Garrett's Blog of Art

Rio Animation Reel

2011-09-12T04:44:00.000-07:00

My RIO animation reel is up!

Click Image to play

Gesture Drawings

2010-04-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

From March 15 - April 1, 2010
30 sec to 1 min.

Sketchbook: Figure Drawings

2010-03-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

30 sec - 1 min poses

A small group of us at work like to loosen up with some figure drawing every morning, each of us alternating as the model. Here's a small sample of my results...

BSS Challenge: "and the nominees are"

2010-03-03T04:12:00.001-08:00

I just finished up a post for the Blue Sky Studios Challenge blog.
This session's category: "... and the nominees are."

click above to see full image

Coast to Coast

2010-02-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

Let's see... last post was...AUGUST 2008!?

Wow! What's with the big gap inbetween posts?

Well, big news first:
-I got hired full-time as an Animator at Blue Sky Studios with an amazing team of artists.

-Finished animating on my first feature film, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

-Left sunny California to road-trip out to our new home in Connecticut. Good bye West Coast :(

With any big life change, things get jumbled around and sometimes neglected (like this blog), fortunately things have finally settled down enough for me to spend some quality time in the ol' blog-o-sphere.

I'm working on giving this blog a polish/face-lift while making posts a little more on schedule. Here's to future creative endeavors... cheers!

BTW, in case you didn't believe me, here's my Ice Age Animation Reel... enjoy!

Click Image to Play

Sketchnight: "SLEEP"

2008-08-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Sketchnight Blog has started up again here at work, where every week a topic is decided upon and everyone in the group does a "sketch" of it. I wanted to try and do something different and create a whole comic page. Hope you enjoy it!

San Diego Comicon 2008

2008-07-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

I'll be at the San Diego Comicon again along with the Hard Eight crew, at booth 1034. Hard Eight is back and even better as we premiere the brand new Hard Eight: Volume 2. The artwork and stories in this volume are just phenomenal!!

Hope to see everyone there!

Sketchnight: "FEMALE OFFICER"

2008-03-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

There's no greater female officer than Margie from "Fargo"...

"There Will Be Blood" Sketch

2008-03-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

Sketchnight: "COSTUMES"

2008-03-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

After watching "3:10 to Yuma" the other night, I felt really inspired to do this one for our Sketchnight club at work... only with a more female influence.

(Blue Pencil, Brushpen, Moleskine Sketchbook)

Team Fortress 2 Sketches

2008-03-10T21:30:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get back into some regular inking: just me, a sketchbook and black ink brush-pen. I've also been playing a lot of Team Fortress 2, awesome game!

Something a little different...

2007-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

I thought its about time I posted some non-Hard 8 related art up. My buddies Erich and Bill sent me this YouTube video and I felt inspired to do a quick sketch...

Post Con...

2007-08-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to everyone that came by the Hard Eight booth! It was great to catch up with everyone and meet a bunch of new people as well. It was an absolute exhausting blast and we can't wait to see everyone next year!

Here's a few photos

San Diego Comicon 2007!

2007-07-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!
I will be down at the San Diego Comicon, along with the whole Hard Eight gang, from July 25 - 29. We'll be promoting the upcoming release of Hard Eight Volume 2!! We have a bunch of brand new goodies to show everyone, including a whole set of super awesome Hard Eight movie posters. This is my teaser poster for my upcoming Hard Eight story, "Eye in the Sky." It'll be on display along with the other guys' posters at our booth. You really have to come check them out, they're gonna be fantastic looking all hanging together!

We'll be at booth 1034, which is right next to where we were last year, so if you came on by in 2006, stop by the same area to check out the new stuff!

Amber and I are gearing up and really getting stoked for this con, we hope to see all of you there!

Hard 8 at Wondercon 2007!

2007-02-18T23:27:00.000-08:00

March 2-4, 2007

If any of you are going to be in the San Fran area, we're going to be at Wondercon 2007 at Artist Alley Booth AA76.

So come on by! Me and a group of the Hard Eight crew will be there signing books and chatting about the upcoming Volume 2! Hope to see you guys there!

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T01:10:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to do a Halloween sketch or not, but I was just doodling in the ol sketchbook, and this little Frankenstein sketch came out...

So grab the sugary snacks, slip on a costume and pop in your favorite scary movie...its Halloween time!!

Brock Lobster

2006-10-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick color sketch I did a while back for the Sketch Night blog. The topic was "Oceanic Adventure", so of course my mind always drifts toward drawing weird monsters.
I figured its October and I havent posted any creatures yet.... enjoy!

A "People Watching" I will go...

2006-10-06T00:25:00.000-07:00

(cafe sketchin' with Pentel Sign Pen)
Animation Mentor is ramping up and getting exciting. We're starting to get a hang of the site and getting our first assignment under our belt. I totally forgot its October, I have to do some monster/horror drawings for the next post. If anyone has any good sketch ideas for me, go ahead and post it up. The scarier/bloodier/nastier the better ;p

What's the latest....

2006-09-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

BIG NEWS! I'm excited to be a new student at Animation Mentor!!

I start my first class this week. I've gotten a chance to wander through the site and it's awesome! All the talk of excitement around this school is totally true. There's lots of really enthusiastic animators all buzzing about and I'm really looking forward to joining them.

So, in addition to taking classes, I've started preliminary work for Hard Eight Vol 2. (Just when I thought I would be able to make a non-Hard Eight post, this one slipped in...curses!) We're already gathering a great group of artists and new ideas for the book, it's gonna be great!

All summer my mind has been Hard Eight-ified, so the past couple of weeks I've been going back to good ol cafe sketching.
Pen + Sketchbook + Venti Cafe Americano = Heaven!
Things started out pretty rusty, but slowly the old habbits of quick-sketching started to come back to me. Here'a few to show...

(done with Pentel Sign Pen)

Fall looks to be an exciting, super busy time...and I can't wait! Hope everyone is doing well!

Amber Dempsey!

2006-08-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

The very lovely and tallented sculptor Amber Dempsey has started a blog to showcase her great artwork. She recently posted pics of one of her awesome maquettes of Hard Eight, based on a design I did. The character came out fantastic and it was a really neat experiecnce to see one of my drawings be made into a full 3D figure. She has a bunch of other cool maquettes and paintings to post, so be sure to check it out at:
http://www.littlemissdemp.blogspot.com

Hard Ei8ht For Sale!

2006-08-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

For anyone that was not able to make it to comicon or didnt get a chance to swing by the booth, now's your chance to pick up a copy of Hard Ei8ht! If you're in the LA area, you can swing by several locations:

House of Secrets
1930 W. Olive Avenue
Burbank, California 91506
(818) 562-1900

and

House of Heroes
18214 Prairie Ave 90504
Torrance, CA
(310) 516-7800

Or you can buy it ONLINE by going to the Hard Ei8ht Blog for only $19.95 + $5.00 s/h.

...and what a 'Con it was!

2006-07-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Finally back from five great, exciting, exhausting days at San Diego Comicon 2006. What a great experience! Hard Eight was a success and the groups was thrilled!
Alex, Emmanuel, Brian, The Gute, Matt, Erich, Bill, Greg, Amber and I all had a blast! Even our colorist galore, Eren Blanquet came by on Saturday. Ten people in one 10 x 10 ft booth was not easy, but we managed to pull it off. Thank you to everyone who came by the booth, you guys and gals are awesome!

We had a whole set of swag to show for Hard Eight: Poker Chips, Playing Cards, Stickers, Alex's Hard Eight Shadow Box and Amber's Hard Eight Maquette! The guys even put together a great video showcasing the comic in moving picture format, with Chris Tallman and Dave Hartman providing some of the voicework bringing our stories to life on the small screen!

Check out all the PHOTOS HERE...

Some other highlights I didn't get to take pix of:
-Dropping by to see John Nevarez, Patrick Morgan and Jose Lopez. Three talented and super nice fellows!
-Got to meet Dave Colman and see his amazing animal drawings.
-Being the booth right behind The Rhythm Section and poking our heads through the cloth barrier
-Checking out Dave Hartman's Sideshow Monkey booth and meeting his lovely wife and daughter.
-Meeting Javier Guzman, one cool guy!

One rule of thumb for those who plan to have a booth next year, as tempting as it is to leave your area with all the great stuff for sale, stay at your booth as long as possible. Otherwise you might miss one of your hero's stopping by :(
(Thanks to The Gute and Alex for their photo taking in my absence)

Ok, enough name dropping. Thanks again to everyone we saw this past week for making it a memorable con experience! Cheers!

Hard Eight is finished!

2006-07-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

We just got our fresh batch of printed Hard Eight books! Mmmmmm, that newly printed smell.....

Not only does it smell good, but it has some of the best artwork by the most tallented group Ive ever worked with. This book came out looking absolutely awesome!

Everyone swing on by Booth 1032 at the San Diego Comicon, and come stimulate your eyes and nostrils with some Hard Eight...

Fresh from the printers...

2006-07-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! My book Dead Ink: A Collection of the Drawn Undead has arrived fresh from the printers and will be for sale at the San Diego Comicon, at the Hard 8 Booth (#1032).

A compilation of some of my ghoulish and zombie-tastic artwork, this book came out great and I can't wait for everyone to see it! Only a week away, my anticipation for this year's con is growing rapidly. We have some great stuff planned for our booth, so be sure to come on by and visit us, it's gonna be a blast!

Hard 8 is finished!!

2006-06-05T11:02:00.003-07:00

Woo hoo, we finally finished production on our graphic novel Hard 8 last week. All the editing and organzing is completed, much to the tremendous effort of my good buddy Alex "Big Toon" Deligiannis.
I put together the front cover, with much help and collaboration from the Hard 8 group. This book looks INCREDIBLE all put together and we cant wait to see it come back from the printers!
Now finally, with somewhat of a more stable schedule, some regular art blogging can commence.
Here's the front cover to Hard 8, look for it at the San Diego comicon in July...

Chocked full of color....

2006-04-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

Got some new Hard 8 samples to show...well, not really new...they're the same panels as before...but now in COLOR!

Yeah, Im just about wrapping up my story for Hard 8. Im in the...that's right, "coloring" stage. All the colors are done in photoshop from my scanned inked pages. Maybe I'll put up a tutorial of my process for making this story. I always love reading how other artists work/create and what steps they go through. When the ol schedule clears up, that'll be next on the agenda.

The book is shapping up to be an awesome piece of work! Plus we have some GREAT pinups already slated for the book, including one from Steve Silver! I can't wait to see this book printed out...

Hard 8

2006-04-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! A month and a half inbetween posts, but here's something new to show, finally.

I've been "hard " at work doing an 8 page comic book story for a new anthology "Hard 8".
Working together to create an collection of different tales revolving around one central character, a great group of artists, including myself, are collaborating to produce a graphic novel that will premiere at this year's San Diego comicon.

Currently I am half way done inking my story, and I wanted to show you a couple of sample panels to give you an idea of what it's going to be like. I'll be sure and post more details later. For those of you who know me and my favorite things to draw, a big surprise as to what the subject matter is going to be....

You can check out some of the other great artwork going into this project at the Hard 8 Blog...

Better late than never....

2006-02-16T03:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Blog Subscribing...

2006-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

There is a great post on Seward Street about how to get your blogs more easily read by websurfers.
I know with the huge number of great artists blogs out there, it's getting harder to keep tabs on daily posts, not to mention reading the updates from sites like Cartoon Bre w and Drawn. Having an RSS Feed really helps by giving viewers a way to subscribe to your blog. By using a feed reading program like FeedDemon, you can see which blogs have been updated all in one place, instead of having to browse every single site. If you dont want to pay the $30 for FeedDemon, there is a free program called Snarfer that does the same thing (this is the one I'm using now). Its like having a personal secretary givng you the latest news, a one stop blog shop.

Viking!

2006-01-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a sorta-quick Viking sketch. This was a fun one. Most of my stuff is usually done as simple line work with pencil and ink. I'm trying to do more coloring and fun character designs.

In the mean time, I've been pouring over this interview with the legendary animator Milt Kahl posted at Seward Street. Man o man, some great inspirational stuff!

Self Portrait

2006-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Got a new (shorter) hair cut, so I wanted to try a new style of drawing.
Here's a little self portrait...

A new sketch...finally...

2006-01-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, much apologizes for being absent in the blogging community. So, finally, here's a new sketch I whipped out late at night for fun. I had just seen Memoirs of a Geisha, and felt a little inspired...

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a wonderful holiday!

Hopefully at the beginning of the new year, more regular blogging will commence...

Serenity!!

2005-12-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

Although not directly an "art" post, I do want everyone to know about SERENITY, now available on DVD!
This in one of the BEST movies I saw this year! Story, characters, action, and overall fun, this is the flick to see! Even though its based off of the TV show Firefly, great show BTW, you dont have to have seen the series to enjoy this movie. It's for everyone. Go out and see this film, you won't regret it..promise!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

Wow! Has it been almost a month, and no posts? Bad Garrett! Bad!
Many apologies, work had kicked it up a notch, but I'll be posting more frequently, promise...

In the mean time, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Japan Pics

2005-10-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Finally organized all the photos we took in Japan. Check em out!

Back from another trip

2005-10-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting in a long time, but I've been getting back up to speed on everything...again. I just spent the week in Tokyo, and it was AWESOME!
So much cool stuff to see and do! For my first time there I had to try and soak up as much as I could of Japanese big-city life. I ate lots of good food, and bought tons of art books and toys (especially after visiting the Studio Ghibli Museum) ! I'll have a full report and pictures soon...

Here's a post-Japan self portrait...

On the movie front...everyone must see SERENITY! This is one of the best movies the year! Great characters and an awesome story! I'll admit, it may looked biased that I loved the TV show Firefly, that this movie was originated from, but trust me, you do not need to see the show to really enjoy this scifi universe that uber-creator Joss Whedon has concocted. It in no way deserves the box office records its getting right now. Go see it!!! Who wants to go? I'll see it again with you...

Charlie Sketch

2005-09-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a screening of Corpse Bride. I loved the designs/atmosphere/mood and the animation was just superb! The facial detail and subtlety of movement they got out of those puppets was just amazing! Unfortunately, the story was not that strong, but don't let any of that deter you. Its definitely worth seeing!

On another note... still jazzed up from the season premiere and at the request of my dear friend Eren, I'm posting another sketch from LOST. This time it's ex-rockstar Charlie...

"You All Everbody..!!"

Lost Sketch

2005-09-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

With tomorrow's season premiere of LOST on the horizon... I got into the mood of sketching my favorite character John Locke. This was a lot of fun, I'll have to do more sometime.

4 8 15 16 23 42.....

Hawaii Sketches

2005-09-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Alrighty...here's some sketches from the 'ol Hawaii trip...

While sitting at a local coffee bar, I spotted a guy in a big hat doing some great poses relaxing by the water's edge...

A view from the Island Lava Jave cafe....

Various people around the Kona airport.

For those of you who are Harry Potter fans...they've just released the new trailer...and it looks awesome...CLICK HERE!!
I'm 150 pages away from finishing Goblet of Fire...its so good. Now only two more books to read to catch up with the rest of the world...sigh....

Aloha!!

2005-09-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, I finally compiled all my pics from my Hawaii trip. Check 'em out...
Ill have the sketches I did posted shortly. The weekend before I left for Hawaii, I had recieved a fortune cookie, funny enough, with this wise bit of advice...

The all powerful, all knowing fortune cookie...

Lots of different things have been keeping me busy this week. Work, outside projects, and especially LOST on DVD. Man that show is addicting! Right from the first episode I cannot stop watching it. So many questions, so many twists. For those who have seen it, I gotta say John Locke is my favorite character. He's like the island's Yoda, so wise, so zen. Im just wrapping up the season and should be done by this weekend so I can catch the season 2 premiere on wednesday. I stopped watching a lot of TV a while back, so its exciting to have that "compelling televsion" feeling again..."what happens next?"

Happy Labor Day!

2005-09-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just got back from vacation in sunny Hawaii. I spent a week in Kona on the big island. Just walking around with lush forest on one side and a volcano on the other was absolutely amazing, and really gave the ol batteries a recharging. I've been getting re-organized the past couple of days, starting to get back into the swing of things again. I'll have pictures and sketches up soon...

In the meantime hope everyone is having a terrific Labor Day!

Coffee People...

2005-08-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Some interesting people at Starbucks...

Animal Lover

2005-08-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to see Coldplay in concert. What an awesome show! I've been a big fan for a while, and this was the first time I got to see them live, and oh man I was not dissappointed!! Chris Martin is a consumate showman, able to crack jokes, improvise all the while singing with enormous passion...for example, the band messed up the first few bars of a song and had to stop. Chris laughingly comes up to the mic and jokes "Sorry sorry, we havent played this one in a while, we'll owe each of you 25 cents for that one!" The enormous energy the band gave off was amazing, and reflected in the outpouring of fan cheers all throuout the almost 2 hour concert. Great show!

On a DVD side note, I just saw My Neighbors The Yamadas from the infamous Studio Ghibli. So funny, so charming, so beautiful! The animation style is so deceptively simple, yet elegant and pleasing to watch. I highly recommend that everyone see this one...

Here are some more story session sketches, this time a disgruntled girl and a small furry creature....

Farmgirl

2005-08-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketches from a narrative figure drawing session. These were a lot of fun to do, and it gave me a chance to work with tonal markers again...yay!

Lately I've been on a Milt Kahl kick...reading Illusion of Life, watching The Rescuers, Jungle Book, Sword in the Stone. Known to be the hard working, tough talking perfectionist of Disney's Nine Old Men, Milt is a huge inspiration not only for his work ethic, but for his outstanding draftsmanship/animation skills.

2005-08-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here's what I looked like last week...

In the mean time, I picked up The Simpsons Season 6 DVD and having the time of my life! One of the BEST seasons ever! The Stonecutters, Gummy Venus DeMilo, and of course...Clown College! ("I'm seein' double! Four Krusty's!")

Down time has come...

2005-08-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

Phew, ok...I got some of my freelance stuff out of the way...for now...
Sorry I haven't posted in a while...but believe me, I've been drawing drawing drawing away...
I've been catching up on sleep which has been just great.
I just saw Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. I thought the first one was great, funny stuff....but this one left me... unsatisfied, as I'm sure Rob Schneider would do as an actual gigalo. Deuce is back in the gigolo game after his wife (remember the one legged girl?) dies soon after they get married. His buddy Reggie (Deuce's He-Pimp) calls him up to join him in Amsterdam for some European fun. Soon as Deuce arrives, the trouble starts...dun dun dun! There is a killer out on the streets targeting all the male European prostitutes, and through a misshap Reggie gets blammed as the killer. So Deuce, has to get back in the game with the "flawed" ladies of Eurpoe to find out the connection between the killer and all their clients. The comedy bits were not that funny, let alone very unoriginal. The best part in the movie is seeing my favorite actor, Norm McDonald, as a heavy Irish-accented prostitute. There were moments of chuckle-hood, but overall I'd settle for the original.
Anyways, until I scan in my new stuff...here's some old sketches from early this year...

Busy Busy Bee....

2005-08-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

Just coming back from Siggraph last week, I've been exhausted tryin to update all my art/animation work.
(I'll post my Siggraph photos later this week). What I thought would be a relaxing weekend, ends up only me getting offered some more work. Which is really good and sorta bad, and I'm not one to turn down work. More details to follow later...
Right now I'm in need for some serious energy, I can feel a cold coming along if I dont get some much needed catch-up sleep. With caffeine on my mind and a bottle of Odwalla Citris C Monster by my side right now, I hope everyone reading this is well rested and jolly....here's Erich as a zombie....

Some 'mo work...

2005-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, looks like there is more than one person who looks at my pitiful lil blog, so I'll belly up and start posting some legitimate stuff...

Here's a re-post of my Robot Bastard pinup I did for Rob Schrab's upcoming Robot Bastard DVD.

Typical First Blog

2005-08-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here's my first blog entry...

Um...hmm...what to write.....

(long pause)

Uh....

Hmmm....

Oh yeah! Welcome!

This site is mostly (well pretty much all) due to Eren for signing up with blogger.....

For some kewl artwork, if anyone is reading this other than Ms. Eren, go to:
www.GarrettShikuma.com

Cheers
GARRETT