I'm back!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...Beach Beats, my 4th year student film at Cal Arts. Enjoy!

Yes I'm alive

Well it's been awhile? Huh? Crazy comments on the last post eh? Haven't had time to really respond to all of the comments yet. Sorry everyone. My minds been involved in other things which I will share with you very soon. Very good things actually. One of which is a trip to Italy and the other involves drawing. Can you guess? No don't! We don't want to jinx it! I'm leaving on Monday to Rome and will be gone for 2 weeks. Yup, it's a much needed vacation from all the animation madness that is stored in my brain. I'm telling you it's crazy in there. So now to pick out the sketchbooks to take!

I want to ride a Vespa scooter in Florence. So many to choose from!







Just got my Over the Hedge screening and party announcement in the mail last night! Hooray! It's finally coming out. There's a new quick t.v spot that's airing that has a few of my shots back to back.
I did the ones where RJ the raccoon is hooked on a chain on the back of a wagon as it goes flying through the back yard. He catches the "spuddies can" and smiles, then you see the wagon shoot off of a slide and into the air, you see a close-up of RJ going "Woahhhhhhhh!." Check out those mouth shapes, I had fun with that one! Then there's Verne the turtle closing his eyes and saying "Oh Boy!" And the clip ends on that one. So I'm actually on T.V. y'all! I can't seem to find them online...but I'm sure they'll be out any day now. Looks like the marketing blitz is already taking place.




Ok, ok, here I go. I know I'm picky and I should be...and you should too. First off I have to say that I love the poster, the top half looks great. Great sillhouette, great poses, fun expressions, just awesome. Can anyone spot the mess up? Well we all knew there had to be one right? Just look at Dwayne the exterminator's right hand sleeve. Ugh, is that the ugliest cg cloth you've ever seen? It's not even wrapped around his arm! It just looks like it's penetrating his wrist!
I've been trying to imagine the final meeting the marketing people had. They're all standing around looking at the final poster ready to go out to the printing press and the world. They say. " Isn't it great?" "Isn't it perfect?" And one meager artist speaks up...(that would be me, if I was there.) "Um, the sleeve on Dwayne's arm looks horrible and un-appealing...it's a big slash that breaks up the flow of the arm. Any artist can tell you that it could be better" All the execs stare in shock. " Security! What's an artist doing here?" Then they all eat their cheese and wine and laugh at how un-important that comment was and how nobody will notice. But you know what? I notice and so does anyone else with an artistic background. It matters. A whole lot.
Oh, the computer's cloth simulator won't fix that? It's the computers fault? B.S. We have artists here! Paint the damn thing. It matters... a great deal.


On a happier note, here's Verne the turtle! Oh how cute...I just want to pinch his turtelly green cheeks!



All right everyone...see ya when I get back!

napkin doodlies and others

Hi ya'll!

Sooooo, once again Amid has bashed Dreamworks on cartoonbrew.com.....well, what else is new eh?
We're all used to it by now...and boy are we trying our hardest to make him like us right boys?
Just keep waiting Amid, we'll get you smiling one of these days!
We'll just have to see how the audience responds to the movie now shall we. Opening May 19th! Go see it and I promise to tell you what shots I worked on. Oh yeah, there's a new trailer out.

Sorry for the lack of posts. Work, girlfriend, chores, day-dreaming, drawing, buying lots of books, training for "Flushed Away", being lazy, and having a sucky scanner are my excuses. Oh yeah, not to mention the hours I've spent trying to fix my Epson 5150 god awful stupid ass printer! I can't wait to chuck it off the side of a cliff. Hmmm, does anyone know if that's environmentally safe? Ahh who cares...I just want to bash it's brains in!

All right I'll calm down. Here's some stuff for you guys...





Diner napkin drawing





Restaurant napkin drawing



Kellie Smith



Claire Curameng

Maggie McGee

Click her!

Mexico 2004!!

Hola.. Here are some drawings from Ensenada, Mexico and one tribute to Frank Thomas. What the two have in common? I have no idea. Cheers and have fun!







Morgan Kelly asleep in a coffee shop...we had to sleep in my car one night and barely got any rest. Someone also tried to break into my car the next day. What an adventure.







One of the greatest actors ever. What a master.

San Fran...Tonga Lounge

This cute couple was sipping an incredibly large tiki drink with the longest straws I've ever seen in my life. How romantic. Let's hope they made sweet love that night.


Ahh San Francisco...she just popped into my head this morning after I stepped out of the shower. Weird...I guess it's a sign. She's calling me ...asking me to return for another visit. Such a beautiful place...can't wait to go again.

See The Seals

These were drawn in San Pedro at the Marine Mammal Care Center. My family and I have been going here for years. They treat ill, injured, or orphaned seals and sea lions. They also educate the public about these amazing mammals. Every time I'm there, I bring something to sketch with. I think I drew these last summer.
Go to their website for more info....or if you live in Los Angeles you can go there yourself...it's about an hour drive.

http://www.mar3ine.org/aboutmmcc.htm






That's my Dad above, with the straw hat....he loves that hat. Not a great drawing, but eh, what are you gonna do.

Puddy Tats

Well another film has come and gone. I just finished my last shot on Over the Hedge this weekend. It was a real subtle scene. Limited movement can be real tricky and come out clunky if you're not careful. Thanks to the splinedoctors notes, (www.splinedoctors.blogspot.com) I've learned to watch the corners of the mouth when changing expression or when a character is speaking. Sometimes the computer likes to make those corners real ugly and the mouth starts popping into hideous shapes. I tend to pay attention to my mouth more when acting my scenes out in front of the mirror. It makes a big difference when you're polishing up your shot. I even think about the muscles I'm using when I'm saying a particular line. If you are really sad and talking sofltly, your jaw will be very relaxed and your lips will barely move. But if you're angry or repulsed, your jaw will be taught and rigid. Ellen Woodbury , an amazing 2d, and I think now 3d animator at disney, taught me about this in one of her lectures. If you "feel" where that strain is and are aware of what muscles you're using, then you know where the force is coming from and you'll be well prepared to start your scene. But remember ...feel the scene out first. Get into the head of that character and let your imagination take over. You'll be amazed at what that character might do.
Now on to the next film...Flushed Away. This is the next Aardman/Dreamworks production. A new film, a different style, and lots to animate... I can't wait. Although I'm already starting to miss RJ and Verne.

I forget the name of this cat below. She was pretty fat and "meowed" really loud. She lives in Los Angeles, Echo Park to be exact.

If you love animation, you will love this article.

Click below please, it will make you smile.

Jim Hill Media

Monumental

What a week! Remember last week everyone? The whole Disney/Pixar thing? If this isn't monumental I don't know what is. An animation artist running feature animation. I still can't get over it. I've read a lot of blogs where people say they can't sleep because of the news. They're just too excited. I have to admit...I'm in the same sleepless category. My mind is just freakin' out. I mean just look at these drawings below.



It just speaks volumes to me. So much character, so much appeal, so much attitude. So much life! With the new happenings at Disney, there are constant rumors about bringing back hand drawn animation. Most people in the industry are pessimists. "Ahhh, but 2d is so hard, I'm happy doing 3d." " I worked so hard just to turn the model around, in 3d you don't have to think about it."" My hand doesn't hurt anymore." " I get to go home earlier than I did in the past." I mean these are all valid points...but I guess I'm the only optimist. I love 3d and love working in the medium... but there are limitations sometimes. 2D will return, believe me. It has to. Just look at Timothy the Mouse again. If you're an animator you know what I'm talking about. When you see drawings like that, you just want to make them breathe and come to life! Now, I never worked on a feature 2d film, so I don't have much history there, but I did make four 2d films at school, and I know the struggle it is just to get that drawing right. But the feeling boys and girls! The feeling of creating something out of nothing! It's amazing! You're the modeler, the designer, (well, in some cases), the hair, cloth, simulator, and animator. You don't have to rely on Joe Shmoe upstairs to F up your blurred in-between or smear pose that you worked so hard on. And you don't have to worry about breaking the model. Maybe I just don't have all the freedom and resources that Pixar folks do. I don't know, I just know that every time I push a character really far, I have to make a number of calls to someone who says "That's the way the system's mathematical formula figures it out. There is nothing we can do. You don't want an ugly blur in that frame? Um, well, it's not that easy to just fix one frame. You see, the code that we're writing for that scene is blah blah blahditty blah..and it will take a week to render and ...duh duh blah doo doo blah" What!?? One frame can make all the difference! Just remove the ugliness from my shot please! Can you do that??! Ok ok ok woah...going on another rant. Just breathe....hooooo....hahhhhh.

One more time, just look at timothy the mouse again. Too much fun is waiting to begin and if we don't make a fuss about it I don't know who will.

Onto the posts!

So here are some Oldies but Goodie drawings. Oh, and one new one I did a few weeks ago. I found these in my old portfolio bag....basically just a bag of doodles and shmoodles that I thought would get me a job in the industry sooner or later. Since I haven't posted in awhile, I decided to just rummage through it and see what goodies to put up.




So this is Bailey Brent My friend, old Cal Arts roomate and current invader of Los Angeles. He's been working at EA up North by the bay and now he's returning to smog central. Welcome back Bailey, can't wait for you to make me your famous breakfast burritos. I'm telling you, start your day with a Bailey Burrito and you'll fall back asleep till 3 p.m. Yes, they are that good.



Here's a sketch I did for a painting. I did this while working towards that pirate painting I posted a few weeks back.



This is creepy green guy.
He really likes your liver.
If you pass right by him.
His smell will give you shivers.



I drew a lot in my Maya classes. Just couldn't sit still I guess. These drawings look very claustrophobic to me. Maybe it's because the 3d computer lab at cal arts is in the dungeon and has no windows and is painted a hideous grey color. I did learn how to pose characters in that class though, so I did get something out of it. Jeremy Cantor was my teacher. He's an awesome animator. Check him out here if you will. Jeremy Cantor.


Oh look! There's Bailey again! (wearing the earing.) And Michael Scroggins too! ( Man with goatee) And at the bottom we have Paul Linsley and Marina Valentina. Two exceptional artists. Check out Marina's children's book on her website. It's amazing.



Some Calartians in a favorite tool of mine. A black caligraphy marker.



These thumbnails were for my 3rd yr. film at Cal Arts. It was a film I half finished because it was the year I tried to make the "epic" film. Every student goes through this. You make a couple small films your first 2 years and here comes 3rd year and you're like, holy crap, I'm ready for a feature! So you start writing your feature with tons of locations, characters, and props, did I mention vehicles too? And you start boarding this epic , which takes longer than you think, because you're trying to make this enormous story work on all levels. Well, by the time you think you're ready to animate, the deadline approaches like a huge steam engine.

It says " Toot toot!"(Wait, that sounds like a tiny train, just imagine a really loud whistle and bell..) The train says "Times up! Gimme the film" And there you have it, an unfinished Epic film.






So a word of advice to all you student film makers out there who have just a few months to finish. Don't forget about that train, it approaches fast and steady and will knock you down. Keep things simple and clear and try to finish your story reel as early as possible. The audience is waiting for you...and that includes me.

What a Hoot

I had to work on Saturday. Working on Saturday's sucks..but not so much when you work in animation. C'mon man it's animation...cartoons! As you can tell I've been happy with my shots lately. I've got some pretty decent acting shots with Verne (the turtle) in Over the Hedge. COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU IN MAY! Just had to add a plug in there.

Allright, time for a rant. You know what bugs me? Open hand gestures in dialogue scenes. The one's where a character is talking and both hands come out and their palms are facing the sky. You know what I'm talking about...t.v. animation does it constantly ( because it's easy to do and cheap). And there's sure a lot of it in a feature film coming out soon....I won't say which...but I think you know which one. I'm not saying humans don't do it...and sometimes it's even necessary for the point of the scene. But not 2 or 3 times in one scene! And evenly timed too! Ugh! Feh! Gross! When I see it I just cringe. Bad acting!It just screams to me..LAZY! Coming up with a good gesture takes time and planning and patience. You need to listen to that dialogue about 1000 times,act it out, and become that character. I don't care if the deadline for the scene is tomorrow. I'm going to try and make that scene top notch! For God's sake! It's gonna be seen all over the world! Not to mention being translated into 50 different languages. There are millions of more interesting things a character can do with his hands: Nervous gestures, playing with props, touching or scratching their face, even NOT moving their hands is more interesting! I guess I should post some examples to prove my point. The open hand gesture is just too easy....there's just too many possibilities out there. I watched Rescuers this weekend. Remember that little disney film from the 1970's? Bernard's acting is beautiful to watch. Now that's good acting.

I drew these owls awhile back and then played with them in Photoshop today. They were drawn with blue col-erase.

Here's a close-up.




While in Park City, Utah, I met an owl on my birthday. He's a star and his name is Hoot. He stars in the Harry Potter movies. No I did not get his autograph. Yes, I guess I'm owl crazy...and yes the owner of the owl looks like David Crosby from Crosby Stills and Nash.

Olive

I love this.

Click to listen to Olive!