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Monday, June 30, 2008
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Writing Cheques my ass won’t cash!
Current mood:  artistic
Right- I've been actually able to use my new wacom 12wx tablet for something of my own. Bought it at the start of the year and it's sat in the box for a lot of it.
I thought, since I'm not allowed to show any of the work I've been doing recently cos the films aren't out yet and not allowed to talk much about it all or anything, why not set myself up for failure and promise a new painting every day! Well, before I start, it won;t be every day cos I don;t have the spare time for that but a new painting every time I plug in the new drawing tablet would be good.
Here's today's
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Currently
watching
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The Last Winter
Release date: 2008-07-22
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1:35 PM
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
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What’s been going on? plus- new fing wot I done
Not been around much really- check in every morning on here but never have the time do anything about writing stuff to any of the people I’d like to. Oh the plans are there but by the time I get around to it I have to do other stuff so if you’re one of the people I should be writing to - this is to cover all of you!
I’m finishing tomorrow on the Max Payne movie after a pretty tiring and hard working four months and start bright and early on Monday morning on a film that couldn;t be more different.
Anyway, here’s a wee thing I knocked out during my latest bout of Me VS Photoshop
2:36 PM
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
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Scan of that Interview
Here's a scan of my interview thanks to Trevor and a link for it online- which is much the same as what I posted here.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-ca-workinghollywood10feb10,1,44017.story
In a further twist of events I've been approached for an interview and profile by a daily entertainment TV show based in LA- but they have someone up here so no travelling for me!
 
Also- if you made it this far down- here's the other photo I sent them. Think it must be because I look miserable they didnt use it- you should have seen the ones I didn't give them. 
8:40 AM
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Saturday, February 09, 2008
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My LA TIMES interview
WORKING HOLLYWOOD 'Jumper' storyboard artist Rob McCallum draws on his comic book cred When a film's in the hands of storyboard artist Rob McCallum, action springs to life. By Cristy Lytal, Special to The Times
February 10, 2008 ROB McCALLUM holds the rare distinction of having once drawn 300 storyboards -- the comic-book-like panels that summarize a film's shots for the crew -- in 72 hours. "And then a couple of days later they go, 'Hey, we've changed things. You think you could it again?' " says McCallum with a laugh. While most jobs aren't quite so Proustian in their page count, McCallum spends the majority of most of his days drawing. He works off scripts, shot lists and brainstorming sessions with directors and key crew.
Born in the Scottish town of Greenock, McCallum grew up on a steady diet of "Star Wars" and Ray Harryhausen movies before heading to the Glasgow School of Art. He dabbled in directing short films before landing a job drawing comics for the likes of Marvel, DC and Dark Horse. In the late 1990s, a day after learning that the project he'd been working on -- Stan Lee's "Excelsior Line" -- had been put on indefinite hold due to Marvel's business woes, he got a call to do storyboards on a Hallmark film in Scotland and hasn't looked back since.
Recently, the Toronto-based McCallum put pencil to paper for Doug Liman's teleportation thriller "Jumper," due for release Thursday, and the high-school dramedy "Charlie Bartlett," which hits theaters Feb. 22.
Comic relief: Since storyboards are a communication tool for directors to convey their vision to the crew, McCallum strives to make his as interesting as possible. "I try to make my storyboards a good read when I'm drawing," says the artist, who has worked on films including "Land of the Dead," "Hairspray" and "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium." "I think it may be from when I drew comics. There's a pacing in comics, and you're always aware of the person turning the page. You know, a really big moment in the comic, you'll turn the page and it'll be a big double-page splash panel for full impact. And I still try and do that sometimes. I will give expressions to people's faces. I will put in a wee bit of extra detail here and there just to sell the sequence. I try and make it so that you get a sense of the speed and the mood and the emotion of each sequence from my boards."
Without breaking a sweat: Storyboard artists such as McCallum usually only draw the most expensive and logistically intricate scenes involving action, visual effects and special effects such as fire and explosives, gun shots and the like. On "Charlie Bartlett," the most complicated sequences were a riot and a football game, both of which may have ended up on the cutting room floor. "I just remember the day they were shooting the football game, it was an utter heat wave in Toronto," he says. "And they've got all these extras running about playing football with all the gear on and stuff, and I felt for them because I'm sitting here in this air-conditioned office just drawing!"
Jumping-off place: While most projects have one storyboard artist, "Jumper" had upward of a half-dozen, each of whom concentrated on a different action sequence. "I had the coliseum sequence to do," says McCallum. "I actually had a 3-D model in my computer of the coliseum that had been built, and I was able to get the camera down there and move it around and just pick out shots and cool angles and stuff. It's handy having that."
Foul is fair: To ensure their drawings reflected the laws of "Jumper's" sci-fi universe, the storyboard artists were given a set of rules governing teleportation. "It was forcing you to think in a slightly different way," says McCallum. "I was just thinking, 'How would a guy that can teleport fight?' So you were really pushing yourself to try to think of inventive, cool, spectacular ways that you could use this jumping talent that these characters have."
Senseless census: Storyboards can sometimes be taken too literally. "I was on a film once where someone was counting the heads of people in crowd scenes I'd drawn to know how many extras to hire," says McCallum. "I was stunned when I heard that. I was just randomly drawing people to fill up the panels. There's a guy I know who actually puts a disclaimer on the front page of his storyboards saying that these are a guide. Costumes may not look like this. Hairstyles may not look like this. These aren't like the Bible!"
9:37 PM
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
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Alien drawing
Did this while doodling
Then thought- I'll photoshop that. It turned out like this
getting to like photoshop- you can polish turds!
10:22 PM
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new art
Got some more work posted in my pics- some comics, some zombies and some concept stuff for a kid swelling up- you'll understand when you see it
10:21 PM
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
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Bit of Blatant self promotion!!!!!! Come see....
Got a few web writeups on some boards I did for Steven C Miller's new project.
I like this one cos it says nice things about me!
http://www.dreadcentral.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1682
cool!
9:54 PM
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Friday, March 16, 2007
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New stuff coming soon
Been a while
I have some new work coming that I'll be posting and maybe the odd rant and bits and bobs of advice for anyone who cares.................other people write stuff noone reads, why can't I?
10:34 PM
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Sunday, August 20, 2006
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Tips for aspiring Artists out there for comics, storyboards - anything
Learn to draw for christs sake!
I;ve been reading some people online giving tips to aspiring artists trying to make it in the business. None of them ever say Learn to bloody draw!
Simple as that
And not from a bloody comic book either.
Draw from life- learn to draw quickly. Sit yourself down somewhere crowded and give yourself 15 seconds to draw people walking past. Most of the drawings will be bloody awful but every now and then BAM- the best , msot simple drawing you will ever do.
I'm sick of seeing artists who have learned to draw from comics. They learn from comics, where the artist they are "learning" from has learnt to draw from comics- and is not very good anyway!
To be honest, it's a good idea to cut yourself off from a lot of outside art. It's one way to develop your own style thats for sure.
Sure believe in yourself, promote yourself all you want but you sure has heck better have something to back it up.
I would say- criticise your work more than anyone else could- only then can you get better- don't fool yourself cos other will point it out. Sure you;ve done a good drawing- but ask yourself- do I really want the eyes to be looking off in different directions- or is one eye meant to ba a bit lower thatn the other. If the answer is no- change it!
I used to be a guest at various conventions in the uk. I'd get people coming up to me and telling me how great their work was and really talking it up- even had one guy who was commissioning for a role playing games company- a big one too- tell me about his art- and he had a few "hint and tips" to give me about mine- which I totally ingored once I saw the utter derivative dross- not vene well drawn- nasty- art he was producing. Not only that but he had his portfolio at a night club on an unrealated evening!
Anyway- once you see some people's work- you can see wy they have to talk it up- OR, they don't have the editorial ability. Edit yourself cos I can get embarrasing if you don't
I once asked for advice of a comics writer of note on how to deal with people when they show you their work and it's not great.
He told me, you have to work out if they are open to talking or delusional. If they are delusional, tell them it's great and get the fuck away!
All these people had one thing in common. They didn't know how to draw. Some didnt know how to ink either- but inking is a craft that comes with time and confidence.
Anyway- I'll keep this going some time cos I like a good rant- even if it is all over the place.
cheers
5:43 PM
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Thursday, July 27, 2006
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Alien- thoughts on the movie- or actually- about people who think about it too much
Alien. Ridley Scott's Alien film. A good film. Very scary. Very well done. Nice images of how a down and dirty space ship would look. Truckers in space. All that. No doubt- a classic. Spawned a load of sequels too in case you didn't know. Some great, some not so great but not too bad either. Had their good moments. They were even verus Predator too- but we wont talk about that.
I want to talk about some of the in depth and desconstructionist reviews of the film that I've read over the years. I'm not going to quote anyone or show I;ve done any research or anything- this is all just stuff that's stuck with me after I read it.
I annoys me when people talk about art or movies or anything too much. Everything should stand on it's own two feet once it's out there on the world. ANYONE can talk meaning or even just talk up and painted or a pile of syringes full of piss and make is seem like it's way more valid and gives insights into the "human condition"- in this case pretention.
I've read and watched on tv many intelectuals harp on about Alien over the years. YES - it's all about birth and greek stuff and the computer is called MOTHER which makes it very clever cos they all go to Mother for help and John Hurt gives birth and more greek stuff and all that. I'm not going to go on. There is too much already said and I'm not adding to it or quoting it.
Now- just think for a minute. Dan O Bannon might well be pissing himself laughing. Think about it. He wrote a monster movie. A space monster movie. A very good one but basically a little green man movie where the monster kilss and eats people. Then he has a female - which was a twist- be the one who is left and has to fight it AND to top it all off- she gets her kit off and is does to her skivvies! Troma have been making films like that for years- monsters and girl in her underwear. Only you don't see intelectuals pouring over B or C movies do you? Why? Cos there's no computer called Mother is all I can think of. I dunno- feel free to comment
More when I can be bothered!
5:31 AM
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