Digital Sketchbook 6.13.2014

Sketching with a 1 pixel brush in Photoshop. The focus was, in priority order: 1. Capture a likeness/spirit of the character. 2. Use a single line to convey a surface/part of the subject in space. 3. Use as few lines as possible to convey those ideas. 4. Don't erase/use undo. The photos were found on http://www.humansofnewyork.com/, an awesome resource for character inspiration.

More Color Studies

Some more quick color studies, about 45 minutes each. These are both shots from Ocean's 11. Screen grabs come from the awesome resource film-grab.com.

Color Study - 35 min.

Color study - 35 min. After an amazing value and color demo from ethan dean (http://ethandeanart.blogspot.com/) today, I decided to try the quick "20%" method of simply studying color/value in an image. This was super fun and helpful, hopefully the first of many. The screen grab is from Hobo With a Shotgun (courtesy of filmgrab.com).

Boss Arena - Concept Art

I've been super excited to be on the visual development team for the BYU Computer Science Department's upcoming video game, Boss Arena. The game itself revolves around pure boss fights, the main character warping into an area and instantly in a fight to the death. I chose to design the desert boss.

The idea for this guy is that you slice him in the middle, and he splits into two pieces. The more you slice, the smaller the pieces get, but they also become more aggressive - eventually turning into the raging little guys on the right before they can be completely destroyed. Below are some body designs and silhouette concepts for him:  

Although he is still in development, I'm having a blast designing him and thinking of all the possible attacks and things he could do. Video game design really gets me pumped. More to come!

Ram's Horn - Concept Art

As part of the concept team for the upcoming BYU animated short Ram's Horn, I've made a few designs for props and characters during the visual development phase of the project. The style has been tricky, but here are some of my favorites from the process:

My version of one of the film's main characters, "Rambo".

These are different badges/buttons that would be included on the climber character's backpack and gear.

My version of the film's main character, "Andre".

The Killers - Official Music Video [Concept & More!]

I had the incredible opportunity to work on the animated portion of The Killer's Christmas in L.A. official music video. I was part of the concept team that developed several of the characters and extras seen in the film. I also was able to animate and revise a few of the shots that are seen in the video. Several cool facts about it: 1. It was all for charity. The Killers donated all proceeds to the RED foundation. 2. Owen Wilson was in it. 3. I got to draw and animate Owen Wilson. Enough said. Below are some of my favorite pieces that were done in that 3 week period:

  These are designs that were made for the ex-girlfriend character.

And the line art.

These were concepts for hopeful actors that would be standing in a line, waiting for their audition.

The girl and the one with the hat from the last image made it into the final version of the film.

 These were designs for the family of the ex-girlfriend character. The idea was that they would be taking a photo for a Christmas card; this can be seen (with altered faces) around the middle of the music video.

These were designs made for the snowflakes that appeared at the end of the video. You can catch a glimpse of them as Owen is stretching out his hand toward the sunlight.
All in all, it was a super great experience. I thought the video turned out fantastic regardless of the manic 3-week period in which it was made. There were long nights, but it was definitely worth it in the end. Thanks to all who were involved!

Harold the Heavy

This is Harold. Harold is the bodyguard/bouncer for the local midget Tycoon who runs all the electro-rave night clubs in town. He has the IQ of a cucumber and the strength of ten rhinos. Designed for a short storyboard exercise back in Fall 2013.