Print Story It's johnnytastic!
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By CheeseburgerBrown (Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 04:58:09 PM EST) The Pains, johnny, novel, 1984, Orwell, drawings (all tags)
Our mutual friend johnny is trying to crank out a new mind-bending novel, and he asked me to draw some pictures. The novel is called The Pains, and it takes place in an Orwellian 1985 stewed up all fancy by johnny's brain.

To inspire johnny in his efforts I would like to do my part to kindle interest in the project, so more people can bug johnny to keep posting chapters.

In that spirit I invite you to have a boo at some of the pictures I've prepared to date.


The first illustration is the cell of Norman Lux, a novice monk in the Freduit Order. You can tell a lot about a man by looking in his cell.




The next illustration depicts cryobiologist Xristi driving her craptastic Volvo past a talking billboard, not giving a punk-ass damn about shit.




This is the local penal concern. Please note the gay stormtroopers.




This is johnny's favourite. It depicts the frozen head vault, in which Xristi considers the cryogenically chilled noggin of Fred the famous martyr. Other heads in the collection include Jesus H. Christ and Littlestar.




Here we see Brother Lux in the Changes! facility chewing the fat with an infamous dissident ex-Freduit known as The Eagle. Guard Carson Meyers keeps a close watch in the background. (If you follow my blathering you may recall the Scotch Museologist -- he's the model for the Eagle, but in real life he looks somewhat less malevolent.)




This is St. Reinhold, the mother church of the Freduits. The red cockmobile pulling away belongs to Carson, and the figure walking up the road is Brother Lux. The airliner is an Air India flight en route to Bombay.




Next we see Xristi and Brother Lux having a chat at a local soda shoppe. On the telescreen Ollie North is performing the Top Gun theme via a remarkable combination of humming and bleating.




Brother Lux dreams of the Holy Tug that awaits him upon ordination. I reckon he wakes up wet. Depicted in silhouette is the martyrdom of Fred, prophet and all around nice guy.




The next two illustrations are missing: one because I await johnny's final specifications, and the other one because it has proven really hard to draw.


The final illustration depicts Brother Lux's connection with the infinite. Having solved the riddle of the Pains he has ascended into a higher form of Norman, with all the sparkly lights and boundless consciousness that entails.

< FoO* | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >
It's johnnytastic! | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 hidden)
Holy FUCK! by greyrat (4.00 / 4) #1 Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 05:26:21 PM EST
I'd just go off and shoot myself, but I obviously don't even have enough FUCKING TALENT to do that.

Them's sweet drawings. I like your style(s).

IAWgreyrat by toxicfur (4.00 / 1) #2 Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 05:30:36 PM EST
Excellent pictures, and I shall be bugging Johnny still more in due course.
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Continue to lean until you feel gravity threatening to discipline you for being stupid. - CRwM
[ Parent ]
Hey... by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #10 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:50:33 AM EST
Umm. Apples vs Oranges. by greyrat (4.00 / 3) #18 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:13:33 AM EST
IYKWIM.

You're art (this style of illustration anyway) is very dark and rich and surreal. I like that.

[ Parent ]
no... by spacejack (4.00 / 2) #19 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 06:11:04 AM EST
Your figure drawing is better than mine. Also there's a consistensy of character drawing I don't think I have.

There's also a je ne sais quoi about your drawing details. You just have more fun with them than I do.

[ Parent ]
I'm not 4ing you for badmouthing yourself. by greyrat (4.00 / 1) #20 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 06:40:47 AM EST
It's two wildly different styles. Both of which I like. Just sayin'.

[ Parent ]
Yes! by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #28 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:29:37 PM EST
My figure drawing is terrible, which is why I rely so heavily on models (Brother Lux is played by N., a friend of Slozo's and Littlestar's and mine). This helped the consistency too, obviously.

The je ne sais quoi is called being in a big rush, I think, which is how I always seem to be when I prying apart the world to find time for another johnny pic.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
HA! I just knew it was him! lol (nt) by slozo (2.00 / 0) #32 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 11:48:43 PM EST


[ Parent ]
the bar scene by MillMan (2.00 / 0) #3 Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 06:05:55 PM EST
would be amusing on my wall.

Everybody still hates me in this city and I hate everybody.

That Can Be Arranged. by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #11 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:51:33 AM EST
I haven't uploaded the last three posters to my CafePress shop thingy, but I will if you're interested in acquiring one.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
indeed I would purchase it by MillMan (2.00 / 0) #29 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:05:58 PM EST
now that I'm burrowed into my new hole/apartment I need to get some artwork. Should nab spacejack's stuff too.

Everybody still hates me in this city and I hate everybody.

[ Parent ]
I like your third eyes by moonvine (2.00 / 0) #4 Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 06:26:38 PM EST
and drawrings. Very cool.

Brother Lux Is A Very Spiritual Man. by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #12 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:53:34 AM EST
In a movie we could just play deep music to make the point, but in drawings we have to fall back on good old fashioned pictoral symbolism.

Also note the extended earlobes when his mind sublimates to the infinite, referencing Hindu and Buddhist imagery representing holiness.

(The rest of the imagery in that particular illustration is all ripped off from Kubrick.)


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
Picture #2 by The Fool (2.00 / 0) #5 Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 06:48:54 PM EST
That's a great likeness of Ronald Reagan, even minus the eyes and hairpiece.


It's Not Like It's From Memory. by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #13 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:55:17 AM EST
The best thing about Google Images is that I can find a reference for just about anything I can think of. If I need to know the particulars of the way Reagan's nostrils curled, it's there. If I need to know what a cryogenic apparatus looks like, low temperature physics students are posting on Flickr to oblige me.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
Well done indeed . . . by slozo (2.00 / 0) #6 Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 07:57:11 PM EST
. . . Johnny should be beaming, if not slightly sweaty at the prospect of his story living up to the illustrations.

johnny's Mind Is A Twisty Place. by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #14 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:56:23 AM EST
I'm sure the subsequent chapters will delight and astound on par, if not leaving my pics in the dust.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
Picture 5, in the prison cell by nebbish (2.00 / 0) #7 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 01:23:06 AM EST
Reminds me of the Staring Contests in Big Train (that's a compliment BTW).

So let's see, you've got a job, two children, and still manage to turn out original quality art and writing on a regular basis, whilst I seem to be able to manage to write about three words per week. What's the secret? Amphetamines?

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It's political correctness gone mad!

Thanks for the link by ambrosen (4.00 / 1) #8 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 01:57:20 AM EST
I think the productivity's all about the motivation and satisfaction. Once you're in the habit of sitting around doing nothing it becomes easier.

I think.

Obviously I'm commenting from the bottom of that big steep hill.

[ Parent ]
The Secret: Neglecting Important Things by CheeseburgerBrown (4.00 / 2) #15 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:57:45 AM EST
Just ask my wife. She loves it when I eschew household chores and quality time in order to colour in pictures or type jokes.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
If nothing else, by blixco (2.00 / 0) #9 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:54:34 AM EST
some of us done pre-paid for this thing.  And some of us have full tanks of gas, baseball bats, and big, big trunks.

And plenty of time!

Loved the paintings....the only obvious flaw: there is no frozen head of Dick Cheney in the frozen head room.
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Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

Don't Come Out Swinging Yet. by CheeseburgerBrown (4.00 / 1) #16 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:59:02 AM EST
I'd be the last one to come down hard on johnny for finding it hard, sometimes, to make creative commitments when life gets in the way.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
True. by blixco (4.00 / 1) #17 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:02:21 AM EST
Can't rush genious.

It's just fun to make random empty threats.
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Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

[ Parent ]
Can I make one criticism by spacejack (4.00 / 1) #21 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 06:48:33 AM EST
I pretty much agree with all the compliments that have been said already, but there's only one thing I would suggest: don't use grey! I find it's like a black hole for the eye.

It's really the only trick I have up my sleeve. Even if something is grey, like a road, or concrete, pick another colour - any colour, and make it be grey. Maybe it's a purple, or a beige or a brown or silver blue. You already seem to do this most of the time, but there are a few spots that stick out to me saying "this shouldn't be grey." Especially in foreground objects. Foreground objects should almost never be more grey than background ones.

Anyway, a few things I love in panels:

  1. The non-use of grey in the foreground door frame.
  2. The beige (not-grey) station wagon.
  3. All the sci-fi gadget details (except for the grey in the head-encasing glass)
  4. The figures and details - great stuff.
  5. Maybe my favourite drawing. Except for the grey roads, especially in the foreground! (Note how much better the not-grey church looks.) And for all that I've said about grey, I have the same problem with green. Which you apparently don't.
  6. Great background details. Love the girl's hair - both drawing and colouring.
  7. The lion looking through the jungle - heyy, that looks familiar!
Anyway, in the end it's just my personal opinion on grey. Maybe I'm just hypersensitive about it. Or maybe I'm just a filthy a grey-ist.

aha! by spacejack (4.00 / 1) #22 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 06:56:32 AM EST
This lion. Hmm, any more easter eggs?

[ Parent ]
re: green by spacejack (4.00 / 1) #25 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 08:58:10 AM EST
Just in case that doesn't parse - I mean I have trouble making green "stuff" - finding the right varieties of colours in greenery, whereas you seem to handle that well.

[ Parent ]
A Time And A Place For Grey by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #27 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:26:28 PM EST
I like grey. In fact, I liked most of these illustrations better when they were monochrome (I go line > shade > colour). I don't know what to tell you. Maybe I just have a fetish for ocular black holes.

The sixth is also my favourite. The vegetation was indeed a challenge, but nothing compared to the rough time I have with perspective, which made the monastery particularly vexing. As you can see, parts of it are pretty severely warped.

The lion, as you noted downthread, is stolen. The whole rip from The Dream is my way of broadcasting that Brother Lux is supposed to be dreaming these events, and that they are not literally happening.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]
Don't say no to colour! by spacejack (2.00 / 0) #30 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:26:48 PM EST
Noo! Anyway, I think on the whole the colours are great and add a lot to these. There's a weird creepiness to them, the way they're semi-friendly and semi-cold and alien. (Whether or not it is due to some "naive art" stylings :)

Loved the Rousseau rip. The Dream - now it makes even more sense.

Having willing models around is a perfectly legit tool. Maxfield Parrish made a career out of drawing his nanny.

[ Parent ]
I've already been bugging johnny by Kellnerin (4.00 / 1) #23 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:03:09 AM EST
But you have inspired me to renew my efforts, if only because it would so rock to see these on the page, as well as on screen.

This is going to be one badass book.

--
Do not misuse.

One day punks will save us all by duxup (4.00 / 1) #24 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:19:57 AM EST
In the meantime I wait.
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I too, adore my 64. -nt- by clover kicker (4.00 / 1) #26 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 09:09:21 AM EST


You froze LittleStar's head? by wiredog (4.00 / 1) #31 Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:49:48 PM EST
What does she think about that?

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)

Attention time warp infidel by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #33 Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 11:00:15 AM EST
Since these drawings are so awesome and I have no drawing talent myself to give any sort of constructive criticism, let me instead make a temporal observation: A Volvo station wagon of the kind with square door handles would look brank spanking new circa 1985.

Unless, of course, Xristi went punk-ass bitch on it after she brought her new car home from the dealer.
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Sommerhus til salg, første række til Kattegat.

It's johnnytastic! | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 hidden)