Wonder Woman Commission Sketch

I haven't drawn many super heroes, but after drawing a quick commission sketch of Wonder Woman while tabling at New York Comic Con, I've decided this needs to change.

Benedict Cumberwhat?!

A little sketch of Benedict Cumberbatch I did a few months ago. Boy what a face. A ridiculous, ridiculous face.

Also, you may have noticed a bit of a website facelift. I decided over the weekend that it was time to update and unify the graphic design on my various online sites (twitter, tumblr, etc). I'd love to hear what you folks think of the new look! I think I like where it's headed, although I'll admit I'm still getting used to it.

Cletus and Brunhilda

A tiny lumber-jack and a voluptuous viking woman. Quite the combo, right? I can't tell you how badly I want to animate these two.

MTA

The morning and evening commute via the NYC subway system is ripe with a smorgasbord of characters just waiting to be captured in my sketchbook (or sometimes iphone nowadays). The variety of cultures, clothing, personalities, and mental stabilities amongst MTA patrons is surprising and impressive (and makes me giddy with devilish excitement just thinking about it). This illustration is based on a sketch I captured earlier last week. I'm not sure why I specifically choose to render this individual, but I will say the combination of pure disdain on her face, with the harsh over-head lighting may or may not have been contributing factors. 

Spirit Guardians

Folks, sleep is a magical substance that invigorates the soul and makes one extremely productive, at least it does for me. Sadly, I ashamed to say that I have found myself neglecting to get to bed on time the past couple of weeks in favor of staying up late to get some extra drawing accomplished. Unfortunately the extra hours are never that helpful and the lack of energy makes me even less productive on the days that I do have time to draw. Balancing a work life with a “work” life is tricky business when your hobby is also your second job. 


I’m taking a break from the birds in favor of another project involving boyscouts. I’ve been doing some color tests for two of the main character. I’m trying to develop a coloring style for the project (which will probably be a comic (perhaps)). Does the coloring look familiar? I’ve been using direct color reference from two popular sources to help jumpstart experimentation and creativity. Can you folks name the two films that inspired the coloration you see before you?  

Birds of a feather...

This week: more birds and more silhouettes. I’m REALLY liking this whole start-with-the-silhouette process thing. With this illustration, focusing on the silhouette also allowed me to quickly evaluate the overall efficacy of the line of action. SO many benefits, I feel like I’m going to explode. I’m like a kid in a candy store right now. If anybody else has discovered great workflow tricks, please let me know! I’d love to post them here for anybody else who might be interested (including myself :). 

Oh Hi Blog!

Wow, time sure does slip through your fingers in the professional world. I can’t believe it’s March already. O_O We’ve been in major crunch mode for a project at work for what seems like forever. Apologies for the severe lack of posts, but I am happy to announce that said project “Spartacus: The Game” is now officially live on Facebook and has been for about a month now.

I’ve been working on this project since August (concentrating mostly on characters, props, and animation) and it’s so fullfilling to see it live and in front of an audience. It’s still a work in progress even after it’s initial launch but it’s come a LONG way since the it’s initial stages. 

I’ve attached to this post some of the characters from the TV show - Spartacus: Gods of the Arena - that I created for the game. It’s been challenging switching over to more naturalistic style of character, costume, and prop design, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s always fun to explore new methods of painting. It’s helped me pick up some new tricks for my personal work.

Feel free to check out the game on Facebook: www.facebook.com/spartacusgame

Slow day in paradise

I bet St. Peter likes to knit angel wings in his spare time. I'm sure even heaven has it's slow days :D

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Better late than never :)

Last week was TOTALLY RAD! This is the first Halloween that I’ve been able to hard-core celebrate in a long time. Thank you New York for making this season very hard core in deed. Seriously, there was a new Halloween related activity I got to participate in each day last week:

Last Sunday: Paranormal Activity

Monday: Shopping for my Halloween costume - Todd Ingram

Tuesday: Horror Film Director Lecture Series (this one included the director of C.H.U.D.)

Wednesday: Paranormal Activity 2 (scared the shit out of me).

Thursday: Pumpkin carving and the Spanish horror film REC

Friday: Office shindig. candy, and lighting the pumpkins

Saturday: Halloween party in Brooklyn (we were out till 3:00 dancing and bar hoping (one of the bars had Nightmare Before Christmas on loop)).

Sunday: Resting more Halloween movies (Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Secret Window, Disturbia). And of course, there was more candy to be had :)

Hope everyone enjoyed their week too!

My Future Children

So this was a fun exercise! I was thinking this week about what my future children might look like. So I decided to draw them! Of course they each have a massive amount of curly hair, and they're SO pale, that they disappear in the snow (this will be made clearer by the color illustration I'm working on of them (will post soon)). Thus is why they are wearing snow outfits. 

Update: My friend Chrystin brought up a good question. Who is that tall guy on the far left? No that is not me, that is my angsty teenage son Trevor (19) who, following true to form with my own family, was born ten years before the youngest two, Sophie (7) and Hunter (9). 

Now the mother of these particular children is my good friend Cora Childress, who sparked this whole idea in the first place. It was the result of us talking about how pale and ridiculously red headed our children would be if they were to exist. And now they do...sort of. :)

Fat Unicorns RULE!

So, over the course of my college years, I’ve promised a few friends that I would create some artwork for them. Last December (yeah I know, a LONG time ago), I promised my friends Cora and Jane, that I would do a painting of them as vikings riding the back of a fat unicorn (kind of a homage to that classic Bugs and Elmer cartoon). AND HERE IT IS!!! And it turned out pretty ridiculous what with the volcanes AND the lightning. Ha! It was fun. Taught myself some new coloring tricks in Photoshop along the way. Now onto even CRAZIER pieces!!! Any suggestions? Anyone?

It's been forever...

So much for being diligent with my blog updates. Sorry folks. I had to disappear for a while (I know two months is kinda ridiculous) but I almost lost my job at the beginning of August due to some fiscal turmoil with my company, but THANK GOODNESS all that's been straightened out. I'm proud to say that I am officially a full time artist in the social gaming industry now. I'm working on a new project that will release on facebook in mid-January. Whew! Finally life is starting to slow down.

And part of that slowing down process is the creation of new ideas and new stories. Here's a character from one of those ideas that I've been working on, a spirit guardian named Chief Tahoe! Hopefully this will be the start of a fun little fall project. :D

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Comic-Con Post: Part 1

I'd like to say that this image really represent my Comic Con experience as a whole (insert clever metaphor about the small yet mighty claiming victory despite the vast insurmountable challenges) but it really doesn't. I don't know where this image came from. I'm not even sure it's all that interesting. Looks like you guys will just have to continue to bear with me while I try to come up with imagery that actually has good visual storytelling. 

I'll post more about the Con in my next post, but for right now the main challenge with the image was to come up with something quick. Hopefully overtime, as I practice more, I'll start coming up with better story ideas and compositions. I want to start treating my blog like Pascal Campion where I post a new drawing, sketch, or illustration everyday. But until things start to settle down here in NYC I'm not sure I can stick with a daily commitment just yet. We'll see!

Yeti Facial Expressions

I've been working my tookus off this week trying to get my portfolio ready to go. Some major events coming up including: Pixar visit, Dreamworks visit, Career Fair, SCAD Con, and several other career networking events. So! Here's a peek at what I've been up to. Who doesn't love a good Yeti facial expression (especially a drunk/hungover yeti such as the face in the corner). Hehe...can't decide yet what that awkward look on his face is yet. I've been obsessing over the Art of Kung Fu Panda, and the gorgeous drawings of Nicholas Marlet. Here's my vain attempt to channel his talent. Enjoy!

Genghis Khan

This is going to be a fun last quarter at SCAD. I'm taking two brand new courses, one being 2D Character Animation 3. Right now we have the opportunity to design either Sherlock Holmes, Rumplestillskin, Genghis Khan, and Cleopatra. We have to choose one, and create a character package this weekend. On Monday our Professor John Webber (former animator for Walt Disney) is going to choose the best character design, and then the whole class is going to the chosen character. So excited!

As you can tell I choose Genghis Khan. I'm referencing ancient Chinese statues for his facial features (I'll attach my reference photos later). I'm changing his character around a little bit. He's going to be a power hungry maniac, but no one will take him seriously. So whenever he try's to invade a village or conquer a tribe, everyone just kinda ignores his attempts at being intimidating. I'm having a lot of fun with his design! Hopefully he'll turn out well after this weekend. Pixar is coming next week, so I have to work extra hard to get my portfolio ready as well.

And yes, more Yeti poses

I drew these Yeti poses for the back of my "Promo Card" for senior project. Finally, I feel like my characters are starting to really pop off the page, at least a little bit perhaps.

Promo Card Front

Well, this image serves two purposes: it's both an assignment for my senior project class, and an opportunity for me to attempt to replicate my painting process from the recent image that I posted. I think this turned out pretty good! Hopefully I can make all of the other illustrations look just as good. I guess we'll find out :D

Updated Senior Film Style Test

After much deliberation with the EMPY Team, excellant feedback from Facebookers and Bloggers, I think I've settled on a Yeti color scheme, and here's my reasoning:


Most people chose a lighter toned Yeti, which I agree is appropriate because that is what generally separates Yeti's from Bigfoot interpretations. However, most Yeti interpretations I've seen included some variation of white on blue. Following suit for this Yeti design is, I think, a tad cliche. The Yeti in "Emma and Moly's Pet Yeti," is a very "different" yeti, not only in personality but also in appearance. I not only choose a warn neutral scheme because it stands out nicely against a cold environment, but a warm fur, gives him, I think more character. Think of it this way: red is hair is to humans as brown or warm fur tones are to Yeti's. This Yeti is playful, he's creative, he's care free, and he's intelligent. He's not a big, hulky mass that likes to eat and smash things. I wanted his coloring to reflect this. I did however, keep a blueish-green nose, and teal hair to tie him back to his cold origins. I also choose to give him a dark patch over his eyes for two reasons: many animals have this feature, and it is a common feature among various Yeti interpretations. Also, the darker patch helps his eyes stand out against his light fur tone.

Yeti Colors

I certainly wasn't satisfied with the color direction of Yeti in the last post (or any of the character color designs for that matter), so I've been playing around and experimenting with different color treatments for Yeti. Anybody have a favorite? Any of the top four work for me. Not only do they stand out against a winter background, but they also looks good under greyscale. Features are distinguishable, and still readable at a distance. Overall I think number two is my personal favorite. 

Senior Film Composite Look

Well, I keep learning new things with each EMPY illustration I complete. I think I'm getting closer to finding a final look for the film, but I'm going to keep experimenting just in case I discover something more awesome! This image is a little convoluted. Too much going on. The eye isn't successfully led throughout the image. So still need to work on my compositional skills. One illustration at a time I guess.