ChrisOatley.com

Disney Character Designer answers your questions about Concept Art, Character Design for Animation, Digital Painting & Illustration.

Storytelling Resources for Comics Creators, Storyboard Artists & Animators

Notecards for a Comic ScriptProfessional visual storytellers draw inspiration from art, history, their own personal experience and the experiences of others to craft meaningful, emotional stories.

But the broad scope of even the shortest stories can make the craft completely overwhelming.

Here you'll find resources for comics creators, storyboard artists and animators - designed to help you find focus and clarity in the chaos...

Ten Questions To Ask Your Characters To Make Them More Dynamic & Believable :: PWP #8

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Riddler-Batman-TV-Classic-254x300Do you struggle to write good dialogue for your characters?  Are your characters flat and boring?

Do you avoid the writing process and race to the drawing stage when making your comics or cartoons?

What if your writing process could improve your character designs?

In this episode of The Paper Wings Podcast, Chris and Lora give you TEN questions that will help you bring your characters to life right on the page.

They also share the submission deadline and judging process for the first Paper Wings Challenge sponsored by WACOM Technologies!

This episode features examples from Batman, X-Men, Romeo & Juliet, The Big Lebowski, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, LOST, The Godfather, Driving Miss Daisy and The Office.

Press PLAY, dig deep with your characters and let the design and dialogue flow!

READ ON to learn how YOU can enter to WIN a WACOM Intuos4 Tablet and to download the episode Cheat Sheet!

[Read more…] about Ten Questions To Ask Your Characters To Make Them More Dynamic & Believable :: PWP #8

Five Steps To A Winning Comic Pitch :: PWP #5

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chewbacca_pitching-300x225The paths to success in both mainstream and independent/ “creator-owned” comics are beginning to converge.

In this episode Chris and Lora share their perspectives about how a personal, creator-owned project can serve both types of careers.

They explain how a winning comic pitch is about the creator just as much as it is about the created project. Lora also shares some insights from her successful pitch to IDW.

[Read more…] about Five Steps To A Winning Comic Pitch :: PWP #5

Portfolio Pit Stop :: PWP #3

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DSC_0206-300x229We’re back with a special Paper Wings Podcast!

Chris & Lora were together in L.A. this week, so we decided to take a detour from our planned schedule and do a LIVE episode.

Instead of releasing Part 2 of our portfolio episode this week, we used Episode 3: PORTFOLIO PIT STOP to answer some of the many listener questions we received.

Listen in to hear our thoughts on:

Do the principles we discussed about animation portfolios apply when assembling a freelance illustration portfolio? Are “leave behinds” a good idea? How do you brand yourself online and make your portfolio stand out in the digital realm? What should you wear to an interview? What if I can’t attend comic conventions? And more!

We also take the opportunity to share our (mis)adventures on the California coast, and discuss our vision for Paper Wings– specifically the Paper Wings Talent Exchange Program!

And don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter to receive details about a chance to win one of three Intuos4 Tablets from WACOM, the first Paper Wings Challenge sponsor! Newsletter subscribers will get the contest rules FIRST, before the next episode is released. So sign up today!

[Read more…] about Portfolio Pit Stop :: PWP #3

Demystifying The Good Idea :: ArtCast #28

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In This ArtCast ::

I share a revolutionary philosophy that “ideas are a dime-a-dozen” …and that’s a wonderful thing.

I explain how we can unlock ourselves from the paralyzing fear of idea-theft and unhealthy obsession over our ‘one good idea’ by accepting two truths. 1.) Our ideas are not as precious as we think and 2.) Good ideas CAN be contrived.

I also share some practical advice for how we can begin exploring ideas and generating new ones, both visual and narrative.

[ download the mp3 ]

AWESOME LINKS ::

Chris Oatley On Twitter

Follow THIS LINK to the iTunes store and leave positive feedback in the “Customer Review” section.

The music heard on Chris Oatley’s ArtCast is provided by Storybook Steve and Kangaralien.