Captain Underpants Color Script

Some color script / color keys work I did for Captain Underpants.  This part of the process is always fun, I love exploring how color can help set the tone for the film.

Tangram & Sketch Session

Lemons & Limes

Our dog, new found lover of the fallen limes and lemons in our backyard

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is out TODAY!

Today marks the release of Dreamworks “CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS:The First Epic Movie.” I Production Designed the movie and was so lucky to have worked with the best group of artists I could have ever asked for.  While our art department was small, we were jam packed with talent that inspired every ounce of the look of this film.  Above you’ll see a painting of mine, and some vis dev from Chris Zibach, Perry Dixon Maple, Rune Bennicke, Floriane Marchix, and Avner Gellar.

We also had, and this can’t be understated, these AMAZING books to be inspired by each and every day to help guide us on our design / adaptation journey.  It’s because of these books, and Dav Pilkey (the author / illustrator) that we had this movie to make.  Dav Pilkey is a genius, and one of the best artists I’ve ever come across, and I hope he know’s that our art department honored and cherished his work each an everyday and I think that really shows in our faithful adaptation of his work up onto the big screen.  

Our Director David Soren, Producers Mark Swift and Mireille Soria also deserve a big shout out as well.  The trust and support they provided each and every day allowed our art department to flourish.  Easily one of the best, most creative teams I have ever been around.

Also, a huge thanks to the entire team at Mikros.  I spent half of my time during this production there in studio with you all in Montreal and Paris, and each and everyone of you helped make this amazing movie.  Your tireless work, and dedication to this film is why it looks so fantastic, thank you all.

I’ve posted few pieces of the vis dev work above and will post more in the coming weeks, but if you get the chance, go see the movie it’s out today and track down the Art of Book ( pictured above ) which you can find in stores and online.

Captain Underpants - Character Sneak Peek

As the marketing campaign starts to roll out for our movie, I thought I’d post some of our main characters from Captain Underpants : The First Epic Movie. These are our CG Renders from the film, so big shout out to all the amazing artists who helped bring these to life!  The movie hit’s theaters June, 2nd!

Spring Character Design Classes Starting Soon!

Hey Everyone,

The Spring Term for my online Character Design Classes is now open for registration.  If you are looking for some info on these available classes now, check out the links below:

Character Design for Animation

Character Design for Production

Captain Underpants Movie Trailer now online

The movie I've been Production Designing for Dreamworks has it's first trailer out today, have a look.

Captain Underpants Movie Poster Released

For the past few years I've been production designing "Captain Underpants" for Dreamworks Animation.  Yesterday our movie poster was released, have a look!

First Look at Captain Underpants

Tra-La_la!!! Hey everyone, Entertainment Weekly has posted a first look and interview about the movie I’m Production Designing for Dreamworks.  I’m so excited for you all to see the amazing work that all the talented artists I’ve worked with have done to create this spectacular film.  Thanks to our fantastic Director and Producers this film has been a blast to be a part of, can’t wait for you all to see it June 2nd, 2017.

Picturebooking Podcast with Nick Patton

I recently had the wonderful privilege to speak with the very talented Nick Patton on his Picturebooking Podcast about a few of the most recent books I’ve illustrated.  One of the books we speak in depth about is Monster Trucks, written by the great Anika Denise.  Among other things we also chatted about during the podcast was another recent release of mine 10 Little Ninjas that was written by the fantastic Miranda Paul.  So if you are looking for a fun conversation about illustrating books, design, and visual storytelling, then have a listen and check out the link below:

PictureBooking Podcast

New term of online character design classes begin this weekend

This weekend marks the beginning of a new term of my online character design classes.  If you are looking to continue to develop you character design skills and are looking for industry professional courses and critiques, check out the links below to the two classes I'm offering this term.  The courses both run for 8 weeks, and the lectures and video demos can be viewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience.  We do have a scheduled 1 hr live Q & Q where we can discuss the topics of the course, industry questions, or more live demo's upon request.  Assignments are also provided with a video recording of draw over notes, so that you can not only receive a critique of your work, but see draw over suggestions of how you can improve and strengthen your design.   So if you are interested in signing up, or are just looking for a little bit more info on these classes, please check the links below.

Character Design for Animation

Character Design for Production

10 Little Ninjas

Now in stores and online “10 Little Ninjas” is here!  It’s a new book that I recently illustrated, it’s written by the very talented Miranda Paul.  It was a blast working on this “Ninja” version of a classic story rhyme.  I’ll post some peeks into the book soon, but if you are looking to pick this one up you can find it in a variety of places in stores and online:

Amazon

Monster Trucks Reviews

A bunch of reviews have been coming in this summer for the book I illustrated "MONSTER TRUCKS" written by Anika Denise.   A few of them are posted below.

 

 

 

★ “It’s a mash-up made in heaven (or maybe hell): ghoulish monsters and larger-than-life vehicles decked out with oversize tires, spikes, and menacing grins. After Denise (Baking Day at Grandma’s) gets introductions out of the way (“Frankentruck is first to arrive./ With a jump of his cables, He’s alive! He’s alive!”), the race is on. The competitors include Vampire Truck, Zombie Truck, and—what’s this?—“a little blue bus looking perky… and cute.” The VW-bus-style newcomer quickly makes short work of the larger, fiercer racers, and a kicker reveals that she’s more than just a pretty fascia. Wragg (Elwood Bigfoot: Friends Wanted!) creates some wicked vehicular hybrids—Ghost Truck fittingly evokes an old Rolls Royce Phantom—and eerie green skies and yellow moonlight set the stage for full-throttle Halloween fun.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

 

 

“‘MONSTER TRUCKS REV! MONSTER TRUCKS GO!!!’ As a crowd of creepy creatures gathers to watch, five monster trucks—Frankentruck, Werewolf Truck, Zombie Truck, Ghost Truck, and Vampire Truck—prepare for a nighttime race. Suddenly, a ‘little blue bus” appears on the track ‘looking perky and cute.’ The larger, meaner trucks smell fresh meat, but after an exciting race, they;re left in her dust. The book goes beyond the simple underdog story, and the very end (‘But HOW did she do it?’) offers a clever Halloween-themed twist. In the energetic rhyming text, exclamation points are plentiful and the action never stops. Vivid colors and textures give the cartoony acrylic and digital illustrations a bold and lively (despite the undead) look.”
–The Horn Book 

Kung Fu Panda - Secrets of the Scroll

I had the awesome opportunity a while back to Art Direct a Kung Fu Panda half hour special titled “Secrets of the Scroll” for Dreamworks.  It was directed by the incredible talent Rodolphe Guenoden and was a blast to work on.  I was also lucky to have such an inspiring team of artists working with me : Chris Zibach, Jason Brubaker, Erik Tilmans, Rich Ramazinski, Jason Stoval,Griselda Sastrawinata, Natalie Franscioni-Karp and countless other amazing artists who helped contribute to this awesome special.  Above are just a few of the painting I did for the show, but there are tons more in the special from the artists listed above as there is over 18 min of 2D animation in the special.  KFP Secrets of the Scroll is on Netflix so check it out!

Last weekend for class sign up

Hey Everyone,

If you are looking to build on your character design skills, want to build up your character design / vis dev portfolio, or are looking for some professional feedback and draw overs for your character design work, then have a look at the two online character design classes I'm teaching that start up this weekend.  Both classes focus on different aspects of character design so for a closer look, click the links below.

Character Design for Animation

In character design for animation we focus on the fundamentals of character design, and explore a wide range of assignments that showcase the ways to apply these fundamentals to your work.

Character Design for Production

In character design for production, the class takes you through 8 weeks of professional character design pipeline, so that as we go along week by week, you have a better understanding of what it means to design characters on a professional schedule, and have the work to showcase that understanding.

Character Design for Production

With my online character design classes starting this weekend, I wanted to put a little more info out there about them.  One of the classes I offer is Character Design for Production.  This class is an 8 week course that takes you from beginning to end on the professional production of a character design.  Whether you prefer designing in a more graphic and 2-D style, or are looking to develop a design with more of a 3-D sensibility, this class covers it all.  We focus on the fundamental building blocks of designing characters for production, which is how to make your designs be functional characters for animation.  Each designer starts out with their own concept and story description for their character, and week by week, we take that concept and story through pose sheets, expression sheets, turn arounds, ect.  By taking our design concepts through all the production stages that a professional project requires, we let the design evolve towards the end result, which is a fully functional design that can act / perform on screen.  Each week has a different lecture and demo which focuses on a different aspect of the professional character design pipeline.  And as work is submitted each week, I do draw overs on top of the submitted designs and talk about things we can do to not only improve the said design, but to improve the big picture of the character.  By the end of the course, you'll have 3-4 new spreads for your portfolio that shows you not only have the understanding of designing a character for a professional production, but you also have the work in your portfolio to show it.

For more info on this class, or to register to sign up, click HERE

A....

...very distinguished Yeti

Online Summer Character Design Classes

Hey Everyone,

I'll be teaching 2 online classes this summer for character design.  For those of you who are interested and would like more info on the classes check out the links below:

 Character Design for Animation

Character Design for Production

I'll be posting about these two classes this week leading up to the start of the summer term, and if you want to see some demo sketches from the weekly live Q & A sessions we have during the online course, head over to my tumblr to see more

New Book Out Now "Monster Trucks"

Hey Everyone, this week marks the release of a new book I illustrated titled "Monster Trucks."  It's a fun and spooky smash'em up picture book written by the very talented Anika Denise.  If you want a sneak peek of the book, I'll have some pics posted over on my tumblr.  If you are interested in picking up the book you can find it in stores and online:

 Indie

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Tumblr Too

Hey everyone, I've started a tumblr to go along with this blog so if you are on tumblr you can check out my posts and updates there too, check the link below:

http://natewragg.tumblr.com/