Heywire Guild & Gallery

I was made aware of this new portfolio site that I thought I'd give a try, Heywire Guild & Gallery.

I've posted more of my traditional and digital life drawings at this location, check it out:

http://www.heywiregallery.com/profile/sketchguy

Pre-holiday Madness

It's been pretty busy since returning from Berlin over Thanksgiving break. I'm finishing up my entry for the My Plastic Heart 'MoneyGrip' show before heading out west (AZ and CA) this Friday for Xmas and New Years. Looking forward to the tour of Hearst Castle at San Simeon and then a few days in San Francisco before returning to the arctic weather conditions in NY.

Here's a quick sketch and final look for the spoon shaped characters i've been working on.

Sketch to Vector #2

After working out the vector illustration, I added the shading as a separate layer in Photoshop as opposed to using blends in Illustrator.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular on NBC, 12/1/07

"For the first time ever, NBC will televise the 75th celebration of the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" in a one-hour exclusive special from the great stages at Radio City Music Hall."

We worked on four sequences for this at Guava. I was responsible for the 'Ragdoll' sequence, creating original characters and building the interior to Santa's workshop. The animation is pretty basic so as not to distract from the Rockettes in the foreground, however, I was able to infuse some life into them by synchronizing their actions to the music and action taking place on stage.

Check out the broadcast this Saturday night, December 1st, from 8-9pm EST on NBC.

The Berlin Underground

Just had to post about how clean the subway system is here.  I was shocked to hear one of the locals referring to it as "a bit messy." Especially considering how downright filthy the NYC subway system is.  (Of course, he might have been comparing theirs to the opulence of the Russian underground...) We sure could learn a thing or two from our European counterparts.

Berlin Graffiti

Had a chance to walk around a bit this afternoon after the DVD screening.  I'm always intrigued by the local graffiti whenever visiting someplace new.  After wandering around Museum Island there were only a few hours of daylight left so I tried to snap a few examples before it got too dark.

Berlin, Day 4

Ok, so there's no Day 2 or Day 3 post.  The screenings on both days ran very late, and by the time I got back to the hotel (2am-ish) I was simply too wiped out to post.  I would then sleep in as late as possible before jetting back to the venue for another full day. Think Siggraph Electronic Theater + Animation Screening Rooms for 2 days straight and you get the idea.

Overall, the festival was very entertaining, informative, and a great inspiration. All of the presentations were well done.  For me, the speaker highlights were Studio Soi, Tokyo Plastic, and Aaron Stewart.

One interesting tidbit from Anna, Peter and Lars was that there will not be a show next year, as they will be adjusting the schedule for a Springtime conference (that way, they don't exhaust their Summer planning for a late Fall show.)  I feel extra fortunate that I was able to attend this year before the planned hiatus.

A very scruffy and somewhat jet-lagged Steve.

Lars, Peter, and Anna, aka, Pictoplasma.

The crowd ready for the first program to begin.

Berlin, Day 1

After a long trip, I arrived safely in Berlin yesterday.  Celebrated my 42nd birthday fighting off jet lag (update - jet lag got the best of me, however, I did force myself to take only a 1-hour nap, followed by a much needed refreshing hot shower) 

Eventually, I made it to the Pictoplasma kickoff event, which featured a rather interesting piece of character art (see attached picture.)  Navigating the underground has been relatively easy, and my hotel is only three stops away from the cinema. Looking forward to screening the first day of animation this afternoon.

'Plug-Man' Sketch to Vector

These were some of my initial sketches for the plug-man character that graces the homepage of my recently updated online portfolio. I'm having a blast getting reacquainted using Adobe Illustrator for transforming my drawings into polished, scalable vector pieces.

'Get a Grip' DIY Show @ MyPlasticHeart

I've been selected to participate in the upcoming MoneyGrip custom DIY show that will take place in January '08 at MyPlasticHeart in the East Village, NYC. The creator of this character is the amazing kaNO. This is my first ever DIY show, so i'm extra excited to be invited. Thanks Vincent!

Pictoplasma!

The excitement for my trip to Berlin this Wednesday is starting to build.  I'll be attending the Pictoplasma Animation Festival to be held in Mitte this Thursday thru Sunday.

SketchBot Goes Live!

In addition to updating my online portfolio, I figured it was as good a time as any to begin a serious blog devoted to documenting new ideas, sketches and work-in-progress. I'll be doing my best to post on a consistent basis which will, if anything, discipline myself to keep an up-to-date journal. -Steve