Sunday, March 30, 2008

"It's all in the reflexes..."


"Yes sir, the check is in the mail."

"What'll come out no more?!?"

"I was born ready."

And the almighty "INDEED!"

These are quotes from one of my favorite movies of all time, Big Trouble in Little China. It's an insane homage/send-up/mash-up/genre-bending action-kung fu-comedy from 1986, that almost no one saw in the theaters, but has gone on to become a genuine cult movie (the ones that gain in popularity after their initial theatrical release; not the ones with actual worshipers, or so we like to tell the uninitiated). Directed by John Carpenter (of Halloween, They Live, and The Thing fame, and starring Kurt Russell, BTLC showed audiences crazy kung fu movies more than a decade before Keanu did his thing, and was a great blend of action, horror, and fantasy. It also features one of the most ineffective heroes ever leading an action movie- Russell's character Jack Burton frequently takes himself out of the fight before anyone else can. I honestly can't tell you why I love it so much- part of it is the humor, no doubt, but also that it functions as a straight up genre movie, it looks pretty good for the time and budget it was made with, but it also never takes itself too seriously. I dunno. Try it yourself. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for some mindless, but not stupid, fun. Check out The Wing Kong Exchange for a website over-stuffed with BTLC goodness.

The picture... once again, if you think it looks at all decent, I give all the credit to the coloring. This was taken directly from pencils, then colored in PS, with a tweaked backdrop added in (and no, I don't know what it says). I'm fairly displeased with the general look of the body- one of my many weaknesses, all the people I draw look very stiff and unnatural. Here's the part of the picture I like best:

Doesn't that look better? meh. I need to spend much time learning many things about drawing. Unfortunately, it's not all in the reflexes...

More Wednesday!

Music: "Kung Fu Fighting" - Carl Douglas

Seriously, what did you expect?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're selling yourself short. Your drawings' bodies are getting MUCH better!

The overall look is much better, too. Smoother, less angular.

Keep going, bro!

Thanks for the book recommendations, too. You and our mutual friend need to fill me in...

Dog