Let's Hope that 2011 Doesn't Suck, Like 2010!

Hello, everybody!  Happy New Year! I am Billy Wright, and I welcome you all to The Boiling Teapot, but before we really get started let me tell you what you can expect in reading my blog. When I began thinking about setting up a blog, which was several months ago, I wondered what exactly would I talk about that would interest anybody. Well, I am an artist, and so I decided that this blog will be about anything regarding art, which expands over a large spectrum. I'll talk about art exhibitions, SCAD-Atlanta, movie reviews, and my artwork, etc., but don't expect sports or politics unless they affect art. So if you love art then you've come to the right place, but if you hate art and wish that all artists would dry up and die then...you should probably leave unless there's a chance that I can change your opinion. The most important aspect about this blog, it's also the most important aspect in art, is to have fun. That's what I'm here for, to entertain you all.

The Panoramic Drawing

Whenever I finish a piece of artwork I always post it on my Facebook page, and I also have an account on deviantArt, which I update with new pieces every Monday, but here, you'll be able to see works before they are finished.  Right now I am working on a panoramic drawing of the Cartoon Universe, and I've cut it down to three sections: the Disney Universe, the Looney Tunes Universe, and the Hanna-Barbera Universe. Each section will feature the classic characters from those universes. I got the idea on my birthday when I got a book about how to draw Mickey Mouse and his friends, and originally it was only going to be done on one 11x17 page, which would have been perfectly fine if it was just Disney and Looney Tunes, but adding Hanna-Barbera turns it into a mess. Fortunately, however, I also got a new camera for my birthday-a much, much better one than I had before-and it supposedly can create a panoramic shot. That's pretty much how the idea came about. Each universe would be drawn on a separate 11x17 page, but then they would be put together as if they were in the same place.

I began with the Disney Universe, and it included characters that I've never done before, which wasn't that hard as long as I knew what their primary shape was (mainly circles and jelly beans). When I was trying to figure out who I wanted to include that was a little bit more difficult. Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, Daisy, Pluto, and Donald were no-brainers, but who was going to join them? My mom suggested that I include Huey, Dewy, and Louie, and that makes perfect sense since they are important characters in the Disney Universe. That led me to decide to also include Scrooge McDuck, but I still had lots of room left for a few more characters. I decided to add Minnie's cat Figaro, Chip and Dale-who are on Ludwig Von Drake's head-and Pete the cat to the composition after going through some Disney books, but that left one more spot. Ludwig Von Drake was added near the last minute although I came close to going with Gus Goose instead, but Von Drake is a much more deserving candidate. There was a thought to include Walt Disney among them, but at this moment, I am not that great at drawing real people although I have lucked out twice. If I had included Disney then I would have had to include Tex Avery for Looney Tunes and William Hanna and Joe Barbera for Hanna-Barbera. I did look into it anyway, but I chose not to do it. Tinkerbell's addition was because of how Disney animated movies used to open with Tinkerbell flying up to the top of Cinderella's castle and using her wand.

At the time this picture was taken I was thinking that Goofy would be the only character who steps out of his frame and into the next one, but Pepe Le Pew's tail stretches into the Disney frame. Now I'm thinking of having someone from the Hanna-Barbera Universe doing the same that way all three frames are connected by the characters, not just the background. Speaking of the background, I'm still not sure what it will look like. I only know about the sky at the moment with having a Mickey Mouse shaped cloud in the Disney frame, a sun that resembles the Looney Tunes' logo, and a star representing Hanna-Barbera. There will be some changes made to this frame other than adding the background, I'm not that happy with the way Dale turned out, Chip is just fine, but Dale looks weird, and so I'll probably work on him before I start inking the drawing. I look forward to finishing it and sharing it with all of you.

Happy New Year!

As my mom said so well yesterday, "2010 Sucks!" and it is quite true, it did. For it was great in the beginning, but it dropped off in a big way in the summer. Hopefully 2011 will bear more fruit. I wish you and your family a Happy New Year and all the best in 2011. 

From the edges of space, to the craters of the moon, to the solar flares of the sun, to...Oh slag it! I came up with a wacky way to sign off, but now I can't figure out how to end it. Aw, well, I guess I'll just have to end it the classic way until I think of something more original. This is Billy Wright wishing you all a goodnight. So long, everybody.