Meet the Time Frog ::UPDATE::

A new iteration of the Time Frog's character sketch. This one with the clock face set into the iris of the eye which I think gives a more probable look, if something completely non-plausible could look more plausible. He has a froggy ear now (who knew?) And I'm playing with his texture and color.

Nick H and Mike's naming of the Time Frog's live-in-mouth critters, Musca Tempora (Time Flies) is so brilliant I can't even stand it. That is a classic Halfland play on concept and words--and YOU are coming up with them now! Holy cow.

I had a super wild thought this morning. What if I had fun making little 50 Time Flies like I have in mind, packaged them up cleverly as real-esque scientific insect specimen as I have in mind. Then all the readers and friends of this blog who have contributed notions that have been incorporated into it can receive one as a gift. Anyone else could also have one of their own by purchasing it from a proposed Halfland Etsy.com shop (secure, handmade craft online store) for $25 to contribute to a Halfland camera and lights fund. Not only would they receive an original piece of tiny Halfland puppetry as memorabilia but actually support the film's making. What would you think of that? Good? Bad? Do it? Don't? eh? I'm ambivalent. I want to make 50 flies and sell 'em for fun more than money but I don't want to take away (ironically) my time from building the set to do so.

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I realized today that I get to build my little fly almost-puppet after all. He'll escape out of the Time Frog's mouth, just as for me irritation sometimes accompanies Time. The offer still stands for any reader of this blog to suggest a suitable name for this character. If a submitted name is selected for use, there will be Halfland prizes awarded.

My first time working on a Desktop Publishing computer, circa 1993, during the giant graphics revolution. I was working in a New York publishing house on an early Mac on a large res file of a frog that was overloading the slight RAM typical of those bygone days. The "processing" icon was a little clock with its hands whirling around telling me it was chewing on the file. The cursor happened to be placed directly on top of the frog's left eye, making it look as though one of his eyes was a clock.

Hmmm.

I had been devising Halfland in my mind for a while at that point and in the fertile, moist soil of that creative endeavor the seed had been planted for a vignette.

As we pass by the island landscape in the film, Halfland's Time Frog sits nearly submerged in the fresh water stream that runs down the hill from Rana's cottage. He's a normal Halfland frog except for the fact that his left eye is a vintage clock face, complete with the tiniest hand carved hands (these I have already procured from an antique pocket watch). He is the origin of what we know as time. It all starts with him.

Time is not my favorite thing to deal with. It flies by like a freight train and frequently pushes against my druthers. I want more of it. I want enough of it. And when I have to conform my activities to it I can get pretty bent out of shape. I can find relating to it irritating. I also find flies irritating. The incessant buzzing for no reason, the relentless inexplicable dive bombing at the most vexing of times.

Broke out the visual reference material today. Man, are these envelopes filled with collected treasure of ideas and images. Invaluable. I painted the character sculpt with a practice base coat so I could use him as a stand in as I begin to build his set piece. Tomorrow I'll mock up the cardboard and maybe get a little papier mache ou-hon.

I also painted the legs of the kitchen table and added a drawer front. Tested the new balcony by painting it black with black gesso. Loving it now. That'll work.