Animation has taken over my life!

I think it's safe to say that 31 sketches in January is not going to happen. Apart from Olaf and Marshmallow that I drew at California Adventure's Animation Academy, I haven't drawn at all. I started my first quarter of the Classic Animation program over at AnimationMentor, and it's sucking all of my time. Until I'm past the steepest part of the learning curve, I probably won't be finding much time to draw :(

Here's a little peek at what I've been learning in animation class!

The first part of the assignment was to sketch some poses. I was in Disneyland that week, so I sketched some performers in the parade. I circled the one I wanted to pose using the AM rig of Stewie.

 And here's Stu! This took me a loooooong time and was very frustrating. The left arm and legs kept snapping back to their starting positions and I was really confused about the controls. It didn't help that I didn't get to this assignment until the day before it was due and I didn't have time to really figure out how to do it properly.

Week 2 was another pose. This time we had to sketch someone with an excited pose. This could be either from real life or picture references.

Here's Stewie doing a celebratory fist pump in the air. This one took me a long time as well, but because I took a long time really learning how to use all the controls properly.

This one took only about 1 hour! I'm starting to get much more familiar with the controls and the order in which to pose each part. I was worried the above pose looked angry rather than excited, so I did another one. I think this one looks more prissy than excited, though.

My first collab!

Since I make the rules on this blog, I am counting this as my sketch for the day.

It was his idea to each draw two pages and tape them together at the end! I did the bottom two pages of the jungle/safari, he did the top two. And in case you're wondering, that is a monkey hanging by an arm from the tree. He was unfortunately colored a gruesome red.

January 8, 2015

Maybe I'm already a bit rusty after a few weeks without practice (I can't blame the pen again today!). I'm not really loving today's sketches either, but it's okay. I'm sure I'll get back into my groove shortly. Stay tuned...

Kiddie-scissors. Not great, but not my worst...so it'll do for today :)

Many points to you if you know what this is! I envisioned it looking better and less scribbly. My crosshatching needs work!

Oh and it's Beckett's bully horn that he chews on and drools all over.

The Cheese Taster (& a new scanner!)

Here's an (old) sketch that makes me happier than the one in the last post! I drew this from across the street of The Cheese Taster, a deli in Fremont. I remember cars kept parking in front of the deli, blocking my view. The tables are wonky...I wish I could say I made them itty-bitty, toddler sized on purpose.

I've been rescanning some older sketches because my new scanner arrived yesterday! The colors are SO close to the real thing. Now I'm okay with sharing the colored drawings because the colors don't look yucky!

Le sigh

Boo...I don't like this one at all, but I'm gonna stick with it because I set a goal for myself to sketch daily and share everything. By the way, I blame the pen :P

I did this relatively quickly while waiting in my car between work consults. I didn't get to finish but I didn't like it enough to go back and complete it later. But for real, I blame the pen! I don't know if this is a true thing or not, but I think the pen makes a big difference! I draw differently depending on what I'm using. The ink flowed out of this pen (Uni-ball roller) so quickly that I couldn't pause with the tip resting on the paper or else it would bleed. So I rushed through it. Drawing with a brush pen always makes everything look cartoony and my lines are way more confident. So far, I think I have a preference for pigment liners.

Bumpy sketch in the car!

I have no idea how people sketch in the car! It's so bumpy! I did this in pen on the way to SF for the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market and then laid down watercolor on the way back.

The last of the December dump!

Wonky dim sum steamer...oops. Those taro buns were yummy though!

I learned it's a better idea to listen to chatter than stick headphones in my ears when out sketching!

 

I really was listening at the same time :)

 

Quick sketch while waiting for dinner at Aberdeen Cafe

I penciled this in a while ago when I was procrastinating one day. It was unfinished for so long that everything on my desk got moved around by the time I went to finish it. I ended up just going over all the lines in pen so it looks more complete, but I didn't feel like spending any more time on it. I feel just eh about this one.....