The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyI really enjoyed Netflix’s Klaus film from director Sergio Pablos. Sergio was the brilliant animator behind Disney characters Tantor the elephant in Tarzan, and Dr. Doppler in Treasure Planet. Klaus has some delightful hand-drawn animation with gorgeous lighting – every frame is a beautiful illustration.
While not exactly their Santa, the day after I saw Klaus, I felt the urge to draw a beefy Santa that is clearly influenced by theirs. Inked in my sketchbook, colored in Photoshop.
As we enter into Christmas week, I wanted to wish all of you a merry Christmas, with the hope that you will appreciate the season from a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ having come as a baby all those years ago to sacrifice himself for you on the cross. He was born to die. Very sobering, and humbling.
And yes, while I made a little joke about the title of the Christmas carol I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, few recall that the lyrics were from a poem by American author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called Christmas Bells that dealt with his personal conflicted feelings about the tragedy that was the American Civil War. Look it up, it’s a fascinating tale!
Merry Christmas!
As we head into this final weekend before Christmas, just thought I’d share this little colored pencil and watercolor piece I did for the back of my Christmas card this year. It was such a pleasure working on Warner Bros.’ Green Eggs & Ham show earlier this year (currently showing on Netflix), that I wanted to do a little winter piece of Sam I Am and Guy Am I.
I hope you all have a wonderful time over the holidays with family and friends. If you take a road trip with a good buddy, though, leave the Chickeraffe at home.
I did this little drawing of Mickey & Minnie last month for a friend. I never seem to get tired of drawing these couple of lovebirds….er, mice. . .
Thought I’d do a sketch in my li’l ol’ sketchbook based on the latest big project I’ve been working on. Since this past August, I’ve been freelancing on storyboards for the Alvinnn!!! and the Chipmunks show that airs on Nickelodeon.
When I was a kid, I had the Chipmunks’ Christmas album. It’s kind of fun to get to draw them these days, especially since I can relate to Alvin in that I never did get that hula hoop either.
The other day I did a little character design exercise in my sketchbook – I drew a head with a mustache, then decided to fill the whole page with mustachioed faces with the rule that no heads could overlap. This presented a creative challenge to fill odd shaped spaces with odd shaped heads.
The results were kind of fun, don’t you think?
I don’t think he’s doing it right. What a turkey.
At the risk of sounding monotonous with the third post in a row about emerald colored chicken orbs and porcine meat, it really was a privilege to have worked at Warner Bros. on the traditionally animated Green Eggs and Ham series that currently is streaming on Netflix. It’s encouraging to have been reading so many great comments from fans on various posts online who have been enjoying the labor our team near and far put into the show.
These were just a few of my practice drawings created to get a feel for the character of Sam I Am when I started on the show back in 2018. It was such a treat to get to draw for an adaptation of my favorite Dr. Seuss book, and I’m now a hero to my nephews and niece.
