CA24 Blog 'O Arts

A Lady

2011-08-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

I guess I always wanted to be an artist...

2011-06-25T00:13:00.000-04:00

Horse Sense

2011-06-18T01:58:00.000-04:00

I don't draw horses much. Or cars, for that matter. Or buggies...

The Amish are pretty interesting.

Where I'm from in Ohio, they're pretty common.
At least in the outlying areas.

Coincidentally, "Weird" Al's Amish Paradise is one of the
greatest parodies of all time.

By the way, my sketches borrow some style from the great
P. Buckley Moss.

Carpet Man!

2011-06-11T18:47:00.005-04:00

Some character designs for a local carpet store!

I get to do some animation as well.

I'll be on TV!
Oh boy, oh boy!

UPDATE:
Well dang...it turns out the carpet store owner had no idea what he was doing, or money, so the deal is off. Oh well, the designs were fun to do.

The Blawg LIVES!!

2011-06-11T14:46:00.002-04:00

Bitter Bunny, I choose you!

2011-03-14T20:13:00.001-04:00

I have been playing a lot of Pokemon White recently. I think Bitter Bunny would make a good pokemon, don't you think?

Bitter Bunny as a pokemon trainer!

...and a dollar short

2011-03-08T22:42:00.003-05:00

Ok, after missing a week due to illness, I am now a day late with what was supposed to be yesterday's post. Today, I don't have any artwork to share, but rather a few photos from my trip to Tofino.
I thought this 'found cat' poster was cute.

Enjoying coffee and breakfast at Tuff Beans
The docks. You are never far from the water in Tofino.
The view from our cabin.
Another view from our cabin.

Not Feeling My Art Right Now.

2011-03-03T21:53:00.002-05:00

Ugh. I don't post so no one else does either?

I haven't been feeling my art right now. I feel slightly forced due to the fact that I have to post here every week. So I decided to take a couple weeks break. Maybe I will have something after my vacation.

Sorry dear readers!

Stolen Tuesday

2011-02-22T18:39:00.004-05:00

Since I missed last week I figured I'd fill in Tuesday's spot also. I have a quick animation in mind for tomorrow but if I can't get that together I'll post something else.

For now here's a random illustration I did.

Beer Logo

2011-02-21T19:57:00.002-05:00

For some time now, I have been fascinated with the idea of brewing my own beer. In the near future, I am going to start up my own homebrew. This gives me the perfect opportunity to design a logo. With that in mind, I started playing around with Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and here is the result...
Ta da!
When I get closer to actually brewing, I will do up a final version and order some stickers for the bottle labels.

Dr Mario, computer expert.

2011-02-17T21:05:00.002-05:00

I think I got all the viruses gone from my computer. Hopefully it is fine now.

Nico

2011-02-14T14:58:00.003-05:00

To apologize for my lack of a post last week, this week I have two things for you. I have been playing with the Autodesk Sketchbook Pro on my iPad. It's a great program, and I have been drawing my cats. I give you Nico!

A digital painting of Nico

A digital ink sketch of Nico

I got worms.

2011-02-10T22:11:00.000-05:00

My computer seems to be infected with some sort of virus called
"Spyware Protector." it does not let me do anything. I will post
tomorrow.

Steven Gehl

2011-02-09T23:31:00.000-05:00

Blog.4

2011-02-05T14:58:00.004-05:00

My first love and my background in art is traditional, hand-drawn animation. From the revolutionary, visionary works of Walt Disney, to the mad-cap antics of the Looney Tunes gang, animation has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When it comes to my own artwork, there nothing quite like seeing my drawings and characters come to life. As an animator and animation enthusiast, I can't get enough of Glenn Keane's designs and animation of the character of Tarzan in Disney's Tarzan. The human figure has long been the subject of artists, sculptors, and animators alike. With his piercing eyes and exaggerated musculature, I can't help but marvel every time I see Tarzan in motion, knowing just how much effort and technique went into every single frame of that film.

BLAWWWWWWG.3

2011-02-05T14:49:00.003-05:00

BLAWG.2

2011-02-05T14:47:00.001-05:00

BLAWG....

2011-02-05T14:40:00.002-05:00

I've been practicing my caricatures.
These are my friends Gabriel & Brian.

I am victorious!

2011-02-03T22:26:00.003-05:00

With Katrina missing yesterday's post, I am now the only member of this blog to post something, anything every week. It is a bittersweet victory for sure.

That said, I have some more character designs and such for my comic. I was working on what I am going to do for line work and colour. I am not sure I want how I shaded here. I also working on character interactions.

Playing around

2011-01-31T16:18:00.002-05:00

This is my first doodle done with the Autodesk Sketchbook Pro app on my iPad. It's quite a robust program.

Few Steps Closer.

2011-01-27T20:50:00.002-05:00

I am working on putting a nail in the coffin of the things that are keeping me from starting a webcomic. I have a couple characters, I got a few script ideas, I got a drawing board and some paper and I am working out a inking technique.

Why am I dressed like a cowboy? No good reason. It is more because I have been reading the last Scary Go Round book and I like how Ryan Beckwith is draw. He sometimes dresses like a cowboy. The last drawing also has no real purpose. It is me as the incredible Hulk or something.

Practice Sketches...

2011-01-26T21:12:00.001-05:00

Just some practice sketches from paintings.

I've been simpsonized!

2011-01-24T16:57:00.002-05:00

I'm working on a short right now, but it's not done yet. So, in the meantime, enjoy a sketch I did of myself as a Simpsons character!

The Gulf Stream

2011-01-23T15:26:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite works by one of my favorite artists, The Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer, depicts a sailor adrift in a mighty sea. He's on a tiny boat with a broken mast, surrounded by hungry sharks, with only sugar cane to sustain him. In the distance to the right is a looming water spout, which could potentially be his demise. In the distance to the left, is a far off ship which could potentially be his salvation. What I find constantly enigmatic about this painting is the attitude of the sailor himself. Despite his unenviable situation, he appears seemingly nonchalant. He's lounging comfortably on the deck, gazing off to the side, apparently ignoring all the dangers immediately surrounding him. I believe the sailor's attitude is what makes the expression of this subject unique. If he was scared, nervous, or even excited, this painting would probably be nothing special, but just like Mona Lisa's smile, The Gulf Stream always leaves me guessing what secret the subject knows.

I tried to draw something.

2011-01-20T23:23:00.004-05:00

Here's what I got today. It isn't much but its all that turned out kind of good.

Snow lots of snoow...

2011-01-19T22:28:00.002-05:00

Technical Difficulties

2011-01-19T00:19:00.003-05:00

I was supposed to do this yesterday, but a combination of laziness and technical difficulties got in the way. It's a day late, but here it is: Bitter Bunny running.

Possible banner.

2011-01-13T23:49:00.002-05:00

I haven't made many visual changes to my 3d model so I needed to come up with something. I drew this possible banner idea for the blog.

I got nothin'...

2011-01-12T22:34:00.005-05:00

It's been quite busy lately so I don't really have anything for today...BUT I would like to share this link:

http://pixelovely.com/tools/gesture.html

Nothing beats drawing from real life but this is still pretty neat.

Bunny and the Gaga

2011-01-10T19:23:00.002-05:00

This week, I'm taking a break from the vikings to bring you a Bitter Bunny comic. The original version of this was a quick sketch I did on my break at work one day. I think it's funnier with real people.

Malfunction Q(".Q) <-- (boxing kirby)

2011-01-08T23:59:00.005-05:00

Apparently, my post for Saturday didn't work out quite right...

Here's the sketch that was supposed to be here:

3D People modelling

2011-01-07T00:57:00.003-05:00

So here's what I am working on:

I am trying to do some 3D character modeling. I had done some in the past and they weren't very good at all. So I am trying again. It is far from finished and dispite how it looks I only have one side done (the other is just a mirror.) I still need to stitch it down the middle. Also the legs and arms are separate right now and need to be attached as well.

Something Old, Something New...

2011-01-05T22:55:00.002-05:00

This is me saying goodbye to my old stuffed animals...

Meet Olaf

2011-01-04T01:18:00.002-05:00

I promised more vikings, so here we go. This is Olaf, father of Leif and Erik. I have been changing him somewhat from the original version that appeared in my demo reel.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:43:00.003-05:00

Although January 1st is purely an arbitrary date, with no astronomical or agricultural significance, a new year is still something special.

And I feel special, because I managed to land both Christmas and New Year's posts!

I've been sketching around on my iPad, which is surprisingly very nice to draw on.
Here are a few designs:

Sick and having technical problems

2010-12-30T19:36:00.001-05:00

I am not well enough to make art today and I am also apparently having technecal issues. Maybe I'll have something for tommorrow.

Sick

2010-12-30T19:09:00.000-05:00

I am not feeling well at all and probably cannot get any drawings
posted today. I might have to delay it until Friday or Sunday.

Steven Gehl

Sketchbook Project

2010-12-29T21:22:00.004-05:00

Here's my first sketch for The Sketchbook Project. It's a scene from one of my all time favorite movies.

Can anyone guess the movie? Haha...it's probably pretty vague and doesn't have the likeness of the actress but guesses are welcome anyway!!

I also wanted to add some watercolor to it but I'm afraid. I already messed it up a little with the inking but still looks decent. I'll hold off on the watercolor for another day.

Meet Leif

2010-12-28T01:17:00.004-05:00

With the last two weeks being super crazy with work and holidays and such, I have had little time for arts. However, I have been working on plans for a new short. I have a rough script worked out, and am now working on character designs. I present to you a page of my sketchbook featuring Leif. I promise more to come of Leif and his viking cohorts soon!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T17:04:00.003-05:00

For Christmas this year, I got myself an iPad. I love it very much. I got a stylus as well, so I could draw in the Autodesk SketchBook app.

I also found this nifty little program called Animation Desk. It's a clean and simple program, but it has all you need to make a nice little animation.

Here's my first try at a walk cycle:

Anyway-- that's all. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy it.

Unplanned Christmas post.

2010-12-24T00:17:00.000-05:00

So I forgot to get all my stuff together for my post before going to
my parents house. So I don't skip a beat I just tried a little art on
my iPod.

Quick Doodle...

2010-12-22T20:51:00.004-05:00

Here's a quick doodle because I'm not feeling well right now.

I also wanted to create a winter/holiday banner but can't finish it for today so I propose that someone finish it. =) Here's the rough:

Grocery Humor

2010-12-18T21:39:00.006-05:00

Hello friends...

I realize I missed last week, and I feel terrible. I've just moved into a new apartment, just finished up my first Real animation job, just got rehired for my second real animation job; I've been sick, tired, hungry, & scared, and on top of all that, I've been working full-time, third-shift at a grocery store.

These are not excuses, simply facts.

In short, dear readers, Life has been wonderful!

Busy, yes. But wonderful.

Now forgive me, my friends, I must be boring you to death...

this is what you came here for:

A quick story sketch from the "Beans" section of a project of mine--

A series of short animated vignettes, all based around Grocery Humor.

Aeroplanes!

2010-12-16T20:57:00.006-05:00

Here is my completed (somewhat) Sopwith Camel. I keep finding things that I need to add or am waiting on something else to do. The YouTube video is super dark for some reason and it doesn't help that my background has this weird shadow going on in it so I am posting some stills as well.

WIP

2010-12-15T23:08:00.004-05:00

This is something I'm working on. The goal is to finish it by Sunday so I can post the final then.

Of Work and Warcraft

2010-12-13T19:17:00.001-05:00

eh...

2010-12-09T23:14:00.002-05:00

Not feeling so good. probably going to call into work tomorrow. Still working on things that I shouldn't post yet. Here's a picture I drew at some point. Also trying to figure out something to make into a comic.

Quick Sketch

2010-12-08T23:17:00.001-05:00

It's been a crazy week so I'm posting something from a few months ago.

CA24 Flashback!

2010-12-06T18:34:00.003-05:00

I was perusing an old sketchbook of mine and came across something you may remember. Good ol' Lars the Lumberjack, who later became the basis for the comic shop character of Ethan in my demo reel.

filler

2010-12-04T22:54:00.004-05:00

If I manage to trade shifts at work tonight, I'll do a proper post, but for now I'll leave you with this:

Reminiscing

2010-12-03T00:05:00.003-05:00

I am working on some projects that I cannot share so I looked through some old files.

The first one is a website design that my friend Mike and I were working on. I cannot take full credit but I know I did a lot of it. The link is here. I wish we would have got it up and running because I really like this design. None of the buttons work by the way

The second file is a similarly themed website design, but completely different. I think it's a older version of the same design because of how things look, but it is the latest I could find. It stems from an animation I did of Captain Ahab and the white whale that never really worked. But I really liked how the water moved so I couldn't help but try to find a way to use it. Here is the link.

The last is what was supposed to be a webcomic series. I made five pages I guess but never did any more. It was displayed in flash and never figuring out a good way to update gave me enough reason to quit (not that I ever need a good reason to quit something.) You can see it here. Buttons mostly work on this one.

Dayu Voodoo Doll

2010-12-01T19:24:00.003-05:00

This is a sketch of my Dayu Voodoo Doll:

This is what it actually looks like:

I actually got that keychain in Canada. Good times. Here's a link to what it's supposed to do:

Dayu Doll Frankenstein

Sprite Art

2010-11-29T22:58:00.003-05:00

Yep, it's tiny. I have been playing around with sprite art, so of course, the first thing I do is Bitter Bunny giving a thumbs up! Woohoo!

Life Drawing :)

2010-11-29T02:35:00.007-05:00

Sunday guest entry....very late at night entry, I still consider it sunday until I get up for work tomorrow...I mean today.

This is Angela again >:)

I have been going to figure drawing sessions with my mentor every other saturday. I will share a few images, if you will.
yes her head is too big...

These uploaded quite miserably tiny...sorry about that :/ .
oh, I guess I didn't see the size options...will fix a few now.

I also made something in response to the Tiger Summit project taking place in Russia in response to the little population of 3,200 wild tigers left on our planet. Hoping to see more people take interest besides just the 13 tiger populated countries. Also enjoyed an extra found on James Cameron's Avatar special edition related to his effort in Brazil concerning amazon water damns :).

I did the below one Friday night before I went to bed after sketching landscape :)

Goodnight, I need to sleep for work now...too bad Saskatchewan doesn't have snow days...the only snow days I get are no-bus-transportation days..I experienced one last winter...sadly I had no idea until I stood for an hour wondering why the buses still weren't coming.

Home for the Holidays!

2010-11-27T23:40:00.006-05:00

So I'm home for Thanksgiving (real Thanksgiving), recovering from a massive food coma and basking in the warmth of another Buckeyes beatdown of Michigan...

Anyway, I noticed this in the upstairs bathroom:

Just a fun little painting I did in high school. Looney Tunes taught me all I need to know about animation and classical music. I will be forever grateful.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Also, I was looking through old computer files and found what I'm pretty sure is my very first photo manipulation!

Good times being home. Good times....

I suck! Happy 100th!

2010-11-25T21:20:00.002-05:00

Here's a hastily drawn picture of a pilgrim. It ain't Thanksgiving without firearms.

99th Post!

2010-11-24T00:00:00.002-05:00

So technically I'm the 99th post however due to some misunderstandings I created a little something for the 100th post sooo here it is anyway....something completely random....

**Update: Just wanted to make sure that everyone knows to click on the image for the actual piece.

I also did not make a cake but here's a picture of a cake that I bought (and partially ate).

Great job everyone! Let's keep it up!

The Lottery

2010-11-22T21:55:00.004-05:00

Here is a Bitter Bunny comic I did the other day. I know lotteries are essentially a tax on people who have a poor understanding of odds and statistics; however, I still purchase a lottery ticket once in a while.

In which Todd does a drawing and buys a chair...

2010-11-20T05:48:00.012-05:00

It's funny...all my friends are graduating college this summer. Vanarts was over 2 years ago for me. I feel like my skills have improved tenfold since then.

Anyway, the point of that is this drawing: I'm doing it for my best friend. He's graduating and about to get a super classy job at one of the best investing firms in the country. I think he deserves a drawing. It's not done yet, but I think it's coming along pretty well.

*also: I just bought this chair--

SteelCase Think Review

I've been looking into buying a real nice chair, since pretty much any time I'm not working, I'm at my computer or drawing board.
I've been looking at this one specifically, The SteelCase Think, but I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much for it.

This review made me pull the trigger. I like hearing how real people use products.

Plus I was looking at all the pictures and I just couldn't shake the feeling that I had been there before...

Booyah!!

That's me on the left!

Chattanooga, Tennessee. My brother used to live near there. The company I bought it from is located there.
I don't believe in coincidences anymore, so I had no choice but to buy it.

For the impatient reader... UPDATED!

2010-11-19T00:53:00.003-05:00

There is virtually no chance that I will get this rendered in time to post tonight. I have been waiting probably over an hour for this SINGLE IMAGE to render! My computer DOES suck but also this is extremely high-poly and very shiney. I will hopefully have something to replace this with tomorrow.

(sorry for the lateness of this post! It has taken me probably an hour just to get a screen shot and to get this all typed and what not due to CPU usage!)

UPDATE!:

I think it got passed the really taxing parts and finished up quicker. Or it finished because I stopped trying to do so many other things!

I am modeling a Sopwith Camel for my 3D class. I finally went to my 3D class after a four week absence. I didn't go for weeks for various reasons, and I was quite behind-ish on this project. I basically did it all today (yesterday.)

It is not finished. I still have a couple things to add. Snoopy for one.

Character Designs

2010-11-17T22:01:00.002-05:00

A couple of character designs...

My Flea Market Find!

2010-11-15T18:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I went to a flea market that was happening near where I live. It was mostly antiques and collectibles, but one item in particular caught my eye. Yes, it is as awesome as you imagine. It focuses mostly on his early work in advertising and adventure comics. His work still manages to inspire and awe.

Animation table.

2010-11-14T20:48:00.003-05:00

Since it is Sunday and does not require a post I felt this was a perfect time to show off my new animation table! My mom finally finished it.

It is reversible so I can situate the wheel on either the left or the right side of the desk. I still need to buy a clip on lamp and a light for the back of it. I just found some acme punched paper so I can get started sometime soon.

To The Death!

2010-11-13T20:39:00.008-05:00

While at work, I came up with a picture of Bitter Bunny with a sword flying towards Harry. Unfortunately, I didn't have any paper at the time, so I sketched it out on my palm. And wouldn't you know it, by the end of the night, the sketch had worn off. But that's ok. I have a good memory.

Behold...

No use for a title

2010-11-11T21:49:00.002-05:00

Working on some stuff that is not finished or I am not sure I should post. Here is a random sketch I drew while taking a break.

It's been really cold out lately...

2010-11-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am a slacker

2010-11-08T21:06:00.005-05:00

As an apology for my slacking, and neglecting last week's post, I present to you a work in progress! I quite like Todd's character designs, so I threw together a quick character comp and started to make him run. As you can see, I have a ways to go on it. The movements are still very stiff, and there is almost no personality to it. But hey, not bad for only 2 hours of work put into it so far.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

2010-11-07T16:04:00.004-05:00

Since it's free-for-all Sunday and I did some more drawings, I figured I'd post 'em. It's not like anyone else is using this space...

Toy Story 3, The Secret of Kells, & Kick-Ass

2010-11-06T18:39:00.005-04:00

This post has nothing to do with those movies. I just watched them all this week and they were good. I'd recommend them.

Anyway...all this week I've been working on something, but I don't know if I'm allowed divulge the artwork. So instead, you get these guys!

Since I'm not as good an artist as I should be, I tend to draw things over and over until what's on the page ends up looking like what's in my head. I think these guys are close.

Twilight Princess

2010-11-04T23:11:00.003-04:00

I have been slacking off and playing Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess too much lately. So for this weeks post I was drawing some Midna. She is difficult to draw because her proportions are weird.

The fancy coloured one is from a screenshot reference. I had more and the ones here were more complete but I didn't save before a computer crash.

KatnRye

2010-11-03T21:49:00.006-04:00

On our road trip to Canada before Vanarts, Ryan and I decided to create a blog to document our trip and it was katnrye.com. This is something that I recently drew inspired by it.

That blog's been quiet for some time now. It's definitely time for more adventures or at least more documenting of adventures.

Soundtrack To My Life

2010-10-30T17:19:00.004-04:00

I just got some soundtracks. Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Morrowind. Needless to say, blasting all that awesomeness on my awesome speakers really gets me in the mood to draw. I might have more later on, but right now I need to take a break and get to the library before it closes...

Forth Eorlingas!

Sick and tired...

2010-10-28T21:29:00.003-04:00

I have been sick. To top it off I had something I had been working on but I cannot find it. So you get this pseudo-Bil Keane drawing.

You roast the unborn!

2010-10-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Scribblings from work

2010-10-25T19:56:00.002-04:00

Today, I thought I'd show some rough scribbles that I did on my break at work. I often think of events in comic form, with Bitter Bunny replacing myself.

Bitter Bunny features quite prominently in my doodles, probably because he is so easy and fun to draw. At the bottom of the image you can see me trying to figure out how to do a walk cycle for him that doesn't look ridiculous. Bitter Bunny exists very specifically in 2 dimensions only, and the placement of his legs make walking a little difficult to do well. His legs are also quite short, but I can get around the difficulties posed by that with selective squash and stretch. His ears are often an indication of his emotions, much like the tail of a dog. When animating him, there is a lot of fun to be had with secondary action there.

Old Skool

2010-10-23T20:04:00.005-04:00

I unplugged my computer for about a week. It was nice. So these sketch pages are done on actual 8x11 pieces of paper. I even used an actual pencil for the first one!

This next one I revert to my more comfortable tool: a ballpoint pen. The drawing is a redesign of Matthias Malone. Mainly just a new hat. Still working on it.

That other hat was too hard to draw from various angles. There's just something about those darn Indiana Jones style hats! I remember when I first went to Vanarts for the month-long intensive, way back in '06, I asked Gerard how to draw a decent looking hat. But even he had trouble giving me an example.

And finally just some random faces:

If I'm bored or can't think of anything to draw, I usually start sketching faces. It's fun just to play with the different proportions and shapes.

3D Room Video

2010-10-22T10:26:00.004-04:00

As promised here is my three-dee bedroom. It is good enough to turn in but I am still working on it. There is one glitch that annoys me and if anyone can notice I would be impressed!

Couple of girls and a rough tutorial.

2010-10-21T23:35:00.004-04:00

So I figure my biggest problem in drawing is that I am pretty good at static poses where people are just standing around not really doing anything. I draw that a lot and it really doesn't help me improve at all.

So I have been trying to press myself to do more dynamic posing so I can stop being lame. In kind of a second thought, I made it into a tutorial on colouring digitally.

I start with a rough sketch as you can see and I clean it up. I am not really trying to make everything all tight and neat because I am just going to have to redo it later. It actually helps if it isn't all neat because if I go over it in black, I will be able to see what I am doing better.
I am using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro by the way. I suggest downloading the trial at least to give it a shot. It is a good and simple program. Anyway, I use a new layer and draw the line with the pencil tool. I fill them in with the marker. This gives you the solid base you need to start painting.
As you might have noticed, I didn't finish everything in the last image. Some elements I do in a separate layer for a few possible reasons. The hair I did this way because it needed a redesign and I usually screw it up (I don't like it much right now as it is.) Her left foot was done on a separate layer so I could draw the full leg without it in front.

I started to colour in this image. I eye-drop the solid colour and I select a similar darker colour. Then I shift to a more blue-ish tint. It is very important not to use the same tint. I do the same thing for the highlight but I tint it the opposite way.
My painting techniques are random and difficult to explain. I usually start with the marker, since it only adds when the colour is darker. Then I airbrush it smooth with the same colour and back again with the basecolour. Highlights are pretty much the same way.
Here is a second drawing I did. Girl checking her cellphone.
It somehow ended up being Daria. But I am okay with that.

I was going to add my video of my 3D room but Youtube is taking forever. Might update tomorrow...

Sketchbook Page

2010-10-20T22:17:00.001-04:00

Just a sketchbook page for today...

Student Loans

2010-10-18T16:42:00.001-04:00

This is a little one panel comic I scribbled out at work one day. I always keep a little notebook with me for when opportunity strikes.

Do You Believe in the Great Pumpkin?

2010-10-16T22:12:00.002-04:00

So, I figured the pumpkin carving wouldn't happen tonight. We did eat some delicious chili however...

Here's some doodles and my really ruff design for the pumpkin I want to carve:

Searching pumpkin designs online really opened my eyes to the possibilities!

The Death Star looks sweet, but the directions say it takes between 8-10 hours, so I think I'll stick with Aku...

I never even thought of the 3 tone design before. I have a pretty decent wood carving set so I might have to give the technique a try.

2010-10-15T00:36:00.002-04:00

These are screen shots from my 3D Animation project. Like I stated last week, we have to model a bedroom. We are supposed to have a video to turn in but each one of these frames took me twelve minutes to render on my laptop.

The room itself is unfortunately pretty bland. I do not know what to do to spice it up a bit. I like the bed spread (I made the material by taking a picture of my bedspread and making it into a tile-able pattern) and the fact that the TV shows "A Mammoth Undertaking" (yes, it really plays!)

No monsters here...

2010-10-13T19:48:00.005-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that drawing monsters don't come natural to me. They all turn out too cute so the monster theme will be put off for next week.

A couple of friends were asking for costume suggestions for Halloween so for today I have a sketch of a funny (at least to me) costume idea.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

2010-10-12T17:55:00.005-04:00

Hi folks! I was supposed to post this yesterday, but I was waylaid by obscene amounts of turkey. Yes, Canadians had Thanksgiving yesterday. With Halloween now approaching, I scribbled a picture of a giant evil jack'o'lantern about to eat Justin Bieber.

Designs

2010-10-09T23:50:00.004-04:00

So I guess I'm not feeling the monster theme quite yet either...

I'll give it another week or two to get in the spooky Halloween mood. In the meantime, I got some designs!

This first one goes back pretty far. It's a page I designed for my high school yearbook!
The date I have it saved under is February 1, 2007

This one is a blog header I designed for a friend.
It was made clear the van HAD to be periwinkle.

This is the cover for my first album!

And finally, Phenomenon Anomaly, which I just finished. In stores now!
(It's not in stores...)

Random stuff.

2010-10-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

First up is a dresser I modeled for my 3Ds Max class. We have to make a bedroom setting with at least five things in it. I am a tad behind because I had to work during the previous class.
Second is my attempt to recreate the look of Asian landscape paintings. It is just a small attempt and I don't think it was very successful. It is hard to get that watercolour look and I think I need to design some brushes.
Here is a face I drew and shaded. Nothing special.
This one I like more but never finished. I was going to try to come up with a digital painting for Katrina but I need to plan it out.

Avatar the Last Airbender

2010-10-06T23:02:00.002-04:00

On our way back from the wedding we attended in Las Vegas the in-flight movie was The Last Airbender.

It was pretty awful.

On the upside: I got curious to start watching the animated series.

On the downside: I obsessed for about 3 weeks and finished the entire 3 seasons.

Thank you Netflix!

It was pretty good. Funnier than the movie. I'm not sure if Mr. M.Night was the right director for it. Unless they wanted the movie to be completely different from the series. For me, part of the best part of the series was seeing the characters grow, especially the goofy Avatar. The movie portrayed him as a much more serious character and completely ignored that he was a young kid when he got frozen. On the other side, I don't know how that would translate into a good live-action movie without being cheesy.

Anyway, the series had some pretty decent animation. I definitely noticed multiple styles to each character. I tried to look (briefly) for model sheets for the series but I couldn't find any. I enjoyed the series so much that a part of me wants to move to Korea so I would get the chance to animate on the spin-off, even though I'm sure they've already started work on it…LOL

Instead here's my attempt at some Avatar animation. It's really rough because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to post it on time. It's already pretty late as it is. There was also supposed to be some leaves blowing to go with the Autumn theme but alas I didn't think of this early enough to make it complete. I had fun doing this so I might make finishing that my goal for the end of the month. We'll see.

Craig is taking the hobbits to Isengard!

2010-10-04T17:11:00.003-04:00

I had intended a post featuring monsters of some sort, but the sudden onset of a cold has knocked me back a bit. So instead, here are more sketchbook doodles.

I'll try for monsters next week!

Logo a gogo...

2010-10-02T15:38:00.004-04:00

So that's some graphic design for a start-up company I may or may not start up.

And here's a weekly sketchbook page:

Lazy doodle.

2010-09-30T22:52:00.002-04:00

Lazy. Can't draw. Here's my post for the week. Try to do a better job next week...

Hi.

2010-09-29T20:46:00.003-04:00

Screen Printing

2010-09-27T14:59:00.003-04:00

Several years ago now, when I lived in Calgary, I worked in the art department of a screen printing shop. These are a few examples of the work I did there. It was a good job, creative work, great people, and occasionally free beer!

No Title

2010-09-25T22:32:00.003-04:00

Fanart.

2010-09-23T18:14:00.003-04:00

Since it is still my day I figured I would also try my hand at some fanart. I had to fudge some things because Todd keeps on changing her costume.

Bouncing Balls in the THIRD DIMENSION!!!

2010-09-23T16:11:00.003-04:00

I am currently taking a class in 3Ds Max. I actually took the class before but that was several years ago and I didn't find it very helpful. This one hopefully will be better. We started with a bouncing ball. Here is mine.

A little fanart...haha

2010-09-22T00:06:00.003-04:00

So I've been meaning to try my hand at digital painting. I watched a few tutorials on you tube that were really helpful and fairly easy to follow. I have to keep practicing to get better but here's a work in progress...

Next time I might use some photos for reference just for practice sake.

Two things

2010-09-20T16:18:00.002-04:00

A quick sketch of Viggo Mortensen in The Road. I love Viggo, but The Road is hard to watch. It's very bleak. Well done, but bleak. Although, in my heart, he will always be Aragorn to me.

Some time ago, I sent some of my comics to Jeffrey Brown, one of my favourite cartoonists and graphic novelists. This postcard was his response. It was encouraging to have a positive response from someone I admire.

Pet Project

2010-09-18T21:30:00.008-04:00

So I haven't drawn these guys for a couple weeks. I'm still working on a project that involves them. I think a comic book would be the right format, but I know my story is way too sweeping and epic for my comic-making skills as of now. So, for the time being, I'll just keep refining their designs and storyline. The project may never come to fruition, but it's fun to delve into the world I created for them every now and then.

Ugh! Too Tired!

2010-09-17T00:17:00.003-04:00

Too tired to make a real post so here is a doodle. I had some things ready but they are too much work right now to put in a post.

Jumping on the Mad Men Bandwagon

2010-09-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

So with Mad Men winning a third Emmy, I wanted to see what I've been missing out on.

I kept hearing all the the hype about it and finally rented the first DVD on Netflix. Unfortunately they don't have it available for streaming or I might have watched more. The first disc only has three episodes and so far so good. I don't think I'm in obsessed with it just yet but I'm sure as the show progresses, the more intriguing it will be.

Here are a few quick portrait sketches I did from the show.

Mad Men is set in the 1960s so there are a lot of quirks in the show that are funny to me especially instances which involve smoking. In general there is A LOT of smoking in the show. In fact I think most scenes start with one of the characters lighting up a cigarette. A couple of spots that struck me as especially funny were these (these are more stylized):

The first one is when one of the characters goes to a gynecologist and one of the first things the doctor does, before examining the patient, is light up a cigarette.

The second one is obvious.

I know this is typical of the time period but it still caught me off guard.

Anyone else watch this show? Does it get even better?