Brett Brooks' Sketchblog

Just gatherin' dust...

2011-07-18T23:01:00.001-07:00

To all of my Blogger subscribers:

First of all, thank you for your support and interest in my posts, even if they are few and far between. Or less.

If you're still with me, and are interested in my newest endeavor (one that is seeing frequent updates, as well as plenty of art to boot), please follow my blog at dustbunnycomic.blogspot.com

This is where I'll be showcasing the progress of my upcoming graphic novel, "Dust Bunny". Hope to see you there! Thanks!

Buggin'.

2011-05-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

An unusual anomaly for myself - two posts in a day.

Never the less, the "bug bit me," and I had to crank one more out before bed time. Incidentally, that brings me to this intuitive iota - Mite. He's Dust Bunny's nearly invisible sidekick.

It's always fun to play with scale and proportion on characters. For the most part, he's only a speck on the pages, spending most of his time perched on Bunny's shoulder. So the dynamic of the two characters is pretty fun.

If you Google dust mite, you get some pretty creepy looking images. So it was an interesting and fun journey to try and give this character a visual appeal, while still keeping a loose tether to his references. I almost colored this to clearly illustrate that he's wearing a puffy, orange vest (ala Marty McFly...no pun intended...this time...), like an accessorized second banana should.

That's it for today. Off to bed, where I'm sure hundreds of these guys are anxiously awaiting me!

For the Love of Bunny...

2011-05-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well.

After a solid year, looks like it's time to dust off the old blog. Not to say the same for my website, which has actually had a handful of additions over the past 9 months. But for the most part, freelancing for clients has kept me from embarking on any new adventures of my own. I'm hoping and praying that changes here, pretty soon...

So, I did this today. It's for a story I've been working on for about a month now, and though I've almost filled an entire sketch book with concepts and doodles surrounding this character's universe, I don't actually have any finalized art for him. So I dedicated myself to this today. I would love nothing more than for this idea to take off here in the next month or so, and really laser-focus my efforts into it. But in my experience, plans are made to be ruined. So we'll see.

As for now, this was a fun promo-type piece to put together. It was a much needed break from the undertakings that client-based work often brings.

You're on my Chiklis...

2010-06-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

I know I did the rough draft of this guy a while back. But in honor of finishing out the series last night - incredible, by the way - I thought I would finish ol' Vic Mackey up.

This was fun.

Play me a song...

2010-05-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just have to branch out and do something a little different. From time to time, I like to put the pencil down and explore an avenue I don't often venture down. And here's what happens...

I've been picking at this for about 3 days now, on and off, using a program called Reason. A lot of the instruments in the program don't sound as authentic as the real thing, but the piano is pretty nice. I've thrown together a couple of concoctions here and there in the past, just dorkin' around. So, it's always a trip to see what my spare time develops. I'm not as musically inclined as some of my friends, but I think I know a thing or two. It's not finished. But I like where it's heading. I especially like the way the ending turned out. Click the witty link below!

Jazz is not just an Autobot!

Enjoy!

Vic Mackey layin' down the Smackey.

2010-05-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Vic Mackey, from The Shield.

It's not finished yet, but I started watching the series today, even though it's been over for a while now. Thanks, Josh. I got midway through episode 2 and decided that Michael Chiklis was an interesting looking guy. So I drew him.

More as it develops...

Sweet Home Chi-blog-o!

2010-05-01T17:46:00.001-07:00

Had this on my mind last night before I went to bed, so I cranked it out this afternoon.

And they all lived...

2010-04-30T08:11:00.001-07:00

And the final piece.

Thanks to Jeff (and here!) for helping me balance out the background (as well as some of the foreground colors) in this piece to help the characters pop. And a special thanks to Mark for giving me some morale boost. I was informed that sometimes, I'm too hard on myself when it comes to my artwork. I can't disagree with that, but I don't know how to change it either, really.

Anyway, here is the final. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I think a lot of it has to do with the revisions I made on Snow White and the dwarves. I completely redrew the character to make her a little more appealing all around.

It's interesting, too, but Jeff pointed out a plethora of styles working in this piece. I can't fault him for that, because J. Scott Campbell, Doug Tennapel, and Joe Mad all had a hand in this whether they knew it or not. Onto the next piece!

My, what big progress you have!

2010-04-29T00:33:00.001-07:00

Thought it might be neat to post the progress.

I started where I left off (in the last post) at about 8pm tonight...er...yesternight. It's rolling onto 4am now. But I guess that's how you know what you love.

For the coloring, I didn't know how I wanted to do it. But I knew I wanted to approach it from a more painterly/comic book style since I intended on leaving the brush lines very apparent. I haven't colored anything in that vein in a while. But I think this is turning out nicely. I still have a lot to tweak (and finish altogether), like the tortoise's hand, obviously. Once that pig-creature is complete, and a few more this-n-thats, I think it'll be ready to post, finished.

I have until 10pm tomorrow night...er...later tonight to finish it all up. Hope you like it so far!

Once Upon a Try...

2010-04-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a struggling artist.

And when I say "struggling," I mean struggling to better myself. I struggle to "get as good as that guy" or to try and advance to the next level in whatever I'm doing. I struggle to keep my edge as an illustrator, so that my craft doesn't get old and boring...or, God forbid, redundant. I'm also broke. So...just in case there was any confusion, yes, I do fulfill that stereotype.

And with the struggle comes new challenges. Like this one. This is a piece in progress. It's another entry for sketchoholic.com. This week's interview is with Humberto Ramos. The theme is "Fairyquest." That's actually the title of Ramos' book, but with the open theme, it leaves a lot of play for interpretation. So this is what I've got. Take a shot at guessing the fairy tale creatures before you read any further.

Down front, we have the tortoise and the hare in their never ending race, of course. Snow White (who will be possessed by evil apple vapors) surrounded by some mecha-dwarves. On the other side, we have a jacked-up Pinocchio and, above him, an evil Japetto pulling the strings. And finally, in the center, is the big bad wolf and his 3-headed pig monster in the background.

I'm really happy with how it's going so far. We'll see if it ends happily ever after...

Leaps and Bounce...

2010-04-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

When there's no doubt in your mind that you didn't do your best work on a piece, and you posted it, it just eats at the back of your head. So it was with this one. It's still not my ideal composition, really. But for what I created it for, I think it works just fine. I'm constantly bothered by artists who openly admit, "Oh this isn't the best I can do. But (insert excuse)." If it's not the best you can do, then fix it.

Yet, on the other hand, it's always refreshing to see artists make honest mistakes, or confess to shortcomings. I know that when I admit a mistake out loud, it's both liberating and humbling all at once. Not that I'm some force to be reckoned with. And maybe I'm just (insert excuse). Nevertheless, here's round 2 of "For the Love of Bunny." Yeah, I called it that.

I rehashed the entire turkey character. He just wasn't "jive" enough, I don't think. Plus there was nothing really pushing any sort of mood in the background. That wasn't imperative, but I wanted...something. Throwbacks from MC Hammer and Parliament on iTunes probably assisted in that on some level. So, despite a pressing workload, this is what I concentrated on today. Something about taking a break and doing something for myself - even if it's essentially the same thing I'm doing for others, professionally - is something I need sometimes. It keeps me grounded and reminds me that I do this because I love it. And when I can recapture that desire to create, it makes the jobs extremely more enjoyable. And when the jobs are more enjoyable, the final product is something both sides are happy with.

I decided to leave the below post up, just for the fun of seeing the process. Enjoy!

Ya dig...?

2010-04-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Well it's been quite a while since my last post.

I've been quite busy with things these past 2 months. Some miscellaneous projects, some freelance. So to give myself a break from work, I decided to do some more...work...

Right.

Anyway, this is my entry for an upcoming Sketchoholic contest. Francisco Herrera will be interviewed by Bobby Chiu - both incredible artists. I'm relatively new to how it all works on the Sketchoholic website (I just joined yesterday), but I thought it could be really interesting to see the interview, as well as who wins the contest (which will be announced during the interview). Anyway, this little illo ate up a whole night of mine. So tomorrow, it's back to the grind!

Well, the other grind...

The Radical Squadron.

2010-01-31T12:38:00.000-08:00

So here's the final piece. I decided to go with a more graphical approach to the background as opposed to an actual environment. There's just something about the grittiness of these characters that lends itself well to backdrop like that, methinks.

I'm debating on doing a series of these...maybe with other characters from my childhood. Dunno yet. Anyway, enjoy!

Razor's Edge.

2010-01-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

So, here's Razor...also incomplete. Just some minor tweaks here and there. I almost didn't include the pencils, but then I thought it might be kinda cool to see how far he departed from his original sketch. I was having issues with the perspective on the original drawing - namely the hand with the glove (glovatrix) on it. Not that I couldn't get the perspective right. I just didn't like the way it was positioned, plus it didn't seem very interesting. Same with his other arm and both legs. So, really, the only thing that stayed pretty close to the original sketch was from the chest up. I just think he looks more...put together...in the new pose.

I was afraid he wouldn't turn out as good as T-Bone. But I'm actually equally pleased with him. How's that for a little fan art? Ted Turner let go of a couple of gems when he canceled this show.

Aw crud!

2010-01-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yup. It's a SWAT Kat.

Still some adjustments to make on him. And don't you worry your little whiskers. The other one's on the way...

A little too campy, maybe...?

2010-01-27T07:02:00.001-08:00

Well, with a handful more of small tweaks to be made on the final piece, as well as the fact that I get as giddy as a school girl when I finally have something new to post on here...I decided to go ahead and post this. The absolute final piece will be on my site. So if you're reading this a week after I've posted, or you've traveled back in time and completely missed your mark (see Flux Capacitor User's Manual), you can check it out on my website.

And since the lady at the barber shop gave me a chopcut that can only be likened (get it? LIKEN...like a werewolf?! Trust me, it's a good joke) to a lost member of the New Kids on the Block, I figured I owed myself one. I'm typically a hat wearer, but now my headwear has a purpose. It's kind of like the Phantom of the Opera, but from the forehead up...and I can't play the piano. And if I could, I'd write a song to the lady at the barber shop entitled, "Short on the Sides and Some Length on the Top is Not Necessarily Up for Interpretation. Please Have Your Eyes Open Next Time. Nevermind, I'm Never Coming Back Here Again." Or something along those lines. It'd be a gangster rap, too. And some piano, like I said.

So this illustration was fun. As I posted before, this is going to be used as a prop in a short film I'm involved with. The book doesn't actually exist. So we're mocking one up. And since I hadn't tackled an illustration in a while, I thought I would go all out with the prop. The story isn't really based on anything. I think I just wanted to draw monsters. Not sure what the next illustration will be. I actually really like the way the little boy's bonfire looks in that chalky brush. So I may try something more along those lines. We'll see. At any rate, this post was loaded with fun words like 'LIKEN' and 'NECESSARILY'! Oh, and some art.

Here's some pRAWRgress...

2010-01-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it has certainly been a while since I've posted. Seems to be the pattern as of late.

This is a work in progress right now. It's a childrens book cover for a book that doesn't really exist. It's going to be used as a prop in a short film I'm working on with some friends of mine. But I figured while I'm doing it anyway, I may as well make it the best it can be. It's another slight departure from what I'm used to. But that's what makes it a challenge, as well as an interesting piece to my portfolio.

As art usually does, this has sort of taken on a life of its own since the pencils - which were slightly less involved than what I usually draw. But I was planning on the color and rendering style of this piece carrying the art anyway. So here's what I've got so far!

Shell Shock.

2009-12-18T21:24:00.001-08:00

Well, looky here at this little mash-up. I dunno if I'll finish this illustration. But I wanted to display the unfinished progress. There are 3 more turtles ready to be imported into ol' Photoshop...but I dunno if I'm gonna continue with it. We'll see...

Shell yeah.

2009-12-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

Well, once again my arch-nemesis, Mark Montgomery, has forced my hand.

I haven't posted here in a long time. I just simply haven't had anything to post, really. I've had the inkling of desire to illustrate or to create something...but everything I produce isn't what I want. So last night, I sat down and decided to play with character proportions on the ninja turtles (which the aforementioned arch-nemesis also posted about recently). This isn't going to see the next phase (his right hand wasn't even complete), but I thought I might need to keep up with Mark in my posts a little more. So here was some progress, as well as a couple of head shape ideas for the other 3 toitles.

I'm going to try to possibly put a new polished piece together pretty soon. I need inspiration!

BRAWK!

2009-09-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

I finished! All in all, it's a 9-page comic. If I had more time I know I could have stretched this story out at least another 5 pages. But for what it is, I think it works fine.

Anyway, this whole thing is for an anthology being put together by fellow sequential art students from SCAD. The theme of it is "Break." And my characters are "broken" down on the side of the road. And there we are.

I had fun putting this together. It's different from my normal endeavors. But then, recently my normal endeavors have been to explore stuff I don't normally do. So it's a bit...the same...as my same endeavors, I guess. The inking was a combo between the brush, micron pens, and Photoshop. I'm really happy with how this turned out. Got me thinking about the possibilities of a graphic novel. That's a big bite to take, but this was 9 pages in a week. So, you never know.

Mark Montgomery is supposed to be contributing too. And it's gonna be awesome, I bet. Don't make me look like an idiot on my own blog, Mark...

Bird is the Word.

2009-08-31T21:17:00.001-07:00

Well, this is the first (still unfinished) page of a 10 page anthology piece I'm currently working on. The theme of the anthology is "Break." The entire premise is that these two super heroes - Eagle Eye and Bill - were on their way to save the city when their car broke down due to an electromagnetic pulse. Humor ensues.

There's not a lot of action involved in the comic. It's more of a character piece that has fun with the dynamics of their relationship. The banter you see on this first page sets a pretty accurate tone for the other 9 pages.

It's also been a long, long time since I've done any comic work at all. I just don't dive into it as readily as, say, illustrations. But I thought this sounded like a fun challenge to tackle. And it's given me an opportunity to really explore my spot-blacks (something I never really do, as I color or tone almost all of my work), as well as my overall balance and composition when it comes to sequential story-telling.

I have 3 other pages done...but I wanna save them all for one big reveal. Enjoy!

Try the Wine.

2009-08-11T12:33:00.001-07:00

This was inspired by my new part time job at the Firefly Cafe, here in Savannah. I tried referencing concept work from a few different artists, including some of the "Art Of" books put out by Pixar, as well as Shag and more retro-style executions. Trying to expand the palette and bend to whatever style I'm in the mood for at the moment. Hope this was successful. I feel like it was. Thoughts...?

Chwomp!

2009-07-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months, I've been working on a side project with a couple of friends of mine. It goes beyond this particular image, and we're trying to keep it on the hush-hush until all of the details get ironed out. Usually, I like to give a brief synopsis on what or why I'm doing something. But, if you can forgive the lack of exposition on this, that would be fabulous. Raincheck?

Anyway...since I haven't posted anything in quite a while (not since graduation, it seems), and I was really happy with how this illustration turned out, I thought I would drop it on the ol' sketchblog. It's a step away from my norm, I believe. Thoughts are welcome.

Jeff Larkin did that thur three-die-mentional render above. And if you visit his website, you can find a couple more really nice collaborations that we've been...well...collaborating on. And take time on his demo reel, as well. Tell him Brett sent you. But be sure to use the secret knock when you go. Jeff has a Gun.

Shyeah.

2009-05-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

So this is number 3 in my (hopefully) series of 4 movie cars. It's the Mirthmobile from Wayne's World. It's a little different from the first two cars, especially in the usage of space and type. It's also a lot more bouncy and animated, I think. But that comes with the mood of the film as well.

I had fun with this one, and it has a little bit of sentimental value to it, since it's the last illustration I'll ever do for a college class. Scary to think about that.

This one's also got a few sections I plan on revisiting, but I'm happy enough with the product to display it. Thank you, Sarah Burgess for walking up to me, when I was about ten minutes away from leaving this piece alone, and complaining about the text placement...sending me into another half hour of repairs.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

But Doc...what if we don't succeed...?

2009-05-23T00:17:00.001-07:00

Well, after another dry run for about a week...I finally managed to produce something new. I did the pencils yesterday and took it to color tonight. And yeah, that dirty, half-done scribble at the bottom is definitely the finished pencils. Everything past that was done in the kumpruter. I originally planned on having the Delorean hovering above a field with those flags dangling from it, like in the last scene of Back to the Future II. But this is where it went, instead. I like it better, cause it definitely has a more foreboding feel to it, which is what I wanted to try and capture from the second film. Thanks Jeff, for the ideas on taking it this direction.

This is a work in progress since I haven't completely decided what I want to do with certain elements of the palette. I'm really trying to get that Delorean to pop a little more. I think it's 95% there, and since I've been staring at it for the past 4 or 5 hours I'm just not able to see what I need to do. Probably just need to walk away from it.

Or I'll just draw at 88mph and fix problems I haven't had yet. Sleepy time.

Are you inking what I'm inking...?

2009-05-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

I actually did these about a week ago. I haven't really touched my brush in quite a while, so I thought I'd break it out for a few hero studies. These weren't really for anything...just to see if I could still wield the tool. Still some things I need to work on, but I'd like to eventually do a really nice black and white illustration with only the brush to guide me. It'd be nice to have some more variety to my portfolio.

It's been another dry week. Though I'm tackling this last quarter with all I've got, it does nothing but bother me when I have a ridiculous term paper to write. I want to immerse myself in my art, but I can't with the formalities of art history looming over me like an acid rain cloud.

I've decided to buy a dog, and train him to confess to wrongdoings. Then I'll feed him my homework and provide a written statement to my professor, signed by Sparky.

What did you DO, Ray?!

2009-05-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

There is nothing more depressing to an artist than spending a week and a half trying to find your muse. Every time I sat down to draw, or color, or even surmise a concept for a drawing...I fell flat. Nothing wanted to connect, and my brain and hand weren't communicating. It's the worst 2 weeks, artistically, that I've experienced in a long, long time. Never the less, when you do find that ghost...you bust it. And what better time to do that than 4am...?

So I started out today just wanting to draw a car, not really expecting to take this to the level it went. And then it went there. I'm really happy with how it turned out, though. Could use a tweak here and there. But for the most part, I think this picture has a lot of spirit- AY OH!

Don't cross the streams...

Oo...ee...oo-aa-aa...

2009-05-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is the new shot of Doc. Played around with his colors to give him a little more ashy-witchy-doctory look. I'm way more happy with this one. Still got a handful of others to complete, but I've been feeling quite the dry spell lately. I can't seem to do anything correctly on paper. I wanna brush ink so badly, but every time I start to work on something, I end up comparing it to my previous work...or I feel like I'm recycling an idea, just with a new character.

Witch doctors don't have days like this, I bet.

Doc, this is heavy.

2009-04-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

So, I got through a whole day of drawing, inking, and coloring...and I don't like anything I've done. And even though I don't wanna use this for anything, I did spend a good chunk of time on it...so I thought it was worth showing on the blog. The curse I've been feeling lately is that every time I throw something down, the first run of it is a disgusting failure. And the second shot is always 5 times better.

Refills are not free.

Turn arounds...every now and then I get a little bit lonely...

2009-04-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been quite a long time since I've posted. I'm in my last quarter here at SCAD, and I'm cranking through on senior projects. Here's a taste of what I've been working on. Now, these turn-arounds need some tweaking and reworking. But the changes are very minor, and I'm extremely happy with the progress I'm making so far. I plan to have about 13 character turnarounds at the end of the quarter. So, we'll see!

This girl has no name, but for the time being I've been calling her Rebecca.

Kiwi...

Newton...

And here's a background I started painting tonight. It's coming along nicely, but it has severely departed from the original pencils. Still, I'm excited to see where it lands...

Anyway, that's all for now. Enjoy!

The Fridge Door!

2009-02-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this illustration may not make a whole lot of sense unless you click here.

It's the first illustration to be posted on Fridge Door. Basically, a phrase, word, question, etc is posed every month and different artists have the opportunity to approach it from whatever angle they choose. This month's title was "What is frumberlockle?" And there we have it!

This piece served a two-fold purpose. The first fold, of course, was to hit the ground running with this new art-blog that we've got going here. The second purpose came after spending most of yesterday really diving into other artists' work and realizing that it was time to expand the palette a little bit. Though I understand the execution of painting, it's not something that I approach very often. However, since the child inside me (the same one who still draws cartoons and has a shelf full of Looney Tunes and Transformer toys) never fully died off, I submitted to the attitude of "anything you can do, I can do." Maybe not always better, but I can get there with practice I think. That's my story and I'm sticking to it like, HEY, a picture on a fridge door!

Just for posterity sake, I printed this image out and put it on my actual refrigerator door.

Safari, So Good.

2009-01-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

Click the image to view it larger!

Well, it has been quite a long time since I've updated the old blogger. But I've recently completed (I think, anyway) the newest addition to my body of work. It's the same safari characters that appear on my website, with a few new additions and a subtraction. I laid the pencils down some time ago, and two weeks back I started picking at this thing until it turned into a full blown assault on my time and health. Late nights, or early mornings - however dark the sky is when you look out the window - tend to catch up with you if you're not careful. But it was actually nice cranking through a couple of all-nighters. I haven't had one in months. They remind me of what I love.

I love sleeping until 1pm the next day. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Jose Pardo, an incredible artist I have the pleasure of working with every week. He crash coursed me in a few rendering techniques a while back that really contributed to the finished piece above. He also assured me that there is no extra charge for awesomeness...or attractiveness. Check out his site below!

Moon Vision Studio

How cute. Wait...how cute?

2008-11-04T15:31:00.000-08:00

I did this today after work. It's me...uh...and it's ME...UH! I mean...Mia.

It's me and Mia. Yes. There. Enjoy.

Safari, so Good.

2008-10-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

I did these sketches today. Some days I don't feel like I can lay a line down to save my life, much less the life of a character. But today, for some reason, everything was working really well. These are updated versions of what my group of safari characters will probably soon become (the whole group can be found at brettbrooks.com under the Illustrations section). You can see the progression in the characters from then until now. Exciting!

Ch-ch-ch-Chip and Dale!

2008-09-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I did this yesterday. I was hoping that this would be a future piece of merchandise (a pin, actually) at the parks, but the concept was turned down for a few different reasons. So since this illustration will never go past this stage, I'm free to show off the work as long as I circle-C everything that's necessary and don't make any money off it. So if you were going to send me money anyway, go ahead. But all I can send you in return is an 8x10 glossy of myself...autographed. And kissed.

Chip and Dale as Chewbacca and Han Solo. I really liked where it was going and was excited about it. Unfortunately it will never see production. Colon, open-parenthesis. Ah well. Enjoy!

Do Not Stare At My Jest.

2008-09-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've been practicing a lot with female figure drawing recently, as can be seen in the post below. A friend of mine at work introduced me to Chris Sanders' art (Director of Lilo and Stitch) and I got really inspired to try my hand at it.

I've discovered that the combination of curves and a really interesting pose can be nearly addicting to draw. I have a bunch of sketches that weren't very good and, thusly, were trashed. But because of the versatility that the female figure can sometimes have over the male figure, a certain charge accompanies the art. I've in no way mastered or even come close with this stuff, but it's really fun to just lay out new poses and challenge myself with perspective in anatomy and foreshortening.

And now...Harley Quinn.

Mark my words.

2008-09-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

So I did this thing here for Mark Montgomery as a going away present last week. I'm pretty sure that those are the luckiest two girls on the planet.

Flesh Out Da Kitchen!

2008-09-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

They say that too much TV can turn you into a...well...

Anyway, there's this guy...

Is he finished? Well, in the biological sense, he's quite finished. But I was kind of excited to get him up online, so I haven't decided if the art is completely done yet. And my impatience can sometimes get the best of me. So I may add a few more things here and there later on.

The animation is kinda small, so here's a full size still image of Zeke. His name is Zeke as of this moment.

Weird Science.

2008-09-09T11:11:00.001-07:00

Hey! I'm a billy goat!

And take a look at my mad ol' scientist. He's just too mad for words.

Lady, have you got your lions crossed.

2008-09-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is half a drawing I did for a SCHISM piece, so it may seem a little odd as a stand-alone illustration.

The full SCHISM can be seen here.

Ready for Take Off.

2008-08-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to do something a little off from what I usually post. And this is what got - a muskrat-ish little guy ready for take off. I really like it. He's fun.

I actually visited Florian Satzinger's blog, and was heavily inspired by his work. You should check it out. Very, very nice stuff.

Under Construction.

2008-08-20T13:15:00.001-07:00

So this piece is coming out rather nice.

This is far from complete (I haven't even finished his shadows), but I would like to add a background and some nice environmental elements. So far he's coming out exactly like I want him to. The goal is to render Deuces (and any other characters I wanna add into the scene) and the background image together as if it were a screen capture from an animated film - down to the aspect ratio of the image.

So he and the other characters will have minimal shadow work (maybe one or two levels at most), a major light source, and some rim lighting from either the gun blasts or something unseen on the ground.

And then the background will be illustrated a lot more detailed. Maybe teetering on a more painterly style. Haven't decided yet. Anyway, here's to progress as well as a potential portfolio piece.

Ribbit.

2008-08-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sketched this guy out last night and threw a quick color scheme on him today. Not completely sold on the colors, but I don't really dislike them either. So we'll see. He doesn't have a name yet. But I was thinking something along the lines of Beatbox. For the time being, I've just been calling him Phrog.

If you feel froggy, jump.

Deuces Wilder.

2008-08-14T14:02:00.001-07:00

This is an updated look at Deuces. I didn't explain it much in the last post, but he's part of a story I've been hashing out for just a little while now. An assassin raccoon. Gotta love it.

I really like this sketch, but because of a couple of discrepancies in the drawing - that I will not point out to the viewer ;) - as well as how it was affecting the later render, I've decided to do the obsessive compulsive thing and completely start over on the illustration. It's either that or just fix the problems with this one. But where's the merit in that? It's my way or the highway...and since they're both about as long and stressful as the other, it all works out in the end.

But the whole newsboy look is definitely the direction I want to go with him. Each of his guns are gonna have a nice, fancy spade etched into the mags. So the final picture is going to branch from this idea but probably go in a different direction.

Also, I own that hat. I let the raccoon borrow it for the pose.

Deuces Wild.

2008-08-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

I hammered this rough sketch out after work today. I wanna take an image of this guy to color mode (not this image, though) to accompany the images I did of Gauge and Sprocket on my website (bottom row, 5th and 6th from the left). I feel like I can incorporate a few more little details into his design, primarily hinging on 40s gangster/newsboy and steampunk elements. So we'll see.

Say yes to drawing feet. Cropping and convenient fog are not an option.

Where Do You Go...To Rock 'n' Roll...?

2008-08-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

I heard the song "Your Mama Don't Dance and Your Daddy Don't Rock 'n' Roll." And then this happened...

Picked a Winner.

2008-08-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

So, there's absolutely no reason that I should have spent as much time as I did on this image. Nevertheless, here it is. A friend of mine at work came to me yesterday as I was sketching and suggested that I draw myself as a superhero with the power to...wait for it...wait for it...yes, flick boogers. And as conflicted as I was as to how ridiculous of a power that actually is, my Bretter judgment got the best of me and I ran with the concept.

I'm thinking that he says something witty, and under his breath just before vanquishing his enemies...like, "Bless you."

Awww...

2008-08-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

I started this yesterday and finished it up today (drawing and rendering). It's probably the most adorable post I'll ever make. Yeah, this is the girlfriend, Mia, surrounded by songbirds. I can't tell you how many times this actually happens in public. One time while I was trying to eat a creme-cheese filled pretzel, one of the friggin' things kept trying to peck at it. Well since Mia wouldn't stop harmonizing with the bird, it just kept hanging around. So I finally swatted it out of the air. When it hit the ground, it actually exploded into candy - MAGIC candy that made you fly when you ate it. I wouldn't have known that unless this street-sweeping british kid hadn't popped a few pieces in his mouth and shot off into the atmosphere. Shortly after that, a rainbow broke through the clouds and all the trees in the park started waltzing with each other. I couldn't even finish my pretzel.

The mall is even worse.

Me, again.

2008-07-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hey look...another picture of me.

Nothing but Brett.

2008-07-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Drawing my time away after hours at work. This is what happened.

Duck and cover.

2008-07-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

So this is the difference between today and yestrday with the duck. There are obvious improvements in proportions, stance, flow, and just his overall look. So I'm really happy with it.

Tomorrow, they start handing out jobs at the meeting...so we'll see what happens there. Sink or swim. Unfortunately, I can't display any of that work. Still...I'm sure I'll be getting more sketches up as we go along. And someday I'll finish that zombie piece way down below this entry.

Fo' shizzle Walt Dizzle.

2008-07-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

Nothing too amazing, but I thought I would add a few sketches to "illustrate" what I've been doing at the new internship. Of course, I can't show anything that will compromise company policy. So actual projects I receive have to be kept to myself. These are just practices, so it's ok.

Anyway, this pretty much sums up my first week and a half here (except that my terrible practice drawings of these characters occupy a third of a sketchbook). Mickey's a tricky one. There are guys that have worked here for a year that still have to use reference on some of these toons.

All in all, I love what I'm doing. Timon and Stitch were done outside of my training (which is just learning Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy). And I plan on broadening that palette when I can. These guys will become more refined as time goes on...so I'll post more later.

Have a magical day.

Braindead.

2008-06-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is a little past the first steps of what I'm working on. A lot of the line work is going to disappear to make room for more refined Photoshop line work. But the zombie and some of the extreme foreground elements will retain their line integrity. Some of the perspective is a slight bit off, but it's so earthy that tweaking the perspective won't be that hard in the computer.

Essentially, the final piece is going to have the zombie watching a television that you don't see, but the blue glow from behind the closest wall of the grave will illuminate the scene. Meanwhile, I'd like to add some outside zombies wandering around, trying to find some food (sort of oblivious to the kid zombie). I like where this one is going.

And yes, the XBOX controller is inaccurate. I'll fix it.

Ten flips, now.

2008-06-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I'm done with this image. I worked and picked at it for a couple of nights, and I'm ready to move onto something new. I like how it turned out, but in a lot of respects this was also an experimental piece for me. I'm eager to see how some of the techniques could be refined in the next illustration. Hope you likey my Mikey.

Let's see what happens when we replace Brett's generic cola...with a Pepsi...

Shell Shock.

2008-06-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

Raphael was sort of a test run. I haven't inked in 2 months, and his original sketch turned out decent enough. I probably won't further his image much more than this.

I'm really pleased with the progress of this new piece. I dunno what made me want to draw Michaelangelo, really. I think it was the fact that you can't hide a naked turtle's anatomy, so I'd have to confront it to see how well I could draw it. Anyway, the bottom half of the image isn't rendered yet, so I thought I'd post a little crop to show where it's going. Still a ways to go. There are still a few areas, even in this cropped sample, that I'm not sold on. So...onto it tomorrow.

Robot

2008-06-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to conjure up a project that could incorporate an environment, a character, and a mood. Nothing was happening...so I decided to just hop onto Photoshop and dork around with shapes and lighting until something came along. And this is what I got. It took maybe 2 hours. Thought it turned out rather nice.

New Character Sketches!

2008-03-17T23:00:00.001-07:00

Some of these were on a previous post, but I decided to combine them with a few unseen ones.

Maquette!

2008-01-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

I would like to possibly add a Miscellaneous section to my site at some point, for pieces like this. But until then, thank goodness for free blogging! This guy's name is Radioactive Rat. He was created with super sculpey and love.

Click for a larger image!

The First Sketch Post!

2007-12-13T11:20:00.001-08:00

Random sketches of a lemur and platypus

A ferret, Ray and Radioactive Rat.

Fara Monet

Frog

Trigger
Sprocket
A bearable image.

Snakes...they bite.

Thug.

Anuthathug.

Spaz.

Boogie Von Moore and a profile shot...of another guy.

Random animals. Randomals!