Strange Fruit

Graphite, Colored pencil and ink

Storyboard_Commercial

I was asked to storyboard a commercial that my brother was directing for a client. I found photo references then composed the requested moments in Photoshop.

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Process_Web Button

This was a fun project I was given the chance to work on. The end use was a web button/logo, 65 x 45 pixels in size. The necessary elements were the two words “student voice” and some kind of graphic. The speech bubble was suggested, and after thinking about other visuals that say “speech” (e.g. microphone, megaphone, mouth), I determined that the speech bubble would be the quickest visual “read” and would be the most scalable without loss of detail or legibility.

Step 1: Rough sketches on post-it notes.

Step 2: Investigate type options and start “sketching” out some idea roughs to investigate possible arrangements of visual elements.

Step 3: Select a final layout. Since I wanted the logo to grab some interest I experimented with various visual stylings which I pitched to the project manager.

Jack-O Test Page

I drew and inked this action page to put Jack’s design through its paces. Minimal flat colors in PS just for fun.

T-shirt Ill-snow-tration

A friend asked me to design a t-shirt for a High School youth group snow trip. The parameters: Make it cool, humorous (possibly involving a chihuahua), limit 3 colors.

Step 1:  comb the ether for color, typographic and layout samples as well as images to base my vector illustrations on.

Step 2: Take chihuahua model into PS to clean up. I realized before I got too far into the cleanup that the t-shirt would lend itself well to a symmetrical design which would cut the vector time in half. Thanks, Von. I played with the levels sliders to help find relevant details in the pooch’s face.

Step 3: Vectorize!

Step 4: Play with type and color.

 

Christmas sketching

My two contributions to a Christmas game/activity. By chance I chose both “s’s” to decorate. I tried to select two extremes. Colored pencil and ink on butcher paper.

Jack O – 2 Heads Version (Round)

In college I had the opportunity to hear several animation industry types discuss character design. During the presentation, Doug Tennapel (Earthwork Jim, The Neverhood, Tommysaurus Rex, Earthboy Jacobus, Bad Island, Iron West) was showing a sketchbook filled with character designs for a proposed animation project that never materialized on screen but eventually became the basis for his graphic novel Creature Tech. One thing he stressed was that it was the job of the designer was to think through every possible difficulty or question that an animator might encounter in the process of animating a character. To demonstrate his point, his sketchbook was filled with page after page of the same heads, refining and exploring the shapes involved to maximize its “animatability”.

I’ll keep on posting designs of Jack O to demonstrate the thought process involved in his creation and development. This version is a 2 heads version incorporating a round head and a pudgy body like that of a 1-year-old. The head is a rounded octagon and most of the shapes and corners are also rounded to create an innocent, friendly appearance. Characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost share similar designs.

Using “heads” as a measuring device is common in figure drawing, comics, and animation. In Anime and Manga, “Chibi” characters are usually 2 heads tall to create cute and comedic versions of normally proportioned characters. The key to using this design convention is in remembering that fewer “heads” equates to less height for the body (since one of the heads will be the actual head of the character. This results in a younger, cuter look (babies have larger heads in proportion to their bodies). More heads begins to age the character. Seven eight heads creates superheroic proportions and anything higher emphasizes strength (often minimizing apparent intelligence) and eventually monstrosity or absurdity.

Jack O – Model Sheet

Model sheets are important for maintaining consistency in a character’s design. By creating a front, side and 3/4 view, a five-position model sheet can be made. Just copy and paste the front and 3/4 views, then convert them to 3/4 back and back views by flipping them and making slight modifications to the characters clothing etc. A good silhouette works forward or backward. It’s a little bit like the “young woman or old crone” optical illusion. Imagine the image of Jack in the bottom left corner as if he was running away instead of toward the viewer. By changing a few lines it works just as well as the forward moving figure.

The other artwork is designed to give a sense of how the character moves and emotes.

Digital Collage

I just grabbed some scans, old artwork, and textures and reworked them into a loose, crazy composition. I played around with layer styles, stacking order, and masks to achieve a look I thought looked interesting. There was no real objective, just playing around. It’s a great way to repurpose artwork and free up the imagination.

Jack O – Pumpkin of Mystery

Here’s a peak at a new character/project. More to come on this fine, grinning fellow.