And I Ain't Lion!

I was messing around with SketchBookPro today as I did some research for my Fuzzy Fury Rescue Friends thesis story.  These'll be the characters used in my story:

Lion

Donkey

Rhino

Yak

Unicorn

DoDo Bird

These are just some realistic renderings from reality (and who needs that??), but I will next be designing them in the fashion of T.S. Sullivant.  I'll be sure to post those as I develop them, as well as all the rough work from the thesis story I've been working on for most of the summer, RETAILiation.  Stay tuned!

Composition Studies: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Another round of studies from a live-action movie.  With the final film (which is amazing) being released to theaters this weekend, I thought it'd be fun to revisit the third (and my favorite) of the films, Prisoner of Azkaban.

Only two pages this time.  I got really "liney"/"rendery" with this, so I really need to try a different process next time.  They just take too long.  Definitely a fine learning tool, though.

Happy Fourth of July!

Just a character I was doodling with earlier this year: Pete, the Patriotic Pickle.

Happy 4th, everyone!

Composition Studies

It was recommended by my Midpoint Review Committee that I revisit my copy of Hans Bacher's Dream Worlds (an excellent book on composition and design from a true talent) and pay particular attention to the page that lists all the movies he recommends studying compositions from.  A lot of movies on there, and they've all been added to my Netflix queue.  The basic idea is to draw small thumbnails of not only great compositions but also basic shots, paying attention to cutting, scene planning, etc.  In doing so, it should teach me more about film making and therefore make me a better storyboard artist.  Yay!

I stumbled upon some screen grabs from Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief on a blog and decided that it would be a great place to start:

Just a few simple shots.  I did these in pencil.  Then I got the new True Grit Blu-Ray combo pack in the mail--which is simply a fantastic movie, especially for cinematography--so I decided to go ahead and draw some composition studies from the entirety of that movie:

This proved to be a multi-day, too-many-hour, exhausting task!  They're each about 1.75 x 4" in size.  I decided to go with pen and marker on this one.  Black, 30% Warm Grey, 60% Warm Grey, and a dash of brush pen for emphasis.  I ended up getting too caught up in the details, so I will definitely change my methods for the next go 'round.  Still, it was very informative and actually pretty fun.

Alright, now back to my actual thesis work.  I should have some things to post soon, so stay tuned! :^)

Jack & the Lost Beanstalk

I had a lot of fun a year ago working on the classic tale of Jack & the Beanstalk for my Visual Elements of Story class.  So much fun, in fact, that I decided to keep working with it and began another composition after the class had ended.  A move and a long job hunt left me without enough time to see it through, but I was recently cleaning up my digital workspace and thought I'd share the rough comp I developed:

I will definitely be creating a few pieces like this as I develop a body of work for my Thesis projects.  Stay tuned for more on that subject this summer.

Character Design - Final Portfolio

I think I've posted most of this stuff as the weeks went by, but here is what I turned in as my final portfolio for Michael Buffington's Character Design class.

And also, here's the in-class sketches from the final class:

Developing Story Class

With two studio classes and my midpoint presentation this semester, I knew that I wanted my third class to be one where I didn't have to draw so much.  So I decided to take Developing Story from the Motion Pictures and Television department.  And boy was that a great move! (no sarcasm implied)  As you might suspect, Developing Story focuses on story telling and development.  Simple story structure.  I've got so many great handouts on story, now!  Totally worth it.  The instructor, Donna Laemmlen, was also incredibly warm and supportive of all the class's crazy ideas, as well as being a fan of animated films.  During the semester, she actually won an award from the International Family Film Festival for the animated feature screenplay she wrote, "Sheila, the Gila Monster", and was kind enough to show it to us, along with some of the character sketches she had had created.  Very cool!

The class itself, as far as assignments go, was composed of developing two short film stories, both of which had to be pitched to the class and one of which had to be pitched as the final to two "industry insiders" (whom were just teachers at the school, come to find out).  For the pitches, I actually developed some visuals, so I thought I'd post them here, along with a brief synopsis of the stories themselves.

"A Little Dastardly"

Logline: A dastardly, reformed villain wants to settle down with his family, but his old nemesis isn't ready to move on.

A little backstory: two super villains (above, left) were frustrated that their evil schemes to thwart the city's resident hero (right) never came to fruition.  Tired with failure, they get drunk and grumble of their misfortunes.  The night leads to unexpected relations, and nine months later, a child (little dude in the middle, right) comes to be.  The villains realize that this is their chance to reform their evil ways and hopefully be more successful with a "normal" domestic life.

The story itself begins with the child, now grown a bit, playing in a suburbia backyard sandbox.  We quickly realize that this child is a real devil child, making a mess and terrorizing the neighbor's cat.  When the neighbor complains, the child is sent to his room.  The parents cram into a closet to discuss their choices in giving up the super villain life.  The closet, it turns out, is actually an elevator to a secret sub-basement where the villains have created a museum of sorts to remember and preserve their old evil memories.  As they're discussing the possibilities of the son of two super villains ever not being villainous, there is a knock at the door.  The villains go up to answer it, assuming it is yet another neighbor coming to complain of their son's misdeeds.  Just before the villain can grab the door knob, however, BAM!  The door flies open, blasting the villains to the ground.  In flies the hero, shouting his catchphrase: "Justice has found you!"  He begins pummeling the villains, who are simply no match, having been caught by surprise and being years out of shape.  As the hero is about to deliver the final blow and final bring these evil doers to justice, ZAP!  The hero falls to the ground.  The villains, look at each other in shock, then turn their attention over the befallen hero to the other side of the room.  There, they find their son standing with a laser gun.  He was able to achieve what the two of them never could, and they realize that maybe being bad isn't so bad after all.

Original Sketches

"The Truth Was Out There"

Logline: A world-famous archaeologist is about to finish writing his memoir, but not everyone wants the details of his life's discoveries revealed.

We open inside a massive, "Citizen Kane"-like mansion where there is a knock at the door.  An old man slowly makes his way to answer it.  In walks a middle-aged man who questions why he has been called in at such a late hour.  We discover that the old man is writing his memoirs, but his age prevents him from being able to type, leading to the hiring of the younger man as a transcriber.  As the two men walk to the old man's office, we learn that his partner, another famous archaeologist, has just passed away.  The old man has decided that he has some new things to add to the memoir he has almost finished.

We flash back as the archaeologist dictates the story of what would've been his most famous, world-changing discovery.  It was the big fish that got away, though the old man can no longer recall specific details of the discovery.  His age has gotten the best of him.  But he does know that the discovery was quite revelatory, because as the two archaeologists were leaving, they were confronted by a man in a black trench coat.

Revealing little of who he was, who had sent him, or how he found out about the two men's work, this man made them an offer they couldn't refuse.  Giving them the choice of life or death, the man in the black trench coat claims he will make them rich and famous if they simply leave this site and never return or speak of it again.  The two men accepted his terms, and his promises held true.

At this point, the transcriber stops the old man short, and believing him to be delusional, tells him to get some sleep.  He says he will return in the morning to discuss the additions further.  The old man begrudgingly agrees and sees the younger man off.  He heads to his room to retire for the night.

The old man crawls into bed and turns out the light.  From the shadows steps forth a man in a black trench coat.

Original Thumbnail Sketches

Both of the stories were well-received in class and I hope to one day work on them more.  Maybe I will put together a short story book that I can illustrate?  Only time will tell.