Self Portrait Animation

This is the fourth and final animation I did for my 2D animation class. Its style is inspired by Bill Watterson and the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The trees and the other background elements were inspired by the style of the Bible Project videos, specifically "The Day of the Lord" video. For this assignment, we were supposed to turn a version of ourselves into something else. Our wonderful teacher suggested a spirit animal or animal totem, so I chose a rabbit because I thought it would be something I was capable of doing. I wanted to do a walking cycle, since it's a mainstay of animation. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I remembered to animate the shoulders, hips, etc. this time instead of having the arms just kind of swing robotically back and forth like I did in 3D animation class.

Originally, I was planning to have the transition between the two be very slow and almost indiscernible at first. But then my teacher suggested just having an object obscure the change and I thought that sounded like a fantastic idea. I might still want to come back to this concept when I'm better with animation and Adobe. 

My dad asked me "why a rabbit?" I like rabbits. I identify with rabbits. You may have noticed one or two on this blog.

This year has been such a disaster for everyone else, but God has really blessed me in all of this. Praise God. Your mercy is great. God, please save all the hurting people. Amen.

Blue Rhapsody Student Animation

 

This is the third animation I did for my 2D animation class. It's animated to the tune of "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin (you may recognize it from Disney's "Fantasia 2000" or many other sources). In addition, the art is inspired by the paintings "Several Circles" by Wassily Kandinsky and "Triumph of Kazimir Malevich at the Biennale in Venice" by Aura Visual. It was made in Adobe Animate. I've always liked "Rhapsody in Blue," and I'm glad I got the chance animate something to it.

God's will be done. Thank you for getting me through this semester.

Symbols Animation Dance

 

This is the second animation that I did for my 2D animation class this semester. It was my first serious and good attempt at character animation in Adobe Animate. This dance was partially inspired by the Bees Gees dance for "Stayin' Alive." I needed something simple and repeatable that read well in 2D for the assignment, and that dance instantly came to mind. I could've added more in-betweens, but I am satisfied with this. 

Praise God, always and forever. Amen.

Inkwell Countdown

 

This is the first animation that I've done for my 2D animation class that I started this semester. It was my first time seriously using Adobe Animate, and I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I don't quite understand how other people who use Adobe Animate can have their lines look so polished. Apparently I just need to play around with the tools more. It's inspired by the old Fleischer cartoons. They had a recurring gag where a character would come out of the drop of the inkwell. So I decided to simplify that and use it to make numbers instead. For class, we were supposed to to a countdown of some kind. The hardest thing was the timing, and I think I would want to improve on that if this was going to be a professional piece. But for now I just don't have enough experience.

Anyway, I praise you, God, that you helped me get this done tonight. You're so kind. God's will be done for this animation. Love you. Amen.

Storyboard Process

Okay, lots on this post. So I'm going to give a little description up here.

These were all done almost four months ago for my Digital Production Arts class this past semester. We were supposed to make a short (20 panel) storyboard about our space cowboy character. I didn't want to try to tell a full story with just 20 cuts, so I just did the first part. I really probably should have put this stuff on here sooner.

Above is the first go of this that I did. As you can see, most of the shots are straight-on or side view, like how I usually draw subjects right now. My teacher told me to try more 3/4 views, which I made a note of above. Personally, I'm pretty happy with how readable my drawings are at this scale.

 

Try #2. A little more experimenting. I accidentally skipped a row, so I just went with it and drew arrows to indicate the order of sequence. My classmates and teacher were all very quick to remind me that if I had done this digitally it wouldn't be a problem. If they want to buy me the equipment and software and then teach me to use it I'd love to see it. Ingrates. (I'm being sarcastic. I consider myself on good enough terms with them to jokingly call them "ingrates," as strange as that is.)

And here are the final storyboards: 

 

 

So that's it. The criticism that really stuck with me from class was that "nothing really happened," which is fair. I wanted something slower paced and more atmospheric (I was thinking about Samurai Jack or the old 2003 Clone Wars cartoon), but they didn't like it. Oh well.

 

Anyway, I thought I'd include these too. I had to make them as part of the character turnaround. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I like how it ended up. With these, I was told I need more consistency. Makes sense I guess. I was trying to use squash and stretch, but I don't mean to make excuses. 

Anyway, thanks God for helping me to do this before school starts again in a couple of days. Protect us all in this time, and be with us. God, be with me. Thanks. Love you.

Motion Blur

 

 

So, I did some experimenting with motion blur today, and I drew this just to finish off what I learned. I'm pretty happy with this. It feels right, even if there are a ton of proportions/form errors. So I wanted to put it here. 

 

It's also a nice contrast with the last post: what I learn versus what I want to learn. Stepping stones, I guess. I've gone back to practicing copying certain animations that I like as a way to get better at what I know. It's a lot less pressure and I'm a lot happier making small steps than big ones. I'll get there eventually if God helps me. 

 

Love you, God. God help me.

Self-Portrait

This is a self-portrait I did over the summer. Originally I really didn't want to do it because I'm not that good at drawing people from real life. But after a few days of working on it and using what I learned from art class about proportions, I liked how it looked enough that it was easier to work on it. That's another reason I prefer to work in abstract cartoons instead of drawing from life. Drawing realistically isn't that difficult, it just takes a lot of time. Why put so much work into something I could get in a second by taking a photo? I want to draw things no one has ever seen before. Oh well.

The face is probably the part I'm happiest with. I took a picture of myself so I could use that as reference, because it's a self-portrait. But the sketchbook doesn't have the same dimensions as the photo, so everything below the shirt sleeves is basically made up. And I still made my head too wide and the features too small.

While I'm talking about realism vs abstractism, I might as well put all of my thoughts on it here. Not to put too fine a point on it, but right now the animation industry is so focused on realism that it's actually crossed into ugliness. The "appeal" of the animation has been lost. Now all that remains is overly lighted and textured animated characters running around next to a lifelike cat.

Now that the technology exists to create fully realistic CGI objects, they're just making extra work for themselves. Special effects and animation used to be able to rely on improved technology to create spectacle, but now that isn't enough.

Let's go back to creating something more focused.

I agree that drawing from life can improve a cartoon style, but only to a certain extent. And I don't believe you need to know all the rules of drawing realistically in order to make good cartoons. Drawing abstractly and cartoonishly is a separate but related skill. I know impressive realistic artists who would love to be able to draw something as cartoonish as I can, and I'm not that skilled.

And another reason I wasn't super excited to work on this project was because I knew at this point that- unless I did something stupid on accident- the final product would look okay.

Because honestly, what am I getting out of this aside from the satisfaction of using a few new tricks and a job well done? Who am I really helping here? Well, whatever.

God bless this post, and, Lord, be with me.

Unmasking Draft

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NtGGOATF9bkrRtvrG9GOinlj3LkKkldD/view?usp=sharing

This is a revision of a script I made for Screenwriting class last semester. The class was really fun, and I really enjoyed being able to share something I created and that people liked it. I haven't posted this script before now because I thought I was going to get around to rewriting it. The asterisks mark the revisions I was asked to make.

There are a few problems with the script that I want to eventually address. The ending is not what I intended. I put too much into one episode that should have been two episodes. Separating it would also improve the pacing. And so on. I also suspect there are still a few typos, and that I'll probably want to slightly change the themes of the story overall.

But I realized I might as well put this version of the script on here now. I like it as it is. I just want to make it better sometime.

And this is the original version of the script, if you're interested.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rfp5gk-QMfVOjh0gEse_v2Fnulm7hYYW/view?usp=sharing

God, I love you. I trust you. Please make happen what you want to happen.

Class Wizard Figure

For art class, we were supposed to take a model pose we've seen in class and make a classic fantasy style character based off of it. So I made this one. I basically drew the model as in the picture and added gambeson that I googled online to her along with a dragon. The dragon familiar is inspired by the Spiderwick Chronicles dragon. I used Spiderwick as a reference before when designing Bibbie. I think there's no other fantasy creature designs that feel like they fit in the real world instead of being goofy and that are based on the traditional myths and stories about fairy creatures instead of just being derivations of Tolkien's work.
I'm a big fan of realism in fantasy, even if you're adding elements like dragons. That's why I wanted gambeson. Realism also usually helps me break out of some genre conventions, making my work seem more original. Realism up until the point where it becomes less interesting than what else you could do. That's kind of how I think about it.
The dragon is the best part of the drawing. That's why I included a close-up picture. It probably looks so good because it was based off of another drawing (Spiderwick), so the image was already broken down for me. I'm getting much better at human proportions because of this class. I also think I got the line of action on this figure right.
God be with me. Help me to do what you want. I love you. Amen.

Spacewalker Character Turnaround

This is the character turnaround I did of Spacewalker for class. Or at least 3/5ths of it. My teacher had me color the other two, and I didn't like them as much. My skill with colored pencils at the time was poor. I like how this looks, at least. Despite the fact that I've been drawing my characters from a complete front or profile view for years, I actually don't have much of a problem picturing them from other angles. It's the drawing that perspective that I need more practice with. I still really like Spacewalker's design. Thanks God.
God's will be done.

1 Point Perspective

It's kind of a step down from the library picture, but here's my 1 Point Perspective that I did for the same class. It's actually a drawing of the hallway I was on this last year and that I will be on again this coming year. I like that I got the doors to look like they go into the walls. It's just a matter of putting enough lines there for the frame and everything. I ended up shading it for the final project, but I had this picture already, so I thought I'd put it here. My class said it looked great shaded, but I kind of like it not shaded. Ah well. I can always add the shaded picture to this post later.
God be with me.

Other Guide Story Doodles

 

I was going for a thumbnail/ink doodles kind of approach to getting out images from a scene with Other Guide. Remember Other Guide is the After Avenger I made up who comes from a bubble community controlled by symbiotes. So yes, that's a symbiote, but it's not Venom. Here, the symbiote is trying to convince him not to activate a bomb on the bubble, since they've both felt firsthand all the psychic backlash from outside. I did the classic superhero mask torn in the final confrontation thing. I think some of these look cool at least. 

God, you're my hero. Save us.

Spoiler and Robin

These are some doodles I did in class last semester of what I think a more realistic Spoiler and Red Robin from DC comics would look like. You may remember I drew them earlier and put it on here. Obviously, I like the Spoiler design better than the Red Robin design. I got the proportions right, and that one has a bit more depth too it. Spoiler is a teen vigilante, so I made what I thought a kid would come up with. I based Red Robin's gear more on the Dark Knight film and Nightwing: the Series, because of their more modern armored looks. I thought I'd put these pictures on here since I'm doing sort of a art to blog purge tonight.
God's will be done, always.

Eye Drawings

We learned how to draw eyes at the beginning of the semester, so I drew a few out in my notebook without using my shader. I like the top one a lot. I think it's also a good example of of how far I've come since my best eyes were a circle with a dot in them.
God is good, all the time. Lead me on. Amen.

More Sketchbook Animals

These are all more animal drawings I did for weekly sketchbook assignments in art class. I based them off of google pictures. I think the thing I'm most proud of is the subtractive drawing used to get brighter colors by shading the area and then going back with the kneaded and precision erasers. I have an otter picture I also wanted to put here, but I left it in my dorm room since I haven't gotten back in there after Spring Break (quarantine problems). Honestly, I'm just so happy to be home. This is how I used to do school, and I'd do it all the time if I could. Only a few days of school left, and then it will be summer.
Praise God always. Deliver us, God, from our worldwide distress.

Quick Color

This is another drawing I did for art class last week. I mapped it out based on our in-class model and then did the color in about two hours without a model. It was done very quickly overall just to get the assignment done. The placement and proportion of the features are pretty off. All the facial features are too small, and the ears are too high for starters. But I liked the color well enough to put it here. When I was presenting, someone in class pointed out that it looks like she's just walked away from a fight. They're not wrong. I tried to smooth out some of the reds and purples with other colors, but she still looks kind of beat up.
This was done in colored pencils. I am now the proud owner of skin tone and regular color sets of pencils. What I'm most proud of about this piece are the eyes, lips, and highlights. You'll notice that the highlights of the eyes are pointed in the wrong direction, but other than that I think the eyes look really good. Mapping out all of the highlights on the face beforehand really helped. I could have darkened her left eye a little more, since it's in shadow.

So overall, weird piece, but I'm happy with parts of it. God's will be done.

Full Figure Portrait

This is another drawing I did for art class. The teacher wanted us to draw one boy and girl full figure each. This is someone I know from church that volunteered to be the subject. It wasn't modeling because I took a picture and based this drawing off of that. I'm not great at drawing people realistically, though I am getting better because of class. I also prefer drawing most of my subjects in whitespace, but my teacher prefers a background. It's easy enough. As I understand it, I'm actually much better at landscapes than I am at people, but I prefer people.

This was done in charcoal. I'm not personally a fan of charcoal because it's so messy, but I get the appeal.

God's will be done.

Still Life

This is more art I've done for my art class. It's one of the early (more than half a year ago) big page still lifes I did. It's done in pencil, like most of the stuff on this blog. I used my blending stump a lot to try and portray the glass. Because this was something for class and not for me personally, I don't have that much to say about it. I also put a lot more work into it than most of my art.

Art class has been good because the teacher comes at art from a very photo-realistic perspective. He's detail oriented and wants everything to look exactly right, which is the opposite direction that I come at art from. So I've learned a lot I can apply to my regular work. Praise God. God's will be done.

Erigo

This is a drawing that I did as an illustration of a story my friend wrote. Here is the link to that story: https://pyzaist.blog/2020/01/06/glens-tale-erigo/. You should read it. It's diction is engaging and well done, its minimalist style is easy to follow, and it plays with reader's expectations for the genre in a way that's optimistic and satisfying.

I did this drawing over Christmas Break, and I don't really have an excuse for not posting it here sooner. It's a pretty good drawing. I can definitely see the influence my art classes have had on my work. For example, this drawing has actual depth. The characters aren't just standing right next to each other in a blank white space. There's also foreshortening, which I'm particularly proud of. Obviously there are still some problems, particularly with the perspective and Erigo's proportions. But, overall, I'm very proud of it. I like the lightning effect and the sorcerer's finger. The contrast of the dark and light parts draw the eyes nicely to the two figures. I was trying to capture the energy of the finger from The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl. The sorcerer's design was actually inspired by Blackwolf from the animated movie Wizards by Ralph Bakshi. I should mention I've never actually seen the whole movie. I've just seen some of the art for it. Erigo's design was mostly inspired by stills I could find of Aragorn from the live action Lord of the Rings movies.

It's, I think, the first time anyone has essentially commissioned me. So I tried to pull out all the stops. God's will be done, as always. I leave this up to you.