Update on past post

Looks like Disney took down those pics from their upcoming computer animated flick

The Wild...click this

I wonder if they read my rant....hmmmmmm.

wow

Wow. Have you seen this mess?

Disney posted some pics up from their computer animated film, The Wild , yesterday.

Disney disney disney......how sad. These guys made Pinochio and Dumbo! Can you believe that? And they're even out-sourcing the animation to Canada....but just look at that. Wow, I never thought my eyes could bleed so quickly. Well wait, the Valiant trailer was pretty bad. There are so many talented character designers out there and none of them are used...or maybe they were..but the executives can't see good design...it's like us artists looking at a long wordy contract and making decisions without even understanding it. Well, at least Wilbur Robinson and American Dog look great.



I met John K. once and he was telling me how executives can't read storyboards...he would give them boards and they couldn't make heads or tails out of it. Hah! He said, if they can't read story boards, then they can't read comic books. A 5 yr old can read comic-books and an executive can't. Pretty sad and ironic eh? Oh well, it kind of gets us all charged up when there are stupid decisions made...makes us work harder and stronger and pushes us to do our best. Because that's what we all strive for... right?




Now I know the company I work for has some designs that make us scream.... I, as well, scream with you....but the visual development here will blow your socks off! It's just the transition from drawings to models that gets screwed up! But we did make Madagascar and those designs kick ass. Thanks goes out to mad genius Craig Kellman and all the character modelers and riggers. Wait till ya see what Craig's up to next. That's all I'm gonna say.




Creepy critters under the sea,
Keep your gaze and I guarantee
That the feeling on your upper thigh
is their teeth...oh whoops...
Goodbye, goodbye.

These underwater creepies were done in Rik Maki's class.
Go here to buy his book.
Click

It's well worth it. This guy know his stuff. He even has drawings (most likely copies ) in the animation art room at California Adventure.

No that's not a set behind me in the top photo.
It's the real deal....in Sequoia national park. More pics to come!

Cow-boyzzzzzzzzzz!

Here's the last 2 cowboys.... not much else to post today....I'll see what I can scan tonight.

Hey all you bloggers! Whaz up? Got some fresh new fly hip edgy drawings for ya today. Hope you enjoy them. Sorry I haven't posted in a week. Been tied up with work and camping preparations...I'm going to Sequoia National Park this weekend with my girlfriend. Ahhhhh camping. The trees, the smell, the wildlife....the black bear shoving his paw in your tent as you eat your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The rock...that trips you as you try to flee from the bear while it rips your clothes off...ahhhhh.....the rattlesnake that you happen to step on as you hide from that deranged bear.....ahhh the trip to the ER in a helicopter...ahhhhhh camping. No seriously folks.....I can't wait to go. I love mini vacations!




Jimmy Dood
was quite the fellow.
Had no horse,
and no stories to tellya.

Boring as heck
you thought you'd die.
Makes you want to punch
his lazy eye.

Then one day
he found some gin.
Drank it all down
and started to grin.



Flew off his feet
and bounced off the ground.
Boots came off
and people gathered around.

Jimmy Dood
Became quite a stud.
Ladies all swooned
And their hearts went thud.

Still stupid and dumb,
the boy hadn't changed.
But at least he looked,
a little bit sane.




I drew Jimmy Dood in 2002 back at Cal Arts. I like all the negative space in there...keeps it interesting. I'll post 2 more next week.






I am obsessed with owls...I keep drawing them and drawing them..I just can't stop.




These lions, I tell ya
seem to get all the fame.
Their manners quite awful,
It's really a shame.





This little lad was drawn off a bootleg copy of Disney's Song of the South. My cartoony buddies meet once a week and we got together and did some studies of the film. Check out Sean's versions here. Just scroll down a little. Click me.

Sketch sketch..tra la la...

Thanks Cartoonbrew!

www.cartoonbrew.com hooked me up with a plug. Thanks Amid and Jerry. Click the link on the right if you'd like to visit.

And hello to all of you new people out there. I've been checking out who's been viewing the page and in the last 100 visits it seems like the whole world has stopped by. Hello to Spain, England, the Netherlands, France, Canada, Italy, Israel, Taiwan, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, and Norway. Hi world.

So here are some sketchbook pages... the top drawing was done at a Starbucks in Valencia, Ca. They were standing in line for their Cappucino latte frape tall grande with a dash of soymilk and cinnamon syrup sauce and a mashed potato topping. The big guy was about 7 feet tall and the little lady was about 4 feet tall. They weren't a couple but I think they should be.



I thought about cropping these drawings but I kind of like the look of the sketchbook in there. It's just more interesting to me.



This lil' pooch reminds me of Droopy...I don't know, maybe I was channeling his droopiness when I drew it. I think he'd make a fine little character and one day maybe I'll animate him.



Boogey man boogey man,
Moving to the city.
Practicing his scaring skills
While looking quite silly.

These are some studies for an animation test I did back in school. Oooh scary. I've got some ideas for this dude so maybe you'll be seeing him soon. Hopefully in a short film or maybe in a cameo in one of my friends' films.



These are some fine chaps working in the animation field today. Joe is a funny lookin' music makin' character designer.
Jeff is a funny lookin' character designer and story supervisor, and Dave is a funny lookin' animator, story supervisor, and figure drawing teacher. The drawings don't exactly look like them...but my intention wasn't to caricature them. I was more focused on getting their gestures down. It's really important to observe people and the way they walk, stand, or sit. As an animator, you're basically an actor..breathing life into these characters. And the more you observe the more ideas will come to you when you're stuck on a scene. These were drawn in Jeff Ranjo's class back in 2003. It was a great lecture on character design and storyboarding and Joe (working at Disney Feature) and Dave (working at Dreamworks Feature) had some really great things to say about the studio system and the differences between the two companies.

Girls Girls grrrrrrrrowl...and a piano.

Happy Friday ya'll....woops no it's not...it's Thursday. Well it sure feels like a Friday... shows you where my heads at. Wow...look what I found! The Canadian premiere of Corpse Bride!
clicky click
I can't wait to see this film....

In 11th grade , at Fairfax High School, my art class took a field trip to the Disney animation studios in Glendale. We walked into a bungalow and into a small screening room....and there on that screen they played for us the most amazing thing I'd ever seen in my 16 years on this planet. The opening to The Lion King and the opening to The Nightmare Before Christmas. Both still in rough form...storyboards...colored sequences here and there...some animation....and also...the music...holy crap! The music!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhh! It was like an anvil and a piano hit me on the head all at once! It moved me so much that I was shaking. I didn't understand it....how could those moving pictures...all made up...all fake...all imaginary...make me feel this way. What the hell was happening? And why was I so happy afterwards? Without a doubt..the most amazing drug. I didn't walk away critiquing the animation, editing, or design. I didn't think about composition or why that foot moved that way instead of this way...it was the feeling....hello? Executives and management? Money hungry CEO's?? Anybody out there? FEEELIINGS! That's what's most important! Well my friends....that is what I hope you can experience from something I create one day. Be it a film, a painting, or a song. It might take me till I'm old and grey ...but I'll be working on it.








Shirley Crumpet had a crush on a man
He came from the hills and had no tan.
Eleven feet tall and covered in soot
Shirley had found, her true love Bigfoot









Thought I'd post some girly girls. I drew these in my figure drawing class my last year at Cal Arts....which would be 2003. I really felt I improved in this class more than any other. I started caricaturing the figure and adding expressions which really made it more fun. And the response I received from my peers was overwhelming. It always helps to have a great model too. They can either kill the class or bring it to life. This girl was full of positive vibes and I tried to capture that in the drawings.

Working Class

Here's some more doodle fun with a touch of Photoshop.




John Hill is cold.....he must go somewhere warm.

So I draw these at work when I'm not animating. Sometimes they come out grotesque...sometimes they come out just funny looking, and sometimes they come out looking like god-knows-what. That's when I throw a tantrum and stomp on my crayons! Some of the caricatures I get right away and some of them take me all day to figure out. It's wierd. I can see them in my head, crystal clear, but getting them down on paper is a real challenge. I guess that's why I like doing them... the challenge and the laugh factor. Though I have been known to piss a few people off. Which is kinda fun too....in a sick sort of way.



John Hill goes to Death Valley. But on the way he lost his horse.



Rob Domingo is my office-mate. He likes to correct my drawings any chance he gets...and has every right to. This dude can draw! He'll probably print these out, trace over them, and tell me to watch my tangents. I know Rob I know! I'm workin' on it.

He also likes golf......a little too much.





Ted Ty likes to ride bikes...he likes to ride them fast. Ride Ted ride.

G'mornin' Monday

Three crazy owls.
Just a little bit insane.
Proper shoes and proper dress
And a search for more champagne.

Just released from the loony bin,
These owls are on a mission.
Corned beef on rye and potato salad.
Let's call it a tradition.


Marker on paper.
Ha ha doesn't that sound professional? Well another weekend gone, good-bye, kaput. What's with these weekends? Why aren't they longer?

Sorry people! I'll get some more drawings up soon...the power went out in Glendale and all hell broke loose and a monster ate my computer.....ok not really. But the power did go out.

More!

His moustache is a mystery.
Made of gold, I guarantee.
A cure for ailments, are hiding there.
But oh, poor Kristof is unaware.



Kristof Serrand













Brendan O'Connor

As you can see from these 2 portraits...Brendan's hair grows really fast.







William Salazar

My supervising animator. He's from Corsica. Ahh, Corsica ...let's all go there NOW.


Hi all! Hope everyone is enjoying these. Let me know what you think. I'll be posting some owl drawings up very soon....oh yes....I said owls.

Winged creatures of the night...those pesky feathery flying birds that hang out in your barnyard. While you're milking the cows and feeding the chickens, they're watching you from high above...stirring their English tea and munching on some biscuits. Then they wait for nightime...when all is clear they put on their favorite reggae album and dance till the sweat is dripping down down down down.

Caricature crazy

Here are some of my homies from work.





John Hill

Watch your back, those boots are hungry. The sweater... even hungrier.







Donnachada Daly

We like to call him "Dead eye"...based on his awesome dart playing skills.
Check out his boots...this dude's a bad ass.




Chris Bancroft

His hair will eat you alive and leave you in awe.




Tim Johnson

Amazing, awesome, great, super cool....(he's the director of the film I'm working on... I have to be nice)

From Chunk to Van Gogh

If I could close my eyes and be anywhere right now....I would be with these guys... on a search for a pirates' treasure.










Then I'd meet Howard Pyle and we'd draw pirates all day. This man's paintings are amazing....an incredible artist. Here's a little bit of info.

"Pyle began teaching art (for free) in 1896; his students included beloved artists Jessie Wilcox Smith, N.C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, and Maxfield Parrish. These artists and their students are collectively known as the Brandywine School, and they redefined how generations of children picture bloodthirsty pirates, noble queens, and valiant knights."

I grew up studying comics and cartoons...just literally obsessed with it. My father would open my mind and introduce me to artists such as Edward Gory, Ronald Searle, Andrew Wyeth, Frederick Remington, and Maxfield Parrish. I mean, he probably has every book on them. What my point is..well, I never really appreciated them until I went to art school and realized what geniuses they were. To study life is the key to great art and these guys mastered it. It's funny how looking at their artwork in books and on the web is great....but to actually go to a museum and see their original work...well that just knocks me off my feet. I remember going to the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit at LACMA and being blown away by his work. I mean, I've seen all of these paintings before in books....but to be right next to the artists paint. Wow..I can't even explain the feeling. To capture a moment and entertain people from all around the world is a miracle. These artists leave me speechless.


Ronald Searle





Maxfield Parish
(even his name was cool!)






Here's some more info on Howard Pyle. Pyle

Silly

Here's some silly birds.
Don't stare at them I swear.
They'll eat your body
And your toes,
And leave your underwear.


Hi everyone! It's me Jeremiah! Well this is fun isn't it. I'm trying to get comfortable writing to no one in particular. It's a wierd feeling and to be honest it makes me nervous. I guess I have blogger stage fright. I'm just not used to opening up to the world like this. A friend of mine told me to just act like I'm typing to him and just be silly. So I'll try that approach.

On a non-silly note...New Orleans is drowning. It's pretty sad and my heart goes out to all those suffering without homes, food or water. Go here if you feel like donating. networkforfood

Caricatures arriving soon....hold your breath....now make a wish....stick out your tongue...and blow a kiss....Don't give me that look....this aint no joke....just come back soon....to captainyolk.