Merry Christmas and all that

An interesting holiday season for me this year. I've been so busy with family and such that I haven't pressed any lead to paper or gripped a mouse or stylus at all. The demands of family can really impede on ones own narcissism. I did, however get an idea for a childrens book about flying sheep. Will do some drawings for that this week. 

Heather and I didn't have much money for presents this year but we managed to make things work out alright for Christmas morning. The highlight of the season for my oldest boy Jesse, however, was the discovery of a Lego crane set under some brightly-colored wrapping paper and bows. He's only 7, so the construction process was long and arduous. But I had fun helping him get the model built. He's been playing with it and yes... even sleeping with the thing day and night since Christmas.

Here's the "thankyouverymuch" video he sent to his grandparents. The other little monster you see in the video is his 2-year-old sister "Emmy".

 

Biomechanical robot project

This was a fun project. It was a concept that required two characters... a robot and a man. The robot represents the sophisticated systems and process of the clients specialized field and the fellow represents the clients service capabilities in that same field. They idea is that the systems robot half of the team is so advanced and powerful, that it can seem a daunting task to control. Like driving a souped up hot rod with a monster engine. Hence, the human "service" half of the team. This is the guy that helps us use the immense capabilities of the systems robot correctly.

Using the above mentioned description as a basis, I knew I needed to stay away from cute, simple, and diminutive. This robot needed to be smart, sophisticated, a little wild, and of course, it had to be _cool. I felt that it was important to keep the gender of the robot as neutral as possible. No curvaceously sexy, or overtly masculine body shapes.

What I ended up doing was creating a mechanical skeletal framework draped in luminescent wiring that was than all covered over with smokey, translucent plastic pieces. Suggesting the impression of a business suit. Pure white hands and solid bio-luminescent eyes help keep the robot just a bit unsettling. Which is precisely what we want. Finally, finish that off with a crown of fiber optic hair with glowing tips, and I think we've got an advanced, yet "hip" android.

I've included some of the robot concept sketches I went through that led to the final, approved sketch.

Another challenge about this particular project was that the client planned to make HUGE, high-rez prints of the robot, so the working file was rendered at one half of the actual size of a normal, full-sized human being.

The Photoshop file was monstrous. Approximately 1.5 gigs If I remember right. My 24" screen imac, running OS 10.5, handled the workload just fine though. The illustration was painted entirely in Photoshop 10 using a Wacom tablet.

pages from my sketchbook

Some sketches taken from my current sketchbook. I 'm posting them as they are. Meaning that I'm leaving in the smudges, the failed doodles and whatever notes I happen to have scribbled here and there. These are a small window into how I think and work out my ideas.

speaking of whales

Here's another whale.... a steam punk version if you will. I admit that I do like to add rivets to my subjects. This little sketch does a good job demonstrating the solid, "heaviness" of the whale.

I think this is a pretty good candidate for a paper model design. Unfortunately, it takes me so long to actually produce the paper models I design that I get bored and lose interest before I can complete them. So my solution has been to work on several different designs at a time. For instance, right now I am working on a space habitat, a flying machine, an electric eel powered transport vehicle, and a two-headed chicken. I'll focus on one design for a week or so... then I'll switch to another for another week... and so on. All of these paper models are moving along well, but none of them are finished yet. Eventually, they'll be completed and I'll finally be able to update my paper models page on my website! Woohoo!

Sketches of Baby stuff

A couple that my wife and I have known for years are due to have a baby any time now.... And I got to thinking of those first few months whereas my wife (Heather) and I struggled to understand how to properly use all of that baby paraphernalia that seemed so important to keep the little grub alive and happy. At the time, I was attending the Art Center in Pasadena and found that one of my requirements was to fill a sketchbook spread with drawings of items that followed the same theme. As a result, I present to you this old sketch... dredged up from the depths of my school years.

"But still good... yeah... still good."- As Stitch once said.

P.S. If you're wondering who "Stitch" is, you probably don't have kids, and most likely have never been forced to watch the same Disney flick seventeen times in one week, and therefore probably wouldn't enjoy this little sketch anyway.

Current Project

The whale and the boy are but a small part of a larger Illustration WIP (work in progress) for a children's book. I like the whale... and I decided to post him against the grey background to show how I often work. Painting over a nuetruel grey helps me to keep track of the values and chroma as I work. Pity that much of this whale will be covered by other artwork in the final piece. Aahh... such a shame...

steampunk fishies

Some drawings of steampunk submarines. Eventually, these will become designed paper model kits that I'll post on my website.

...and I step forth...

Well, here I am. I'll be posting my sketches and my WIP paintings here. I'll also be documenting my progress on any other projects that capture my mind as well, irregardless of the media.