..now with fish!

Same background, but with a little bit more marine life.

Daily Crapbook: Sailor Jenny

I wanted to contribute a pinup for GDG this week.  I worked on this last night, but Photoshop crashed and I lost a bunch of work on it.  I tried to recreate it this morning, but then I thought "this is not how I should be spending my time today." 

Sc. 31 Monkey Rag Background

The background for the last scene of Monkey Rag.  I've only got a couple little bits of animation left to do- I hope my Techno Wizard hubster has some spare time to comp in the next couple days...

Sc. 30 Background for Monkey Rag

Was never sure what this background was going to be- decided to go with something transitioning between abstract and fleshed out.  Also, I like the minty fresh flavor of cyan.

Sc. 29 Monkey Rag Background

Good enough for now, we'll see how this look in comp.

Sc. 28 Background for Monkey Rag

Originally I wanted this to be fiery red volcano, but somehow after playing around a while (and realizing that a bright red background is difficult to design around Mitzi's bright red hair) I arrived at this eerier, mooder tone.  And when I thought about the story of Monkey Rag (shut up, there is so a story there, kind of...) this would be a moment where Mitzi would feel a bit gloomy.  I think I'll attempt fiery red for the next scene when Mitzi's just HAD IT. 

Sc. 27 Monkey Rag Background

Another background to quickly move on from.  Ciaaaooo....

Monkey Rag Sc. 26 Animated Gif

I really like doing animated gifs now and then- its a great excuse to work out the comp even though I have a Science Wizard for that, and also these are like little h'ors douvres I can offer until the main course of the final cartoon is ready.  That said, I have to mash down the quality of this one to make it play, so just enjoy it for what it's worth.

Sc. 24 Monkey Rag Background

I need to keep moving on, but here's the background for Scene 24 for all it's worth.

Batman's Ace

I'm playing Justice League while I work and just getting all caught up in the show again and the excellent characters and stories, one of them being Ace.  Ace just comes out of nowhere as Joker's terrifying climax to was supposedly a goofy, fun romp of a story.  Even though I had seen this episode before, it still gave me the shivers.  And then thinking of "Epilogue" from Season Two (which may very well be one of the best episodes of any show ever) and seeing how Ace's story ends...it so sad.  What I find amazing is that even though Ace is a minor character only seen in two episodes, her story and her relationship to Batman is enough to bring tears to your eyes.  I'd love to have seen more of her on the show because I'm a fan, but I really admire how the writers just kept her exposure minimal and yet somehow still made something powerful out of it.   Stan Berkowitz, Dwayne McDuffie, Bruce Timm... some people are so damn good at what they do.   

Monkey Rag Backgrounds for Scenes 21-23

I was looking forward to doing the backgrounds for these scenes because they are so freegin' simple.  Since I finished them so quickly, I decided to treat myself to a little illicit comping, and that turned into these animated gifs.  There are some animation mistakes that need to be fixed, and I think I need to animate some speed lines, but what the hell for now- enjoy.

Sc 20 Monkey Rag Background

Sc 20 Background, boom again!  The next couple backgrounds should be fast.

Sc. 19 Monkey Rag Background

Boom, let's move on.

Daily Crapbook: TGIFWTF

I've been moving ahead in my work at a pretty good clip this week, but somehow lost track of the days.  Did I sleep through Thursday or something?

Sc18a, 18b Monkey Rag Backgrounds

As it turns out, Sc 18 requires a larger pan background than what I previously posted.  So here're some more parsnips for the stew.

Sc 18 Monkey Rag Background

Trying to get these done faster...time to let this stew now.

Daily Crapbook: Yard Work

Did some yard work on the weekend.  It has its perks.

Sc 17 Monkey Rag Background

Got Scene 17 done, and finally worked out the sand in a way I like.  Now I move on to the backgrounds that are back on land, and if I can keep up the pace I'll feel a little less like I'm drowning.  (Yes, I thought long and hard how to construct that sentence so it would be funny.  Ended up just sounding depressing...I have such a gift!)

Sc 16 Monkey Rag Background

Daily Crapbook: Color Play

Just playing with colors...doop doop dee do!

Monkey Rag Background Fiddling

I've often complained of how awful I am at backgrounds, which is the reason I'm so hesitant to move forward with them.  Its been a couple weeks since I started stewing this one, and I got a comment that I might benefit from a monochromatic palette.  They even sent me an image they mocked up, which I found helpful.  I tried to incorporate the suggestion while still keeping the tropical flavor of this scene, and I'm happy to say I hate this background much less than I did before.  At least the colors aren't in battle with each other anymore, and that's something. Thank you for the help, sir!

Daily Crapbook: Ice Cream Break

Daily Crapbook: Unused Animal Sketches

Some unused animal sketches from work today.

Daily Crapbook: More and More Faces

Just trying to come up with more faces...different shapes, sizes, proportions and what not...

Daily Crapbook: Toreadora

Just a sketch today, happy Cinco de Mayo!

Daily Crapbook: Just Some More Faces

Why sleep when I could be doodling?