Storytime!

It's true, I'm insane. That is how I am able to keep drawing for myself while the rigors of school confront me at every turn. Enjoy a short storyboard of sorts, which illustrates part of a larger yarn I'd like to spin some beautiful day.

Plus a pinup or two.

Yeah, it happens, but at least I am more in the groove for gags than I have been for a year and a half. That's progress!

Happy Birthday Michelle!

I'm two hours early, but here's an animated birthday card and warm birthday wishes for an awesome girl who draws way better than me.  If you haven't seen her gallery...well, do it!

Legend of Zelda copyright Nintendo.  Did you suspect Sony?

Athletic sexy nerd mouse!

From dreamy to spazzy in a matter of hours! No remarkable thought process here, but I was antsy while drawing and needed to do a random cleanup to simmer down.

Left out the background so it would look that much more like it was ripped from a Bakshi Mighty Mouse-era trade paper.

You Belong To My Heart

As sung by the lovely Dora Luz.  Happy Valentimes!

P.S. to fellow Bloggers: If my recent posts show up three or four times in your Dashboard or Reader just because I make tweaks here and there, please let me know.  That would totally be obnoxious and compel me to refrain from editing my posts.

Spotlight on Will Finn's blog (yeah, yeah)

I've heard Will Finn talk now and then about the homogenization of style in the animation industry, and last night he explored it more deeply. But his outlook is hopeful. "The notion of the Influence Map," says he, "may hold the keys, both to the problem and the solution..."

I've been looking plenty to animation's past and not enough to the present -- that is, to the artists AROUND me. I see so many of my dA and Blogger buddies regularly at school, while others are a measly few clicks away on the Internet. I explore with rabid enthusiasm. Then I leave the sites and go back to working from the professional talent I was already inspired by. Not for lack of respect, mind, but for being too easily distracted by the hype surrounding "the greats."

There are so many young, individualistic greats I see every day that I have yet to acknowledge in my own work, but they would be healthy influences indeed. Let me start by saying, thanks for bringing your art to the world and working to make animation and comics that much more inspiring.

P.S. If I don't successfully shoot out a cutesy cartoon by the end of the day, Happy Valentine's Day to all. May we all be with someone we love, sooner rather than later.

Attention Mike Nassar...

I accept your challenge to draw chubby dolphins.

EDIT, 2/11/11: I later realized that their noses were not nearly bottled enough, thus the very sharky-looking one at the top. I always miss something. Well, I'll try again, Mike...

Drawing myself off a cliff!

Mmm, not quite so bad as all that.  I loosened up tremendously while watching Ignacio sketch a few nights ago.  No stories come of it (though who knows? there's new characters in the bunch), but some fresh gags did.  Thanks, dude.

Here's one final sketch at full page size, taken to color and lighting.  I wonder if I would have saved myself a buttload of time by doing cleanup.  Why not test that on the next one-off (someday)?

It took forever to scan these and I've still got animation to do.  But, man, does it ever feel good to share.

Further deviations

For those who didn't see 'em yet.