were. Let's just say they were blue. And because Mike is a proud black man, let's not make him pink or yellow shall we?

Step 5: Plug in the Details That Make Mike...simply....MIKE.

Here we put in the finishing touches. Bringing Mike to life is all through the details. (FACE TATOO) and inserting the things that make Mike...simply Mike (FACE TATOO).

So there you have it. Not only do you know what it's like to SEE a living legend, but now you know who to draw him. All without the threat of getting a camera smashed into your face.

BEST CELEBRITY ENCOUNTER EVER!

Since moving here to LA I've laid eyes upon Gene Simmons from KISS, Allison Janney, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman...and most recently Mike Tyson (at Pinkberry of all places).

But even Mike Tyson and his face tattoo PALE in comparison to meeting Tom Minton, the story editor for the show I'm working on. Tom is a respected animation writer/producer in Hollywood who has worked on Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures and Mighty Mouse.

Oh-

....and he happens to be THE BRAIN.


When I found out that Tom Minton was the INSPIRATION and BASIS of one of the BEST CARTOON CHARACTERS IN ANIMATED TV HISTORY EVER my geek-ometer went into hyper-drive meltdown mode. From Wikipedia:





The inspiration for Pinky and the Brain are based on the unique personalities of two of producer Tom Reugger's Tiny Toon Adventures colleagues, Eddie Fitzgerald and Tom Minton, respectively...Ruegger thought of the premise of Pinky and the Brain when he wondered what would happen if Minton and Fitzgerald tried to take over the world.

And yes, in case you were wondering, Tom Minton IS a genius.

ps- that's my friend and road trip partner Erin Finnegan with Tom. She's famous too! Check out her kickass podcast Ninja Consultant .

Sharing a Good Thing

This past week I had the chance to hang out with several of my old friends and coworkers from Taipei.

This was TMC, YC and Yellow's first time ever in America and they were soooooo excited... To see other people this excited/geeked/passionate/hyper about something really got me on a high. And that vibe carried on through the rest of the week all throughout the time I spent with them. So yea..I was basically high (on life! on life!) all week. Thanks guys!



En route we stopped to take a look at the Pacific Ocean...from a different perspective.

Then we took some "action shots". Here were the best ones.:



TMC-or Tsai Meng Chiao.
YC or Yien-Chen Liao.


Yellow (which I think was one of the more awesome names I came across in Asia) or Xiao Huang.
And of course...me. Being a camwhore. As always.