The Cardinal and Colbert

Tomorrow, Fordham University will play host to what promises to be a very entertaining---and enlightening---discussion on the relationship between humor and faith. Joining two giant personalities of the Catholic and media spheres, the event brings Stephen Colbert and Timothy Cardinal Dolan together for a night of "Humor, Joy, and the Spiritual Life." Moderating the discussion is one of Catholicism's foremost joy-and-humor scholars, Fr. James Martin, S.J.---who literally wrote the book on the subject.

I have done my darnedest to contribute to the incredible excitement that has already built up around the much-anticipated event. I created the illustration shown to the left, trying to capture the overflowing, joy-filled spirits of the three participants.

Since its creation, the illustration has ended up in some pretty exciting places. Fr. Martin has been generous enough to tweet it out and post it for his many devoted followers to see and share; the Religion News Service discussed it in a blog post by David Gibson; and it even made its way to fan art of the week over at the Colbert News Hub! And then there are these guys, who arrived yesterday...

Needless to say, it's been great to see the artwork getting such a warm reception from around the country. While the event itself sadly will not be broadcast to the public, I hope that these three characters can at least give a sense of the spirit that will surely fill tomorrow's auditorium.

And be sure to check back this weekend to see a special animation project that I've been working on for the event itself!

Summer Euro-Blog 2012 - "Eat Sketch Love"

So I'll be spending the summer drawing and painting throughout Europe, and (obviously) I couldn't be more excited! To chronicle the tales that are sure to ensue, I've set up a separate blog devoted to this summer: "Eat Sketch Love." Go check it out, and come back for regular updates throughout the summer!

EatSketchLove.blogspot.com

So Long, Spidey

Yesterday marked my last day interning at Marvel Entertainment. After an exciting year of working with some very creative individuals, I figured there was only one way to properly say goodbye: via faux comic book farewell card. I was hoping to merge the wit of a New Yorker cover with the gaudiness of a classic comic, as only a Marvel-themed work could. Though not every day at Marvel involved fetching coffee from the Helicarrier, the spirit reflected in the office is fairly on-point to the day-to-day. I'll certainly miss it, but I couldn't be more thankful to have had the opportunities that I did.

So now it's on to new adventures. As Stan Lee would say, "Excelsior!"

Campus Classicism

A color study of our campus' lone neoclassical building, Collins Hall.

By day, Collins houses the ever-thoughtful philosophy department; by night, it plays host to several campus theater groups. Its Roman columns tend to look a little out of place next to the smattering of gothic architecture that stands nearby, but the building holds its own fairly well when it gets to be the center of attention.

Rose Hill Sunrise

Another color study of Fordham's campus, this time featuring the Rose Hill Gym at sunrise.

University Lights

A sketch of Keating Hall at its most iridescent. I'll be working on more color studies like this one as good practice for the time-consuming task of background painting in animation.

It Came from the Radio

On October 30th, 1938, burgeoning media star Orson Welles made quite a stir when he and his Mercury Theatre repertory broadcast an all-too-real take on H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. The now-infamous radio play sent citizens fearing for their lives, and even compelled a few of them to take aim---with rifles---at telephone poles and watertowers, which vaguely resembled Martians in the moonlight.

As a final project for a film studies class, I've begun the process of setting Welles' masterful broadcast to an animated storyboard. Rather than tell the same story that Welles does, I want to tell the story of those he spooked. Following one Manhattan worker bee's personal odyssey home to his neglected family, I hope to trace the hallucinatory effects of the broadcast in an almost Kubrickian journey down the rabbit hole. You can view the current progress above. Enjoy!