Unforgiven + Doodles.

"'spose you wouldn't mind lookin' in on m' youngsters while I'm gone..."

"Hey KID! It's ME! Will Munny!"

"No...But I ain't armed..."

I just watched Unforgiven the other day, for the first time, and taking a cue from Leo, decided to do a couple of quick shots that I thought were great. Clint Eastwood as William Munny, Morgan Freeman as Ned and Gene Hackman as Lil' Bill star in an absolutely astounding film. A great story, structured amazingly, brilliant shots, and amazing, engaging characters all directed by Clint Eastwood that made me realize why he's given free reign on anything he wants. He's really, really earned it.

And now, some doodles and observational sketches:











Also, I think I forgot to post this! The Princess and the Frog trailer is out! Go watch it!!
Comments are appreciated!
R.

sketchy.

Well, THAT wasn't a long time between posts at all, right? ...Right?
Here's a bunch of drawings I did all over the place, but mainly in my favourite spot (anywhere that sells coffee). Trying to really focus and concentrate on gesture and character in the above, hopefully some of it comes across. Also really trying to push the poses more - pesky brain likes to straighten things out as vertical as possible.
I've been reading the Walt Stanchfield books as much as I can since I got them, and they are incredible. Thanks to Don Hahn for putting those together - I love the fact that no matter how many times I re-read it, something new always comes to light. I'm not big on quoting, but the following struck me as something I continually attempt when doing gesture/observational sketching, so I thought I'd share:

"Completion of a drawing does not depend on material representation. The work is done when that special thing has been said."
-Robert Henri

Met some fantastic artists this weekend - including the illustrious Scott C., Graham Annable and the awesome Kate Beaton.

Also, go see Star Trek.

R.

Gals

Just a few quick doodles trying out a new brush. More soon!

R.

Warning!: Bad Drawings Ahead!

So, I tried something different. While having coffee at a wonderful new coffee shop I discovered (not the different part) on Friday of last week, I attempted to draw with my wrong hand (read: left). The results kind of surprised me and were interesting enough to post on here I suppose (that, and I needed to update). The drawings are unedited, the first four pages are entirely done with my wrong hand (the first page being the first drawings I drew with it and so on) and the last page was just some random doodles I did while attempting to brainstorm.

Ronnie Del Carmen illustrated the UP tie-in book! Check out his post and some preview page goodness here. Bolt apparently comes out on dvd next week! Check it out! I also saw the most amazingly terrible movie this past weekend...more on that in the next post! Also, Nicole posted a St. Patty's day challenge, and Lissa solved it. Also, for fans of Scott Pilgrim, I'm sure you all know a movie is coming out (or you've heard me not shut up about it and how amazing the casting is) but how cool and hilarious is this?

That's all for now! Comments appreciated!
R.

Movies!

Pulp Fiction

Drawings! I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time this past weekend (I know, I know, missed out on movies growing up, terrible tastes back in the day, etc.) and it was pretty cool. Unsurprisingly I'd assume, my favourite parts involved Jules Winfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta).

Garden State

Garden State is a movie I used to watch a lot when it first came out on dvd. I hadn't seen it since then (number of years) and was worried it wouldn't live up to what I remembered. It did, albeit in a different way. Not really amazingly shot or anything, but he made good with what he was working with, I think. The emotional core of the movie, which I think is contained in Sam's (Natalie Portman) character was really endearing - she's (I think) extremely likable and I love the way she opens Andrew up to not shying away from life or running from his problems.

Speaking of running.. Nicole, Lissa and I were walking back from lunch whereupon Nicole attempted to catch a piece of dust. Unsuccessful, the dust attempted to retaliate, and tried to attach itself to Nicole like an evil parasite. Nicole ran.
The dust was defeated. This drawing was created as a commemoration to the event.

The Walt Stanchfield books are coming!!! Can't WAIT! Put together by the legendary Disney producer, Don Hahn, check out his site for an exclusive trailer!
Don't know who he is? Clay, Mark Kennedy and Will Finn have posted great accounts about the man himself.
Til next time!

R.

Doodlies!

I'm totally setting a record for my blog for the new year. Two posts in two weeks! Take that, world! Unfortunately, this post is pretty anti-climactic due to just having a page of doodles which include some very bizarre bat-rabbits. Ah, c'est la vie.
Links! Don Hahn's Walt Stanchfield books are poised to come out sometime in the next 3 months...I could go on and on about how immensely amazing his notes are and how you should totally buy his book because having it collected in 2 volumes like this is indispensable, but Mark's already said it better. If you're into gesture sketching in cafes/subways and the like, this is really a must-have. There's a little trailer on Don Hahn's site too.
Also, Nina Paley did a feature length animated film all on her own called "Sita Sings the Blues", which the website describes as: "Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by e-mail." It's set to the old Indian mythological story of the Ramayana, and is now completely available in full for FREE here!
Thanks for everyone who commented on the last couple posts, much appreciated.
R.

Attack!!

So, it's been a while since I posted...I've..been busy?
Sorry.
Anyway, here are some drawings:

ATTACK OF THE GORGONZOLA!

Inspired by a friend saying that every time she hears the word "Gorgonzola", she thinks of an endangered species. I thought of this. No idea where THAT came from.

Some life drawings that I did around LA - the first at a bunch of cafe's around while searching for the perfect coffee - still doesn't beat the first place I found thanks to James. And the last was done at my new favourite sushi shop on sushi row in the Valley. Thanks to Johnny Drama for that one.







Lastly, some awesome links: I've been reading Outliers the past couple days, and so far, it's pretty awesome. Some things are hard to swallow, some make a lot of sense even if you don't want them to. Either way, one of the most interesting things I've found is what Gladwell calls the "10,000 hour rule", I'll let him explain: the 10,000 hour rule
Also, I implore you, if you haven't seen Dr. Horrible yet, GO WATCH IT.
Nicole started a blog!! Go to it! And Lissa's blog too, because it's awesome and she hasn't posted in a while and maybe this will make her. I added links to the side for both their blogs, along with Tealin's as well.
Kate Beaton's valentine's day drawings are the best things ever (my favourite is the Curies)

That is all for now, as always comments and crits are appreciated!!
Post again soon!
R.

Another post!

Wow, two posts in two weeks. Looks like I'm getting back on track. I was watching the Globes last night, and one of my favourite movies this year won pretty big. Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle - who, as a director amazes me with his genre jumping. I'm glad someone actually made a modern "Bollywood" movie that didn't suck. Even the soundtrack was pretty catchy...Anyway, I saw Boyle accepting last night, and felt I needed to caricature him, for obvious reasons.
Also, re-reading everything of Calvin and Hobbes I own and brought with me to L.A., Bill Watterson is genius, as is his strip. For those of you who haven't read it since you were kids and have learned a lot since then, I suggest you read it again. It holds a whole new meaning besides nostalgia. Amazing.

R.

Happy New Year!

So, how awful of a blogger am I? It's been a whole 3 months since I posted. Not for lack of work, just lack of time. I'm currently a story trainee at the House of Mouse - so they've been keeping us super busy, I'm learning an inordinate amount though. Kicks the pants off of school for sure. I just got back from visiting home in good ol' Toronto. Friends, family and the whole nine made it a great break. All to quick, but great nonetheless. Good to be back at work and in the swing of things, even though I've caught a little cold. Hopefully this vile thing won't last long. 2008 was a whirlwind/rollercoaster of a year - graduated, got a job, got another job, moved to a different country where I knew no one etc. Friends got awesome jobs and are all over the place now and met some amazing people. Here's hoping 2009 brings even more awesomeness to the front.

Not really any links to post to, though, if you haven't already you should watch "Slumdog Millionaire", Danny Boyle's latest. Always astounded by his non-genre conforming ways. Also, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was quite good as well, and finally got around to watching "Real Time" with Jay Baruchel and Randy Quaid (also interesting and good) and About a Boy with Hugh Grant, which was really good.
If you get a chance, check out my friend and co-worker Lissa's blog she has some hilarious and awesome stuff. I've also started reading a couple of hilarious web comics, some of which I've been reading for a while now. Most notably, Kate Beaton and Xkcd.


Happy 2009! Hopefully I won't be waiting another 3 months to post!
R.