Onstar parody video by my friend Takeo (PG13)




You probably know Takeo from my videos. He is a white man who was born and raised in Japan (chiba) and came to America to go to film school. Now Takeo has graduated and he just made his first film.

It's a very short 40 second parody of and Onstar commercial. If you don't know Onstar you should watch this commercial first. That's an original Onstar commercial.

Takeo was able to get some real Hollywood actors to star in his short. Reid Ewing is the character "Dylan" on the popular US ABC TV series Modern Family. Shelby Young is on a soap opera called DAys of Our lives.
Tara Sands is a well known voiceover artist.

I guess Takeo must be pretty good to attract all these famous and talented people.



Takeo's video is a little too....adult....for my youtube channel, so we made this video to put up on my channel instead.



If you don't know TAkeo, you can meet him here.


Ashamed - Process from sketch to framed painting.



I was looking through my sketch book and I found this man, looking down at his feet. I don't remember when I drew him...maybe sometime earlier this year.

I'd forgotten him, but when I saw him again I suddenly wanted to be his friend.

He looked sad.

I asked him what was wrong, and he said in an invisible voice "I'm ashamed of all the things I can't remember."
I wrote those words down next to him, so that other people would understand
without having to ask him what was on his mind.

His name is Edward Tolby.
Edward Tolby is ashamed of all the things he is ashamed of. H
e is also ashamed of all the shameful things he has done in the past, but forgotten.
In fact, he is more ashamed of the forgotten shame.
I tried to cheer Edward up by telling him that there was no shame in forgetting.
I hope the next time I draw Edward Tolby he is smiling.

AFter the sketch, I copied Edward onto some fancier paper using a light box (putting the original drawing under the new paper and placing them both over a clear lighted area).






I then painted a few different versions using different colors and mediums (some with water color and some with acrylic ink).
I don't do this with every drawing. Sometimes I paint the first one and I am satisfied.
At least half of my drawing don't involve a sketch, but just go straight to painting...in those cases I only do one draft.









In this case, I wanted to see how other colors would change Edward so I did three different versions.

Which one do you like? Do you think Edward feels differently in each one? What is he feeling?


The last step in the process...I choose the Edward I like and put him behind glass. He will live there until someone or something frees him.


Vid Con, the Youtube and Vlog convention in Los Angeles




This weekend is the Vidcon in Century City, Los Angeles. It's a Youtube and Vlogger convention put on by the Vlog Brothers. It goes from today, Friday, till Sunday the 11th and if you are a youtube fan you can watch footage live at
this link.


There are panels about youtube, new media and how to use new technology for videos and vlogging. There are also many performances and talks with famous youtube celbrities like Shane Dawson, Phillip Defranco and Michael Buckley. If you are not a youtuber, you've probablyy never heard of these folks, but they are very famous in the youtube world.


If you live in LA and are a youtuber, you should stop by. Even if you don't attend the actual talks, you can have fun just meeting people in the lobby.

Split Watermelons not Atoms. Suika Wari Party!




Takeo-Kun and I celebrated the 4th of July, America's Independence Holiday, in Venice Beach, CA. It was a Japanese party, so we celebrated with a traditional Japanese game called Suika Wari (Watermelon Splitting). It is similar to a pinata party, but instead of candy hidden inside of a donkey or Pikachuu, you get to eat the sweet, juicy flesh that is hidden inside of a watermelon.

If you are a fan of Japanese manga or anime, you probably know Suika Wari. It's in almost every summertime story that takes place on a beach, especially in a romance comic. The player is blindfolded, and spins around until they don't know which way the watermelon is. The spectators guide the player to help him get closer to the melon. Once the player thinks she has found the watermelon, she gets one whack. If she misses, another person gets to play.

I hope you will get a chance to split a watermelon this summer, or at least eat one.