Art and Development Blog
High Definition NinjaPosted by Markham at 12:25pm, 6/16/2009 (EDT)

The first episode of The Sandwich Shop Ninja can now be seen on YouTube in a high-definition format.

The Sandwich Shop UtahPosted by Markham at 5:13pm, 6/10/2009 (EDT)
The Sandwich Shop Utah

So I guess someone came here looking for "the sandwich shop Utah" for some reason. I don't know how someone could employ an entire state to work in a sandwich shop, but whatever.

Progress on the game has gotten a bit slow as I try to get some of the graphics done and try to figure out a style that works. I tried to fake perspective on the cliff edges and pillars, but it doesn't look very good, and to make it look good would take a few months of drawing every pillar and edge at multiple angles.

Terrestrial-Based Game With Tiles That Fall When You Stop On Them Too Much - now with more visual representation of the new, terrestrial based setting!
LightningPosted by Markham at 2:25am, 6/4/2009 (EDT)
LightningFile Size: 101.85kb

There was a really cool lightning storm going on tonight.

Current ProjectPosted by Markham at 6:08pm, 5/19/2009 (EDT)

Recently I've been working on a new game on my own. In heart, it's a remake of OSGWTTFWYSOTTM with more puzzle-type elements, a story mode, and a level editor that will allow people to upload their personalized levels to an online database for people to browse and play. I've been calling it "Terrestrial-Based Game With Tiles That Fall When You Step On Them Too Much" since it will be based on land instead of outer space, but that's just the working title and will change when I think of something better.

Once I get everything finished and working, the next thing will be to figure out how Flash game licensing deals and MochiAds work so that I can sell out make money and keep doing this stuff at the same time.

Status UpdatePosted by Markham at 12:55pm, 5/2/2009 (EDT)

Finals are over again, I've moved back to California and got most of everything set up again, and the game graphics project is finally done. Things will be picking back up again, and I'll post a link to the game when it's finally released.

Time-Lapse Video: Utah to CaliforniaPosted by Markham at 5:10am, 5/2/2009 (EDT)
Time-Lapse Video:  Utah to CaliforniaFile Size: 18.17mb

Low-bandwidth YouTube version

I recorded my trip from Utah to California taking one picture every 10-11 seconds, minus about an hour of travel before Winnamucca when I could change the battery. There are about 2970 pictures in all, played at 24 frames-per-second.

March SketchesPosted by Markham at 7:39pm, 4/1/2009 (EDT)
March SketchesFile Size: 456.53kb

I had to turn in my sketchbook today, so I made sure to scan in some of the things I've drawn last month. I think I went to the Hogle Zoo three times last month, and those sketches turned out more interesting than the rest.

The Hogle Zoo has a great variety of animals to draw, possibly greater than the three zoos that I've been to recently in northern California combined. The Sacramento Zoo, however, still wins at having the most billions of lemurs.

Yes, he is eying up your neck.  Through the internet. This guy, however, freaks me out. See those teeth? Those sharp and pointy teeth? He sits up on this rock looking down on everyone who passes his domicile, his beady little eyes watching with the utmost disdain, patiently waiting for his chance to strike. The plaque on the wall claimed that this guy's closest relative is the elephant. This is a horrible case of misinformation, as it doesn't take a scientist to tell you that this guy's closest relative is Dracula. If there wasn't a half-inch pane of glass separating him from us, he'd surely be leaping neck-to-neck as he feeds upon the blood of the living. His name? The Hyrax. A name surely derived by the sound his victims make as he sinks his teeth into their necks.

The game graphics project is down to the last two items.

Getting CloserPosted by Markham at 2:40pm, 3/11/2009 (EDT)

Three things remaining on the list of things to do for the game graphics project! Animating explosions is fun.

Also dealt with another minor crisis where I had to re-attach the connector jack to my laptop's power adapter. Again. I've lost track of the number of times I've had to do this now. This time, however, the cord also started breaking off from the power 'brick', so I had to break that open as well. It has a nice, shiny coat of duct-tape now.

Sketchbook Pages: Gestural DrawingsPosted by Markham at 8:22pm, 3/5/2009 (EST)
Sketchbook Pages: Gestural DrawingsFile Size: 153.81kb

These are some of the better sketches I did this last week. My application for the animation program is due April 1st, which is less than four weeks away.

Mayan ScenePosted by Markham at 7:07pm, 2/18/2009 (EST)
Mayan SceneFile Size: 98.25kb

I've had this sitting on my hard drive since December 2007. This was made for an illustration class for a story about a Mayan princess. It's theoretically unfinished, since there were supposed to be people in the background which never got put in.

v4 Redesign Stage 1Posted by Markham at 12:28am, 2/7/2009 (EST)

The index page redesign has been successfully switched over. There's still some re-categorizing to do, and anyone who bothered to subscribe to the old RSS may need to unsubscribe and resubscribe to the desired one. Each page generates its own RSS now, so you can keep track on as little or as much as you want. Those interested on just the basic updates related to the main content of this site will probably want to subscribe to the 'News' page, and those interested in all updates may want to check out the new blog section.

The next set of website-structure updates won't come for a while. The administration panel I use to upload stuff and manage content, pages, and other settings needs to be overhauled first (again...), and I have more important things to finish up before I take on that task.

Happy Day of the Ninja!Posted by Markham at 4:28am, 12/5/2008 (EST)
Happy Day of the Ninja!File Size: 468.71kb

Happy 6th Annual Day of the Ninja, everyone!