#20!!!

Hi everyone! Thanks to your hits I'm now #20 when you google me! That may not sound like much of a success but I used to not show up at all. It's just nice to know that you can google yourself and find out you actually exist.

Caveman Update

Nicolai the caveman is the world's first genius. This is the most recent color study of what the commercial will probably look like. We are going for happy, pleasant, cartoony, and most of all: MARKETABLE.

I'm concerned there might be too much purple in the shadows...maybe too saturated? We are trying to get Nic to pop out of, but at the same time fit into, his sunny, desert environment.

If you are media savvy please let me know if this is similar to something you've seen before. Thanks!

Poor health does wonders for my blog...

asdThe following are about 5 minute paintings. These are armadillo designs that didn't make the cut. I called them "pupodillos" because their eyes were on the top of their heads and their mouth could deform like a sock puppet. I am determined to refine the design because I absolutely fell in love with them and feel they suit the story we are telling very well...

I guess I'll go on a tangent. The point of this particular story is that love is an insane feeling that causes people to go crazy sometimes, but even so we all adore it as the most beautiful and desirable thing on the planet. As such, I decided the characters should be stripped of all intelligence and act totally and completely on their feelings...as if the characters WERE feelings...not intelligent beings with motives. Hence they are cute but quite brainless and VERY hot-tempered. Luckily it cools off quick.

Also of note is I painted Audrey Hepburn as a super hero. It was quite enjoyable. My respect for Audrey mostly comes from Steve Glauser and his wife, both of whom I admire very much. They named their daughter after Audrey Hepburn and the pictures were really quite amazing. I myself have yet to see one of her movies all the way through...

And yes I'm still American.

Super Audrey was about 1hr.

Can't sleep again...

So I can't sleep again. Laura Smith (http://laphoria.blogspot.com) asked me about whether or not I could share all the various tutorials I've discovered on the Blogosphere. I didn't think I could but then I remembered there IS a share option in Google Reader, which I decided I would go ahead and start using. So, if you want to check out a LOT of tutorials, a wide variety of sketchbooking styles, and a lot of useful information, check out my shared items. They are not in order of importance.

One of the really amazing things about art in the 21st century is that it is one of the few mediums that is very effectively communicated via the Internet. I've heard about a book called The World is Flat and for art it truly is. All the information we need is available and a great deal of it is free.

If you don't get the education you seek it's no one's fault but your own. Welcome to reality!

Speedpaints

So one of the things I learned from the 100 new blogs I visited this weekend is that a lot of people speedpaint and they're really good at it. So I figured I'd give it a shot.

Fairy - 1 hr
Old man -1 hr
Indian girl -30min
cottage -30min

Caveman Update

So I've been wrestling with the rig on this character for the better part of 250 hours--I think I might be up to 300 now...anyway, it's for my work, for Independent Study at BYU. You can tell I'm tired. I've been sick. And tonight I was having serious issues with the back muscles...things just weren't working right and I'm so tired of it and so guess what? I decided to have fun!!! Yes, contrary to popular opinions I do sometimes smile.

So I just posed Nic into various positions. You'll see a number of things that aren't working yet, I'm sure, but I think one of the things that is working right now is the facial rig. I've been very pleased with the facial rig. See if you can guess what Nicolai is feeling!!!

PS - I will finish the commercial before I die! It's a goal...kudos to my boss Glenn Anderson who let's me spend as much time as needed to make something (that I think is) really cool!

Sick beyond reason...

So I usually get sick a couple times a year. This one was unexpected. I'm bed ridden and bored. I've added like 100 blog subscriptions.

I decided to go ahead and post my gesture drawings from Ryan Woodward's class last fall. I just started the class again and have been pleased with the results so far. I will post the new stuff eventually.

Oh and here is an armadillo photo I took. I've actually taken in the neighborhood of 10,000 photos the last six months. Mostly reference and some working on Jillaine Chaston's new CD and accompanying website. She's a jazz singer and a good friend of mine. Check out her site! www.jillainechaston.com

Please note that the photos on the site aren't mine at this stage. I wish I knew who did them so I could credit her, but they're by someone else. We will be replacing a few of them in the future.

I want to draw something that represents the killer awful headache I'm feeling....

March 2008 Gestures 2 - Marker

March 2008 Gestures - Marker

2007 Gestures 5

2007 Gestures 4

2007 Gestures 3

2007 Gestures 2