" Monsters n' s***! " : Sketchblog of JAXJ

Werewolf sketch

2011-11-16T22:42:00.001-08:00

In my mind, the guy at the bottom is saying, "...but I wanted a Venti, extra hot, non-fat, no foam, 3 pump Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with extra whip."

His Majesty's Dragon: Captain Catherine Harcourt of Lily

2011-11-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

Two studies of Catherine Harcourt- going more Julia Stiles in the left one, and a young Natalia Vodianova in the right.

Taken from the Temeraire Wiki:

Catherine Harcourt was a tall, slender young woman with a wide, pleasant face, a snub nose and long red hair, which she usually wore in a braid.

Her mother was a woman from Plymouth who died of a fever when Harcourt was but one year old. Her father, Jack Harcourt, was a member of the Aerial Corps and served as a lieutenant aboard Fluitare. He died in 1802, by which time he already knew that his daughter had been assigned as captain to a yet unhatched Longwing egg and that her future was assured.

The egg hatched five years earlier than expected, so early that Harcourt had not even thought of a name and ended up naming the dragonet Lily instead of one of the more usual Latin names given to British dragons. Longwings, with their acid spray, are naturally the leaders of their formations. The other dragons are trained to fly patterns which give the Longwing the greatest sweep over the ground while retaining the protection of the rest of the wing around it. However, Lily had hatched so early that Harcourt was unusually young to be not only the captain of a heavy-weight but also the lead captain in the formation.

His Majesty's Dragon - Young Celestial

2011-11-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

Temeraire as a Young Celestial.
Taken from the Temeraire wiki:

Celestials are an extremely rare Chinese breed of dragon, exclusively able to employ the "Divine Wind." The Divine Wind is the most mysterious of dragon abilities-- a sort of 'sonic roar' capable of doing great destruction, especially to objects made of wood. There are few Celestials in the world, and few of them ever venture outside of China, so very little is known of this ability in the western world.

They have five talons on each foot and their wings have six spines, as opposed to most dragons' five. They are able to beat their wings forward and backward, which gives them the ability to "hover" in midair.

Another distinguishing feature of Celestials is that where most dragons lose their early facility with language acquisition and memorization after about their fifth or sixth week (according to Joulson), Celestials retain these facilities throughout their lives.

His Majesty's Dragon - Longwing

2011-11-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

Lily, the Longwing.

Taken from the Temeraire Wiki:

According to Sir Edward Howe, the Longwing breed was the result of a sustained cross-breeding effort to find an answer to the lack of pyrogenic species in the British Isles. The British Sharpspitter, a small, low-flying English breed, was crossed separately with the French Honneur-d'Or for size and the Ironwing, a venomous Russian breed. Interbreeding among the offspring, with frequent infusions from the three parent breeds, led to the first dragon that could properly be termed a Longwing during the reign of Henry VIII.

The Longwing possess the ability to spit a strong corrosive acid, known as vitriol. The acid is projected through bony spurs on the lower jaw, and is capable of erroding wood, stone, and flesh at highly rapid speeds. As Britain had no native fire-breathers, one of the most prized dragons in the Corp were the acid-spitting Longwings. Other vitriolic dragons include the Longwing's ancestor, the Sharpspitter, the Incan Copacati, and the Japanese Ka-Riu.

Acid spitting had it's drawbacks, however. Longwings were physically unable to spit acid in any direction save downwards, to prevent them from spraying themselves. The muscle reflexes involved in sneezing and coughing were the same as ejecting acid, so sick Longwings tended to unintentionally spray corrosive acid over their surroundings.

Traditionally very picky about their captains, Longwings were at first often lost to service because suitable captains could not be found. Not until Elizabeth I put one of her female servants aboard a Longwing was it was discovered that they took to female companions more readily. However, for some time Longwings' female companions were addressed only as Miss and, at least in theory, did not hold command. Instead, a male captain was assigned to each Longwing along with the dragon's female companion.

His Majesty's Dragon - Young Regal Copper

2011-10-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

Maximus, as a young Regal Copper from Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. If you haven't read it, go read it now!

Also, Peter Jackson recently bought the screen rights. With Game of Thrones being such a successful execution of an epic book made into a high-budget series, I believe Jackson could do the same!

Warbeasts

2011-06-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

something I'll come back to later...

monster scribbles

2011-06-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Baby Red Panda in the Snow

2011-04-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

One of my fav things everrrrrrr...

Monsterpalooza 2011

2011-04-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Went to Monsterpalooza on Saturday- it was bigger and better than last year. So big in fact that I got stuck in the overflow line, but at least I was accompanied by friend Greg Smith and nice big white mocha latte from Portos. :)

Met up with some friends and saw a bunch of new faces, lots of creature art, and had a monstertastic time! Here's a few pics:

My new BFF, Gojira!!! :)

Jordu Schell making friends with a bearded dragon.

William Stout giving an interview & talking about being awesome (presumably).

Hey there, Raptorface

2011-04-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

annnnd back to work...

ps- I added a cool little question/comment box on the side! Now you can talk smack about my monsters easier! yayyyy!

Zombie: Wallcrawler, final

2011-03-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

And now it's bad zombie joke time!!!

What do vegetarian zombies eat?
Graaaaaaaains...

What's black and white and red all over?
A nun being eaten by zombie babies!

What has a Dogs Head, a Cats tail, and brains all over its face?
A zombie coming out of the pet store!

zombie oni sketches

2011-03-29T01:25:00.000-07:00

rwarghhhh...brains...

Zombies: Wallcrawler alternate design

2011-02-23T00:42:00.000-08:00

Another go at this guy from my previous post- a wallcrawler zombie. They crawl along vertical surfaces and ceilings to drop onto delicious humans screaming below.

& more zombie love

2011-02-22T02:18:00.000-08:00

If becoming the animated undead was actually a virus/infection, your lymph nodes would probably go haywire hence the pustules at the neck and armpits. Trying to show symptoms of the disease instead of the damage of your typical zombie.

Thanks to my fellow USC animation colleague, Ian McCormack for posing!

For the luls:

RrRRrrawwghhhh.. [zombie to english translation: Brainsnomnomnom]

2011-02-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

Prompt:

Horrifically mutated humans
Doesn't die if shot through the head; must be dismembered to be killed
Integrated multiple limbs

Wallcrawler zombie- crawls along vertical surfaces and ceilings to drop onto delicious humans. hmmm, kinda too tame right now; need to go more horrific I think.

On another zombie-related note, Gamesrader did a biological overview of gaming's freakiest monsters. Wired also has a good article here on Dead Space creatures-- don't read this while eating your lunch.

If you've seen Splice, then this will probably crack you up too:

(a baby Dren plushie...really...?)

Tarrasque: quick maquette

2011-02-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

Continuing the exploration of D&D's Tarrasque from my last post, I put threw together a maquette to help block out forms.

Unfortunately the USC bookstore only had 1 box of clay (which cost $18 + my liver, good thing I don't drink), so this is as far as I got. Should be good enough for my needs, but the aluminum-foil-nakedness is quite bothersome; might go get another box from Pearl tomorrow and finish him up if I have time.

Note the pokemon bandaids on the supply list, for those of you out there who tend to stab yourself with freshly cut wire and/or are as clumsy as myself.

Tarrasque: sketches

2011-02-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

Needed to explore different head options- looking for something brutish, like the equivalent of the caveman of dragonkind.

going to go for head 14 and give him some shark teeth.

Tarrasque description: The tarrasque is very large, 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, and has a Tyrannosaurus rex-like form, although it is much more broad and muscular, with a differently shaped head, and with larger and more developed front arms. It has brown skin, with scabs and warts and bits of encrusted dung all over it which are grey in color. Protecting its back and tail is a thick, glossy caramel-colored shell or carapace. It has spikes coming from its chin, the sides of the mouth, the underside of its neck, the elbows of its front arms, and its shell. The creature also has two horns projecting forwards from the top of its head. The tarrasque's skin is very hard and thick, and provides excellent armor.

It is hoped that the tarrasque is a solitary creation, some hideous abomination unleashed by the dark arts or by elder, forgotten gods to punish all of nature. The elemental nature of the tarrasque leads the few living tarrasque experts to speculate that the elemental princes of evil have something to do with its existence. In any case, the location of the tarrasque remains a mystery, as it rarely leaves witnesses in its wake, and nature quickly grows over all remnants of its presence. It is rumored that the tarrasque is responsible for the extinction of one ancient civilization, for the records of their last days spoke of a "great reptilian punisher sent by the gods to end the world."

And also for your enjoyment:

SPOILER ALERT for monsters of "I Am Number Four"

2011-02-10T01:55:00.000-08:00

Just came back from the world premiere of "I Am Number Four". It's Smallville meets Roswell on the big screen, but the monster fight scenes made it worth standing around for 3 hours surrounded by the vapid chatter of UCLA girls fighting to get pics with actors they didn't even recognize. I admit, I teared up when the good monster gets hurt. ;u;

More fanart (and redesign?) to come.

...also I think he's more monstrous and bulky than I've portrayed him...oh well I still think he's cuddly, predator-face and all. :]

Raptor Attack!

2011-02-01T12:23:00.001-08:00

Exercise in rendering with some of my favorite subjects.

On a semi-related sidenote, Cera from Land Before Time reminds me of Sgt. James Williams from Hurt Locker- besides being insecure, reckless, and with something to prove, I both wanted them to get eaten by Sharptooth or blown up, respectively. Why did Littlefoot bring her to the Great Valley, anyway? No one liked her except Ducky, but then again Ducky likes everyone...

Dragon/Phoenix preview

2011-01-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

Jar jar redesign

2011-01-16T18:42:00.001-08:00

and to fulfill the "annoying" requirement he could animate like this:

Harpies, Lamias, & Holidays

2011-01-14T22:52:00.000-08:00

Found my 1st edition Monster Manual cleaning my room over the holidays. Very excited (can't you tell!?). Decided to flip to a random page and redesign one of the monstrosities within!

Harpy:

Lamia:

No weapon yet...holding a dagger in right hand with a chain thing? Like those ninja kunai with wire at the end but more badass.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and fantastic New Year!

Some of my goals include:

Slow down & enjoy the little things
Not set unreasonable goals
Breathe deep, seek peace (a la James Gurney!)
Bring more sketches to a semi-presentable state (so I can share them without being too embarrassed... ;) )

Looking forward to 2011! Here we goooo

Beast portrait

2010-12-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Beast sketches

2010-12-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

Troll Princess with Hunting Cats lineart

2010-11-29T03:48:00.000-08:00

Didn't get to color lizardman, but I did tidy up some line art on this revisited concept...and then spent the rest of the day baking pumpkin cheesecake & brown sugar pecan caramel frosted cupcakes. :]

Lizardman sketch WIP

2010-11-28T01:56:00.001-08:00

Basilisk/Jesus Lizard based. Will finish tomorrow...zzzzz...

Beast

2010-11-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

Pouty face!

process...

Komainu - Model sheet

2010-11-27T18:51:00.000-08:00

lizardman

2010-11-09T15:19:00.001-08:00

Reign of Fire sketches 2

2010-11-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

Reign of Fire sketches 1

2010-10-31T19:48:00.001-07:00

Denton van Zan...still kept with Matthew McConaughey as the actor.

Too Felbeast, too dinosaur-y, too generic, and then too achelousaurus x carnosaurs. Bah!

Alien Bust: final

2010-10-31T19:45:00.000-07:00

Grumpy archivist alien from this post.

sketchdump: people, monsters, & tengu

2010-10-31T19:00:00.001-07:00

Komainu - final mesh

2010-10-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

He's not textured yet. Got a little carried away with detailing the face, and he might be too dense at 21,040 polys...we'll seeeeee!

Based off of Foo Dogs aka Chinese gaurdian lions.

dinosaur studies

2010-10-24T19:06:00.001-07:00

I forget how much I love dinosaurs. When I was younger, my Grandfather brought me almost every summer to the Museum of Natural Science to draw from the dioramas and geek out at the info blurbs.

For a recent project, I broke out some books- Dinosaurs, Feathered Dinosaurs, and Walking with Dinosaurs -to do some studies. I highly recommend these books for any dinosaur lover!

Komainu mesh

2010-10-23T15:38:00.001-07:00

Here's a preview of something I'm working on for thesis.

Render tests on a simpler version of this mesh by Daniel Edery. Going for a Japanese brush painting look a la "Okami".

"Freelance" doesn't mean "free"

2010-10-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

You don't go to Starbucks, order a latte, and say, "I can't pay for it, but I'll tell everyone what a great job you did making it! This latte may lead to other exciting latte-related opportunities such as getting more lattes for other people! Also, it's a great project. Everyone really believes in this coffee. :) "

Art is just as much a product and service as the coffee in your cup is, and as such should be paid for- monetarily or something equally adequate*. The grocery, the car wash, the dry cleaners, the air conditioning repair company- you don't approach these businesses and expect free service, work, or products. How are artists any different?

"Freelance" doesn't mean "free".

*I'm not saying "free = bad". There are plenty of fantastic projects out there that just don't have a budget. I have done some projects free, pro bono, or under budget because the pay off was either for the greater good of mankind, it was a favor, a good learning opportunity, or it was an amazing project. Again, there are some great people out there with good projects and they just happen to not have a budget, but when my peers and myself get contacted for work where the client has no intention of paying or of compensating the artist it really rubs me the wrong way.

**Also, I'm not including internships, "working your way up" entry level project/positions, or student projects in this category of minor artistic annoyances. Student projects usually do not have a budget, which is totally understandable...

***If you were mildly entertained, here's another rant for your viewing pleasure.

Now on a lighter note, here's a really happy kitten!

Alien Bust: sketch to zbrush

2010-10-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

Cranky archivist/librarian alien. I should add some glasses.

lighting test - 2 rim lights and one overhead spotlight

Dragon Studies

2010-10-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

Troll Princess on Hunting Cat

2010-10-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Vermithrax's Revenge

2010-10-04T21:45:00.001-07:00

CDA - Creature Design - Unicorn version 2

2010-07-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Going more kirin with it. Trying for a obnoxious yet dignified look.
It's all sugarcoated looking. Need to tone down the sparkles and saturation...add more depth...bur first, a nap!

CDA - Character Design - Giants, color

2010-07-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

you're a kitty!!!!

CDA - Creature Design - Troll

2010-07-13T17:41:00.001-07:00

still not getting that tingly art-satisfied feeling.

CDA - Creature Design - Fantasy 2

2010-07-12T00:11:00.001-07:00

CDA - Creature Design - Unicorn

2010-07-11T00:37:00.000-07:00

I was totally part of the Lisa Frank sticker club.

And another soul touched by rainbow unicorns and dolphins and painting pandas:

Also, if you have not played Robot Unicorn, do it now. DO IT.

That is all...carry on.

CDA - Creature Design - Fantasy

2010-07-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

must draw faster!!!!

CDA - Creature Design - Pumpkinhead

2010-07-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

Redesign of Pumpkinhead. I'm imagining a pumpkin-y skin texture esp on those faces. Also vine-like tentacle appendages.

(Why are there 3 sequels?)

CDA - Creature Design - Ralph, (aka The Thing)

2010-07-03T18:20:00.001-07:00

32/M/AZ

Enjoys salsa, baking, and science fiction novels. Allergic to dogs, but will tolerate cats. Prefers blondes but if you're not hopefully you have a dynamic personality to make up for it.

No monster hunters, serial killers, or hardcore drug addicts, please.

CDA - Character Design - Giants

2010-07-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

CDA - Character Design - Elf

2010-06-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

World buildin' in Kevin Chen's class.

Physical Description:

· Deer-like in the face and build

· Tall, lithe, thin

· Avg 6 ft

· Long, aristocratic faces

· Wide-set, almond eyes

· 6 fingers, long limbs & toes for climbing trees like spider monkeys

· Mostly nocturnal; nicknamed “Moon People” or “Children of the Moon”

· Facial tattoos & piercings, like the Maori people

Motive, Philosophy, & Personality:

· Prize education & philosophy

· Forest dwelling, live in tree houses

· Minimalistic lifestyle (hippies)

· Introverted

· Reside in small, commune communities

· Very in-tune to nature

· Buddhist-like meditative thinkers

· Thinkers not fighters

Region: Forest

Element: Earth, Air: Wood

Class: Mage – Archer

Religion/Philosophy: Moon Goddess, Nature

Government: Loose Monarchy, communes mostly self-governing, not much need for order since they’re so peaceful by nature

Mount: Rocs, Dire Hawks, Dire Wolves, Giant Owls

Weapons: Archery (main), Knives, Daggers, Short swords, Small axes

Magic: Nature based spells & healing

Based on: Maori, Indo-Chinese Culture (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Singapore)

CDA - Creature Design - Werewolf

2010-06-26T01:46:00.000-07:00

male ZB WIP 2

2010-06-15T20:12:00.001-07:00

he has pancake buns. sigh.

Sketchbook: Godzilla 1998

2010-06-15T02:41:00.000-07:00

Godzilla 1998 is the cutest. And by "cute" I mean "badass".

Chinese brush pen fun!
Mike Mignola inspired.

male ZB wip

2010-06-12T15:46:00.001-07:00

CDA - Creature Design - Pumpkinhead, The Thing, Werewolf

2010-06-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook: dragon face

2010-06-10T01:40:00.000-07:00

Kirin WIP

2010-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

splat!

I feel like the color version is loosing the spontaneity of the sketch. Sadface. I continue to refine it sometime in the future...

Primal Rage: Talon

2010-05-28T03:17:00.001-07:00

Photoshop smoosh of Talon, my favorite velociraptor from the Atari gem, Primal Rage.

Dragonriders: Anya

2010-05-15T02:45:00.000-07:00

female protagonist designs (the chick who's actually riding the dragon)
didn't have time to model her, perhaps in the future.

Dragon Rider -- poster for USC Gamepipe Demo Day

2010-05-11T00:28:00.000-07:00

speed poster makin

Dragonriders: Emaglatan, final model

2010-04-24T15:47:00.001-07:00

Aw sh*t! Get your dragon saddles ready!

13,785 polys

Happy Eart-- I mean Avatar day!

2010-04-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Dragonriders: Emaglatan WIP

2010-04-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

big daddy dragon face coming along.

Dragonriders: Nitian final model

2010-04-20T11:39:00.001-07:00

2404 polys

D'awww he's so cute! I just want to pinch his cheeks...while he sucks my soul from my mangled carcass! :3

Wildlife Waysation: Ligers, Tigers, & Servals, oh my!

2010-04-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Went to the Wildlife Waystation and had a blast drawing some animals!
Most of these drawings are done between ~1-7 minutes . The servals were the most still...but not by very much.

Big thanks to Gary & the Wildlife Waystation volunteers for the fantastic tour! :]

Kirin - oldie but goodie (?)

2010-04-14T11:06:00.002-07:00

cleaning out the DA gallery

Sketchbook - people

2010-04-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

the dude with the hat is actually How to Tran Your Dragon's Nico Marlet! Here's a cool interview with him.

Headus UV Layout vs. Roadkill UV layout

2010-04-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Great post on pros and cons of Headus UV & Roadkill UV, thank you, Zeller Samuel!

Download Roadkill here
Roadkill does not run on Mac unfortunately, but if you have a VM you can use it as a stand alone application. It does integrate with XSI & Maya though (on Windows).

Uncle Frankie takes you through the basics: (36mb)
http://www.box.net/public/static/iun1bpnu6h.avi

Swanny quickly runs through the live unwrap features (no sound yet)
Cutting and Welding (4 mb)
http://www.box.net/public/static/m3649fu3sx.avi

Edge selection, loop and topological (5 mb)
http://www.box.net/public/static/p6a38ktquo.avi

Pinning basics (6mb)
http://www.box.net/public/static/auhvubxyvi.avi

Pinning advanced (8mb)
http://www.box.net/public/static/6ovfez64pm.avi

retopologizing WIP

2010-04-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Working with Maks Naprowski on retopologizing workflow and most economic UV layout. Should have answers soon.

ps- Don't laugh at Komainu's cauliflower tail...he's sensitive about it. (It will just be planes of geometry later with the fire animated on it.)

Art of God of War @ Gallery Nucleus

2010-03-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Went to the God of War art panel today and got to meet Andrew Kim, Andy Park, Cecil Kim, Izzy, Jung Ho Park & Scott Seeto! (Thanks, Gary! :D )

They signed my posters...

...and were giving out swag too.

...and they're pretty much awesome...yea...

The following pictures are NOT by me.

Also got to meet Joe Gatt who motion captured as Kratos! I hope he gets casted in the movie if/when it gets off the ground.

Shane Acker @ USC

2010-03-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of meeting Shane Acker of "9" at USC. He put on a great presentation at our Animation Seminar! He showed us development work from "9", talked about his creative process, the [long,arduous, but rewarding!] process of creating a feature film, and showed us his current project "+ -" ["Plus Minus"].

"+ -" is a CGI short "about how these two demons bide their time above the lower planes of hell. Each character lacks a part of themselves, vital for communication, yet they must find a way to work together. When conflict arises their misunderstanding escalates, hurtling them towards a tragic climax.”

He's currently a resident artist @ Gnomon School of VFX where he heads groups of students to work on "+ -".

Now excuse me while I draw some "9" fanart...

How to Train Your Dragon

2010-03-21T17:02:00.001-07:00

Jay Baruchel, "Hiccup," steps up for a ride on Toothless...
Taken from HTTYD Facebook page.

TTYD toys @ WalMart:
The merchandise, aimed at Wal-Mart's discount-focused demographic, includes towels with Viking-horned hoods, red-creme oreos colored like dragon fire, and activity books for the Happy Meals at 1,000 McDonald's Corp. restaurants inside Wal-Marts.

Hispaniola Pirate lineup!

2010-03-19T03:01:00.000-07:00

Arrrrh' ! These pirate portraits fer "A Creative Artists Guide to the Art of Law" be complete! Now where's me grog?!?

The full line up!

Pirate 4

2010-03-18T17:25:00.001-07:00

Working out of the house today @ Solar de Chuengha. Some jerk rushes up to me, grabs my wacom pen, tries to frantically write down an email address & exclaims to me, "YOUR PEN IS BROKEN!" He then tries to click it like a mechanical pencil. Ohhh boy.

Bought this shirt.

Annnnd I finished the last pirate! Huzzah!

Pirate 3

2010-03-16T04:29:00.000-07:00

Big mama needs some, grog, babbbbyyyy!

Okay, it's too late/too early. I really shouldn't be captioning these things. Alas.

Evil Pirate

2010-03-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

Art of "How To Train Your Dragon"

2010-03-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

not my work, obvi. :]

Going to get the book soon. There's suppose to be a good line of toys @ Walmart and some cute McDonald's happy meal ones too.

I needed an animator for a project due yesterday!!!!

2010-03-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

The following is brought to you by Lauren Brown, a fellow animation MFA and friend at USC.

"I love the jobs that get sent our way here at USC. I got a great one today. Here are just a few excerpts out of his giant [4 page] email.

* “I have written a screenplay for an animated movie that uses the Pink Floyd albums “Meddle” and “Dark Side of the Moon” as the soundtrack — similar to what Walt Disney did with “Fantasia.” There’s one significant difference between my movie and what was done in “Fantasia.” That is, in mine there is a cohesive story that goes from beginning to end; it’s not just isolated vignettes. ” You mean The Wall?

* “Think of the final movie as something with even more of a visual impact than “Avatar,” but with an additional factor that “Avatar” completely lacked — I’m speaking of */the deep, powerful soul/* that the music of Pink Floyd will provide.” Yeah, lets make Avatar, but better, with no budget. Guhh, Avatar. Now every Tom, Dick, and film school student wants to make Avatar, which it’s director doesn’t even consider animation.

* “Because I know that a 6½- minute full-on animation would be incredibly time-consuming and expensive. So what I need is more or less a “video sales brochure” that I can show to the above-mentioned Pink Floyd manager — something that will make him see and feel what my proposed movie is all about, without making it into a too-complicated production. ” That’s called an animatic.

* “Therefore, even though theater-ready animation uses 24 frames/second, maybe 4 or 6 frames/second would work here — just so long as the viewer wouldn’t get dizzy or nauseated.” What?

* “I cannot afford to pay you any money at all upfront.” Then sign me up!

* “I envision the actual movie being done with absolutely top-notch animation, and that it will be the movie of the decade! (Yeah, I know, it’s bragging.)” Oh go on.

* Now where are you? Wausau, Wisconsin Well, good luck to you sir.

People are ignorant about what it takes to make animation. Specially skilled teams of people take lots of time to make this stuff happen. Why do you think I’m going to make your story by myself for free?"

PS, the animator has to provide his/her own copy of the Pink Floyd song.
PPS, the rights to animate to this song have not been obtained. :)

Pirate 1

2010-03-09T22:56:00.001-08:00

Drakan fanart: scavenger

2010-03-08T02:35:00.000-08:00

5 min doodle of those scavenger things trying to eat my face in the Valley of the Fallen today.

Pirates WIP 2

2010-03-08T02:10:00.001-08:00

had to quit that other style on the right, it was driving me crazy...

Arkane: Necronaut 2 zspheres

2010-03-06T23:47:00.000-08:00

Monsters, Myths, & Media

2010-02-28T00:59:00.001-08:00

Posters for a grad student run symposium @ USC!
USC grads & undergrads, click here for more info!

Dragonrider: BDD face

2010-02-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

"Crest or no crest?" she wondered.

*BDD = Big Daddy Dragon

Elusia: trailer 1

2010-02-17T16:02:00.001-08:00

Not really a motion graphics-y/After Effects guru kinda girl but put this together last semester for a class project. It was more of a test to see how fast I could create 2d elements and learned a lot along the way to hope

Big thanks to composer, Gavin Keese. Also thanks to Jason Yang's electric violin and Chris Bleth's ethnic wind instruments.

After Effects, Photoshop, Red Giant plug-ins.

Dragonrider: Main Character

2010-02-17T02:24:00.000-08:00

based on Michelle Zen & Diane Perty.

USC Game Hackathon & Global Game Jam photos

2010-02-15T23:17:00.001-08:00

Victorious "Sprout" team demo-ing the game at the USC Game Hackathon, sans myself since I wasn't in town. Tears!

Hackathon table of prizes*.

*1st place Myspace publication prize not pictured ;)

"The Lab" game demo @ The Global Game Jam event.

"The Lab" team crowding around to see the game with sound! Oooo!

Photos courtesy of Sklathill.

Arkane: necronaut II explorations

2010-02-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

Dragonrider: boss enemy concepts

2010-02-14T04:07:00.000-08:00

Dragonrider: anklebiter

2010-02-13T21:47:00.001-08:00

Dragonrider: minor enemies

2010-02-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Dragonrider: dragon concepts

2010-02-11T00:47:00.000-08:00

For xbox, using Natal technology (hopefully!).

Trying to take the usual European dragon look and blend it with a Chinese/Japanese dragon with the elongated body, spines on the limbs/neck, and the head crest.

Quick sketch in zbrush made with zspheres.

Face ZBrush Sketches

2010-02-08T23:55:00.000-08:00

James Dean

Olivia Wilde

Avatar Artist Panel @ Gallery Nucleus

2010-02-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Avatar Artist Panel @ Gallery Nucleus: Ben Proctor, Daphne Yap, Ryan Church, Neville Page, Jordu Schell, James Clyne, Alex Alvarez, Steve Messing

Oh yes, I was excited...

Neville Page & Jordu Schell!

Signed Book!!!!

Demoness

2010-01-31T01:52:00.000-08:00

avatar fanart

2009-12-29T00:03:00.001-08:00

1-2 hr Na'vi doodle sans ref. Changed a few things- higher ankle, dew claw, etc. Expect a few more of these ;P

komainu temple

2009-12-14T01:26:00.000-08:00

RUINS! Yea, I was saying it like that the whole time I was working...

Niv'Arjin & skyscape

2009-12-13T02:10:00.001-08:00

Music for Elusia Trailer

2009-12-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

Chris Bleth, an incredibly talented woodwind player is gracing my animation project with some of his awesome playing on the Armenian Duduk, Swedish Overtone Flute, Bansuri, Chinese Dizi Flute, and the Sea Kelp Flute!

Yes, its actually made of sea kelp!