"Close to Home" ("War of the Worlds")
Pencil Marks: When I was a kid of barely two years, my parents decided to bring me to my first movie; therefore cementing my lifelong love of films. The flick they chose to take their young toddler son? "Jaws". I was a Spielberg brat before I knew who the heck Spielberg was.
Ever since that seminal moment, I've always been partial to Steven's films. I even enjoy most of the flicks he's made that others just can't get into ("A.I..: Artificial Intelligence", "1941"). So, when word came he was remaking a sci-fi classic and it would be a summertime flick, I signed on immediately. Of course, I waited till the last minute to draw the pic, but I still got it done.
I wanted to do something a bit different than my usual anime influenced stuff. Cartoon-style is cool and all, but like Jake and I have said in previous ramblings, the gallery was all about trying new things (at least that was our goal) so I picked a more "realistic" route. And I think it turned out pretty darn good. - Tony
Ink Smudges: It was five days before the deadline, and I was pushing Tony into getting a picture done for "War of the Worlds". Sure, he had been putting long hours in at work and getting ready to move; not to mention having two kids off on summer vacation. The guy was exhausted. But after nine weeks of uninterrupted updates, I wasn't going to let him drop the ball now even though if he had, I certainly wouldn't have held it against him. Harass him yes, but not hold it against him.
So, when we were coming up with ideas and he thought we should try something in a more 'serious' manner, I dismissed it as merely a suggestion since it usually wound up into how he thought I stink at drawing noses and the way I draw women is unrealistic (which I agree on both counts, by the way). Friendly critiques and nothing more.
When Tony handed me the pencils to "Close to Home", I realized he was being serious. He wanted to push both of us artistically in a way we never attempted before.
I know we occasionally pat each other's backs. The stuff I've said about him has been honest and vice versa. This picture though? This was one of the best illustrations Tony ever experimented on. He took a more realistic approach to his style and tried making the characters more proportional than I do (putting an end to my "He can't draw women" rant), while setting up a unique visual perspective. He even marked what colors he wanted to use and what the punch line would be. This picture was such a radical departure from his usual 'style' it was obvious he spent a lot of time on getting it right.
He didn't have anything to prove to me, but damn I'm glad he did. - Jake