Merry Christmas!!!!

Yeah, I'm aware it's been a while. This week holds a lot of updates, but first, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all who read and have read this blog. Thanks for a great year, and best to you and yours this holiday season!

-R.

cafe sketching...sort of.

Tim Hortons is not considered a cafe in my opinion, but hey it works. these are drawn on Timmy's napkins with a signpen (thanks J!) and then colored in photoshop. Also, as an addendum to the last post, those are actually drawn on the transfers and the starbucks thingy - they're just only colored in photoshop.
Well, love to hear what you have to think about these - I'd love to hear some general (however harsh) criticisms about my work overall on this blog, seriously. I can take it!

-R.

Subway Sketching

So it's been a while. I've been working hard on the film, along with all the other people, it's coming along nicely. We just had a huge story breakthrough, and are even more happy with our story now than before.
I took a small break from work this weekend and went to see the new Bond film, Casino Royale. Simply awesome. So action packed, great one-liners, awesome Bond girl restoring Bond to his original badass nature. Also, Saturday night, I was given the opportunity by a friend of mine to attend a PS3 launch party which had Metric playing a free concert. This was my first concert ever (hard to believe, I know) and man, what a concert. Just amazing, Emily Haines is as beautiful and talented in person as she seems to be on the CD or in videos, so I've become obsessed with Metric again - if you've never heard them, do yourself a favour and click here. Since it was downtown, I took the subway and really felt like drawing, although I had no paper, I did however, have a coffee cup. I tore off the holder of the cup and drew on that and on the way back, drew on a bunch of transfers. Everything is colored in Photoshop afterwards. Any comments and/or crits are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-R.

Gangsters

Yep, posting's been pretty sporadic. Still busy, I did some new sketches (finally!) when I just couldn't do anymore schoolwork last night. Had to draw some doodles. At 3:30am. Felt good though. I'm hopefully going to try to scan them this weekend and color them up roughly...if I have a few spare moments. Anyway, here's one that's a little older than that. Did it a bunch of weeks ago, when I was still hard in that noir kick. As always, comments are greatly appreciated, and thanks to everyone who's been commenting so far!

-R.

Well then.

So, I've been more busy than ever before - so much work and all for the film so I haven't had any time to scan anything or do any new work really, but rest assured, it is coming. Here are two drawings I did not too long ago on the tablet, of good ol' Spidey and Batman. I was trying a different style, not sure if it worked too well...but I've since obviously changed up, like to keep things fresh and keep trying new things - although it makes me wonder if I should just stick to one and develop that. The film is coming along quite well, the boarding is well under way and the story is down pretty solidly so it'll be nice to see a tied down version soon.

Anyway, here's the art, enjoy.
-R.

Whoa...

Good lord it's been a little too long. I've been WAY too busy lately, but it's good, keeps the mind going - sometimes to the point where you don't have time to think...but good nonetheless. Got quite a few good teachers this year - crazy tough markers, but hey, it's for the best. If we weren't getting our butts kicked, what good would school be right?
Anyways, here's a little doodle I did while in lecture last week, don't really know where he popped out from - but meet Farmer Dan!
Hope you like, and I've got a bunch of new stuff to post - so look forward to more!

comments and crits appreciated!
-R.

Happy Thanksgving!!

Happy Turkey Day (or Tofurkey if you're vegetarian) to all Canadians! To all my american friends that don't know, Canadian thanksgiving is a month before yours. Here's a little drawing I did of the poor unfortunate soul that is soooo tasty.

-R.

Story Idea

These were for a story pitch at school and consequently, an idea that just didn't gel. I like some elements of it, and I may use it in future events, or perhaps work on it a bit more in the near future. Too many ideas. Too little time. Which is messed up, as it's the exact opposite of the summer - where ideas seemed to have escaped my brain completely. Yeah, school's definitely a great environment to be in. I really need to start picking ONE idea and sticking to it...any advice from you guys as to how to approach it? Sometimes, exploring completely different ideas, helps your original, sometimes, it starts you on the path to destruction of your current idea.
Discovery is a wonderful thing.
Hopefully these are clear and concise, and there aren't too many questions about it. The basic idea is that the professor has come upon this jungle after spending his life looking for a certain lost tribe, and the closest he's ever come, is finding these artifacts. He sets up a camera, which we see him through, and begins explaining what the artifacts are. In the meantime, the crazy tribespeople appear in the background, using said objects for completely different applications. Once they notice our dear professor, they set a plan in motion to capture him and have him for dinner. Complete with giant pot with fire to roast/boil him in. Oh yes, they ARE cannibals...
Or just plain nuts.
Finally, one of the tribesmen comes and makes contact with the professor, and leading him back to camp (the professor, all the while, astounded at the discovery and at the fact that he's finally made contact with the lost tribe), ends up hanging the professor over the pot - the professor, still completely oblivious to the fact that they're actually going to KILL him, keeps talking to the camera as if nothing is happening, remarking something akin "and now, they've hung me up in a primitive fashion, wishing to worship me as their new god and saviour."
When he begins to be lowered.

End.

-R.

Cannibal

It's evolving...the idea for the caveman has now evolved into something entirely different. Something...with a cannibal. Just a quick little rough digital doodle.

-R.

OoG the Caveman

I was doodling while at my cousin's birthday party on Saturday night, and did this on the tablet. I'm thinking of using him for a story or something...more on that eventually. Let me know what you think.

-R.

ps. Thanks to all those who commented earlier on the last post...and thanks for not being too angry...except you Mr. Kennedy, I know you wanted to meet Glen Keane SOOOO Badly.

FINALLY....

Much overdue pictures from my trip to California, I had my reasons for not posting them, but I don't care anymore. :) Anyone wants their picture(s) removed, feel free to contact me. This was most definitely the best trip and most exciting 5 days of my life. No exaggeration, as you will clearly see. I don't have any pictures from Dreamworks and Sony, which I also visited, as we weren't even allowed to take pictures from the outside of the campus.

Chris Sanders at his Booth

Scott Morse painting up a storm

Pixar's Jeff Pidgeon giving me some pointers

This was random: Matt Groening and I

Obligatory Princess Leia

Amazing Scott Morse Hellboy Painting

J. Scott Campbell doing a commissioned sketch

The Other 3 Caballeros: Pierre Alary (left), Enrico Casarosa (standing)
and Ronnie Del Carmen (front)

Scott Morse with one of his paintings

Life size Ugly Doll

Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo) and I

Faeries

Pirates

Daily Show's Rob Corddry and I

At the con, I met a bunch of other amazing talents, unfortunately, I couldn't get pictures of them due to the copious amounts of people on the Saturday and Sunday. Everyone was super-nice and was more than willing to talk for a few minutes. Some of the other geniuses I met were (in no particular order):
Chris Sonnenburg, John Nevarez, Jose Lopez, Patrick Morgan, Nash Dunnigan, Michael Knapp, Dice Tsutsumi, George Broderick, Clay Katis, Dave Pimentel, Ovi Nedelcu, Kazu Kibuishi, Kean Soo, Courtney Huddleston, Mark Andrews, Ted Mathot, Bill Presing, Mike Mignola, Brian Wood, Sean Galloway, Dean Yeagle, Scott Tolleson, Gary Ham, Rodolphe Guenoden, Eren Blanquet and the Hard 8 gang, Michel Gagne, Mike Mattesi, Steven Silver, Joe Moshier, and a ton of others.

The El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Blvd. in L.A.

The Disney Studio

The Feature Animation "Hat Building" on Riverside Dr.

Mann's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd.

The Back of the Animation Building.

From L to R: Glen Keane, Myself, Mark Kennedy, Mr. Fun and my dad.

About an hour after this, I was at Dreamworks visiting a friend and checking out the campus where I got to meet an amazing bunch of people including: Jenny Lerew, Jenn Hager, Dave Pimental, and of course, good ol' Jenn Kluska. After checking out dreamworks, I went to Disney Publishing and saw an original desk used by animation legend Floyd Gottfriedson and original model sheets from Fantasia by Freddie Moore of the Centaurettes. (For more on Freddie Moore, check out Jenny's blog, The Blackwing Diaries) And got to meet Ken Shue, the head of Disney Publishing. The day after Dreamworks and Disney, I headed over to Sony Pictures Animation to visit another friend. Where we ran into (completely by chance) another person who was touring the studio - Bill Nighy - the man who played Davy Jones in Pirates of the Carribean 2 this summer.
I saw a lot of stuff from the new movie(s) coming out...and that's all I'm gonna say. :P

-R.

Still More Noir...

These are some character studies I've done of noir character types. Fun Stuff. All in photoshop.
Comments and crits appreciated.

-R.

More film noir...

Here's some more film noir sketches as promised, let me know what you think.

-R.