from left to right: Needles, Pins, Blue Streak, Rodrigo, Peking, Poodle click to see them all huge!

getting my character design on for the 1st issue of Pins ‘N Needles! i have a good feeling about these guys! i’m experimenting still with screen tones, but i’ll find what i’m looking for soon. stay tuned for more 1st issue progress reports, etc.

as a side note, i’m delaying my 100 days of animation project until after Long Beach Comic-Con (Oct 31). i want everything to be ready and awesome and i can only pick one sequential art at a time.

• PNN Issue 1 Character designs: 6/6
• reading: The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks
• current obsession: the coffee at 7-11
• need to finish: Bioshock

i just recently got to play with my Pentel Brush Pen – i’ve had it for two weeks, but have been too busy to play and draw for fun with it. now i know i will be using the crap out of it as i am in love. with a pen. story of me. gold star for those who know what the “cats” bag is from!

• PNN Issue 1 Character designs: 2/6
• SDCC report: it was awesome
• reading: Kare Kano vol. 20
• current obsession: Bakuman

click for bigger

commission i did of the original character, Turtle Mcgee and her dog that suspiciously looks like a cat. i tried a lot of new stuff out with this one. i love commissions for this, they let me work out my style and try new coloring techniques. let’s keep em coming!

my first three tests for bolo’s fun walk cycle. (the bottom two were based on Preston Blair cycles.) i attempted a few in Flash but they have not been entirely successful! time to buckle down though! 4 legged walk cycle with 4 knees is something else…more very very soon!

i wanted the cleaned up turnaorunds to have their own post! these are my main characters for this animation. no to make them move…don’t forget to click for big view!

it’s too hard to figure out what happened on what days, so  here’s been the last week of work (or at least what made the cut, i drew about 70 birds…). i’m going to quit boarding for now and hop into an animation test. i’m also going to redesign the pig and bird a little. or maybe change them into different animals completely. we’ll see.

i tried so hard not to become a fan of One Piece. there’s nothing wrong with liking it other than it’s 455 episodes and counting. it’s a commitment. but unfortunately, i kind of love it, so here we are. just a little at a time. anyways, here’s Luffy dancing with Penelo, pirates of the air and sea.

these last some number of days have been a little tough to get much done since i was working! i made an effort to do something everyday, but in most cases it was very little. but brainstorming takes a lot of time too, and people always seem to discount that as part of the process when it is incredibly valid.

so i made these octopus children while i was trying to think of something to animate – and i thought of a reel piece finally. it has nothing to do with octopus children or Quint, but with a girl and her donkey and their shenanigans. (Quint and the octopi may come back into play after wards) it’ll be played to this rad song The Avalanches use in their Beneath the Surface mix. here are some brain dump sketches:

final character concepts.

i can’t even call this a beat board, but some ideas in frame.

stay tuned for a much more coherent post with real work!

i could only work on this a tiny bit at a time – his face cracks me up, but the rest is sort of horrible! the tentacles don’t make any sense, and they should all be more draggy…i’ll consider if this is something i want to pursue, or just something i will let go.

Day 39: 6/07/10:

some sketches of Quint for a dialogue piece, and a cuddly axolotl sidekick. i find when i make his head more of a lemon shape, it works much better! for the axolotl i mean, not Quint. but the bottom designs are my favorite for both.

Day 40: 6/08/10:

i built Quint in Flash, i hate this line work, i wish i could hand draw this. i may switch to brush because this even steven line business drives me crazy! also, i remember a portfolio review where they said, for animation reels, you don’t even need clean or colored work. just good animation – something to keep in mind.