Star Wars Mashup: Darth Jafar!

With Disney owning Star Wars, and new Star Wars movies being made, I felt it was finally time to do a Star Wars Mash-Up!  So here it is: Darth Jafar!  Kinda amazing how many of his features matched so well with Darth Vader's helmet!

A LuchaDoodle!

  Had a friendly challenge in a drawing group to do a Luchador painting. Which I forgot 'til the night of the deadline of the challenge. So this is what I pulled off in a handful of hours.

A Redesigned Pink Power Ranger

So I've decided to make a massive redesign concept for every Power Ranger. I started many moons ago with a Yellow Power Ranger for a work's weekly design challenge, but since then I kept revisiting old concepts for other rangers that were left on the cutting room floor, I thought, "Why NOT draw them all out?"
  So here's my final illustration for the Pink Power Ranger. Enjoy!

  And of course don't forget to check out my normal portfolio at www.ConceptCreature.com.  Thanks!

A Fish

Part of researching animals is finding out things. I found out they're NOT called "Bugged-Eyed Goldfish", but Black Moors.  There ya go! :)

  Wouldn't mind making this lil' fella into a game, one day!

A Drawing For Halloween

So thrilled! Finally have a real "big boy" desk! For the past fifteen years, I've sufficed with two crappy file cabinets and a door for the top as my desk. It worked fine, when you're in college and just need a solid surface, but now I've officially moved into a new house, and my office is the first room you pass when you're walking through the downstairs. So, in order to not make everyone's first impression of the place be, "Oh wow, what a junk heap..." I actually spent more on my desk than I did on the bloody refrigerator! But I'm pleased as punch with it, and I'm grateful that it's a tax deduction, since it's a work-related expense. My next upgrade will be an uber-powerful new computer that I'll build from scratch in order to have it beefed up enough to satisfy my need to have a good frame rate when I'm animating scenes in AfterEffects. Until then, here's my illustration for Halloween:

Just did a friendly art competition for my company's blog, called "It Won't Draw Itself." The challenge this week was to do a revamp of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I took it WAAAAYYY out into left field, and made the Yellow Ranger have more of a Geisha influence.

A Giant Brute

Weaponry

For years, I'd been hearing Art Directors tell me, "Your art is good, but we'd really like to see a whole series of weapons and other armor in your portfolio, as well." This advice was very good, and I thought it was good...and then proceeded to ignore, for years.
Finally, I got wise, and chose to go ahead and finally succumb to good advice. Sadly, it takes a while for it to sink in, LOL...


It was almost as much fun naming these as it was painting them!


A friend of mine suggested making a small publication, almost like a historical archive, that showcases the weapons and armor (and I'll be doing a wizard's staff sheet, as well) and documents this lost history that only this book will be a testament to. I think this is a great idea, and would be a great small publishing endeavor that I could then spring into bigger and better projects, if this small one bears fruit. Only time will tell.

Drawing of My Daughter

My daughter was sleeping in the car on our hectic drive across Florida this Easter weekend, and I took advantage of it to finally do a drawing of my cutie-patootie!

So Ya Wanna Be An Art Intern!

I just got to hire my first intern for my department at work a few weeks ago! That was exciting! However, going through the slush of blah artists made it less exciting, but dealing with the people that couldn't follow instructions was infuriating.
I made very straightforward instructions: give me your resume', five of your best art samples, a link to your website, and send it to my specific e-mail address. People couldn't even follow those instructions. I'd get two samples of art instead of five, they'd go check out our website, and instead of the e-mails coming directly to me, as instructed, they'd just sent it through the company, meaning my boss would get inundated by e-mails HE didn't want to deal with (that's why he hired me!) and even when I said I was looking for local artists, I'd still get the random e-mail from Spain, asking if it's okay if he/she would apply.
So, in an attempt to REALLY CLARIFY what potential art applicants should and shouldn't do, here's a quick, concise list for any aspiring artist to follow. (Psst! A lot of these rules apply to ANY job applicant, too, so don't bail it you're not the artsy kind!)

RULE 1: I'M NOT LOOKING TO HIRE A COPYING MACHINE. Oh, look, here's several pictures in your portfolio that are either a few filters on a professional photo or just you duplicating a well-shot photo of a current celebrity! Know how much I care about that? Not at all. I'm looking for ORIGINAL CONTENT. I want to hire you as an artist to create art out of your head, not copy a pre-made photograph. If that's what I wanted, I'd just buy the stock photo.

RULE 2: DON'T JUST DO THE BARE MINIMUM. You can tell what assignments a class gets when you see a million of the same thing in the student portfolios from the same college. With 3-D at my old college, it was that old-fashioned Mr. Munch robotic penny bank for modeling, and then the standard bouncing ball and walk cycle for animations. With illustration, it was the acrylic animal eye and watercolor face portraits that was in EVERY portfolio. Obviously, if all you're turning in is what you were assigned to do for a grade, you're not showing that you have much ambition or imagination. So why would I expect you to give me either if I hired you?

RULE 3: FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. If I ask for a cover letter, a resume, a link to a website, five of your best illustrations, and a specific e-mail to send applications to, you better do every damn step EXACTLY how I told you to! If you can't get those instructions right, trying to teach you the complexities and intricacies of how our company is run is just going to annihilate you! Or worse--waste a lot of my spare time trying to hold your hand through the process. P.S. Have another person read your cover letter if spelling isn't your strong suit. If you can't expend the extra energy to spell-check or proof your own cover letter, the employer's going to interpret that you don't care enough to get the job.

RULE 4: BASIC ART PRINCIPLES. Don't send me half-finished artwork! Don't send me art that clearly isn't applicable to what we do! If you include a figure drawing, finish the hands, feet, and face! Unfinished art always sends the wrong message to the art director.

RULE 5: WALK THE WALK. Don't act like you know a program or are familiar with a process that you're not. Eventually you'll be put to task on this thing you don't know, and if it's on a tight deadline and you don't deliver, you've pretty much given yourself your own termination notice. Downplay your ignorance, but emphasize your ENTHUSIASM to learn more! Honesty is always the best policy, and if you show a basic knowledge of the principles, it might just be enough to encourage a boss to give you a chance.

RULE 6: DON'T CALL US, WE'LL CALL YOU. Did you send your contact information via e-mail, on the cover letter, and include it on the resume? Was the e-mail bounced back to you? If yes to the first question, and no to the second, okay, assume we've got your information and art. Don't e-mail me right after, asking if I got your stuff. Follow-ups can get REALLY annoying if you're a busy art director. Obviously, you get an interview, sure, do a follow-up. But silence from the company is usually the best critique you can get about the applicability of the art you submitted. NOTE: It doesn't necessarily mean you're a BAD artist, but perhaps that what you submitted doesn't fit the need of what we currently are looking for.

RULE 7: THE JOB INTERVIEW DOESN'T END WHEN YOU'RE PICKED. If you're hired as an intern, it's basically a litmus test to see if you're a good fit. Hiring an intern means, "Hey, we're willing to give you a shot here, professionally, for cheap, and perhaps if things work out, we MIGHT give you full-time employment!" So don't act like you can relax. The real test starts, the minute you start working there. Be punctual. Be respectful. Get to know people. Get those people to like who you are. But most importantly, work your ASS off. Interns are hired to do menial tasks that higher more experienced labor A) Doesn't WANT to do, and B) are way too knowledgeable on other aspects of the company to do such a menial task. As an intern given the petty jobs, MAKE SURE YOU DO THEM RIGHT. And with a smile on your face! If you can't get the coffee order right, or scan things properly, or put files in the correct folder, how will they ever trust you with larger responsibilities on a giant team project? In addition, if you mope and complain about every task I give you, what makes you think I'll be eager to continue collaborating with you? I know it seems like a common sense philosophy, but I've seen many a person dig their own grave with just their attitude, alone, when it came to getting a full-time position. I will gladly take a more personable yet less talented team player under my wing than a more talented prick. People are already complex and demanding enough. Please don't complicate that for any one!

So those are the big rules. I'm sure I'll add to this as I think of other things. But it's the big strokes, and if you follow these rules, you'll probably at least have a better head-start than most applicants do. Good luck, and most importantly, keep on drawing!!!!

I'm On "The List!"

Well, I've never worked so hard for just the POSSIBILITY of being employed, but after jumping through several hoops, I've convinced one of the editors of Archie Comics that I'm qualified to be a colorist for them!
After sending him the pencils I did, he was complimentary about them, but said it was more organic than the polished style their comic book typically subscribes to. He was cool enough to send me some samples of finished pencils from previous comics that they had done, and I took one look at them, and said, "Oh, I can TOTALLY do that!" Fortunately, I just need to simplify my style, instead of having to step up my skills. But he also liked the colors in my original art, so he sent me a coloring test. Here's the first whack I took at it:

He liked it, but said to focus on the depth of the characters a bit more, and make sure there's a specific heirarchy to what takes the make attention of the viewer, and then sent me ANOTHER color test. Which ended up looking like this:

On this one, a few more notes were given, but he was confident that I had the right work ethic and skill to work with him, so I got the paperwork and contracts to sign, and I'm now on the "The List" of people he'll call when he needs some work done for colors.
He was also cool enough to send me another script to take a look at, so I could send him another pencil sample, 'cause I KNOW I can give him what he wants, it was just a matter of knowing what they were looking for, specifically. And since he sent me the pencil samples, now I'm confident I can pull it off. Coloring isn't the "pie-in-the-sky" dream that I imagined, but I also have been in the industry long enough to know that all you need is a foot in the door, and eventually the rest of the body will be invited, as well. So here's to having someone cool enough to give me a chance! Only better and better news from here on out!

My Take On Sonic

Been talking to a few editors since my return from San Diego ComiCon, and have an active dialogue going on with one of them from Archie Comics. Here's some spec work I did for them:

Sonic, Different P.O.V.'s:


Sonic, in action!


Knuckles Character Sheet:


The final Page Layout/Illustration, based off their page script:

Concept-A-Day

Each day, I try to draw a concept to keep my mind fresh, and keep the gears going. Some weeks I'm way ahead on my concepts, other weeks I've got so much work backlogged, I start to slack.
Remember, I've got a full-time job, plus a little lady to keep happy, PLUS I gotta work out or exercise on occasion (or what I like to call, "Fat Control"), so these sketches are done afterwards, on top of all of that. I also try to theme them, each week. I also like having the opportunity to experiment with different styles than what I normally do, or have the freedom to work on something different than what I currently am. Like most artists, very short attention span. Feel free to subscribe to this RSS Feed, in case you like a bit of visual inspiration each day!

April 30-May 11, 2008: Car/vehicle designs