Maquette Sculpt: Guillermo's Armature

Guillermo Armature: Front

Guillermo Armature: Side

Despite being very busy with the short, I am still managing to fit in some time to work on my sculpt. The front and side (pictured above) are of the armature as it looks now. I will be bolting the feet to the base tonight and building up rigidity with plumbers epoxy and magic sculpt. The armature does look like more than I need for just a sculpt on a base, but I am learning a "short hand" to armature building which I will use for my next sculpt, hopefully of "Britannicus." You will notice that he doesn't have hands. I usually sculpt those separately and then plug them in towards the end before I do a final bake off. Here is the armature for the hands:

And something to show a bit of the scale:

As far as the Calamity project goes, I just finished designing props yesterday and I am on to color tests for the two characters as well as designing foreground and background elements for compositing. The stagecoach framework, (based on the shapes in my stagecoach design) was completed by Tyson's Dad and it is a work of art in and of itsself. You can check it out at the production blog by clicking on the pic below.

The Deadwood Stage: Framework and Animation Rig

Next stage on the Guillermo Maquette is to actually get sculpting. :) I am so excited to get that ball rolling, hopefully I will have it done in the next couple of weeks. That's all for now, thanks for looking and check back soon!

The Art Of Calamity Jane: Team Effort.

Ball and Socket Armature in progress (Machined/Constructed by Alex Yee), placed over my front orthographic drawing of Calamity.

For the past month or so Calamity Jane has been keeping me busy. At this point it takes priority over my other projects, though I have found that working on it has helped me organize my time better so I can work on my own personal projects intermittently. Working on this also inspires me tremendously. While I am allowed a good amount of creative freedom, what really inspires me is the team work. It's the first time I've been part of something bigger than myself or my work. I am so proud of it and proud of the progress we have made in such a short amount of time and with such tight deadlines. The group of guys I am working with are very much professionals in their craft. Talking shop with them is a pleasure and I am just thankful that I have this opportunity to learn so much more than I could have ever learned on my own about designing characters for animation. At the moment I am designing props. I just finished mouth shapes for Calamity to aid in the lipsynch and there is much more work ahead.

In other projects, I started working on my maquette armature for Guillermo and I should have it finished by the end of this week. I've decided to sculpt him in Sculpey instead of NSP. It's for the best since I may want to paint him when I am done. I will post a few pictures of my progress soon. For the time being, click on the picture above and check out the work being done on Calamity Jane. Thanks for looking.

Maquette Sculpt: Turning Guillermo

I drew some turns for Guillermo this weekend in between working on the short. Surprisingly enough, it didn't take me too long to complete them. Next I'll blow these drawings up so that he is about a foot tall. From there I'll be planning and building my wire armature as well as the base for the maquette.

One thing I have always had problems with when drawing turns is the 3/4 pose. This time around I started with the 3/4 and drew the rest of the turns from there. I don't know why I'd never thought of that before, it made the whole process much smoother. Can't wait to translate this guy into clay. Expect frequent updates as I continue to work on this project. :)

Sketchbook Stuff 02/26/11

Just wanted to post a couple of pages from my sketchbook. I love seeing other artists sketchbooks especially when they leave notes to themselves in it. I can relate to that... Sometimes I even write my grocery list in there.

I used to carry around a larger sketchbook but recently I've been drawing it a tiny Moleskine notebook. I find that in a larger book I tend to get bogged down by details instead of looking at the whole picture. It's a much better way to get my ideas out. I still manage to draw a ton of details even in my small sketches. One of the guys I am working with was actually surprised that the preliminary sketches I had sent them for the short were all done on a page no larger than 3 1/4 X 5 1/2.

Anyway, I decided to give Guillermo a buddy... Probably his only human friend Umberto. He is a little tubby and very loyal. I fixed his hair color in Photoshop per my notes :). I've also been designing more creatures... I have yet to know what the 'Satchel-mouth" eats. The last one is my first sketch of "Quillard." It gives you a good idea of what his color will be like.

In the next week I will be working hard on the short... I have to draw a series of face shapes for the main character and I also have to finish turns for the secondary character. I will also be finishing turns for Guillermo, and begin work on an armature for a maquette... So much work! Loving every minute of it... Check back again soon!

More Friends For Guillermo

"Quillard" Col-Erase Pencil.

"The Birth of Britannicus" Col-Erase Pencil

I've been keeping busy lately with sketches for my story idea. These guys just keep popping out of my head and onto my sketchbook, its interesting to see how they develop. The first drawing is of what I call a "Shark-faced Quillard" (or just "Quillard" for short;). He drinks ink until he is almost bursting and shoots it out tips of his quills.

The second drawing is the birth of "Britannicus" the Textbook/Encyclopedia eating Beast. An Illustrator friend of mine had the idea that they would become larger the more they ate, and I thought it would be interesting if they incubated in Guillermo's desk.

I will be coloring these this week in between working on the short. I am also drawing some turns for Guillermo as a maquette reference. Hopefully I can get the armature done by next week. I would also like to sculpt other characters. Aside from developing the story, my other objective is to flesh these characters out as much as possible so that in theory they could be animated.

Anyway, I've been having a great time working on this and the short. It seems that inspiration knows no bounds these days... I've produced more work in the last month than I have in the last three years... Exciting times! Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more.

Guillermo

"Gullermo" Character sheet

"Britannicus" Pose. Col-erase Pencil.

Aside from doing visual development on the stop-motion project, I've also been working on a story idea. Initially a portfolio building exercise, I am now developing a story based on the main character Guillermo. He is loosely based on Guillermo Del Toro and his penchant for keeping a sketchbook full of creature designs. My Guillermo is a schoolboy who does much the same thing although his beasts really come to life and consume the things that make his life difficult. That is the general thread at this point but I am sure it will grow to encompass much more and include a cast of monsters each with their own unique personalities and purposes. I will be working on character model sheets for all the characters, and I've even thought of doing a few maquettes in clay. At this point I am thinking of it as an idea for a children's book, age range around 8-10. Stay tuned for more!

Goings On...

WOW so much to update. A ton of things have cropped up lately. For one I am developing a story for a children's book. It's still in the very early stages, but it looks promising. It initially started as a portfolio building exercise but it is slowly taking on a life of its own. I will post a few of my sketches here soon.

Besides that, I was recently asked to head visual development for a Stop-Motion short. So far I have been designing characters for the film. Designs for the two lead characters have been approved and I am finishing turns so the characters can be sculpted in clay. I will also be responsible for designing the foreground/background elements, props, and other peripheral characters. YES I have my work cut out for me, but I am having so much fun working with these guys! Judging by their last film, they are two very talented and dedicated artists in their own right. Once we are further along I will post a few of the designs. Out of respect for the production, I am keeping things on the "down-low" for now.

With that, I'll leave you with a quick sketch/speed (Photoshop) painting I did recently. This is an homage to Chris Sanders ("Lilo and Stitch," "How To Train Your Dragon"). I've always admired his work so I thought I would try my hand at some Sanderesque appeal! :) I know it may be wishful thinking, but I hope "How To Train Your Dragon" wins best animated film!



More to come! :)