Transfomation

Vehicle Mode

Transformation

Pass 20


Pass 21

Thoughts on The Spiderwick Chronicles movie

I enjoyed this movie. What makes it so great is that like Narnia, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, it uses real life events and emotion to ground itself in reality. The heart of the story revolves around a recently divorced Mother with a teenage girl Mallory and twin boys Jarod & Simon. The story mostly focuses on Jarod who is having a really hard time adjusting to the divorcé. I won't spoil it but there’s a nice resolution to his feelings in the final battle.

But this is a Fantasy movie after all so let’s talk about that aspect. Jarod finds a book in a secret room in the house that they moved into that belongs to an ancestor Arthur Spiderwick. There of course is a warning that says don't read the book and of course he does. Arthur Spiderwick found out about a secret world of Goblins, Fairies and other creatures that can only be seen if the creature wants you to see them or if you use a special stone with a hole in it.

I thought that the creatures were well animated and the characters fun. The camera angles, shot and lighting where well thought out. There were a few things that I was disappointed about. I thought that while everything was understandable it was a little rushed and was looking near the end for a set up for the next book in the series. But when I looked on Wikipedia I found out that they had condensed all five books into one movie. But it was well done I thought. I kind of wish they would have made it a series, but I guess with how badly some other fantasy movies have been I guess that they didn't have faith in it.

I was also disappointed with how the main boss was killed; I thought that it was a little improbable. But all in all I enjoyed the movie and was left wanting more, which in this case was a good thing.

Crouching

Pass 19

Action Poses

Lots of Transformers

Pass 13 -16 It takes a lot of different drawings for a designer to figure out wht the character will look like.

Labyrinth

Recently I recieved a copy for Christmas of Labyrinth at an after Thanksgiving sale at Best Buy for $4. It brings back a lot of memories. Its a total 80's movie with the Synthetic keyboard music, the dated but still really cool effects, Jennifer Conolly at 14 years old and of course David Bowie and his music. I remember as a kid being amazed at the scene where The Gobin King (David Bowie) makes the crystal ball move around his fingers with out falling to the ground. Watching the Behind the scenes feature I found out that a juggler stood behind him and that was actually the fugglers arm that we see doing the cool trick. I also loved the Esler scene at the end with the stairways and how the Gobin Kings is upside down and then flips up to a different level. Mostly I like all of the awsome Jim Henson puppets. Such artistry, The design actually reminds me of an artist named James Christianson and his style. The poster at top is great also.

Refinement Process

Pass 11

Pass 12

More thoughts on Wicked

I didn't mention some of the great supporting roles and other odds and ends that I loved. Joanne Worley played Madame Morrible in our showing and gave an excelent performance. Very sneaky, seems nice at first and then as she rises in power her real stripes apear, very Wicked. Another great character, though very briefly was Dr. Dillamund, very good about propelling the story forward. Lastly I just loved Fiyero, It was really fun watching him interact with Galinda as an airhead. But then as the play progressed he became more thoughtful and grew to love Elphaba.

Missle Launcher Transformer

Im starting to lock in the basic look, but Im still playing with a lot of things. I am also trying to figure out a name.

Attempt 7

Attempt 8


Attempt 9


Attempt 10

Thoughts on Wicked: The Musical

I was in Borders a few months ago and was listening to music and thought that I would give it a try and take it home. I fell in love with it. I love the messages of figuring out what’s important in life and about change and how much effect we can actually have in a person’s life. I also love the tongue in cheek humor that makes fun of the original movie while still paying deep respect for the material.

This Christmas Charlotte got me tickets for us to got see the play last Saturday. Man what an experience it was! I have been listening to the soundtrack a lot so it was really hard getting used to the difference in cast members. But at the same time even though they did do things differently they toke the parts and made them their own. I love how Galinda (who later changes her name to Glinda) is so bouncy and an airhead basically. And how Elphaba's (the Wicked Witch of the West) sullenness plays off her. So even though I didn't quite like the difference in who played the two main characters they really did an excellent job of making the characters their own and running with them.

I also loved Henry Gale or the Wizard. He's such a slimy little Politician. Always giving people what they think they want and twisting the truth to convince people of his way of thinking and even getting them to fulfill his needs. The character reminds me of a character named Benjamin Linus on Lost. He acts like he’s a good character and goes be the name of Henry Gale. He’s constantly lying and using people to get his way.




The set design was just awesome. I am always when I see a Broadway production and their set pieces and how they move around and transform to fit each scene. I loved how the gears move as some of the parts move around. I loved the giant dragon the sits perched above the stage. I’m still not quite sure what it was for, but none the less still very cool. The Wizards Mechanical Faces was pretty awesome also how it looked like the Wizards face.



The costumes were phenomenal. I love the bold shapes and colors use to portray mood and personality of each scene and character. Another thing that I loved was the chorography. I love how during Fiyero's song "Dancing Through Life" the characters are trying to study and little by little they are drawn into a dance. I just love the acting of that scene. Another great thing is the monkeys, I just loved how they moved like real monkeys, running around and climbing things just like a real monkey would.

All in all a very good performance!

Here’s a link to the Wikipedia page for a storyline and history of the Musical.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_%28musical%29

Wicked Poster

I love this poster design so much. Its so simple with only about six different colors used. The contrast between the White of Galinda and the Black/ Green of Elphaba (The Witch) is very striking. The use of black to frame Elphaba's face draws your attention very well to it and make a strong focal point. I also love how the closeness of the characters shows their closeness and friendship, but the little smile also shows the potential for Wickedness in Elphaba.

The only thing that bugs me is Galinda's arm. Her forarm is to short. It's shorter then the length of her hand. All in all though a very effective poster.

Decepticon Sketches

Pass 5

Pass 6


Vehicle Design: Missile Launcher


While at an Animation event I sketched people.

One shall stand, one shall fall

Pass 4

More Then Meets the Eye

I usually make many different versions of a design before I settle on one that I like.

2nd version
3rd Version

Transformer

Im also working on designing my own Transformer that actually transforms for a portfolio piece.

Armadillo

More Armadillo

Lost: Jack, Kate & Sawyer

I finished these about a month ago, but have been so busy with other things that I haven't had the time to post them.

Jack


Kate


Sawyer


This is a page that I print and cut out on magnet paper and use for give aways at the comicbook stores that carry my Sketchbooks.

Carol to the King Final

This is what I ended up with. Because of money though the flyers have been printed in black & white on green paper. The posters will be black & white on white paper.

Carol to the King

These Rough sketches are some ideas that I have come up with to design flyers, a program and others things for an up coming church chior program. The squglle lines are where text would go.


This Little Drummer Boy design would probably be done with Pastels.



This one would be done in Adobe Illustrator with a more graphic approach.

Armadillo & Rabbit Sketches

These images were actually drawn before the previous ones. More for story ideas & poses for my childrens book then for finding a design like the previous posts. The object that the Armadillo is holding is a Snow Globe.

More Armadillo

With these sketches Im just playing with shapes to find something that I like and to lead me to new ideas.