Finals Week Fall 2010

As this quarter comes to a close, I feel more pressure then ever to decide where I want to end up after I graduate from SCAD. The funny thing is, I have been thinking of where I want to go instead of what I should really be focusing on. What do I want to DO once I get there? California has always been this great, bright beacon beckoning to me from across the US. After my visit this past summer, that light has only gotten brighter. However, by not over analyzing what specifically I want a career in, I have realized what I love, who I am as an artist, and the type of people Id like to work with in the future.

I love dark humor. Nothing is more fun to torture then something fluffy with big puppy eyes. (In animation! NOT reality! I love all the fluffy forest friends) I want to make people laugh! Making people laugh makes me happy. :) And if I can do something that will make the world a happier place, then thats enough for me!

My most recent project, about a loofah who is used by the wrong person, makes you giggle. But my hope is the next time you go to take a shower and see your loofah, you wonder who might have used it. Maybe even sympathize with it.. who wouldve ever thought you could have feelings toward a fluffy ball of plastic.

Also, the southern dialect has sunk so far into my brain that I must apologize to anyone who is victim me saying "yall".. It happens

Janelle

The Devil went down to.. the Gap?

This is a dialogue exercise for my Digital Cell Animation I class, with Professor Webber.
We were taught to use the nesting and swapping methods for the mouth shapes and lip syncing. I preferred and used the swapping method for this assignment. I enjoyed animating his inflections, mainly because of the great dialogue clip i recorded with Mike Walker (thankyou!). I would like to go back in and do more eases with the body movements. I was strapped for time, but overall, I am happy with how he came out. Critiques would be great! Thanks!

Flash Walk Cycle: Hipster Girl

Final Character: Hipster Girl

Our assignment in Digital Cel Animation with Professor Webber was to design and create a puppet as well as a background. Then, place the character within the background and produce a walk cycle using frame by frame puppet animation. I am satisfied with the overall result of my hipster girl, although Id have liked to make her lines a bit cleaner. Here she is!

Flash Background: Hipster Cafe

Flash Walk Cycle: Hipster Girl (Color Concept)

Flash Walk Cycle: Hipster Girl (Pre-sketch)

Senior Project: Character Design

Another attempt at redesigning my main character. I wanted to go for a more stylized look. It was closer, but he looked to old, would be difficult to frame well and didnt have that vulnerable, awkward little boy look I wanted. So I called in some back up:

*These ^ drawings are not mine! They are the work of the lovely Lauren Brown. Concept artist extraordinaire.*

It is amazing how just a few drawings from a completely fresh perspective can turn everything around! Here he was! That awkward, shy but lovable character Ive been trying for this whole time. But it wasn't exactly animate-able. Nor was it my personal style. So I took the look of Lauren's drawing and combined them with my aesthetic.

Let me introduce you to.. Guss! I know there will be many more adjustments made (clothing, animate-able base shapes, ect) but this is the personality Ive been trying for all along. I am so excited to put him in my world and start making him move!

*No matter how far along Ive gone in this process, CRITIQUES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME! Even if you have suggestions about things that have long since passed, I am always looking for your honest opinions.*

Be back in a.. Flash! Oh ho ho!

But seriously, first Flash background produced for Digicel, Professor John K. Webber.

I tried to move away from my painterly, overly detailed style. Something new and exciting. This is a great way to eliminate the unnecessary elements of a background and focus on layout. Im looking forward to working with Flash more!

This was my first idea, which I painted in Photoshop. But I realized that there was to much detail for the assignment. The goal was to create flat shapes with gradients. I needed to push myself past what I normally did. (Tho I really still like this this camera angle and distortion of the trees)

Back to the drawing board.. or sketchbook. This composition seemed to fill the assignment's requirements more accurately.

The finished piece. The professor and the majority of the class seemed pleased with it. Even though it isn't my favorite style to work in, I enjoyed leaving my comfort zone. Im itching to go back in and add more detail, but I know I must move on and do it better the next time.

The loofa: a short story of love, abuse and learning to let go..

Or just a loofa who gets abused. And its funny.
I would like to execute an idea for a short film Ive had since Concept class. I will post the full story when I have a chance. For now, enjoy these:
Concept sketches

Sketchbook dump: unrelated to each other

The lovely Lauren


Lotus lady

Tattoo sketches. The ladybug represents my mother (she has one on her foot) and the fish represents my father

Sketchbook dump: Exaggerated folks

Senior Project Color/Style Study

Senior Project Color Study

Just Before Dawn

I tried not to worry about aesthetics yet, just getting his personality on paper:

Summer Vacation

So Ive recently been on a trip to Northern California to LA to Baltimore and then home again. I fell in love with the cool light and picturesqe nature of the top half of California. This voyage has given me very little time to sleep but a lot of time to think about the look and feel of my senior project. Before I wanted a silly, cutesy but pretty animation. Which is not a bad thing, but it had depended to much on the dialog. Instead I want to portray a feeling and a place, with a few giggles tucked in here and there. So I started designing my main character again. It resulted in a very similar result from the first one, but with a little more personality and workability. He is no where at his final stage, but I feel Im getting closer then I was before, and my path is moving in a more meaningful direction.

Work from Senior Concept

The boy is not quite right. His hands are too big and I feel like he needs more individuality.















This is almost the finished version of the creature, Id like to tweak his shape and I need to develop a color palette

Concept sketches

Character design progress: Boy

Character design progress: Creature

Dancing with the stars

This stemmed from watching to many reruns of dancing with the stars. I eventually started to analyze their foot positions and action lines..

Concept Work.

The first image is pretty self explanatory. Light fixture plus tree equals a slightly more creative approach to providing light in an environment.
Second image is an extension of the first, experimenting with more lighting fixture designs. Most inspired by flowers or old fashioned lamps.
Thirdly, is an evolution of color palettes for a potential scene in an upcoming animation.

Guess Who..

Tugging on my heart strings

dust bunny concept sketches

Watercolor Sketches.