Just some sketchbook stuff...

I just thought I'd post some of my recent sketchbook observations. People I've seen around lately. I've gotta keep on my toes and keep actively observing everything around me and draw it!

The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth

These are the pencils and final piece that I did for the Hawaii State Comic Collectors Club back in Hawaii. These guys are the ones responsible for turning me into the full-on geek that I am today! before that, I had NO idea that a sub-culture of comicbook fans existed. It could very well have set me on the path that I followed all the way to my career in the Animation industry and in the Arts in general. The piece is a tribute to San Diego Comicon and geek culture, all of the subjects in the drawing are actual people, some are my co-workers, convention goers and other various folks who just wave that freak flag high!

Premiere party celebs

I just thought I would post some pictures of the celebrities I got to meet at " The Simpsons Movie " premiere that I didn't have the time to. Yep,that's "Heroes" Masi Oka, Olympian Michelle Kwan, "Fat Tony" Joe Mantegna, and our very own Matt Groening.

More Geeks...

Here's a few more for the 'Zine cover. I've got the whole thing pencilled right now, all I gotta do is ink it up!

Geeks

I'm working on a fanzine cover for my old comic club in Hawaii, and it's gonna be all geeks! So here's some preliminary sketches in progress...

Pirate Girl

Here's a Pirate Girl sketch I did for a friend's Birthday. Sorry, but I can only give you the B&W version, 'cause he has the colored original.

Life Drawing

Hey everybody! I'm sorry I haven't posted any new artwork lately, so here is something I did last night at the studio. The reason I'm not posting as fast as I used to, is that when I finished on "The Simpsons Movie" I lost access to all the cool stuff they gave me to do the job, which was a beautiful 21 inch Wacom Cintiq loaded with all the latest in Photoshop, Painter, and a large 11X17 scanner, da woiks! I ain't got any of dat stuff at home! So I'm now in the process of acquiring all of the necessary equipment, and as you all know, it ain't cheap. So for now, a snapshot will have to do!

Hawaii!

Sorry I haven't been around for a while, but I've been pretty busy to post new stuff lately. I'm just recovering from the San Diego Comicon and a visit to my family in Hawaii, where I did an appearance on the local talkshow with Hawaii comedian Andy Bumatai, plugging the Movie and The Simpsons Handbook. It was fun to play celebrity for a minute! Our movie is doing gangbusters, and I couldn't be more relieved that we're a success! By the way, the picture at the top is of me and my twin brother Phillip, and he's an artist too!

The Simpsons Movie World Premiere

This is it! Last night in Westwood Village, we had the World Premiere "Yellow Carpet" screening of the "Simpsons Movie" at long last. It was a huge gala night with a marching band, limos, the whole nine yards! After seeing the final cut of the movie(God knows, we had SO many different cuts of this film, it's a miracle seeing the thing finally DONE...) We all went over to the Wadsworth theater grounds for a massive after party, full of all kinds of activities, photo ops, dancing, bars, food and drinks. This was probably the biggest Simpsons event we've thrown , and I've been working on this show since the 2nd season! There were plenty of famous faces in attendance as well, some that I got to see: Joe " Fat Tony" Mantegna, Olympian Michelle Kwan, Kevin Smith, Marisa Tomei, Masi Oka from "Heroes", as well as our very own Matt Groening and illustrious Supervising Director of the movie, David Silverman, Homer himself, Dan Castellaneta, and all of my friends and crew members who slaved away at this film at a breakneck pace to get it done. And in record time for an animated feature film! I love you guys! My girlfriend Laurie and I had the best time, and I hope folks will like our little film when it opens this Friday! Go check it out! Woo Hoo!

Hey Kiddies!

Hey Kiddies! Check it out! We just released a brand-spankin' new Simpsons Handbook, the one-stop reference book on how to draw the Simpsons. A bunch of us crew members got to even contribute our tips on how to draw certain characters. I got to do Kodos and Kang, which was a blast to do! So run out now to your local bookseller and pick up a copy, you'll amaze and amuse you friends and family!

Simpson guys

Here are some caricatures of some of our crew members on the Simpsons. Just fer fun!

Indian guy

This was one of the waiters at Great India Cafe on Ventura blvd.(great food!) I was inspired by Marcelo Vignali and Steve Silver to get off my lazy ass and keep sharp by observing more. As an artist, and specifically a character artist, you've got to constantly be observing human appearance and behavior if you want to have the slightest chance of doing work with any kind of quality. Just photo reference isn't enough, you have to feel the presence of a person to get the whole thing , especially that most elusive quality, personality. God knows, I try, and not always succeed, but at least the attempt is worthy. Strive on!

Old Brit

Just a drawing of an Old British man I saw on TV...

Brush n' Ink

Here's an old piece I did using Sepia ink and black ink applied with a brush. I really admire the artists of the past who could draw the hell out of everything in the classic style. It seems that the skills to draw this way is a dying art, but I truly love this style and learn a great deal emulating it. There is a completeness to the draftsmanship that a lot art nowadays tends to skip over in favor of a lot of "tricks". Go back and look at the guys from the Famous Artist drawing books, like Albert Dorne, Robert Fawcett, Harold VonSchmidt, Norman Rockwell, Dean Cornwell, and of course, J.C. Leyendecker. Studying these guys can help give your work much more authority than just copying the "hottest" artist of the moment.

Apes!

I just love primates! Here's a caricature of a Gorilla, just fer fun...

Geek...

I saw this guy walking into the comic shop...'nuff said...

Injured Soldier

Another exercise in drybrush drawing. Just an old drawing of a Vietnam soldier I did a few years ago.

King Leonidas

I'm just really getting acquainted with Photoshop lately, so here's painting I did of King Leonidas from "300" It's quite interesting painting digitally, it's much faster, but the only weird thing is that it doesn't really exist, so that brings into question the intrinsic value of an original painting. Would you get more out of buying a print and hanging it on your wall? Or would an original one-of-kind painting have more significance? I don't know the answer, but it is an interesting debate in our quest for creating lasting images.

Here's a piece I did after seeing "Pan's Labyrinth" I love the originality of this film. Guillermo Del Toro is one of my favorite filmakers. He can go from pop Hollywood style stuff like "Blade II" and "Hellboy", but can still do his own thing with beautiful films like " The Devil's Backbone" and Pan's. Great stuff!

drybrush

Just someone with an interesting profile. I like to seek out people with unusual qualities, they're often much more fun to draw!

The Old lady was drawn from the film "Babel" When I saw her face, I was blown away how amazing it was. Drawing from life and from sources like DVDs are a great way to practice.

life drawings

Here's a few 3 minute life drawings. I find that over the years, the more one does life drawing, the more about life in general is revealed to you. No matter how long you do it, you'll always learn something new. It's an endless journey.

Here's a few more pieces I did using sepia ink.

Starting out

My friends have been bugging me to start getting my stuff out there, so here it is! It's just a start...