bush+leavenworth show update

I had a chance to visit d-structure (a very cool venue) this past week and was glad to see all the awesome work on the walls... AND apparently one of my pieces sold! whoohoo =] stay tuned because I might try to sell the ones I'm getting back on here...

drawings and spoons

the gang

what'er you lookin' at?

what dreams are made of

Here's to the 1941 classic 'The Maltese Falcon' and to the excellent dialogue in that film... especially the line at the end of the movie by Humphrey Bogart (apologies if you haven't seen it). Happy Birthday Mr. Labriola =]

acrylic 3.5 x 5

Watson

Here's my human touch on Watson, the super computer who wiped out the competition on Jeapordy and is this month's topic over at DrawForce, which by the way is still alive and well... we've just been a bit busy with personal projects and other extracurricular activities. I'm glad were back to it fellas =]

'nuestra casita'

'nuestra casita' - digital (the one at the show will be acrylic)

Here's a painting I'm doing for the preview show of The Art Blocks this Saturday at The New Art Center in midtown. It's part a few original goodies that are going to be auctioned off the night of the event. The big shebang a bang bang auction will be happening online in March so stay tuned! It's a wonderful cause that will provide boarding and education for orphaned children in Ghana. You can find out more about it right here. Shout out to the whole PBP Foundation who've put soooo much hard work into this. You guys are truly amazing =]

SF Show! (March 4th)

Hi there! I wanted to announce the Bush+Leavenworth show coming up at D-Structure in San Fran next week on Friday March 4th. An buddy of mine is unveiling his spring line of clothing and invited myself and a few other artists to showcase our work. I've heard they throw some pretty cool openings so if you get a chance definitely swing by =] Unfortunately I wont be able to make it =[ I have some previous commitments I cant flake on. I'm showing these for the first time so I'm very excited. They're a nice change of pace to everything else I do so I hope you guys dig em. (I added a few drawings below that will accompany the wooden spoons)

Jelly cont.

sneak peek

If you go back a few posts you'll find the old jelly test. It's for a picture book a friend and I are developing... I couldn't decide if the line version was working or not so I decided to try a different route. Fuller color, flat shapes against form etc. I like to try stuff and I'm trying to find a picture book style I guess you can say. Any who I hope you digs. I'll post some more as it comes along... slowly but surely =]

Character Demo

Here's a quick demo I did for my students in Denmark. A few of them wanted to see my process in designing a character from the idea to the finished stage. For the purposes of time I kept it pretty simple and really rough.

1. rough thumbnail 2. cleaner line drawing 3. color

1. I start with doodles, rough shapes, quick sketches to get an idea of the silhouette. They gave me the idea of a boy with glasses holding something. This stage is where I have the most fun and usually do more than one rough but again the demo was quick.

2. Then I copy the rough, scale it up, turn the opacity down and do a cleaner sketch adding all the details. The glasses, the sweater he's wearing, a pipe (to fill with candy) and of course chuck taylors.

3. Once the drawing is done I fill in different elements (the pants, the sweater, his skin, his hair etc) and create clipping mask layers above those elements to add color, textures and shadows etc. These really help with painting gradients and keeping stuff separate in case you want to do variations or need to change something quickly. I keep going from here until it's finished and viola. Pretty simple and rough. You can go as detailed as you like but I like to keep my stuff less rendered... showcasing some of the quirky lines in my work. Any who, just wanted to share it with you all =]

Denmark! (it's a wrap)

Happy New Years! Hope 2011 is good to all of you guys and gals out there =] I just wanted to post a few pics of a tremendous opportunity I have to teach a character design workshop this week with the talented Florian Satzinger all the way in Viborg, Denmark. Hosting us is the super awesome, super duper dedicated Animation Workshop which has a beautiful campus where they work and play. Can't wait to start classes on Monday... wish me luck =]

country side

my temporary desktop

mmm... cant wait to hit the sack after a long 12hrs of travel!

near the teachers' building where i'm staying. It's an old military barracks

a cemetery on the way to town

i found a small door! =]



the viborg museum


i saw this little guy on campus and loved him =]

the animation workshop inhabits an old military facility

the sunrise at 9:20am



the students hard at work

head of the class

the desktop guardian...

... and her arch nemesis.

final dialies where the students showed their finished pieces =]

and that's a wrap

florian's guest book sketch

and mine

I had a wonderful experience teaching such talented and dedicated students at the Animation Workshop. The facilities there in Viborg are top notch! The town is very charming and the Danish people are very welcoming. Thanks to everyone for their hospitality and a special thanks to Florian Satzinger for the invite, to Anja and Lana for all their help and guidance =] I wish all the students good luck with their final projects!

Happy Holidays!

doodle-age

CTN was awesome and being home in San Fran was perfect. Thanks to my brother from another mother I was able to sit in on a clothed figure drawing workshop. I've rearranged and thrown in some cafe doodles in there too... and I love bikes =] Hope everyone's holidays are going smooth!

1-3 min poses . brush pen

fernando and an imaginary bud

hey guys, i'm soo excited for ctn... really looking forward to meeting up with old friends, colleagues and some fun in the california sun. i wanted to sneak in another post before the weekend... i'll be away for a while but here's a color study i did for a personal project called 'fernando and his imaginary friend'. not crazy about the title but it's still very early...

kitchen set- color study & rough scale

you might remember these guys from long ago... ralf & fernando.

brush pen

above are some drawings i did while waiting at grand central station. that place is amazing every time and it's such a good place to sketch. i meant to put them up a few posts ago. see ya soon!

a little color please

Hello! Sorry for the delay on responding or posting. I've been hibernating in my studio trying to get ready for CTN along with finishing up some freelance work. I've been developing personal work and trying to add some color to my portfolio...

left to right - Trot, Button Bright & Cap'n Bill

Above is my take on characters from Frank Baum's fantasy novel called 'Sky Island'. Like his Oz books the Sky Island world lends itself well to visual development. Doing characters in full color is a process I'm still developing and wanting to get better at... Below is a moment in the story where Button Bright is looking for his magical umbrella in the evil rulers treasure chamber, that of course is guarded by a blue wolf =] Hope you enjoy and please, any feedback is always welcome. Thanks.

the treasure chamber

Art Blocks for Ghana

Here's my contribution to the 'Art Blocks for Ghana' auction happening early next year. It's a wonderful event being put on by a dear friend for a great cause. You can check out their site for more info and you can check out all the 'art blocks' going up on their blog too. I'm very proud to be a part of this and very excited to see all the wonderful art work people are already submitting. Everyone should definitely stay tuned and participate when the time comes.

The theme was 'home' and my piece is based on a fond memory from my childhood. The block I grew up on had a small family owned deli where Joyce (the lady in the picture) made unbelievably delicious sandwiches. She always saved us the best part...

'salami ends' acrylic & pencil 10x10