.

Daft Mobile

2011-08-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just taking a little spin in the old Daft Mobile.

Ink, marker, and watercolor on vellum paper.

Natasha Hates the Rain

2011-07-15T00:22:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCING 'NATASHA HATES THE RAIN' !!

A children's book written by Natasha Bakody and illustrated by Jeremy Bernstein. 'Natasha Hates the Rain' is a story about a little girl whose selfishness almost ruined the world.

She's making her first appearance at the San Diego Comic Con and is also for sale right over here at:

WWW.ETSY.COM !!!!

So click the link and get your LIMITED EDITION copy signed with an original drawing by yours truly.

Here's a few sneak peak images and some rough sketches...

WWW.ETSY.COM !!!!

Queen Series 1-8

2011-05-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Blue ink pen on napkin.
By Jeremy Bernstein

Nick DiLiberto's "Medusa".

2011-02-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to post this for awhile.

Little Green Boy

2011-01-27T16:58:00.001-08:00

Creative Talent Network Expo in Burbank! Discount code!

2010-11-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

I'll be here next week selling my books, prints, and T-shirts. Come say hello!

CTN-X=Talent Driven. Putting the talent center stage for the 2nd year in a row, 500 + years world class professional talent will converge for 3-days during “Animation Week” in Burbank Ca. CTN-X takes place at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center with ample discounted parking, conveniently located near the Burbank Airport and Amtrak Station. Early bird pricing and discounted rates are available to students and professional industry organizations. Join me and and make more connections in one weekend thenin a year on facebook at this very different event. Register now as my guest and save 10% on any 1-day or 3-day general pass by using this discount code as my guest BEJEX10.

Register now before they are sold out at http://www.regonline.com/CTNX2010

Photo by Randall Sly

Zoltan alternate cover

2010-10-14T16:11:00.001-07:00

If anyone is interested in my latest book, Zoltan, please email me. captainyolk@hotmail.com
Cost is $10 bucks.... plus shipping of course!

I'll be selling these at the CTN Animation Expo as well, November 19 through the 21st. I'll also be selling all the books you see to the right of this blog as well as prints and T- shirts.

Tangled trailer.

2010-10-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

Loving this Animation!! Beautiful!! Cartoony, stretch and squash, fun fun fun!!

Madagascar Fun

2010-09-15T15:31:00.001-07:00

I might have a freelance job soon and the company wanted to see some of my character poses. So I grabbed some of my storyboards from the show I'm working on and put together some poses of Skipper, Private, Julian, Rico, Mort, and Maurice. These guys are so much fun to draw.

Incredible

2010-08-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Mowgli... by Milt Kahl

Milt Kahl (Mowgli) from Victor Ens on Vimeo.

Daft Punk Helmet coming...

2010-08-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

Helmet will be delivered to my home in two weeks! Can't wait to chrome it out ( gold of course ) and Light it up!

Wow....

2010-08-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

"emulator" on töken concept from yöyen munchausen on Vimeo.

Frankie's on his way...

2010-07-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

I'm selling Tee shirts! For now, exclusively at Comic Con. Table E03. Frankie's waiting for ya! Vroooooom!!

The cover of my new book!

2010-07-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the cover folks! Zoltan!

My new book is coming to Comic Con tomorrow! Table E03 ! More info coming soon!

Limited Edition King Kong Tee Shirts coming to Comic Con!

2010-07-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

KONG KONG KONG!

Limited Edition Jeremy Bernstein King Kong Tee Shirts coming to Comic Con!
READ THE POEM BELOW! YOU CAN'T RESIST SINGING IT!

Exhibitor Table E03

He's the king of the forest!
He's the king of the beasts!
He's a fast paced monkey,
And he's up for a feast.

Races around,
From jungle to jungle.
Listen very closely ,
And you can hear the rumble.
Of his big giant tires,
Spinning in the dirt.
He's off to find bananas,
Cuz' it's time for dessert.

Kong... coming soon to Comic Con 2010!!

2010-07-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

A little tease....

Kong is coming soon to my table at Comic Con 2010!! Exhibitor Table E03

Will you be visiting me???

Boom Baby!! Emmy!

2010-07-01T16:27:00.001-07:00

“The Music Scene” by Anthony F. Schepperd

2010-06-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

"The Music Scene" from Anthony Francisco Schepperd on Vimeo.

Space Patrol to Major Yolk.....

2010-05-26T00:22:00.000-07:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club. Ten - Fifteen minute poses.

Rock on baby...

2010-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club. Ten - Fifteen minute poses.

My stu-stu-studio and recent gallery show...

2010-05-12T00:31:00.000-07:00

Hollywood Stained.
Acrylic and ink on cardboard paper.
9 x 12

Here's a few photos of my studio at home. It's a little cramped but it's cozy.

New Paintings
Ghetto Gloss Gallery
April 23, 2010.

Pals...

2010-05-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

Here's some pals of mine drawn in my little bitty sketch book.

Sean Szeles

Morgan Kelly
This is the result of Morgan picking a fight with two trash cans at the 2010 Coachella music festival.

Ron Yavnieli relaxing at home.

Pendleton Ward
At the Roost ...for Drink and Draw night.

Jorge Guttierez

Dave Wasson

This is my Dad.

2010-05-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Link to Article

Caravan Book Store from blogdowntown on Vimeo.

Check out this article and video of my Dad, talking about our family business. The store has been around for 55 years!!

If you live in LA go check it out.

550 S. Grand Ave.
Right next to the Biltmore Hotel and the Los Angeles Central Library.

Frenchy Froo Froo Fashion

2010-05-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club. Ten - Fifteen minute poses.

Oh Little Owly,
What am I to do?
People say to me all day,
"Please put away your boobs!"

The latest trend,
In haute couture,
Isn't fur,
It's dinosaur.

Why hello little doggy,
Would you like to come with me?
A walk, a talk, a chocolate croissant,
And afterwards, some tea?

Pepe Poof Puff,
In her Louie Vuitton.
She only noticed,
Once his smell became strong.

Cindy McVlad had a nice little pet,
A little black bat who never got upset.
Until one day, when a clerk began to scream.
Chomp, chomp, and two bites,
And a body in the stream.

A Trevor Jimenez Student Film.

2010-04-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

This just made my day. I bow down to you Trevor Jimenez.... you are amazing.

Key Lime Pie

Easy Does It

2010-04-29T13:04:00.001-07:00

Easy Does It
Acrylic and Ink on Wood.
10 x 10

For sale at Ghettogloss Gallery

Another new painting.

2010-04-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Pacadreams
Acrylic and Ink on Wood.
10 x 10

For sale at Ghettogloss Gallery

My new painting glows in the dark!

2010-04-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Night Owl
Acrylic on Wood with glow in the dark paint.
10 x 10

For sale at Ghettogloss Gallery

"It's 2 AM" art show opening this weekend.

2010-04-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece in the show.

Acrylic and Pen on wood.

For sale at Ghettogloss Gallery

If you're in Los Angeles , come check out a group art show that includes me!
Our group painting exhibition is this Friday, April the 23rd from 7pm-midnight at GhettoGloss Gallery in Hollywood

"It's 2AM!!"
GHETTO GLOSS GALLERY
6109 Melrose Ave. ( Cross street is Seward )
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Prince. Creep ~ Coachella 2008

2010-04-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

Kill Bill

2010-03-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Play this and then scroll down.

Drawn at the Drawing Club.

Wowza!!! G- Nerd, Lady Yates, and Lil Buck are incredible.....

2010-03-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

MJ tribute.

G- Nerd Vs. Lil Buck! Sound is pretty bad so keep it low. Start at 1:35.

Apple's Ipad just got some competition..... and I like it.

2010-03-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

I'm still wondering why the Ipad has no pen? C'mon Steve Jobs!

Microsoft's Courier 'digital journal'

Goonies Never Say Die.

2010-03-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

Just try and stay out of my way. Just try! I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!

2010-03-10T00:11:00.000-08:00

The Wicked Witch of the West...... drawn at the Drawing Club. 5, 10, and 15 minute poses.

e

Rad Dude....

2010-03-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

An awesome photo from the website Rad-dudes.com

Psychic Drawing Fail...

2010-03-08T19:44:00.001-08:00

The future is coming!

2010-03-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

Saw it last night. WOW! Go see it!

2010-02-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

petal petal flower petal....

2010-02-24T20:04:00.001-08:00

Coraline - Interview Oliver Jones sur Yahoo! Vidéo

Work it Girl!!

2010-02-22T00:14:00.000-08:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club. Ten minute poses.

My kind of super heroes. Rick Heinrichs and Tim Burton in 1983!

2010-02-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

No wonder I liked Wolfman so much! Rick Heinrichs was the production designer!

Dracula

2010-02-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club. Ten minute poses.

Greatest Show on Earth!

2010-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club.

Froo froo frenchy ooh lah lah.

2010-02-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club.

ipad

2010-01-29T13:39:00.001-08:00

HELLO! - watch more funny videos

Cueva De Los Cristales.......simply amazing.

2010-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

National Geographic article about the cave.

Vampire Girly.....

2010-01-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club.

Dare to be different!

2010-01-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Watch until the end.

Celtic Warrior Queen

2010-01-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

Drawn at the Drawing Club two weeks ago.

Cloudy DVD is out today!

2010-01-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

Click here to see me working on the movie.

Buy it here!

Terry Gilliam

2010-01-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

I like this quote.
From a Terry Gilliam interview.

But actually that’s one thing that I’m fighting for so much now. Because of Facebook and Twitter and all this crap, people don’t have time to be alone and confront themselves and who they really are. It’s the thing that really worries me the most about the modern world. People just seem to be extensions of a social order now. We have a house in Italy with no telephone or television. My son would be there, and he was used to playing his video games and blah, blah, blah, and he’d go there and get bored. My wife would say, “Well, we have to do something to keep him entertained,” and I’d say, “No, let him get bored and you’ll see what happens.” After about two days of boredom and saying “There’s fuck all to do here,” he started inventing things. He was creating a really interesting world, because he was involved in creating it. He wasn’t just having it created for him. I think so much of what we do is now done for us. It’s digested, it’s handed to you. I like video games but I also think they’re dangerous because of how much time and energy they consume. It’s not the same as reading a book.

Ho Ho Huh?

2009-12-16T03:29:00.001-08:00

From the Drawing Club last Thursday night.

This is pretty cool....

2009-12-10T17:29:00.001-08:00

Projection on Buildings from NuFormer Digital Media on Vimeo.

I can't wait! New image and poster from Tron Legacy.

2009-12-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. I'm inspired. Thanks Vladimir!

2009-12-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Amazing student film by VLADIMIR KOOPERMAN . He's now animating at Pixar.

And here's his desk at Pixar.

Black Lightning!

2009-12-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

This looks amazing!

Slow mo awesomeness .....

2009-12-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

Andrew Daly

2009-11-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite comedians: Andrew Daly

Enjoy

CTN EXPO ! Nov. 20, 21, 22 Burbank, CA

2009-11-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

I'll be selling my books next weekend in Burbank! Come say hi! Click below for all the info.

CTN EXPO

The Burbank Marriott Convention Center
2500 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505

Show Hours:
Fri Nov 20th 12noon - 7:30pm
Sat Nov 21st 10am - 7:30pm
Sun Nov 22nd 10am - 7:30pm

Dude can dance!

2009-11-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

MJ - Dangerous tour. 1999

Awesome song and music video.

2009-11-02T16:41:00.001-08:00

Fan Death

Even Monkeys hate it!

2009-11-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

From nytimes.com:

"Mirror Image? When scientists showed monkeys these computer-generated images of monkeys, they found a negative response similar to what humans experience when viewing realistic-looking robots and computer avatars. Monkeys, they found, also are unsettled by images that are realistic but synthetic, a response known as the "uncanny valley" effect. The uncanny valley hypothesis refers to a dip in a graph that charts a human's positive reaction in response to an image on one axis and a robot's human-likeness on another. People, it seems, like to study other human faces, and they can enjoy looking at faces that clearly are not human, like a doll or a cartoon figure. But images that appear close to human but clearly are not cause a feeling of revulsion."

I had a nice nap at the AMC movie theatre last weekend.

2009-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

New Trend Alert!

2009-10-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

I found this photo funny and puzzling. Not because of how weird Dennis Rodman looks or even how he's painted his face with glitter, but how he decided to rest his sunglasses in the hole of his jeans. Wow.

Finally!! A Water Jet Pack!

2009-10-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Awesome and gross. Uncle Grampa!

2009-10-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Animating " Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" with Mr. Bernstein.

2009-09-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

Come with me..........................

I worked on " Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs " at Sony Imageworks for about 6 months until the film wrapped up. I loved working on it and thought I'd share with the world some of what goes into making a 3D animated film.

Let's start with the directors Phil and Chris. I gave them this gift on my last day as a thank you for being such great directors. It's a little sketch I drew in one of the many meetings we had. I thought it was pretty ironic as I watched them direct a sequence with chicken legs and corn falling from the sky as they stuffed their mouths with lunch. These guys were multi-tasking incredibly!

Here's Phil in his thinking pose. I love that he just had to close his eyes to visualize the scene. He did this many times and I recommend it to many animators and story board artists.

So here's Team Hawkins and Pete Nash reviewing the first sequence of the film. These are images I saved from video that was shot of our animation launch. We would shoot all the meetings so that we could watch them back and maybe catch anything the directors or supervisors had mentioned that we didn't hear the first time. This animation launch was for the first sequence ... which we animated very close to the end of working on the film. At the time I had no idea what shots I was getting. I ended up with the 4 shots where little kid Flynt tries to take off his "spray on" shoes.

My first thumbs! At the bottom of this page are some thumbs of my first shot on Cloudy. It's just a background character picking up a snowball and throwing it. Above are the big boys. Pete Nash: Head of animation and Alan Hawkins: Supervising animator.

So these are the shots I was talking about. Flynt tries to remove his "spray on" shoes with his teeth, with scissors, with a screwdriver, and with a cement block! The first image below is just me copying the actual storyboards. I would watch these drawings constantly to capture some of the positions or facial expressions the board artist had used. I would then get on the computer and roughly block out the position of the boy and show it to my supervisor and the directors for feedback. I would also bring these drawings to every meeting to show them exactly what I was thinking.

As you can see, I tried to find just the right pose that would work. I was searching for the clearest silhouette that would read the best. I was also searching for a good pose that you could feel the struggle he was going through. Flynt was embarrassed by his new shoe invention and desperately wanted to take them off!

I had to animate a shot in the movie where Flynt gets hit with a loaf of bread by the Mayor, goes flying back, and lands in an awkward "silly " position on his laboratory floor. The directors, Phil and Chris, asked for him to fly in the air and land like he was a puppet. They told me, "He should move as if you threw Kermit the frog or Grover across the room". After a few unsuccessful attempts at animating the character straight ahead, I decided to use some video reference. This shot was hard and I wanted to get it just right.

So I taped myself one early morning before work with my Sony cyber shot camera. Since I didn't have Kermit, I decided to use Pee Wee. He was the closest thing I had to a muppet. This shot was unlike any other shots I've had in the past. Usually you try and add life to your characters, make them breathe! Here I was animating practically a dead, lifeless doll. Arms and legs had to move independently of one another. And if you study some of the video, the arms and legs cross over each other and move all floppsy mopsy! I finally got the shot right and finished it. Sadly, the shot got cut from the film in the final editing process! GRRRR!!! It happens all the time in this business, so I'm used to it, but I can't say I'm happy about it.

Me in my Jammies.

There's another shot I did that was cut as well. The mayor sits up in his wheelie chair after being knocked down. He whips his left arm up and Nacho chips appear like he was a magician. He then says, " Flynt! It's NAHT-CHOHHH DAY! " and begins to throw them repeatedly at Flynt like ninja stars. Chris and Phil told me these shots might end up as extras on the DVD, so cross your fingers!

Here are some notes I took from a class taught by Pete Nash . This was my first week at Sony Imageworks.

As you can read... A LOT....and I mean A LOT goes into every single shot. I would constantly come back to these pages at the end of each shot just to make sure I was covering everything.

Sometimes the notes just never stop...they keep coming in...and keep coming in.....and never....everrrrrrrrr....enddddd.............

Here's a small shot that took awhile to get right. Flynt spraying on his "spray on" shoes for the first time. I loved these designs and rigs. For the index finger to reach that nozzle...all you had to do is scale and stretch it up. And since it's a cartoon...it looks great!

The problem we had in this shot is that the feet didn't look cute enough. So my supervisor and I had to take a crack at re-modeling those toes. They also wanted a little bit of toe movement right before the spray. And guess what? The toes had no controls. We had to make that work as well.

And lastly, here are some doodles I drew in my sketchbook while waiting for my turn in animation meetings.

Welcome to Sony Imageworks!

Animator Joel Reid pretending to be me at my desk.

That's a wrap!

Amazing....

2009-09-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

Interview with Max Fuchs, the cantor in the first Jewish religious service that was broadcast from occupied German territory in 1944.

New York Times Article on Max Fuchs

My name in lights!!

2009-09-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

Cloudy was number one at the box office this weekend. Whew!! Maybe they'll make more cartoony movies now??

86 % so far! Go see Cloudy!

2009-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Rottentomatoes.com

Cloudy comes out tomorrow!!! Go see it! It's Wonderful!

2009-09-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

I animated on this film so be sure to go see it! It's grrrreat!

Check out these promos!

Artwork by Pete Oswald

First review is out!! Hooray!

2009-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Little Amazing Spiderman

2009-09-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Disney buys Marvel !

Dee..don..don..don..duh.duh...dee..doh..doh..duhhhn....I THINK I WANNA ROCK!!!!!

2009-08-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

I found these voice training sessions on youtube and I'm fascinated by them. It's Michael rehearsing with his world famous vocal coach, Seth Riggs . It's so cool to hear him practicing even in 1994. Wow...what a voice!

Here's what Seth Riggs had to say on his website regarding MJ's death. It's quite touching.

"On Thursday of last week, the world wept as we all came to grips with the fact that, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, had passed away. Anyone who has ever loved his music knows what an effect he had on our lives, our culture and our souls. He was truly a creative genius and gave his life to the perfection of his art.

I have worked closely with Michael for over 32 years, as his vocal coach and his friend. We have been through countless concerts, performances, rehearsals and tours… but nothing quite like his “This is it Tour”. We worked tirelessly, everyday, as Michael is indeed a true perfectionist. He took every measure to make sure he was prepared for the grueling tour, vocally and in all other aspects as well. It truly would have been a legendary tour.

The death of Michael Jackson had indeed come to me as a dramatic shock and I was overwhelmed with a deep sense of sadness. Not only for the late star, but also for all fans and friends, but most importantly, for his family. I not only lost an extraordinary pupil, I lost a great friend. He will be truly missed as one of the most inspirational, kind, and dedicated people to have graced us with his enormous talents.

At this time there are millions of press releases flooding us with “reports” and accusations. I stand strong that Michael Jackson was well before his tragic death and eager to begin his world-wind tour. I believe he was devoted to making the best tour for his fans that was humanly possibly, and beyond! Any other misquotes or assumptions posed to be my words are false, as this is my first and possibly only public statement regarding this matter. I believe that unless it is proven otherwise, his cause of death was accidental.

I do hope that in this time of mourning, we as a people, can focus on the immense greatness that Michael shared with the world, and not diminish his name with any negative accusations. He was a beacon of light and harmonious genius, and he should be remembered for all the treasures he left us. We are blessed to have lived in the time of, Michael Jackson.

Sincerely,

Seth Riggs "

spidey flies high.......

2009-08-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Spidey enjoys some classic jazz...

2009-08-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

You are always on my mind.....

2009-08-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

These student films just seem to entertain me every time I watch them. And they are ALWAYS in the back of my mind! So I thought I'd post them and share. They all meet my criteria for satisfaction....they are weird, silly, different, entertaining, funny, caricatured, and just satisfying.

Enjoy!

"Story from North America" by Garrett Davis and Kirsten Lepore

"Interview with Dali" by Alex Butera

Jib Jab is awesome.

2009-08-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

I love this video....the animation is fantastic! Love these pushed poses!! Congrats to Evan and the team that made this! Check out the making of blog too! It's incredible!! Cick: Jib Jab!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Flynn's Arcade reveals Tron 2 bike!

2009-08-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

Tron 2 bike unveiled at a secret location on July 25th, two blocks from Comic con. I took video of the whole thing too! It's posted at the bottom.

I meet a girl who buys my book "And it Began" at comic con. The book is about a kid who meets Daft Punk for lunch and experiences an adventure after trying on their helmet. Here's the cover and two illustrations from the book. I still have a few available if anyone is interested! $20 dollars plus $ 5 shipping and handling. Email me: captainyolk@hotmail.com

She asks me if I've heard about the underground secret promotion Disney's putting on for Tron 2. I say no. She explains what happens and tells me you can hear some of Daft Punk's score for the new movie. My jaw drops.

Here's how it went down. 9:45 p.m.

You wait in line for 45 minutes. You are then handed a gold token with "Home of Tron" on one side and " Flynn's Arcade" on the other. You enter Flynn's arcade. All the old school games and air hockey are free. 80's music is playing. For 15 minutes you think this is it. Then the lights start flickering, buzzing and static noises are heard. Then the sound of new Daft Punk music!! The Tron game on the back brick wall moves to the side to reveal an entrance way. Everyone gathers to enter into the blackened corridor. You walk down a dark hallway with architectural drawings of the Tron bike on the right wall. They are lit from behind with fluorescent light. You turn a left at the end of the corridor and there it is. New Daft Punk music continues to play as the bike slowly spins around. Two men in suits stand guard on either side of the bike. Everyone is going nuts, filming and shouting and clapping. Probably the coolest promotion I've ever seen for a movie.

Books are for SALE and AVAILABLE now!

2009-07-31T00:40:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Bernstein and J.J. Villard at Comic Con 2009

A page from the new book. " Neon Lights in the Golden Hour. "
Acrylic, ink, and marker on brown paper.

56 pages! 28 Illustrations! 28 Original Poems! Full color! Owls galore! 6 x 9.

Limited Edition! Only 200 copies printed. All owl illustrations and poems. Funny poems, dark and twisted poems, sentimental poems, sad poems , and happy poems. Good for your kids too!

An original drawing and signature with every purchase! AND, ANDDDDD.... TWO 3 x 4 OWL STICKERS! FULL COLOR!
Get em' before they're gone!

You can mail me a personal check....just email me here first!

captainyolk@hotmail.com

I'm also selling my previous books. Check out the links below!

"Say Havarti" - a collection of sketchbook doodles, characters, and drawings.

" And it Began " - a boy meets the band Daft Punk for lunch, tries on their robot helmet, and goes on a crazy visual journey.

If you want to purchase any of my books and are interested in prices, send me an email!

captainyolk@hotmail.com

We Conquered Comic Con!!!

2009-07-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

A drawing from the new book ~ "Neon Lights in the Golden Hour. "
Prisma color pencils and marker on brown paper.

Jeremy Bernstein and J.J. Villard at Comic Con 2009

My new book is for sale! " Neon Lights in the Golden Hour! " I was inspired by Shel Silverstein, author of "Where the Sidewalk Ends."

All owl Illustrations, silly poems, funny poems, dark and twisted poems, sentimental poems, sad poems , and happy poems! Good for your kids too!

The book includes two owl stickers and an original drawing inside! Email me if you want one!

captainyolk@hotmail.com

And a big THANKS to Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi for giving me a great plug on CARTOONBREW.COM

Comic Con is over!! Sales were excellent! Whew...I'm exhausted.

2009-07-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

I take my work seriously. Here I am at the San Diego Comic Con with world famous CG animator Chris Bancroft . We used to work together at Dreamworks animating on some big films. His girlfriend Heather Houghton took the photo of us.

Another page from the new book!

2009-07-22T03:41:00.000-07:00

Once again! I must shout out to the world! My new book is done!

56 pages! 28 Illustrations! 28 Original Poems! Full color! Owls galore! 6 x 9!
Limited Edition! Only 200 copies printed!

An original drawing and signature with every purchase! AND, ANDDDDD....A STICKER! FULL COLOR!

Get em' before they're gone!

I'll be selling the new books at comic con starting TODAY! I'll be there with the famous J.J. Villard, who is also selling his books. Come say hello to both of us and buy books for your granny and kids! Booth C05. I'll also be selling two of my previous books.

"Say Havarti" - a collection of sketchbook doodles, characters, and drawings.

" And it Began " - a boy meets the band Daft Punk for lunch, tries on their robot helmet, and goes on a crazy visual journey.

If you want to purchase any of my books and are interested in prices, send me an email!

captainyolk@hotmail.com

A page out of the new book!!!

2009-07-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

All systems goooo!!!

My new book is done! I know! I can't believe it either!

56 pages! 28 Illustrations! 28 Original Poems! Full color! Owls galore! 6 x 9!
Limited Edition! Only 200 copies printed!
An original drawing and signature with every purchase! Get em' before they're gone!

I'll be selling the new books at comic con starting this Wednesday! Come say hello! Booth C05. I'll also be selling two of my previous books.

"Say Havarti" - a collection of sketchbook doodles, characters, and drawings.

" And it Began " - a boy meets the band Daft Punk for lunch, tries on their robot helmet, and goes on a crazy visual journey.

If you want to purchase any of my books and are interested in prices, send me an email!

captainyolk@hotmail.com !!

I also share a table at the con with J.J. Villard! He'll be selling his new book too! More details to come about it soon. Check out the cover!

New Book......and a tease. More to come.

2009-07-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

"Stained glass crystals catch my eye..."

Prisma color, pen and marker on Brown paper.

NEW BOOK! Here's the cover...

2009-07-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

COMIC CON 2009! HERE WE COME!!

BOOTH C05

Yesssss!! I could use one of these...

2009-07-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ping Pong Door

Beautiful!!! ...... just watch.

2009-07-14T11:27:00.001-07:00

Pi Kappa Alpha - Anchorsplash 2009 (Virginia Tech)
by videos22

Man, today was rough watching the memorial....

2009-07-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

But I bought this T-shirt and it made me feel better. Such a cool design.

By the way, I listened to this song non-stop in high school on my walkman cassette player. At lunch, on the bus, sometimes in class..ha!.. and at home...so perfect for a dance party. And that intro to the song.....soooo goooood!!

And this is fascinating... just watch. Behind the scenes of recording Michael with Bruce Sweiden...

Recording and Mixing "Billie Jean"....
The year is 1982. The song is "Billie Jean". The sonic image of Michael Jacksons' "Billie Jean" is a perfect example of what happened, when I sat around dreaming awhile, about combining different recording techniques to produce a unique musical canvas with a tremendous 'sonic personality'.
Of course I was comfortably ensconsed in Westlake Audio’s beautiful new Studio ‘A’ on Beverly Boulevard, with my good friends Quincy Jones, Micheal Jackson and Rod Temperton. We were doing our favorite thing... We were making music!!! We had just started recording Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller”...
We were recording Michael’s song “Billie Jean”.....
I recorded the drums,(played by the fantastic drummer, N'Dugu) with as tight, and powerful a drum sound as I could come up with. Of course I put N'Dugus' drum set on my plywood drum platform. Also at this time, I had a special kick drum cover made that covers the whole front of the kick drum. There's a slot with a zipper in it that the mike fits through. When the kick drum mike is in place, in the slot in my drum cover, I zip the opening tightly shut around the mike.
I brought in my old pal George Massenburgs' spectacular sounding, portable, 12 channel recording console and used it to record the rhythm section. With it I recorded the bass, drums and guitars on my analogue 16 track, with no noise reduction equipment in the way of that fantastic sound!
In my estimation, the the result of the song “Billie Jean”, is a perfect example of what I call “Sonic Personality”. I don’t think there are many recordings, where all you need to hear is the first few drums beats, and you instantly know what song it is.
Great albums always start with great songs....
"Billie Jean" is just such a superb song! Of course, Michael wrote "Billie Jean"..
Quincy says that the lyric that Michael wrote is highly personal. I’m sure that’s true. Michael told us... it was about a girl, that climbed over the wall at Michael’s house, and was lounging out there, by the swimming pool.... she was laying out there, near the pool , lounging... hangin’ out... with shades on, her bathing suit on. One morning she just showed up! Kind of like a stalker, almost. She had accused Michael of being the father of ONE of her twins... Is that possible? I don’t think so....
When it came time for me to mix "Billie Jean", it was business as usual... When I am working with Michael, Quincy, Rod, Jennifer, Sergio and so on..... I am allowed total ceative freedom with the sonics of the music... In other words, I am always left to myself when it is time to mix. My mixes can take hours, days or even weeks.... I firmly believe that a mix is not finished, until it is on a Record for sale at Tower....
So I had been mixing "Billie Jean" for a day or two. I’d do a mix. ..... Say I was up to mix number 2.... (At that time I was mixing onto 1/2” analogue.) I thought it was killer!!!
I called MJ, Quincy and Rod into the control room and played mix 2 for them. They loved it!!! They were all dancing and carrying on like crazy!!! Smiles all around! Then Michael slipped out of the control room, turned around and motioned to me to follow him... Then he whispered to me, “Please Bruce, it’s perfect, but turn the Bass up just a tiny bit, and do one more mix, please....” I said to him...”OK Smelly, no problem”...
(When we were recording “Off The Wall”, Quincy gave Michael the nickname of “Smelly” because when Michael liked a groove, he’d call it “Smelly Jelly.” Also Michael doesn’t curse, and when MJ wants to say a bad word he’ll simply call it “Smelly”... The name has stuck...)
Then I went back into the control room to add Michael’s tiny bit of bass to my mix... Quincy pulled me over into the corner and said “Please Svensk... “(Svensk is Quincy’s nickname for me. It means “Swedish Man” in Swedish... When you have a genuine Quincy Jones nickname like ‘Svensk” - You are truly honored....) Q said to me.... “Add a little garlic salt to the snare and the kick. Just a squirt!!!”) so I went back into the control room and added a little garlic salt to the snare and the kick. Just a squirt!!! Now I was up to mix 20 on "Billie Jean".
Well, this went on for about a week. Soon I was up to mix 91!!! I had a stack of 1/2 inch tapes almost to the ceiling!!! I would do a few mixes, we’d listen... Then do a few more. We had it PERFECT!!! We thought we had a really ‘HOT’ mix on “Billie Jean”. I played Mix 91 for the boys... Everybody smiled... but Quincy had one of his funny looks on his face...
I thought.... Hmmmm.... Oh, Oh....
Quincy said “You know Svensk, just for the fun of it, can we listen to one of your earlier mixes???” My heart jumped because I knew that my earlier mixes were dynamite!!! Then Quincy said, “Let’s hear mix number 2!!!” Oh WOW!!!! Hallelujah!!! I love mix 2!!!!
We listened to mix 2... IT WAS SLAMMIN’!!! EVERYONE IN THE STUDIO WAS GROOVIN’ AND DANCIN’ and HAPPY, and actin’ IGNORANT!!!!
Well, here’s the deal. When “Thriller” was released to the Whole World by Epic Records, on Tuesday, November 30, 1982, it went to Tower Records with MIX 2 OF "Billie Jean" on it!!! AND, when the single of "Billie Jean" came out it was MIX 2!!!
The REAL Story of "Billie Jean"...
Bruce Swedien

New trailer AND new poster!

2009-07-01T12:23:00.001-07:00

Here it comes!!

Michael

2009-06-30T23:56:00.000-07:00

Found this photo online and it makes me smile. You'll be missed Mike.

I found another great clip too. Check out how slick this moonwalk is and holy moly bamohley....the pop lockin'..... simply amazing.

Imogen Heap's new album is coming....

2009-06-30T23:47:00.001-07:00

I can't wait for this!

A legend is Gone. RIP Michael Joseph Jackson

2009-06-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite performances from the BAD tour.

And here he is with James Brown. Incredible dancing!

I Love Pencil and Paper

2009-06-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

This is a great little video about the return of hand drawn animation ... and my Cal Arts buddies Mario Furmanczyk, Eric Fountain and Joe Pitt make an appearance as well! And where's Jen Hager? Jen, you should complain!

" Reci Reci Reci " or " Words, Words, Words" By Michaela Pavlatova

2009-06-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Nominated for an Oscar in 1991.

www.michaelapavlatova.com

Little Boss Drunk

2009-06-12T05:50:00.001-07:00

For the Daft Punk fans.

2009-05-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

My Pops

2009-05-15T02:48:00.000-07:00

Watching ' Seinfeld'...or as my Dad likes to call it, "Steinfeld".

I wish I worked on this commercial... it's so goood!!

2009-05-08T14:55:00.000-07:00