Bedrock Bowl

Charlie Tango November

I'm using a bright red font color for this one! If you came here by the way of my business card or book at CTN, welcome and have a look around!

The pictures below are of some attendees at this year's CTN Expo. I'm sure you recognize me in the middle. Maybe you know the other two!? In the first photo, I'm flanked by Andreas Deja and Nik Ranieri. You can access Andreas' blog with one of the links on the right (Deja View). I'll work on adding a link to Nik's online presence. Oh, the pictures? They're from a Disneyana convention at the Disneyland Hotel in the Fall of 1992, right before the release of Aladdin, featuring Andreas' "Jafar" animation, a character which Nik also worked on. To everyone attending, I hope you're having as good a time as me! I've attended every CTN so far, and it never disappoints! Thanks, Tina (Price)!

Oh, what's "Charlie Tango November"? Ask a military veteran, or just google it!

Baymask!!

Turban Legends...

I'm really having fun with "Sketch Dailies" on twitter! Really keeps you on your toes as an artist. If you're a student, or a pro, maybe between jobs and you're stumped for ideas (like those creative blocks we all get), I encourage you to join in. Anyway, the theme here was "Arabian Knight". It just hit me that I seem to be in a "dark" night like period. All my recent pieces end up taking place at night. For my next piece, or the one after that, I'll try to set a scene during the day.

Back to basics...

After relying on the wonders of Photshop for so long, I tried to limit myself here to colored pencils for these entries for "sketch_dailies". The theme was "Nosferatu".

It Takes A Village, 2...

"It Takes A Village"

Two themes recently at Sketch Dailies were "Bride of Frankenstein" last week, and the other day, simply "Frankenstein". I had intended this to be a late entry for "Bride", but can now use it for both. I'll post some process drawings soon, and I'll also be adding color, torch flames, etc. What's "Intoberfest"? Google "Inktober Initiative" to find out more.

"I twied and I twied!"

The theme at "sketch dailies" was "Elmer Fudd". My first picture was not of him hunting wabbits in the woods. It was him as the waiter in "Slick Hare", where a menacing Humphrey Bogart is very adamant about dining on a rabbit. I went back and watched the cartoon, and I twied and I twied to restage one of Elmer's last scenes from a different angle. I'm having twouble embedding videos especially since the scene in question does not seem to be on YouTube. Here's a link to it on vimeo. The scene is near the end.

http://vimeo.com/69975085

The Gill of It All...

Squidward

 

So, here's the final version of Attack of the Giant Squidward for sketch dailies. And thanks again, Tom Kenny for the autograph! (see previous post).

Release the Kraken!

I don't always like showing a work in progress, but I was happy with this piece and thought I'd post it before adding color. The theme a few days ago over at "sketch dailies" was "Squidward". I thought I'd have some fun and cast him as the giant squid from "20,000 Leagues", with some other members of the Spongbob team fighting at close quarters with this most tenacious of all sea beasts. And wouldn't you know, earlier this evening,  I was at an event at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills for the opening of a "Jay Ward" retrospective exhibit, which was also attended by the voice of SpongeBob himself, Tom Kenny. (Tom is also the new voice of "Bullwinkle", which was why he was at the event). I mustered the courage to show him my little piece of fanart, which he was kind enough to sign, and to add his own caption to. Total, total serendipity! I just happened to have the drawing in my car, and ran out to get it, and a Sharpie, during the reception after the presentation. So, here's the drawing with Tom's autograph, and a picture of Tom which I took. The color version of the piece will be coming soon.

"Hyding" in Plain Sight

My take on R.L. Stevenson's "Mr. Hyde" character, on the prowl in London (note the landmarks in the distance). I think he ended up looking kind of "simian", which is kind of apropos, and I might have been thinking of the Tex Avery "wolf" character as I drew this. Either way, I had a lot of fun with this. I was kind of cracking myself up. Almost like there's ...two of me or something.

I thought I'd add a color scan of my clean-up drawing.

"Space Ghost"

More fun with sketch dailies! It's almost like having a job!...that doesn't pay...and doesn't have tight deadlines...and I'm working on my own, but having fun and maybe, cultivating that all important fan base! I wasn't too familiar with this "Space Ghost" character, but when I found out he has a monkey on his team, I had to include it.

 I was betting bored with posting blue rough sketches, so I tried using the "invert" feature on Photoshop for this one.

"THE POWER OF POPPINS COMPELS YOU!!"

Just having more fun with the themes over at "Sketch Dailies".  This could be Mary's most difficult challenge yet. I'm sure she'll still be "cavorting about"!

"Here Be ...Boxtrolls?"

"Block" party

So, the theme was "Peter Pan". I decided to give "Peter" a different body type than the one you're used to seeing. And of course, I placed him in the environment of the Darling nursery, and included Pete's shadow. The blocks in the foreground represent: A classic cult television show,(which I've never actually watched), a term for top tier celebrities, and the "B" block? If that one doesn't register with you, then watch the video at the end of the post.

"The Skellington Dance"

Having more fun with "Sketch Dailies" on twitter. The subject here was "Jack Skellington". I thought I would reference the very first Disney "Silly Symphony".

Here's the original from YouTube:

And below, is a lesser known "Silly Symphony" that was a YouTube recommendation for viewers of "The Skeleton Dance". It's from 1931, meaning it predates Universal's first "Mummy" movie by at least a year, since that was released in December of 1932. I just now discovered this one, and was in awe of the amazing animated backgrounds that you see after the spider enters the tomb. It bears a striking similarity to a modern video game, except that the artist here obviously did not have the advantage of a computer. The person just really "got" perspective. Also, pop culture references happened back then as well, as evidenced by the tribute to Al Jolson at around 2:29.

King Of The Wild Interior

The theme a few days ago over at "sketch dailies" was "Davey Crockett". I chose to focus on the period when the classic show was in its heyday, with a few "retro" pop culture references. If you get the reference to "Medfield", then good for you! If not, do a search for "Medfield College". Better yet, just click here:
Medfield College
I like to think of myself as an honorary alumnus as I sit here at the computer,...wearing tennis shoes.

"None Shall Pass!"

Now for something completely different, and kind of "nasty":

So, not a HUGE fan of Monty Python, but the theme for "sketch_dailies" the other day was "The Black Knight" from "Holy Grail". I reviewed the scene from YouTube, and noticed not only Graham Chapman's "Arthur" and John Cleese's "Black Knight", but also the reaction shots of "Patsy" played by Terry Gilliam.(and don't side kick characters always turn out to be the favorites?)  I rolled with that and placed my "Patsy" in the foreground, making him seem to be larger than the other two characters. I also exaggerated the size difference between Arthur and the Black  Knight.  I got lazy and relieved myself of the burden of drawing Patsy's backpack, thus relieving him of the trouble of carrying it. But please take note of the coconut shells.

Oh, and I kept the scene in gray tones, except for the blood, and the Black Knights insignia thing, which is a reference to one of my earlier pieces. See if you can find which one!

A little trivia for my "Universal" peeps: Did you know that the Production Designer on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was "Roy Forge Smith", who 30 years later did the design work for the "Ghost Whisperer" series. So he's the one tasked with turning Courthouse Square (Back to the Future's "Hill Valley") into "Grandview" for that series.

Fly The Friendly Skies!

The theme over at sketch dailies the other day was "Wonder Woman". I'm not sure, but of all the submissions, I think I may be the only one to place Wonder Woman in a version of her iconic "Invisible Plane". Here you can see how I worked the pose and attitude of the character separately. I made good use of the photoshop "stroke" tool to create the outline of the plane.

Hope you had a fabulous 4th, with mustard!

The government says I can use photoshop for my coloring. I do sometimes, but this time, I stuck mainly with colored pencils. The theme was "Uncle Sam", so I thought I'd reference a commercial I remember from when I was younger, and maybe one you remember from when you were younger too!

(note: I re-did the "final" version with a blue coat, which is how the character is traditionally dressed.)

Up to his old tricks again!

My latest entry for "Sketch Dailies" The theme was the "Joker". I sometimes like to put my characters in some kind of environment, so I chose a little "carnival" with the Joker as sort of a "barker" character, with a really low, tilted horizon (almost like an angle from the sixties TV series), with some exaggerated perspective.