A Long Awaited Post.

Lately, I've been drawing a lot of cartoon facial expressions. The first one I drew on receipt paper at a restaurant. The other three are from my second cartoon expressions sketchbook. Jack Hamm's book on 'Cartooning the Head and Figure' is what I used to draw them. All artwork in this post is copyrighted by me, Eric R. Watson.

There's more cartooning and Colors DS paintings to come. :-)

30 Day Challenge: Well, Sort Of

Recently, a close friend of mine called me out on some things that she feels needs to change about my character. And, as a result of seeing a TED video about a computer programmer who decided to take a 30 Day Challenge to change something about his life in 30 days has inspired me to do the same.  I found it on Pixelovely.com while looking for photo reference to draw from. I will only talk about the artistic portion of this challenge not the more personal things she and I spoke about. I’ve had an issue with not being all that good at painting so this is a challenge for me to create three paintings a day for the next 30+ days starting today. I’ll post my work here. For about a week and half, I slacked off because of my work schedule and lack of real discipline. As a result of this, I’ll paint 143 paintings on my Nintendo DS using Colors DS over the course of 41 days. This is starting from about two weeks ago when I first announced the challenge to my friend and, not from today. Technically, I know close to nothing about how to effectively use color. I can paint but, to make a painting sing like some of the great artwork I’ve seen online is a different story altogether. I need to study and practice. That’s where this challenge comes into play. I finished my first painting this morning and plan to do more as the day goes on.

http://artists.pixelovely.com/30-day-challenge/

Also, I saw a video by Steven Silver that has inspired me to do great things not only with my art but, with life in general. He says, “What I am worrying about? What can I do about it? Here is what I’m going to do. When I am going to start doing it? What is the problem? What caused the problem? And, how do I find a solution to the problem?” The advice Stephen gives in the podcast is valuable not only for artists but, for anyone.

There is more. Watch the video. J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOIp6Gckvgo

I Found This Cool Funny Video On Youtube Just Now

If you know me personally you'd know I've wanted to be an animator for most of my life. This video is a humorous behind the scenes look at what the creators of Phineas and Ferb do in their daily jobs. I look forward to doing the same. Unfortunately, I have never seen an episode of Phineas and Ferb so, I have no way of knowing if the show is something I'd like. I'll check it out on Youtube. :-)

PS
You want to double the click the video after clicking play to view in full screen mode to prevent cropping of the video. The following is the description of their video. No copyright infringement is intended.

Uploaded on Oct 19, 2011

The Phineas and Ferb "Animatin" rap music video is a humorous take on a day in the life of the show's co-creators and producers, Dan Povenmire and Jeff 'Swampy' as animators. Phineas and Ferb has gone from strength to strength since premiering in 2008, recently celebrating the premiere of its first feature length Disney Channel Original Movie, Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension. Currently in its third series, the show features brand new episodes starring Jamie Oliver and the spin-off series Take Two with Phineas and Ferb featured an appearance from David Beckham. The third season of Phineas and Ferb is currently on air on Disney XD.

Sorry for the Lack of Recent Updates - I'm Working on a Graphic Novel

I'm writing again. Although, this time it's a sci-fi graphic novel story. I really wanted it to be a tragic love story but, that's not where I wanted it to go. There are several ideas I'd like to see completed but, this one is definitely something I'd want to see in print if possible. This project is something I've never quite undertaken so I'm not an expert at any of it. I've told only a few people about this story so, I've got to get it done. My deadline is Christmas season 2013. I'll try to have hard copies for family and a close friend of mine to read hopefully by then. My mom probably won't read it because she doesn't read comics. I hope she'll read this one. There will probably not be any color in this book so the price of printing won't be very high. And, I can omit the laborious process of painting each panel at least until sometime next year.

C.C. thank you for your interest in my personal project. I really want you and I to hit Starbucks up so you can read my graphic novel and give me some real honest feed back on it. I'm very interested in what you as female reader will like about my story. Of course, I've got to get the thing copyrighted before you read it. :)

An Old Drawing from the 90s.

I've been thinking about using this drawing as the beginning of a painting. Not sure when I'll have the time to do it. Acrylics will be my medium of choice. And, I may post the finished piece here on this blog. Yeah, I know. The anatomy is off. All that will be fixed in the painting. I'm a much better artist now than I was then. :)

Flooby Nooby: An Animation Artist Resource Blog

It's not a one stop shop but, it is a great place to find a lot of animation resources and links to some really great content to ogle. Here's the link. http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/

Recently, I've started watching an internet show called "Bravest Warriors." It was created by Pendelton Ward. The same guy who created "Adventure Time." Yeah, that Pendelton Ward. Anywho, I'm really digging this super cool show. If you'd like to check it out here's the link. https://www.youtube.com/user/BravestWarriors And, here's the link to the studio that brings us both cartoons. http://frederator.com/ If you are an huber nerdie-nerd like me; you'll really want to get your hands on some of what I've got to show you. Fred Seibert, the man behind Frederator Studios has a Scribd account where he uploads scripts, storyboards, and books for anyone with a Scribd account to download and enjoy. So, what are you waiting for? Go out and enjoy some of this animation goodness. :)

A Storyboard Sheet I've Created Using Flash

I'm not only an artist but, a designer as well. The week of Christmas last year I had a cold and was sick and shut in. That gave me plenty of time to create a storyboard template in Flash to use as a paperless way to draw storyboards. I've been debating whether or not to post the .fla files for them. If I do I may have to post a video, as well. There's a bit of functionality that needs to be shown for people to use them. Included with the storyboard .fla file there's a scene that's set up as a Character Design Sheet. In addition to that there's a Beat Board scene to sketch out your ideas. Without any further adieu. Here's the .jpg file to oggle. :)

Also, I've uploaded this at full size so if you'd like to use this to print your own storyboards that's fine. This was copied from a storyboard I found online from Scribd.com. It's based on an actual Frederator storyboard of El Tigre. The title of which is: No Belt, No Boots, No Brero storyboarded by
Ricky Garduno. Unfortunately, Ricky passed away. I would have liked to sit and talk shop with him about his storyboarding experiences on El Tigre and Mucha Lucha. If someone would upload the full No Belt, No Boots, No Brero episode to Youtube, that would be great. I could then see how good the translation from storyboard to film was.

Here's the link where I found the story.
http://ownerofwendys.blogspot.com/2011/12/farewell-ricky-garduno.html
And, if you'd like the direct download link here it is.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/75127279/No-Belt-no-boots-no-brero

If you'd like to learn more about "Adventure Time" and "Bravest Warriors" by looking at the storyboards of these two animated shows here's somethings you really should have a look at.

http://frederator.com/ - Character Designs, Scripts, Storyboard, Concept Art, Interviews, etc.
http://www.scribd.com/fredseibert - Storyboards and Scripts. And, a little bit extra.

Sometime in the near future I'll post some storyboards drawn from some scripts I've found online. :)

Storyboarding

 Storyboarding 001

Recently, I've downloaded some assets to animate some characters from a cartoon show whose primary audience is aimed at little girls. The title of the show is "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." I'm not a "Bronie." The show is very well animated and the character designs are pretty cute. Although, this post and any post with this info in it might seem so. I've been looking for a way to create some professional Flash animation for sometime now. Recently, I found Fla files I had downloaded from Cold Hard Flash dot Com. There are some files from Animax and Renegade Animation. Both are animation studios in the LA aea. Also, I found a Pdf file I had legally downloaded from a book publisher's site. (I will not mention the site as its been deemed unsafe to view.) I have now in my possession the keys to creating professional Flash animation.

This week, I've been working on a Storyboard template for use in Flash based on a storyboard I downloaded from Scribd.com. The title of the storyboard is: "El Tigre #52 No Belt, No Boots, No Brero" I've been trying to find the entire episode on Youtube but, to no avail. There's more functionality I need to create for this storyboard before its completely done. Seriously, I don't think it will be completely done anytime soon. There's still some things I can do to speed up the storyboarding process by creating more graphic symbols commonly used in storyboarding.

At some point in the future I might post the storyboard file here on my blog. I don't know. Maybe. Also, have an Animatic file. Unfortunately, I haven't been playing around with it as much as I have the storyboard file.

However, I may post the links to where I found everything else. If so, I'll post them just below this paragraph. Right now, there's some Grilled Cheese sandwiches callin' my name. :)

Macross 84: Ai Oboete Imasu Ka?

Earlier this year, I wanted to commemorate my favorite anime: Super Dimensional Fortress Macross or, as it is affectionately better known to American fans: Macross 84: Do You Remember Love? I still desire is to create a calender with art I create based on this film. Unfortunately, this year is winding down. I still intend to do this and create art based on the 2012 Flashback music video of Lynn Minmei. (She's so beautiful 30.) Once finished, I may post it all here as low-rez files.

As Promised. It Took A While But Its Here.

These are pretty recent sketches of my art. They're not my best but, they are indicative of my style of drawing.  Last night, I met someone who has inspired me to become a much better artist. Sadly, she's not been very confident in her abilities as a comic artist. In my opinion, she good enough to work in the comic book and animation industries. Unfortunately, I had the same issue of not being confident enough in my own creative endeavors that I was too afraid to step out and get my work noticed by animation studios. Not anymore. :)

I'm working on a portfolio and, it should be finished my late December or early January.

At some point I'll post some fully finished realistic art on this blog again.

Live 2D is a software to bridge the gap between 2D and 3D animation.

Late last night as I was surfing the sea of information on the world wide web I found a post on Drawn.ca. The post is a very interesting in that it shows a program that gives an artist the ability to draw a 2D character and manipulate it in 3D space. From an artistic standpoint this has far reaching implications. Live 2D is a software to bridge the gap between 2D and 3D animation. I'm very excited about this. :)
Re posted from: http://blog.drawn.ca/post/32413438578/korunia-chimamire-no-bara-rekkii

Live2D 
Japanese software technology turns 2D drawing into interactive 3D content for use with touchscreen devices - via DigInfo (video embedded below):

 

Live2D, developed by Cybernoids, is the world’s first drawing technology to enable 3D rendering of 2D images. This technology supports a variety of portable consoles and smartphones, and Live2D is already being utilized for games that take advantage of the unique characteristics of hand drawn artwork.

“In 3D, the unique attractions of 2D art like Osamu Tezuka’s can’t be rendered properly. But with Live2D, we’ve worked to enable smooth 3D motion using entirely the original 2D drawings. So, this system makes the graphics appear exactly as the creator intended.”

“When the face turns sideways, you can show perfectly how the eyelashes and eyes move. You can also use the tools to work more easily and efficiently. This can be done in all kinds of ways, with all kinds of emphasis, depending on what the creator wants to do. This technology is an extension of drawing, so it works best if the creator has a good artistic sense.”

More at DigInfo here

The Art Post Is Finally Here!

Sorry for not posting the sword and sorcery or sci-fi type stuff I was thinking about posting before going out today. I should have sat down and drew it before leaving. Unfortunately, I've not been feeling very artsy lately. My work flow is as follows: I sketch something in Flash MX or Flash 8 Pro. After the initial sketch is at a polished enough point to go to color then I import it into Photoshop 7. LOL! Yeah, I know. It's an old program but, it gets the job done. From there I can use custom brushes and cool colors to create my masterpieces. There's some mistakes in this drawing but, I'll fix them later. Just wanted to post something so you'd see what I can do with Flash and Wacom tablet. I'll post some updates to this post later this week if time permits. :) Also, there was no photo reference used during the few minutes it took to draw this.

I Had Planned To Post Something By Now But...

Sorry for not posting new art by now. I spent time with a friend I haven't had the opportunity until now to hang out with. Yeah, friends are great to have. In order to have them its a good idea to spend time with them. So, I've got to freshen up and get started on something quick. I have an idea of what I'd like to work on. The subject will be either sword and sorcery or sci-fi. I'm kinda nerdy at heart. So, those are the two genres I like most. I'm digressing. (The main point of this post is:) The art should be done by sometime tonight.
Please, check back then. :)

WeLoveFine.com's Adventure Time T-Shirt Design Contest

I didn't post my design in time so, here it is. The initial sketch.

And, here's the "rushed" finished version.

In a week or so, I'll post a more polished version. :)

My First T-Shirt Design

Who knew my first T-Shirt design would be of cast of cartoon characters I know next to nothing about. Bobby Chiu did an excellent painting of some of the characters from the show for a vlog post on his Youtube account. Check out the video entitled "Artist Tips: Game of Life and Painting Adventure Time" Also, here's the account: https://www.youtube.com/user/digitalbobert After seeing the first episode of Adventure Time on Youtube a few mornings ago I became interested in this series. And, more recently read a little bit of a post on FloobyNooby.blogspot.com about a comic several comic artists have drawn. The title of the post is: Faith Erin Hicks' Marceline And The Scream Queens!  Here's the link: http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2012/08/faith-erin-hicks-marceline-and-scream.html Jen Wang also did some work on this title so, I'm pretty excited about reading it. Getting back to the reason why I'm posting. I found out about a contest I would like to win. It's a t-shirt design contest involving Adventure Time characters. And, the grand prize is $2500! Needless to say, I'm so on it. I think I'll fire up Inkscape, Photoshop, & Flash for this one. Here's the info you need to know to get in on this. http://www.welovefine.com/contest/23-adventure-time-design-contest

On another note. I still plan on posting some art soon. Maybe I'll post some videos of my process on Youtube. I thought about doing that this week but, I've learned some time saving tips on how to digitally ink using Flash that I have to practice first.

And, I haven't forgotten my friend who I've NOT written in a while. I think about you a lot and, I'll contact you soon. :)

Art Books & Art Instruction

 The following links are what I've gleaned from the internet over the years of searching websites and blogs to find art instruction to supplement my meager art training. If you want more then you'll need to surf on your own. Everything you need to get started is here at your fingertips to learn what you need to know. All of this stuff is free except for the Online Art Academy videos. So, have a look and see what you'd like to learn. It is totally up to you whether or not you'll use these resources. "I can only show you the door but, you must walk through it." ~Morpheus to Neo from the MATRIX.

I met Alberto Ruiz about six years ago at the San Diego Comic Con in '06. He has a blog called The Process Junkie. And, on Thurs., Sept., 27, 2007 he posted some links to really cool art books that I have since downloaded. Also, I 'm a big fan of his art.

Check out the list at the following address:
http://processjunkie.blogspot.com/2007/09/best-figure-drawing-books-ever.html

I don't remember how I found out about Toronto based artist Bobby Chiu but, I'm glad to have found his work and more importantly his Youtube Channel. He gives back to the artist community by helping other artists get their feet in the door. He's very inspirational.

Here's his link.
http://www.youtube.com/user/digitalbobert

Then there's the artist at idrawgilrls.com who's art is phenominal.

Check out his Youtube Channel and website.
http://www.youtube.com/user/idrawgirls
http://idrawgirls.com/

A UK based magazine which specializes in Sci-Fi and Fantasy art instruction geared to people who use digital media. The Youtube page has hours of video tutorials.

http://www.youtube.com/user/imaginefx

I met someone a few months ago who told me about a designer named Feng Zhu. His work is exquisite. He doesn't refer to himself as an artist but, designer. He explains the difference in one of his videos. Check out his Youtube Channel and you'll see for yourself how great his work is and why he regards himself as a designer and not an artist.

Follow this link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FZDSCHOOL

CG WORKSHOPS is another Youtube channel that needs to be in this list of links. My main man Ronnie Del Carmen was interviewed about how he storyboards cartoons for television and theatrical animated movies.

(I can't find the link to this one so, I'll update this later.)

Mathw teaches  at SVA. The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, New York. His students art great artists. Maybe, I should have gone to that school. Anyway, checkout his Youtube Channel for inspiration and his website for solid instruction.

http://www.youtube.com/user/matthew39arch
http://www.drawing-tutorials-online.com/

The artist who teaches this instruction sounds a bit dry in my opinion but, he knows his stuff and I would like to get my hands on his entire library of teaching.

http://www.onlineartacademy.com/

This list was compiled by me for a relative of mine who I hope will use these resources to the best of her ability. There is of course more. Just check back for some updates to this post. :)

HERE'S AN UPDATE TO THIS POST. Updated Monday, June 25, 2012, 6:35am.

These two updates should be what you need as far as animation information.

I've found the link I was thinking about last night but, couldn't remember the name of until now. ChongToons.com is the website and it has a plethora of information on character animation and beginning story development. This is the same stuff that I have. And, it's free. Enjoy. :)

http://web.me.com/chong621/ChongToons/ChongToons_Blog!/ChongToons_Blog!.html

Flooby Nooby is blog that I enjoy reading. Here's some 'Download Goodies' I know you'll like.

 http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/

http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2011/07/download-goodies.html



http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2011/10/download-goodies-part-2.html
http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2012/06/download-goodies-part-3.html

And, if you need life drawing on the fly here's a couple of sites for you. These are both artistic websites.

http://www.posespace.com/
 http://www.posemaniacs.com/

You now have access to all these resources I have access to. 

My Recent Viewing of Prometheus

I've recently had the pleasure of seeing Prometheus. Ridley Scott's latest film. I must say its a great film and an excellent addition into the ALIEN franchise. Don't worry, I will not give away any secrets about the movie but, it is worth watching the first movie before viewing this one. I wish Jean 'Moebius' Giraud had worked on this one as well but, unfortunately he passed away a few months back. The concept art in this movie is still impressive nonetheless. Chris Foss was not on board for this one as well. Although, you could still see H. R. Giger's influence in the movie. If you're familiar with the first ALIEN movie you'll no doubt remember the hyper sleep chambers among other things. If you want to see this film I recommend seeing in 3D. You will not be disappointed.

I've Just Added A New Link In Links Area

Benerator Art Machine is a great blog to visit. Not saying you shouldn't stay here and look at my art but, this guy is a very good artist as well. The blog says his name is Ben Nunez and he's a fellow Colors! DS user who enjoys painting robots. I haven't posted anything there in a long while because I can't figure out what to paint. When I do I'll post something nice.

On another note, I'm about to study Lou Romano's artwork among several others. He worked on Disney/Pixar's "Up." For examples of his work check out his Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/lar72 and his blogspot address is listed there as well. He's a pre-vis artist and very good at establishing atmosphere in his paintings.

Nostalgia of Cartoons from the Past.

Nostalgia of cartoons from the past. This past Christmas I had the pleasure of receiving a DVD collection of a cartoon series I've not seen since my teen years. And, I've been more than a little nostalgic for sometime now. So, as an homage to my teenie bopper years I've decided to create some art based on some of my favorite cartoon characters starting with "Lum" from Urusei Yatsura. That's "Those Obnoxious Aliens" for those of you who don't know. Without further adieu here's some sketches I've done in Flash 8 Pro. Enjoy! :)

For some unknown reason I can't upload any image files to this blog right now. Maybe later I'll have the ability to do so. I had to use a work around.

I'll post more art of this character later.

An Old Sketch But I Wanted To Post Something Today

A friend of mine wants me to create a painting of Dora the Explorer for her daughter. Here's an initial sketch I did from a coloring book. I've been looking for concept art and character turn a rounds of Diego, Dora and, her pet monkey but, only found character art and a coloring book I bought for this project. Fortunately, the final product will be all analog and not digital; using color pencils and acrylics. It's been way too long since I've used them. So, in the near future I plan to start back painting with them and watercolors. My interest in using non digital painting methods have been peeked again because of some the beautiful watercolor and gauche paintings I've seen exhibited on other blogs. Sometime this year, I'd like to spend maybe a week to paint on location somewhere I've never been before. That would be a very welcome vacation away from my everyday life. :)

I may ink this image in Flash. Nichelodeon owns the copyright to these characters. If not, I'll do the research and post the correct copyright.

Moonshine : Artists after dark from alexis wanneroy on Vimeo.

Sometimes, I would like to get away from the computer and be creative and get dirty with it in a clean way.

Comics Coming Soon...

Soon, I will post some screen grabs of my work flow with Manga Studio EX 4 which I received as a Christmas present from a relative. Yes, true believers. I will start posting several web comics next year. This is a much needed software to speed up production of my graphic stories. Previously, I would have used Flash to ink my comic art but, now Manga Studio EX 4 will be my app of choice to bring to graphical life my imaginings of comic proportions. EXCELSIOR! (Any Stan "The Man" Lee fans oughta know what I'm talkin' 'bout.)

Where or when I'll post these comics I'm not sure. Unfortunately, most of them are only in idea form and not fully fleshed out. Although, there is a comic I'd like to work on sooner than most of the others but, I haven't nailed down a style for the characters or the full story. One thing is for certain, I don't want to use an "anime" or, "manga" style of cartooning for it. Rather, I'd like to give it a nineties indie film aesthetic with some cool cinematography. I plan on this being a multi volume story that takes place during the span of several years in the lives of the main characters. If you know me you'd know that I'm mostly a sci-fi freak who's into anime, bande designee, and manga. (I asked my best friend to buy Scott Pilgrim the first volume for me as a Christmas present. I read the first chapter of it online and it seems pretty good so, I'm looking forward to reading it. On another note, I still haven't read 'Koko Be Good' by Jen Wang nor, 'Bone' by Jeff Smith. "If you don't know what bande disignee is... oh well.") You konw I will still use Flash to create some illos of somethings like photo-realistic images and some inked art to paint within Photoshop 7. Also, there's a blog with print ready color pallets you can use within Flash. In addition to this functionality, there's also a NTSC safe version as well. I'll post the links later. I'll check for a PAL version for those of you who may need it.
Until later, ciao. :)

Colossal: An Art and Design Blog

My sister just turned me onto a new design blog which she found a link to on Adobe.com's website. I've only seen the first page and it's absolutely stunning. Check it out for yourself. Here's the link. http://www.thisiscolossal.com/ The post that instantly caught eye is about Mattias Adolfsson. http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2011/12/inside-the-sketchbooks-of-mattias-adolfsson/ If I'm not mistaken he worked as a concept artist on an unproduced version of Superman that never made it theaters. I'll have to check on that and get back with you on it in a new post or an edit of this one.

To any of my DA friends who've followed the white rabbit and have seen how far the rabbit whole goes then you've now come to this destination and soon you will experience some pretty cool graphics from your's truly. :) Those of you I owe artwork should have it shortly after I finish it. For now, I'll get back to one of my favorite past-times, surfing the web.

Happy Holidays. :D

Preparations for Inking in Flash MX

This is something I've learned a short while ago and would like to share with anyone who reads this blog. If you've been following my work here you already know I use Flash MX & Flash 8 Pro to ink my art. What you didn't know are my Flash settings for creating the comic book pages I use. Here they are for both versions of this software.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Go to File > Export Image. Name the image file with whatever your desired naming convention is. For example, "whatever_Name.png." After pressing Enter the Export Png dialogue box opens and gives you several options. (It is important to save your digital inks as .png files. The choice will become very clear once you take the inked lines into Adobe Photoshop. There's no white background. It's just black lines or whatever color you've inked your art with. That's the reason for the 24 bit alpha channel.)

Width: 3300, Height: 5100 pixels Resolution: 300 dpi (Do NOT Match Screen!)
Include: Full Document Size Colors: 24 Bit with Alpha Channel
Filter: None Interlaced:Unchecked Smooth: Checked
Dither Solid Colors: Unchecked

Lastly, Save as a Template.
Name ----- Comicbook Page 300 dpi
Category--- COMICS
Discription-- 3300 x 5100 pix, PRINT READY Rez
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, Flash will not save a file at 600 dpi. I've tried. And, Flash 8 Pro can not save a 3300 x 5100 pixels at 300 dpi file. Therefore you have to use a work around. And, here it is:

In Flash 8 Pro you will need to create a file with the following dimensions.

Width: 2643 Height: 4080 This approximates the ratio of an 11x17 in. comic book page.
Resolution: 300 dpi (Do NOT Match Screen!)
Include: Full Document Size Quality: 100
Options: Progressive Display > Unchecked
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Perils in Nude Modeling is a GREAT Short Film

If you're a visual artist and haven't seen "Perils in Nude Modeling" go watch it now. Even if you're a storyboard artist, cinematographer or, film art director this movie is for you. Each scene cuts on action. The lighting is moody. Yeah, I'm geeking out. I don't care. :) This is one of my favorite short films. This is right up there with Bladerunner. It's that good. To view the film check out this link: http://vimeo.com/7032260 And, IndiPix Films has an exclusive interview with Scott Rice, the writer and director of "Perils in Nude Modeling. You can listen to him talk shop and read more about him at the following link. http://www.indiepixfilms.com/promo/interview/scottrice.html

Perils in Nude Modeling from Scott Rice on Vimeo.

The Anime I Couldn't Think Of Yesterday Is...

Mind Game directed by Masaaki Yasa. Check out this link and read about him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaaki_Yuasa

And, here's the link for you to read about the film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_Game_%28film%29

You may want to check Youtube to view some clips of this anime.

WARNING: It's not for kids.

More Art I've Been Working On Recently

Black Friday was an eventful day indeed. I bought a white DS Lite to augment the black one given to me for Christmas in 2007. Anyhoo, in a previous post I showed a screen shot of a picture I worked on Macromedia Flash MX. Since then, I've given Flash 8 Pro a try and I've learned that even though I can't export an 11x17 in image from this version of Flash I can use it to export a smaller image in the same ratio. That's what I've done. In a later post I'll explain my work flow. For now, I'll show you a little of what I'm doing with this. Oh yeah, I'm using the object drawing mode. :)

Some Art I've Been Working On Recently

Here's the sketch I drew a few days ago and inks & colors added in Flash MX. Why use such an old version of Flash? Well, the most recent one I have on my computer is Flash 8 Pro. For some reason, that one does not publish images at 11 inches by 17 inches. Flash MX does. I'll upload a couple screen shots of the color version. Although, I'm not happy with the inked lines; it's digital and I will change them as needed. What's more I'm sure the colors are out of gamut so, I'll have to take it into PS to make them printable. Using the brush tool in Flash MX to ink this is an experience in itself. The tool is very responsive and I have to be very careful not to make mistakes which I do quite often. I'm using a Wacom Graphite CTE 430. And, anyone who has used one of these will know it's like drawing on a piece of slick plastic using a plastic tipped pen. I got a Bamboo tablet for Christmas last year that I haven't hooked up, yet. I plan to use that with my laptop after I get new software. Before attempting to ink with Flash, I looked for online tutorials about inking this way and I didn't find much on the subject. Although, I did come across some really great artists using other Flash tools to create really amazing graphics.

Here's a Little Sketch I've Been Working On

Erica, this is a painting I've been working on for an online friend of mine. The theme she gave me was 'kittens.' My computer crashed sometime ago and I lost the custom brush I used to paint this. As a result, I haven't started back on this for a while. This is not one of the concept pieces I'll give her. Instead, the painting will favor the kittens and not the secondary characters as in this painting. Later, I'll finish this.

Erica, I Plan To Post Art By This Thursday

Recently, I've been checking out The Chiu Stream on Youtube hosted by Bobby Chiu. He talks about drawing with enthusiasm, getting intense and, "getting crazy with it." I haven't done that in a long while. Although, I hope to get back into the groove now that I have some time to be creative this week. Here's the link if you're interested. http://www.youtube.com/user/digitalbobert I use Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom tablet to digitally paint onto my computer. When I'm not using that I like to use a program written for the Nintendo DS Lite called Colors DS.

Also, I plan to continue learning Inkscape. It's a vector graphics software I downloaded from Inkscape.org. It's a European software and it's not set up like any of Adobe's software at all. So there's a bit of a learning curve I've got to deal with. I intend to use it to design logos and images. I may sketch something and post it this Wednesday. Then, on Thursday start the actual painting of the pencil sketch. If so, I'll post the stages of the development of the image here. Send me an email. Let me know what you think. :)

Cool Art Will Be Posted Soon.

I'll post some art by this Wednesday. :)

Just Purchased A Couple of Graphic Novels

I bought "Koko Be Good" by Jen Wang and, "Bone" by Jeff Smith recently. And, I must admit I'm in the mood to create a graphic novel of my own. If you don't know who Jen Wang is just check out this little interview on MTV's website. http://www.mtv.com/videos/interview/576693/jen-wang-studio-tour.jhtml She's my new hero. I like comics and graphic novels so I'm really excited about reading these little gems. Koko clocks in at mild 300 pages while Bone is a staggering 1332 pages. Yes, that's one thousand three hundred and thirty two pages. Bone won 10 Eisner awards and 11 Harvey awards. I've got the complete cartoon epic in one volume. Hopefully, this the original and not the one marketed to kids. Now, I can read my old favorites like "The Whisperer Mystery" by Daniel Torres right along with these two graphic novels. After I finish reading them I'll post my recommendations. :)

Aimee Major: An Animator I'd Like to Meet

I recently Googled an animator named Aimee Major. Last night, I re-read some .pdfs I created from a few articles she posted several years ago. And, since I've started creating animation in Flash that looks like it was created in Flash I'd like to create animations that look more hand drawn and much less like it was done on a computer. Even when I was a kid, I wanted to create some really kick butt art and animation. Although, when I was growing up we didn't have anything like Flash. With Flash one person can animate a feature length film. It takes a while but, it can be done. And, [has] been done by two artists that I know of. Nina Paley creator of "Sita Sings the Blues" and, Tyler Gibb creator of "Minushi." I've only seen some clips of both of these films. Unfortunately, I didn't attend the Harvard of Art schools; California Institute of the Arts. CAL Arts for short. Fortunately, for me there are a lot of animation resources online for the aspiring animator. After looking at some of the resources created by artists who either attended or, taught at CAL Arts, and, taught or worked for Disney animation studios I've realized I didn't know as much as I thought I did about animation. Since animation has been created on computers for some time now, Flash has brought a childhood dream into being a reality. I can now make short films for film festivals and my movies can be seen all over the world. Back to Aimee Major. I've been looking for her insight on animation because she attended CAL Arts and is a great animator herself. (I'll edit this later to add more to it.)

Some Books On Story Development

I've met a young novice film maker who's looking for some books on film making and my list of books may help her in her quest to becoming the next Spielberg, Tarantino, Rodriquez, or one of my personal favorites Leone... Sergio Leone. I was utterly blown away by his use of sound in "Once Upon A Time In The West." But, that's another post entirely. I'll get back to that later. The following list of books are all personal favorites of mine and well worth studying.

She wants to use Adobe Flash to create a short film. Which is a very nice program to use for this purpose. Although, what I've read about Toon Boom Animate is it's a much better program for animation. It was built from the ground up to be an animation software for animators to create feature length films and commercials. The price tag keeps it out of the hands of most animators who aren't affluent enough to purchase the $2000.00+ software. On the other hand, Adobe Flash will only set you back several hundred dollars and is bundled with the Adobe Creative Suite. Which in my opinion is a much better option if you can't afford the much more robust Toon Boom Animate.

Here's my list of books to study. Starting from what you really need to create a live action movie to a fully animated film. These are all in my personal library. So, I can vouch for each one of them.

Film Directing Shot by Shot
Visualizing from Concept to Screen
Author:
Steven D. Katz
(This is the one I was thinking about last week but, couldn't recall the title of the book or the author's name.)

The 5 Cs of Cinematography
Motion Picture Filming Techniques
Author: Joseph V. Mascelli
ISBN:

The Illusion of Life
Disney Animation
Author: Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
ISBN:

The Animator's Survival Kit
Author: Richard Williams
ISBN:

Don Bluth's The Art of Storyboad

FLCL Storyboard Book
Gainax Animation Studios
(Not Sure.)

Hollywood 2D Digital Animation
The New Flash Production Revolution

How To Write For Animation
Author: Jeffery Scott
ISBN:

From Word To Image
Author: Marcie Begleiter
ISBN:

Karen J. Loyd's Storyboard Blog
Visual Storytelling Advice for Anyone Who's Interested
http://karenjlloyd.com/blog/

To The Girl I Met Yesturday Who's Going To Japan...

Hi. Please, start your blog and link it to this one. I'll post some art here soon. Currently, I'm working on an animation project I conceptualized for an online friend to help with her school project. So, I may upload concept art, storyboards and, the animation here after I copyright them. Please, don't forget to leave me a link to your blog as well. :)

I Haven't Posted Anything In A While

I've been busy in RL with day to day things. I'll post something soon. :)

I Had Intended to Post More Art This Year... Oh Well

I've been busy creating art to be posted elsewhere and haven't made time to create some art for my personal enjoyment. For sometime now, I've been seriously thinking about creating a graphic novel about my personal experiences from several years ago. It would be great to read a slice of my life story in black and white. Anyhoo, that's the plan. And, I'm stickin' to it. lol. :D

No Real Post This Time

I haven't posted anything in a while and, I wanted to post something today. No art or prose to post just felt like typing on the ol' keypad. Ciao. :)

I've Updated the Green Spikey Haired Girl Painting

I hope you like this painting . I've been working on it in my spare time. It's only an update with more WIPs to follow until it's completion.

SDCC - San Diego Comic Con International

It's THE four day media event of the year. There's an annual comic book convention in San Diego called Comicon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go because of prior commitments. Check out the link to find out more about it. http://www.comic-con.org/ If you missed it you can get the recap on the following link. http://g4tv.com/

I'm Working on More Sketches

I may post more art created with my DS sometime next week on this blog. Until then here's a sketch I'm working on. There's some things that need tightening up and a few that need to be changed but, all in all it' s a nice painting. I'll post the link to the video after I post it on Youtube.

A Couple of New Sketches

These are a couple of sketches created on my DS Lite. The top one was done in a coffee shop from life. And, the second one is a work in progress inspired by Hajime Sorayama's fembots.

Here's Something I'm Working On At The Moment

This is inspired by Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly." This is a cool film and the DVD extras are pretty cool. I wish there had been more concept art and illustration but, oh well. Here my vector art not necessarily in the same design as Mr. Linklater's but just as cool. Yeah, I know it's another unfinished piece but, it will finished in about a week or two. The cropped image you're seeing will be posted again.

INVASION! Act: Two - Scene: One

Here's two shots from an animation I've been working on recently. The working title pretty much sums up what this animation is all about. I decided to animate the second act first because the first act is mostly SFX whereas the second act is mostly character animation. the software used is Macromedia Flash MX. Yeah, I know I need to upgrade. All my screen ratios were created for Flash MX. If you ever want to create flash animation for digital video you may want to invest in a $30.00 piece of software called Quicktime Pro. That's what I used to save the animation as Quicktime file in .mov format. I'll upload more later. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb4OsFSmjIk&feature=channel_page

INVASION! - Conccept Art

I've decided to upload a bit of concept art created with Colors! DS. This is not the exact look of the alien octopus but, it is the inspiration for the updated character design I've created. Maybe later I may upload some layout and design from animation to this blog.

The NOT so Speed Painting

This is the painting I'm currently working on. It was influenced by another digital painting I found online by another artist. I hope you like it. Originally, this blog was gonna be a place I could show some sketches and unfinished art. A few months ago I decided to actually only use this for WIPs, finished art and things relating to pop-culture that I'd like to write about. Let me know what you think of my work. I've disabled the comments because someone posted links to websites with viruses. So, don't follow any links I didn't post.

This Is The Drawing I Sketched The on the Plane A Couple Weeks Ago

I finally got my scanner to working again. So, here's the sketch I was working on during my flight two weeks ago. I just got it working last night so, I don't have the painting ready. I'll upload it as soon as it gets done. In the meantime, please enjoy this sketch.

The Joy of Drawing

Finally... A New Post - Kinda.

The drawing I drew on the plane back from my Thanksgiving vacation will be posted tomorrow with the original sketch and the finished painting. At the moment, I'm working on a painting I started on Wednesday night. Actually, it's a sketch. As time permits it'll get done. It looks to be my best yet with no photo-reference. Although, I was looking at the Victoria's Secret fashion show that night as I was drawing it. If you scroll down to a previous post about my digital painting of Monica Bellucci you'll see that I draw and paint digitally using Adobe Photoshop. Ciao.

A tiny amendment to this post...

Due to my scanner going on the fritz. I couldn't scan the image I was gonna speed paint today. So, I'll redraw it digitally, paint it and post it asap. Tomorrow will be filled with errands and things so I may not get back to posting anything until the Thursday or next weekend. Stay tuned because you'll like what you'll see.

Thanksgiving 2008

Preparations have commenced. I have some new pics for your viewing pleasure. Actually, it's the full image of the earlier post still unfinished and some other images as well.

A Painting I'm Working On

There's a painting I'm working now that's been giving me some problems as far as how to exactly place the lights & shadows. Yeah, I know I mentioned not posting anymore unfinished art on this blog but, this way it helps me to actually finish it. Here's a screen cap of my painting mostly done without reference. This is actually pretty good since I haven't picked up a pencil or paint-brush to do some real serious art in a long time since recently. I'm using Adobe Photoshop 7 and a custom brush sampled from the texture of a picture I found online. There's some structural & lighting tweaking I must do to this in order to get it just right. Btw, this is 1280x1024 @ 72 dpi.

My Purpose For This Blog Has Changed

Originally, I wanted to use this blog as a place to post finished as well as some unfinished artwork. Now, I've changed my mind. I will post finished art and WIPs (works in progress) here. Also, I may post some tutorials from time to time. The content of this blog is a representation of my skills as an artist/animator and a forum to share my thoughts with the world about things I find interesting. So, if you're interested I'll post a my opinions of two movies that premiered in theaters this year in a later post.

Studio 4°C: Global Astroliner & Kung Fu Love

Global Astroliner is about a futuristic policeman whose been assigned to go to earth which is now a prison planet filled with waring gangs. His orders are to find a girl named Lala who is a super pop idol. In reality, she is an artificial life form whose purpose is to keep stability in a chaotic world. During the briefing this lawman is told he's got to go down to earth to retrieve her. This is where the story begins. In my opinion, the graphical style of the characters are reminiscent of Jaime Hewlett's Tank Girl comics, and his more recent work on Gorillaz. The look of the layout and design is much like JGR - Jet Grind Radio and, JSRF - Jet Set Radio Future. (Side note: I'd really like to get the artbooks to both previously mentioned video games.) This anime is well worth finding. Unfortunetely, I didn't see it on the Studio 4°C website. If you'd like find out what they're up to here's the link to their site. http://www.studio4c.co.jp/english/ Studio 4°C was one of the Japanese studios responsible for animating the ANIMATRIX for the Wachowski Bros. I'm not sure which Japanese animation studio did the segment with the exploding ambassador robot but, at the time of animating that particular sequence on the very day that particular studio was animating that scene. There was talk of not having keeping it in the finished film but, the Wachowski Bros. said to keep it in there. I'm glad they did. I like action movies and action comics but, to see violence up close and personal is a much different story. No amount of movie violence can prepare anyone for the real thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk4o37A8_NM




Kung Fu Love is about a girl named Hanako Kichijoji who for a reason not mentioned in this video she is hated the entire world except for her boyfriend who agrees to alope with her. This is another film I would like buy sometime soon as the graphics and action are top notch. The singer singing the song in this video is from the pop group SPEED. I think it's Hiroko Shimabukuro. Hiro for short. My avatar is a picture of her. Anyway, there's not too much in the way of story that was shown to tell you about. You either like wacky storylines that eventually get to a more serious point or not. (Not wacky like Trigun.) Just give it a try you may like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yMrOcaDZJM

I Finally Updated "The Look" of My Blog.

I hope you like the new look. In case your wondering no, the color combination is not being used in anticipation of Halloween. This is how my blog will continue to look from here on out. If any of you are interested in checking out Colors! DS and you own or have access to a Nintendo DS Lite here's the updated info on it. The following link will redirect you to the new site. http://colors.brombra.net/moved.php Recently, the creators of Colors DS! have changed servers and their web address changed as a result. Here's the new address for those of you who don't want to wait for the new site to load. http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/ Also, if you own or have access to an iPhone or an iPod Touch you'll like reading about Colors DS! for these Apple products. Just go to the App Store on iTunes to purchase and download. Enjoy.

The green in this post is yellower than the green in past posts. I'll try to find a way to change the previous posts font color to be more consistent with the font color of this post.