In the Zone

I've heard about football players, basketball players, professionals of any type of skill talk about being in the zone. I know I've had that feeling before, while drawing, but I haven't really felt the rip you out of the zone feeling as strongly as I did tonight. For some reason after drawing for an hour or so, everything was going smooth and then I had to take care of some other business and just could not get back on track. Fought through it, and eventually I got over that hump, but I just thought I would bring it up. Maybe some of you have had that happen before. On a happy note, I finally got around to making some of the animation cycles actually move tonight!

Claude and his turtle exploring the deep blue.


Gilligan stretched out the wrong way.

Our little hero hoping the Porkestuous creature having not yet spotted him, leapt stealth-fully from the closest window knowing that the element of surprise would easily turn the tide of the imminent skirmish.


After our latest venture to Borders, Rhys picked me up a copy of "The Art of How to Train Your Dragon". We both loved the movie, but the art is almost better than the film itself. Nico Marlet's concepts are beautiful. He was also one of the lead character designers on Kung Fu Panda, Monster's Inc, and Madagascar! Thanks for the Inspiration Nico!

One last note, Jerzy, Mark, Kevin and Knifeman from the Art and Story (Extreme) Podcast, which is exponentially better with the new soundboard zoo they've got, are really getting excited for the upcoming Kids Read Comics event on June 12-13. If you haven't checked it out, it looks like it's going to be a blast. The concept is pretty simple if you haven't guessed it already. It's basically a gathering of kids, adults, professionals, amateurs, and comic enthusiasts sharing their love for the medium. I wish there was an event like this when I was a kid. Go check it out!

Feeling hot hot hot!

Had to try breaking some of my usual habits today. It was way too hot to work in Turbos Studio North, so I had to move to studio south. Which is also commonly referred to as the couch by the air conditioner. It took a while to get used to after-all, I am a creature of habit, or at least I think I like to be. So today I had to work under strange conditions no close up overhead light, no drawing table. I'm gonna have to try to mix it up a little more. I like the challenge.

Gilligan stretching.


Claude and his turtle letting loose.

Outside the Ham Hock Inn the creature loomed closer to our previously unsuspecting hero. The creature seemed agitated, but considering the name of the inn, one really can't blame him.


Arbitraryjane and I used to watch Pete's Dragon ritually. I really couldn't even pinpoint the reason why. The animation is good, the music is great, the story is preposterous, and for some reason it all gelled together perfectly in our young minds. I was searching for some of Randy Cartwright's or Ken Anderson's work on the picture and stumbled across The Art of Disney Animation Blog. What a little gem of a site. It's one of the best collections of Disney animated film concepts I've seen yet. They even had some of my favorite Milt Kahl sketches and some truely unique Tim Burton Concepts from The Black Cauldron. Do yourself a favor and spend an afternoon checking out all the great images collected there. Thanks for the Inspiration!

In before Midnight!

I didn't have much time to draw today, but I managed to monopolize my productivity on the time I did have and was able to still get a lot done! I'm really looking forward to going back to school. I can't wait to be surrounded by other artists and learn what they have to share as well. I don't know what it is about music that makes me so much more productive. If you're ever having a hard time focusing try putting on one of your favorite albums. It seems to work for me.

Gilligan fopping around.


Claude and his turtle practicing being contortionists.


Just when our little hero thought he had looked under every rock he could think of for any trace of what had happened he stepped right into the middle of what could only be described as disgusting slop. At the exact moment his foot slid into the muck he heard a loud rumbling hiss followed by a series of increasingly loud oinks.


I don't have time these days to play many (any at all) video games, but one of my favorite series that I have yet to mention is the Disgaea collective of games. What I like most about them is how completely outlandish they are. Most of that bizarre style can be attributed to the beautiful art of Takehito Harada. His character concepts are so out there and so perfectly rendered you can't help, but love them. If you like his work definitely pick up World of Disgaea 1 and 2

Draw Draw Draw

Wake up, Draw, Work, Draw, Eat, Draw, Sleep, Draw...the perfect schedule. Lately, I'm becoming a little obsessed with drawing the perfect circle. I have to eventually just move on. I've heard people talking about art being the only "profession" of sorts that you never actually finish a job. You simply get to the point where you need to do something else. Which usually ends up being drawing something else. In order to try to get away from over working my drawings I bought a new sketchbook and a sharpie. There's no real forgiveness with a bad line when you're using a sharpie. I'm hoping that will speed me up a bit. I'm really liking the structure of the walk cycles. Preston Blair really understood movement. I gotta keep learning.

Gilligan continuing with the under the sea vibe.


Claude and his turtle working out and playing space ranger.

Throwing open his rented room door Our Little Hero exclaimed, "What was that?!"


After hearing no response, and seeing no one left in the inn He scoured every inch of the establishment hoping to find even a hint of what might have just happened.


Yub and her pet bee.


Thanks to Twitter everyday I'm reminded to check Skine.art and EatSleepDraw. Both of these sites are great. They showcase random works of art from people around the globe. Some are truly beautiful, and others you can tell are amateur, but a lot of times those drawings bring the most energy and originality. Thanks for the inspiration!

Finished the Roughs

Yay! I finally got the time to finish the roughs for the children's book I'm working on with arbitraryjane. Now I just have to wait to see if there are any revisions. Starting to mix up Preston Blair's walking cycles a bit more and I'm loving it. Still challenging, but it's worth it. I'm learning a lot each day.

Gilligan under the sea.


Claude can't help but notice his hat changed shape in the dryer.


In that place where your sleep is the sleepiest and your dreams are the dreamiest out of nowhere came a loud crack that threw our little hero out of bed faster than an elephant in heat.


Slowly but surely I'm getting through Walt Stanchfield's Drawn to Life Volume 1. It's a great read. I almost don't want to read too much of it at a time and just soak up every little bit. Today Walt talked about osmosis. Surround yourself with inspiration and it will challenge you to be better, keep you focused and maybe just maybe your subconscious will drive your conscious. On that note I think I'm gonna plaster my room with Milt Kahl drawings. Thanks for the inspiration!

Happy Dance!

I got my acceptance letter to Animation Mentor today! Woo Hoo! I can't wait to start! I'm working way to slow and meticulous as of late. I think I also might be trying to focus too hard. My hand's cramping up and my led is breaking more often than I'd like. I have to loosen up. Still loving the walk cycles although they're getting to be a bit daunting to do one a day with all the rest of the images I want to get out. I have about 3x what I can put up that I just don't have the time in a day to clean up and prep for scanning. I've been debating just working on single sheets of paper too rather than my sketchbooks. I'd like to have a larger flat surface and I think it would scan in easier as well, but I do enjoy having everything together in one spine. It makes for a good archive and more portable.

Claude and his turtle playing baseball and sharing a coffee.


Gilligan trying out a Picasso move and a Bananaphone.


Our little hero had just gotten back from another long adventure.


No sooner had he reached his bed, but his eyes locked themselves shut in hopes to stay closed for at least a few business days.


A friend on Facebook linked a video of Johnny Cash so I had to draw an old rocker.


Bored Hobo Elephant waiting for the next train.


How my hand feels every night before I fall asleep.


I was listening to the latest Ninja Mountain podcast on Frazetta and Socar Myles mentioned Howard Pyle. I had never heard of him by name so I looked him up and lo and behold he's the creator of all the great pirate illustrations I loved as a kid. What an extensive library of amazing images he produced in his lifetime. I hope to be able to have at least half that many stunningly memorable images someday in my archive. Thanks for the inspiration!

I'm Mr. 10 below

I'm really enjoying these Preston Blair movement cycles. They are challenging and fun, and in the end you can flip them and make them move! I still need to find a balance between my perfectionist mentality and the amount of time I have, but I'm starting to feel the benefits from putting in the time!

Since Rhys loves Unicorns it was only a matter of time until Gilligan visited that land.


Our little hero cowering in the presence of an Gristle the Ice Lord.


Claude and his turtle attend the annual beard festival.


I recently found out about Jerzy Drozd and Kevin Cross' other podcast the Saturday Supercast and wow what a treat. They delve into cartoons like nothing I've ever heard before. The episode I listened to was about Christmas Specials, and mainly A Year Without a Santa Claus. I can't believe I had almost forgot about Rankin and Bass. I used to love their holiday specials. Not only did they have crazy stories and catchy songs, but you instantly fall in love with everyone of their characters. I did some searching and found a couple of artists who had connections with Rankin and Bass mainly Paul Coker, Don Duga, Bob Camp, and Jack Davis. Thanks for the Inspiration!