"About Frickin' Time" ("Austin Powers in Goldmember")
Dr. Evil (c) New Line Cinema
The title to this picture holds a dual meaning. On one hand, you can say the "about frickin time" is something Dr. Evil would say upon finally receiving his much sought after "sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads". The guy has been going on about the darned things since the first movie. On the other hand you could also say the title refers to the fact this picture debuted one month late. So it just fit.
Part of our delay in finishing up these Summer Blockbuster pics was the fact we just seemed to have an "artistic block" in that we just couldn't figure out what to draw for these last few films. With our Austin Powers pic it really was a sort of dual colaboration. A few weeks prior, I had an insane idea for Plight face off against Jabberjaw (you know, the Hanna Barbara cartoon for the 70's with a walking shark who talked like Curly from the Three Stooges.), except that Dr. Evil had fitted ole Jabberjaw with a nice laser beam. Jake, being of sound mind, took one look at my attempt and congratulated me for what he said was finally my "Shrek" picture; meaning an illustration so bad no amount of photoshop could save it just like Jake experienced with "Shrek" the previous year. And he was right. After getting a good night's rest and seeing it again with fresh eyes, my compadre helped me dodge a bullet (though I still think it was a cool idea).
As for the picture itself I tried a few things to add the effect that Plight was under-water. I like the blue-ish tinge and the ripple effect, although in retrospect I wish I could've gotten the water appearance a bit more perfect. - Tony