'the argument'

hey folks. long time no see...here's a drawing i did over the weekend that just evolved on it's own. at first i wanted to do a monster with stubby tentacles but it turned into 'the argument' i had with my markers...i kind of like it. maybe i'll follow it up with another drawing called 'making up'? cheers

Hooded Henry

A quick doodle in between larger projects. I present to you Hooded Henry...a boy who's shy and tries to hide what lies atop his head.

wolf = fin

The wolf piece I've been working on here and there is finally finished! Pen & Ink is one of my favorite mediums so I chose to go light on the values...hoping for the line work to come through. I also added a linear effect to the wolf's lollipop to accentuate it's mystery. Maybe it emanates odors that paralyze little piglets nearby? Or maybe it's the wolf's elixir of life? Still working on that part =] Below are some details I enjoyed. I love, love, love hand lettering.

All images are © 2009 by Willie Real unless otherwise specified

The Wolf Who Cried Wolf

Here's a line drawing from a work in progress currently on my plate. A few posts ago I did a sketch test with a wolf that felt creepy so I wanted to elaborate. I'm selectively adding color to it...stay tuned.

and a detail.

the elephant in the room

I can't ignore the elephant in the room and one of the best learning experiences of my life so I'm posting a few things from 'Horton Hears A Who', my first roller coaster ride in the animation industry. With a lot of hard work, immense amounts of luck, and the right timing Blue Sky hired me in 2005 after 5 years at the Academy of Art in San Fran. Some of these drawings were done shortly after and span the length of the production, on paper or in the computer....most of them dabbing in both worlds. For those of you who ask what I do all day...I'm fortunate to try and keep up with the 'super crew' here in Greenwich, CT. Hope you enjoy=]

All images are property of 20th Century Fox & Blue Sky Studios

Here at the studio my title is 'Designer'. I'll work on environments, props, and pretty much anything else besides characters. The image above was one of my first assignments. I was working with pencil, markers and a brush pen. It's the very top of the mountain where Horton jumps for the clover after Vlad flies off with it. The image below was sort of a map of the mountain and various obstacles Horton runs into.

The end of the line for Horton.

'Cracked Desert' was a 'moment' piece where Horton would travel high and low, near and far, through sizzling deserts and all... to remain loyal to the clover and it's Who's. It took me all day to draw every crack but in the end it was very therapeutic and I had myself a homemade texture.

An early concept for a Whoville home (above), and a 'turnaround' (below) for the modeling department to model from.

I have to be honest when I first heard of Blue Sky working on Dr. Seuss I scratched my noggin. How were they going to pull off that wacky Seuss style which was very organic and rubbery...almost jello like? It was hard stuff to emulate on paper alone and there are a lot of 'cheats' in the flat world of books. The pre-vis and modeling wizards at the studio really worked their magic, man! I was blown away when we were called into rounds the first time we reviewed the buildings. It was definitely one of those 'pinching myself' moments.

'Town Hall' took like 48 drawings before I got to the one above =] The Seuss style was very difficult for me to pick up...I probably didn't get a comfortable grasp until 3/4 through the production haha... seriously. Don't underestimate that Seuss guy, he's a genius!

Look mom! I got a character in the movie...
actually...he got cut.
All images are property of 20th Century Fox & Blue Sky Studios. Yup, that goes for you too Momma.

el nino astronauta

'el nino astronauta'

Initially this started as a sketch of a little guy and his mom at the smoothie bar in Grand Central Station. Aside from his joy and anticipation of the sweet smoothie to come, he gazed and wondered why the grown man with the sketchbook was invading his personal smoothie space. I couldn't help admire his big, puffy jacket that reminded me of an astronaut.

A picture of the sketch with a nice glare of the silver paint marker I used for the zipper, patches, and gloves. Wish I could figure out how to get this 'shine' to show up when I scan it.

The Sequential Exhibit (January 7-January 24, 2009)

Hey guys and gals, I forgot to mention that the Sequential Exhibit is up at the Society of Illustrators in NYC. Some of the work I did in the Out of Picture book was selected!!! The work will humbly hang alongside some pretty spiffy art work by some pretty spiffy cats until Jan 24th. If you're in town swing by! The show looks amazing!

saturday's sketchcrawl

'the drinking faucet in grand central'

wolf sketch

to be continued...

The Merry Mob...

...wishing you a Merry Christmas.

happy holidays =]

ho ho ho

Figures cont.

I believe these are all 30 seconds...

And these range from a minute to 5 minutes.

Part of why I love figure drawing is because it breaks the artist down. No details, it keeps you loose and most of all there is no time for love. Sometimes I get lucky and capture a pose and maybe some unconventional proportions that I like, which I'll try to replicate in a later drawing. I think it's safe to say your own drawings make for good reference....sometimes =]

wine lover

Figure Drawing Workshop

Every Wednsday there's a figure drawing workshop here at the studio for everyone to attend. It's really nice to have and extra really nice to attend. I love getting lost in my sketchbook...

one pose the whole time...

Use the drawforce luke

Here are some of my latest contributions over at the drawforce blog...

the night owl's ride

hellboy

One of the best portraits of the 19th Century?

'Conditional Neutrality' - L. Richeton d'apres W.Q. Orcardson, R.A.

detail

Really!? And I just bought it at a print shop in the city??? Noo, it cant be...can it? So I started doing some research. First I looked up the title 'Conditional Neutrality' and came up with an artist named William Quiller Orchardson, this guy...


...which I then looked up on Wiki. It mentioned 'Conditional Neutrality' twice! Once as it being one of 'his most highly regarded pictures during the first eighteen years after his move to London', and a second time under the legacy tab, where it says 'would deserve a place on any list of the best portraits of the 19th century'. Whuuaaat?!!! So I commenced freaking out. I called my roomate (pete) over and told him why I was bugging. He did what any good roomate would do and asked what time we were going to work the next morning and wished me luck with my search for treasure.

After thourougly looking at it again I noticed another name on it along with the French word 'd'apres' which I looked up. It means 'after'. It turns out L. Richeton was an artist who etched this work after one of W.Q. Orchardson's pieces. An oil painting maybe? Who knows? I cant find a picture of the original work by W.Q. No question it's a beautiful etching and it is from the 19th century but my gas would run out and it was my time to hit the hay sack. After all, Pete and I had to get to work early the next morning. My search for treasure would have to continue another time.

snake eyes

I was lucky to have a co-worker and friend, Tony Jung, be inspired to sculpt an old snake eyes design I did a while back... which turned out clean fresh! It's intriguing to see a flat drawing come to life in real space. You can learn a lot from the translation of 2D to 3D...so thank you Mr. Jung. I look forward to doing it again =]

clothed figure drawings

some clothed figure drawings i did a while back. it was wonderful practice and i went for the contour line with a japanese pen. any who, i thought they looked okay together in a lineup.

trumpet man

drawforce is back!

yessir...and to get things started we turned to the man bat who never lets us down. here's the blog and here are the contributors....so far....

jake parker

peter nguyen

mike lee

vincent nguyen

willie real