Wow-- It's been a whole frigging YEAR since the last time I posted here. Absolutely shameful. Yes, these days my Tumblr & Instagram are getting more of my attention, but might as well add some content here at least for sentimental reasons, right? ;)
I was recently profiled on a segment of DC ALL ACCESS, where they talked to me about doing character design for my current gig at Warner Bros. Animation: Cartoon Network's hit series TEEN TITANS GO!
Here's a bonus clip about designing TTG versions of DC legacy characters:
This is the Batgirl design I was talking about in that clip:
Sooner or later, I'm going to have to do a massive TTG mega-post to showcase the 3 seasons' worth of designs I've been working on these last few years in order to give this blog a proper send-off as it approaches it's 10th anniversary. Stay tuned.
Man--- Long time, no post, right? Allow me to make up for
lost time with a (hopefully) quality update:
I sat down this weekend for a Skype chat with Canadian animation artists/cartoon podcasters Adam & Andrew for the Guys With Pencils podcast-- Download it HERE or on iTunes and listen to us talk about my career, embracing new technologies & online outlets, plus the unusual way I got into the biz!
(...and while you're at it, be sure to check out all their other episodes-- There's tons of conversations with a lot of your favorite artists, plus cool talk about being in/getting into the animation biz from two pros!)
Super-busy now that I've started work on the second season of Teen Titans GO!, and sooner or later I'll get around to posting
a bunch of my art from the 1st season.
... For now, please enjoy this Post-It Note girlie.
I did this way back in the early days of my career when I was working on AAAHH!!! Real Monsters. Notice how they totally goofed up on Oblina’s stripes in the final art.
Oblina was always my favorite to draw..
This is from the one where Krumm had to wear glasses,
THE ULTRA VIOLETS is now in stores, with cover art & interior pencils by me, and clean-up art by the awesome Ethen Beavers, who's work you've seen in comic book versions of Samurai Jack, Batman: Brave & the Bold, and Generator Rex. It's a young adult novel for 'tween girls (Featuring spot illustrations rather than fully illustrated pages) and you can order your copy HERE, or get a digital version for your iPad or Kindle.
Here's some of my initial rough character concepts for the Ultra Violets.
Original design for Sebastian, AKA "Graffiti Boy".
He later underwent a major design change after I had finished
work on the book. Luckily, I was able to refine his design for Book 2 & 3.
Teen & adult versions of the UV's genius IQ babysitter, Candace.
Evil CEO/Geneticist villain Develon Louder.
Mutant Bug Man created in Devlon's secret genetics labs.
Mutant Possum Man, another lab monstrocity.
An early cover exploration-- You can check out the final version HERE.
They even made these cool in-store displays! I struck a deal with the store manager to let me take it home after the initial promotion period was done :D
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TEEN TITANS GO! PREMIERES NEXT WEEK!
What I've been working on lately-- TEEN TITANS GO! premieres next week on Cartoon Network, Tuesday, April 23 @ 7:30 PM ET.
As a long-time fan of the Perez-Wolfman comics, and the Murakami animated series (Many of my goodpalsworked on that one), it's been a blast working on this show!
... I'll be sure to share a bunch of my designs once episodes start airing!
Hey, guys-- Tune in TONIGHT to CARTOONS ON THE RADIO at 8:00 PM PST to hear me talk about cartoons, my animation career, and maybe pizza as part of a cartoon-centric radio show! I hope we talk about pizza.
**UPDATE** My interview is now up and streamable at the link above but you can go ahead and download it HERE if you're so inclined.
SPOILER: We talked about pizza. Controversial statements were made.
Last year I was invited by the prolific Steven Heller to be a part of his upcoming book, "Comics Sketchbooks: The Private Worlds of Today's Most Creative Talents"; Artists from around the world in the varied fields of comics, animation, illustration & more were asked to share their creative process. It's truly an honor to be included along with so many of my artistic heroes as well as my fellow contemporaries!
Clocking in at 352 pages, and featuring 700 illustrations (450 in color),
this one's gonna be a MONSTER of a book! Release date is September 7,
It wouldn't be my blog without an insanely long wait between posts, would it? Things were so crazy, we were finishing up season 2 of DAN VS. while at the same time starting designs on season 3! Now things are even crazier since I started work on a sooooper-secret mystery project in my evening hours that I can't share with you just yet, but hopefully this post full of art from our film noir episode will tide you over...
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HEY, LOOK--- I DREW A DVD COVER
(Clean-up & color by the talented Camille Stancin)
The entire 1st season of DAN VS. will be available on DVD
What?!? I'm actually posting something NEW?? CRAZY!! Yeah, I've been super busy with the 2nd season of DAN VS., but now that it's finally airing, I get to share my designs from this past year with you guys. This ain't nuthin' tho... there's SO much more crazy shit coming up this season that I can't wait to post. But you'll just have to wait for that...
Dan & Chris in their finest golf-wear, from DAN vs GOLF.
From DAN vs THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED, I try to get my Mignola on.
From DAN vs THE GYM, here's the robo-cized versions of the main cast
Evil Chad-Bot gets zapped with 5 Million volts. Here's a closer look at my effects design for the sequence.
What's good for Chad is good for Dan-Bot.
From DAN vs DANCING, inbred psychotic cannibals based on old dance movies...
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Speaking of DAN VS., earlier this month I was nominated for an Annie Award for "Best Character Design in a Television Production" for my work on the show. What's an Annie Award? It's the animation industry's own award, kinda like a Emmy or Grammy. But for cartoon folk. I didn't win, but like the old cliché goes, it was an honor to be nominated, especially by my own people! ...plus there were free drinks.
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It's official: I'll be part of the DAN VS. Panel @ the Anaheim WONDERCON on Sunday, March 18th. Join us as we give you the lowdown on how we produce the show!
2:30-3:30 Meet the Creatives Behind DAN VS.— Show creators Chris Pearson and Dan Mandel, along with Brian Sheesley (supervising producer/director), Chris Battle (lead character design) and voice talent Curtis Armstrong ("Dan"), Paget Brewster ("Elise") and Dave Foley ("Chris") talk about the genesis of this hidden gem, now in its third season on The Hub. Join them for a special sneak peak screening of an upcoming episode, followed by a Q&A. Moderated by Tom Kenny ("Spongebob") Room 213
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Because you've all been so patient waiting for a new post, here's a lil' treat from my DEXTER'S/POWERPUFF/KICK BUTTOWSKI pal Chris Savino: A short promo film for something silly he's hoping to explore further-- BIGFOOT & GRAY: ON THE RUN. Go to his blog to check out more!
On January 14th, I'll be part of a group show at Q-POP in Little Tokyo to benefit Thailand flood relief. Recent flooding in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia have left thousands dead and 100's of thousands homeless or short on food. Damage has been estimated in the billions. Come down to Q-Pop for a fundraiser/art sale and hang out with friends, enjoy some music and art, and most importantly, help some people in need. Tune in Tokyo will be spinning some great tunes!! More info HERE.
A framed 7 x 17 print of my "VooDoo Love" piece will be up for auction!
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