Philippe and Pierre...Type!

So, the production of The Idiotic Adventures of Philippe and Pierre is in full swing. I'm working with a small team of monstrously talented folks to produce eight one-minute episodes. I'm trying to nail down the little odds and ends such as type treatments and website crapola. These are some sketches that I whipped up this afternoon. Hopefully, I'll be posting something of real substance soon...but in the meantime, this is all you're getting.

Memories...in the corner of my mind.

Ten years ago, I was a senior in high school and didn't take art all that seriously. I was more interested in being President of my class and other nerdy things. However, it's amazing I still drew as much as I did. I recently came across a pile of old drawings from that time. These images were created between the fall of '97 and spring of '98...talk about different styles!

Boing!

Sometimes I don't even know where I come up with this stuff.

50th POST!

Now that I'm concentrating on personal projects, I've been plugging away on the Philippe and Pierre animations. I'm finalizing the thumbnails and working on the overall design.

Here are a couple of the background styles I'm playing with.

Overload

With so much going on right now...this image sums it all up:

So long Wordgirl, it's been fun!

For the last year-and-a-half, I've been working at the fine animation studio, Soup 2 Nuts. During the last six-plus months, I've been working as a thumbnail artist on the great new show, The Colossal Adventures of Wordgirl. During this time, I've learned a ton about production, story, animation, and design.

However, I've decided to hang up the old saddle/wacom pen and head off into the sunset. I am taking a sabbatical hoping to work on my writing and artwork. I want to push my work into children's animation and publishing, and I found that after an 8-10 hour day, I was too pooped to focus on my own art. I think every artist faces this at one time or another. It's a bit of a risk, but I'm excited for the creative days that lie ahead. I am now a fulltime freelancer so I hoping to balance my own work with side projects.

I'll try to keep the work coming...although some of it's top secret...sorry.

Ye shipwreck!!!

So...I've been busy working on the short animations I mentioned a few posts ago. In between making headway on them and doodling in my sketchbook, I've been drawing on newspaper photos. It's officially a new hobby of mine! I liked this one because I grew up on the ocean. As a kid, I always imagined there lived a sea monster in the Swampscott Bay.

Cupcakes...Not Johnny Cupcakes!

A couple weeks ago I was asked by Hasbro Toys to design a T-Shirt for an upcoming employee event where they'd be making cupcakes. The only catch was that I could only use one color...here's some sketches and the final shirt, which I got in the mail yesterday!

Damn Newspapers!

I woke up this morning to find another strange picture on the front of the Boston Globe...somehow I think they are making fun of President Bush in this image.


A similar thing happened a couple months back.

Philippe Animation Test

So...in my last post, I mentioned that I have been working on some new animated shorts. I whipped up this little test today. As the title of this post suggests, the character's name is Philippe. I will be working with a very talented character animator on this project. I'll upload more artwork as the production gets underway.

Click the link for test!

Animation Thoughts

So...I've been working on a series of animated shorts lately. I want to work on timing and acting in my animated films so I've been looking at the greatest director in animation history...Mr. Chuck Jones. I've been studying old Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and Warner Brother's cartoons. They're simply amazing. It's no wonder why this time period is referred to as the "Golden Age of Animation". After working in an animation studio for the last year-and-a-half, I've come to learn that studios look to cut as many corners as possible. Budgets are streamlined, schedules are trimmed, and the workload is excessive. All of these things lead to animation that lacks real movement and character. Directors are forced to take shortcuts and the product gets watered-down. The more I work in a studio, the more frustrated I become. In the end, it's more about the bottom line than it is about ground-breaking animation and storytelling.

Enough of my rants! Here's something to take away from my rambling. This short features Bugs Bunny and Elmer. Compare this piece of art to any flash show on TV. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!

Where I've been

Most people take vacations to recharge their battery and unwind...not me. I took a vacation to become more tired, but there's a good reason why. After living in Providence for almost two years, I finally moved back to the Boston area. It's been a hellish process, but I'm finally moved, unpacked, and settled. The best part about my new place is that I have a huge studio all to myself. There will be lots of creating in the upcoming weeks now that I have a place to call my own...Stay tuned.