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Josh,
Man I just went through all your pages found your Unicron very interesting. I actually just finished a Unicron piece and we both based our ideas off the same concept regarding his size generating his own gravity. It was refreshing to see another take on the same idea. Again very good work. I'm sure some graphic house will scoop you up soon. Take care.

Clint

Hey do you do commissions by any chance?

Mighty Magnus:
Ha ha, well thank you. Yeah I try to get some sleep in whenever I can, surprisingly though alot of this work is finished when I can't sleep, go fig? Right now my primary project is the transforming robo cat, which I'm trying to complete before the release of DOTM in July. Hopefully I can make that deadline.

Clint:
Hey thanks again, it's funny i feel like I know who you are being that image of Unicron you did has stuck with me ever since I ran into it on the web. Again, great stuff. I'm very honored you dropped by to say hi and comment. As for the industry, eh it's rough right now out there. right now I'm just trying to keep busy doing illustrations for museums and such....more so for exposure then anything else. I've actually been on a job hunt thats lasted for 2-3 years counting this one....but all one can do is mush forward.

Warzone Beta:
I want to say yes, being I've done contract work before, but online....not so much. I just am not savvy enough to set up something online...and I'm currently working on a prehistoric piece for a press release, as well as a couple of illustrations for a magazine I need to hammer out. On top of the Robo cat project I'm finishing. But I'm not going to say no, PM me and well try to work something out ya? Mind you if we can, Id say we're looking at somewhere towards the later half of the year...end of summer/fall at the earliest.

Alright, back to work I go guys, again thanks for all the awesome feedback. It helps fuel the creative spark thats long since replaced my sanity.
~Josh

Annnnnd I'm back.
Today we just finished up a monster day and night of filming, and with filming of course comes pics as well. Here are a few on set pics of Fatalis with some great red gel lighting to set the mood....of death.







Alright, I'll have more pics and nids up soon featuring more behind the scenes madness.
~Josh

Guess who!
So yes, I've been away a very long long time. And heres why:
http://comikazeexpo.com/joshua-ballze/

Thats right! I'm a featured artist at my first convention ever at the LA Convention center!

But thats not all ladies and gents, I've also been doing alot of art for their convention event including this piece which I believe is a featured litho:



Still not all! Remember those giant battle mechs I built for a childrens transformer sumer camp waaaaaay back when. Well recently they were used for a promo for this very event. Starring Lisa Foiles and Alisa Reyes from Nickelodeons "All That" tv series.
http://comikazeexpo.com/lisafoiles/
http://comikazeexpo.com/alisa-reyes/



Surely there cannot be more...there is! Lisa luved my bots so much we actually did a photoshoot which was lots of fun,

(copyright 2011 Regina Carpinelli)
Fun stuff on the horizon, but we plan on displaying Bruce the bot at the convention...so if oyu want to meet this monstrosity in person, drop by for more photo opts then your memory card can possibly handle.
~Josh

Oh yeah,
for those of oyu wondering whats happening with Project R4V4G3, designation: Fatalis, it's moving forward. In fact Lisa even met Fatalis....or....at least it's head when we meet to storyboard the Robot Promo for Comikaze. The following Madness ensued,

Girl meets Cybercat head...


Girl nearly has her head eaten by said cybercat head...


Cybercat head then steals my hat...


the other guy in the pics is Trevor, a Paleontologist at the La Brea Tar Pits whose also been featured on Discovery and G4, he and I are scheming the next phase for Fatalis. However Comikaze is where we will be giving a sneak peek at project Fatalis who will also be on display to give you guys more photo opts and fun stories to share. So again, if your in LA come Nov, drop by and say hi!
http://comikazeexpo.com/joshua-ballze/
Complience!
~Josh

Alrighty, here's the finished Promo for your viewing pleasure. It was lots of fun to make and film, hope you guys enjoy yourselves.
~Josh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM394EfR2hk

Again, all this goodness and more will be at Comikaze Expo this Nov, which will also Feature Stan Lee!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UabiKnO6 ... re=related

And Elvira!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNiaPkl ... re=related

Hope to see some of oyu guys there!
~Josh

Video Log three of the ongoing Fatalis project is underway. I also include alot of snippets from the past "Transform" project I did two to three years ago. Here we get a better look at our main base of operations here in LA, which is where the said current robots are housed till they go on display at the LA Convention center Nov 5-6 for the Comikaze event:

http://comikazeexpo.com/

And here's the Log, note: Fatalis will also be on Display along side Mrogan Fairchild as myself, Morgan, and Paleontologist Trevor swap stories during a 45min panel covering Archaeology, Paleontology, how it feels to be flung off a jeep and chased by packs of wild dogs...the usual.

http://youtu.be/IecTrWyP6rE

Hope to see you guys there.
~Josh

Hey guys, newest Log of Project R4V4G3 is up, this time featuring Trevor from the La Brea Tar Pits as we talk a little about the science behind the....death. Here's the official Log, including some footage of our first bike test with one of the claws.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcwvOHgL79g

For those of you who don't know, Trevor himself is a bit of a star...ish. As he's starred on the Discovery Channel, and even did a stint for G4's Attack of the Show, as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVUwc-EJdTs

I'm predicting there will be one more log before we premiere at Comikaze Nov 5-6th here in LA. For those who don't know, it will be at the LA Convention Center. Here's the link again, Stan Lee, Elvira, Morgan Fairchild, The Candyman himself (Voice of the Fallen from ROTF), and even one of the Ghostbusters will be there as well if you decide to drop by and say hi! Hope to see you guys there!
~Josh

http://comikazeexpo.com/

Hello!

So Comikaze came and went. It was alot of fun, but alot of work. Bruce indeed was on display, and was one of the most talked about displays on the block. Along with Bruce though we did indeed do our panel with Morgan Fairchild, which was awesome, I got to meet Elvira, which was interesting, plus Mark Hamill also dropped by at the Con.

So, really quick here's some vid of me and Trevor recollecting the insanity that was Comikaze. I don't know if anyone from here went, nor if anyone from here is even from LA, so everyone here continues to remain faceless avatars as far as my knowledge goes. If I did meet some of you, great! If I didn't, well it would have been fun to meet some of your in person.

So, here's our quick recap vid, which also includes snippets of the Comikaze Robot promo, as well as snippets of Project Fatalis including new footage of the bike test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_u8XPU6Zdk

Also, here are the vids of myself and Morgan Farichild talking about what it's like to be...whatever it is I am and hunt for Fossils and all that. There are three parts, the first is all the fun stories. The second is more of a lecture, and the last one is Myself and Morgan playing with skulls for the live audience as Trevor talks about fossils. Choose accordingly to your interest!

http://youtu.be/DMxmvom0YXA

http://youtu.be/TbrVzqWWOok

http://youtu.be/eEbaTS0SCU0

Alright, hope you guys enjoy. Again, Fatalis is moving forward, I predict we'll have one or maybe two more video logs before I wrap that project as well. Hopefully by the end of this year, I'm shooting for the end of this month though.
Stay Groovey,
Josh

So, Im finally down to brass tacks as I start up the editing process, as well as rendering out Title FX for this project/show pitch. Here are some screen shots of how I'm goig about this. The two programs I'm using are Final Cut X (Editing) and After Effects (Addtional visual FX). I'm actually using old school After Effects, as in AF6 but it still handles like a charm in terms of key framing, blending options, 3D layers, lighting, and so on...here's one of the title segments as it will appear when edited together...



Vs using the in program lens flare, I just made one in Photoshop and animated it when I imported the PSD.

As far as Final Cut X, strictly from a personal pov I prefer the old Final Cut. The new one just feels like a jazzed up version of iMovie but a dumbed down version of Final Cut, along with this nothing is where it was, half your tools are gone or hiding, certain filter and FX such as "Sharpen" are gone as well...it's a mess. However I power through and the editing has come along, so far. Here are a few shots as they're edited in FCX:


One of the first shots of Fatalis, caged.


Shots of the fossil dig included being this concept revolved around prehistoric animals (Dinosaurs)


My Guy Ritchie moment, as the featured Paleontologist Trevor hands me a suitcase whilst dressed in black...screams Guy Ritchie


Me handeling the Saber Cat skull which kicks off everything


Me in hiding, dressed like a GI Joe ha ha.


One of my favorite shots, the lighting and everything just looks fantastic as Fatalis stalks it's prey.


Fatalis...pissed

Alright, these next few weeks will be big in terms of wrapping and finishing this project. Again, check out the behind the scenes vids and the projects Youtube channel here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ProjectR4V4G3

If your wondering what all this is, myself and my team are basically making real life Dinobots, which hook up to real life vehicles, let me know what you think! Feed back is always welcomed. Hope oyu guys enjoy the show!
~Josh

Hey guys, so one of the most awesome things to happen to an artist just happened to me, I got to meet Stan Lee!

What? You mean thee Stan Lee? Father of Marvel comics Stan Lee?

YES! THAT STAN LEE!

So here's a vid of how this went down, which also stars Sara Underwood from G4, Mike Tyson, and Jimmy Hart from WWE just to name a few.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts5DDk25DKI

Also....here is the artwork that I did for Comikaze Expo back in NOV of Stan Lee, which is now signed by Stan Lee! I actually gave him the original art, pictured is a copy he was nice enough to sign for me. Great guy, even Tyson was excited to meet Stan.



Alright, I'll have moer pics up or my ongoing death bike project up soon. Till then, enjoy Stan Lee!
~Josh