Update on life.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting a lot. I will have access to a good camera soon so I can upload some pictures of my recent work. Additionally, I will be starting a project or two involving straight-ahead animation. For any folks who don't know what straight-ahead animation is, I'll explain briefly. The basic difference between keyframe animation and straight ahead animation is the dimension of planning and timing. Keyframe animation is structured. You draw two keyframes that represent extremes in a movement. Then you draw a breakdown frame which breaks down these two drawings into a sort of mid-movement pose.
 
 As you continue you draw drawings that go in between the breakdown and the keyframes, making the increments smaller and smaller until you have a wonderful, smooth, perfectly timed animation. Straight ahead animation is pure madness. It works more like a flipbook. You start at frame one and you go forward, without going back to refine anything. There is less structure, and no real way to keep form solid in any meaningful way.

 
 This is perfect for me. I'll be going ahead with no preconceived idea of what I'm going to create, and see where it takes me. If it goes well I'll do a series of them, as well as a marathon event, inspired by a writing marathon done similarly by my friend Sean Conley, which can be found HERE.

Boards

So I'm back on the animation bandwagon, storyboarding away.  Within the week I should have this finished and be on to doing my animatic.  I may hold off and just show bits and pieces until it's fully completed.  We'll see.  Here's a section I just did today.

Best of the best.

I never got a chance, to post this, but it's my favourite page from 'Broken'.  I like what is conveyed without words.

Another portrait and other faces from my subconscious.

The Pen is Mightier.

I've been going back to the old standby, ballpoint pen, recently.  It's a beautiful tool of commitment, precision, and lack of smudginess.  All qualities I admire in a medium.

This is a pretty apt interpretation of how I felt right before going onstage for open mic.

And maybe how I felt after?  Dissipating.  

This prompted me to get back more into more detailed life drawings.

I'm really digging drawing musicians lately. 

Challenging, and full of movement.

Various sketches.

This last one spurred something on in my consciousness.

An awareness that different hatchings can co-exist.  

They don't have to stop at each others' borders.

I think I just leveled up, shading-wise.

Some more recent sketches with crappy phone camera.

Uhh... no comment.

An interpretation of a dragon.  I guess.

My interpretation of a meat head.

I saw this experiment done where a person intentionally spills coffee on their paper, and then tries to draw something out of it.  Those people usually came up with more interesting coffee shapes than this, but I think it turned out not too bad, as a first attempt.

Old Comic.

So it turns out I never posted this.  It's a couple years old, but just a goofy comic I made in about a day in photoshop, just to say that I started and finished SOMETHING.

Shoe.

And one more sketch out of a total lack of imagination.

New things: Victoria edition.

I'm also really sorry for the resolution.  All I have is a crappy phone camera for all this stuff.  I promise once I have access to a scanner I'll do it up right.

I joined an art meetup group, which is what started me into sketching again.

So I decided to try out watercolours.  I'm making a film in the coming months, and I'd like to be able to hand paint my backgrounds, just like back in the day!  Here are some attempts. I think I still have a long way to go.

There is live music almost every night at the hostel I'm living in, which makes for some very exciting, energetic models.

I've also just started drawing some of my friendly dorm-mates who were kind enough to pose for me.

 

This last one is of a German gentleman named Sebastian, a very talented artist himself.  Check out all his work.

www.easterner.de

New stuff! Finally.

Sorry to all my loyal fans who have been missing out on my things.  It's been a long crazy journey through Thailand and I'm back now!  So I'll upload a few things that I did in Thailand first of all.

COMIC

I guess I promised everyone I'd let them know where to read the comic when it was done eh?  Sorry about that!  Read it here.  It's just the first issue, but as of now this comic is on hiatus.  I have many more projects coming soon, so stay tuned!

http://broken.smackjeeves.com/

Logo

I made a logo for a friend's band for his birthday, and this is what it looked like!

Holy cow pride...

Kay so I really like this.  Best layout I think I've ever done...  :D

Some panels I thought I did okay with.