Jelly Kid and Ballerina Man

I have a bunch of designs to share with you from Episode 4 of Bravest Warriors, "Memory Donk", which you can watch on YouTube as of this afternoon (right here!). I've been the lead character designer on a number of episodes...this was a big one, requiring a bunch of little dudes, and a bunch of big dudes. It's one of my favorites, too.

We'll start little. Above is probably the cutest of the bunch, Jelly Kid.

And this little guy is Ballerina Man.

To help the animators, I roughed out a set of poses that I referenced from actions in the storyboards—to demonstrate how he'd move around and dance from various angles.

He's a lot of fun to draw.

Here's a Hobo alien that plays the accordian (which props made high tech).

And then there were a bunch of passengers on the ship. I created some, and I believe Phil Rynda designed the rest. You can click this one to view larger.

Okay, I'll post more designs from this episode another time. Again, if you haven't already, watch and subscribe to Bravest Warriors on Cartoon Hangover. There are already 4 episodes free for you to watch. GO!

Early Color Memory

I just remembered something incredibly specific, and thought it was worth writing down. When I was a kid, maybe 5 years old, I recall waking up too early—likely when the sun was just about to rise (5 am?)—and being rather surprised by the visual appearance of my riding fire engine toy. I wish I could find a real picture of the thing, but I don't have it handy at the moment, and the internet isn't turning up the exact toy.

Regardless, the fire engine would've been mostly primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The early morning light in the dark room shifted the way my eyes (and brain) perceived the colors in a way that I'm not sure I could ever experience again. Because I believe it was the first time I consciously recognized that the colors of my toy (and the world) could change. It seemed unreal, almost shocking—so much that I remember waking my tired brother to show him.

I can almost visualize it now, but I have a biased brain that knows that lighting changes colors. The image above is my best guess. At the time, I was surprised to see what was normally yellow become something closer to white. Also, that the blue seemed brighter than usual, and the red... very very dark. All my stuffed animals looked different too. I'm probably not exaggerating it enough to match the impact of my experience.

Whenever I woke up too early like this, I would bolt up excited to see all the weird colors. Over time, the effect wore off. I'm guessing my brain (as all of our brains do) has caught on to the fact and understands that the color RED changes in different colors of light—that I can still see RED as RED no matter what light I'm in, for the most part.

Odd post, but I'm wondering if anyone else has a memory like this. Color continues to be very important to me, so it's funny that the memory has stayed with me.

The Professor and Gayle

The first episode of Bravest Warriors premiered today (as I'm posting, yesterday) on Frederator's Cartoon Hangover channel. That's right! These are the first two characters I helped design on the show: Professor Fartsparkles and Gayle the Glendalien. I happened to help color them, too. I've been working on the show since April, so it's pretty exciting to finally see the animation go live. Massive congratulations and thank you's are due to show creators and friends Pendleton Ward and Breehn Burns. And to everyone on the crew! These shows don't happen without a TON of effort.

But wait, you haven't seen the first episode "Time Slime" yet? Then hop on over to YouTube and subscribe here. New episodes on Thursdays! For free! On the internet! Crazy, right?

I've posted before about Bravest Warriors here and here.

// redheadtwirl //

I'd drawn this little floating guy and decided to bring him (her?) into Toon Boom Animate. I did most of the work there, then I imported the file into Flash to convert it to a gif. There you go!

Here's a computer still for the non-twirl inclined:

// hide //

Happy Halloween!

// walking light //

Bravest Warriors at NYCC 2012

It's already well underway, but for those of you heading to New York Comic Con this weekend, I’ll be part of the official Bravest Warriors launch, signing the NYCC exclusive issue of BOOM! Studios Bravest Warriors #1 with Breehn Burns (series writer/producer) at Jim Hanley’s Universe in Manhattan from 6pm - 9pm, Friday night. Open to the public! No pass or badge required.

I drew the limited edition cover (above) specifically for this event, so it'll be your only chance to get your hands on a copy. There will be a sneak peek screening of an animated episode of Bravest Warriors as well. So, come say hello!

More information here and here.

In other news.... 

.... THIS happened.  (braaaiiiiiiinnnnnnn ... )

slumberland ...

Cute and cuddly

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd been drawing a bunch of cute little characters lately, and they come in sets. Here's the first, the product of a morning of doodling at FableVision. You'll have to click on these buggers to view the larger image.

The prompt: Draw a bunch of friendly characters for kids! --OK!

Here's a closer shot of my personal favorite of the set.

I had a similar prompt for the next set of characters—a group I designed in collaboration with animator Bob Boyle, for preschoolers. He drew a little, I drew a little, and we landed on these critters. Almost huggable, right? It was a fun change to bounce around ideas with another Bob. (Again, click to view large.)

In even larger furry orange territory, I made this picture for my great friends Renee & Keith, who are soon to be married—in just a couple weeks! (WOOOOOOOO!) It also features their cat, Timmy. Congrats, you guys. Adventure awaits....in cat balloon!

That about wraps up all things cute. In other news, I recently acquired a Cintiq! So far I'm really digging the combination of inking on it with Manga Studio, where I drew my tired and exhausted little friend, the brain. Kind of how I've been feeling lately—lots to do, getting it done. (Phew!)

Blue and yellow

I've been drawing a lot of cute little furry critters lately, so here's a return to some of my more organic, blobby, lumpier tendencies. The same framework goes into a drawing for me, whether or not I add lumps or fur. It's like applying a texture. They have the same rubber-hose cartoon underpinning.

// dripper //

// shooting hoops //

I drew these guys in Flash. Maybe I'll do a red one to finish off the primary color set. These images (and more) arrive first over on tumblr, so follow me over there if you like.