"Jimmy & the Joker"

"The Bizarro Boogie"

I recently completed a new illustration featuring Superman's twisted goofball clone, Bizarro!  He loves to tear it up at clubs!!! .. and it appears that the other members of the Legion of Doom aren't too pleased.. 

Enjoy, folks!!!

~ James

James Lincke's "Misfortune," a Superman Reboot Parody

 

 ..as Presented at the Superman Homepage, the Official Website for All Things MAN OF STEEL!

Michael Bay's TEENAGE ALIEN NINJA TURTLES - COMING SOON!

 

SHAPING THE LANDSCAPE OF TWISTED EARTH

Promotional poster for Robert James Aldrus' TWISTED EARTH by Russell R. Cera

  By: Russell R. Cera

   "Twisted Earth is a journey to the darkest depths of one's heart, soul and imagination. An inspiring yet poignant tale of friendship, love, acceptance and transcendence, it's story is told through the eyes of an ailing young boy forlorn over an unrequited love for his absent father.  His obsession for answers leads him to a collection of paintings and a tattered, forbidden journal, through which he is banished into a realm of terrifying nightmares from which there seems no return..." - Russell R. Cera

    While there's plenty more to the story of Twisted Earth, including many surprises, twists and turns, it currently resides dormant like a great beast awaiting to be re awoken... and it shall be.  While RJA Creations - James Lincke and myself, are thick in the development stages of GUARDS, our animated comedy adventure series, Twisted Earth is on hold short of us conceiving or notating and my writing the parts and pieces which will eventually become this epic tale.

   Still, it continues to exist and expand on two fronts.  The story itself and the creative process, although marked by my writing it into a novel, always was and will be conceived through visual means. It is the artwork both conceptual and finished that birthed it and will continue to see it grow.

   Much like GUARDS and our other future projects, there is a process of course in delivering a creative entity to a would be publisher, buyer or studio. We are learning more and more about this process every day. I'm speaking about the treatment, or in basic terms, the pitch.  A treatment basically lays out everything: synopsis, plot, characters, demographic studies, strategies, merchandising, visual concepts, environments, concept art... you name it and it's game to be in there.  It is incredibly hard work with no guarantees and the longer haul is spent promoting and shopping the work.  

   Yet one advantage we have as a creative source for original stories, is the ability to conceive the worlds we imagine visually and not just through words and promises.  While a promotional poster for a would be film for Twisted Earth does not actually exist, it in fact can be designed to inspire interest or excitement to an audience.  And while greater tools and sources are presenting opportunities for us to promote our would be works through art and video, our pitches can be produced in such a way that they are impressive, informative and completely convincing at the same time.

   The Twisted Earth poster presented here was created for just that purpose.  You'll also see this landscape in an up and coming video preview of Twisted Earth, in which it will be utilized like a matte painting, with live action superimposed over it.  Yes folks we're talking green screen!  And while we do not have the most sophisticated tools at our disposal just yet, we are confident that we can produce something quite convincing through our ingenuity and drive to take things as far as we presently can go.

   Take for example this poster, which is a combination of my hand painting digital art and using composite images to create an overall sense of reality.  To explain hand painted digital art, that means the art is sketched, drawn and painted by hand using a drawing tablet in a computer program such as Photoshop.  Composite images are actual photographs that are altered or rendered in such a way that they realistically aid in depicting the scene or setting.  This process is one that is used continually in today's creation of movie posters or promotional images.

    In formulating posters like this, there is often what is called a hook, or in other words, an image meant to invoke a response rather than follow the storyline faithfully.  Trust me, you'll see it everywhere in promotional imagery for film or publication.  An example of it on this particular piece is the hand rendered image of "death" in the clouds.  If you haven't discovered it yet... it's that rather large skull peeking out amidst the heavy dark clouds at top.  This is of course a divisive decision to create an image that people immediately identify with.  While I much rather would represent the actual antagonist of the story, his appearance is far too ambiguous and would not translate as easily to an audience promised a "world of nightmares."  So the skull is in and our villain is out, for the poster anyway!

    One aspect of RJA Creations that I've always aspired to is to share the creative process in a way that better connects with our audience.  In upcoming articles, I will preview other promotional posters for Twisted Earth and discuss the technique by which they were created.  This poster will be available as part of our indiegogo fundraising campaign, in which a contribution of desired amount returns to you some very cool exclusive RJA Creations merchandise and art!  

   Stay tuned and hope to see you in Twisted Earth!

Note:  The current working title Robert James Aldrus' TWISTED EARTH, all imagery, titles, story lines are copyrighted and sole property of RJA Creations. It is therefore forbidden to copy or use the imagery or verbiage without expressed permission from RJA Creations.

   

THE HOBBIT 'AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY' TRAILER ARRIVES.

  By: Russell R Cera

   When someone refers to something as "much of the same", you can probably bank on the idea that they aren't very enthused about it.  This couldn't be any further from the truth in regards to the first teaser trailer for The Hobbit 'An Unexpected Journey', from Peter Jackson, director of 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy.  In fact, it is that very "sameness", if I may make up a word, that many if not all fans of the original trilogy were hoping for, and it ensures that regardless of it's smaller stature, we will receive yet another treasure, much like the additional footage on the extended versions of LOTR.  Watching the trailer is almost eerie in a way, in that outside of Martin Freeman's appearance as Bilbo, it feels as if we are visiting the same people and places all over again!  Oh wait, of course!  That's because we are!  Well sort of, in many cases.  Nothing seems to have changed.  Not the wide scope cinematography, nor the effective use of flashbacks and flash forwards that Jackson employed previously, nor the narration of Ian Holm as Bilbo.

  Exactly! Thank you!  Perfect!

  When you note that all of the key players in making 'Lord of the Rings' have returned, from it's director to its writers Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, to Richard Taylor and the wizards at Weta, to composer Howard Shore, to concept artists Alan Lee and John Howe, to all of the key actors necessary to reprise their roles, it's no wonder, that successful or not, by 2013 there will be six films in total that feel as cozy and comfortable as one!

  One of the biggest questions leading up to this trailer is how Peter Jackson planned on utilizing the returning talents of Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins.  Another was if and how they would use Ian Holm, if at all, to tie in the appearance change from him to Freeman.  It seems that these two questions are immediately answered, and as expected, the entire two film piece will in fact be a flashback of Bilbo in later life (Holm), more than likely transcribing the details of his adventures into the Red Book of Westmarch or 'The Hobbit'.

  Now there are a few things of course, that fans will just have to gulp down and get over regardless.  The first of those is the previously mentioned appearance of a younger looking Bilbo (Freeman) when he should look much the same as he does when Gandalf first visits him (Holm) in LOTR.  "You haven't aged a day." If taken literally, he shouldn't have. The ring brought to Bilbo the same extraordinarily long life as Gollum.  However, we could make the case that the statement can be derived as figurative and complimentary over completely accurate.  In other words, we have to just let go as staunch followers of Tolkien's words and just roll with it!

  Another obvious mismatch are the appearances of some of the company of Dwarfs.  Where I wrote a previous article about the subject, I will not reiterate the details here, however it seems that Jackson favored a diverse visual approach rather than sticking to the descriptions given by Tolkien wholeheartedly.  Again, we have to take into consideration that there will be massive changes in film adaptation, much like there were in LOTR.  Some of the diversions in the trilogy were preposterous to the books and others were cut (thank goodness).  Some examples of this are Arwen's arrival at Helm's Deep to do battle and the reemergence of Sauron in the physical form to battle Aragorn. Now those would have been some inexcusable stretches!

  Yet let's get off the negative, because those points are few. Before I wrap this up let's just note some of the highlights we should expect in The Hobbit and note the LOTR tie in pieces of the trailer itself.

• The narration of Ian Holm as Bilbo.  The appearance of Holm is clear from the onset, and while I'm not sure that his scenes are not completely regurgitated from the Trilogy, it is a good thing to know that he was available to some extent to tie in the Bilbo of old to new. Or new to old?

• The appearance of Elijah Wood as Frodo and Biblo's relating the story as a flashback to him through the Red Book of Westmarch.  This is a perfect devise to tie in the original films and I cannot think of a better way to do it.

• The return of the indelible Ian McKellan as Gandalf the Grey.  It is incredible to see him once again back in charming Grey form as opposed to regal White.  Of even more special note is the return of Christopher Lee as Saruman.  This sets up for the back story of 'The Hobbit' which in fact was never presented in the original book but in a later publication called Unfinished Tales.

• Rivendell in all it's glory and the approach of Biblo to the Shards of Narsil. This is of course the blade that cut the ring from Sauron's hand and eventually the sword that is mended back to Anduril.  Nowhere is such detail in the book of 'The Hobbit', yet this is another perfect tie in.

• The appearance of Kate Blanchett as Galadriel, the knowledge that Hugo Weaving will reprise the role of Elrond and the cameo appearance by Orlando Bloom as Legolas.  Note the latter two do not appear in the trailer.

• Sting is unfurled by Bilbo. Enough said.

• Last but not least, the return of Gollum (Andy Serkis) both in vision and voice.  I can only assume that his sequence will wrap up the first installment of the two piece interpretation of 'The Hobbit'.

  Will 'The Hobbit' be the outlandish success story that 'Lord of the Rings' was?  That remains to be seen, however it is almost sure to be a financial hit regardless of it's critical reception.  While I assume there will be many critics chomping at the bit to fork over a negative review, I can't imagine how the two piece set won't garnish the same type of acclaim that it's predecessors did. 

  How can I say that?

  It is that made up word I spoke of before - "sameness" - that nearly guarantees it!

TO BAG END - A PERSONAL REFLECTION ON A PIECE LONG IN THE MAKING

To Bag End completed, or at least until I find reason to continue to refine it!

 By: Russell R Cera

  Nearly a decade ago, I began to illustrate the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.  I had just seen Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring in theaters and was in the midst of reading the first book of The Lord of the Rings. I was hooked, and the subject was the first thing to intrigue me enough to dedicate my artistic endeavors exclusively to.  Up until then, my portfolio lacked examples of my interest or ability in fine art, with most of my work coming by way of employment or contracted pieces for commercial purposes.

  Something just clicked, and I recall on my lunch break at work one day, beginning to sketch a small drawing of Gollum, which later I turned into a full size graphite piece.  Looking back, the image wasn't one of my personal favorites, however it was the catalyst for several more concept sketches of scenes I imagined directly from the novel.

  It seemed in the following years, while completing the novels and witnessing two more masterpiece films my thirst for Tolkien's work kept getting stronger.  In that time I would go on to complete two major color art pieces, first Back To The Shadow, a depiction of Gandalf facing the Balrog and There and Back Again, a collage of the events from The Hobbit.  These pieces took immeasurable time and patience to complete, especially the latter of which I must have spent every free moment working on.

 Naturally, I couldn't help but try to market my ability in my new found obsession, so I contacted the Tolkien Estate in hopes I might be able to sell one time pieces to would be enthusiasts. All the while I hoped to garnish a name for myself with the online Tolkien community, most notably theonering.net, aspiring to bring my craft to calenders or future publications.

  I also had the distinct pleasure of confiding in John Howe, renowned Tolkien artist and co-conceptual illustrator for Peter Jackson's films.  His incomparable style, especially for concept pencil work was exactly what I aspired to, and after attempting direct contact he graciously accepted. His words of encouragement as well as compliments for my work was and still remains one of the highest points of taking on the subject matter as a whole.  In fact, a very nice moment came, when John complimented a concept piece I created of Smaug the Dragon, while in the very early moments of his involvement on the film adaptation of The Hobbit.

   What I was starting to realize though, is that I loved the method of conceptual art over finishing full color works.  I would get lost in imagining how a particular piece of the text would look, translating it to my own vision on paper. The process was intoxicating, with all the creative energy going to conceiving or translating ideas over the tedious effects of rendering. The ideas were coming fast and furious and before long I was surrounded by pieces of artwork that were unfinished or had no sense of direction.

   Still, I knew that a portfolio of unfinished concept art for a subject that already had it's fine art masters, had already been translated to three major motion pictures and who's hysteria was beginning to quell was not taking me anywhere.  So I began my third full color piece, of which I picked from a slew of other ideas, knowing that I would not find success in illustrating Tolkien unless I dedicated myself to finishing the works into fine art pieces.

   The sketch I chose was called "To Bag End" a depiction of the Dwarf brothers Fili and Kili arriving at Bag End early in The Hobbit.  I enjoyed the idea that this was a quiet moment that had never been depicted before, rather than some major set piece or battle and it also provided an opportunity to recreate a lavish landscape in color.

Image at top shows progress of To Bag End by 2005.
Below image shows entire progress up until Summer
of 2011. 

  The imagery provided at left shows "To Bag End" in progress, from it's earliest color stages beginning in 2002 with the giant tree and Bag End's indicative round green door.  My intent was to utilize very saturated colors and detail, but in doing so, progress was incredibly slow.

  Over the course of another year, I danced around from one section to another as I had very little patience over long periods of time, concentrating then on Kili, the first of my two dwarfs.

 All the while I was sadly beginning to loose interest in my original intent, with the piece growing so tedious to me that I was not enjoying myself like I should have been. I moved on to other images and subject matter, and so "To Bag End" began to sit idle.

   Life was taking different directions as well, with the birth of my two children during this time, a relocation and new job, my focus and interests were admittedly going to more important things than finishing "To Bag End!"

   In all, the piece lied dormant for nearly five full years, sitting inside of a folder with it's progression halting with only a third of it completed. I consigned myself to the fact that "To Bag End" would never be finished and so I started to use it in it's partial state as an example of a work in progress. Although, I wasn't making any progress.

  Fast forward to 2011. With RJA Creations well into it's third year, I began to take an interest in finishing "To Bag End" again.

  Quite simply the reason was this.  Myself and creative partner James had begun to formulate full stories that we intended to turn into treatments for hopeful publication.  We soon noticed that we had more ideas than time warranted to create, and once again I found myself involved in  unfinished works that had great potential if only we could figure out a way to finish them.  The pattern was repeating and so I needed to break myself of the habit for losing energy when something more intriguing came along.

This photo shows progress of To Bag End by mid September
2011. You can see just how much more work was necessary and
how little I had accomplished from where I left off.

  The both of us had taken on personal projects for the year, and that down time from collaboration provided a window for me to finally fish what I started with "To Bag End".  I made it my mandate, in other words that the piece would serve as an example to myself that I would apply the same dedication to all of my other creative endeavors going forward.

   In May of 2011, I began again to move on to uncharted territory and develop the untouched areas of "To Bag End".  I laid out the background landscape and re rendered the road using Prismacolor pencil and acrylic paint.  Progress continued at a steady pace now, with the Dwarfs taking shape and reaching the far right corner of the piece by September.  Soon after, the sky was nearly completed and I had laid out the final details of the landscape background.

  The deal was that I had to dedicate at least three days a week to doing at very least an hour a piece of intensive rendering, with a target finish date of end of 2011.  As of November 16th, I had placed the finishing touches on a piece long in the making.  I sat back and took a deep breath... it was finally over!  Completing "To Bage End" was truly the end of a long journey to who's destination I thought I would never reach.  Quite possibly with the coming of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, I may find renewed interest in illustrating the subject and marketing the pieces for future publication.  Either way, I know now that all of my personal as well as RJA Creations works can and will be completed.  It only takes time, continued effort and a lot more patience than I am used to having!