Never knew what a Glabrezu was. Demon Dog Crab. Who knew.

I never got my fill of D&D as a younger lad, so I missed the memo. Street fighter on the other hand... now that was a past time I can live by. M Bison shaped my distaste for Bad guys in capes. Balrog made me appreciate Mike Tysons effect on pop culture. Sagat made me think of Bob. 

But Vega... Vega made me red with fury. That bouncy bastard made me throw many a controller across the room (this was before wireless so it just whipped back to me and struck me in the leg to add insult to injury). 

Pretty boy Vega. Bastard.

It's actually happening... Tomb Raider ships on Tuesday.

Cray Cray. 

I'll be posting TR related stuff as soon as I am able to. I'm really excited to show the things that didn't make it in the game as much as I am to show the higher profile things I did for magazine covers, the concepts that created the new Lara, beat boards for some of the insane action sequences, and all the other goodness. 

It was an absolute pleasure to drive the new look of TR. I hope I am lucky enough in my career to have similar success on future projects. 

Ah yes, Christmas time. There is nothing quite like it.

Apparently it makes people lose their sense of shame and tolerance. One example of many: Today I witnessed a woman threatening a retail worker with legal action if she was not permitted to remove clothing from a display.  

Tis' the season to be douchy.

1. Toilet paper rolls, when cut into and filled with an iphone, can amplify sound creating - the ibox

Seriously. It works. Blew my mind.

In honor of my undying devotion to Brian Wilson's beard (despite his current absence on the playoff roster), I submit this painting as a reflection of what Wilson's inner child thinks about when he's not on camera.

I thought about doing a series entitled "Beard, beard, go away. Grow again another day", however, I came to the conclusion that it would be more appropriate to do a variety of pieces focusing on the entire Giants Organization and fan base.

UPDATE:  did that. reposted. more to come!

Every year during the postseason, for any sport, there are always a select group of fans that decide it's unacceptable for previously uninterested people to root for "their team". They go on to call them Bandwagoners, and explain to you at nauseum how they have "followed the team since (insert obscure athlete name with equally obscure achievement)."

I'm a Giants fan, and have been since the Candlestick days of my youth in the 80's. Will Clark, Candy Maldonado, Rick Ruschel, and the rest of the guys who guided my own baseball career were fun to watch and root for. It was also fun rooting for guys like Dennis Eckersly, Nolan Ryan, or any other ball player who I found exciting and played the game the way it should be played.

I love baseball because of it's complexity, simplicity, and everything in between. If you enjoy the sport, then you shouldn't care who decides to follow the team. It's always easy to spot the Fan who likes the game because of blind pride in their team, rather than the abilities of the players who play it.

Too prideful to admit enjoyment of another teams success when your team is out of contention? I think it's time for another hobby my friend.

(Bren stepped off the podium, and exited the building)

For halloween this year, i will be trying to minimize the damage to my bank account. I usually go too far and spend way too much. 

I have a decent Vader mask at work, so I'm thinking I wear a suit with the mask and go as James Vader. No one will ever know the difference.

Daniel day Lewis. Abe Lincoln. It does not get better.

I've been out of the film loop latley, but I'm way too pumped about the new Abraham Lincoln film featuring Future Abraham Lincoln (aka Daniel Day)

So good.

Watching the Mars landing blew my mind, but Leo Laporte (a podtechcaster) said it best.

"The first person who will walk on Mars is probably a high school student watching this right now."

 

WTF! All these years, I thought I'd see transformers up there playing bocci ball with Voltron. I'm not a science guy, but I am certainly a fan of exploration, and the firs image taken from that rover pumped me up. 

 

Go Science! 

It doesn't really hit you the first month, after all the shock is still clearly visible. It doesn't even hit at 6 months, because there has been so much going on that it's hard to see. I think it happens when you arrive at work one day, and as you close the car door to walk into the studio with the days goals, thousands of ideas churning up in your head, and a plan to paint the shit out of something... that you look in your back seat where the newly installed child seat sits, and realize, "OH F**K, you're a parent now!"

Badass.

Amongst my favorite TV shows of all time, there is one unsung hero that lies in waiting for it's time in the spotlight, so it can shatter the spotlight and remain dignified. I care not for the Adult swim, and it's indie shock treatment of adult based humor shoehorned into quirky kid friendly characters. I pass up the network television, and it's Sunday Animation Domination from people who love the sound of their own voice and swim in their vaults of money that they purposely have converted into coins so they can replicate Scrooge McDuck on Weekends. I favor only one show for it's lasting secrecy and ingenious flight under the radar...

and that is why, I will never speak it's name.

First fathers day. It was a good one. I owe it all to my kid who plays it cool, and makes me look good.

Sitting down to watch one of the greatest films ever... Predator. There is simply nothing cooler than that film. The chopper scene with the tobacco spit, the "I ain't got time to bleed", Mac losing it and going to "have him some fun", pushing too many pencils, and loving every minute of that "one ugly motherf**cker".

They just don't make them like they use to.

It was a very short trip down to E3... and it was chaos the entire time. I was proud to rep my work on Tomb Raider and another project I worked on called Agni's Philosophy. Some seriously cool stuff overall. I think the next E3 is going to be one for the ages.

I was pumped about a bunch of different games. It was easy to overlook the robust PC's used to power games at the show that aren't exactly console feasible, because they were so nice to look at. I'm all for the best bang for the buck. SW1313 was lookin' sharp and did it right by saying it was running on a PC with use of the Unreal engine. Watch Dogs was slick... but I think Ubi got caught riding dirty. If it is current Gen, it's made a leap that no one else can currently match... and if its next Gen, its a nice window into the possibilities. I love the dastardly mustache twisting responses of Ubi reps.

The console hardware coming out at some point soon down the road, will hopefully reflect the power those enhanced demo titles are throwing at people.

Separately, Prometheus is at 73% on Rotten tomatoes.

E3. So much goodness. I was expecting a train wreck of an opener, but for the most part, it was a great first day. I was excited to finally show some of the Tomb Raider stuff I've been a part of.

I'll be getting down there later this week.

As a wise man once said, "let's hope the juice is worth the squeeze" -Candersauce

I do my best to watch as many movies as possible, exercising as little prejudice as i can muster, in hope of coming across something that truly inspires. Most of the time, I get "The woman in black", but every now and then I get "Drive".  I'm not saying that Drive was a stellar flick, I'm just saying that it brought some goodness to the table. It was like Steve McQueen in "Bullet", and Jacob Ryan from "16 candles" had a love child.

As a child of the 80's, I can appreciate the effort the creative team went to in achieving the vintage appeal. I think it came up just short of being great because of it's inherent subtlety. I definitely need one of 'dem scorpion jackets.

Slick and deadly, like Steven Segals hair from "Under Siege".

I watched "a knights tale" with Heath Ledger for the 1045th time . This damn movie is on 14 hours a day on various networks, and I always seem to land on it when I'm looking for some background noise. The movie itself is an abomination, however, they receive 1 gold star for utilizing Bowie in their mandatory dance sequence. I also enjoy "Roadhouse", "Real Genius", and "Just one of the guys". Sad.

There are no books available on "peoples opinions of books on others opinions on how to parent your children". That's because, no matter how much you think you have the right answer, every child is different.

One of my favorite new hobbies is listening to parents who think they have all the answers. There is an arrogant snootiness to every comment regarding how to hold, feed, burp, dress, play with, and otherwise care for your child. I have already learned, I know nothing about parenting other than what I've gathered through my child.

So when another mom/dad tries to inform me that the only way to make a child have less gas after eating is to sing "row, row, row your boat"... I kindly tell them that "I'll look into it".

That way I don't have to say what I truly wanted to say, which was "Are you out of your f**king mind?".

One day... I will have to explain the Kardashians to my daughter.

If I am going to instill any honesty in her, I must be truthful. I will say,

"lovely daughter of mine... The Kardashians don't actually exist. They are made up, like monsters and boogymen. If you look closely you can see their makeup and costumes, like in the Blueray version of Lord of the Rings. They are not real people. They represent themselves, and not the human race. I ask that you please try to avoid eye contact with them, because they have been know to turn little girls into stone. Let's change the channel back to The Walking Dead"

Above is "Harrison Roulette".

2 men enter, 1 man earns the Idol... and the whip.

I'm a pretty huge Ridley Scott fan. Most everything he does has some redeeming visual merit that I really dig. He draws from such nice master pieces in his work which really tends to set him apart in his genuine approach to setting, atmosphere, and set dressing.

I don't get overly excited about films often, but Prometheus is on my Nerdar for sure.

This was my first Jury Duty summons that began on a monday. That means I have to call in twice a day for a week to find out if I need to report to a room where I wait, until I'm called into another chamber where I'm questioned, then brought into another room where I wait again until they decide if they want to bring me into the biggest of the rooms to answer more questions before being told wether I can stay in the big room or have to leave.

Justice... it's what's for dinner.

Today I heard the term "thinking outside of the box" 3 times, by 3 different people, used in 3 completely different contexts. This is no coincidence. I should have added this one to my list of industry buzz phrases that ruin everyones day.

I tried to think of why I dislike the phrase so much, and came up with a solution to my own private verbal crisis. "Thinking outside the box" (TOTB) is like asking an artist to make something "ghosty"... it doesn't have any legitimate point of reference because it can mean so many things. It is a phrase used by people who have no idea what they want. Instead, I will now be using the term designing inside the circle. This way, when someone asks me to "think outside the box", I can tell them that I'll "design inside the circle" first, before I try and reinvent the wheel... (mind blown)

Now that's some outside the box type shit.

I never really knew just how many sets of Christmas lights i had until I took them down this weekend. When putting them up, I suppose I was so pumped about Christmas that I failed to recognize I had 12 different strands of lights. WTF? Snowflake lights, large bulb, LED, and a fleet of the small traditional yellow lights. From the dates of Nov. 30th - Jan 1st, I'm almost positive that our front yard sucked most of the California energy supply. As usual, they morphed into one gigantic knot by the time they were all down.

It's almost comforting to open up that big box labeled 'Christmas Stuff' every year and seeing that huge F**king knot staring back at me. It's like a badge of honor... a cherished routine... and a huge pain in the ass.

This year got out of here in a damn hurry. Lots of good things, some not so good things, and some downright filthy things. Regardless, I'm feeling great going into next year. I have a huge change coming which will no doubt alter my life and sleeping patterns.

I'm also looking forward to the release of the title I've been working on for close to 4 years now. I didn't think I'd be involved in such a long haul this early in my career. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be involved in a project that has balls. It's a huge risk to try reinventing something when chances are, it cannot come even close to the original luster it once had. I'm not one for optimism until I see a final polished product, so I'll wait until then to determine if it is as much fun to play as it was to make.

I'm never opposed to speaking your mind and standing up for what you believe in. Ultimately thats what makes this country tick. However, from the outside looking in, I'm thinking the Occupy movement is becoming a bit... unfavorable (PC version). Are there clear goals? Is it proving effective? Is the idea to live like surfs from medieval times, struggling to be heard from outside of the castle gates? Does "Occupy" refer to the use of public grounds as a toilet like a port-a-potty? I'm not certain.

I do know one thing, and that is I'm seeing more negative response to the "99%", than positive. In fact, as one of the deemed "99%", I'm a bit baffled at how the other 98 are handling this ongoing protest. If determination to make change is camping in public grounds, then the line at Best Buy on Black Friday or waiting outside a theatre for Twilight tickets must factor in.

Well... I'm off to go Occupy 2nd street in Downtown San Jose in protest of the closure of the Flying Pig pub. Mad hatters have not been the same since.

I saw one of parenting's proudest moments yesterday while driving home. A ravenous, almost maniacal little boy was strapped to his mother by a leash. I suppose the only redeeming dignity the mother had was the knowledge that it was a Yoda inspired backpack used as the boys harness.

May the force of a young child tugging at your leash like a family pet be with you.

I've been involved on TR since it's infancy back in 2008 when I began working on high level key art for Lara, environments, marketing images, and anything else they could use me for.

It's easy to assume that producing art for the same subject matter over 3+ years would become very old. Surprisingly, I've found that this title (and the gaming industry in general) is a continually evolving beast that keeps me guessing. Ultimately, that' what keeps me going. Aside from that, it is the tremendous talent pool that CD has to offer that makes most of my days a breeze. By breeze, I mean it's the usual glorious chaos of clusterfuckery that any gaming developer endures over the course of a title.

I'm convinced that anywhere I work, in any studio or on any project, I will see the same baffled looks of confusion and defeated walks of deflated shame. The age old tale of "working with the right people" has never been more apparent. Games are going to come and go, but the peeps I work with will likely be a part of my life until the bitter end when the coroner has to pry the brush out of my cold dead hands. Bitch better not be takin' my brush.

My blog has cobwebs on it. Busy is always good.

I've got a ton of stuff published from my work on Tomb Raider including character art, environments, and mag covers. I'm super stoked about the team of developers I'm working with, they are some seriously talented badasses. It's been really cool to see reaction to the work we've done thus far on the title.

I'm not sure 6 years qualifies me as an old haggard vet, but I've definitely developed some opinions about what I like, and "not so much" like about the Gaming industry. The first one that comes to mind is something I love, which is seeing the artwork that didn't make it into a title. Nothing is cooler than seeing the ideas that didn't make the cut (for whatever reason). Showing how someone got to their final answer, to me, is 100% more inspiring and engaging than what usually ends up getting raped and pillaged around a marketing round table. Even though deadlines are usually tight and iteration can become truncated because of demand, the best shit is always the small sketch someone does to inspire a hundred new ideas.

What have I learned to "not so much" like?... panic. Nothing good ever came from panic and the people behind it's Harrison Ford finger of death. Frustration is understandable, but panic is like the smell from the interior of a 40 year old alcoholics 1973 Trans Am... not good.

But who am I kidding, I'm making games for a living. An non-stressful industry of cool headed people making dreams a reality. Gotta dig it.

I have to give Gaga some credit. She comes out in an egg, apparently "incubating before her performance", then rocks prosthetics like they're available at Target.

Her agent is a genius; "Ok Ms. Gaga, lets go over this again... you are going to be hoisted on the red carpet encased in an egg, wear some fake shoulders, win an award, and come home."

If that isn't some pimp shit, I don't know what is. She can wear a tire and some scrap metal and for some reason... it's all good.