The Long Form Sketch


I'm gonna try more of these "Long Form" sketches. it spanned 2 pages in my sketch book and done in one 50 minute sitting at Panera. I like that place. I get some drawing done there. I added tone. I wanted to keep it simple, similar to some sketches I saw in Kelsey Mann's Blog, but didn't quite get the same effect. Anyhow, hope to continue on stuff like this, get quicker, more polished, yet looser, etc. etc... =

Petey Pan...

A new project to work on. Trying to loosen up with this one for Creation Engines. Our current topic: Peter Pan. Hope to make it into something a bit more developed. Something to work on over the break...

"Plein Airing"...


Exercising the observation skills. Went out and did some painting from life at Guadalupe Gardens in San Jo. Love it 'cause I always finish it up with a meal at Panera... I hate the sky in these, they reproduced poorly, but in the original - its not much better. I keep loosing my whites. I know, I know... I gotta preserve my whites when working with the medium (i used acrylic). Anyhow, good to know for next time. Going into winter, so I there'll be an abundance of light values. Gotta remember that when I go out: restraint!

SURGE of POWER: Cover II

Following Vinnie's cover notes, this is the cover I have come up with as another prop for the Surge of Power sequel. Basically had to crank this one out this weekend cause the prop goes into the production next week! Vinnie had quite a few specifics for this cover, hope I delivered. I will have problems with it I'm sure. Wonder why Surge is in such a hurry and where's he's coming from? heh heh...
Another SURGE II Cover

After a little back & forth, we've come to this cover layout. Still awaiting full approval before I can move on to color. Here's a cleaned up line & quick tonal pass for values. A fresh look tomorrow will help me tweak the values better.

Another prop cover needed for Surge of Power II. Just sent off these thumbs to my producer Vinnie Roth, for approval. Awaiting his follow up comments. Image based on his description. The figure in the 3rd image (far right) is kinda cool, but I'd definetely change "Surge's" position. But the "Surge Mobile" is meant to be a center of focus, so don't know if Vinnie will want the front of the car obscured. I'll have to wait and see... Any other comments/suggestions appreciated. Could use the feedback.

Happy Halloween from Creation Engines

for CE's halloween blog post. the bride... (not the Sting/Jennifer Beals version, the original)

Speed Painting...

Jumping on the Speed Painting bandwagon. I've wanted to do this for a long, long time since I heard about it. I was introduced to it at school during my senior year but never got around to doing it... until now! Well, here are my first Speed Paints...done digitally. Recognize the movies?

CRYPTOZOOLOGY: The Yeti

stages

tonal thumb

For Creation Engines blog. Just a quick little sketch just to say I did. From most current topic "Cryptozoology" the study of "hidden" animals.

Playing Around with Value

Something I did for my students, just to show how to separate ground planes using value.

SURGE of POWER: The Sequel


A sequel is in the works to SURGE of POWER, a fun, campy Superhero movie released in 2004 produced and conceived by my friend, Vincent Roth. I initially did artwork for the original movie, SURGE OF POWER: The Stuff of Heroes, including props, framing artwork, and concept work. Now Vincent is back at work on a sequel after touring the first film at film festivals and conventions. He's asked me to do new art, and this is the first piece I've conceived: A cover to the JUSTICE BRIGADE comic, a fictional book the main character is a fan of. More SURGE movies = more art for me to create. Looking forward to seeing how the projects develops, no doubt bigger and better.

Some initial concept thumbnails for the cover. I initially thought the cover on the right would be great, after talking with Vincent the concept was revised, and I think the second idea (left side) works much better in showcasing the heroes (Blue Beacon, Splendorella, & Captain Meteor).

Original cover "prop" artwork from Surge of Power I conceived and created back in 2003 - oh, the horror!!!

Tree Tonals: Big & Small


Things I do with my class. Good practice for me, to do what I assign them to do. Quick studies, focusing more on value/tone to define form. Man, like anything else, if you want to draw, gotta draw everything. Yeah, I know its good for me...

War Is Hell (CE Post)


This quick little illo is the latest CE Challenge: WAR. I really need to start painting a) More & b) Faster. Here it is from loose sketch to digital paint.

Outdoors: Guadalupe Gardens, SJ

Some outdoor painting I've started up. Hope to gain a keener eye at painting & determining subtle shifts in color & light. Pretty fun, but only so much pollen one can tolerate. More to come..? I hope so.

One Tree
Another warm up before I focus more and more on painting and technical skills this semester. I spent this last weekend in Bakersfield with my wonderful family. This little paint is for my mom. Painted in Tehachapi, a little ways from my family's home.

Nekkid Ladies

More figure drawing from the last two weeks. Man, out of about 50 sketches, these were the only ones I think were somewhat successful.

Quick Paint - Stanford U., Palo Alto

Warming up 4 the new semester... great weather today.

The Marvel Way #2: Spider-Surfer

#2 in my exercises from How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. Still learning in several ways how to go about this right. Number of things I am hoping to get out of this from economy, neatness, referencing, line weight, composition, figure drawing, etc, etc. Gotta start somewhere. I'm enjoying myself, trying to see where I can improve. Its difficult, but I hope to go a lot further with these exercises. Next up: a multi-page story. This is my last one pager for a while.

Live. Nude. Drawings!

"Draw Your Own Comic-Book Page..."

I needed to crank this out. Still have this burning desire to draw comics one day. One can talk and talk about wanting to do something, but unless you do, its just talk. Well, here's hoping this is the start of something. I took one of the exercises from Stan Lee & John Buscema's "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way." Tried to do it as blind as I could (they offer up examples), and was surprised how different mine was. Anyhow, probably a crappy comic book page by industry standards, but its a start...

The Adventures Of...

So this is what Jaime encouraged me to do. A little one page comic, total stream of consciousness. A bit of a story foundation in mind... Originally started as maybe Robin's first night on patrol with the big B. Could possibly subtitle this "Try to Keep Up." I'd been a lot bummed lately regarding art and my output. It hadn't been fun for a while. Comics were the reason that I got into art in the first place. Thanks Jaime for the suggestion, hopefully there will be more of this to come. :)

Coming Soon...

Something I am working on. Thanks to Jaime for the idea. Pure instinct trying not to overthink it. Hopefully will be done soon.

Landscape Studies...


Pacheco State Park off Pacheco Pass (HWY 152). Went hiking with one of my best friends Ben. Awesome time, hardly anyone else was out there. Got to do some sketching (promised my classes). Always see the exit on my way to visit the folks in Bakersfield. Highly recommended. Ben's a saint for his patience, came this close to a rattlesnake... very distinct sounds they do make.

CARS!

Inspired by Pixar's CARS I did some vehicle studies. In my ongoing quest to one day work on backgrounds and props for animation, I've decided to do some quick paints/studies of cars. I wanted to push the form and make them more stylized as I went. Also trying to describe the reflected surfaces in a simplified way. Its rewarding work, different from the organic shapes of people/drapery, but Iike it all the same. This is the first round.

Just in Time for Halloween: VAMPIRE TOOTHBRUSH...


This round of CreationEngine challenges revolve around Halloween. 1) Redesign a Classic Movie Monster & 2) Create a Haunted Inanimate Object... This one reflects the latter. Total silly idea, wanted to try something fun & visceral...

Trick or Treat

The Return of the Space Cow-Girl.



From this weeks Creation Engines exercise: SPACE COWBOY. This character I call COW G.I.R.L. She rides her trusty steed, mech-BULL. Plan to develop the story later...

SPYder: Paint.


Another one for Creation Engines. Just crankin' them out... This cute little Black Op is called: SPYder.