Frankenstein Final

And now, the rest of the story. This is the final "pitch" we presented at the end of class. I didn't get as far as I would have liked, and I think there is still a lot of work to be done, but it was a good learning experience, and got me back in the grove of things. For the final, I knew I wanted to paint something, just to show another skill set, since most everyone was working digitally. I don't think it's portfolio ready, but I wanted to show everything involved in this project. You might notice some stylistic differences in some of the sketches, because half way through the design process, our instructor told us an "art director" wanted a different look for the project. It threw some people off, but was meant to show a possible real world situation. I definitely like the more stylized/simplified versions more :)

Something that was actually really fun and I never really did, was to create a reference/mood/inspiration board. I always have reference, but I never compiled them on the same page. It's pretty interesting, trying to figure out which images have more significant value to a project and which ones to leave out. The other thing to think about, if designing for animation, is to trying to imagine who would portray/voice your character. It was really was hard in my case, trying to think of someone young enough that could express those rage of emotions. But over all, I highly recommend this, it's a great way to gather your thoughts and ideas for a project or painting.

Frankenstein...sorta

This is the project from the Character Design class I took in the fall. The main assignment was to redesign Frankenstein, and to incorporate 1 male, 1 female, and 1 quadruped. Some people designed a more straightforward version of the story, while I took a "slightly" different approach. And by "slightly", I mean it's almost unrecognizable as Frankenstein.

My version was set in the North American southwest, with a young Hopi Indian Mother, who tragically lost her first born son. Distraught over the death, she turns to the mystical Coyote, asking for him to return her son to her. He warns that there could be severe repercussions for tampering with the Spirit World, but the young Mother begs. Coyote grants her request, using his powerful magic to bring her son is brought back from the dead! The son is reborn as a Monster, angry and disfigured, nothing like Mother remembered. She shuns the Monster. Confused and upset, the Monster goes on a rampage. When Mother asks Coyote to undo it, he tells her that she must be the one to stop him. He explains that all of her twisted emotions and guilt over losing her first-born has changed his appearance. She must accept that it was not her fault, and to celebrate the life he had, and not to morn the life he lost. She races to find the Monster and stops him from destroying anything more. She confronts him, and her emotions, and makes the toughest decision of her life. She lets go of her guilt and her own anger. As this happens, the Monster transforms into a tiny spirit form of her son. Mother can finally say the goodbye she needed to say, and lets her son return to his rightful place with his ancestors in the Spirit World.

So yeah, really different. When brainstorming, I really liked the idea of magic creating the monster, instead of technology. I also liked having a clear setting/environment to design from. The assignment was also really different form anything I'd normally do, so i was really excited. This is just the development for class, I'll post the more final stuff in another entry. Tell me what you think so far!

New Project... Finally!

So I just wanted everyone to see a sneak peak of the personal project I'm working on. I'm trying to get a more "film" quality to it instead of something too "TV", if that makes since. Let me know what you think. Thanks - Matt

"Where Have All The Cowboys Gone...."

Thank you Paula Cole, for that lovely introduction. I know I'm on a role, because 3rd post this week! Yeah boy! So, again more sketch, this time focused on some hard workin' cattle folk. I don't know if it was growing up in Oklahoma, or Montana, but I think cowboys are awesome, and should be drawn more often. And trust me when I say, I'm totally going to draw more cowboys... maybe soon?

Turn Arounds

While looking at my concept portfolio, I realized that most of the things in there are "one shots", a basic study, emotions, or maybe just one environment.  I hardly ever flesh out the worlds, with multiple pieces relating to one project, and giving the viewer a sense of mood and what the story is.  I'm working on that though, and I'm starting with the gamer from a few posts back.  I'm going to do more characters/ family member designs, plus some environments and maybe a few props.  Check back to see my progress.

Reggie...Again

So I finally finished something. I've been so busy at work, and bringing it home, that it's been hard to work on anything personal.  Like the other day, I went on a one day business trip to Utah, to get secret Maya secrets passed on to me. Crazy. Anyway, here is a Reggie painting. I just wanted to play with texture and lighting. Super cute right?

Surprise!

So not to be out done by my friend, Miss Anna Luther, here are some expressions I've been working on for what seems like forever.  It has actually proven to be quite difficult, stepping slightly of my drawing style, for something much more animation friendly. Anyway, there are a ton more expression and gestures, but these are my favorites. Let me know what you think.

More Environments

Here we go, another environment, but this one is different. Recently, I've been focusing lately more on values and lighting,  and of course maintaining my graphic style.  I think I'm going to do something with this character, but i haven't decided yet. Check back to see what I do.

Holiday Bird

So yeah, I'm not dead.  I have just been swamped at work, and it's been following me home.  But hopefully, I'll be able to post more things as I get into the holiday spirit. I just wanted to make a cute little image, using cut paper.  There will be a second one coming soon, so watch out for that.  Tell me what you think.

Family Reunion

A little late, but better now than never. The story behind this is simple, Drak Jr. hates family reunions. He always ends up escorting his Great Aunt Agatha around, who tends to think he looks like her late husband. The background is obviously not finished, but that will be for another post. Anyway, let me know what you think of it so far. Any advice is appreciated.

The Messenger

So another challenge that Anna issued. I wanted to do something really cute, and I think I did.  Referenced Richard Scarry again, just for that whimsical feel. Let me know what you think.

The Ringmaster

And here is the second part of the challenge, the Ringmaster.  I wanted to keep in the style of the dancing bears, so really simple Photoshop. Maybe I'll try to do a more painterly Photoshop design in the near future, but right now whatever gets the job done. And I kinda like the flat color, so who knows.

Dancing Bears

                                               Original sketch

Yet another challenge with my good friend, Miss Anna Luther. It was "The Ringmaster and Dancing Bear".  And as you can see, this is just the dancing bear part, and only sketches on top of that.  But do not fret, for the ringmaster will appear soon. 

Prophet Of DOOM 2!!!

So I'm going to try, try being the operative word, to upload a sketch book page a day. Even if they are just tonal studies or cafe sketches or a painted page like this. It's just that today is the second of September and the year is almost over, and I should have a lot more to show for it. I'm just trying some new things out, and trying not to rely so much on Illustrator, so humor me and my ill-fated experiments. Check back often for more art and lets get started shall we. 

Prophet Of DOOM!!!

This is a character is none other than the Prophet of Doom! I challenged my friend Anna to a design-off, just for fun really. I wanted to do something different, so I chose this little girl whose cat has a third eye, allowing it to see the future!!! Hence, when ever you see this unlikely pair, bad news is a foot. I also did this in Photoshop, which I don't use enough, and came to this realization - Bad Photoshop is easy to point out and we say "I could do better", but it's hard work. I don't think some of the people that can do Photoshop well get enough credit, but that could just be me.  Let me know what you think.

Gifts 2

                      Erin                 Justin                   Jay

Just some more gifts I gave away at the end of the internship. I'm really enjoying these mini-paintings, just something simple and fun. Anyway, I hope to have more paintings/ illustrations in the future, so keep a look out. 

Gifts

Anuja and Chuck

Sean and Gideon

So, I just wrapped up the six month internship at DIS, and it was a great experience. I met some really talented people and I expect great things from them. Anyway, here are some mini-paintings I made as going away gifts. I think it's the least I could do for them, after having to spend six crazy months with me.  More to come.

Ostriches

When I was looking through my portfolio, I realized I do a lot of sketches and never really resolve or experiment with any of them. I originally started out with the bird holding the stop sign and went from there, exploring stylization, emotions and gesture.

Portfolio Stuff

So, I've been busy lately with work and trying to build a portfolio to show after my internship is over. It's hard to believe I've been L.A. for almost six months, but I'm optimistic something will turn up soon. So here is the character sheet for the Space Boy, focusing on action and expressions. I'll have more stuff up soon, so continue to check back for updates. Enjoy.

Clem

So, here is a character I designed. I think it turned out well, I like the color palette and the general design of him. It was supposed to be a part of a Wizard of Oz redo, but I realized it had no connection to the story at all, and I was using the story to fit my own twisted needs. So yeah, just a dude with some character features of the Scarecrow, but not the Scarecrow at all.