Book Update #14: BotCon '09
posted 09 June 2009
Also in Los Angeles was this year's Transformers convention, BotCon. Seeing a Stan Bush concert outdoors on the Paramount backlot and Michael Bay previewing for us 5 minutes of the new movie were great, but the real goal was to stay on Hasbro's radar. |
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Book Update #13: Los Angeles
posted 09 June 2009
Finally recovered from a week in Los Angeles visiting people I interviewed for my book between 2001 and 2004. I wanted to show them my progress, so I took the completed printouts of Chapters 2-4. Larry Houston, at right, was kind enough to fact check a few names. I also picked up a GI Joe Extreme storyboard, which will come in handy when I get to Chapter 13. |
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Book Update #12: AMC blog
posted 09 June 2009
Online columnist Nick Nadel interviewed me for his biweekly Comic Book Movies. I answered several questions about G.I. Joe and Transformers, and what the new live-action movies owe to the 1980s comic books and television cartoons. This was more background info than fishing for quotes, so my own words don't appear, but that's cool, it's still a neat column. |
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Book Update #11: Photoshoot #5
posted 12 May 2009
Andre and I popped down to Rhode Island for a housecall to shoot a few rare items in the possession of a former Hasbro employee. I've had a grey placeholder box in the layout of Chapter 3 for a year now in anticipation of getting one of these photos, so it was a small victory. |
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What Are Animation Festivals Like?
posted 11 May 2009, but
back-dated to 15 April 2009
The AIB Illustration and Animation Blog interviewed me about our annual trip to the Ottawa International Animation Festival. My photos, too. |
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Back from Nashville
posted 11 March 2009
updated 16 March 2009
Nick Nadel and I are back from delivering our seminar on graphic novels at two Tennessee locations as part of the NEA's The Big Read: The Giles County Public Library and Martin Methodist College. Who knew Zombie Tom Sawyer could be so interesting? Photos in the Events section. |
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Book Update #10: NYCC '09
posted 02 March 2009
Last month I hit the fourth annual New York Comic Con. Under my arm were print-outs of the completed Chapters 2 and 3. I didn't have anyone in particular to see, but with so many toy, book, and magazine people there, it was a good networking opportunity. I ended up bumping into two folks who were involved in the pitch last summer -- a pleasant surprise -- and chatting with two editors. |
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Book Update #9: Photoshoot #4
posted 12 December 2008
Today photographer Andre and I met at a suburban house outside of Boston to shoot the box of a mint, sealed U.S.S. Flagg which just sold on ebay. The proximity of the seller and the choice condition of the toy package presented an opportunity too good to pass up. I haven't seen a boxed Flagg up close since 1986, so it was a real treat. Some lucky buyer paid $7000 for this item. |
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Book Update #8
posted 12 December 2008
While designer Liz continues moving around elements in Chapter 2, editor Nick makes suggestions for Chapters 4-6. I've been scanning Russ Heath character designs and Will Meugniot storyboards for Chapter 4, revising Chs. 5-8, and buying animation cels on ebay. |
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Store Update/New Comic For Sale
posted 12 December 2008
The For Sale section here at Inanimate is at last fully functioning. Via the magic of PayPal, buy the brand-new "Four Squares," or the not so brand new "In A Cafe Just Like This One." You can even purchase a selection of very old and quite embarassing "TransSpoof" comics. Click HERE. |
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New Comic For Sale
posted 02 October 2008
For the month of July, friends and fellow art-folk Liz Prince, Maris Wicks, and Joe Quinones are I each drew a daily autobiographical comic. All those strips are now available together as a 32-page mini-comic, "Four Squares," and will debut this weekend at SPX in Bethesda, Maryland. I'll have copies for sale here at Inanimate in a few days. At right, the grueling task of folding and stapling all 200 copies. |
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Book Update #7: Not Much to Report
posted 09 September 2008
Despite one publisher saying "We want to publish this," and another expressing an interest completely unsolicited (a nice surprise), other powers that be said "No." I'll just have to keep writing and try again later. Meanwhile, editing continues apace on Chapters 5 through 8. Editor Nick Nadel suggested adding an entirely new chapter to boot. |
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Book Update #6: Photoshoot #3
posted 17 July 2008
While the book proposal makes it rounds with the appropriate people, I avoid biting my fingernails by keeping busy with writing and planning. Tuesday was another photoshoot at Glad Works, this one an all day affair with both indoor and outdoor set-ups. To the right is Andre Blais shooting the 1983 MOBAT tank in a little dirt formation that caught my eye. |
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30.
posted 07 July 2008
Last week was devoted to my birthday: Concerts, dance parties, movies, fireworks, ice cream cakes, and out-of-town friends. I designed the invite/flyer for the main party itself, which is now up in the Graphic Design section. Special thanks to balloon twister Jungle Jim, DJ Volvox, and photographer Keith Pierce for working their magic at the VFW. |
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Book Update #5
posted 07 July 2008
A few days back Glad Works' new photographer Andre Blais and I spent the day setting up and shooting 1982 Straight-Arm and '83 Swivel-Arm G.I. Joe figures. The day's theme was action photography -- Figures posed in environments, rather than product-style shots with only single-color backgrounds. Andre wasn't afraid to get down on the dirt and gravel and the pictures look that much better for it. |
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Book Update, part the fourth
posted 05 May 2008
On Thursday I drove to Glad Works for my first photo shoot. Photographer Wes Rollend posed a batch of 1983 Swivel-Arm G.I. Joe figures and shot for three hours, racking up 250 pictures. I'm sure when all is said and done, only nine or ten will make the cut. Best of luck to Wes in his new job, and I'm glad we were able to squeeze him into the project before he moved away from Rhode Island. |
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Book Update, part the third
posted 05 May 2008
Last weekend I took a printout of Chapter 3 of my G.I. Joe book to BotCon '08. Though this particular convention is for Transformers and not G.I. Joe, it seemed like a good opportunity to network. I had a great time, and got to show my progress to a few helpful people. |
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Book Update, part the second
posted 05 May 2008
Two weeks back, and with January's sample page layouts of my book in tow, I trekked to New York for the third annual New York Comic-Con. My mission was to talk to any art book publishers that might be in attendence. Several were, and I got some good advice and a business card or two. While there I also bought a Michael Golden interior page from Marvel Comics' The 'Nam issue #1. |
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Inappropriate Touching
posted 26 February 2008
Curatrix Sarah Schoemann pulled together a show of dirty comics and erotic art at The Washington Street Art Center in Somerville, MA. The opening was so jam-packed that I actually didn’t get to see the art. Must have been the coverage by the Dig, the Globe, and the Phoenix. Photos have been added to the EVENTS page. |
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Book Update
posted 26 February 2008
Some of you may know I'm working on a book. Research began in July 2001 and I started writing in earnest in October 2006. This week I'm starting Draft 6 of the pitch, which is Chapters 1-4. Special thanks to friend/writer Nick Nadel and father/writer Terence T. Finn for ongoing assistance as manuscript editors. |
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New Section Uploaded
posted 26 February 2008
As a freshman at art school who didn’t know how to paint, I took an illustration class called “Sci-Fi and Fantasy Illustration.” That embarrassing work is now up in its own eponymous section inside THE VAULT. |
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My Photo in The Boston Globe
posted 26 February 2008
In fall '06 reporter Vanessa E. Jones called. With a big-budget Hollywood film in the works she was writing a piece on Transformers fandom. We chatted for an hour, me trying not to come across as a fanatical nerd. The next week, photographer Wiqan Ang showed up to shoot me and my toys. Scans of the article are now in the PRESS section. |
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Mini-Comic Still Available
posted 26 February 2008
“In A Café Just Like This
One,” my 20-page comic all about coffee and sort of about our art show at Diesel Cafe, is only $2.00 in the States. PayPal accepted at the tim at inanimate
dot com address. Choose your favorite color cover – pale green, pale
orange, or lavender. Go here. |
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Inanimate.com Launches
posted 15 September 2006
Welcome to inanimate.com! Read 800 pages of comics, thrill to bad
art made by myself in 5th grade, gasp at (hopefully) good art I’ve
made more recently, and dare to find the handful of sections that
haven’t yet been uploaded! |
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New Comic Available
posted 26 August 2006
I’ve just finished a new mini-comic called “In A Café Just Like This
One.” It’s 20 pages, and available for $3.00 in the U.S. Send a check
to “Tim Finn” at my contact info or PayPal me using the tim at inanimate
dot com address. Choose your favorite color cover – pale green, pale
orange, or lavender. |
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Four Squares Comes Down
posted 10 August 2006
Our run at Diesel Café came to an end on July 30th, as Liz Prince,
Joe Quinones and I took down the paintings, drawings, and stuffed
animals we had displayed for the previous two months as “Four Squares.”
Maris Wicks wasn’t available for the tough job of pulling nails out
of walls, but it turns out that taking down the art took half as long
with half as many people, so we won’t fault her. Thanks to those of
you who came to the opening or stopped by later on. See photos from
the show in Events. |
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Inanimate.com Launches in August
posted 25 May 2006
Just a few short weeks away is the full launch of this very website,
inanimate.com! Read 1000 pages of Tim Finn's comics, see illustration
and sketchbook goodies, watch clips of Tim's animation, and see photos
from the "Four Squares" opening at Diesel Cafe! |
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