My Angry Neighbor...

My Angry Neighbor...

Totoro (character design by Hayao Miyazaki) - graphite

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Wanted to experiment with trying to draw Totoro in my own style...that is if I actually had a definitive "my own style". I have a few drawing styles depending on the subject matter (i.e. life/realism, cartoon, comics). I didn't go that far off from Hayao's original design. Wanted to give him a bit of an attitude in facial expression, so along with that I decided to add sharp angles in his design with the fur and the more angular arrow patterns on his chest. I'll try to see if I can go more stylized next time.

Master of Muppets

Master of Muppets

Elmo (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Cookie Monster (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Super Grover (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Decided that I'll attempt to draw Elmo, Cookie Monster and Super Grover some time in the near future. I've never really noticed how diverse the character designs were within the Sesame Street main character lineup. Not only in color but in shape. From the furry Elmo, to the human-like Count von Count, to the googley eyed Cookie Monster (who for some reason is the only muppet with 5 fingers on each hand). I wanted to draw the characters as muppet-like as I could. Meaning that I wanted to keep them looking artificial and man-made, yet still retain the life-like mannerisms as on the show. (I reworked Elmo from the previous sketch cause he was looking a bit raggedy.) The more I researched Jim Henson and his company of puppeteers, the more I realize the great work they've done. It's amazing what they were able to do with these muppets, considering the majority of the characters do not even have a full range of facial movements or eyebrows. Especially with usually just a flap for a mouth. I've been playing around with the idea of altering the shape of their hands to be larger, and more human-like with proper articulation and joints. Should be a fun one to do!

Sunny Days...

Sunny Days...

Elmo (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Cookie Monster (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Super Grover (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Oscar the Grouch (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Bert & Ernie (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Count von Count (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Big Bird (character design by Jim Henson) - graphite

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Thought I should put in some time to do a few sketching exercises to practice Sesame Street characters for the nephews and niece. Besides drawing Elmo off the top of my head for the kids, I don't recall having ever drawn these characters before even as a child. (My childhood days were spent drawing Transformers and He-Man figures). Through these studies I was able to research the career and works of Jim Henson. Check out Jim Henson: The Works and Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles: A Muppet Sketchbook.

Mr. Muchacho mini MunnyWorld MegaContest entry

Mr. Muchacho mini MunnyWorld MegaContest entry

Mr. Muchacho mini Munny - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - Nikon D60 w/50mm Nikkor Lens - SB-600 Speedlight w/Gary Fong: Lightsphere

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Mr. Muchacho mini Munny - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - Nikon D60 w/50mm Nikkor Lens - SB-600 Speedlight w/Gary Fong: Lightsphere

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Added the finishing touches to the piece. Used a calligraphy pen dipped in thinned white acrylic paint to draw in the knee swirls and cape tie strings. Also cleaned up some lines, put a second coat of paint on a few areas and last but not least gave it a matte finishing coat to seal the 4" mini Munny using Krylon's Matte Finishing spray. I've entered this piece in kidrobot's MunnyWorld MegaContest. The contest also has a People's Choice Award category which you can vote by "Liking" it (click on the "Like" button for your favorite mini Munny design) here. Working on another design at the moment for a second entry. I'll be using a familiar medium and technique for my second D.I.Y.: acrylic paints/brush work. Style-wise, I'll be trying something more painterly and realistic this time around. I'll keep you posted.

On a side note, Kazuhiko Ito of Itokin Park fame checked out my blog! He was thankful for the shoutout I gave him awhile back. Can't wait for my Crazy Sparkle Lucha Bear to arrive. As of now, it's sold out.

Hoping for the Best

Hoping for the Best

Mr. Muchacho mini Munny (unfinished) - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - iPhone 3GS

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Mr. Muchacho mini Munny (unfinished) - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - iPhone 3GS

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Mr. Muchacho mini Munny (unfinished) - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - iPhone 3GS

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Mr. Muchacho mini Munny (unfinished) - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - iPhone 3GS

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Mr. Muchacho mini Munny (unfinished) - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - iPhone 3GS

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Mr. Muchacho mini Munny (unfinished) - Molotow acrylic markers on vinyl - iPhone 3GS

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Besides washing the Munny's pieces with dishwashing soap (can use any soap that foams), I didn't do any other prep work (gesso or sand) before working on the mini Munny. I then used a graphite pencil to draw on the vinyl toy and used the marker right on top. I put down the grays first, so that I could use the black to smooth out the outlines. The acrylic markers go on opaque, so you can use the gray on top of the black. You want to avoid reworking an area multiple times to reduce marker overlapping, to avoid acrylic paint buildup and caking. As I was progressing I noticed that the mouth I drew was a bit too low and wasn't wide enough, making him look a bit goofy. I decided to paint over it, which turned out to be a good decision. Biggest stress was to draw the straight lines for the hair on a rounded surface. There's a few imperfections, but it turned out well overall. Next step to finish off the piece is to clean up some lines, add the knee swirl marks and apply a matte finish before submitting to the kidrobot MunnyWorld MegaContest.

D.I.whY?

D.I.whY?

Digital Illustration: Adobe Photoshop.

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My attempt to conform the original character sketch to the shape of a 4" mini Munny. I decided to invert the body's black & white tones from the original sketch to balance out the head. I'm happy with how it turned out, but I'm still a bit worried about how it'll look in 3 dimensions. This will be my first attempt at customizing a toy, with a year's worth of information gathering and prep work. Because it is my first time working on a D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) Munny, I've decided to also work with acrylic paint markers as my choice of medium. Because the subject is so small, I'm hoping I'll have more control using the acrylic paint markers instead of brushes. Let's hope it works out...

Domo Arigato, Mr. Muchacho

Domo Arigato, Mr. Muchacho

Pen, marker & liquid whiteout on paper.

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A character sketch I came up with while brainstorming for a design to use in kidrobot's MunnyWorld MegaContest, which runs from April 1st till April 30th. I wanted to incorporate some of the design/style themes from my Thought Processor paper toy colorway along with my reoccuring design themes. I thought it would be interesting to use graphic elements such as the linear hatched hair, the large panda patch eyes and swirl nose on a rounded surface of a mini Munny. He was turning into a Mexican luchador wrestler with the mask-like face and cape. The boxing gloves still fit in with the Mexican fighter theme, so I added the Sumo wrestling diaper for good measure...