Gothicized italics took over 2025.
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I saw how to do a spiral on youtube and had to try it!
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I spent some time playing with watercolors, in this case adding some shading to sneaker.
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This Thanksgiving came out really nice. I often wonder if I could ever repeat a nice piece. As a hobbyist, you never cross the same river twice.
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Trying a squished script with Sagittarius
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Watercolor led to gouache, and the opacity let me play with this Gator on construction paper. Unfortunately, the wrinkles on construction paper can’t be hidden like a black or white background with a curves adjustment.
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Now that I’m a year away from these pieces, it feels like a different person scripted them. For most of 2026, I’ve been focused on scribing books. Then again, I just wrapped up my pieces for Inktober.
Who knows where this calligraphy kick will go.
Cya next time!
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PS—Mia and the Migoo, Jacques-Rémy Girerd, 2008
It’s a simple story where a daughter braves an uncaring world to find her father far away. The characters aren’t complex, neither is the the plot or world building. The villain is cartoonish and the universe a bit strange.
Then again stories don’t need to all be deep. This movie works because the story is cute and the backgrounds are gorgeous.
Sometimes, that’s what counts. Make it beautiful and the rest falls in place. I haven’t revisited it since, but I remember it fondly for the impressionistic landscapes.
There’s a Studio Ghibli vibe with a young brave girl as a primary protagonist. It also reminds me of the diversity that we are blessed with in popular culture.
In my childhood, representation wasn’t really discussed because Asian Americans didn’t count. Of course this became a big deal over the past couple decades, and more agitated portions of social media still feel strongly about it.
But in this fragmented landscape of entertainment from all around the world, this a lack of representation feels less pressing.
Twenty years ago, I would have been more concerned about a lack of strong female non-princess protagonists, but that’s the majority of our fare nowadays. Of course, the good old boys club will not be as inviting. Hopefully, our animated universes is a harbinger of a more equitable world.
—November 2021
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PPS—Ne Zha, Yu Yang, 2019 and Ne Zha Reborn, Ji Zhao, 2021
I went on a Netflix spree and watched both animated Nezha films.
The first one was set in a historical fantasy where a young brat grows up into a god. The second one is set in a diesel-punk Shanghai where a young punk grows up into a god. In both cases they beat up dragons and get hot and flamey.
They’re decent examples of a maturing Chinese animation industry, but I came away quite meh on both.
I accidentally watched the Ne Zha a few weeks after seeing a review by Accented Cinema about the Ne Zha Reborn. The unfulfilled expectation of a bucolic ancient China morphing into a diesel-punk Shanghai did not help my enjoyment of the film. Then again, I wouldn’t have watched Ne Zha through without that misplaced expectation.
A month later I finally got around to watching Ne Zha Reborn. It was enjoyable, not bad but not great. Given how rarely I watch films, I want them to be great or weird. Neither was either.
Now that I’ve stuck my nose into both camps, maybe I’ll follow up their sequels, since both of them were clearly set up for wider universes.
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Almost five years later, I avoided this sunk cost pitfall for both franchises.
—January 2022
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PPPPS—Penguins of Madagascar, Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith, 2014
I came across this movie due to a podcast episode of the Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. Like most commercial dreck, it entered and exited my memory.
It was a fun movie, likely worth a watch to kill some brain cells. My 7 year old daughter thought the movie was a little too thrilling, so she told me to finish it on my own.
It’s not that scary, but she’s a little sensitive, and that fine. The big bad world will be there soon enough. No need to use something like this to harden her soul.
Then again, I would have had no objections if she wanted to finish this silly action film with me. One can do worse with children’s films.
But if this note leads you to John Green’s excellent podcast, then it was well worth it.
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Three years later, the kids discovered animation. Compared to other films, this was a standout. So was Surf’s Up (surprisingly!).
—January 2022, August 2025
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PPPPPS—Practice
—November 2025
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