Drawing from Life

Animating a Villain

2011-05-21T22:05:00.008-04:00

Hey all! I've been on a definite hiatus from posting on here; hopefully I'll post more on this later! The past couple jobs I've worked on still have projects in production, so I can't show the work for them just yet. In the meantime, I've cooked up something to keep my reel current. For the most part it's done, other than adding a mirror smash sound effect & animating a few glass shards in the 3rd shot. Enjoy!

Long Time, No Post!

2010-11-18T06:14:00.005-05:00

Wow! Long time, no post it seems. Part of the absence was due to the nature of the work I was involved in, primarily being two currently-in-progress group films. Also, I recently got a job (woo-hoo!) creating character animation at a video game studio, Wayforward Technologies. So one could argue I've been distracted with work more-or-less (though not without lazy periods spent playing sporcle.com quizzes or Super Mario Galaxy 2).

Anyways, I do have some work to post soon. Below is a teaser shot (with fancy letterbox) of a new animation I'm working on, hopefully to be ready for this month's 11 second club competition (check it out here). More to come -- enjoy in the meantime!

(Bishop & Murdock rigs courtesy of AnimationMentor.com; backpack prop courtesy of TurboSquid.com)

The Monitor -- Concept

2010-06-22T23:44:00.002-04:00

Hey all!

Below is the cutout concept art for a new superzero: "The Monitor"! The name is tentative for now (other possibilities include "Goanna" and "Komodo"). The character is based off of yet another friend of mine. When asked what makes her unique, she mentioned quite a wide variety: her seemingly allergic reactions to cold weather; incredibly tall height; willingness to eat almost anything; and a former skill at climbing (as a child). Turns out that these traits are roughly similar to those of the Komodo Dragon, the largest monitor lizard in the world. Interestingly as well, my friend really likes lizards. It all tied together so well that I ran with it. Enjoy!

Another Attempt at the Ruby

2010-05-17T20:48:00.004-04:00

Back in the late summer of '09, I created several physical acting shots involving a Viking for Animation Mentor (check out the 3rd shot here). Now that I'm in the Polishing and Portfolio class, the time has come to revisit and amp up these shots. Here's the latest version of the 3rd shot in the sequence, with parts 1 and 2 coming later:

"Driver's Test" - Final

2010-04-29T00:52:00.002-04:00

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the final (at least for now) pass of my dialogue scene for Animation Mentor. Enjoy! I had a lot of fun making this : )

"Driver's Test" - Polishing Pass

2010-03-21T15:45:00.003-04:00

It's that time again! Here's the latest update on my dialogue assignment for AM. I've tried to push the performance further from last time. It still requires cleaning, and I'm considering adding a head shake in the teen when he says "four" (to show off that youthful attitude). Hope you enjoy!

"Driver's Test" - Refining Pass

2010-03-07T15:10:00.003-05:00

As the heading describes, this is the refining pass for my latest scene. I improved on some of the problems in the previous version, though there are still some more bugs to work through (i.e. Old Man popping in scene 3 and 4; kid could use some more work at the end). Enjoy!

"Driver's Test" - Blocking Plus Complete

2010-03-01T20:14:00.004-05:00

Here's an update on my dialogue shot for AM! On the plus side: the young guy is pushed more in terms of personality; now rather than just bored (& then suddenly shocked at the end), he's got a bit of teen angst to him. And the rest of the shots are now in the splining pass. Still needs work: namely, cleaning up curves in general; getting the old man to be less jerky / zippy in shot #2; adding more character to the young guy in shot 3 and 4; and pushing the rough mouth poses on the old man further. More to come soon; enjoy!

"Driver's Test" - Shot 1 Blocking Plus

2010-02-21T14:59:00.004-05:00

Here's an update for my dialogue scene for AM. Shot 1 is now in the blocking plus / splining pass, and I've revised the blocking for shots 2, 3, and 4. It's coming along! Enjoy.

I'm Beginning to See a Car Trend Going On...

2010-02-18T14:58:00.004-05:00

...And by trend, I mean another animation shot involving a car as some sort of MacGuffin / prop. Well actually, I think it was either my girlfriend or one of my roommates that pointed it out (whichever one of you did, sorry for forgetting!).

This shot is an initial rough pass of my newest assignment for Animation Mentor: a two-character dialogue, roughly 288 - 360 frames in length. Mine features a young teen on his first driving test...oh the memories. Anyway, before I start reminiscing, press play and enjoy!

(P.S. - This is just a rough blocking pass. On shot #4, I think I'll have the Old Guy holding his fist up from the start).

Bad Drivers Have Arrived!!!

2010-02-11T05:02:00.003-05:00

Here it is: the final shot for my AM monologue assignment! At last I polished up several areas -- popping in the left arm, jitters on the head, uneven arcs in the baton, etc.

There are still some areas that could use work. The left arm does a quick bob at one point (around "wrong side"). I should probably step through the animation and watch the cigarette's arc, as well as clean up some areas on the face. Also, I'm not too wild about the background, but it's waaaaay better than what I was using from before (a so-so modified version of a cool photo taken by my sister; it looked OK, yet readability = KEY and unfortunately the animation clashed with the image).

Enjoy!

Bad Drivers...Are We There Yet?

2010-01-28T17:00:00.002-05:00

Here's the latest update of my shot! Needs some more finessing, and the left hand does some funny movements around when the characters says, "country...wrong side...", etc. Enjoy!

Bad Drivers...Won't Stop!

2009-12-09T15:53:00.006-05:00

Hiya everyone! Here's the most recent pass of my monologue assignment for Animation Mentor. The final -- which is just the body motion -- is due this weekend. Next term, I'll be continuing on this shot by adding facial expressions, mouth movement, etc. Enjoy!

Sister's Wedding Caricatures

2009-12-09T15:49:00.004-05:00

My sister will be getting married this coming summer (congrats, sis!), and she commissioned me to make caricatures of the wedding party for she and her fiance's website. Hope you all enjoy!

Bad Drivers...Again?!?

2009-11-22T22:48:00.002-05:00

Yep yep, here's the reblocking of my latest monologue shot. Background is turned off; it was kinda distracted, and so I'm working on something different. For the time being I'm just using the car and the general. Enjoy!

Bad Drivers

2009-11-15T12:24:00.002-05:00

This is my blocking pass for a new monologue shot I'm working on, for Animation Mentor class #4. Hope you enjoy! (In case you're wondering, the audio is of Michael Caine from the original The Italian Job).

NOTES:
- Car rig courtesy of sudhi3d and creativecrash.com
- Background image courtesy of my sister, Cate Ryan, from one of her photo albums
- Props and character rig courtesy of AnimationMentor.com

The Holy Trinity Drawing - Revisited

2009-11-05T18:08:00.004-05:00

A while back I had painted an abstract piece based on the Mercy Me song "I Can Only Imagine". Also, I had drawn a cross based on the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Then God granted me an epiphany -- why not combine them together? The results are above. Enjoy!

P.S. - Special thanks to my girlfriend Nina who gave me advice on finishing the halo! : )

Writer's Block Final

2009-11-01T15:17:00.003-05:00

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen of the jury...my final version (at least for now) of the pantomime shot for AM class 4. Still needs work here & there...but then again, when does animation ever get done? Anyways, enjoy!

P.S. - Happy All Saints' Day!

The People of Burbank

2009-10-27T01:16:00.005-04:00

As the title suggests, I was out sketching people in Burbank. Lots of interesting folks! Enjoy.

The Joys of Writer's Block...

2009-10-18T15:01:00.003-04:00

Here's my newest assignment for Animation Mentor. I was tasked with making a pantomime scene, and I chose an author with writer's block as my focus. Enjoy!

Music Travels Faster Underwater

2009-10-15T15:58:00.003-04:00

Yo yo everybody! Here's another friend-turned-superhero character design, then turned into an artsy piece, that I've been working on here and there over the past few months (I've picked it up for a few hours, then put it down). It was fun to play around in photoshop and see what resulted. Enjoy!

"Forsooth!" -- Part 3 Update #2

2009-08-30T16:02:00.002-04:00

A little better; need to revise some more stuff and take it out of stepped mode. Plus, I still think Stu needs to spin once more on the table, but I'm running out of frames. Ideas, anyone?

"Forsooth!" -- Part 3: I Sense No Danger Here...

2009-08-23T15:52:00.004-04:00

This is the blocking pass for the final installment of the Stu the Viking saga (well, at least for AM...I may do more in my free time). Stu has finally found the legendary "Ruby of Ahnema-shon mintoor'datcom". However, this seemingly safe room might not be what it seems....

"Forsooth!" -- Part 2: Rock and a Hard Place

2009-08-23T15:45:00.004-04:00

Hiya hiya hiya, folks! Here's my second assignment for AM this quarter. Continuing the viking-searching-through-the-dungeon scenario, our heroic Stu finds himself in a long hallway with a door at the end. What dangers lie in wait for him this time? Press play and find out!!!

"Forsooth!" -- Part 1: The Bottomless Chasm

2009-07-28T02:38:00.003-04:00

About 4 weeks ago I started my 3rd term at Mentor. It's a great program; it's a blessing to be a part of it! This term students are given the option to pursue what's called an "anijam" -- basically a series of animations that form one continuous idea / story / theme. The idea is that it will allow you to tackle something more production-based rather than just an exercise in motion.

Anywho, for my theme I decided to go with a viking character who is exploring a fortress / dungeon. Along the way he encounters booby traps; each assignment features a different trap. Part 1 is using a rope to swing across a chasm. Part 2 and 3 to come in the following weeks!

(P.S. -- the shot GUI says "Final" on it, but this is not my final version; I've got a lot of polishing to do still).
(P.S.S. -- Oh, and I didn't forget about the dance animation from earlier...in the process of polishing that one too!)

Hold That Tiger -- Part 2

2009-06-09T06:31:00.004-04:00

Here's a more updated version of my dance animation (minus the sounds; will add it back in later). Should be finished by the end of the week. Enjoy!

Hold That Tiger

2009-05-31T15:01:00.004-04:00

Here's a re-blocking pass for my newest assignment on AnimationMentor.com. I chose to animate a simple dance, and after browsing through some really entertaining videos online, I stumbled upon the Charleston. In this clip Stu is dancing to "Tiger Rag" (as performed by Benny Goodman). Taking a tip from my mentor, I may add a cane at the end that will yank Stu offstage. Enjoy!

Snowman WIP Part 4

2009-04-28T23:54:00.004-04:00

It's almost done! Here's my work-in-progress scene...part 4!

Snowman WIP Part 3

2009-04-20T19:50:00.006-04:00

Here's the most recent update of my scene -- to be done soon! Check it out.

Snowman WIP Part 2

2009-04-07T07:51:00.004-04:00

Here's my work-in-progress for the dialogue scene involving the snowman (see previous post). Actually, for now I don't have the snowman in the scene! Just got the husband and wife going, but I'll work on their frosty house guest in the near future. Enjoy!

Even Snowmen Get Cold

2009-03-04T02:10:00.005-05:00

Here's a rough pass of a dialogue piece I'm working on for my reel. The quote's taken from Elf. As I progress through this I'll post up the more developed versions. Enjoy!

P.S. -- Check the post before this one to see what the guy character will look like -- I'm using the George character design I posted earlier. I'll post his wife's design up later on.

Which Way Did He Go, George?

2009-02-20T06:04:00.004-05:00

Here's a rough turn-around of a character design I'm working on; cleaned-up one, along with facial expressions and action poses, will be coming soon. His name's George, and I'm using him and another character for a dialogue piece I'm animating. Check it out!

He's kind of like an old Italian grandpa living in the Bronx with his wife Alice. They argue quite a bit but love each other dearly. He's more of the rational, down-to-earth, yet stubborn and grumpy type. He's got a big appetite, especially for traditional Italian food and the regular dishes served at Super Bowl parties. A retired teacher (taught music and basketball); can make a trombone sound sorrowful and an accordion sweetly pleasant. Strong dislike for squirrels.

"I will come with you to Alderaan..."

2009-01-27T00:55:00.008-05:00

For those of you who are reading (anyone? Bueller?), I've officially -- as of 4 weeks ago -- started up my first term at Animation Mentor and it's been awesome! There's so much to learn from this program -- from the mentors, classmates, and wealth of information they provide. It's sweet!

If you'd like to learn more about animation / get tips on animating but aren't sure if you even want to sign up for Animation Mentor, there's a great link you should check out . Shawn Kelly, one of the co-founders of AM, has a blog that he regularly updates with advice on working with this art form. Check it out:

http://animationtipsandtricks.com/

Sketch Studies - "Batman" (1966 version)

2008-12-08T16:42:00.005-05:00

BAM! BIFF! POW!!! That's right, folks -- you're looking at gestures from the old campy Batman TV show from the 1960s. Most of these were drawn from fight sequences, one in the villains' hideout, the other on the deck of their surfaced submarine.

I'll be posting more work in the near future, kids, so tune in again...same Drawing time, same Drawing channel!!!

Sketch Studies - "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

2008-11-07T03:07:00.006-05:00

Some more sketch studies! Indy does a lot of punching and kicking in this film, evidently.

Sketch Studies - "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"

2008-11-07T02:42:00.008-05:00

Above are some sketches I did after watching the classic film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". I got the idea to do this from a fellow artist and pal of mine. She recently posted some cool sketches / gestures of characters from the "The Lucy Show" on her blog. She was inspired by the work of Alex Woo, one of Pixar's story artists. His sketches wonderfully capture movement, gesture, staging, expression, weight, etc...all great things animators should aim to do. Like my friend, I didn't really have access to a model, and so I looked for some fun poses in this film instead.

Also, before I got to sketching people I became caught up in watching the death speech of Smiler Grogan (played by Jimmy Durante) in the opening scene. He's only on camera for a couple minutes, and his character is supposed to be slowly dying; and yet he exhibits so many emotions in one short scene. It's the mark of a great actor to show subtle inflections in character and still evoke the general mood of a given scene. Gotta look for more moments like this!

The Hooper - Revisited!

2008-10-29T15:16:00.002-04:00

I did this for a recent portfolio application. Took the Hooper's design and made it into a poster, harkening back to the 1950s-style advertisements. Since it was so much fun to work on, I may consider doing posters for other characters in the same series (though each would be stylized in probably a different genre, depending on the character).

Avast! 'Tis Air Pirates Ye See!

2008-10-28T14:33:00.003-04:00

Here's a piece I did for a portfolio application. The point was to make something in the same vein as the old-school Mario / Kirby characters. I was always a fan of "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island", so I looked at a bunch of the designs in that game for inspiration. The main character is a young, rocket boot -wearing swashbuckler; he has just taken some loot from his arch-nemesis, the skull-masked pirate captain below. I'm working on some additional character concepts (bad guys, bosses, etc.) that I'll post here in the future, or should I say, fut-arrrr me mateys!

OK, please don't beat me up for that last pun.

Wayfarers...Part 2!

2008-10-25T04:02:00.003-04:00

Here's the finalized version of the duo I posted earlier. Thanks to the advice of two friends of mine, I realized that (in the original) the guy's right forearm looked a little funky and his legs were too short. Along with fixing those things, I've thrown some color (and a tad of texture) into the piece. Enjoy!

"I Snore" - Lip Sync, Blocking 2

2008-10-18T02:51:00.004-04:00

Above is the Blocking 2 pass (still in progress) of an animation I'm working on for my reel. The quote is spoken by Charles (David Ogden Stiers) from the TV show "M*A*S*H". I'll post the final piece once I get the chance. Enjoy!

Wayfarers of the Sea and Woods

2008-10-14T19:06:00.006-04:00

Here's a sketch of two of the main characters in a story that's been floating around in my mind for many years now. Perhaps one day I'll write it! The image is just of the line drawings. After I tweak a few problem areas here and there, I'll post the colored version up soon.

For a bit of background about the pair (though not to give too much away), the young man and woman are best friends from a harbor town. He's just returned from a right-of-passage voyage. She helps her father keep watch over the surrounding woods nearby.

"The Last Leaf"

2008-09-29T03:41:00.004-04:00

This piece was my most recent submission to an art blog group I'm a part of. It's based on the theme, "In the Falling Snow". I wanted to do something simple for this week's project, and began thinking of what would appear interesting amidst falling snow. My first thoughts went to color and contrast: a blue backdrop, littered with white snowflakes, and contrasted by something vibrant and yellow-orange. Then the image came of a lone leaf floating to the ground. For the majority of the process I operated using this color scheme. While it worked, the placement of the leaf and some mistakes I had made earlier on caused the leaf to look out of place. I worked at it for some time, seeing what I could do to fix it. Eventually it came down to altering all the blues and cyans (plus some other colors) in the background to earthier tones. This changed my point-of-view to looking down on the leaf on the ground, and as a result seemed to work better. Enjoy!

Updated Blog Info!

2008-09-25T14:35:00.005-04:00

Like I mentioned in the last post, it's been a while since I put something on here. I got distracted with the end of school, as well as creating a new blog for a class. Since then, that blog has been converted into my online portfolio. You can check it out here:

michaelkevinryan.blogspot.com

As for this blog, it's going to remain my usual spot for posting my new work / what I'm doing. Hopefully though I'll be more regular about it from now on! Keep your eyes peeled for new work, soon to be on the way.

"The Hooper" - Part 2

2008-09-25T14:20:00.005-04:00

So, it's been a while since my last post! I'll explain more in the next post. But for now, without further delay, the long-awaited and completed version of "The Hooper"!

"The Hooper" - Part 1

2008-02-05T13:05:00.005-05:00

This week's addition is "The Hooper"! She has the ability to hula-hoop like nobody's business. Character Design to come later!
NOTE: This has been edited since the original post. I changed the skin tone with some other cut-out paper, and then did some color editing and clean-up in Photoshop. Workin' on a logo for the character too.

Hairmonic (Part 2)

2008-01-01T16:31:00.001-05:00

Here's the finalized character design for Hairmonic. I did the sketch in blue pencil, did some major clean-up in Photoshop, live-traced and painted it in Illustrator, then brought a rasterized version back into Photoshop for some post work. A little bit of roundabout way if you ask me! Next time I think I'll ink it by hand first before I scan it in.

What's Your (Pseudo) Super Power?

2007-12-21T21:54:00.003-05:00

Back in high school I used to draw my friends as "superheroes" based on what talents, traits, etc. they had. This could range from being skillful at hula-hooping to being able to pop your ankles.
I've decided to bring this idea back and put it to further use. If time permits I'll make a new character design per week, each drawing being a pseudo-superhero based on someone I know. Along with the drawing I'll post a color / texture test I did of the character (I got the idea for this based on designer Teddy Newton's conceptual work for The Incredibles).
This week's design is "Hairmonic"!

Hairmonic is based on a buddy of mine who apparantly can play music on his hair when he strums on its strands. Expanding on this, I thought of a hero who could conduct symphonies to play out of his thick head of hair. For his costume I thought I'd pay homage to the attire of Mozart's era (with artistic license, of course). (NOTE: This is just the color / texture test. I'll post the character design later).

Color Sketch

2007-10-20T19:41:00.001-04:00

This is just a color sketch of some guy I saw walking around under NYC Port Authority (back in July or August, I forgot when).

This Rabbit's Late for a Very Important Date

2007-08-26T22:58:00.002-04:00

OK, so he's not necessarily late for a "very important date"...more like he's just a long-overdue post. Once I get a scanner I'll put these things up much more often! Also, I got to try out using a watermark with a copyright on this image. Cool stuff!

Animated Andy

2007-07-22T22:15:00.001-04:00

Since it's been a while since my last post, I think several designs are in order (I've not had access to my old image files until recently, and I'm still without a scanner until the fall). Here are character designs for some of the star roles from the classic program, "The Andy Griffith Show". It was for a class assignment in which I had to pick a show that had never been animated before (to my knowledge it hasn't).

Andy and Opie Taylor

Aunt Bea and Barney Fife

Gomer Pyle

Have you tried Ratatouille yet?

2007-07-02T22:59:00.001-04:00

I got to see Pixar's latest film Ratatouille this past weekend. One of their best to date, I'd say! The story was intriguing, and there were definitely moments in the plot that caught me off guard or happened not when I expected them to. The characters were designed well, each one displaying a unique personality (I particularly like the designs of Gusteau, Anton Ego, and Skinner). The animation was a definitely a tour de force; watch especially the facial expressions and movements of Linguine. The attention to detail the artists put into everything else, from the backgrounds to the effects to the props once again proved that Pixar really cares about the craft and appeal behind their work.
Other good things to note were a talented cast of voice actors, great music, and a great animation sequence that ran through the credits (I'm not sure how it was done; cut outs, or in After Effects perhaps). I will say that I need to see the movie again (I would like to see it again) so that I can better assess it, but it is still a wonderful film. Also, before the movie starts viewers are shown (following a company tradition) a new Pixar short film, entitled "Lifted". If you think that humans have it tough with driver's ed, then check this one out!
So in case you haven't treated your movie-watching taste buds yet, go on and try Ratatouille. Oh, and one last warning: I recommend eating before or after the film, because it's bound to make you a little hungry by the end (after all, it is about food; even the title is a dish). Bon appétit!

First image posted--The Holy Trinity

2007-06-21T23:51:00.001-04:00

First image posted! This is a depiction of the Holy Trinity I drew a few months back. The idea has been in my mind for some time (a friend of mine pointed out a similar image in a prayer book, so it's possible that I was inspired by it and didn't even realize / remember). I'd like to do a bigger version, painted probably, later on. Enjoy!

Editing the Blog

2007-06-14T13:57:00.001-04:00

I'm working on trying to get the right look I want for this blog. It's taking me a bit of time; I have kind of an idea of what I want, but since I don't have access yet to my artwork, a scanner, photoshop, etc., I can't really add much. Once I get those items though I'll get to work. Until then, I may fiddle with the design still and perhaps post some thoughts. . . concerns. . . comments. . . questions. . . popcorn. . . peanuts. . . crackerjacks. . . ellipses. . .

First Post

2007-06-07T01:29:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! Welcome to the art blog of Michael K. Ryan. Here I'll be posting regularly my artwork / what I'm currently up to.

About the Blog:

The phrase, "Drawing from Life", is commonly spoken in artistic circles. It refers to the practice of observing one's subject matter in the natural world, and then applying such observations to one's work and techniques. By understanding life more fully, one can then more accurately depict what they are trying to convey to their audience. This doesn't mean one shouldn't draw from imagination; rather, it means to constantly study the surrounding world and apply those observations when one does draw using their imagination. . .I believe the two can work in harmony.

The phrase "Drawing from Life" also has religious and philosophical connotations for me personally. Not only do I literally draw from live subjects at times. I also draw - rather, seek - my inspiration from the source of all life, God. He was the first animator, and He is my constant teacher, master, and friend. I draw too on the experiences of life, from the lives of others, and what can I can learn from them. As a subheading, I chose the following quote by Mother Teresa: "Let us do something beautiful for God". I use this phrase because it is my hope that my life's work will be a loving gift for God.

(NOTE: This post has been edited and updated since its first publication date).