UP!!!

We saw Pixar's latest, Up, today. It was amazing! I absolutely loved it, from start to finish. For me, it's right up there in my favorite films of all-time (along with Ratatouille and Toy Story). I highly recommend it!

Oh, one last thing. We saw it in 3D, which wasn't too bad. I think the whole 3D thing in general is still a wee bit gimmicky, but these guys did a good job not beating the audience over the head with it.

Oh, and the 3D glasses made everyone look like they dressed up like Carl Fredricksen for the movie.

Nicely done, Pete Docter and Pixar!

Friday Open Drawing

So I learned two things about myself today during the Open Drawing Session.... 1) I draw a million times better when I'm relaxed (duh!), and 2) I am a million times more relaxed during drawing sessions when I listen to music and don't worry about the people around me. So I tried applying these two epiphanies today, and I must say they worked! My drawings may not be the best in the world, but I actually came out of there happy with my work instead of frustrated!

Here's what I got (some didn't photograph so well-- sorry):

Baby Time!

Mary's gonna be induced in about two weeks.... and life will be turned upside down (and backwards). We're excited!



Another piece for the Y Not Art Blog.

Only the Good Sketchbooks Die Young

Time for a sketch dump.

This is my wife and the cute little guy she babysits.


Quick anatomy study (on my own. Really!).



The legendary Uncle Bruce (and some cousins).


Wiffle Ball home-run derby


The fam.



And lastly, some character designs for an upcoming project o' mine.

The Field of 10,000 Lollipops....

Legends tell of a valley of rolling hills, where delicious lollipops sprout from the ground like weeds (except they're delicious); these fields are said to be guarded by the fiercest beast imaginable, the dreaded nipple-less centaur Grock. The brave knight, Sir Davish MacMiddle, boldly sets out to find the rumored oasis, slay the monstrous creature, and feast on the endless lollies.
After a long, arduous journey, he stumbles on the coveted fields... only to find that Grock got a little hungry...

Another piece for the Y Not Art Blog.

Diving Back In

So the past couple days I've gotten back into the figure drawing game (after a tiny break). I'd forgotten how much fun it is!
These were from the Friday Open Drawing Session at school. There were only two people there the whole time (one other person dropped in for an hour). It was pretty dead. But still fun.
Mostly gestures. The second one down I really ran out of room for the head (beats drawing it poorly I guess).






"A work of art can never be really finished; it is abandoned."
--Brooke McEldowney
Thanks again, Bob and Bev!

Bluffington's Dark Knight

Doug was my favorite show growing up, hands-down. Not Disney's Doug, mind you. We're talking old-school, early-nineties, one of the three original NickToons Doug. This is one of the few shows that not only hold up over the years, but it's actually gets better with age (like a fine cheese or George Burns). Unfortunately it hasn't seen a really big DVD release yet (just a burn-on-demand from amazon.com).

Jim Jinkins and Fred Newman are geniuses. Just so you know.

I whipped up this little piece for the Y Not Art Blog. The topic was "favorite show as a kid".


In other non-news, I've added a snazzy little feature to this blog: I call it "Three You Must See". It's over in the right-hand column. Basically every so often I'll list three blogs that have caught my attention lately, in an effort to share the love. Good stuff over there! Check it out!

Also, being an insanely religious person, I decided to start a blog for the spiritual side of me. I call it Me and My Hope. Feel free to take a look if you're interested.

Thanks!

Maya Final

Here's the final for my Intro to Maya class. I think it turned out okay...
I really enjoyed this class. Maya was intimidating all the way through, but I somehow survived. I think I'll take a similar class (meant for animation majors) in the fall, just to get a better handle on this stuff.

I GOT IN!!!!!

Okay, I checked my info on the BYU website today, and my major has been officially changed from Pre-Animation to Animation! Wahoo! I am so so so excited!

Thanks to all of you for all your help, advice, support, whatever! Good luck to the rest of you applicants! I hope we all get in!

Top o' the morning to ye

This is another piece for the Y Not Art Blog. The topic was what we look like first thing in the morning.
Oh, and this was my first ever attempt at digital painting! Kinda fun. Kinda hard. Used Photoshop with photo reference.