Gran

This is a tribute piece to all the sweet Grandmothers out there, who bake cookies, and carry lots of sweets in their purse.
Somethn' about her reminds me of Mrs.Doubtfire?

It started as a sketch.. then turned into a painting.
I used 4 different textures I found on google images,and then just made the layer they were on, into multiply. which makes it semi transparent. As well as texture brushes.

CTN 2010

I just got back home from an amazing weekend at the 2nd annual CTN expo. (or as my wife says "the nerd convention" pshh! o.k.. well maybe a little :)

I attended some great seminars, and got to meet some of the world's finest talents.
So inspiring, educational, exhausting,& yet refreshing!
I also got to meet & thank the founder and organizer of the event; Tina Price, for putting an event like this together.

Hopefully it will offer the same elements and even more next year. I would encourage anyone who couldn't make it this year to do your best for the next one.

Meeting artists that share similar passions & dreams was pretty amazing.

ZZzzzz

people sleepn' on the train.

Getting info..

While on may way to work the other morning, I sketched this man reading his morning paper. He had a lot of character to start off with, I tried to simplify shapes and exaggerate a little.
And then I did this lady on her phone/hand held device... the two generations, I guess.

I took in my first full Ottawa International Animation Festival also known as OIAF. I had a great experience.
A few highlights included: The Friday night Lecture @ the Musuem of Civilization which was presented by animator Patrick Osborne from Disney who talked about the upcoming film "Tangled",(very cool) followed by screening Salon de refuse which included my friend and co worker Kyu Bum Lee's short film "Death Buy Lemonade" . Saturday we went to two workshops, and then to see the film the "Illusionist" which I really liked. The Sat night party @ the Hard Rock Cafe was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones.
Hopefully I will attend next year! & see you there.

CLICK ON LINK HERE TO PLAY!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6204806/MC2Toy!NEW_OCT10.mp4

I've been poking at this "outlet" piece here and there for a couple of months now.... still a work in progress, It's a scene from season 2 of Mischief city, which I re-animated and extended. I liked the voice acting and thought it would be fun to see what I could do with it.
After doing 2, 11 second club entries, I wanted to do something that didn't have such a tight deadline I guess.

I wanted the look and feel of the piece to be a little "rougher" and more of an "organic".which was a much SLOWER process. I also wanted to try to animate it a little more full and give the animation itself texture contrasting the broader actions to some subtle movement throughout.

I figured I better post it, before it gets buried in the dust.

So just what exactly did Cube run off screen to go fetch as thee greatest toy in the whole world??? stay tuned...I'm gonna have to figure that one out.

Oranguey

I had to grab somethn' out of the sketchbook.. it's been too long... I guess I also miss my visits to the zoo.

Tim Brown on creativity and play | Video on TED.com

Tim Brown on creativity and play | Video on TED.com

- besides a very interesting talk, I just noticed my blogger profile graphic appears up on the screen @ 6:29. (well... it's pretty close).

T.V. sketches - The Oscars 2010

I was looking through one of my sketchbooks and came across some drawings I did a couple of months ago, while watching some of the Oscars.
See if you can guess who they are?>
Top left is a tough one...

Beach Time!, Contd'..

Beach Time, Dominican style ! part I

- These sketches were done during our week in Punta Cana. It was thee greatest week of my life! most of the people in these sketches were of either friends or family.(hopefully my attempts don't offend too many of them ;)
Special Thanks to Freddy Tang for supplying the drawing tools to make these possible.

.....more to come!

Ed Catmull Interview

http://www.canadiananimationresources.ca/?p=1694

A great interview with Dr.Ed Catmull. He delivers insight into the way Pixar operates.

Happy St.Patty's Day!

Tomorrow is St.Patrick's Day...& This jolly Leprechaun is wishing everyone the luck o'the Irish!

Might just have to check this out...

On Fri March 19th in Toronto

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgud8xkb4DrOkxbTa8vXreHTiUCwTylazksoO4YXikFoVPcNoPRYhWXjbeUeasLLhQRNqiZSTpVKROEGkjjJM40lQWqzEcn-IZe0zpHlkZ7lrNukfkPigIZ1I3r_5Z8FRlO1tN9yRwz58g/s1600-h/CASO-Visionary-lunch_Mar_2010_mar_01_new.jpg

! ?

Here are some Photoshop experiments I did, which do you prefer?
TOP or BOTTOM ?

February of The Penguins!

I actually drew these this past summer, during a walk through at the Biodome in Montreal,Que. I personally prefer drawing @ the Toronto Zoo, as it offers a much wider variety of animals.

The Passenger

I just finished watching this ...wow. It is amazing.

It was a Treat to watch!

Besides Great animation, the comedy, The "mood", sound and music are all awesome. I really like the animation on the eyes. It's Tim Burton meets Earthworm Jim?

blog/website of the talented Chris Jones :
http://www.chrisj.com.au/index.php

I think I'll watch it again!

Getting Married on the Beach!

This is what we sent out as a wedding invitation recently.(minus the text of course) Caricatures is definitely a skill that I need to keep working at. ha. As many artists know getting the "likeness" of a person isn't that easy.

Well in less than 3 months! I will be saying the I do's in The Dominican Republic.

What can I say... I love my beautiful Fiancee Karla.
& we're looking forward to spending a week with friends and family!

Brad Bird interview - On fostering innovation

I know it's from a couple of years ago but much of the interview pertains today... I'm sure many would agree with Anthony Kuhn who commented, "More businesses should be run like Pixar"...

The interview
http://gigaom.com/2008/04/17/pixars-brad-bird-on-fostering-innovation/

Skating on the World's "LARGEST" skating Rink

Growing up in Ottawa, Canada, every year, around this time there was always a frozen piece of ice to skate on known as the Rideau Canal.

From school day field trips, to skating with my family & friends, or on a "hot" date. Sometimes your toes were frozen numb, other times the ice was barely skate-able. Either way, it was always a great time.(Usually included some hot chocolate and of course a Beaver Tail or two.)
Those who have experienced the Rideau canal or are from O-town know exactly what I'm talking about!

I came up with the drawing while at work just a quick sketch. I tried to keep it loose and simple. I then added the background & color in Photoshop.

- Just encase you were wondering (Winnipeg, Man. lays claim to world's "longest" skating path)... according to wikipedia.

Happy New Year / Alma Short

Hope Everyone had a great Christmas and Holiday season. Now back to the grindstone of creating and animating!
Here is a link to an amazing short, Alma; directed by Rodrigo Blaas.

http://almashortfilm.com/

Short film ~ Frenchroast

If you haven't seen this yet, it's definitely worth a watch.

http://www.frenchroast.fr/watchfrenchroast.html

November 11 Second club !

Well, ...I just submitted my animation for November. I'm pretty happy with the end product, I didn't know how I was going to get it done!. Though I see stuff now, I want to change. I animated it traditionally this time around (which was crazy)ha. two character's sure no problem. About 180 drawings and a few pencils later. Done.
I will post the movie here after the voting is done. So if you want to see it, go to the 11 Second site, starting Dec 1st and vote! it's easy! and you don't have to do all the voting at once you can come back to the site, it will remember your selections.
http://www.11secondclub.com/

If you want a month to fly by... do an 11 second animation.

My fiancee Karla is happy December is here :)... & DeeOGee too.

Thanks to everyone!, for the help. Especially my old college buddies, and current co-workers - Al Prohaska who did the background, and Alvin Cruzado who helped me with the story idea.
Cheers.

Champs !

Nov 1st! well it's time to get down to work again. These are my character design's, I've come up with for the November, 11 Sec.Club entry. Al and Frank two bowling buddies....Here we go November.

Handy Manny Clip

- some animation for Disney Television's Handy Manny, I recently worked on.

Train Sketch(es)

..a few more sketches, some from a couple of months ago.

Subway Sketch

Just a raw quick subway sketch.

"Crazed" Scientist

Cliff the "Crazed" Scientist believes he's discovered the missing ingredient to his experiment....or did he?

IN THE CLUB!

I'm Done! well sort of.... It feels awesome to finally be finished this contest.
THANKS to all those who helped me along the way with ideas, insults and encouragement. Gracias :)
Wow, where did August go? anyway, You can sign up and vote for my video as well as checking out the other entries... there are always some great ideas and animation. Even if you're not an animator, you can still vote or just check out previous entries!
GO TO THE 11 SECOND CLUB NOW!

oh.. and I will post the movie here too...
Cheers

Sneek Peak !

Don't worry kids... I've been very busy. I'm attempting my first 11 SECOND club Animation! If you're not familiar, you should definitely check it out! there is a link on my blog.
Here is the character, I created for the August sound clip. I call him Clifford, he's a Mad Scientist Terrier mix!. alright back to animatiiing... :)

OFF TO THE ZOO! part 3

Above- Thought I'd try a compostion from a few sketches. Why not :)
Above- River Otter... I think...

Above- a couple of Meerkat shetches.. also known to most of the visitors as "Hey look! it's Timon from Lion King!"

Above - While I was sketching these poses of the Gorilla's I over heard one of the volunteers at the zoo explaining how some of the older Gorilla's were on a type of painkiller drug to help with the effects of arthritis... not sure if this is environment induced?

- Above - Charles, the Silverback of the group.

- Above - More Orangutan sketches.

Klusshance "Strut" Walk Test

Klusshance "Strut" Walk Test from Kirk Jorgensen on Vimeo.

"The Unofficial Truth about The Industry"

Here is an article I came across for anyone interested in pursuing the animation career or putting a Demo Reel together.
It's written more towards those in Computer Animation, and more for those working in the U.S. but nonetheless some useful information and insight.

The article is by;
Joe Harkins a Character Supervisor in Los Angeles CA

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=2&t=372592

Klusshance

This is the third design post for this character as he continues to evolve. I've gone for a leaner, less round design. I've made the eyes a little smaller as well. I think he's looking more solid & more appealing... I'm working on "Strut Style" 34fr walk for him at the moment (traditionally animated!)... hopefully I will have it show soon!

Where The Wild Things Are - Tribute

http://www.terribleyelloweyes.com/

Terrible Yellow Eyes is a collection of works inspired by the beloved classic, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Pixar Masterclass Montreal 09

in this photo: Kirk Jorgensen, Andrew Gordon, Mathew Luhn, Alvin Cruzado, Fred Tang.

So it's been just over a week since I was in Montreal. For those of you curious how the class went, well... it was great. I think there were just over 100 people in attendance.
The first day Andrew covered a ton of material pertaining to animation. He used a wide variety of examples from both live action and animated films (not to mention a few clips from The Jungle Book, my favorite of the Disney films). He also talked about his process into planning, blocking and animating a scene.
The second day concentrated on Storyboarding and Storytelling. Matt was awesome, giving us a look at the Pixar process that they use to create stories. He told us their secrets! BOOhHaaaahhAaa...ha!!!(evil laugh, while taping fingers together)
Oh! and they also had door prizes, I won a really nice book from the new movie "UP".

So what did I take from this experience..? Well with the tips and knowledge gathered, I try to apply it to my daily material as well as continuing building my portfolio. I know I am a better animator/storyteller after that weekend.
I guess it doesn't hurt to get better at your craft everyday, ..whatever it may be.

Thanks again! to Andrew Gordon, Matt Luhn and the folks from VANARTS for the inspiring classes.
Well back to work... :)

Gobelins - Annecy 2009

wow. Some Beautiful work here...

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

~ BoUncN' BiKini ~

- ^I went back over this drawing (Sept 09), I guess it could be the next frame in her run. I tweaked the design a little and tried to make the drawing a little more solid. Especially in the face.



Looking over my posts, I thought I would try and do a piece with the female subject and something with a little more weight...so here she is. She'd be fun to animate... maybe someday :)
And here's a question to get a little audience participation.
What is she so excited about?
Use your imagination now...