May 28, 2010

Fun Art Fridays: Warcraft Trio Sketch


Uh oh! I'm at it again with my World of Warcraft fan art!

Once guild members realize that I'm an artist for a living, some ask me to draw them pictures if I have the time for it. Since this is something I enjoy doing anyway, I try to oblige. This piece showcases my friend's three level 80 characters: a Draenai Shamen, a Night Elf Hunter, and a Night Elf Druid.

I would probably have more characters at level 80 myself if I didn't love to draw so much in my free time. Which is a worthy trade-off in my opinion. I'll have a color version of this ready soon, so stay tuned!


Copyright © Sarah Gencarelli


May 27, 2010

Animation: Gotta Go Guy!


I don't really have much to say about this week's SweetIM animation, so.....um....gotta go! ;)



Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.


May 26, 2010

Background Design: Tuffy's Exterior

Here's another fun background design 2A! created for Sifaka World!

This background is the exterior shot of “Tuffy's Tavern,” a restaurant located in the North American region of Sifaka World. The tavern is a place where you and your avatar can kick back, listen to some tunes on the piano, and enjoy a frosty mug of root beer served by none other than Tuffy himself.

We wanted the town to have the adventurous feel of the “wild west” without looking too dangerous or run down. So I checked out reference for some old ghost towns like Bodie and others. I think the outside of Tuffy's turned out looking pretty cool, plus I still have the inside to show you. Also, if you look to the right you'll see a path to another Sifaka World background we created!

If you're thirsty, why not head over to SifakaWorld.com a pay Tuffy a visit? I hear his root beer is fabulous!






Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC


May 25, 2010

Character Designs: Even More Desert Dwellers!

I'm back again this week with even more Desert Dweller designs!

This time I have a few more traditional takes on the “based on a camel” theme that I mentioned in my original post. The first pass is a cute, chibi-fied version of a character who might live in the desert. The second is a more adult version of that same character. Last but not least, I was able to find my initial sketch of a camel's basic proportions that I worked from.

I have one more page of Desert Dwellers that I'll post next week, so stay tuned!






Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 24, 2010

MMMs: "S" is for Sharks

Dum dum...
Dum dum...
Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum,
Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum,
Do do doooooo!

Just when you thought it was safe to surf the internet again -- comes the attack of today's Monday Morning Motivators! In case you didn't guess it from my fantastic rendition of the Jaws theme in text, today we drew sharks! ;)

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "T," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "S" is for Sharks!







Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 21, 2010

Fun Art Fridays: Dinosaur Dragon

I play a drawing game with my boyfriend when we're at a restaurant. When we have a white place mat, he makes sure to scribble a line or shape on on it that I have to figure out how to turn into a drawing. That is how this adorable dinosaur/dragon character came to be:



I liked the drawing so much I later took it into Flash and cleaned it up with color.



I'm not sure why the fella is looking at a map or why he's looking at us over his shoulder, but the expression and pose is so cute to me!


Copyright © Sarah Gencarelli


May 20, 2010

Animation: Cat "No!"


I often wonder what's going through my cat's head. As most cat's do, she insists on investigating even the slightest noise or movement. It'd probably be pretty comical to hear her inner monologue. This SweetIM animation reminds me of her.



Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.


May 19, 2010

Sifaka World: Food Emotes


It's lunchtime over at 2A! with a buffet of Sifaka World foods!

Here are a few of the food items we recently designed for the online virtual world. While playing, you'll need to feed your avatars to ensure they remain happy and hunger-free while you explore Sifaka World's various landscapes. From fresh fruit smoothies to won-ton soup, we tried to create a wide sampling so there is a little something for everyone. ;)

Mmmm, now I'm hungry! Which food would you most like to eat?


Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC


May 18, 2010

Character Designs: More Desert Dwellers!

Here are some more critter concepts I sketched up. I did these back in January, around the same time I was working on the first Desert Dweller design I posted. These guys were fun to draw... Again, I started with camels as a base and played around from there. I was also looking at various animals like turtles, lizards, and dinosaurs too. Anyway, hope you like them! ;)





Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 17, 2010

MMMs: "R" is for Raccoons

I'm baaack! I know you were all heartbroken that I missed last week's post (Joe said sarcastically), but I think Thomas did a bang-up job of filling in for me. In any case, make sure you keep your valuables locked up tight, otherwise this week's mischief-making Monday Morning Motivators may just call snatchies! Today's theme was suggested by Arline Tancsak over on our Facebook page. Thanks again Arline!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "S," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "R" is for Raccoons!






Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 14, 2010

Fun Art Fridays: Boxing Cassie Hack


Here's another fun Hack/Slash image I drew towards the end of last year. Those of you who follow me on Deviant Art may have already seen this, but I thought it would be cool to post it here as well. This was a request from another DA member... he wanted to see Cassie wearing a pair of magical boxing gloves. A little quirky, but "what the heck" I thought... sounded like fun. ;)

I've also included a shot of the main steps in my process below. From left to right... First, I scribbled a few quick thumbnail sketches on a piece of paper. The one you see in the image is the direction I chose to go in. Second, I scanned and imported my thumbnail into Flash, and did a tighter sketch using the brush tool. Next, I made some minor tweaks to things in Flash – like shrinking her head to make it less cartoony – then went ahead and starting inking. Again, I ink in Flash with the brush tool. I tend to ink straight from my roughs, adding details and making changes as I go (as opposed to cleaning up the sketch first). Finally, I exported the inks from Flash and brought them into Photoshop to add the colors.

Hope you like it!




Illustration © Joe Costantini
Hack/Slash is Copyright © Tim Seeley.



May 13, 2010

Animation: Good Game!


I was going to take this opportunity to give my scathing dissertation about the profession of referees and modern sports.... but I decided against it. Here's a fun SweetIM ref animation in it's place.



Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.


May 12, 2010

Logo Design: Funk Reel

It's time to get funky with some logo design today!

As an animation studio we have to demonstrate our skills and styles through demo reels. Over on our Demo Reels page we have our reels posted for everyone to watch, and we wanted a more fun way to present them. We based our reels on a few different music styles, so we created this logo to demonstrate how one reel is particularly funky.



As with all designs, we worked starting from a sketch. The font and color were really important for this logo to evoke that crazy 70's style, so I blocked those out before we took things to the final stage. I'm really proud of how this logo turned out, it's colorful and fun.

Be sure to feel the funk by watching our Funk Reel here!


Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 11, 2010

2A! Interactive Reel


Behold the 2A! Interactive Reel. ;)

LOL... I can't believe we haven't done a blog post about this yet. Anyway, this demo reel contains some of the design and animation work we've done for various clients. It includes work for games, websites, cd-roms, virtual worlds and more!

Some of our interactive credits include front-end design and animation for Sifaka World’s online virtual world, Mattel’s Pixel Chix, MyScene and Barbie online brands, design and animation of Mezco Toyz’ TikiMon Island website, and character animation for numerous online games such as SpongeBob SquareOff, Tag Team Titans, and El Tigre “Decision of Destiny" to name a few!


Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 10, 2010

MMMs: "Q" is for Quails

It's Monday and you know what that means...it's time for another round of Monday Morning Motivators! The theme for today's sketches was chosen by Michelle Costantini over on our Facebook page. Thanks Michelle! :)

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "R," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "Q" is for Quails!





Copyright © Two Animators! LLP


May 07, 2010

Fun Art Fridays: GPK Flashback Concepts

This week, I thought I'd share some more of my concepts used for the recently released Garbage Pail Kids Flashback series. These are more "Where Are They Now" concepts, which give us a look at what the Kids from the original 1980's series are up to now. I included images of the original cards and my corresponding WATN concepts, and I'll be back soon with another batch!





Card images are courtesy of geepeekay.com!


Copyright © The Topps Company Inc.


May 06, 2010

Animation: Good Morning Coffee!


Some people live and die by their morning coffee. I myself prefer a bottle of Mountain Dew and a donut, but as they say, different strokes for different folks. If I were to picture what a cup of coffee would be like if it were to come to life, I think this animation is pretty dead on. This peppy little guy cracks me up!



Copyright © SweetIM Technologies Ltd.


May 05, 2010

Character Design: Auxilium Bad Guy #2

In the last of the three Auxilium spots that 2A created, the client wanted to go with a surfing theme, and wanted a second villain. I was excited to hear this, as it meant I could take this fun style and create a new nasty bad guy for it. Can't you just see me snickering as I twist my evil mustache?



Since both the original villain and the Auxilium hero were starring in this spot as well, I wanted to use a different body type for the new baddie. I went with a very round and robust form, with a bushy mustache and an awkward wisp of hair that looks suspiciously like a toupee. Add a gaudy striped swimsuit and voila! A new villain is ready to thwart a do-gooder.

I was really pleased with how this fellow turned out, as I feel he has that classic "old-timey" feel to him. Thankfully he looks way more dangerous than he really is, and his surfing leaves a lot to be desired!


Copyright © Auxilium


May 04, 2010

Background Design: The Poochinos' Pool Hall

Here’s a look at a background 2A! created for The Poochinos animated short… which also happens to be my favorite from this production. It’s one angle of the “pool hall” interior, which is used in the scene where Dominick has to pop a well-known television mobster.

First up, is the rough sketch that Joe drew while creating the Flash animatic.



Next up, we handed off Joe’s rough to Jimmy Nock who did a tighter pencil layout in Sketchbook Pro.



Last but not least, here is the final background painted in Photoshop by Jimmy Nock and Greg Kleid.



I’ll be sharing more of these in future posts, so be sure to check back. In the meantime, you can also check out more Poochinos artwork and videos here!


Copyright © Dog Mafia, Inc.


May 03, 2010

MMMs: "P" is for Penguins

It's time for some cute and fuzzy Monday Morning Motivators! We decided to sketch Penguins today, since they were the most suggested idea over on our Facebook page. Thanks again to everyone who made a suggestion!

Next week's theme is anything that starts with the letter "Q," so anyone interested in making a suggestion can drop us a line here or on our Facebook page. Become a fan, suggest a theme, and if we dig it we’ll draw it.

For those that don’t know… MMMs is our weekly exercise where we pick a theme and spend the first hour of each week sketching. The sketches can be loose or tight, but the point is to work out the weekend stiffness and draw something new.

Now without further ado, we present... "P" is for Penguins!







Copyright © Two Animators! LLP