TEDDY GETAWAY!

Here is a cropped preview of a painting I recently finished for SPECTRUM submission. It is inspired in a way by one of our newest projects here at Moonbot. I'll post the entire painting soon... But I may want to tweak it a little bit and get it right. :)

More exciting stuff going on here at work, and I'll share it with you when I can.

2011

I hope everyone has no regrets, looks forward with optimism, and has a great new year.

I feel as ready as this little new baby Moonbot!:

A SketchSnack

I know I say it too often, but this past year-and-a-half, it's been true... I've been just too busy to remember to blog. I really need to make a habit of it, and it's my promise to you to I will soon get back to a podcast or two and some art updates.

The production of our first animated short film here at Moonbot Studios (yes, I'm still in Shreveport, LA) is going great and flying full-speed ahead. I can't wait for us to share this with the world, and share the art I created as my parts in this film production.

BUT FOR NOW - here's a little snack. I'll do this from time to time to keep this blog alive- sketches or paintings that I've done for fun, work, other projects, etc.

THIS first one is a pitch for a Bridgestone commercial earlier in the year. Quick warmup doodles of Fred Couples and Lee Trevino. The final was to be a caricature puppet commercial, but Bridgestone apparently got cold feet. That happens a lot. ;)

Talk soon!

New Year, NPR interview

Here's a little peek at an illustration for our Moonbot company holidays card... I'll reveal the entire image once the card is out.

We were also interviewed by Red River Radio NPR correspondent and reporter Alexander Kent! Here is our local NPR interview, from last week...

Salvador Dali warmup sketch

This was about 45 minutes this morning in Photoshop.

I was contemplating his mustache and decided to omit it from this sketch. I like the mystery of it... the humanity, rather than a 'character' that he always put on. He was so eccentric and character-like, and a large part of that was his 'costume', props, poses, expressions and his trademark mustache. I liked the idea of showing the human. Not hiding the expression though. He's so pensive, surely, while painting, I didn't want it to be mistaken for an 'artist' pose. This is somewhere in between, and I enjoy the simplicity of taking away his mustache.

This could almost be a death mask.

detail:

30 minute cool-down sketch

I didn't get a chance to do a warmup sketch this morning, so after work (before heading home) I decided to paint the birthday sketch subject over at the ISCA members forum, Neil Young.

This is a 30 minute digital sketch. Again, trying to get loose with brushes, edges, and color:

Illustratioin Friday: blur

The I.F. word this week is "blur" and that reminded me of softer edges, blurry edges, so I tried to spruce up my textures, edges and soft lights here with Photoshop in this 30 min. warmup painting.

You could also say that this is someone who moves in a blur... or at least he thinks he does.

warmups 2

Here's today's 30 minute, no reference warmup digital sketch. The topic is "X-Men"...l earning a lot, feeling good:

(detail:)

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Cartoon Comic!

I've edited this post to include the entire 4 page comic. I hope you enjoy it!
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Comic, pt 3

Comic, pt 2

A comic drawn in Orlando

I'm at my buddy's desk in Orlando, FL in the middle of the night because I've been toiling away at this top-secret comic, while MegaCon approaches quickly in the morning (Friday through Sunday - drop by!) and I am getting closer and closer to being finished. The good news is, I was just given enough time to make sure it turns out how I want it. I can't share the work here, but I'll present this half-finished glimpse:

♪ . New Podcast . ♫

Hey there. If you scoot on over to the Digital Art Podcast blog (link on the right, there...), you'll see a new video of an illustration. This is a new take, not just some caricature while I gab the whole time. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time, to it feels great to get it "out" of me. I hope the band, Blitzen Trapper, likes this...

...and I hope you like it, as well.
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Finally... another video!

I've gotten around to editing the last video I recorded. Future videos will have sharper production quality as well as better audio, as I've ironed out a few errors since recording this one. But I hope you enjoy!

For the rest, visit my digital podcast blog or YouTube page.
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Illustration Friday: Opinion

Here's my 2nd stab at Illustration Friday, a website/blog giving weekly assignment words for practice and inspiration, as well as community. Again, this was a quick one, but this time on the Cintiq. I wanted to practice getting a simple editorial idea down for the topic (opinion), and see if I can follow through quickly while keeping it appealing. The drawing was all I had planned, and the tones/shadows were just an experiment. I'd love to hear how you feel about this one.

I'm also experimenting with very basic hand-drawn animation lately. I've put a few hours into a small project and I'll keep you posted on that soon. Anyone who has quick methods (I hear Flipbook is a good program), tips or techniques to pass along, feel free to email me or comment here. I really respect animators, and it's not easy.

Lastly, I'll be finishing up some Digital Podcast videos this week to post at the Digital Podcast Blog. I know I've teased and stalled on this in the past, but I really do have time this week to finish it up, and I'll let you know when it's here.

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Another warmup sketch

Here's another drawing I did just to play around before continuing a larger canvas painting. I'll hopefully keep warming up and sketching like this... I really have fun doing it.

PS- Lots of special stuff to pop up here soon; check back.

Jerry & Larry, another warmup sketch

To get warmed up for a new piece, I decided to do a sketch of two guys whose comedy I adore, as well as whom I've been meaning to draw for a while now. This is about 45 minutes on the Wacom Cintiq. My intention was to plan a simple line drawing cartoon, but then realized I wanted to see more light/shadow. This would be fun to turn into a more complete painting (a species that I hope to share more of soon).

Paul Newman warmup sketch

A 20 minute digital sketch done on the Wacom Cintiq to stretch out before working on an illustration.

Comic Con

I'm back from Comic Con International (San Diego) and it was crazy. The show gets busier every year, and this was no exception. A sold out crowd was present, sweaty, and crazy-excited. I sold lots of books and did plenty of commissions. Even though it's a lot of work and quite tiring, I get to see so many good friends and meet so many great artists, fans and colleagues. I can't wait for next year.

I was quite inspired by a lot of the comic-book-art-nerdry, as well as all the great artwork at the show, so I recorded a new digital painting. This next one is more of a sketch and fun process, but I've been listening to the feedback and requests and will try to deliver. So quite soon I'll finish editing and post the new Digital Painting Podcast.

Check back soon!
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Kylie Minogue, CG Animation

Here are a couple sketches that were done for the current animation spots I'm working on (these specifically will not be used). They are for commercials to be aired in the UK, containing a celebrity and an original character or two.

The clients on this project are quite wonderful. They write a script loosely around a celebrity that they begin to woo, and if they get an agreement, they finalize it and we start. To keep it enticing, they've begun showing sketches to with whom they are negotiating, in efforts to both get a head start and better sell the idea. These are not the final designs, but a jumping-off point for critique. I've also learned to not get too polished or invested in any of these, because the clients and agency both hold different priorities at times. I've learned that it must be a malleable process, and would not be successful if it were not.

I was asked to do a few sketches of Kylie Minogue (digitally for speed) that were fairly rendered, and I had only a few hours. I'll share more details on this project when I can.