Animation Exercises

I took a fairly beginner animation class last semester, and here are some of the exercises I landed up doing:











These were just in-class motion exercises, so they are all really rough.

SELF PORTRAY

For illustration class semester we're supposed to keep a sketchbook, and do drawings based on a different theme every week. The first theme was to draw yourself in whatever style you wished, as long as you did not look at a mirror or photo while doing so.

Naturally, mine turned out pretty dang silly. That's just how I am:

School Work

Here's a few things I did for my classes this year:

One of our Illustration projects was to draw someone famous. I drew Danny Elfman. For some reason it feels weird to me when you draw someone who is still alive.


The above is an acrylic painting for a different class. It doesn't really make any sense, I know. It was based off of a dream I had, and my dreams are always weird.
This last painting... well. It's a lion. Hopefully you could tell that.

Matchstick Tiger

Tiger made out of matchsticks. It's a rework for a project in Illustration II. It's made out of around 4,000 matches.

Here it is messed around with in photoshop. Design is not my forte, unfortunately.

Dinosaur Project Concept Sketches 2

Dinosaur Project Concept Sketches 1

I scanned some of the concept sketches I did for my group's Dinosaur project. They are very rough ideas.

Pteradons and some dudes:Some general concepts, including a rough sketch of a "jungle" area:A whoooole bunch of sketches of the raptor character:Sketch of a Styracosarus and his size in comparison to his rider:A more detailed raptor head. None of these are scientifically accurate at all, haha:This is all I have for now. The scanner I was using at the school started acting all weird. I have some more that I'll scan tomorrow, hence the "Part 1."

Couple o' Sketches

Just a few little things from my sketchbook.As you can tell from this next one, my favorite things to draw are kitty cats.This last one is part of a project that I've been working on forever. I just can't seem to get it right.

Skateboard Design for Illustration Class

Sorry for the lack of updates. Getting sick caused me to fall behind on my schoolwork, and it basically took me until now to get caught back up.

Anyway, for my Illustration II class we had to make a design for a skateboard, by painting directly onto an actual skateboard deck. My theme was Mexico City, using a "modern" Aztec style. Um, it was fun?There's an unseen detail to it. Last semester I mixed black light sensitive paint in with a project I did for a class, because the theme of the project was a song/band whose era went with the blacklight theme. A couple of my classmates told me to bring that back just for fun, so here is how the skateboard appears under blacklight:

I apologize for the poor photo quality and the shoddy photoshop splicing on the blacklight version. I didn't have the time to take better photos before it was due for class.

Raptor Color Concepts

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I've had a rotten cold.

Here are some test color schemes for the raptor character I am designing for my Intro to Video Game Production class.

The various feather patterns and skin patterns are based off of animal indigenous to Mesoamerica.

Masquerade Mask Made With Common Dorm Room Junk

MIAD's annual masquerade ball is tomorrow night... and I find myself without the most important aspect of my costume - a mask!

Due to time and monetary constraints, I'm going to attempt to construct one out of whatever I happen to have in my dorm.

Which seems to be mostly paper plates, masking tape, an old spent glowstick mask, some feathers, and my glue gun.

Let this serve as the "before" picture:


I will update this post with WIP pics, as well as post the final mask when it's done.

That's assuming I can turn a pile of crap into a mask without any real planning. Well, it's worth a shot.

WIP 1:

I have a general idea now of what I'm doing, although I'm not quite sure of how well I'll be able to pull it off. The paper plates are a great resource.

WIP 3:


Masking tape + paper plates = strange jaguar mask?

Dinosaur Coloring Practice for Class

Just a few practice drawings in photoshop, trying to figure out color schemes for our Dinosaur game in class.

First one was pink/purple for some reason:


This next one was an attempt to translate the color scheme of a jaguar to a tyrannosaurus rex. I was inspired by photos I took at the zoo this last weekend.

Concept Art assignment for "Introduction to Video Game Production" Class

One of my classes this semester is an elective entitled, "Introduction To Video Game Production." In this class we are learning about creating the art assets that would be used in the creation of a modern video game. This includes the concept art, 3D modeling, texturing, and environmental design... if we have time for it.

Our class was split into groups, each of which had to come up with a concept for a game. The group was then responsible for creating the art assets for its imaginary production.

The group that I landed up being in quickly decided upon a theme of "dinosaurs," since we are all closet dino nerds at heart. It's hard to find a subject that's cooler than dinosaurs, anyway.

Right now we are just beginning to create the concept art. We decided on the main types of dinosaurs that would appear in our game, but not much else. I'm going to be spending all night doodling dinosaur character concepts with my tablet, and I will upload them to this post as I finish them.

I must say this is one hell of a fun homework assignment.

My sketches so far (click for larger image):

Discovery World and MIAD Collaboration

On Friday the Milwaukee science museum named "Discovery World" invited MIAD students to come and decorate a blank wall in their building. Discovery World and MIAD have a partnership, which includes free admission for all MIAD students into the museum.

Personally, I love the place. Whenever I am stressed out I visit their aquariums. Their exhibits are interesting and top notch.

In a section of the building dedicated to the study of electricity, Discovery World has an electric eel on display in a tank. I decided my contribution to the wall would be a painting of this eel, since I think he's pretty dang cool:Please note that he is not completely finished in this photo, and that the area around him had not been painted yet.

I didn't get as many photos of the event as I would have liked to, but here is a general overview of the work in progress:
I think its wonderful that Discovery World would present an opportunity like this to us, and I hope that they continue to do so in the future!