Creature Sketch

I enjoy digital painting.  was sketching and ended up with this creature head, possibly a by-product of having Star Trek on in the background. It might not be amazing but amazing is not the point. Keep working towards your talents and goals and rewards will ensue.

Illustration Work

 

Here's an illustration I did for an announcement for my sister-in-law. The theme for her baby shower was to be woodland. I decided to create 3 woodland creatures and then make them look female specifically. I started with the line work. I worked very light, kinda the usual for me.

 

Next, I jumped in with the coloration at full strength if I was illustrating it myself. I built the colors up using layers and then softening them as needed to achieve the desired degree of hue or chroma.

Last, I added the touches of femininity as bows and eyelashes. For the use as an invitation, I subdued the boldness of the colors to achieve a softer appearance. I'm pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books Of Morris Lessmore iPad App Teaser from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.


I was recently blown away when I was introduced to an inviting story and a wonderful little app created by a team of artists at Moonbot Studios. What they did is nothing short of amazing. If you have been following my blog you may have picked up the hint that I'm a fan of animation and have been my whole life. This story and the presentation grabbed my attention and had me checking all over the web to figure out what they're all about.

Let me take a step back, if you aren't familiar with Mr. Morris Lessmore he is a character in an animated short film. Historically, short films have been used to push the boundaries of the art and science of animation and also to develop and foster growth and new leadership from the artistic team. Normally these short films are enjoyed by the audience but the love stops there...never paying the bills (or artistic team). To pay for the artistic work, feature films have been the expensive necessity (which would require even more debt or capital to fund any endeavour).

Mr. Morris Lessmore blew my socks off because here this team is able to think outside of the box, analyze today's new culture, and find a creative way to create a widget that people want and are willing to pay for. You received my applause Moonbot Studios in the form of purchasing the app and short film, an investment well worth it. The app is doing amazing right now in the Apple App Store (currently #27 on the Top Paid iPad Apps list). On top of that iTunes has made selling your short film to the public easy and affordable. Now for only a couple of dollars you can have access on your phone to the sweat, frustration, and tears of an entire creative team.

Inspiring work. Fellow contributors, think outside of the box, go places where no one has even thought of going before. New markets are opening up that will cherish your work and follow you, like you, and even inspire you to keep it up. Don't let anyone discourage you from pursuing your dreams...especially yourself. Some of the greatest obstacles you'll ever face were built brick by brick by your own two hands. It's not wrong to lay bricks...just make sure your paving a brick path that leads you on and up. Congratulations Mr. Morris Lessmore, you have my attention and admiration.



(Picture and clip are referenced from http://www.morrislessmore.com/ and http://www.moonbotstudios.com/. Check them out and let me know what you think.)

 http://www.morrislessmore.com/
http://www.moonbotstudios.com/

Character Design Contest

Here's the entries for the character design contest. There were some great entries, good job everyone.

My picture was inspired by Nate’s story that he’s currently working on and the hardworking fairies in it. I’m not good at faces but I love costumes so I wanted to explore what they would wear.

Aubrey S

I wanted to work on giving my character emotion this time around and also see if I could create the same character twice in different settings and different angles and see if they really looked like the same character. I am happy with the emotions - one being quiet and focused, and the other proud and excited. I am not sure if they look at all alike though. Thank you for the book ideas. I am excited to learn more.

Kristi G

I was exploring the character design of the main character of a story I’m currently writing for my baby daughter. It’s all about the Tooth Fairy and how she becomes famous all over the world. I’m pretty happy with where I have gotten to, although it may not be the final product.

Nate S

Here are some quick sketches followed by explorations of the gestures applied to the character designs:

Scott W