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more

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1994 Mead Animal Art

In 1994, Mead Corp. released a series of folders with some amazing animal art on them.
I have had them in a file cabinet since then and decided to show off the amazing artwork.

enjoy!

Deep Thoughts

I found this the other day.
It has some profound insight...Thought I'd share.

(author is ©1971 Veronica A. Shoffstall)

After a While

After a while

You learn the subtle differences between holding a hand and chaining a soul.

And you learn

That love doesn’t mean leaning, and company doesn’t mean security.

And you begin

To learn that kisses are not contracts, and presents are not promises.

And you begin

To accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an

adult, not the grief of a child.

And you learn

To build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans.

After a while

You learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So plant your own garden

And decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn

That you really can endure . . .

That you really are strong . . .

And you really do have worth.

Hi

Hi....

Not much to say...I guess I have been in a creative slump lately.
I am too preoccupied with the economy, crazy politicians, corrupt politicians....man, everything is wearing on me.... and its not just rupublican conservatism that is feeling attacked...EVERYONE in America should be fuming at what is going on with the banks, bailouts, PORK barrel spending, tax increases...etc etc. I swear I'm not in America anymore.

But I am 100% American true blue and through. Even if our govt. is turning into a bunch of socialistic fascist commies. Makes me wanna scream....(see image....not my artwork...but is a good representation of pain)

Anyway, I am working on a new art piece to show my frustration with politics in America that I will post soon.

What is wrong with our world?????

BEWARE: RANT

Our world is going crazy! Obama just signed an 800 billion stimulus that won't stimulate anything but government. (piggie sounds) The 900 Billion before that was to help home foreclosures, yet the money is unaccounted for and went to buying up banks instead. (flushing sounds)

Man, I think we are in for some serious economic trouble ahead.

There are those who blame capitalism. I don't. I blame greed.
There are those who blame republicans. I don't. I blame ALL politicians.
There are those who blame Bush. I don't. I blame ALL politicians.

See, somewhere politicians jumped into the game and forgot about the people who voted them there. They only care about gaining power, leveraging power, and gaining more power.

And Americans are too busy in their own personal lives to take a stand and stop these crazy politicians before they ruin America as we have known it. We all need to stand up for good.

Evil is not good....and good is not evil. We all know the difference....

Stand up and give your voice.....

before its too late...... and your voice is silenced....... forever.

Update:

I am rewriting a script at the moment which
I am pretty excited about. If only funding wasn't such a bear.

It's snowing today. I love to write when its snowing.
I just framed a pic of Walt Disney for my desk.
He is the man!

I watched Swiss Family Robinson over the weekend.
Why aren't films made like this anymore?
This is such a fantastic film.
It has the making of that you should definately watch. Chalked full
of unknown facts. What a classic!!!!


dev

Fun Tutorials

I made these tutorials a few years ago, BUT they still work great!
The Mayer shader tutorials are real easy to use.
The Maya chrome tutorial is fantastic. (use the chrome image provided) I used it a lot when I made medical animations years ago.

Hope you enjoy!
dev

How to Make A Gorilla In 3D!

I put this together. Hope you like it.
Its not super detailed, but it gives you an idea of how I build in 3d.

I will add a texture tutorial later.

How we can affect others...

We all affect others on a daily basis.
How often do we uplift others?
How often do we discourage others?

No matter what, we all have an impact on everyone we come in contact with on a daily basis, whether the experience is good or bad.
This video is a wonderful example of how we influence others.
Watch it all and you will be glad you did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

True Heroes

In our crazy world...its nice to know that there are "TRUE HEROES" among us.

This is so inspirational.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqb2NR5nlBQ

Rick and Dick Hoyt inspire me!

My artwork

Please note that the game renders are property of Disney....
My own work/ drawings etc are mine. Just keep that in mind. I post them to inspire and to encourage creativity.

As far as what I do, I create the models in 3d. (Maya) Then once the models are approved, I make the textures. Once the textures are approved, I send the models off to the rigger and he adds an IK skeleton. Once that happens, the character is sent off to the animators.
I haven't been animating as much for the last year. I hope to get back into animation to keep my skills greased.
I have so much stuff I wish I could post...but for now...I can't because the IP's are under non- disclosure contracts. But trust me, they are really cool.

Artwork Disney Interactive 2008

More Images Disney Interactive 2008

Band Artwork 2008

UPDATE IN 2009

I am keeping busy....what's new about that.
I have slowed down on the personal projects, but should get back into the swing of things shortly. I am planning on attending a film festival in a few weeks. Should be fun.

I will be posting some of my Disney work now that the game is out. (Ultimate Band) It was a fun game to work on. We are currently working on a fun cartoony IP that I will let you know about when it is announced and known among the public...but for now it is shhhhhhhh........(however it is a pretty high profile IP that we all know and love...)

For some weird reason, I keep writing new songs. About a year ago I thought that writing new songs was not going to happen for a while. I felt like the river ran dry........but noooo, I have written a few more this month and seem to keep finding inspiration. I am having alot of fun.
I hired a fantastic woman to help me transcribe a Christmas song on paper. It is called, "The Star".

Quote, " Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw

I read an article lately that really inspired me about creativity. It basically said that we are all creators. EVERYONE. Everyone can create something beautiful whether it be an art piece, a music piece, a garden, or a small corner of the house. You don't need money, position, or influence to create. You just have to have a desire.

I quote from the article, "You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters/sons of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination. But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

and this is my favorite part.....

"The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."

It is what makes us happy and makes for a happier life.
This is why I create.

Now go and create something wonderful.

-dev

another shark pic

I quickly drew this shark for an art presentation I did for a local scout group. My objective was to draw something fairly quickly and color it as a reference object. I then took the sketch I made, and erased portions out such as the sharks mouth, nose, fins, tail etc until it had a very basic shape without the details. I then ran copies and gave each kid a half sketched shark on a piece of paper. They had to fill in the blanks based on this quickly drawn/colored ref image.

The results...

I was amazed at these kids. Some had natural art abilities while others had no interest in art whatsoever, but the results blew me away. I realized that if you just draw the basic shape/ foundation, the kids could fill in the blanks and make it look every bit as good as the reference provided.
The objective was to make it look like a great white shark...and they pulled it off with 5 stars. And the best part,... they were proud of what they accomplished.
Some of the kids who never even created an art piece amazed themselves.

It was a great and worthwhile project. (yet so simple)

Simple is good. And simple made these kids believe they could draw.
Fun times!

In celebration of Halloween

Here is a "cute horror" pic I drew.

enjoy...

Sketches 10 2008

Here are some "rough" sketches that I have been promising to post for a long time.

I have a ton of these little doodles.

Maybe I will post more later.

Enjoy!

FEAR in the Ocean

Ever go diving in the ocean?

Ever worry about sharks?

This is my artistic rendition of the FEAR we all have in the open ocean stemmimg from a dream I had. (sorry about the gore side of this image....but it is what it is in my dream........)

I am pretty facinated with sharks, especially the Great White Shark. I have always dreamed of shark diving in Australia, or Africa. One of these days when I'm rich I will do it!

But you might ask, "Will your horrific dream stop you from diving if you ever get the opportunity to dive with Great White Sharks?"

Heck NO!!!! If I ever get the chance, I'm going for it!

You only live once, right?

update: October 2008

Disney has been slow these past few weeks as we transition into another IP. We get to have fun doing our own personal creative stuff.

I have written 5 new songs on the guitar. I didn't mean to. They just came to me in a creative surge. I am going to record them soon on a mini demo for posterity.

I am a little concerned about the economy. If you aren't, then you must be wealthy or own your own house. I have a house, but I am 20 years away from owning it completely. Being in the creative/ entertainment industry will always be good for me, if people still want entertainment. It was proven that during the Great Depression of 1829, people still went to movies for an escape. I think layoffs are inevitable in every job field.... It makes me wonder if I should have majored in business, or something in medical. But then, my passion and happiness comes from what I do...and that is art....so I guess that is where I will be until it is impossible to support my family.

The recent American Economic meltdown

Here is my contribution in honor of those greedy pigs who destroyed Wall Street.
(politicians on both sides as well as the greedy banks.)

Burn baby burn......

Some recent artwork

Photoshop is an amazing software package. Here is an example of tweeking an image by using the liquify tool.

Ultimate Band

Here is the game cover for the project I have been working on for the past year. I worked as a character artist creating characters, clothing, and accessories. It was a huge project, but alot fun. I'm pretty proud to be a part of Disney. Maybe I will post more stuff at a future time.
Rock on!

Update

It's been a while since I have updated my blog. I have been really busy at Disney. We finished up the DS "Caspian" game and had high hopes for sales. Since the movie kinda flopped , so did the game. We're hoping that "Ultimate Band" for the Wii will be a better title as far as sales. Disney will release it in the next 2 months. (by Christmas) It is a fun game and I really think kids will enjoy playing it.(8 - 12 yr olds) The game doesn't really compete with Guitar Hero or Rock Band because it doesn't need periphials. You just use the nun-chuck and wii-mote. It has an awesome character creator too if I do say so myself. I was on a team of 3 dudes who built all the characters and character pieces (hats, hair, pants, shirts, etc...) for the character creator. We are glad to be done and move on to "Toy Story 3". (however, there may be a band #2 game if it does well)

Creatively, I have sort of taken a hiatus. Summers usually kill me with yardwork, family stuff etc. It's pretty overwhelming. So my art stuff/projects have sort of taken a backseat. I actually pulled some book stuff out the other night and worked a little. I have also written 3 songs.

If you feel it....ya gotta do it.

as I say....."Until I'm not...I am".

My anatolian shepherd pic

this pic looks like my anatolian shepherd.

Creepo pic

Here is a pic I drew for fun. I scanned in a line drawing and colored it in Photoshop.

Maybe I can post some more.

a new drawing

I made this today.

pic for a cowboy

I quickly drew this for a birthday program.

1000

Wow....1000 people have been to my blog.

I feel "special".

I got my anatolian shepherd a week ago. She is a handful but very fun.

Update Schmupdate

Man, I am not very good at updating.

Summer is here....which equates to long hours of yardwork. I never get much done in the summers as far as the creative work goes. Just too much to do.
I sure hope this summer isn't as hot as last summer. Man, that was a scorcher.
We have some new ducks and chickens. I am also hatching golden pheasants. (not sure if they will hatch by incubator or not) My female is also sitting on a handful of eggs that we hope will hatch as well.
My long awaited anatolian shepherd will soon arrive from Alabama.
I hope she survives the plane ride...you never know what they go through by the time they arrive into your arms. The breeder is letting her go at 6 weeks. I really like that because I want to get her to our family asap. Most breeders wait until they are 8 - 10 weeks. (that is torture!) The breeder believes that the pups are ready to go as soon as they are weaned from mama. I will start crate training her immediately. I will also intoduce her to some chickens and see how she does. I have read that they are good with pheasants...Maybe I will try that...who knows at this point.
Narnia's "Prince Caspian" game was released a few weeks ago. Our studio went to the theater and saw the movie to celebrate. Hopefully the game does well. (the movie isnt doing too bad)
Our next game should be done in a month or so. (Ultimate Band)

Sadly, I havent been drawing or writing much lately. I have years worth of creative ideas and work piling up...(a lifetime of work is more accurate).......but all I can do is all I can do.
as my book says and as my coined phrase goes, "Until I'm not...I am".

-

Last of the Nine Old Men

Ollie Johnston died on April 14th 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollie_Johnston

He was the last living Disney pioneers who Walt dubbed, "The Nine Old Men". He will be missed.

April is nearly gone

This month is flying by me.... It is still snowing off and on. One day it is snowing, and the next day is 80 degrees. Strange weather.
I am going through my toy collection since I have had since I was a little kid. (still a kid mentally) Although my kids love my toys, I am thinking about selling them. Just another thing I don't need anymore.
I am still doing character design, as well as writing. I will post stuff as I can. (most of the time I post at work....so it is hard to get images up unless I post at home...i know....its complicated)

I have also been finishing up some songs that I have written. I'd like to get them down on professional demos. (more for posterity)

-dev

Sea Monkeys set

You know you want your own set of monkey pets.