Category: Art: Photoshop

Gnomeo & Juliet 1

Back in 2002, Disney Animation Studios began to develop a film about lawn ornaments based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet called Gnomeo & Juliet. It only had a few people doing some visual development and storyboards as they tried to explore this idea that I heard had been brought to Disney by Elton “Lion King” John.

Gnomeo seemed to be one of those pictures that was a little under the radar with not many in the studio showing interest in working on it yet. I saw it as a possibility for a lot of comedy which was right up my alley! Maybe it would be a way for a young eager Disney employee to get his foot in the door of actual production work. So, with the encouragement of the acting producer in those early days, I started submitting some gag drawings hoping to get on the film.

The idea of lawn ornaments from rival yards in a feud with each other just rang a bell in my head for some reason. I knew yards that had been chock full of ridiculous sculptures and whirly-bobs. So much humor could be derived from the drama of warring “families” combined with the crazy decorative contraptions coming to life.

With Gnomeo & Juliet opening Friday, February 11, I thought I’d share a few of my 2002 gag proposals with you that still make me smile. I’ll post something new each day this week up to Friday. I never did get invited to work on the film, but then again, Disney didn’t actually end up making it in-house either. It was shelved for a few years, then resurrected up in a studio in Canada.

This is the first of many pieces I submitted (created with pencil and Photoshop). It was also the first piece of art I did that was hung on a development board in the hallways of Disney. That alone was unbelievably encouraging.

Gnomeo & Juliet art
Remember those lawn ornaments that looked like a girl bending over? Thought it was ripe for comedy with these nervous garden gnomes.

Come back again tomorrow to see another of my Gnomeo & Juliet submissions!

Categories
Art: Photoshop Character Designs Development Art Disney Illustrations

“Answers Magazine”: White Blood Cell Art

This past summer I was contacted by Daniel Stelzer, Art Director for Answers Magazine, to possibly work on an illustration assignment for them. I had not seen Answers Magazine before, and learned that it is a magazine that deals with scientific issues and other worldview topics all from a biblical perspective. It is the periodical produced by the Answers in Genesis organization, the folks that are behind the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

Dan had sought me out having seen some of my previous work created for a series of Bible lessons for kids. He said he wanted me to create five pages of graphic novel-style illustrations all about the details of how a white blood cell works. The graphic novel thing I understood because I’m a cartoonist, but also because I’m a cartoonist, I couldn’t figure out why he wanted me to do serious science art. After a pause on my part, I said,

“You’ve seen the work on my website, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t want me to put funny faces on the cells?”

“No.”

“It’s just straight up micro-biology illustrations?”

“Yes.”

So, the challenge presented in this assignment was intriguing. The white blood cell process had to be turned into a panel-by-panel “story” so that it would be more readily understood by the layman picking up this magazine. I decided to accept this mission, knowing full well that the magazine might disavow any knowledge of me should I screw it up.

They provided rough thumbnail concept sketches of what they wanted, and since I don’t happen to have a microscope of my own, they also sent some great reference material to help me along. We were dealing with real science and nothing of fantasy, so it had to be right. This meant we had MANY discussions back and forth discussing each step in my creative process which included rough drawings, tight pencil drawings, a rough color pass, and then final color. Changes were made along the way to make sure some things were more accurate while others were more understandable.

Stylistically, the Art Director liked my previous work with watercolor, but also liked the sophisticated computer coloring found in many graphic novels today. So, I had to come up with a hybrid of methods to pull off a look that was both slick and organic. The art ended up having an inked line as you would see in comic books, with a coloring job that combined traditional watercolor paint and additional Photoshop work. I thought the combination of methods turned out pretty good….

White Blood Cells
The splash page of my five-pages of illustrations detailing how white blood cells work. “Answers Magazine” laid it out with the type. (CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VIEW.)

If you’d like to see a little more of my work on this project, including some preliminary stages of the art, you should check out Answers Magazine on Facebook where they posted some extra steps in the process of this article.

Or, if  you’d like to order your own copy of the magazine with all five pages of the published art in it, it is available now in the Oct-Dec 2010 issue. Just go to Answers Magazine‘s website and contact them about ordering this special issue!

Categories
Art: Inking Art: Photoshop Art: Watercolor Comic Books Illustrations

2010 Monster Month: Day 30 – The Nag

We all have them in our lives – a person who is there just to suck every last bit of childlike wonder we have inside. They say things like “You wouldn’t eat THAT would you?” just as you are about to take a bite. “Those haven’t been in style since MC Hammer!” as you are walking around in your favorite pants. Or “You can’t drive BACKWARDS on the freeway!” when you clearly are navigating your vehicle quite well on your own.

All I have to say is, don’t let them bring you down!

Sea Monster
There’s always a killjoy in every sewer, isn’t there? Sheesh.
Categories
Art: Inking Art: Photoshop Cartoons Character Designs Illustrations Monsters

2010 Monster Month: Day 28 – Miss Muffet

…along came a spider that sat down beside her…

Little Miss Muffet
That reminds me - I'm fresh out of curds and whey.
Categories
Art: Inking Art: Photoshop Character Designs Illustrations Monsters

2010 Monster Month: Day 24 – Dinomime

Today’s monster has kind of a strange yet short backstory. At my current animation day job I was working in a large room with several other artists. Somehow we got to talking about dinosaurs in museums, when the thought was brought up by someone about dino bones in France. Then our imaginations got the better of us, and we were wondering what a French dinosaur might have been doing when he was trapped in the earth. Naturally, he had to have been a street mime.

I know, I know – it was a VERY strange line of thinking, but we were all storyboard guys after all. Of course, I had to stand up and mimic how a stubby-armed tyrannosaurus mime might have performed in silence on a quaint Parisian street corner. To further illustrate my point, I quickly sat down to my Cintiq tablet (a computer screen you can draw on with an electronic pen) where I banged out this quickie sketch in about a minute…

Tyrannosaurus Mime
He’s performing the classic “trapped in an iceberg” routine.

The sketch, while certainly not anatomically correct, has such an energy to it that I thought it’d be fun to share it with you. One of these days I’d like to turn it into a full-blown watercolor illustration. Perhaps that will make an appearance in a Monster Month of the future!

Oh, and if you ever run across a real Dinomime, be sure to toss him a tip if you value your life!

Categories
Animals Art: Photoshop Art: Preliminary Sketches Character Designs Monsters Random Doodles Sketchbook

2010 Monster Month: Day 21 – Hooknose

One never knows where one will acquire inspiration for a character design. One must always be open to all avenues of muse-dom. For instance, one could be reading an article about the television show Dancing with the Stars (which one DOES NOT watch by the way), and see that actress Jennifer Grey is appearing on the show. In seeing a photo of Ms. Grey, one notices that someone must have visited a surgeon of plastics causing said observer to be wistful of the day when Ms. Grey had a hook nose as seen in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. And there you have it – Hooknose the character is born.

Sea Monster
It’s no wonder he looks so mean – you would be too if all the kiddie creatures called you “Barbie” all the time.
Categories
Art: Inking Art: Photoshop Character Designs Monsters

2010 Monster Month: Day 14 – Stranger In the Night

Imagine walking home from the park late one night only to be met in the dark by this huge hulking beast in a red cape. You are either going to think “Wow, that guy is really cool looking” or you may shriek in terror. Then again, maybe you’re the type who might offer him your orthodontist’s phone number.

The Red Scare
You’d look glum, too, if you had that big of an overbite.

Believe it or not, this was actually just a sketch in my sketchbook. If you look closely, you can still see my sketchy blue lines in there. I didn’t even try to remove them. I liked how the blue sketch looked so much that I inked it right there in the sketchbook, and eventually decided to scan it in and Photoshop some life into it.

Well, enjoy today’s monster drawing, and may your evening walks in the park remain relatively monster free.

Categories
Art: Inking Art: Photoshop Character Designs Monsters Random Doodles Sketchbook

2010 Monster Month: Day 13 – The Blue Bloods

Ever have one of those days when Murphy and his infernal law seem to plague you? You walk by a puddle and a car splashes you. You jump onto an elevator and just as the doors close the kid next to you pushes all the buttons.  Or you take a bite of a tasty garlic dish just as the woman of your dreams walks into the room.

Yes, we all have those encounters with Murphy’s Law. Monsters are no exception….

The Blue Bloods

Categories
Art: Inking Art: Photoshop Cartoons Character Designs Monsters