Red Dead mentioned on The Daily Show this week

It's good to see Red Dead back in the news...

Daily Show has a Red Dead Redemption reference

Saw this video and thought the graphic gag was worth sharing (It comes on at 8:16 and 11:02). Nice to see the references continuing in outlets like this.

"Jesse Lange" skin for Red Dead Redemption

For some reason I hadn't noticed this before, but this hombre's got quite the awesome last name:

Just saying.

Red Dead Redemption gets 2010 "Game of the Year" award at GDC

Red Dead Redemption, was given "game of the year" in San Francisco this week at the Game Developer's Choice Awards.

From the article:

"There was no shortage of groundbreaking titles across platforms and genres this year. From big-budget blockbusters like Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2, to indie darlings such as Minecraft and Limbo, 2010 was truly an incredible year for games, and we're delighted to honor them here," said Meggan Scavio, Event Director of the Game Developers Conference.

Congratulations to all my former teammates on that great project who took home awards for Design, Technology and Sound. (Maybe one day animation will be recognized at the GDCAs) For my comprehensive list of awards RDR2 has garnered, visit this blog post.

New "The 300" Sketchbook

I've started a new 100-page sketchbook that I'm filling with just portraits. Specifically, 3 portraits per page, totaling 300 when I'm completely finished. It's mainly for keeping sharp with my draftsmanship skills, so I'm trying to keep each head to around 20 minutes. The early ones used a lot of shading, but I'm now standardizing the style to be more line-based, with a head-on perspective.

28 pages into my "300 Heads" portrait sketchbook.

11/12/12 Update: I've started using #300Heads as the hashtag for my Twitter updates regarding the new portraits.

The Complete List of Awards for Red Dead Redemption

This weekend Spike TV held its annual Video Game Awards. Red Dead Redemption was nominated in the following categories:

Game of the Year
Best Song in a Game ("Far Away")
Best Original Score
DLC of the Year
Studio of the Year (Rockstar San Diego)
Character of the Year (John Marston)
Best PS3 Game
Best Action Adventure Game
Best Graphics
Best Performance by a Human Male (Rob Wiethoff)

When all the dust had cleared, Red Dead won the coveted 2010 Game of the Year award, along with Best Song, Best Original Score, and DLC of the Year. In what has been the most incredible year of all my time working on video games, I can't think of a better way to wrap up 2010. All three games I made at Rockstar San Diego went on to be nominated in their respective categories at the VGAs, but Red Dead Redemption was the first one to take the grand prize. I want to take this space to congratulate the massive team that made it such a great work of quality, and thank the fans who have supported the game since its release. It's been a very special thing to be a part of, and I'm happy to be able to look back on RDR2 and see that it got its due.

Update: There are many more awards rolling in. Here is an ongoing update for the other awards Red Dead Redemption has won for 2010:

X-Play's Best of 2010 Awards:
Best Action/Adventure Game
Best DLC

Machinima 
Game of the Year
Best Narrative
Most Compelling Character
Best Original Score
Best Sound Design

ShortList
Best Game of 2010

The Times of London
Game of the Year

GamesRadar
Game of the Year
Reader's Choice Award
Runner Up: Most Graphics
Runner Up: Cutscenes You Actually Want to Watch

IGN
Funniest Game (Undead Nightmare)

GameSpot (nearly a clean sweep, taking awards in the following categories)
Game of the Year
Best DLC
Best Story
Best New Character
Best Atmosphere
Best Original Music
Best Voice Acting
Most Improved Sequel
Best Writing/Dialogue
Best Ending
Best Action/Adventure Game
Best PS3 Game
Best Xbox 360 Game

Game Developer's Choice Awards
Game of the Year
Best Technology
Best Game Design
Best Audio

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Now Available

New day, new Red Dead post. You can now purchase the Halloween-themed "Undead Nightmare Pack" through the Xbox or Playstation online stores. I hope you enjoy it!

Earlier posts on the Undead Nightmare Pack: 1  2

Red Dead Redemption » Undead Nightmare - Launch Trailer

The latest spookiest trailer for Red Dead's "Undead Nightmare" downloadable content.

I've been working on comedian caricatures again, so keep checking back for new ones. I saw Paul F. Tompkins and Janeane Garofalo at Largo last week and I'll definitely do renditions of them eventually.

New Official Trailer for the Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Downloadable Content

For those who are looking for a new spin on the Red Dead Redemption universe, here's Rockstar's take on ZOMBIES:

It was the last project I worked on at Rockstar San Diego, so I know it's fun as hell. I hope you gamers that read this blog end up picking it up and enjoying it.

Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare Debut Trailer

The last thing I worked on at Rockstar San Diego is almost here...

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare DLC!

New characters, a new story, and more gore and twistedness than you can aim a Blunderbuss at. Comes out this month.

'Thick Kids' Blog Mention & Latest 'RDR' News

The new comedy art blog "Thick Kids and Their Thick Parents" has my Brian Posehn and Louis C.K. caricatures reposted on it. More of my stuff might appear there as I create more comedian caricatures, so give it a look every once and a while.
_____
In Red Dead Redemption news, here are some of the latest web articles to be posted this week:

Brad Pitt to star in Red Dead Redemption movie?  (a complete rumor, but that hasn't stopped people from pitching their own casting ideas)
Take-Two Trumps Estimates, Rides Red Dead Redemption to Q3 Profits
Red Dead Redemption Hits 7 Million Sales
And finally, here's G4's verdict on the recently-released "Legends and Killers" DLC for Red Dead Redemption. Pick it up now!

New Animation Reels

I uploaded three new demo reels to YouTube. Each contains a different slice of my body of work. They are broken down into the Main Demo Reel, a Keyframe Only Demo Reel, and a Mocap Only Demo Reel. For shot breakdowns, visit my portfolio site. YouTube videos always exceed the width of my Blogger column, so the best way to view them is off the link to the YouTube site itself.l There's lots of little details in them, so make sure your resolution is set to 720p.

Main Animation Reel (best of keyframe & mocap) YouTube Link


Keyframe Only YouTube Link


Mocap Only YouTube Link

The Latest Red Dead Redemption News

Just wanted to post some RDR items, the first of which being that the new Legends and Killers downloadable content will be available online August 10th, and it includes models of characters from Red Dead Revolver, the "spiritual predecessor" to Red Dead Redemption.
-Check out screens here and the video at GameTrailers.com:

Video Games | Red Dead Redemption | Exclusive Legends and Killers DLC Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

-The second news item is that a team of young Dutchmen just broke the official world record for uninterrupted game playing. Which game sustained their fanatic attention for 50+ hours? Red Dead Redemption, of course.

-There's a great behind-the-scenes video of how the RDR soundtrack was created that you can check out here:


-A recent write-up of the biggest games of the year in the New York Times.

-Up next, a great webcomic about a fan's experiences in RDR over at 24 Hours Marston. (Press "Next" to start the comic sequence)

-And finally, LEGO Red Dead! 1 2

Toy Story 3 and Red Dead Redemption

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the new movie Toy Story 3 in 3D. I have to say that it was one of the most solidly entertaining movies I've ever seen. It's really something to be almost frozen in a state of joy for such a long time, with each new scene bringing with it new laughs, smiles, and love for the characters I've grown to know more with each sequel. I'm not sure what more I can say without spoiling the movie other than it needs to be seen, and seeing it in 3D made it even more enjoyable.

I have a bit of personal history with the Toy Story trilogy. Not in any direct way like working on it in some capacity, but more from the vantage point of a person directly inspired by it. Specifically, Toy Story 2 was the movie that caused me to drop out of college to enroll in animation school. There was no denying its charm and ingenuity as I watched a night showing in my college town's local mall theater, and I vividly remember walking back to the bus stop with a new determination to become a part of the undeniable magic that was 3D animation. My college was a lot of fun and I loved the school tremendously, but it was clear where I wanted to go now, and the better way to get there was through an animation-focused school. Less than three years later, I finally found myself animating for a living.

All this is what made make this piece on the LA Times' website a funny read. It compares Toy Story 3 with my recently-released video game Red Dead Redemption, with its author Ben Fritz wondering which could be seen as the "signature success" of 2010. Until I read that article, I hadn't realized how closely-timed the release of my game was to the finale of Pixar's flagship trilogy. Both have enjoyed tremendous success so far, and it goes without saying how amazing it feels to be a part of something that is received so well. While I can't answer Fritz's question, it is interesting to think that after such a long period of time (has it been eleven years??) the sequel to the animated movie that influenced me the most in my life ended up appearing like an echo within a month of my latest and best project. It has all made for a memorable summer.

Red Dead Redemption nod from Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead

Whoa!

It's great to see so many blog posts, tweets, texts, Facebook status updates, etc. out there about people enjoying RDR. I recently finished the single player campaign, and now I need to keep chipping away until I get 100% of the achievements in it.

I've made no secret of my Radiohead fandom, and I've seen Body Song multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed Greenwood's soundtrack for it. That post of his reminds me: I need to do the final pass on my latest Thom Yorke portrait.

RDR swag from GameStop

What a haul! When RDR released, I was able to get all the remaining promo materials from a GameStop in town. 6 promo posters, two stands, a fake box, and a big poster at the bottom. The poster with the cover art (rightmost of the top three in the first pic) is now covered with the signatures of my teammates. The stand on the floor in the second pic has our original April 27th release date. I'm not sure what I'll do with them all, but I'll definitely frame the team poster when I get the chance.

Red Dead Redemption Launch Video

Here it is. The final new video for RDR2 before it's released on Tuesday--and it's the best one yet. I know I say that each time a new video comes out, but it's because the marketing team does such a great job of raising the bear each time. If you're an NBA fan, you've been seeing our commercials all this week.


To pre-order, visit the Red Dead Redemption website and pick the place that has the best deal for you (Amazon is a good choice).

New Red Dead Redemption Video: "Revolution"

Your character John Marston spends many days in the harsh and politically-turbulent area of Mexico. This latest promo video shows some of what you will encounter South of the border:

Red Dead Redemption in the LA Times

The LA Times came to our San Diego studio to see what we've been up to:

Red Dead Redemption Brings the Western to Video Games
Cowboys and six-shooters may have become forgotten on the big screen, but Rockstar Games hopes to bring the western to a new frontier: the video game. Red Dead Redemption is set in the Old West in 1908.

In other Red Dead news, the News for Gamers website has a thread where you can read all the other online articles and blog posts related to Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead Redemption: New Multiplayer Video

It's finally here: the sneak peek video of Red Dead's multiplayer competitive modes. Prepare to dodge gatling guns, cannons, snipers, and horseback riders to get the most gold: