First Landing

Jeff was kind enough to walk me through setting up my flight stick and throttle for Microsoft Flight Simulator tonight, and he also gave me a quick flying lesson. My first landing--an attempt at Leaf Rapids airport--was a near thing. I thought I was going to make it, but I came in a bit too high and too fast and ran out of runway, hitting some rocks and flipping my Cessna upside down. It was a survivable landing, but not elegant. 

My second try, captured above, was much more successful. True, I used up almost all of one of the runways at Edmonton International, but not only did I walk away from this landing, I was in a decent position to taxi to a parking spot. And flying with the sun in my eyes, no less! 

I really wish Dad could have seen both landings. He certainly would have laughed at the first! And I think he would have been pleased with the second. 
 

How Much for Just the Painting?

In John M. Ford's How Much for Just the Planet?, one of my favourite media tie-in novels, Kirk and a Klingon get involved in a slapstick chase. At one point, Kirk escapes through a window in the bathroom, and the Klingon pursuing him attempts to follow. Unfortunately, the Klingon is too heavy for the toilet seat to support, so the lid shatters and the Klingon winds up getting his foot stuck in the toilet. Because I have the sense of humour of a two-year-old, I still find this scene uproariously funny. 

That's why, a few weeks ago, I tried to recreate the scene with Gemini. Alas, it appears my prompt was insufficient to the task. I should have commissioned Jeff to paint it for me. Maybe that can be a birthday present to myself someday. 
 

Gemini-Generated Paranoid Productions Logos

Some of these are fun, but most are kind of meh. A lot of them look like triangles because the original logo, created by Jeff Shyluk, was a pyramid with an eye near the apex, and I told Gemini that in the prompts. The wordmarks aren't bad, but look too much like the CBS logo. The pyramid with the shadow might be my favourite conceptually, but it feels like an awkward shape for most real-world purposes. Pyramid eyeball sunrise might have promise if reworked. 

Again, as a starting point? Maybe. Not ready for prime time, though. 
 

Coffee Table Crash Landing

I tried to get Gemini to create a photo of the time infant Sean jumped off our couch in Leaf Rapids into a glass-topped coffee table, shattering it. Sean suffered no harm, and happily played with the shards of glass for the span of nanoseconds it took for Mom to rush over and grab him to inspect him for wounds. 

Gemini refused my initial prompt, which was something like "a one-year old baby jumps off a green couch and through a green glass-topped coffee table without being hurt." Gemini's safeguards prevented the tool from embracing my vision (phooey), so I changed the prompt to something like "a bald, very small male person..." before the stuff about the accident. The action and 1970s decor are captured fairly well, but the "baby" is a bit uncanny. Cute duck, though. 
 

Interstate 10 Back Cover Copy

Years ago, Jeff wrote about the time his Uncle Thad mailed him a copy of the hard-to-find pulp novel Interstate 10. The book's cover art is as madcap as the novel itself is purported to be, and at the time I wondered if the back cover blurb might be as crazy as the ones found on the works of Howard Rheingold. Alas, Jeff's blog post didn't include a photo of the back cover, so I took it upon myself to write my own version. Jeff never told me how close I came to matching the real copy for Interstate 10, so I figure enough years have passed that he won't mind if I share it here. 

FREEWAYS ABLAZE!

First came BILLY JACK...! 

Then DIRTY HARRY...! 

Now comes the toughest, slickest urban vigilante with or without a badge…`

JAKE CALIFORNIA…! In his first bloody-knuckled road rampage of hot wheels and hard justice. 

Once he rode supercycles through flaming hoops and leapt from crashing cars for Hollywood’s big-budget spectaculars. But then came that mysterious note in the Classifieds: “WANTED – TEST DRIVER. Daytona Beach to New York via Interstate 10 in one-of-a-kind set of wheels. Serious inquiries only.” 

With stunt work drying up and his stash of dough drying up even faster, Jake takes the job and sets out on the most blistering, red-hot romantic road trip ever, juggling the washed-up love for his old flame with the chance of all-new, all-intriguing encounters with an exotic Oriental flower who’s as quick with a blade as Jake is behind a steering wheel. And this time the steering wheel belongs to OS-CAR*, a souped-up VW Beetle with a lust for the road and street justice rivaling Jake’s own lusty passions. Herbie has nothing on OS-CAR! 

Lose yourself in Jake California’s world – a world of simmering blacktop mirages, sudden death meted out by gorillas with guns, kinky action between the sheets and in back seats – and where every mile offers new thrills…and new dangers. 

*OPerating System--CAR

A Man and His KITT KARR

Here we have Michael Knight, painted using some of Jeff's tips from the past few days (though not all, as sometimes I'll have painted figures, like this one, before Jeff generously offers updated advice). I'm happy with the clothes and very pleased with small details such as his belt buckle, jacket zipper, and eyebrows. The skin is smoother than usual, and while I couldn't quite create a convincing set of lips, you can see a hint of smirk nonetheless. 

I painted KITT some time ago, but now, at last, he has a pal and partner. 
 

Something Stirs in the Depths of Space . . .

It's that time of year again . . . artwork by the amazing Jeff Shyluk. 

Studio Notes on Spider-Man: Home for the Holidays

FROM: Earl J. Woods
TO: Jeff Shyluk, Executive Producer, Paranoid Productions
RE: SPIDER-MAN 4--Studio Notes

Jeff, 

As always, your notes are spot-on, especially given the reasonable skepticism we're facing from Disney, Sony, and the fans given our position as new kid in town with the IP. Getting them was a coup, but making a good movie is the only way the gamble is going to pay off. 

Totally understand your concerns about Gwen's agency, the overall weakness of the third act, and tropes we've seen before; we absolutely do not want to do MJ over again, or Raimi's work. Your observation regarding Spider-Man's effect on his world vs. Rick Deckard's is spot on. 

I agree that the relationship between Peter and the Stacy's is the core of the film, and we'll build on that core in future treatments. 

It might be more realistic for Peter to get hauled in for suspicion regarding the Christmas Eve car bomb, but I'm resistant--I feel like Captain Stacy really wants to be in Peter's corner despite his suspicions. On the other hand, if Stacy stops his detectives from questioning Peter, he's undermining his authority. 

Damn. Don't see that I have a choice. Peter's going to have to face some tough questions from our John Munch figure. (Maybe played by Bruce Campbell?) 

Might not make sense for Kingpin to car bomb Stacy, you're right. Could be a mook with too much initiative (not Bullseye, someone lower level - maybe a comic-relief type character we introduce into Kingpin's organization earlier in the film). 

Your final suggestion could save the third act. I'm going to scrap the idea of Bullseye kidnapping her. Her being an unwitting pawn of the Kingpin is far more organic. She'll still play a key roll in our Die Hard-esque showdown, but instead of playing the damsel in distress, she'll be in a (very dangerous) position to help Spider-Man--working behind the scenes to sabotage the Kingpin's men while trying not to give herself away. 

Captain Stacy and the NYPD will have an important role to play in the third act, too--they won't be standing idly by. In the comics and some of the films, the people of NYC helping Spider-Man save the day is a key theme--the community is just as important (more important!) than the singular hero. 

Kind of surprised Disney hasn't suggested any cameos--I was sure they'd want Daredevil involved somehow. Gotta have that corporate synergy. Hell, I'll put him in the post-credit scene as a hedge. 

I'll send another treatment in a few days. 

Excelsior! 

Sir Someone of Somewhere

Here's the first of two models I painted using a somewhat haphazard approach, attempting to put into practice several techniques suggested by Jeff, Sean, and others. I'm pretty happy with everything save the face, which looks a bit gloopy to me even now despite thinning the paint to near invisibility (or at least so it seemed on the brush). 

I didn't even realize the figure had a lion on its chest until I shot a photograph and zoomed in. I knew I was taking a chance, but I was compelled to apply my drybrush. Lo and behold, it worked. 
 

Subtle Star Raider

Here's one of the Star Raiders from the initial Star Schlock skirmish game Kickstarter. For this model, I tried Jeff's "fat over lean" technique for the first time. The Star Raider was already primed with Leadbelcher, so I couldn't change that, but I did begin with a Nuln Oil ink wash. After that, I drybrushed very, very light coats of acrylic silver paint over the knee pads and parts of the rifle. Next, I used the same drybrush technique to coat parts of the armour in a pale metallic blue. Finally, I used brown contrast paint for the bandolier. As a result there's no lumpy paint, but on the other hand, there are no bold colours. Perhaps that's fine for this model? 
 

Scarab

I painted Scarab mostly with contrast paints, and I think my application on Scarab improved a little by this point. I'm trying to be very conscious of Jeff's advice to apply very thin coats, and Sean and Scott's advice not to let the paint form pools. The rockets seem to look best, with the paint applied quite evenly and little evidence of brush strokes. 

One of the blue contrast paints worked quite well on windows, so I used it for several of the cars in my Car Wars collection. 

There are better models ahead. 

Kodiak

Here's another Car Wars vehicle. This one is Kodiak, a burly-looking, brawny beast, and perhaps my favourite of the five I've painted so far. This time around I took some advice from Jeff and Scott and added some weathering effects, partially to hide my paint errors and partially to make the vehicle look well-used. 
 

Coconut Long Shots

Somehow, I must hack into Jeff's computer to learn what prompt and settings he used to successfully coax Stable Diffusion into concussing Gilligan with a coconut. While strangely idyllic, I must nonetheless consider these results as ignoble failures. 

Hands Across the Universe

Today, Jeff successfully coaxed Stable Diffusion into producing a lovely image of Gilligan getting hit in the head with a coconut, an act of slapstick violence of the sort I've been trying to create with this tool for weeks. The only way I can beat Jeff's feat is to get Stable Diffusion to create a realistic hand, and so, using multiple prompts and models, I've tried to create an image of a hand performing the famous Vulcan salute. 

The shot above is quite evocative, but not what I'm looking for. Some of the following are strangely compelling, but as of yet, I have not accomplished my goal. Here's a selection of some of the weirdest and closest outcomes. 

Why is there a waifu in this...? I didn't prompt for any waifus. 

So close, and yet so far. Dynamic background, though! 

One of my favourites.

So close! Except facing the wrong way and covered in blood for some reason. I like the texture the AI invented for the backdrop. I'd want to caress that leather, too. 

Ouch owie owie owie

SO CLOSE

"The Sixth Finger" is an episode of The Outer Limits. 

Two opposable thumbs! Handy. Forgive the pun, it was unintentional.