RKTBlog

Back when I stated out in art school, everyone in my classes aspired to be a Disney animator, including myself. Unfortunately, these were the years when the quality of their movies had started to wane.  Disney had gotten itself into a rut, to the point where every animated feature was slapped with a musical number, whether it needed one or not.  The few times they deviated from this formula, it failed so spectacularly in other fundamental ways (storytelling in the case of Atlantis, marketing in the case of Lilo and Stitch) but always managed to blame it on the medium.  Meanwhile Pixar’s Toy Story hit the world like a lightning bolt, and got everything right.  Computer animation became the hot new thing, and Disney laid off its traditional animation artists. 

While I never expect traditional animation to regain its status in the movie theaters, I still think the medium has a lot of potential.   Read more »

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Here’s a quick head sketch I drew tonight.  The haircut was inspired by Julie Andrews. =)

I wasn’t too pleased with my earlier drawing for Trent, so I’ll have to revisit his design sometime soon.  However, his face was showing some promise, so today, I decided to explore its design further.

Here’s the best drawing of the bunch.

As I rework these character designs, I try to push their essence, their prominent geometry, so that their faces, their bodies, all have unique characteristics that play well off each other.  For instance, whereas Dmetri’s head his taking on a more narrow, cylindrical quality, Trent’s might by broader, defined by curvy cheekbones, and a strong square jaw.  In this drawing, he’s even taken on a slight Asian flavor.

Whereas I’m largely settled on Dmetri’s design now, I may still play around with Trent some more. 

The newest Kylie Minogue video has been making its way around the gay blogosphere.

I haven’t really liked much off her last two albums, but I like this video quite well. The movement, the kaleidoscopic design… it’s all very… Goldfrapp.   Read more »

This character was a bit of an accident, but a happy one.  

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I started to give him eyelids, but they weren’t looking right, so I drew  him some ancient, exotic Egyptian eyes!

…I’m running with it!

Here are a few more pencil sketches of Dmetri’s face.  

I’m feeling better about his design now.  He’s got a sleeker look but it’s important to have as much structure as style.  The shapes and lines that make him up are finally getting to be more elegant, yet his face has a good solid (abstracted) sense of anatomy to it.  

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Style may make the character memorable, but the structure’s what makes the drawing believable.

Now I need to practice drawing him more, so that I can get his look consistent, then I will work on his expressions.

Rotten Tomatoes has posted a few videos about the making of Laika’s upcoming animated feature, Coraline!  It’s a stop motion animated film directed by Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and based on a book by Neil Gaiman.  

Mike and I know a bunch of people who worked on it, and we want it to do well.  Check out the videos, tell your friends, and see it in the theatres this coming February!

Click here to go behind the scenes of Coraline at Rotten Tomatoes!

UPDATED: 8/24/08 Link corrected

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This guy’s a bit of a happy accident.  I was aiming for something else, but I liked the way this drawing was turning out enough to pursue it further.

I’ve been working on a bunch of head sketches tonight.  Here’s one of them, a test of Dmetri’s head.