Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I suppose it's politically correct to say "Happy Holidays" now but I grew up celebrating Christmas so that's what I'm calling it. In whatever way the rest of you celebrate this time of year, Genevieve and I wish you and your family all the best...and by that, I mean lots of great food and great gifts, yo. =)

The Islands in the Sky site will be quiet till the start of the new year but we've set into motion some exciting plans that we hope to share with all our readers as soon as we can. Everyone, please be safe on the roads, enjoy your time with loved ones, and have a great time!

See y'all next year!

- Joseph

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Contest Winner! (WARNING: LONG POST)

Hey IITS Readers,

Thanks for all the submissions to our Snowball War print contest, Genevieve and I really enjoyed reading all of them. The first five questions were clearly "gimme's" and every answer could be easily gleaned from either the comic book or the blog site. In the end, it really came down to a choice between the people who made a real effort to come up with creative ideas for the bonus question. One of our contestants suggested that we post all the answers that everyone submitted and while we thought that would be a good idea, it would make for a ridonkulously long post so we decided to just share with the rest of the readers our three finalists. They are:

Chris P.
FifthFanZac
Chris B.

Here are their entries:

Chris P.
Stuck in their cell, Gordo comes up with a plan. He calls for the
guard, frantically screaming that Kayli is trying to copulate with
him, and he's unwilling- he needs help to get her off of him!
Immediately awake, the guard eagerly runs over and throws open the
door- and is promptly stabbed with the gnawed, splintered bone. Gordo dons the guard's keys and uniform. A confused Kayli asks what he's doing, but is interrupted as Gordo pours oily gruel all over her. Her eyes stinging, she suddenly feels a draft- Gordo has stripped her of her bodysuit!

Before she knows it, she's been pushed down the hallway. Unable to
stop herself on her oily feet, she bursts through the double doors,
right into the middle of the pirates cafeteria. The rough crowd is
suddenly silent. After a pause, Kayli, with an embarrassed grin, takes
off, streaking towards the exit. The pirates give chase, but find
themselves unable to get a hold of her- her well-oiled body slips from
their grasp each time.

With the cafeteria clear, Gordo briskly finds his way to the docking
bay, where the pirates stashed their stuff after being captured.
Meanwhile, Kayli blindly (and slippery-ly) makes her way through the
compound, eventually finding the exit. With pirates in tow, she runs
outside. However, she finds herself at the edge of the island, with
nothing but grass beneath her, an atmospheric fall in front of her,
and incensed pirates behind her. Facing the crowd of poorly groomed
ruffians, she places a foot over the edge. The pirates hesitate for a
moment, but then advance. Resigned to her fate, Kayli leans back and
tumbles off the edge.

The pirates let out a gasp, and rush to the edge- only to have their
faces buzzed by an swiftly climbing Manty! Gordo, holding Kayli in his
arms, unceremoniously dumps her onto the seat next to him- there's not much room on Manty and he has to keep the machine stable. The temporary pilot casually tosses Kayli her bodysuit. After re-dressing, she angrily takes Manty's reigns. As explosions from sabotaged vehicles in the pirates docking bay sound in the distance, Kayli steers them away into parts unknown. Gordo finishes eating the banana.

FifthFanZac
Kayli:"Quick take off all your clothes."
Gordo: "What why?!"
"To distract the guard. Then when he enters the cell for a little Gordo lovin I'll push this pole on his head."

An exasperated sigh leaves Gordo's lips as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Listen lets just look around first and see if any of these stones are loose."
"Phoo, you never go with my ideas."

A quick search reveals a loose block!

"Ok help me push it."
"But Gordy what about the G-U-A-R-D?"
"Kayli he's asleep, not an infant, you don't have to spell out guard. Besides this block looks to be right above his head, we'll free ourselves and knock him out at the same time."
"Two meats over one fire."
"Yeaaahhh, ok sure, look just watch the guard while I push this and tell me if he's waking up"
"Kay"

Gordo uses his manly physique to push the block out of the wall where it falls on the sleeping guard's face, gently guiding him into a deeper dreamworld.

Both our heroes, wait don't sound right. . . Adventurers. . . hmmm. The meat hunter and the hermit jump though the hole and promptly retrieve their equipment which was placed in the armory just next door. Good fortune smiles upon them.

"Hey don't call me a meat hunter, I'm more of a meat gourmet!"
"Gah, Kayli don't talk to the narrator like that!"
"Aww, but-"

Angry shouts can be heard down the hall, the incapacitated guard has been noticed.

"See this is what happens when you talk to people."
"Well what now oh Mr. Plans."
"We steal their gliders."

They sneak to the hanger using a cardboard box. Once there hermit boy hot wires a glider with a paperclip while the meat gourmet uses a nearby pole to bar the door.

"Ok it's ready lets get out of here."

The glider rockets into the sky taking our dynamic duo to new heights.

"Batman AND Robin? Here?"
"I think he means us Kayli."
"Ohhh. . . victory banana!"
"No, don't eat that you don't know where it's been!"
"AWWWWW!"

Come again next time, same sky time, same sky channel.

Chris B.

The attached picture is what I believe the situation to look like. So let's begin shall we? Kayli gathered all of the items in the room thinking of a plan to come up with, when Gordo finally came out of his helpless slump! Thinking he could possibly use Kayli's looks, he woke the guard. Gordo called him over, telling him to open the door. Obviously the guard refused, but with a little persuasion and a little 'charm' from Kayli, he opened the door. Hoping to get Kayli all for himself, she grabbed the bone and smashed it on his head, knocking him out cold. Poor guard. Anyhow, seeing as they had no means of escape it was time to put some serious thinking faces on. However, it wasn't too long before Kayli was distracted by the smell of meat coming from the dining hall. Being, well...Kayli, she was determined to get that meat by any means necessary..which also meant she ran into the hall full of men eating that same meat.. The men stared blankly at Kayli until she realized she was caught. Without any warning they all jumped up and ran after her. Gordo, unaware of the situation, casually walked down the hall looking for any means of escape until he heard a crowd of yells and grunts. "What the hell?" He ran in, only to find Kayli on top of a group of knocked out pirates. Well except one, but he decided to run away, stashing away any meat he had with him. Grabbing all the meat she could, Kayli and Gordo escaped with their lives and a belly full of food. Poor Gordo. ):

And the winner is...

FifthFanZac...congratulations!

We decided to go with FifthFanZac because while Chris P. had funny and creative use of the gruel and Chris B.'s was charming because of the fun little picture he shared, FFZ had us laughing the most. We loved these three entries the most and to us...it was almost to close to call. We didn't want the other two guys to go away empty handed so after some discussion we decided that while FFZ wins the deluxe 19x13 Snowball War Print, we would award each of our two runner's ups with the almost as awesome 14x11 smaller sized Snowball War prints! Yay! If you are a winner and haven't already sent Kayli your mailing address, please do so now. FifthFanZac, your print can be mailed this week...Chris B. and Chris P., please forgive us, we'll need to contact someone to print up yours before we can mail them out. It was a last minute decision to hand out the additional prizes and we only have the 19x13 print on hand.

Once again, congratulations to all our winners and thanks to everyone who entered!

- Joseph

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Reminder: Last Day for Contest Entries

If you want a chance at winning the signed 19"x13" Snowball War print, it's not too late to enter. Officially, the contest ends tonight but more than likely, I'll just see what I have tomorrow morning, er...tomorrow afternoon when I wake up.

The contest isn't a tough one and if you haven't guessed yet...your chance of winning mostly depends on your own creativity. So flex your creative muscles and give it a shot, you never know!

P.S. If this is the first time you've heard of this, the contest rules are below.

- Joseph

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Contest: Win a "Snowball War" Print

Here it is, folks! The contest isn't very difficult...it's just a series of IITS questions.

Win a "Snowball War" Print Contest Rules:
  • Questions #1-#5 are worth (1) Point each.
  • The Bonus Question is worth between (1-5) Points (see below).
  • Total Possible Points: (10)
  • Highest point total wins a signed 19"x13" Snowball War print!
  • Email answers to kayli.iits(a)gmail.com (replace (a) with @).
  • Winner must provide a valid mailing address to receive the print.
  • Entries must be received by: Tuesday, December 15th 2009.
Here are the questions!
1. "The world of IITS has three distinct layers: Overworld, The Central Islands, and Coreworld. Which layer is Kayli and Gordo from?"
2. "Kayli's unique bodysuit is made which of the following materials? A) Behemoth Stomach Lining, B) Skin of a Giant Plumaba Fruit, or C) Goretex(™)?"
3. "Kayli borrowed one of Gordo's neckties for a recent photo shoot...what color is the tie?"
4. "What is Kayli's favorite food? A) Dempi Fruits, B) Deep Fried Behemoth Testicles, or C) Meat?"
5. "True or False: Gordo is happy he met Kayli."

Bonus Question:
"Kayli and Gordo have been imprisoned by some dastardly pirates in the same 15'x15' cell. The walls are 30' high and made of stone. The door to their cell is made of 2" thick hardwood and has a tiny observation window at eye level. Opposite the door is a small, barred window 20 feet from the floor. In the center of the room is a tiny hole that acts as a drain. Additionally, there is a very small grating along one wall where the squeaks of rats can be heard.

The pair were stripped of all their useful gear before being thrown in the cell but Kayli has her bodysuit and Gordo has his clothes as well. At their disposal, they have a six foot long, heavy steel pole (too heavy to be used as a weapon) leaning against a wall, three lengths of string about a foot long each, a well gnawed bone about eight inches long, a ceramic bowl of very oily gruel, and a half eaten banana.

Outside is a single sleeping guard and down the hall, the dining hall where dozens of pirates are eating their dinner and discussing what they should do with their prisoners and, more specifically, what they should do with Kayli. In about 500 words or less, describe how Kayli and Gordo get themselves out of this mess. Have fun!"

Note: If you have a question about the scenario, make up your own answer! Bonus Question responses will be judged on their humor and creativity and given a value between 1-5. Consider the Bonus Question to be the tie-breaker question.

The winner will be announced sometime next week after the last entries are received. Good luck, everyone!

- Joseph

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Mighty Nomad Gallery Pics!

The gallery was literally right next door to the Sony studios in L.A. so before we went in, we were standing in awe of the gigantic lot. The movie posters on the sides of the buildings were so huge and Genevieve commented that their size and epic-ness could make an "Ernest Goes to..." movie look good.

It was pretty quiet in the first hour or so, with just a few people coming in and quietly appreciating the works...but as the night went on, we got a pretty good crowd in. A lot of really talented animated film industry people, friends and family, and some game developers too. Though I'm not in the industry, it was very inspiring to talk to some of these Dreamworks veterans who were so nice and gave us such great insight into their work and companies. I'll let Genevieve share her own thoughts and feelings but I think it's fair to say that she was fairly starstruck by some of the talent in attendance. =)

The pieces on the display were a great mix of styles. Since so many of those showing at the gallery were animators, there was A LOT of character stuff and all of it was great. There were also some memorable scenery pieces that looked like they were plucked right out of a classic 2D feature. Genevieve was humbled to be in the presence of so many talented artists but I was proud that her piece was able to stand up with the best of them.

I didn't mingle as much as Genevieve but her gallery piece was right next to the snack table so I gorged myself with junk food in order to surreptitiously overhear the candid comments of people viewing her "Snowball War". Here are some of the anonymous comments:

  • "There are so many little stories in it..."
  • "It's really fun and festive!"
  • "It's sooo funny!"
  • "Who is this creepy Asian guy standing next to us?"
  • "Is he even going to wipe his mouth after that handful of Chex Mix? Gross."
Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Craig and Meredith Harris for being such wonderful hosts and for inviting Genevieve to show at the gallery in the first place. We had a great time!

...oh and here are the pics!

Artists and attendees mingle as a young girl Twitters:
"It's SUCH a drag..." Just kidding. =)

See that dude in the back to the right of the guy with the hat?
That's Genevieve's head right above his shoulder.

Some girls trying to avoid eye contact me. Apparently,
"Hey, baby...I'm a comic book writer," does NOT get you chicks.

Marcelo Vignali (2nd from left) with his family and
Tang Heng (5th) with his fiancee' Noelle Triaureau (4th).

Genevieve and Craig Harris strike poses in front of "Snowball War".

Genevieve with my brother this time in front of her gallery piece.
He got the good looks and I got...hmmm, well...he got the good looks.

The table where people could purchase smaller sized prints.
The contest prize is the larger version you see on the right there.

Genevieve mingling with animators Corey and Jesse from Insomniac.

Tuna Bora with Genevieve in front of Tuna's gallery work.
Tuna awesomely gave her gallery piece to Genevieve!

Here's Genevieve and Craig holding each others prints.

Finally, here's the two of us with Craig and his wife Meredith
after the show was almost packed up. Thanks, guys!

P.S. The contest details will be posted on the blog in a day or two so if you want a chance to win that print, check back later this week!

- Joseph

Monday, December 7, 2009

Win a "Snowball War" Print!

Hey IITS Readers,

As soon as Genevieve sends me the pictures from the Mighty Nomad Gallery, I'm going to post them here but...medium story short, we had a great time and met lots of cool people! However, I also wanted to let our readers know that we're going to hold a contest sometime this week and the winner will receive a free 19"x13" print of the IITS Snowball War signed by Genevieve...so keep watching this space for the contest! Hint: Your creativity and knowledge of IITS will be challenged! Be prepared!

- Joseph

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Mighty Nomad Gallery is this Saturday!

If you're in the L.A. area and want to check out the art of Genevieve and a lot of great artists, consider attending the Mighty Nomad Gallery this Saturday! Here's a list of those showing and here are the gallery details:

When:
Saturday, December 5th, 5pm - 9pm

Where:
Los Angeles Meeting and Event Center
10601 W. Washington Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90232

In addition to the originals, all artists will have affordable prints for sale (including the snowball war print we previewed in the last post) for all their pieces. If you're in the area, drop on by! =)

- Joseph