Top 10 Movies That Made Me Crave Music

I was thinking the other day that my musical taste was influenced in part (and still is) by movies that I have seen over the years. When I was growing up I didn't have older brothers or sisters to show me the way, I didn't have MTV (I still don’t watch music videos), and I didn’t meet people that I could talk to about music until much later. So, my love for music and my love for movies kinda grew together. Now, these movies are not necessarily musicals (in fact, they’re not), but they each have something that taught me to appreciate music in a way. I list them here in order of importance, not in chronological order, since I didn't see most of them when they were first released:

10. The School of Rock (2003)

Yeah, I guess I’m a sucker for sentimental bullshit, but you won’t find a better rock music 101 anywhere.

9. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Man, that Tarantino sure knows when to cue good music!

8. High Fidelity (2000)

I totally get John Cusack’s music snob character. I really identified with him. Except the part that he’s a scumbag… and a compulsive list maker. Yeah, I know this is also one of those lists. Okay, let’s move on.

7. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

I know what you’re thinking: “WTF? Why?” Well, let me put it this way: The moment I saw this movie, I started listening to rock music. And that’s all I have to say about that.

6. Almost Famous (2000)

This movie reminded me how much I would’ve loved to grow up in the 70’s. I can’t think of a better time to have listened to my first vinyl record and attend my first rock concert.

5. The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio) (2009)

I didn’t realize how much I love 60’s pop music. My parents grew up with this music, and my dad worked as a radio DJ for a long time, so, this movie constantly reminded me of them, since they introduced me to this music.

4. The Commitments (1991)

The "World's Hardest Working Band" that introduced soul music to the people of Dublin, Ireland, also confirmed what I knew all along: I have a soft spot for soul music.

3. Singles (1992)

The backdrop of the movie was the early nineties grunge-era Seattle and the musical fireworks sprinkled throughout the film gave us one of the best soundtracks of all time (definitely one of the most listen to records in my collection).

2. The Blues Brothers (1980)

This movie is magical in so many ways! Not only is Jake & Elwood Blues’ “mission from God” an epic road trip, but these guy’s love for music explodes on the screen. This was my first introduction to soul music. I still have the soundtrack on vinyl. It makes me do the happy dance.

1. Amadeus (1984)

This is my favorite movie of all time. I saw this movie when I was 8 years old and it had such an impact on me. It singlehandedly sparked both my love for movies and my love for music at the same time. Timeless and awesome.

Well, that’s it. What’s your top 10?

Ooh Yeah! (R.I.P. Macho Man)

Aside from his distinctively deep and raspy voice, and his "Ooh yeah!" catch phrase, what I most remember about this childhood icon was the KA-POW-pimp-slap explosion of color when he hit the ring. That is what I was aiming for with this tribute fan art for "Macho Man" Randy Savage. So, I apologize for any eye or vision damage this has already caused. Sorry.

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The Fearless Zombie Hunters Pin-up

I made this piece for Sadhaka Studio's pin-up book (availabe July 2011), based on characters from their awesome comic "The Fearless Zombie Hunters." El Angel, Abronsius and Candy.  These are great and fun characters, and I really enjoyed working on this project. Big thanks to Manuel Ríos Sarabia for the invitation and the opportunity. If you are going to Comic-Con International this year, be sure to stop by the Sadhaka Studio booth!

Hice este dibujo para el libro de posters de Sadhaka Studio (a la venta en julio 2011), basado en los personajes de su cómic "The Fearless Zombie Hunters". Me gustan mucho estos personajes, son muy divertidos, y disfrute mucho trabajar en este proyecto. Muchas gracias a Manuel Ríos Sarabia por la invitación y por la oportunidad. Si van a Comic-Con International este año, asegúrense de pasar al stand de Sadhaka Studio.

I also made these individual character pin-ups:

También hice estos posters individuales de los personajes:

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Whatever Happened to 1986?

This was my submission for this year's Comic-Con International Souvenir Book celebrating "1986: The Year Comics Grew Up", the year that saw the debut of Art Spiegelman' Maus, Watchmen by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, among other comics. This is the second time I draw a "team-up" featuring Rorschach and Batman. The first one was "The Last Beer."

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Ésta fue mi entrega para el libro de recuerdo de Comic-Con International para este año, que celebra el tema "1986: El año que crecieron los cómics", el año en el que debutaron Maus por Art Spiegelman, Watchmen por el escritor Alan Moore y los artistas Dave Gibbons y John Higgins, y Batman: The Dark Knight Returns por Frank Miller, entre otros cómics. Ésta es la segunda vez que dibujo en "equipo-up" a Rorschach y a Batman. la primer vez fue "La última cerveza".

Here's another version of this piece. This time referening Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, written by Alan Moore, art by Curt Swan, George Pérez, and Kurt Schaffenberger (also a 1986 comic, and that's where the idea for the title came from in the first place.)

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Esta es otra versión de esta pieza. Esta vez hace referencia a Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, escrita por Alan Moore, arte por Curt Swan, George Pérez, and Kurt Schaffenberger (que también es un cómic de 1986, y de ahí salió la idea para el título).

“Vader Arrives” ‘Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back’ 30th. Anniversary

I had all the intention of finishing this piece last summer, but for some reason or the other this was another sketch that was laying around until I had the time to work on it. Better late than never. I still had a lot of fun working on this. This drawing represents everything I love in Star Wars: My favorite Star Wars movie (‘The Empire Strikes Back’), my favorite Star Wars character (Darth Vader), my favorite Star Wars vehicle (the AT-AT Walker), and of course, I love drawing stormtroopers/clonetroopers ever since I was a kid. The idea for the composition came from this “The Force Unleashed” screen shot. I thought it would help me capture that moment when Vader arrives at Hoth. Hope you like it!

Batman: Blue

A couple of weeks ago I made a quick Batman sketch on a small piece of paper. I wasn't planning on doing anything with it. It was just laying on my desk for some time. But then, I got the idea of doing something like this with it. Quick and fun doodle.

Catwoman Fan Art

This was my submission for the first COMCOM Art Jam. This year’s theme was Super Heroines/Villainesses. Picking which character to do was easy. I love how Catwoman works in that gray area of comic book characters where she can be both a hero and a villain. However, deciding how I would depict my version of Catwoman took a little longer, but it was a fun process. This character has obviously gone through different looks in comics, TV, and movies through the years, so I looked at some of the stuff that has been done before, I kept those aspects that I like in the character’s design and personality, I got rid of the ones that did not work for me, and I started to draw my own rendition of the Feline Fatale. For instance, I understand the practicality of Catwoman having short hair and low-cut boots, as seen in recent portrayals, but I really like her with long hair and knee-high boots. I really like the goggles she uses in recent comics, cartoons, and videogames, so I decided to keep those. I tried a couple of different colors on the lenses, but the basic dark shades worked better for me. She always looks great in black, but I really wanted to throw more color in there, so I used the classic purple costume. Also, I wanted to stay away from the movie versions of Catwoman as much as possible. (Especially the Halle Berry version) (Except for the cleavage… I kept the cleavage). I’ve seen some great Catwoman illustrations in dynamic poses, but I was aiming for a sexier full body pin-up pose. When drawing attractive female characters, Bruce W. Timm’s style (“Batman: The Animated Series”) is always a big influence on me. At this point, I’m learning how to do a lot of stuff on my own, and with every illustration I learn something new. I had a lot of fun doing this piece.

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Ésta fue mi entrega para el primer Art Jam de COMCOM. El tema de este año fue Super Heroínas/Villanas. Escoger qué personaje hacer fue fácil. Me gusta cómo Gatúbela funciona en esa área gris de los personajes de cómics donde puede ser héroe y villano. Sin embargo, decidir cómo representar mi versión de Gatúbela tardó un poco más, pero fue un proceso divertido. Obviamente, con los años este personaje ha pasado por varios cambios en cómics, TV, y películas, así que estuve viendo algo de lo que ya se ha hecho antes, me quedé con esos aspectos que me gustaron del diseño y la personalidad del personaje, me deshice de los que no funcionaban para mí, y comencé a dibujar mi propia interpretación de la Felina Fatal. Por ejemplo, entiendo el sentido práctico de que Gatúbela tenga cabello corto y botas bajas, como se ha visto en representaciones recientes, pero ella me gusta con cabello largo y botas altas. Me gustan mucho los lentes que usa en cómics, caricaturas, videojuegos recientes, así que decidí dejárselos. Intenté usar diferentes colores, pero los lentes oscuros se ven mejor para mí. Ella siempre se ve bien en traje negro, pero sí quería echarle más color, así que utilicé el traje púrpura clásico. También, quise mantenerme lo más lejos posible de las versiones de Gatúbela que se han mostrado en las películas. (Especialmente la versión de Halle Berry) (Con excepción del escote… Me quedé con el escote). He visto algunas muy buenas ilustraciones de Gatúbela en poses dinámicas, pero yo le estaba tirando a una pose de más sexy de pin-up de cuerpo completo. Cuando se trata de dibujar personajes femeninos atractivos, el estilo de Bruce W. Timm (“Batman: La serie animada") siempre es una gran influencia para mi. A estas alturas, estoy aprendiendo cómo hacer muchas cosas yo sólo, y con cada ilustración aprendo algo nuevo. Me divertí mucho haciendo esta pieza.

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