GHIDORAAAA@@GGGGHHHHH!!!!111 - Henry Clay

Who hates their ears and wants them to die horribly in a car crash because they stole your girlfriend and owe you money?
Stupid ears! I hope they fall down a cliff and break their hips.

Well, some people think murder is a bit OTT, even when it is just some dickfaced earholes.
So how about playing them this little ditty by Ghidoragh instead? Think of it as a violent compromise.



More ear punishment necessary? Try out the previous vid on those pampered little waxcatchers: Highly Punchable.

Ghidoragh -Threat Level Ultra

We gone and done it - our first Ghidoragh EP , Threat Level Ultra is out.

Ghidoragh (or Ghidrah or Ghidorah, it's evolved over the years) is myself, Brian Holloway and Christian Pearce and we formed back in Hamilton, way back when.
We've been back together again and playing for a while, and the culmination of all that calamity is Threat Level Ultra.

It's out on Band camp and is whatever frikkin' price you like. 
If I know you well enough, that price is free, but hey, why not think of us as a charity for morons who can't stop screaming while a bunch of instruments go through a wood chipper? Go on, give us a fiver! Actually, maybe find a real charity to give your hard earneds to... Hmmm, now I feel guilty.

Okay, I'm over that - Did I mention that there are 50 copies of special edition version,  that comes in a custom Amiga style computer game box, and includes the whole EP on 3.5" floppy disk! 
Some people say that format is dead, but we're backing it for a comeback.

Christian and I tag-teamed the artwork and Brian did the layout.
The whole package is as faithful to the 80's/90's Psygnosis Amiga games as we could make it, with custom stickers, game manual, neatly folder poster art and chiptune versions of all the songs.

I've been part of some pretty neat things in my years, but you know what? I'm more proud of this lil' baby than almost anything else.

Massive thanks to Jeramiah Ross (aka Module) who helped us mix and master it.

Have a listen! 

Cavegirls!

Some scribbles of prancing paleolithic pretties from the dark recesses of my sketchbooks.
I think I might paint up some of these angry young women for funsies sometime.
I like how they're kinda ugly but kinda sexy too.

Dr. Grordbort's Exhibiton in Wellington!

What a crazy rushed few weeks it's been for me.
I arrived back from a trip a couple weeks ago and as soon as I got into the workshop Richard, Tania and I were discussing the reality of putting on my Dr. Grordbort's show here in Wellington while it was back for refurbishment.
It's been all over the globe, most recently Dusseldorf and it next turns towards Dubai and the USA, but it seemed crazy to not show it for a short stint in Wellington where it was conceived while we had it here.
It also seemed crazy to put on a last minute show within a week in an unfinished impromptu location...
Luckily Richard is crazy, and Tania must have a little of that too, so with Richard's push we jumped in and set it up.
Or I should say a small army of Weta Workshop ninjas put it up, driven along by Richard's relentless energy.
Much kudos to Eric Heath and Brad Cunningham and their team for putting in the long hours to get it ready and looking incredible, and to Midori Willoughby for coordinating.

The exhibtion has been updated with an incredible Venusian Vista Viewer (you'll have to see it to understand) that was Richard's pet project and with new work from Jamie Beswarick - two of my favourite sculptures that we've ever made.

If you're in Wellington, or able to make it to Wellington before the end of January, I hope you can get to see it!

Dr. Grordbort's Exceptional Exhibtion in Wellington on Eventfinder

10 Love hurts, 20 goto 10

Up a creek - redux

Another redux of an old piece - like the Diplodocus piece and the T-Rex piece before it, these are all works from about 8 or 9 years ago that I've decided to spruce up.
I really love the idea of setting Dinosaurs in the New Zealand bush, littered with the remnants of a long passed war.
Virtual high hives fives will be delivered to those tank nerds that can identify the three different tanks.

Tintin pt 3

The last wee bunch of pics.
These were fun colour and light studies, and even though we knew these scenes wouldn't be in the film, it was just about examining a possible style and feel.

If you enjoyed the film, or just want to go deeper into the film making and world building process at Weta, I really recommend checking out the Art of the Adventures of Tintin Ipad app. 
It's one of the most elaborate digital books I've ever seen and well worth exploring.

Tintin pt 2

Both Nestor and Haddock were really fun to work on.
I used photos that I snapped of various people from around the Weta design room to construct key aspects, and followed Herge's lines as closely as possible.
I think the mouth in 'spit-gag' Haddock is Christian Pearce.

Tintin pt 1

 

The Adventures of Tintin has been out for a while so I thought I'd show a little of the work that I did for the very early stages of the film.
I have to say, I had very little to do with the film overall, and simply watched as Chris Guise and his team worked their magic at Workshop, while the guys at Weta Digital worked ridiculous hours to bring this cherished world to life.
My small contribution was near the start of the project, and involved simply taking iconic frames or covers from Herge's work and rendering it as realistically as I could in the time we had.
It was a total departure from my normal work, in that I was slavishly faithful to Herge's lines and contours, as well as using photographic elements, which I seldom like to do.
This is not the sort of creative work I usually like, but for some reason I found the whole process quite refreshing.
It's one of the few times that I've just obsessively observed and followed a comic masters work and forgotten about my own creative intentions.
Quite liberating for a change.
If you want to see more, I'd recommend checking out the in-depth art of book Weta has made, and the incredible Ipad version.
More to come.

iam8bit - Meat Gravity Tale - 4D Space Edition

While I was at GDC, the guys from iam8 bit held a neat event - the SUPER MAGNETIC GAME-O-MATIC.
Anyone could wander up and make game titles and genres from a vast array of huge fridge-magnet style words.
I joined in and drew up this on a juicy big Cintiq display (I think I want one....).
Two fellahs came up with the name and genre - Meat Gravity Tale 4D Space Edition - the last cliched epic shooter.
Was about a fun hour or so, and I hope I did justice to the idea.
One enthusiastic game developer wandered past and said they were actually gonna make the game, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Thanks to Simon Carless from GDC for hooking me up, and thanks to Jon and the guys from iam8Bit!

UPDATE - Read about the event at Gamasutra

GDC Phone Sketches

Some sketches from my new toy - a Galaxy Note phone - it has a damn pressure-sensitive wacom style pen! 

These are mostly from during a recent trip to the US to attend GDC.  Sketched during my spare moments between talks, meetings and whiskeys.

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities - out now

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities is out now and getting great reviews.
Very proud to have my work in there amongst so many 'actually' talented writers and artists.

Contributors include Holly Black, Greg Broadmore (this one's me), Ted Chiang, John Coulthart, Rikki Ducornet, Amal El-Mohtar, Minister Faust, Jeffrey Ford, Lev Grossman, N.K. Jemisin, Caitlin R. Kiernan, China Mieville, Mike Mignola, Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, James A. Owen, Helen Oyeyemi, J.K. Potter, Cherie Priest, Ekaterina Sedia, Jan Svankmajer, Rachel Swirsky, Carrie Vaughn, Jake von Slatt, Tad Williams, Charles Yu, and many more.

I have my copy and it looks fantastic - and you don't have to believe me, check what at least one other human said:
“The narrative scope and stellar assemblage of writers and illustrators…makes this a book that will be absolutely cherished by fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk afficionados alike.” – Paul Goat Allen, B&N Book Club
Based on this purely anecdotal evidence, I am concluding that this book is great.


Via Amazon
Check out more at the fantastic Jeff VanderMeer blog

Oh yeah, San Diego Comic Con is in a couple short weeks! I'll be there at the Weta Stand in the Darkhorse booth - something exciting is coming for Dr Grordbort fans as well as fans of things that are rad - can't wait to reveal it!
If you're there, come by and say hello.

Problem with Ships - Redux-ux-ux...

Oh, a redux of an older piece - and now with 50% more brushstrokes! For free!
No no, take them, they're yours.

What won't be free however is the limited edition print coming soon at Eyeball Kicks .
For that, I will be charging huge wads of caaaaaaash-money.
Don't have huge wads of cash money? Well get off my blog you smelly hobo/student!

Nah nah, it's all good. You're alright with me.
Just have a bath already.

The Old Sketch Books part 12 - being the last.

We come to the end, for the time being at least, of this incursion into my dark, dank and sketchy sketch book past.
I will have to dig up some more, and if I ever find any that don't make me wretch hairballs I will post them.
Until then, enjoy some nudes and a woman in night vision goggles who thinks she is riding a bike but is not - just like the famous internet cat, but with the ability to see in low-light.

The Old Sketch Books part 11

Judge Dredd - I fucking love Judge Dredd.
I am gay for him to the max.
Does anyone still say 'to the max'? Well they should do.

The top right and bottom right pic were me roughing out ideas for a piece of fan art that I was going to do - a more realistic sci-fi Judge Dredd. Not that Judge Dredd needs any improvement whatsoever.
For my take I was going to keep all the same motifs and signature elements but make him feel as if he were a real future cop with all the necessary equipment.
I might come back to it when I get a spare moment.

The Old Sketch Books part 10

Naked men with boxing gloves and baseball bats.
Completely normal.

The Old Sketch Books part 9

Well at least one of these subjects has their bloody clothes on.

If you will, please turn your attention and note the bottom right thumbnail sketch - that was for this old illustration.
Pow! You have just inadvertently learned a fact that is of no use to anyone at all.
Quickly, down a whiskey and un-learn it pronto!

The Old Sketch Books part 8

More nudie bits - drawing nudes is a default setting I spose.
Dinosaurs are the other default setting - I think they are built into my hand because my brain doesn't need to be involved usually.
That's true of most of my art I guess...

Did I just pwn myself?
High five, me!
*sound of one hand slapping*

YO!

The Old Sketch Books part 7

Less said the better really.
Actually, I will say that none of these drawings are from life, so that perhaps excuses the questionable anatomy a little. No?
I do like life drawing, but I've never published any of those. I far prefer to draw from the old brain sack, but a good bit of life drawing is always a nice change.
Maybe I'll put some up sometime if I ask myself nicely.