I'm still getting used to inking with these pen brushes from Jetpens.com. The brush pens I use are very similar to the one pictured below. They're great for sketching and inking your artwork. And, they're not very expensive. Only $8.25. Also, I suggest you buy the Pentel Brush Pen Cartridge - Black Ink for $2.50. http://www.jetpens.com/

I'll post more art soon.

A Seemingly Short Excursion to the Grocery Store

A seemingly short excursion to the grocery store turned out to be a day long stay which I wasn't altogether unprepared for. You see, I brought along some things to do in case I couldn't draw people as they shopped. I had my trusty brush pens to draw gestures of people and mecha pencils to draw cartoon facial expressions if too many people figured out what I was doing. No, they don't transform. They're the mechanical variety instead of the mere old school wooden ones. I need to get back into using the wooden pencils when I want a more rendered look in my art. Unfortunately, I didn't draw any gestures with the pen brushes. The sketch pad I used for this foray into sketching on the fly is not ideal for this kind of thing. The ink doesn't dry as fast as I would like so, I spent a lot of time out and about today. Here's a drawing I did.

And, here's some cartooning I drew as I waited for the ink to dry. Some of the grocery store's staff complimented me on my art. Which I am thankful for but, I've got to get my skills up to where they should be now. My art has been on hiatus for way too many years and I should be much better and faster than I am now. Practice makes perfect. So, I'll eventually get to the level of draftsmanship I want to achieve.

More to come soon. I've been thinking about drawing revamped versions of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Urusei Yatsura - 'Lum, Those Obnoxious Aliens' for those of you who are not in the know. I also want to draw some art of some of my favorite 80s and 90s cartoons.

Also, here's a hairstyle I drew for "she who will remain nameless on this blog" from a horror movie I rented a while ago and she refuses to wear it. The haircut in the movie looks cooler than cool but, I didn't do it justice in these drawings. For some reason, I can't remember the title of the movie. Oh well. Enjoy the artwork. It's all freehand done with Adobe Photoshop using a Wacom tablet. This latter part of the post was drawn several months ago.

(All artwork in this post is Copyright 2013 Eric R. Watson.)

Some Sketches From 11-12-13.

Here's a sketch I did after work yesterday on receipt paper. I hope you like it. More to come soon. :)

A Few of the 30 Day Challenge Paintings.

 It was hard to sit still to paint this one as I've not painted anything in a long time.

 I've been drawing a lot of cartoon facial expressions so, this one was a joy to paint.

 As you can see I was just having fun with this one.

 This bears no likeness at all to the actress I painted this from. I'll rework it. If not, I'll do it over again.

 I like this color combination. :-)

 A fish hiding behind a rock.

This last one is about an anime character and a mech shrouded in shadow. The second one and last two are my personal favorites.

These are a few of my favorite paintings I'm working on for my 30 Day Challenge. Maybe, I'll post more in about a week or so. I'm using Colors DS in a Nintendo DS Lite. All artwork is copyrighted by me,  Eric R. Watson.

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.