Day 212 - Luci

I wanted to give a special thanks to Luci Napier. Luci has been my liaison and my director for the past two years. Thanks for helping me out of so many jams and being the Pied Piper for all us animals and creatures, leading us to success. Couldn't have done it with out you.

Day 211 - Gibby's Attack Children.

I'd like to welcome our SECOND guest artist to this blog: Tom Gibbons! Gibby asked me to do a version of his "Attack Children" drawing. I was MORE than happy to. Here's my take:



Here's Gibby's original:



Gibby does some crazy industrial oil paintings, amazing creatures, and insane sculptures. You can check his work out HERE! or in the "Set Your Sites" section. Thanks for letting me take a stab at your drawing Gibby. It was fun.

Day 210 - Animators

This week I was very lucky to spend some time with some seriously talented animators. I'm talking about guys who are responsible for some major characters in the last few years. It was awesome to talk about animation, work flow, different projects, as well as every day life. The common thread was a love for studying motion and emotion. When you get a chance, check out their work:
Cassidy Curtis
Chris Williams
Bobby Beck
Carlos Baena
Shawn Kelly
Also, I've added their blogs to my "Set Your Sites" area.
Thanks guys. I had a blast.

Day 209 - The Kids

Even though I was having a great time in LA I did miss my kids.

Day 208 - Eric AND Glen?

My first day at SIGGRAPH was awesome. I was able to see Eric Goldberg talk about how he designed Louis from "The Princess and the Frog" as well as do some drawings. Thank you Animation Mentor for putting together the amazing panel with Eric Goldberg, Aaron Hartline, Michal Makarewicz, and Carlos Baena breaking down some of their animated shots. It was fantastic. But then I strolled out of that panel and into a Disney talk where Glen Keane talked about using 2D to get appeal into 3D characters. He not only talked about it, but did some drawings as well!! THEN he showed some work from "Tangled". Just amazing. I was just stunned to see two of the masters of animation do some drawings with in an hour of each other. Just amazing. When I finally made it to my hotel room still had a ridiculous smile on my face.

Day 207 - SIGGRAPH

I'm heading to Los Angeles tomorrow for SIGGRAPH. On Wednesday at 1:30 I will be a member of a panel discussing the animation of animals and creatures. If you're attending SIGGRAPH please come! Due to my trip I won't be posting for a few days, but do not fret friends. I will be doing my drawing a day down there. There will be plenty of inspiration from the presenters... and the patrons!

Day 206 - Daughter Expressions

More exercises out of Preston Blair's book using my daughter as inspiration.

Day 205 - Training Camp

For all the NFL junkies out there, training camps begin this week. It's not much, but it does give you that little taste to get you through the rest of the summer.

Day 204 - Sly

Okay, I'm not proud of this one. However, it is done. I've been on vacation all week and motivation has been more geared towards relaxing than creating. Hence some of the lax work.

Day 203 - Shel Silverstein

One of the all time great artists and poets. If you haven't read any of his work in a while, I HIGHLY recommend picking up any of his books and giving them a read. To read his books as an adult/parent is a entirely new perspective.

Day 202 - Expressions

Here are more expressions using my daughter as inspiration.

Day 201 - Fatigue

Day 200 - Broken Upon Entering

Sometimes life shows up in the middle of the night and reminds you that life is short. Let's just hope I react properly when it comes through my kitchen window.

Day 199 - Anger

Day 198 - Aggravation

For those that don't know there is a game called "Aggravation" (Not the crappy up to date version either. I'm talking about the 60's version with only four colors). The name is fitting. You've never been so aggravated by trying to roll a two and only rolling sixes. However it is a staple in this family and it is a glorious thing to end the weekend as the "Champeen", as my grandfather used to call it. My Dad was "Champeen" this past weekend. DAMN you dice... damn you for disobeying me!

Day 197 - Unplug

Sometimes it's great to get away and unplug from all the technology that we've all grown accustomed to.

Day 196 - Finished

I just finished (almost) a project that I was working on. I can't talk about it other than to say it was a great experience.

Day 195 - Daughter expressions

I'm using my daughter for inspiration for a face to draw. I'm back to doing exercises from Preston Blair's book, but I need a face that I really wanted to run through expressions. What better face than that of my awesome little girl.

Day 194 - Standing Sketches

Today I wanted to focus on standing around. You can convey a lot with a simple stance.

Day 193 - Tough

Here's a sketch of my daughter. My wife thinks I made her look too mean, but I think I made her just tough enough.

Day 192 - Burnt

Day 191 - Incomplete

Day 190 - Old Wives Tale

Day 189 - The Beach

The Golden Years are going to be awesome.

Day 188 - Action Sketches

Day 187 - Shot in the Dark

Sometimes you just have to take one.

Day 186 - Imminent Tantrum

Have you ever had one of those moments where you know no matter what you say a tantrum is coming?

Day 185 - The 4th

Happy 4th of July!

Day 184 - Women

I was going to do something topical for tonight like Spain's amazing win over Paraguay or the fact the the 4th of July is tomorrow, but then I came up with a pretty goofy gag that peeked my interest more. However as I started to draw the gag I came to the conclusion that my skills for drawing women were lacking. I became frustrated and in the end did some faces of women. BAH! Probably more information than you cared for.

Day 183 - Eating

Day 182 - Half

Today is officially the half way point to my New Year's Resolution! I always thought I'd be lucky if I made it through January and here it is July. Hope those of you that have been following are enjoying yourselves and continue to check in.