Sunday, February 28, 2010

ARTISTS: Todd McFarlane Bio DVD - HUGE inspiration!

Are you a struggling artists fighting to make something big happen with your life and art? Do you have a family to take care of? Are you a Todd McFarlane / Spawn fan? Do you just like biography DVD's? You gotta see add this to your collection!

I've watched this DVD somewhere between 1 Million and 1 Billion times and it STILL keeps me highly motivated and inspired to keep goin!


Hearing him and his wife tell the stories of when they lived in a trailer, he was working two jobs, and staying up all night at the table. Him sending in 40 submission packets a month before finally getting picked up, and the rise to fame and success. Seeing the roots will be an invaluable asset to anyone struggling to make it!

And seeing how his constant drive and attitude propelled him to success is a big lesson, too. He worked mopping floors, and by cracky, he was the fastest floor mopper ever! Turned it into a challenge!

You also get to see the quirky side and the family side of Todd McFarlane.

It's a fantastic, motivational story and a really well-made DVD. Get this, take the inspiration, and make things happen in your own life! And, please, share the link: http://bit.ly/aRAakO

~Ray

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Artists: You need this book!

Hey, you!

Are you trying to learn perspective and it's super confusing?? Or are you well versed in perspective, but hate how long it takes to set up grids and what a pain it is to plot points 3 feet away from your paper?

This is an absolutely essential book for any form of artist, not just comics. Features PERSPECTIVE SHORTCUTS that will definitely improve and speed up the way you work.



PLUS, it is a GRAPHIC NOVEL! I mean, it's literally all illustrated panels following characters as they discuss perspective. Fun, fast read and you'll understand perspective more than you ever have. Trust me, I read ALL the perspective books! All the complicated, dragging, confusing ones with chapters on just how to make a spiral staircase with perfect measurements. THIS book is what you're looking for.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

VIDEO: Really Short LEGO STAR WARS Stop-Motion Animation w/ my Son!



I was attempting to teach my son, Tycen (7), how to make stop-motion animation with his toys. Super short and silly, but I think he got the idea and we had a lot of fun! Made in, like, 10 minutes, so...

Made with my Blerkberry Dumbphone, FrameByFrame, and iMovie.

We don't own Lego or Star Wars ... you probably needed to know that.

We do, however, own AWESOME!

Monday, February 08, 2010

Drake Asher Dillon is BORN!!



Drake Asher Dillon - Born 2.5.2010

Renae De Liz (Dillon) and I are comic book artists who met at San Diego Comic-Con 5 years later got married there, and just had our first baby.

Not much going on in this video, but it's his first public debut! :o)

Drake means Dragon.
Asher means Happy.
Dillon means Loyal, like a Lion.

D.A.D. were my dad's initials, too. Little tribute.

For more info on us, please go to http://www.RayDillon.com and http://www.RenaeDeLiz.com

And follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/raydillon & http://www.twitter.com/renaedeliz

~Ray

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

VIDEO: Me Painting Michelangelo for DawnoftheNinja.com!

I'm doing concept paintings and illustrating the graphic novel for Dawn of the Ninja, a gritty, dark, realistic take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's a fan-based graphic novel and movie concept.

Go to http://www.DawnoftheNinja.com to learn more!

The music used are 2 POWERFUL original songs created for our project! Loch121 "Underground" and DeuceZ "Righteous Ninja." Follow them on Twitter! Hear the full songs here!

CLICK THE GEAR TO VIEW IN HIGHER QUALITY




TMNT!

Monday, January 25, 2010

VIDEO: Me Unpacking Moving Truck - Stop-motion Timelapse

My wife and I recently moved from Salina, Kansas to Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This truck unloading was a lot harder than it looks in this video! :o)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

VIDEO: My wife Renae De Liz drawing THOR!

POWERFUL!!



For more of my wife's work, go to http://www.RenaeDeLiz.com

Follow her at http://www.Twitter.com/RenaeDeLiz

Parkour stop-motion animation! WOW!

I didn't make this, I just love it!

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

Illustrated with technical pen,frame by frame. I admit it might not be the best, or the quality isn't perfect, just a shot at animating the old flip book whatever-you-call-it way. =D

The audio I used is Dr Dre Rap beat, not sure who's the artiste..

Post production credits goes to Noel Lee for his patience in piecing the sequence up together!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Conan O'Brien's final words!

Motivational and moving! He really surprised me with his poignancy and sincerity. Powerful, positive speech! Loved it!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Turtles: Dawn of the Ninja - Fan Graphic Novel & Movie!

I'll doing concept paintings and illustrating the graphic novel for Dawn of the Ninja, a gritty, dark, realistic take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's a fan-based graphic novel and movie concept.

Go to http://www.DawnoftheNinja.com to learn more!

Thursday, December 03, 2009

I'm in this amazing movie trailer!

Oh, this movie... what a ... movie.

Worked on this years ago. At :36 sec you can see side of my head. And the ibook is mine. Me and my iBook are famous in this famous movie that you've all heard of.

Want my autograph? Gimme dollar

PURE MOTIVATION: Steve Jobs (CEO Apple/Pixar) speaks from his heart!!

I had no idea he'd gone through so much to get where he is. Incredible story! Deserves all the success! SO motivational!

Friday, November 20, 2009

PREVIEW: Peter S. Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" - IDW



A comic book adaptation of the classic novel. Also made into an animated feature in 1982. Drawn by my wife, Renae De Liz, who was highly inspired by the movie as a kid. Inks/Colors by me.

More info: http://idwpublishing.com/news/article/904/

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

PREVIEW: Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box - IDW

I am coloring Music Box #3 and inking/coloring Music Box #4 over my wife's pencils. Here is a preview of our issue together:



Renae is an incredible artist. I love working with her. Couldn't be a luckier man. Visit her site here: http://www.RenaeDeLiz.com

I will have more previews soon, so keep tuned in!

And for more info on Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box, visit IDW's site: http://idwpublishing.com/news/article/864/

Share this and help my wife and I build our careers together! :o)

~Ray

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

VIDEO: The Wolfman Trailer #2

Oh, WOW!! This looks amazing! This might end up being my favorite movie ever!

You see, I'm a HUGE werewolf fan. Always have been. Thought I WAS a werewolf at one point in my childhood, thank you go movies like "An American Werewolf in London" having incredible transformation scenes.

Well, this looks like they took the werewolf seriously! I hope it's as good as the trailer.

Also, I'm working on a werewolf comic book with Nightmare World creator Dirk Manning. SO, this is a huge inspiration and pumps me up to get some pages done and get the thing published.

YAY!!!


The Wolfman Trailer #2

Trailer Park | MySpace Video

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Lost Kansas house & moving to Maine?!

Well, things just didn't work out with timeline, the requirements, the sellers, and the lenders. We had the option to extend the contract a few more months, but didn't want to be in this situation again with a 1 month newborn baby, so we opted to just move.

We looked at local houses, but couldn't find anything decent and the idea of living in the same town as our lost home and seeing other people buy it was heart-breaking. Plus, we figured, if we were going to have to leave our son's school district and pay more in rent for less in the same town, we could start looking for possibilities in other towns. We looked at Overland Park, KS, but then began to wonder about something outside of Kansas altogether. While Kansas is a nice place, there really isn't much left here for us. We don't want to backstep, and we don't really want to make a lateral move. If we are forced to make a move, we want to move UP!



So, we are currently looking at Portland, Maine. That might seem like a drastic change in direction, but it makes a lot of sense. A place that has frequent White Christmases, an Art Scene, is near the ocean, has forests, great schools, great stores and culture, great dining, and just about everything we could hope for. It's also close to NYC (publishing companies), Boston, Baltimore, Canada, and lots of big comic book conventions. Closer to airports. It's a place for our children to live a richer life. It's safer. And, surprisingly, is not that much more expensive than we're paying now. Just an overall better quality of life.

We found there were more reasons for us to leave KS than to try to stay in the house, even if we were in love with it. So, we're looking at this as an opportunity for us to move on to bigger and better things rather than dwell in the sadness of losing our home.

Thank you to everyone who cared enough to listen. If you'd like to still help, every order or donation will now be helping us to make our move and get settled in a new place in Maine. Maybe it will all turn out to be for the best. Might be a blessing in disguise.

If you're new to the site and have no idea what I'm talking about, read the previous blog and go to this webpage: http://www.raydillon.com/help.html

Thank you all so much for your caring and support. It means the world to us!

~Ray, Renae, Tycen, Baby Belly, Indiana Jones (dog), Olivia & Aubrey (cats)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Please HELP Our Family Keep Our Home!

My Wife and I are both comic book artists. We're in a rough spot with the home we currently live in and need your help! We have a 6-year old boy, and another baby boy on the way in February.

http://www.Raydillon.com/help.html



This isn't just donations, this is a chance to get original artwork or have us work on your projects. We've worked for IDW, Image, Archie, Topps, Upperdeck, film and gaming companies, and more. We just need help getting over a hurdle so we can stay on track.

Please, go to the following link and read what the situation is. Any help is greatly appreciated! If all you can do is spread the word, that would be wonderful!!

Thank you so much for your help!!! Our family thanks you!

~Ray

And please help spread the word!!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Our Baby Registry!

My wife, comic artist Renae De Liz and I have finally gotten around to doing a Baby Registry. Our baby boy is due in February. We don't have family to help, and being a freelance artist is a struggle! So, any help you're willing to give is GREATLY appreciated.

Please go to this link: Our Baby Registry!



THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!

~Ray