Sometimes Gal has a turn of a phrase that absolutely knocks my brain sideways. Some of them are hilarious, like an elaborately worded insult or critique of something. Others are just bizarre, like when she forgets a word and substitutes a rapid short form description for it. I really should record them lest they be lost by my woefully inadequate memory. I’ll add a little post to Livejournal when they happen to chronicle these. I hope she’s not offended.

The most famous one I can recall is when she forgot the word “fridge” and said:

“Just put it in *pause* that place we put the cold stuff.”

Today Gal couldn’t remember the word “blow dryer” and substituted the description “back vacuum” for it instead. I assume her brain communicated to her in that instant that it was like a vacuum in reverse. That’s awesome. You may not think it’s funny, but imagine you hear out of the blue:

“Okay, I’m just gonna finish with this *pause* back vacuum, then we can head out to go shopping.”

Then she continued drying her hair without missing a beat. Rock.

Mixed day… annoying, but I guess it’s a funny story so the irritation factor of it will die down over time.

Back pain continued this morning as I went to the school. I limped around the staff room and tried to finish the marking I had to get done. I figured if I was stuck at the school during exam week I might as well make the most of it. By late morning the back pain was causing me to seize up pretty bad, so I jetted home and decided to head east on Eglinton looking for a chiropractor.

A bit of background: After getting in a nasty car accident back in college days, my spine and muscles have never really been the same. After I started teaching in Calgary I ended up throwing out my back so severely that I was stuck in bed with limited mobility for three days straight. My girlfriend at the time recommended a chiropractor, but I was too scared to try it. Over a year later I threw it out again and when I went to a chiropractor I limped in the door and walked out much better 20 minutes later. So, while not all chiropractors may be good, some can be a real godsend.

Nowadays my back tends to stiffen up or go out when I’m stressed or if I do something stupid (like dance a little too heavily while drinking, like on Saturday).

So…

Click here for the stupid story of healing Jim…

Imagine you’re juggling management of the following for the studio:

– 2 different card games totaling well over 250 pieces of artwork. Assigning artwork, gathering reference, negotiating with the client and figuring out what still needs to get done. One of the games has a killer deadline and we’re pushing some of our boys ragged to make it come together smoothly.

– an extensive set of magazine illustrations.

– 2 covers for one of your favorite RPG lines.

– planning for 6-8 convention trips over the summer and all the lodging, travel, sales crap that goes along with it.

– a secret still unannounced project that’s supposed to be the real focus of your time and efforts as of late. Development, gathering a team, marketing, scheduling, every facet of this thing slowly moving forward.

– development artwork for another company’s secret unannounced project.

Then throw in marking final assignments and exams from your students.

Then throw in a phone call which yields a killer project for one of the biggest companies in our geeky business. You’ve wanted to work with this company for years and now it comes out of nowhere in the craziest of ways.

Then wake up with your back on fire after you actually got out for the first time in months, went dancing on Saturday night and your body never recovered.

Holy shit… I am swamped. Erik and I wondered if we were going to hit a dry spell there a couple months ago and the industry answered with a monsoon instead. NEVER have I seen so many opportunities or crazy projects carpet bombing us at once. It’s awe inspiring and crazy. Every couple days Erik or I tell each other about something new and laugh about how there’s too much work and not enough talent.

Our gang delivers and the industry very happily responds with more – craploads more. I’m honored, amazed and scared all at the same time. When this deluge is over I think it’ll feel like some kind of hallucination. I thought we were the “go-to” guys, but this is nuts.

So many artists want work in this business… let me tell you: there is work to be had! Bring me strong artists, reliable artists, capable artists. Artists who can think and push themselves. Artists who can mold their styles to suit a project and learn on their feet. Artists who can manage their time and have a strong sense of deadline responsibility. You will not want for work. You can be creative and draw all sorts of wild stuff, making money for it at the same time.

Okay, sleep time… so badly I need the sleep. My spine is searing with pain. Can’t afford to have my back go out at this stage.

I’ve been trying a new method for these greyscale monsters I’m doing for the new Sword & Sorcery monster book. Rather than doing up ultra-tight line art, I’ve been painting digitally right over my rough sketch. The result seems more energetic, letting the paintstrokes define form rather than “coloring in” the line art. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, but this has been a fun experiment that seems to be working. I finally understand how to achieve some of the looks I’ve been seeing in other people’s digital stuff.

It’s something new I can add to my art arsenal (not sure it’s worthy of being called an arsenal just yet, but still) and practice with.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. All digi-paint; The only lines I did are the ones not painted over from my initial scribble on the left:

After two weeks where I missed Life Drawing due to crazy work schedule crapola… I finally made it in this morning. I was worried that I’d be rusty all over again, but I actually pulled it together pretty quick all things considered.

Here’s the best from today’s session:

It’s new comic day… not just any new comic day…

Mnemovore day!

Go forth to your local comic shop and pick up Mnemovore #1 from Vertigo. Dooooooo it.

If you like it, tell your store to put subsequent issues aside. Nothing makes a retailer want to order more copies than having buyers reserve a series.

Congrats Ray. I hope this is the start of even bigger and better things.

I have a marked habit of doing a lot of cleaning when I’m really stressed. It’s an odd habit because it takes time away from other tasks, but also puts my mind a bit more at ease.

I think it’s the concept of completing little things around me. Tackling the little skirmishes that can be “beaten” all at once, unlike the big wars that life throws at us. It’s a small sense of accomplishment when I’m having trouble dealing with major problems. Even if there’s some emotional issue, ambiguous strain or insurmountable problem I’m dealing with, I can win the fight against laundry, dusty carpets and dirty dishes. It’s an odd defensive measure to help bolster me against larger issues. I know a lot of people who let their hygene and environment devolve to reflect their mood when they have major issues. When I finish these cleaning sprees there’s an odd contrast between my immaculate home and my messed up little brain. It’s kind of hard to describe.

My apartment is currently almost spotless. Wish me luck.

Personal stress. Work stress. Lots on my plate and I’m struggling to keep it all moving forward with some semblance of smoothness.

Today’s Animation History lecture was part recap/review and part “Ask me whatever you want about the animation industry and I’ll do my best to answer.” I always felt that Sheridan never prepared students for portfolio building, interviews and what was actually happening in the industry and I’ve been trying to make sure these students are better armed as they head through the program here at Seneca.

The questions were honest, revealing and as I answered them I ended up solidifying some ideas in my head that I’ve thought a bit about but never clarified for myself. Near the end, the students finally stumped me. Witty little answers or nuggets of wisdom fell away and I was left up at the front of the class feeling like I was naked at a family gathering or something. It knocked the wind out me and I had to just answer it honestly.

Student: “How do you juggle work stress and a crazy schedule with your free time?”

Jim: “I… I… I don’t.”

(General nervous laughter from the students)

Jim: “Seriously. My aspirations have cost me friends. It’s cost me four relationships. It’s overwhelmed time with my family and time for myself. It’s taken over my schedule, my creativity and my life. It’s something I’m still trying to figure out. Be inspired, be driven but don’t let that wreck everything else around you. Do as I say, not as I do.”

We got beyond that discussion and moved on to other topics. When the class wrapped up the students seemed genuinely happy to get answers to all sorts of questions they had about what their future could hold, good and bad. I was glad I could cut through the crap and give them some real world advice they would remember.

What I said was so true… I AM still trying to figure this all out. All of it. It made me a bit melancholy and reflective, so I figured I should record it while it was fresh. I’m going to have to think on these things tonight. Clear more headspace and get a handle on what I’m doing.

Ironically, I missed Life Drawing again because I was dealing with other things. I have to go next week. I want to hit an evening session as well to make up for lost drawing time. Not sure how possible that will be.

There are several websites that report on movies with a desire to inform Christian viewers whether a movie is appropriate or not for their religious sensibilities. I’m sure it’s quite useful, but occasionally their cold and precise rundown of inappropriate elements can come across as comedy gold. I don’t know any hardcore Christian who’d consider Sin City appropriate movie fare, but in case you did… please keep in mind the following:

All in just 2 hours 6 minutes.

Sin City was visceral, engaging and oh so bloody violent. It’s a near perfect translation of the comic book. If you’ve never read the original stories, expect to be shocked, blasphemed and amazed. It could ignite a whole new slew of mature-eyes-only comic books or start religious witch hunts over how impure the comic book industry is. Any way you look at it though, it’s an eye opener. Well worth the price of theater admission and home video when it comes down the pipe.