Hal Hefner = Artist & Storyteller

Charlie Krueger – What if Freddy Krueger and Charlie Brown Were One?

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:08:04 +0000

My pal Brian Clark, suggested an image to me on Facebook. “I want a t-shirt with a character on it that is equal parts Charlie Brown and Freddie Krueger. Can you see it in your mind, brother?”

Yes, Brian. Yes I can…and his name is Charlie Krueger. Charlie Brown and Freddy Krueger are one!

I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did making it.

halhefner@gmail.com

Ralph McQuarrie and Moebius dead within a week of each other

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:58:57 +0000

The wold lost two legends within 7 days of each other (give or take a little)…when famed artists, conceptual masters and creative geniuses, Moebius and Ralph McQuarrie passed away.

I wrote a couple of memorial articles on them on the Gates comic book website. You can see my Ralph McQuarrie one here and the Moebius one here.

I’ve been watching a lot of videos and looking at their art recently and it has inspired the hell out of me. So best wishes, and peace out to two amazing men who where my teachers that I learned from. The world will not be the same without you but we are very grateful that you were in it!

Please enjoy some McQuarrie and Moebius stuff below!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don’t Drink and Drive- Drink and Read My Webcomic – Gates

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 07:00:10 +0000

With gas prices on the rise and the prospect of a new, intelligent president, far from a reality…I have a suggestion. READ a WEBCOMIC! and DRINK A BEER!

Please check out my epic science fiction comic book, presented online for free! http://www.gatesthecomic.com

Ralph McQuarrie has Died

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:06:50 +0000

Today has been an incredibly difficult day. Ralph McQuarrie has died today and it feels like a part of me has died as well.

When I graduated from college, Ralph McQuarrie became my teacher. I studied his brush strokes, his use of form, shape, volume, color and lighting. He was an incredible visionary whose artwork brought the visions of George Lucas and Isaac Asimov to life. From Star Wars, to ET, to Robots dreaming, McQuarrie gave us a unique approach to alien life, the future and how it related to modern times. His concept art for Star Wars is some of the greatest movie conceptuals of all time.

Goodbye Ralph and thank you for being you. I will forever be in debt to you and your mastery of oil pants, alien landscapes and humanity.

May the force be with you.

Here’s an awesome video that someone put together on Youtube, with all of Ralph’s Star Wars art.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rating the 6 Star Wars Movies from Worst to Best

admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:59:03 +0000

STAR WARS!

I’m a nerd and I love science fiction…and like every one else, I love Star Wars. BUT I have very strong opinions about the movies and George Lucas himself. So in an act of nerdiness I ranked my preference of Star Wars movies, 1-6. 6 being the worst and 1 being the best.

Do you agree? Disagree? Tell me what you think!

6) Attack of the Clones: From the video game like annoying action sequence and the arena battle to the love frolicking in the field between Anakin and Padme, this movie sucked so much ass, I will NEVER watch it again. EVER!

5) The Phantom Menace: Metaclorians and Jar Jar Binks is all I have to say.

4) Revenge of the Sith: The best of the newer triliogy by far but still boring and lifeless at times and Portman’s birth scene was so terrible that only Darth Vader’s NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!, saved it form being the worst scene in the movie.

3) Return of the Jedi: Just imagine if there were Wookies instead of Ewoks?

2) Star Wars: A New Hope: Great movie and would have been number one if not for…

1) The Empire Strikes Back: Awesome in so many ways I cannot even list every one. Luke really takes a pounding in this and all looks lost when Boba Fett flies away with the Han Solo Popsicle and heads for Jabba’s palace. Yoda captured our hearts and our vocabulary and father and son relationships will never be the same again.

Coincidence Control Network CCN Podcast

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:00:16 +0000

I had the pleasure of joining counter culture experts and enthusiasts on a podcast exploring some fun topics about the underbelly of Pop Culture Joseph Matheny, Kim Monaghan and Ken Eakins.

We had a blast discussing the death of Whitney, Ken’s love of George Lucas’ polished turds, how Marvel screwed the original Ghostrider creator, Putin the sexy super-villan, Occupy Movement gets taught at colleges, The strange case of George Noory from Coast to Coast AM, Porn in India, Busting caps into your daughter’s computer, Double Fine set a new standard, ACTA protests, and the possible involvement of PNAC?

Have a listen to us nutjobs and check it out!

EXTRATERRESTRIALS OCCUPY – Giorgio Tsoukalos Image By Hal Hefner

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:43:52 +0000

Giorgio Tsoukalos, the man, the myth, the legend. The harbinger of all ancient mysteries is he!

Here’s a limerick I wrote about him that sums up this image of Giorgio Tsoukalos.

Giorgio Tsoukalos had wonderful hair.

Giorgio Tsoukalos wished more people would care…

about ancient mysteries and the secrets of those long dead.

So the Occupy movement should borrow his head.

Because he knows the Extraterrestrials have always been there.

I also did a fun commercial, spoof for the soundtrack for my Webcomic, with Heavy Metal Magazine. All the proceeds of my comic go to the Ronnie James Dio Stand up and Shout Cancer fund. Please enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

SOPA – Son Of Patriot Act

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:07:05 +0000

SOPA is the Patriot Act II - please urge your politicians to vote against this initiative to destroy your online freedom.

SOPA is the Patriot Act II – Son Of Patriot Act

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:02:00 +0000

SOPA is the Patriot Act II - please urge your politicians to vote against this initiative.

Hal Hefner Portfolio of Digital Art for THQ’s Darksiders 2 Video Game

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:54:07 +0000

Back in February of 2011 I was fortunate enough to land a very fun freelance gig. I was contracted to paint some key art samples to be used in a pitch for a THQ game called Darksiders 2. This game is the follow up to the original smash hit game Darksiders, created by Vigil Games, a subsidiary of THQ. Vigil Games is an Austin, Texas based video game development company formed by renowned comic artist Joe (Mad) Madureira and David L. Adams.

My role was take the early concepts of the main character, Death and position him in various settings of the game. It was an interesting job as most of the world was just being flushed out so I had few visuals to work with…but what I did have was amazing. I had access to several background paintings which I used to form the foundation of the paintings and then I created the image of Death, and his nasty dead horse. This was a fun assignment and I hope I get a chance to do more video game art as I love it.

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