Animated Thought Process

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

2011-10-10T14:59:00.001-07:00

Trial of Frank James 2

2011-08-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

Trial of Frank James 1

2011-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

Frank James

2011-07-05T20:54:00.001-07:00

Building suggestions

2011-07-03T17:16:00.001-07:00

Collected

2011-06-28T03:20:00.000-07:00

Leftovers 2

2011-06-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

Leftovers

2011-06-23T03:20:00.000-07:00

Movie & Cat Studies

2011-06-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

The second page are studies from one of my favorite blogs:

http://the-asphalt-jungle.tumblr.com/

Great mistakes

2011-06-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

Lots of great mistakes in this one:

Quick study

2011-06-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

Nice work Dreamworks!

2011-06-04T04:04:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all the animators on KFP 2. The action sequences were especially well done!

Pitch

2011-05-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Done by same guys who made the Kenny vs Spenny tv show, Pitch was their first documentary film. Personally I'm not a fan of the Jackass style humor of the later seasons but I enjoyed their documentary and the "Who can sell more bibles" episode.

Color

2011-04-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

Colored version -not quite finished but close enough to post:

Untitled from Jeremy Hopkins on Vimeo.

I'm adding in a few illustration samples and wanted to avoid some of the cliches from the animation. Here's some of my research sketches from the folks at coffee row in the morning. They always have great conversations and makes it easier to get some stronger personalities. None of the older folks walk the same either because of hip or leg problems.

Quick test

2011-04-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Quick animation test for club penguin.

Style studies

2011-03-29T11:54:00.001-07:00

Sami's Travels

2011-03-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

Lincoln Force

2011-03-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

This idea belongs to the folks at Giant bomb but I thought it would be fun to see it as a Sunday morning strip:

2011-03-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

Sketches for Japan

2011-03-15T23:20:00.001-07:00

Will Eisner's 'Observer'

2011-03-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

'Observer' is from New York The Big City and it's one of my favorite Will Eisner comics. I've studied it along with Billy Wilder's The Apartment and borrowed lighting from Gregg Toland as the inspiration for my comic. I can't do any of these men justice but it was very enjoyable to an in depth study of their work.

Pages 1 - 4 of my comic

Black Swan

2011-03-02T01:47:00.000-08:00

Black Swan. WOW!

Part 3 of 3

2011-02-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of 3

2011-02-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

Part 1 of 3

2011-02-16T04:39:00.000-08:00

First act of story I've roughed out. Just wanted to develop a simple character story, similar to a Billy Wilder film mixed with Will Eisner's 'Observer' from New York The Big City, and base it off of stories I've collected over the years. Drawing and writing are always hard and neither are strong points but at very least, I hope it feels sincere and honest.

Valentine's Day Card

2011-02-15T05:21:00.000-08:00

This one was made for my girlfriend who enjoyed Tangled and I thought an asian Rapunzel would be fitting. She puts up with my late nights, excessive working hours and many more shenanigans- it was the least I could do

Cole Younger

2011-02-14T02:12:00.000-08:00

An early, derivative of Mary Blair, sketch of Cole Younger from the Jesse James wild west stories. I'm mentoring with the very talent Lorelay Bove to try and improve my eye for design, personality and uniqueness in my drawings. As always, it's a work in progress :)

Throw aways

2011-02-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

A few more clunkers to add to the pile:

Warm up sketches

2011-02-03T22:29:00.001-08:00

Pen Magazine

2011-01-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

The pictures below are from a Japanese magazine called Pen and they've included a very nice history of Disney animation all the way up to TS3. I won't be able to make my annual trip to Burbank this year but seeing these pictures brought back some great memories.

2010-10-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here was my original approval submission. Don wasn't particularly pleased with the some of the design choices of the ears or the overacting and the staging near the end. He approved the acting for the first half of the test and said it was 'mmm.. okay..' so I've gone back and attempted to address his concerns in a new pose test.
The original test for comparison:

Don's notes:

Updated test:

At this point I'm fishing for ideas and the second test has lost some of the energy of the original. I'll take another stab at the scene, try to make sure the drawings are stronger and better designed as well. Overall, so far not really a successful test but I've enjoyed the direct & honest feedback, a few people got some enjoyment and I've continued to learn a lot about what not to do. It's been a great experience seeing the wonderful work everyone else was doing too.

Another work related drawing I was asked to create was a grouping of game characters for a sign outside the building.

Bartok acting test

2010-10-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Pretty straight forward scene. Nothing special but still fun to experiment with different acting ideas. First tied down to the best of my ability and second half extremely rough - all of it off model mostly on 4's :) Weird character & fun test so far.

Bartok extremes

2010-10-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Some extreme poses for Bartok:

More studies

2010-10-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

Some more TS Sullivant studies though not very Sullivant-ish. Tough artist to study.

Some work related character development. Just kicking around ideas at this point.

Work related drawings

2010-09-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple and again, not the world's greatest piece of work but fun none the less:

Kerrigan from Star Craft 2:

One of the Characters from Heroes of Newerth

Designs for a games store

2010-08-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some designs for game store. Had to research some of the more popular games and in the end I went with a Starcraft ghost variant. Interesting project and it'll provide some bizarre tax right-offs.

Couple more design ideas for the game store. These ones were inspired by Tadahiro Uesugi's beautiful illustration work. The illustration is a reference to the NES version of Metroid but in an every day situation.

Gainer

2010-08-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

Here's an animation test of the mascot for the local football team. It's not great but I only had a couple days to animate, tie down & clean up this guy.

Revisions

2010-07-31T00:46:00.000-07:00

Revisions based on some suggestions to add more depth.

Development

2010-07-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Visual descriptions of the key areas of my story. I'm not a screenwriter but here's an attempt:

Beat Boards

2010-07-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Cary Grant Face study

2010-07-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the TS3 crew

2010-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Had a fun time seeing Woody and the gang up on the big screen. Congratulations to all who worked on the film!

Studies - June 29th

2010-06-29T15:57:00.001-07:00

Studies - June 28th

2010-06-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

A few notes to myself while I tried to breakdown a scene from Arsenic and old Lace. Sorry if it sounds pretentious but thought I'd post it here anyways just to check my analysis.

Some great mistakes in the sketch and I will try to correct them in another drawing later.

Daily studies

2010-06-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Just some daily studies where I'm trying to breakdown where my ideas fail to communicate or my drawings aren't strong. Lots of ugly drawings but fun none the less :)

Rapunzel

2010-06-11T06:09:00.001-07:00

A year and a half ago, I had a chance to stop by the Disney Feature animation building and check out a couple cool projects they were working on at the time. One was Princess and the Frog and the other was Rapunzel. The trailer was released this week for Rapunzel, now Tangled in the US, and the animation looks top notch. Hopefully they'll have a huge success - the talented folks at Disney deserve a break!

Here's a link to the Dutch trailer:

Some Tom Hanks studies

2010-04-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

There's no likeness in these sketches but it was helpful to observe and study Mr Hanks before starting the cg work.

Blocking pass:

Character research

2010-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Just a few different rip off studies of other artists:

Henry's design

2010-02-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

I ended up choosing the design on the right to develop which is kind of a mix between Tom Berenger and James Coburn:

He's a hustler and a gambler so I wanted to study some reference to push his character:

To make him a bit more appealing and diverse, making him a family man was a good a challenge. That way he can justify actions by saying it's done for the greater good. These drawings below illustrate two different personalities. At home, he's king(the root meaning of Henry means 'home ruler') but out in the real world, he's a scam man.

More to come later.

Designs

2010-02-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

Sketch for Searle Tribute Book

2010-02-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

It's not very Searle-ish but it's what I could do in time. Fun stuff though not easy even though certain artists make it look that way.

Fanboys

2010-02-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

This was going to be my submission to the Searle book but it's looking like it won't make the cut. Maybe I'll finish it and just put it away. Fun little project and hopefully I can come up with something better before the 16th.

Process

2010-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Final sketch:

Research:

Model Check:

Dealing with cliche

2010-01-19T11:08:00.001-08:00

Taking these studies further back, I'm trying to understand where Kimberly and Don's version of Beauty have their roots in design.- Beauty is one of Don's unreleased character's that I'm attempting to animate in my spare time. -
The easiest thing to do was to go back to Sleeping Beauty and study those designs. I did this early study, noted mistakes and then tried to apply that knowledge to a personal sketch:

This wasn't quite enough. I had to study the same reference Marc Davis had used to design Briar Rose. Looks like he studied Audrey Hepburn so I tried to find some reference and start there:

Then I did some unsuccessful portrait studies since they're missing likeness and the feeling:

I added a few extra studies here focusing on communication and conversation between people:

The end result doesn't really show the work I put into everything but here's the memory study based off my previous studies. This version was a bit more vapid and cliche than I wanted with mistakes in design but there's good mistakes to share with everyone:

Cliches tend to be the most frustrating part of drawing and animating because it's a crutch that sort of work. 'Sort of work' because had the idea been more refined, something better would've come to mind. The sketch above is a personal cliche and perhaps a cultural cliche as well. It's good to get them out and push for something better as soon as possible.
Matt Jones has some really great, well observed, thoughtful and insightful drawings which are the polar opposite of cliche. The solution to this problem is simple and something I need to practice more often:
"A sketchbook too will show you are visually interested in the world around you & able to capture it. It will say everything about you & show your interests & influences. It basically shows you are alive & intelligent!"

Next time, I'll be real careful with the likeness and and try to apply the feeling & conversational quality in my quick sketches to the final version rather than chickening out and doing something safe.

Bluth Studies

2010-01-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

I always have difficulty drawing Don's characters so taking some time to understand his construction and shapes is really important. For 2010, I really wanted to get this stuff solid and then push it with unique acting ideas. Have a ways to go yet but Don has always been very helpful and encouraging.

Acting thumbnails:

Studies of Kimberly from Space Ace:

Welcome 2010

2010-01-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Goodbye 2009 and good luck to everyone in 2010!

My first project for the new year is a mascot for a Japanese coffee shop:

Rough:

2009-12-23T05:58:00.000-08:00

Just putting some bears in different situations with a couple Sullivant characters in the mix.

Bears again

2009-12-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

Bears

2009-12-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

warm up sketch

2009-12-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

Da Bears

2009-12-06T01:54:00.000-08:00

Couple new sketches

2009-12-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

CTN Expo

2009-11-29T12:26:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to send a special thanks to all the great people I met at CTN Expo. I apologize for my awkward and nervous behavior since the majority of my time is spent with pencil, paper and there's not always a whole lot of social interaction in my freelancing days. Just wanted to say a special thanks to:

John Quinn for the meal and tour of Disney consumer products. It was great meeting everyone!

Floyd Norman who is always so accommodating and understanding. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to chat with you and talk about the golden years at Disney. Thanks so much for the tour of Disney publishing!

James Baxter who graciously deals with my appreciation of his work. It's always a pleasure to meet great talent with such kindness.

Eric Goldberg for his encouragement, generosity, and for laughing at a few of my crude drawings. Thank you sir!

Andreas Deja, thanks so much for the lovely sketchbook, for giving me a new appreciation of TS Sullivant's work, and for the reminder to put away the cintiq and draw on paper with your head, hand and your heart.

Don Bluth for reminding me to relax, loose up and allow the drawings to express sincere feelings.

Tony Bancroft for his wonderful, effortless demonstrations and discussion of his animation character experience.

Uli Meyer and Matt Jones wonderful Searle presentation which was not only entertaining but very informative as well. Searle's work needs to be digested and discussed to be appreciated. Thank you both!

Jason Ryan for being a good friend, a mentor, and being willing to open up and share his techniques. Great work!

John Musker again for his thoughts on Searle and for taking the time to talk with a canadian - we're everywhere

To Gabriele Pennacchioli, Scott Morse, Lou Romano, Donnachada Daly, Brittney Lee, Stephen Silver, Robin Joseph, thanks so much for the wonderful artwork. Seeing so much talent in one place is overwhelming but I'm grateful to have had the chance to speak with you all!

My time in LA was very special and I hope to see everyone again next year!

Process

2009-11-11T00:59:00.000-08:00

Thumbnails:

Rough:

Color:

Cat wants OUT!

2009-11-07T05:12:00.000-08:00

colored:

sketches

2009-10-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Scene updated

2009-10-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Still some rough edges but thought I'd post an update to the scene. Below are some of the research thumbnails exploring the little rabbit's character:

Scene 5 - WIP

2009-09-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is my scene so far from Don's CG Project. Even though there are some major issues, I couldn't be happier animating. I'll continue to work on the problems and show the results in the next few weeks.

Development Sketches

2009-08-26T20:00:00.001-07:00

Left over sketches

2009-08-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Horror movie night

2009-08-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Pigeons

2009-08-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

Almost time to be smacked...

2009-08-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Bad News

2009-08-04T23:01:00.000-07:00

Reluctant Vet visit

2009-08-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

Sharing the remote on TGIF night

2009-08-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

Asking if it's alright to share the remote to watch Perfect Strangers and Full House.

Cat Playtime

2009-08-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Cat Playtime:

Several head thumbnails:

Poker night

2009-07-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

Poker night problems:

Research for the sketch:

Thanks for the book support everyone! It means a lot!

Book: Preview issue is done

2009-07-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

The above drawing is one that I've had for quite some time and it's time to see it retired. Completing the preview issue of 'Animated Thought Process' and using it as the cover felt like a good place to see it end. It's a first in a series of books I'm working on that detail the research, studies, and.. umm.. thought process that goes into animating a scene. It isn't a how to book because quite honestly I don't feel qualified to release a book that teaches others how to animate and there are far more experienced and talented people who offer that kind of advice. My book is more like Da Vinci's notebook showing mistakes, developing an ideas, and attempting to really invest myself into characters. It also includes a rough flipbook so people can flip the scene and see what works and what needs work.
Developing the book series has been great and it's nice to wake up each day doing what I love to do. If anyone would like a copy, I've included a link to lulu below the picture. It's a little rough around the edges and disorganized but I'm hoping to have the problems worked out for the September issue. Thanks again for the support.

Warm up sketches

2009-07-02T02:18:00.001-07:00

2009-06-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

This is a cheesy/hokie drawing but the idea is fun. I'd love to see more of Isaac Asimov take (not rewriting his work to fit an action movie) on robots in recent films.

Ipod Generation Gap

2009-06-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

2009-06-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Version 2:

2009-06-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Some old posts were lost in the blog clean up.. here's a new one:

Gobelins & Annecy at it again

2009-06-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

As usual more amazing work from Gobelins:
Monstera Deliciosa
Fenrir
DODUDINDON
Le lac gelé
Jelly Sunday

Thank you book for JL

2009-06-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of my pet projects that's been crawling along at a snail's pace is thank you cards for all the nice people I met in LA. Below is the thank you book from Yumi and myself to John Lasseter for spending some time with us. It was his night yet he was gracious enough to stop and talk with us. We both thought that he deserved a thank you of some sort. Yumi spent some time writing her story and wanted to share the Japanese perspective on Disney films and I agreed to help out with the artwork. Hopefully he and his wife, Nancy, will enjoy or at least find some use for it. Below are some pictures of the final product:

2009-06-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

2009-05-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

Thumbnails:

Rough:

2009-05-23T08:37:00.001-07:00

2009-05-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a collection of books I've made over the past year. These were great fun to make :)

2009-05-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

Old ladies discuss fashion

2009-05-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Below are a compilation of different sketches I've done a couple years ago. Some are embarrassingly bad for obvious reasons but most were fun at the time and taught me something new.

Special Thanks to Don & Crew

2009-05-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Don Bluth and Dave for sending me this beautiful drawing of Daphne:

Also thanks to folks who enjoyed my Rhino drawing and made it possible for me to get this lovely sketch. You rock!

More thumbnails

2009-05-12T13:38:00.001-07:00

2009-05-11T11:05:00.001-07:00

2009-05-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

2009-05-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

2009-05-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

2009-04-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Cintiq woes

2009-04-23T09:43:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately my 3 year 15 inch cintiq is officially broken. The moniter still works great but the board controlling the pen and pressure is fried. So overall it wasn't a good week. The trade off in buying an expensive product like a cintiq is hoping that quality and brand name will mean not having to purchase another one in the near future. Since my cintiq is past its 2 year warranty, I'd have to pay at least 40 USD plus shipping to send it back to Wacom and wait a minimum of 30 days to just have them 'check it out' and tell me what I already know is wrong. After the 30 days, they'd contact me and then I'd have to pay for the repair. Suffice to say I wasn't impressed with that level of customer service.
Ok, that's the bad news but here's the good and potentially very exciting news. While checking for alternatives to sending back my cintiq I found the SISO Tablo Notebook Tablet Conversion Kit:

If this works, for $129 CAN anyone with a laptop can have a cintiq. Early reviews have been very positive stating that the two are comparable but its only designed to work on a laptop lcd moniter. I'm planning on picking one up and giving it a try on my cintiq which is more durable than a normal desktop lcd moniter. I'll let everyone know my impressions once I get the tablo but my fingers are crossed for a potentially really cheap fix to my cintiq woes.

Link to the tablo on ncix.

edit: Another site clarified the pressure sensitivity aspect which is apparently determined by velocity and not pressure. This doesn't make the tablo such a big deal anymore since the wiimote hack has been around for some time now. Looks like this is a prettied up and boxed version of that hack.... boo..