Friday, February 29, 2008

Toy Soldier

Forgive my slackness with posting this week, I've been trying to tie up loose ends here at work. I'll post some of that stuff soon too.
The last couple of days, I rather struggled with the caricatures. Sometimes they really click and other days you wonder whether you should just give up. I think some people are just easier to find a "hook" with.
This one's a second attempt and still probably in the "safe" zone.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Special Agent...

Sorry for the delay, resigned from my position at the Games company on Friday and consequently set the cat amongst the pigeons so to speak. I have a bit of prep work to do before I leave next friday and move onto a fun 2D animation project and get back into the olde comfort zone.
Answers from last week- 
"I used seven helicopters" was Michael Bay and here's the Commonwealth Bank ad

Here's one who must be one of David Lynch's favourite actors...

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

"If William Shatner can, I can too"

I had a few options for a title for this one, but decided to go for something a little obscure; the title is an ironic song of his about celebrities turned singers.

Cool

This one started off a bit tougher than I thought.

Monday, February 18, 2008

A bit o' Animation

I've just finished doing a bit of freelance animation on a short film (in addition to my daytime job at the games company), and aside from being "cranky Daddy" who's always got "work to do" and in dire need of sleep, it's been a funny sensation sitting back at the old animation desk after an 18 month absence.
It was kinda like stepping into an old pair of shoes; turning the disc, flipping the pages, all at my old Disney animation desk. Ahh sentimentality, or have I just gone potty. I don't know, there's just something magic in bringing drawings to life. I can't talk too much about the film, NDA stopping me there, but once it's all cleared and released I'll put some worthy stuff up. I was taking over from someone else who had pulled out of the project with the final couple of acts to go; the film itself is not my cup of tea, but I figured it was a chance to get acquainted with some of the players in the local scene, and also the local funding bodies and also to get back into some hand drawn animation.
Soooooo, rather than just waffle on, I thought it might be time to revisit some of the old Disney Stuff. This one is from "Cinderella 3" the last production at Disney Australia, and it's of Prudence who is the head housekeeper of the palace. We'd done a bit of character study acting workshop prior to starting animation and I really got into this character. Unfortunately the scenes of her were slated for a little later in the pipeline and as it turned out, it was right around the time I went on leave for my wedding and honeymoon so I missed getting them all to myself. I got my hands on this one though and had lots of fun. Several people said later that my showreel need only consist of this scene and about two or three others. Her dialogue is "I can assure you that there has never ever been a single, solitary..." and someone off screen screams "Mouse!". This scene marked the start of the unravelling of her composure. It was also one of those scenes where the rough pass looked almost identical to the finished product.
This scene ended up being flipped later, there was some uncertainty "regarding crossing the line".
Click on the showreel link on the right hand side to see it as part of my showreel, although it is slightly trimmed there.
But here's a step-through of the keys and ruffs.






"I used seven helicopters"

Okay, last weeks answers are-
Scruffy was Ashton Kutcher
Eddie Murphy's discovery was Chris Rock
Iconic Teenager was James Dean
and No longer in the Pitts was Jennifer Aniston

This guy below is probably not so recognizable, he's more famous for being behind the camera, but he appears in a rather kooky ad at the moment for the Commonwealth Bank, which should give away his identity to all the aussies.

Friday, February 15, 2008

No longer in the Pitts

This one started off as a bit of a challenge, I think I did alright in the end.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Eddie Murphy's discovery

This guy was initially a little harder than I thought, despite being quite happy with the end result.

Scruffy

Sorry for the delay, been really busy.
Alright, last weeks answers- Nathan Lane, Clark Gable, Laura Linney, Christopher Guest( as Nigel Tufnel), and Zsa Zsa Gabor
Here's the next one, and I've got some catching up to do.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

"But this one goes up to Eleven!"

Two in a day!
I couldn't resist doing this one. Technically, not of the actor, but one of his characters.
I'm forever reminded of an old childhood friend when I see this guy, he too modeled himself after an amalgamation of rock stars.

Mrs Truman

They have been getting a bit tame these caricatures haven't they?
Time to start pushing things a bit me thinks, altho' I've never claimed to be Sebastian Kruger.
I thought this one would be a little harder than what she was, but here goes...

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Who gives a damn?

Alright, the links are all in, in the previous posts.
I'm going to start doing the links and answers on a weekly basis, so I can hopefully see some more guesses in the comments boxes.
I'm also beginning to wonder what I got myself into with this 'caricature-a-day' assignment I set myself. The selection process is mostly out of my hands, although I am given some range to choose from, but it's all Movie Stars. It's certainly giving me a challenge, taking me outside my comfort zone. I'm having to pay careful attention to those little nuances of expression. These are all taking about half an hour, I'm doing them in my lunch break at work.
We've got an old classic today...

Monday, February 04, 2008

"You have to be loud...it's the theatre"

Alright, Yes Amy Gene Hackman, and then Minnie Driver.
This guy was my favourite Disney character to animate.

Friday, February 01, 2008

"Strangling the Cat"

James Bond uttered this great line about her character's singing ability in a "Bond" film

Tough Guy

Oh c'mon, Tom Selleck for the last one. Maybe a Detroit Tigers cap would've helped.
I'll start putting the photo links for them in soon.
This guy was tough tho', both in the characters he's play, but also to draw. I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into going and wouldn't have thought he'd be that hard to do. This is my second attempt at him. A bit closer to the mark, me thinks.