Turbo Toilet 2000

Here are some designs and poses I did while we explored the look of the Turbo Toilet 2000 for Captain Underpants:The First Epic Movie.  In the movie the Turbo Toilet 2000 is a 100 ft transformer style robot that Professor Poopypants rides in and controls.  I thought it would be funny if the Turbo Toilets movements and behavior was a direct reflection of how Poopypants was acting and behaving while inside.  In the film, we leaned into this idea, and the Turbo Toilet became an extension of Poppypants behavior.

Early Sketches

Some early face design sketches for an animated add campaign I helped a friend with a few months back.  These designs ultimately didn’t make the cut, but they were fun to explore.

10 Little Ninjas

 

10 Little Ninjas was recently received the Missouri Building Block Picture book Award.  This award is given annually to the picture book voted most popular by preschool children in the state of Missouri, which is pretty cool considering how honest kids are with what they like and don’t like…lol.  If you’d like to pick up this book you can buy it online at the links below:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Character Design Classes - Winter Semester

Winter Semester for my Online Character Design Classes are starting up in about 2-3 weeks. I’ll post more info this week on each class, but for now if you’d like to check out the classes I’ll be teaching you can read more about them and sign up at the links below:

Character Design for Animation

Character Design for Production

Art Direction for Character Designers

Holiday Doodles

Drew this one of my daughter and her new best friend this holiday season.

The Hollywood Reporter

 The Hollywood Reporter recently published an article about Production Design in this years animated films, and I feel honored to be included for Production Designing Captain Underpants.  For the full article, click HERE

Captain Underpants Color Script

Part 2 of color scripting the afternoon time lapse in George and Harold’s tree house.  This was fun playing with not only the time of day change in terms of color palette, but also how the light traveled around the tree house as the sun was setting.

Captain Underpants Color Script

Color scripting this section of Captain Underpants was fun, we start with the boys tree house, which essentially is a complete opposite in tone from the school.  As they spend the afternoon making their latest comic, we got to play with the transition from afternoon, to magic hour, to dusk / dinner time lighting and color.

Captain Underpants Color Script

More Captain Underpants color script / color keys work I did for the film.  In the production design of the film, I really wanted to push for an “institutional” look in the style and color of the school location, giving it a penitentiary vibe instead of an elementary vibe.  That feeling is ever present in the books from author / illustrator Dav Pilkey, and I love how it gives the school a great sense of character in the film.  Our director David Soren really embraced this concept, and helped us push for this in the design and tone of the film.

Spiderman Character Design Demo

A Spider-Man Demo I did for my online character design class last night.  This was a fun request, Spider-Man has always been my favorite superhero,but it’s been too long to remember since I last drew him.  

If you are interested in seeing more character design demos / lectures of mine, I have a new semester of online character design classes that start soon, so if you are interested you can register for them below:

Character Design for Animation

Character Design for Production

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!