Elk Sketch

A quick doodle on a cold winter's night. :)

Photoshop 101 - Old Train Car

We had to take a rendered image of a plain train car and add textures and paint other details... Apparently this one has been in the jungle for a while. Why? Don't ask me :)

Environment Modeling: Trine 2 Tavern

Definitely not 100% accurate in terms of perspective/spacing, but pretty darn close. Never done an environment before... The stuffed moose head was an essential element for sure.

Have some life drawing

Because you can never have too much life drawing...

I am the Great Fairy of Boredom

Another product of boredom in-between work projects. A Great Fairy from the game "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker." The perfect balance of creepy and pretty...

Character Designs: Ho-oh and Lugia

A work-break doodle that got out of hand. Ho-oh and Lugia (from Pokémon, for you uninitiated folks) as classy ladies.

Going through old files...

I rediscovered these guys as I was backing up my laptop. This was the first sketch for the men from 'Remedy.' I thought they looked awesome in this style, but with just five days to animate the entire thing, I had to make some cutbacks. Maybe I'll revisit this motif someday...

 

Sound Design Final - Colorblocks

I took a sound design course as one of my final classes at Penn. Our final project was completely open-ended, so I used the opportunity to do another animation, but something more abstract this time around. Several people suggested I should look into doing video graphics for electronica concerts. Which I think would be completely awesome. And super easy – this took me about two days, max. It was fun. :)

ReBoot Compilation Poster

One more ReBoot thing. This is the last one for a while, I promise.

This poster was presented to Gavin Blair, the co-creator of ReBoot, at the inaugural Vancouver Fan Expo, April 21-22 2012. One of my best friends dared me back in February to do a one-drawing-a-day challenge, so I drew 29 ReBoot characters, one for each day in February. Then I found out this convention was happening, and I did a few more to round out the poster. The final tally is 48, I believe.

I also believe this has been the best weekend ever.

Final Thesis Project – Fire and Ice

My first project this semester was a Maya animation that I need to clean up a little more, so I'll be posting that a bit later than normal. But it went very well and was very well received. I'll actually be working in Maya all this semester.

But the first one was small beans compared to the next project – the final project. THE LAST ONE BEFORE I AM FREE.

I wanted to find a theme that would translate well to greenhorn-level Maya, but would also allow for some neat imagery and interesting symbolism. So... how about some animals made out of ice? The next week will be spent modeling and rigging and texturing, and then the real fun begins. I have the basics of a story, but I'll come up with the details as I move along.

Adv. Facial Animation – Portraits and Blockheads

My last animation class in college (!!!) is a focus on realistic facial rigging and animation, taught by Chris Landreth (google him, he's a master). I have almost zero experience with humans in Maya, so... it's time. Assignment one was self-portraits. Drawing I, we meet again. And thank god I've improved since then.

We also had to draw still images of a 'blockhead' model from Maya, which breaks down the facial planes into simpler forms. It's bound to get harder from here, but I honestly want to learn a bunch from this class. Expect to see a lot of awkward lip movements and freaky wireframe tests on this blog in the near future. Let's go!

Port Aubergine

I always like drawing boardwalks. They've got so many things I like. Water, boats, lights, and quirky little shops...

Taking the train back to school today. One more semester to go. Where has the time gone?!

PS: Everything I've drawn recently has been purple. Huh...

click here for hi-res

Sacred Stepwell

Photoshop, 7 hours

click here for hi-res

Drawings

Ink/pencil/charcoal drawings, 2007-2010

Paintings

Oil on canvas, Spring 2009

Collages

Some collages from my Drawing II and Color Theory classes. Paper on foam board — 2009/2010

Obligatory ReBoot Fanart Post

I want to keep this blog from being too fanart-y, but these paintings are so important to me that I have to post them. It's what most people know me for. Some of my best illustration/painting work is fan art, and the majority of the work I do outside of animation, schoolwork, and personal character designs is based on my favorite cartoon of all time. ReBoot. I've never been able to get tired of it; it's a bit of a guilty pleasure!

The first four were featured in ReBoot Forever, the second ReBoot artbook from Beach Studios. A call went out for anyone - fans, old crew members, established comic book artists - to submit art for the book's fan gallery. I originally thought only professionals were allowed to submit, until the editor messaged me asking to feature a few of these pictures! It was an honor to be featured and I'm so proud of being printed alongside some industry giants. It blows my mind.

Much love (and many apologies) to Alphonse Mucha. :)

Leaf Study

An old project from color class, just for fun.
Leaves glued on black posterboard.

BUNNIES

A bunch of bunnies!

Remedy - Illustrations and Sketches

Our first project for senior thesis was inspired by Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. We read it during the summer and had to incorporate some sort of theme/character/scene from the book into our first project.

It's such a dark and unhappy book... so I used happy and bright colors for my illustrations. Makes sense to me!

I decided to focus on the story of one character, Remedios the Beauty. She's the most beautiful woman in her town, probably in the whole world, and just being in her presence makes men go nuts. She's incredibly naïve, though, and doesn't realize the power she has. She doesn't care about social conventions — she runs around naked because she hates clothing, she cuts her hair so she doesn't have to comb it every day, and she uses her excrement to paint little animals on the wall in her house. She's a bit of a wild child, and that makes her even more tantalizing to the opposite sex.

One day, without any warning, she is lifted up into the sky along with the laundry, never to be seen again. Maybe heaven wanted her back?

I first thought I wouldn't have enough time to do an animation based on this art style. I had just come back from the Ottawa International Animation Festival and had less than two weeks to animate something. I was going to keep it to just a series of illustrations, and that would be fine.

...Couldn't resist. I did an animation in five days!