My mother passed away on Mother’s Day May 8, 2022. 

Since that day, I’ve been taking some time to retreat and gather my thoughts. 

The day my mother passed away, I knew things would be different afterwards, but I didn’t know how.

It’s been a hard time. It’s been a lonely time. It’s been a heartbreaking time.

I’ve gained a new appreciation for people, for friends, for life in general, and for not missing opportunities when they present themselves.

For those that have been supportive and encouraging and just been there… thank you.

The post The Cold Valley appeared first on Athenic.

These are the hands that raised me.

These hands are filled with compassion, wisdom and patience, but they also carry the burdens of pain, sorrow and illness. They’ve looked different over the years, sometimes delicate and tender, and other times stubborn and demanding. This was how they looked days before they finally found peace.

These hands took on the incredible task of turning a child into an adult. For years, they loved me, taught me, molded me, and in times when I wasn’t looking, reached out for me. They’ve shown me the value of love and the cost of pride—lessons that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.

These hands lifted me up when I was down, and when I was up, pushed me to new heights. I’ve known these hands my entire life, but in their final days, it also became clear I’ll never know all they’ve been through.

These are the hands that raised me.

I love you mama.

The post The Hands That Raised Me appeared first on Athenic.

I’ve seen so many movies in my life. My IMDb ratings is currently just over 1,500 titles, but those are the ones I’ve taken the time to rate. In over 40 years, I’m sure it’s far beyond that.

It was different when you could only see movies in a theater. Once cable came around, it made classics and obscure titles a possibility. Now with all the streaming services, it all feels like too much.
So I have to be choosy now.

I’m going to watch one new movie a day. Something I’ve never seen before, something I should have seen a long time ago or maybe something random I’ve never heard of. No rewatches, no walkouts, no incompletes.

There are so many good series I also want to keep up with, and sometimes a good old favorite is comforting, but those are going to come second now.

The idea is I’ll have seen 365 new movies with new stories, new characters and new worlds I’ve never experienced before.

Quite a challenge, but here we go…

The post A New Movie Every Day for 2022 appeared first on Athenic.

When I was writing the early drafts of Visitors Only, I started creating a playlist of music that I happened to be listening to at the time, and then added other songs that I thought related to what I was trying to say.

Check out that first playlist here.

Of all of these songs, the one that stood out the most was “戦闘の色” from Atlas and the Astronaut.

At almost nine minutes long, I could almost see the entire story playing out as a build up to the moment at around the four minute mark when the song just explodes into a wailing drive. It’s a wild ride of tone and energy, and I haven’t quite heard anything like it since.

As I kept writing and started moving into pre-production, I continued adding more songs. It grew into a collection from all styles and genres, and post-production and editing. I even created separate playlists as part of the backstory for each of the four characters. (There’s a much bigger idea behind what ultimately made it into the short film, but that’s for another time.)

I kept all of these songs in my daily rotation throughout the production, and the whole time I kept thinking it’d be really cool to find a way to use one of these songs in the film itself.

Sometimes your art becomes what it wants to be, not necessarily what you thought it would be.

By the time I watched a near-final cut, my thoughts of what the audience should be left feeling had changed. The whole thing needed a different energy to close it out. I needed something that reflected Dolores being absolutely strange and powerful and undeniable.

My first pick was “Night Child” by The Oath.

The track has such an epic sound, but lyrically it didn’t quite match up with my feelings for Dolores and the story. When I found that the band had broken up in 2014, I figured getting permission to use it in the film could turn out to be a dead end.

Instead, I went back to my original touchstone from Atlas and the Astronaut’s album Tiny Artifacts. The film was so structurally very different than what I first imagined that I didn’t see a way to make “戦闘の色” work, but I looked to another track “I Am Pixl” that seemed like a good fit to fly in over the final credits.

In early drafts of the script, the film cut to black when Dolores appears in Rome’s car. When I saw that we would have to go back to our location to grab a few more pickup shots, I realized I just wanted to see more of Frank and give Dolores a bigger sting at the end.

I had worked out an entire backstory about how Frank and Dolores knew each other, and if nothing else I just wanted something to indicate everything that just happened was only the beginning of something bigger and weirder. When Dolores turns to the camera , I wanted to make sure we all understood she had the upper hand.

In my mind, Visitors Only is just the beginning of Dolores Duran’s dark and deadly quest for justice. I started writing a screenplay a year later, and it sits in my files until the day I can find a way to tell the rest of her story.

In the meantime, here’s a chance to check out full playlist I worked from.

The post The Music Behind Visitors Only appeared first on Athenic.

Like I talked about on a recent episode of Sketch and Release, I think the regular practice of drawing something new every day has helped a lot. I especially tried to work in more tones and textures with markers this time around.

Here are some of my favorites!

The post Inktober 2021 Highlights appeared first on Athenic.

Regardless, I took it upon myself to draw something new almost every day of the month. It was doing this in September 2019 that really helped me get back into drawing and creating new art. 

These aren’t about creating highly finished pieces but just exploring and experimenting with all kinds of style and topics, and here are some of my favorites.

The post Sketchtember 2021 highlights appeared first on Athenic.

Get ’em here: athenic.threadless.com 

The post New shirts on Threadless! appeared first on Athenic.

I bought a new car! After months of watching so much car content on YouTube, I had to do this.

How to get rid of the ugly front bumper license plate mount, because your car looks better without it.

The post This Is Not Helping – Dodge Charger Front Plate Mount Removal appeared first on Athenic.

After six months of producing my podcast Sketch and Release, I’ve been feeling more like the subject than the artist. Every episode I look at what I’ve learned throughout my career, but it’s also let me reflect on life experiences in general.

With everything I’ve been dealing with since January, the podcast has been a safe space for my state of mind. I’ve discovered more about myself and how much I can handle, including the anxiety of putting myself out there for the whole world. Thank you for listening.

Some behind the scenes stats so far

Most downloaded episode: #8 Mentors – almost three times the listens of every other episode. Shout outs to those I mention in it!

Hardest episode to produce: #12 Freedom – not only because I tried recording with two cameras, but some real emotions were hitting in that one.

Favorite episode sketch: #5 Collaboration – I’ve gone back to that one and starting coloring it out. Maybe I’ll post that one someday soon.

The post The Subject appeared first on Athenic.

Some thoughts on A Quiet Place Part II, what its success means for movies and the moviegoing experience for 2021 and beyond.

The post A Quiet Place Part II and Movies in 2021 appeared first on Athenic.

The thought is a little heartbreaking considering how much I’ve enjoyed that car, and I wanted to keep it close to my heart and still represent the last decade that I’ve been rolling with Mopar.

I looked for some cool t-shirts, but but didn’t find much that really fit my taste, so of course I designed some of my own!

I’ve added these to my Threadless shop, available in multiple colors and fits.

Annnnndddd all t-shirts are $15 through June 27th!

If you or someone you know is a Challenger owner, maybe these are just what they’ve been looking for. 

The post For Challengers Only appeared first on Athenic.

Here’s a quick look at the setup.

The post How I record Sketch and Release podcasts appeared first on Athenic.

This has been life for me lately. The state of the world, the state of my home, the state of my family—all of it seems so chaotic and delicate and imbalanced right now.

I used to believe that, with enough strength and determination, one could handle anything the world threw at them.

This week I had another in a recent series of reminders that, as much as I want to help others and handle things all around me, I can’t forget to take care of my own well-being. 

The past year has been a prolonged exercise in patience and resilience for us all, and just remember it’s okay to take time for yourself whenever possible.

The post The Binds of Life appeared first on Athenic.

Bad Boys X Jaydan

———-

I always thought this Jaydan track would fit perfectly with this insane car chase from Bad Boys II, so I decided to smash them together!

———-

For demonstration purposes only.

Bad Boys II © Columbia Pictures
King of Miami © Propaganda Recordings

The post Kings of Miami (Music Video) appeared first on Athenic.

Here’s a longer trailer for Green Machine that I cut together almost five years ago to the day. This gives a better idea of what we were going for.

This was an exercise in finding the elements like dialogue and shots that could make it all make sense. Add to that finding a way to make it work with the selected music was another lesson establishing tone and energy.

More on the way soon!

The post More Green Machine appeared first on Athenic.

Finding the right mix of music and film to create something greater than either individual pieces has always fascinated me.

If I had to pinpoint it, the first time I recognized this was the convoy scene in Smokey and the Bandit set to “East Bound and Down”, but clearly that song was meant to go with that film. 

Taking two entirely different pieces from different artists from different times and creating a whole new experience—well that’s even more exciting, isn’t it?

It must’ve been over a decade ago when my friend Scott first showed me this video. At the time, I hadn’t seen Once Upon a Time in the West nor was I familiar with Arcade Fire, but this blend of two completely different works just seemed to come together like magic.

Last week I finally sat down to watch Once Upon a Time in the West. Not only did I find it mesmerizing and intriguing (and shame-inducing that I’d never seen it until now), but understanding the characters and plot made me go find this gem and watch it again. 

Long story short: kudos to JT Helms or whoever first conjured this.

If you haven’t seen this before or seen the film or heard the song, do all three.

The post My Body is a Cage Once Upon a Time in the West appeared first on Athenic.

Second episode of the podcast is out!

I talk about how I’ve learned to recognize and overcome limitations and how that can be a valuable tool even outside of creative work.

You can find each episode of Sketch and Release here and on Patreon at patreon.com/robertcortez.

Patrons can watch the full video episode and finished artwork, and use the Patreon app to automatically get notified when new episodes are available.

You can also listen and subscribe to the podcast at:

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher 

Get your podcasts some other way? Let me know!

The post Where to find episodes of Sketch and Release podcast appeared first on Athenic.

The last time I recorded a podcast was almost seven years ago. I’ve been wanting to get back to it for a long time but also try something different for Patreon.

I started working on podcasts in 2005 with Podtacular ,which I’m sure must be the longest-running Halo podcast at this point. Through building their website and contributing to the podcast, I learned so much about online communities and met some of the best people I’ve ever had the pleasure of fragging trucks with.

In 2008, I co-hosted the PiQ podcast the best people I ever made a nerdy entertainment magazine with. We got four of those in the can before the whole affair was ripped out of our hands.

We managed to pull the energy back together on our own in 2010 with Sodapop Journal because there just weren’t enough podcasts with people talking about movies! I’m always down to talk about movies and filmmaking, but at the time, the struggle of trying to figure out what now amounts to a simple Zoom call and keeping a regular schedule led to it gradually coming to a quiet end in 2014. (I’m still surprised that Joe Rogan has unknowingly kept the name alive after all this time, but that’s for another time.)

Now in 2021, I’m starting the machine up again. I learned a lot from the past, and in a way, I’m using that to know where I don’t want things to go.

I don’t want it to be complicated.

I don’t want it to be a chore.

I don’t want it to be another job.

So I’m going to do what I do anyway: draw something and let it go.

Sketch. Release.

Check it out here or find it where you get podcasts.

Video feed is available on Patreon.

Here’s to new beginnings!

The post Sketch and Release appeared first on Athenic.

A year ago, I was riding high on a renewed interest in creating more artwork. I started drawing, writing, recording with the hopes that the coming year might open up some big opportunities.

Since 2020 didn’t quite work out like any of us planned, I started looking for other ways to share my work and support my passion to keep creating. Starting now, I’ll be using Patreon as the platform for sharing my work.

What’s in it for you?

For a monthly pledge, patrons will get to follow the development of these projects and more:

• Treadbeats (graphic novel)
• The Spark in the Dark (animated short film)
• The Schoolyard (novel)
• Mal (short film)
• One Against (novel)
• Dare Me (film)
• The Untrilogy – Unexpected, Unrest, Undone (film)

If these titles don’t mean anything right now, that’s okay. This mix of art, writing and film projects have been a part of my life for the last several years, and I’m determined to share them with you.

Anything else?

Building on this creative momentum, I’ll also be adding more perks for patrons, including:

• Original artwork including notes, sketches and commentary
• Companion playlists
• Exclusive digital downloads (wallpapers, posters, music and more)
• Exclusive videos and short films
• TWO new podcasts
  • Sketch and Release
  • Sounds from the Hardgrounds

I’ll still post some occasional peeks at this new stuff on social media, but Patreon is the place to follow the creative process and see how these and other ideas become a reality. Only there will you see things before anyone else anywhere else.

How much?

One dollar a month.

You can follow the page for access to free things, but some goodies will only be available with a pledge. Right now the goal is to find an audience that’s genuinely interested more than making money. So let’s start small.

Until then, that’s a lot for just $1 a month, right?

The post It’s Time to Step Into the Future appeared first on Athenic.

I started the year with scattered ideas and no solid direction, but world events found their way into my work in more ways than I realized at the time. While my approach to illustration definitely evolved and improved, my ideas also started to take shape. I decided to back away from posting to focus on that, so here’s how 2020 ended up.

I’d normally share these top nine with pride, but I think it might have been different if you saw what’s coming next.

The post My Strange and Curious Sights From 2020 appeared first on Athenic.

There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.”

Francis Bacon

In August 2019, I set a goal of drawing and sharing something new everyday, and I ended up drawing more in five months than I had in the previous five years.

Whether it took me minutes or days or even years to complete, self-consciousness and doubt and fear have always been hard to overcome because I was aiming for excellence. The result is far less finished work with only slightly-improving quality. After more than 30 years of calling myself an artist, I really should have much more to show for it.

For so long, I thought art was a matter of crafting perfection, but making something that I’m happy with is more important than creating a masterpiece. An artist doesn’t have the power to deem their work good or bad or anything beyond that. That belongs to the viewer.

So this first drawing of the year represents the incredible vulnerability of sharing my personal art with the world and what 2019 taught me about embracing the discomfort that comes with it.

Today, my only concern is communicating what’s in my head (be it amusing, weird, fantastical or downright disturbing) and that I’ve done it to the degree I think is most appropriate — not the best, or the fastest, or even the clearest. Better to let it be rough or unusual or embarrassing instead of never letting it be at all.

Thank you to everyone that showed love and encouragement for what I’ve shared so far. Turns out I needed it so much more now than ever before. There’s much more to come in 2020, and I hope you’re down for the ride.

The post Strangeness in the Proportion appeared first on Athenic.