Happy Holidays

It’s that time of the year again so here are my best wishes.

Hunter

I got an idea for a short… here are some concepts.

Hairy Monster

I was doing some sketching, and here is the hairy thing that came out.

Santas Lineup

I found it an interesting idea, worth spending some time on.

Advent Guide

The cover for an annual project. More later.

Positive and Negative Shapes

A Little Something on Design

As I mentioned I’ve been experimenting with things, trying new ways of working, for me that is. I’m definitely not reinventing the wheel. Never the less, I am finding things out for myself, and I’m having fun while doing it.

This is my first attempt to inking an image and it really gets ideas flowing. The moment the line becomes a shape things start making sense. Sure you might have read about it in Graham’s book “Composing Pictures” but it isn’t the same until you do it. As always we need to see thing in practice, we need to get our hands dirty for the concept start gelling, and that is when things start happening.

If anyone out there has a hard time dealing with positive and negative shape I invite him or her to pickup some ink and tackle this beast with it. I assure you that the next time you are to do a layout you’ll be a lot more conscious about the shapes you are putting down and how you are going to work with them later.

P.S. Graham’s book “Composing Pictures” is excellent, he breaks down the mechanics of design and analyzes each element. Last time I got my copy it was out of print, but I think heard it was reprinted.

Pushing That Gesture

A Reflection on Design

We know that before we put a pencil on a piece of paper we need to have an idea, even just a hint of an idea will do, but next is the gesture. Not just any gesture will do, but a one that has something to say. We need to push the gesture, fight that vertical, and at the same time keep it simple; just an ‘s’ shape and nothing more . We want to keep things moving, dynamic where needed, but definitely: always interesting.

These drawing really get the point across. The character is practically a volumetric line. It’s primary gesture is an ‘s’ shape, but what power. The gesture is pushed, yet not to the point of becoming awkward instead “we buy it”, it makes sense. Wasn’t Richard William that said something about mastering the basics would give exceptional results? So, if the gesture is the essence of a drawing then we really need to be concern to get it right.

So lets get that idea, draw the gesture on paper, then add those volumes. After that, lets do it again and again until we get the right.

One of my life drawing teachers once told me fill those trashcans with drawings, a genius is a genius because he made more mistakes then you.

Our viewers are our gods, and masters. After all we are here to please them. So, let’s push that gesture.

A Trustworthy Doc

I’ve been playing around and getting, more and more, used to the tablet. This one was done digitally from the beginning, with some prior sketching on paper to get some ideas flowing.

More Santa

Here is an other test.

Santa Is Coming

I’ve been playing around with the tablet. I usually do my designs with Illustrator, but now that I have a more intuitive way of working with the tablet; I’ve been playing around with the production flow, what kind of looks I can get, and how long it would take me.

Because of Season being around the corner, I have been sketching more and more Santas, this one is more of a generic one, but it got me started.

Painting Again…

It has been a while since I last picked up a brush, I mean the paintbrush, canvas, and the whole get up, mixing the oil paints, preparing the medium, getting the thinner out. I remembered it use to take me 15-20 min to get ready, plus cleaning up.

Well I just got my hands on a Cintiq and I feel like I’m painting again. It is so intuitive and direct you click and you have the color no more time spent mixing. It used to be the thing that drove me crazy the most, color is one of those thigs. I guess that is why I like drawing better. It is a lot more immediate, but who know… know that I have access to a Cintiq things may change. I started making some color thumbnails for the annual Christmas card, and man, it is fast and clean.

On the other hand, it might just be the excitement of a new toy. I guess time will tell. One thing is sure, for me, nothing beats sketching.

Feedback is always welcome.

What you are looking at is a first version of a board for an ad.

Finding the Frame

A Reflection on Design

Once in a while you find yourself doing some work and all of a sudden “eureka” a moment of clarity comes along; well that did not happen to me last night, but what did happen was that I reintroduced myself to cropping. I was setting up the files for theses dogs illustrations and I started to play with cropping, When… the light went off and told me this is some really powerful stuff be careful. No kidding!

Sure you do the thumbnails, or at least some do, and you think I’ve got it! Then you look at the composition that you spent hours on and it just doesn’t dance, it doesn’t sing, it doesn’t even talk, it just doesn’t want to say I exist. And that hurts!

In animation it is all about story telling and I think these different cropping can illustrate how four different lines around an image can make and image sit on a wall as a print, be in a magazine, or look like a still from and animation.

These four lines are strong story telling tools.

The Dogs

This is a series of 10 illustrations for an online magazine, C-Heads, as soon as they are published I’ll post the link. They feature photographers and illustrators. I’ve seen some nice photography work on their previous issues.

I have to honesty say that this project has been a stepping stone for me. I used knowledge that I gathered in the last year, and I can see myself growing. So here are the Dogs…

A stepping stone: one of the most powerful tools that I find myself playing with is shape variety and thank god for The Illusion of Life. I have that page stuck in mind. It saved me on an incredible number of occasions, why am I saying this now? I can almost say that I’m starting to digest the idea; I feel like I’m starting to make those decisions subconsciously, and that is pure pleasure. Even more when you hear yourself saying out loud “I’m finally starting to design.”

Feed-back is more then welcome. As a matter of fact one of the basic reason for which I decided to start a blog, so be honest and let it rip.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is knocking at the door, so Happy Halloween! Here you have this year's invite to my annual Halloween festivities.

Getting Things Started

I just came back from LA and I finally decided to get this up and running. I figure that I can start by posting some of my past work. So here it is.

For those of you that want to see more this is my site www.cephalopod.tv and a pdf version of my work is at www.cephalopod.tv/portfolio/C_Asaro_Portfolio.pdf

Style Test

This is a style test for a series of posters that I will be doing in the next weeks. I was quite pleased with the production time on the test, I’m really looking forward to this project. I’ll be posting updates on this.

Life Drawing

A taste of what truly relaxes me the most. Life drawing is without any doubt the best way to go. You get better at doing, it’s fulfilling and it does not bip at you if you make a mistake, and yes it’s cordless.

One Way

A background for a short that I made this year in Halle, Germany at he European Animation Masterclass. I ended-up not using this bg, but I like the way it came out so here it is. This is the link to the short, not an oscar winning film but considering it is my first I’m quite proud. One Way

Pennyland

One of a series of posters I made for a fictitious theme park that does not exists.

Ah Ah Maquette

Here you have a sculpture of a character that I developed, there is an idea for a short behind this little guy.

Spaceman Jax

This is an idea for a TV series that I am developing on my free time, here you have the logo designs and a web screen that I made for my website.

A Monster Morning

This is an illustrated book that I wrote and illustrated about a year or so ago. Here you have the cover design, and spread.