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IN THIS EPISODE ::

I explain my own process for developing pitches for animated TV shows.  I also share a few insights about what I value in collaborators.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Last Monday, I had a couple of hours of down-time at Disney.

This happens every now and then, when there is a slight lag in the production pipeline.

Sometimes when this happens, I’ll go ask questions of the art-jedi-masters that I work with, organize my office, play a song on someone’s guitar, pet someone’s dog or play a game of ping pong.  Last Monday, I decided to make another painting.

I have been talking on the podcast and here on the blog about how I’m trying to loosen up in my painting style.  I attempted this a few times with little success, always falling back into my more meditative, detailed methods.

There were a few flirtations with spontaneity, however.  Evidence of said flirtations can be found in the Alien Janitor painting and the development work that I’ve been doing for a client’s graphic novel project.

However, it was not until this most recent concept piece that I feel like I really found a successful balance between spontaneity and confidence.

How did this happen?  I’m not entirely sure.  I just didn’t think about it.

I began with a technique that I learned in a book called The Skillful Huntsman.  Read the rest of this entry »

I recently did some visual development for an online game.  The game is another installment in the classic ‘Zork’ franchise called Legends Of Zork.

Last year, I painted twenty-two environments for the game and you can see some of those previous images here and here.

I recently took on another twenty-one environments when Activision & Spark decided to expand the game.

This time, I supplied color comps for each environment and art-directed the completion of the final images while relying on the assistance of my friends and fellow illustrators Kevin Cross and Joshua Kemble.  (You can learn more about this on Episode 16 of my podcast.)

Its amazing to think that I have now designed forty-three lighting scenarios, color palettes and moods for this game.  It is an incredible challenge that really stretches your creativity to produce that much art for any project.

It became more and more challenging to be original and creative as the environments increased in number, but in spite of that, I think the ones that were produced last were some of the best.

More images below.

I’ll be talking more about this phenomenon in an upcoming episode of my podcast so stay tuned!

The line art is by Greg Brown and the whole project was directed by the remarkable Jim Zubkavich at UDON Entertainment.  Jim also designed all of the characters in the game.

There are new blogs or podcasts at ChrisOatley.com EVERY WEDNESDAY!!

Until next week, go well.

Friends, I just wanted to let you know that the collected edition of Issues 1-6 of The Dreamer Lora Innes’ epic comic published by IDW is now available in book stores an comic shops the world ‘round.  (pictured below)

Head out now to pick up your own copy and be sure to check out TheDreamerComic.comwhere you can read every issue of The Dreamer online for free!

You can listen to an awesome interview with Lora Innes HERE Chris Oatley’s ArtCast!

You can also purchase a Wizard Of Oz ‘Flying Monkey’ T-shirt that I designed for the book.  The main character, Beatrice Whaley wore in Issue #6 right here in my Zazzle STORE.

I know I KNOW… When will it ever end?  I keep telling you that this painting is done and then, like our pal George Lucas, I keep going back in and making tweaks…

But this is the real-deal, bona-fide final-final version… …I think. Interestingly enough, I made these changes in response to a couple of helpful critiques I received on deviantART and via email.

In the previous final version, there was too much blood on the Hulk’s fists.  I could either have reduced the amount of blood on his fists or increased the amount of blood on the characters.  Considering that I 1.) didn’t want to conceal all the effort I put into painting those characters and 2.) did not want to go overboard with the violence, I decided to reduce the blood.

I blurred the Hulk’s hands using the smudge tool and a soft brush so I could maintain the sense of fast motion that was originally achieved with the blood that was trailing from his fists…

However… the large blood spray to the right of the frame-of-reference worked pretty well as a design element, so I didn’t want to change its overall shape and size very much.  Instead, I blurred it out with the Gaussian Blur filter in Photoshop which created the illusion that the spray is smaller in actual size, but closer to the ‘camera’ and thus larger within the frame of reference.

Lastly, I balanced out the air-blood and character-blood by adding some more blood soaked into Wolverine’s shirt.  I achieved this blood-soaked look by adding red paint onto several Photoshop adjustment layers set to ‘Multiply’ and ‘Color.’

(Listen to Episode 14 of my podcast for more on how I came to these decisions…)

So I think that’s really it for this painting.  I’m happy that its finally over.  For my next fan art pieces?  I have a Captain America, a Daredevil and another TMNT piece in the works…  Not sure when they will be done, but it will all be available here on ChrisOatley.com!

Thanks for reading!  New Blogs or Podcasts at ChrisOatley.com EVERY MONDAY!

Here is a new concept piece that I did for a comic book project that I was hired to develop.

You can read more about the project in parts one and two.

Above and below are some designs for some of the ships that will populate the world of the story.

You can tell from the two images in this post that I work out the silhouettes first – all on a big page just like you see – and then I go back in with a second pass and add some character to the design as well as some details and dimension.

These are, of course, only sketches.  I was just trying to get a bunch of ideas down very quickly – without getting hung up on the drawing.  The idea is to come up with a strong silhouette and then go back in and let the silhouette shape ‘speak’ to you as you discover the smaller forms within it.

After that,I decide which ones I like and I scale them up and work out an actual color scheme, adding more details, changing parts of the design that don’t work or could work better, and I determine what the surfaces and textures will look like.

These were all generated very quickly (two hours max) in Photoshop with a generic brush.I have more designs where these came from, so I’ll try to post more in the near future.

AND remember: New blogs or podcasts at ChrisOatley.com EVERY WEDNESDAY!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

IN THIS EPISODE ::

With some newfound perspective gained through the experience of my father-in-law’s death, I encourage you to number your days and make them count.

Also, I encourage you to not underestimate the power of taking small steps toward your artistic goals.  I share an insightful story from the time I heard Dreamworks co-founder Jeffery Katzenberg address a group of college students and I close with some comments on the dangers of moving forward all the time.  ie:  How not to become a ‘Shark.’
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