Jeff Doten's Venusian Blog

2011-11-03T10:15:00.001-07:00

2009-06-14T12:42:00.004-07:00

It's everywhere so I'm not going into details. John Carter will by played by Taylor Kitsh, and Dejah Thoris by Lynn Collins. By the gods of mars, it's really happening.

2009-05-21T14:08:00.003-07:00

Over at my site barsoomia.org I have an excellant fan script for A Princess of Mars. Go check it out.

2009-04-15T06:38:00.002-07:00

Stolen from The Amazing website of Kavalier and Clay.
Jeff is fraking off the walls now. The best of the best.

CHABON REVISING ‘JOHN CARTER OF MARS’ SCRIPT
Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:44 am
In yesterday’s item by Deadline Hollywood Daily about Michael Chabon switching agents, it mentioned that he was attached to write a script for Disney’s John Carter of Mars. Having never heard that before, I checked in with Chabon to see if it was accurate. The answer is yes.
“I’ve been hired to do some revisions to an already strong script by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews,” Chabon said. “I wrote my original screenplay The Martian Agent back in 1995 because I wished I could do [Edgar Rice] Burroughs’s Barsoom. So this is pretty much a dream come true for me.”
Disney got the option rights to Burrough’s 11-volume series in 2007 after the rights lapsed at Paramount Pictures. Andrew Stanton, the writer and director of Finding Nemo and WALL-E, is set to direct. It’s expected to hit theaters in 2012.

2009-02-22T10:03:00.003-08:00

I love these books. I NEED more. The world needs more interplanetary romance adventure this-kind-of-stuff. I read Sky People when it came out and really enjoyed it, but being a Barsoomian obsessive I was really pumped for In the Courts of the Crimson Kings. And I was right.

( Note - the martians have a formal language that is structured like the language from the show Deadwood, without the profanity. Once you get the swing of it, it's hysterical )

I just read the paperback on holidays, but I need to get the hard cover to match my hardcover of The Sky People. And it's ripe for a third one ! All of you, go out and buy them now !

2009-02-04T06:19:00.003-08:00

I've got a new forum attached to my John Carter of Mars site, barsoomia.org. Go on over and post, well, help get the posting going....

2009-01-14T12:56:00.002-08:00

Holy Crap. It’s real. The John Carter of Mars movie.

“It’s real,” Stanton assured us. “We’re full bore on it right now. We’re over the hump of the writing phase, and we’re certainly far from rewrites.”

I really didn’t think I’d see this day. It’s like getting to 3rd base or some base anyways. It’s been all over the web for about 2 days now, but here it is SciFiWire
and MTV they’ve got the best stuff.

I really liked this -
Stanton: Well, it's not being done by the Pixar crew. It's being done by Disney, and I'm sort of being loaned out. We're sort of using any element that we need to to make the film right. We're not being purist with Pixar, but Pixar's a brand that you have to trust that's for all ages. This story of John Carter is not going to be an all-ages film.
Are you thinking PG-13?
Stanton: Well, if you do the story right, there's no way you couldn't.

Jeff - just freakin’ wow.

2008-12-19T12:12:00.002-08:00

I hate to say it, but deadlines seem to work for me. Here it is all done. I think. I was thinking about Charles' comment on my use of color. I think I'm an impressionist at the heart.

Something I may work on later is on the far left of the painting. Behind the 2 windows is an open wall with more mural on it. That is what the color and squiggle are about, but seeing it here, I think it needs more attention, despite my sketch and photo. But I have a tree put up now.

2008-12-19T07:11:00.005-08:00

This is a study of a painting for my wife. It's were we stayed on Vancouver Island last summer. Of course I've left it to the last minute, but I was torn, waiting to see if we were going back this coming summer. Now that we've confirmed our booking, I'm painting.

2008-12-17T08:51:00.009-08:00

SO that’s me, happy little guy tagged and ready to party at the beginning of the World Fantasy Con were I live in Calgary. Take note of my Fire Gods of Venus are behind me, and Burroughs images to the right of me. Not that you can see it, but I even had a print of the banner for my Barsoomia.org site ( which I’m in the process of repainting )

Set up Thursday,met a couple artists. I have to go home and be dad. Check out this 20lb bag of book loot !

Fri- Todd lockwood shows up & shames us all, fortunately he's a great guy.I went to a panel with him & John Picacio on process & learned a few things. I've been playing with digital water color now after he gives us a tutorial on his mac.

My friend Dan & I take Julia, a starving young artist from Denver out to pub & we discover that everyone from the US wants to talk about the election. We thought it would be off limits. Then I had a meeting with a publisher at their party suite & it turns out there are 2 there. I also meet writers Jay Lake and Kay Kenyon.

On Saturday night was the artists reception ( which is kind of odd I thought since we’re already there, an the non artists were ones arriving. I must have that backwards... ) Anyways, here we go, I’ve culled this from a report I wrote elsewhere.

Then we hit the pub again with a herd of artists then wandered back to the hotel for the Artist's reception. That was kind of overwhelming. It was a wine and cheese thing and went from 8:00 to 11: 00 and was packed. I haunted my panels and introduced myself to people. I met a guy ( Del Valdron ) I know from an online with a Burroughs group, AND had a new york publisher mocked the shit out of me because I had stupidly written Burrough's instead of Burroughs or Burroughs' on the Pirates of Venus poster. I shouldn’t have even approached him. I’m an idiot sometimes. There he is yelling at some women ( his long suffering wife ? ) “ who wrote the book ? Burrough or Burroughs ?” Again and again and again.... And I approached. It ended in Mr Suit Man with a really BIG MOUTH laughing in my little face, " unbelievable ! At a LITERARY CON !" That was fun. I needed a shower after that.

As I licked my wounds with a fellow artist, three men appear and stood there pointing at it. Crap. I did speak with one, the other two snorted and sauntered off. He said my art was good but the apostrophe was unacceptable. He said this twice. So I found a marker and marked it off. It is MY poster.

Then this very classy blonde in a skirt came by and we talked about the John Carter movie and possible Venus movie thing. I told her about the " unbelievable" guy and she said she had noticed it but wouldn't have said anything. Then she introduced herself as a senior editor at ******. That was a good experience.

Next I was trapped by a geek who and saw Lou Anders of Pyr books. I introduced myself and gave him my card explaining that I didn't consider my work up their standard yet, so I was just saying hi. That worked and we had nice chat about my work. He was most interested in my new art for my barsoomia.org site. He loved the right half and rightly said that the left wasn't as good, which I new all along, so I have been repainting it since I got home.

Later, my friend Dan and I wandered up to the 5th floor for the Tor books party, but so did EVERYBODY else. So we went over to the con suite down the hall. Dan had to deliver a copy of a book he had done the cover for to the author ( I don't know what that was about, seems weird to me too ) and it turns out to be jerk # 2 with his posse. We all shook hands and his wife was there so he had to be nice. It was fun in a prickly kind of way. Then he and and his wife went on a champaign crazy celebration over the publication his of novel with an itsy publisher.

I then spied ****** of ****** in a corner. So I chatted with him and looks like I’ll be doing something for them. The nasty man watched all of this and I took great pleasure in it. I have to admit it took me about two weeks to detox after the four day con.

2008-10-18T20:18:00.005-07:00

I have a big new banner painting on my barsoomia.org site where I am following Pixar's development of John Carter of Mars or as I've heard they will be calling it the original A Princess of Mars title. My dirt sources say it will be live action, despite some of director Andrew Stanon's hedging.

So drop on by barsoomia.org to see the whole thing, join the discussion and keep up on the news about John Carter of Mars ! - Jeff

2008-09-22T15:47:00.005-07:00

Finished George. Sort of. I think I'm still messing with the mist on the left side...

This is a big puppy, 30 x 40 ". I'm off to the World Fanatasy Con and wanted something big and splashy, and of course something for the book.... ( and the color is much better than on the previous post )

2008-09-19T14:34:00.002-07:00

Okay, from Mars to Venus. This what happened to her.

2008-09-17T15:41:00.002-07:00

This fierce lass was done for my unfinished 'Indiana Jones and the Mind Warriors of Mars' movie poster idea. But alas ( this one ) is being re-purposed from Mars of Venus. I liked her too much to leave her behind.

2008-08-29T12:38:00.004-07:00

Yowza, it's been a great summer and I'm getting all geared up for the World Fantasy Con in my backyard this year. So with too much to do I'm inspired to do a huge new painting. Go figure. This is a study of George ( from the book ) for it. - Jeff

2008-06-26T15:14:00.004-07:00

Kitha: Princess of Venus.

Kitha is a fictional character from the story within the story, The Fire Gods of Venus- the a radio play, circa 1933. George never meets Kitha, but he expects to, because she in his head all the time. - Jeff

2008-06-19T14:03:00.002-07:00

Kitha, princess of Venus. Not so Skribble Art.

2008-06-19T12:35:00.005-07:00

Skribble Art ! I was talking someone that I'm doing some collaborative work with and I skribbled of this image of John Cater of Mars on my wacom tablet. I use my tablet all the time, but I hadn't sketched with it much. I really liked what I got. I think it capture more of the marks that are usually faint with a pencil. It was kinda cool.
So when I started working on some new designs for The Fire Gods of Venus, I thought I'd use the same tool. That would be an opaque acrylic brush, and very flat, no painty dry brushing, which is how I usually work .

I have been inclining towards NOT doing much tonal blending but choosing the right color and tone and putting that down, that makes much more decisive, no hedging. This new piece is of the Venusian Golgarath or something, and no, it doesn't look like my other Fire Gods work. The Venus one differs from the Mars one in that it is from a pencil sketch, at the moment I like the lines of the Mars one more.

In the story there is a 1933 radio play called The Fire Gods of Venus, which factors greatly in George's experience of venus. These designs are heavy on the quick, hackneyed and early pulp flavor, because that is their real source. I don't think everything I do for this portion,The Fire Gods of Venus: The Radio Play will be quite so cartoony in presentation, but it helps me get my head around the subject matter. - Jeff

2008-06-09T11:51:00.005-07:00

I couldn't help it. With the announcement of Andrew Stanton's scripting of John Carter of Mars I set up Barsoomia.org, a site tied into my main home page. I'm such a geek. Barsoom rules.

2008-06-06T17:46:00.003-07:00

From PIXAR BLOG Exclusive: Andrew Stanton confirms John Carter of Mars [Complete post]

Andrew Stanton personally confirmed for me and others attending today's roundtable discussion in Toronto that he is currently writing John Carter of Mars for Pixar.

The disclosure came at the end of the short, but extremely enjoyable, discussion (excerpts of which will be published here soon), when a writer from Suite101.com asked about Stanton's next project, to which Stanton mentioned (not too loudly) 'John Carter of Mars'.

Doubting what I'm hearing, I interject, "What is that?" "John Carter of Mars, Stanton replies." "You're confirming John Carter? Are you serious?" At this point, I turn my tape recorder back on, "...say that on tape!", I tell him. Stanton: "I am writing John Carter of Mars right now." "Oh man, you just doubled my page views!", I say. Everybody laughs.

(I'm currently looking for a way to transfer the poor-quality audio from the microcassette tape into my computer, for uploading here.)

No details on the film just yet, but somehow the fact that Stanton is writing has quelled most of my doubts about the till-now rumoured project.
-----
Some bragging here: Stanton told me at the event that he reads The Pixar Blog often. He also reads Upcoming Pixar, and is wondering as to why Luxo hasn't posted in a while :)

http://pixarblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/exclusive-andrew-stanton-confirms-john.html

2008-06-04T07:19:00.012-07:00

I'm really pumped on wallE and this promo is particularly interesting to me because it shows live humans with animated characters and is made by Pixar, and Andrew Stanton who will be making John Carter of Mars. They are far from the first to combine the too, but it's a first for Pixar.

2008-05-23T06:10:00.005-07:00

RETOPOLIS

Happy Friday here in the future !

Over at http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/ PZ was gombling on about the cool t-shirt he want's for fathers day. I've seen this artists work before and thought it was great. I have taken note that the Retropolis radio announcer is none other than Normal Bean !

I think I need this one -

2008-05-16T07:56:00.004-07:00

How frakin’ cool is this ?
I love Hellboy. I sort of read a few of the comics before the first movie. Then I saw the movie on a wonderful sneak peak birthday bash thing. Fabulous flick. Now this. More Hellboy, http://www.hellboymovie.com and cooler posters. The best poster wasn’t used for the first flick ( Drew Struzan ).

The suits only like photo posters these days. But this new one crosses the line between the design of illustration and still being fotergraphic.

2008-05-08T11:43:00.001-07:00

Danton Burroughs is running with the Tharks. RIP Danton.

Above is a photo of Danton Burroughs holding a sword his father made for his grand father - Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. The Tharks I mention in the the title are martian warriors.

I’ve spoken to Danton a few times and really liked him. Would have liked to meet him in person but never had the chance. Damn. Hope he’s bouncing around Barsoom now. - Jeff

“Danton Burroughs unexpectedly passed away last Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at his home in Tarzana, California at the age of 64. He was the grandson of Tarzan writer, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Danton Burroughs was very active in many communities within pop culture, entertainment, and collecting. He protected his grandfathers’ properties and made sure anyone dealing with them gave them the utmost respect. Recently he had been working with Pixar on a film adaptation of his grandfather’s John Carter of Mars. Danton Burroughs was the leader of ERB, Inc. the company Edgar Rice Burroughs started many years ago.” - http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com

Tribute Site from Bill Hillman’s ERBzine- http://www.erbzine.com/dantonburroughs/

Aint it Cool News, from Harry - http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36602

2008-04-18T13:21:00.002-07:00

First off - to those who were trying to post, my apologies. I had to switch things over for moderation because of a spam issue. Secondly - Thanks ! Oddly I'm a little ambivalent about the image have actually added to it. In the story George leaps from a balcony to a passing ship. I felt the image was missing something, so I've added depth with the foreground characters. Both exist on my Mac as high res scans, so we'll see which one really goes in the text. - Jeff

2008-04-10T08:23:00.003-07:00

I'm posting a lot about other peoples projects - like the John Carter of Mars movie - but I am slaving on The Fire Gods of Venus ! Painting painting painting ! And now posting a not quiet finished painting. How weird is that ?

I do this sometimes, scan something almost done to play and see what I think it might need to make it just so. This the main character, George Birmingham leaping from (an unseen ) balcony onto a passing ship.

I think I'll leave it be at the moment and go onto the next one. Usually I'll see later just what, if any, changes it needs other that a finish polish. - Jeff

2008-04-10T07:54:00.003-07:00

Inverse proof of Life ? ( as in NOT animated )

Disney/Pixar film line up - take note on John Carter of Mars- it ain't there. I wasn't happy at first. For a moment. But that's because this is list of ANIMATED pictures. Hey hey hey....

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS/ PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS RELEASE SCHEDULE 2008 – 2012:

Jun 27, 2008 – WALL•E (Andrew Stanton)
May 29, 2009 – Up (Pete Docter/Bob Peterson)
Oct 2, 2009 – Toy Story in 3-D (John Lasseter)
Feb 12, 2010 – Toy Story 2 in 3-D (John Lasseter)
Jun 18, 2010 – Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
Summer 2011 – newt (Gary Rydstrom)
Christmas 2011, The Bear and the Bow (Brenda Chapman)
Summer 2012 – Cars 2 (Brad Lewis)

And notice Andrew Stanton ( who seems to be the MARS guy )has nothing new after Wall - E

- Jeff

2008-03-17T06:02:00.009-07:00

John Carter of Mars Movie News from Jim Hill Media.

Read the whole thing here - Jim Hill Media

But here's the juicey stuff -" suggest that what Andrew Stanton supposedly told the staff at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. back in October of last year is true. That Disney / Pixar definitely is gearing up to do a trilogy of films based on the "John Carter of Mars" books.

According to what Mouse House insiders recently told me, Mark Andrews (i.e. the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of "Ratatouille") has allegedly already completed a first pass on a screenplay for the first film in the proposed "Mars" series. And given that both Pixar and Disney execs have reportedly responded very enthusiastically to Andrews' script ... Well, both companies are now anxious to put this project in the development pipeline ASAP.

"So what sort of timetable are we talking about here?," you ask. Well, really serious work on the first "Mars" movie can't get underway 'til this Fall. Which is when Stanton will finally be through with all of his "WALL * E" -related promotional obligations (i.e. First Andrew has to spend several weeks this spring helping to promote the domestic & international release of Pixar's latest. Then -- after a short break -- Stanton has to jump right back in and begin promoting the DVD version of "WALL * E").

But all of this actual selling-of-"WALL-*-E" work is completed ... Andrew is then expected to sit down with Mark & Jim Morris (i.e. A Lucasfilm Digital vet who made the jump to Pixar back in 2005. He's reportedly been tapped to be the producer on the "Mars" project) and map out a battle plan for "John Carter of Mars." Which is now tentatively slated to be release in 2012 ... or possibly earlier."

Artwork - John Carter of Mars, for a hard cover edition called Under the Moons of Mars, the title before it was A Princess of Mars.

Continues at Jim Hill Media

2008-03-06T06:11:00.007-08:00

Chris Mills, writer of the amazing Perils on Planet X ! has very kindly posted about The Fire Gods of Venus on his blog. Perils is a Burrough's /Flash Gorden/Buck Rogers kinda thing and I like it.

Be sure to check out the blog, the site and the work of the illustrator, the inspiring Gene Gonzales.

2008-02-29T09:13:00.006-08:00

This mornings offering is a color study for a painting for the interior of TFOV and ( once I realized I didn't have one ) a (loose) study of a yarrie. What is a Yarrie ? It is a two headed Venusian Predator that often hunt in packs, but are also cannibals. Their mode if attack is stab their prey's body with their conical skulls, removing cylinders of flesh for their pleasure.

2008-02-22T15:56:00.008-08:00

Oh happy day !
I have been in contact with the producers of Edgar Rice Burroughs " Pirates of Venus" for over a year. Recently my my artwork has been accepted as part of the upcoming Pirates of Venus
live action movie. That means it is being use as early promo and concept work. The full book of art
I sent them ( and printed through apple's iPhoto ) seemed to do the trick. - Jeff

2007-08-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

A quick update that answers the crucial question of just what a Paijoma looks like under it's clothes. This also is my design that incorporates a more upright stance. The Paijoma can still crouch in the manner that I've illustrated them before, but it looks pretty ungainly for just walking around. And buying groceries is just crazy when you can't even reach past the spread of your legs....

2007-06-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Morning Star - the human village on Venus. Yup, a little heritage style town, and no I'm not going go say why. To the right is one of the largest buildings in Morning Star, the Hunter's Hall. Sort of a ranch house. The shield shape hanging off the balcony is the skull of a Curvim, the beastie that the Hunter's hunt.

The buildings of Morning Star are built in as familiar a form as possible to create a familiar homey environment. The major exception to this being the roofing material, a shell like form that protects from fiery Draf Falls.

2007-05-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

I freaked Super Girl out.

So this last weekend I went to the Calgary Comic and Entertainment con. I'd never been, and was really impressed. There were lots of people and it was really well organized. I had a few prints to sell and lots of promo stuff on The Fire Gods of Venus. It was kind of a 'pre-pimping' the book. It was an excellent change to talk to a lot of people and give out a lot of promo cards. I did learn a couple of things. Saying that The Fire Gods of Venus was 'kinda like John Carter of Mars meets the Doors' means squat to anyone under 30. So my catch phrase of the book as 'A Psychedelic, Post Modern, Interplanetary Adventure' means about the same. Granted, I really like that phrase, and perhaps combined with an actual book description, it might work.

I can't believe I didn't have one, but I wasn't really ready to write the back of the book blurb. But a lot of people asked, 'what's it about ?' So this is what I came up with.

"In 1911, a fallen space ship changed George Birmingham’s world forever. Journeying to Venus, the world of giant alien warriors and ferocious creatures, he battles across the fiery wilds of Venus to discover the truth about himself and the mysterious Fire Gods of Venus."

So what about Super Girl ? Well I was heading off for a coffee once our table was set up. I passed by the large doors through which the thundering hordes would enter, and heard a countdown - and wild roar as the door was thrown open. Super heros, storm troopers, multiple Darth Maul's ( Ray Park was there ) and goolies of Goth creatures flooded the floor. I fled.

Once I had my coffee a had settled at our table, we could enjoy the parade. Super Girl was an early passerby, at something like 6' how could we not take note of her ? I might have been the first to take her picture, but I'm sure I wasn't the last.

2007-04-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I always knew that I wanted to rework this. The guy was good, but didn't stand up on image 40 " tall. And the logo needed to be reworked. This version not only has a new logo and such, but COOL iridescent colors around George and the psychedelic googlies. This is intended for trade show attention ( but did scan fine ) so it's kind of fun how the image suddenly glows from certain angles.

Later on a little more work will go into updating the alien to the latest design and around the swordsman. But I've got other stuff do now, I'm kind of late. - Jeff

PS - I'm sort of thinking of this project now as John Carter meets the Doors. I probably shouldn't....

2007-03-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Told ya I wasn't going to post regularly. But now I have something new. It was time to nail down the appearance of my Venusians, the Paijoma, and to do a sculpt of one. The painted version shows flares/fins on the lower face which did not end up on the final sculpt. That didn't surprise me much as the sculpt was intended as further refinement of the design.

A couple elements of note - the back shapes are part of it's respiration apparatus and the black eyes rotate on the stalks as if magnetically attached. The somewhat artificial design of the skin is part of my choice to not use typical terrestrial textures on the Venusian creatures.

The sculpting material was Super Sculpty Firm, which gives a lovely surface. The acrylic on top goes down with a rather pearlescent sheen. The really shiny parts are FW Pearlescent.

Other news, I have just complete the 3rd complete rewrite, some parts have many more the 3 rewrites, and expect once my readers are finished with it to have the final draft. Party down dudes.

2006-10-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Planetary Adventure. Interplanetary Romance. Sword and Planet. My favorite genre or venue. And an out of date one.

When I decided that “I wanted to do just what I wanted to do”, which was to create a heavily illustrated novel, I followed my heart to the sword and planet venue.

I entered the field through A Princess of Mars (1911), which is where it really started. ( I am STILL not over the movie shelving ) I promptly fired through Burroughs by the bucket load. Burroughs created the bulk of of the genre with his Mars and Venus novels, but he was not alone. Otis Adelbert Kline, Lin Carter, Michael Moorcock and Leah Brackett have all worked within the field, but Burroughs was the template, and most original of them all.

Reading these old books again ( or some for the first time ) I find a wonderful freedom from the modern conventions of science fiction and fantasy. Romanticism and chivalry,a hint of exotic mysticism, pseudo-science, exotic worlds, and lots of sword play all wrapped up in one delightful package.

Granted it is almost a 100 years later, and many other authors and ideas have gone into the pot that is The Fire Gods of Venus,( I never set out to write a pastiche ) but what a wonderful place it has been to begin from.

2006-10-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

There is no way I'm going to blog everyday, but since I just started this and I have some new art, I thought I'd get it up here. This morning's offering is set in the wilds of venus. The geography of Venus is characterized by lush tropical plateaus (which are the populated zones ), surrounded by the low rocky deserts of the Jora Zi, a hostile environment that is visited, not populated, by those of the plateaus.

The dwellers of the Jora Zi are creatures of tale and myth, the Zadiya. Those that venture into the Jora Zi will attest to the presence of what they call Zadiya towers, or Draw towers. Draw towers collect vital energy from the local environment, which is then pulsed west through conduits to the processing plant at the base of the Fanged Mountains.

Okay, enough freaky explanations. I had a blast creating the tower, and ramping up it's psychedelic factor. More freakiness to come. - Jeff

2006-10-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Presently The Fire Gods of Venus is going through it's second rewrite - okay it's a second complete rewrite, huge chunks have been mauled, spindled or discharged before this - I need to turn my attention back to the art or something bad will happen. The need to paint is strong in this one.

Above is a new study of my main character George and his retrofitted back. George goes through a Venusian over-haul ( mutation ) on his arrival. I need to do a complete character sheet on George to nail the tattooing down, as well as the horn placement. But for now this it - I'm on a roll with a couple of environment paintings right now.