Monday Morning Motivators: Ferns!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! Although today is officially a Tuesday, it’s still the start of our work week which requires we loosen up with some Monday Morning Motivators!

This week's theme... Ferns!






Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Fun Art Fridays: Cobra Commander

I'm back this week with the addition of "Cobra Commander" to my villains sketch. In my opinion, no self-respecting 80's villain sketch would be complete without him. You definitely don't see cartoon villains like this anymore. I guess the leader of a terrorist organization isn't marketable to kids nowadays. Go figure. :)

I really wish the recent G.I. Joe movie had included him in it, as opposed to the character that looked and acted nothing like him. Oh well, my memory of the real Cobra still lives on in this drawing! Next time look out for "The Evil Lord of Destruction!"

Illustration © Mark Pingitore

Lockheed Martin: Star Character Concept 2

A few weeks ago Mark posted his concept sketches for "Marty" the star, a character design we worked on for Lockheed Martin. Here's my pass at the little guy! While the client didn't choose any of these for the final (they had the nerve to choose one of Tom's designs ;) I still really dig how they turned out. Anyway, hope you like them!

Copyright © Two Animators! LLP

Background Design: Chuck Full of Nuts

One of the newer sections that 2A! created for Sifaka World was the American Northwest. This area struck a personal cord with me, because unlike the Island Treetops or South America, I spent a good chunk of my childhood growing up there. I was familiar with the terrain and the stereotypes (hello old west!), and was tickled by the opportunity to render the area with my own hand.

There were many backgrounds 2A! worked on for this new area of Sifaka World, but one of the first I started on was the background for the game "Chuck Full of Nuts." The premise was to play as Chuck, a hungry little chipmunk who is racing to collect acorns. I immediately remembered all the beautiful oak tree forests I had in my backyard and felt that would be the perfect setting for this game.



Above is the approved sketch of the layout for the oak tree forest. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I think I conveyed the twisty and sometimes strange shapes of the tree trunks pretty well.



The final colors of this background gave it a very dark and mysterious feel with lots of lush dark green and limited sunlight.



In the game, the background really helps set that wonderful rustic feel many associate with western America. It also really lets the character and elements pop from their surroundings. I am terribly pleased with how it turned out!

Why not go help Chuck find some acorns at www.sifakaworld.com? I feel bad for the poor little guy!

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC.

Character Design: Ring-Tailed Lemur

Here's the Ring-Tailed Lemur, another cool character 2A! designed for Sifaka World! We were working on this guy at around the same time as Kintana the Sifaka, so as you can see by my mock-up below, he started with more full-sized body proportions.



Once the decision was made to go short with all the characters this little dude really came together. I'm much happier with how he looks here!



In the end, the client wanted to go with a pose that showed a bit more attitude, so I crossed his arms and closed his mouth for the final ink & paint. I really dig how this little dude turned out. I'd say he's my second favorite Sifaka World character so far. ;)



Don't forget to head over to www.sifakaworld.com to see this guy in action!

Copyright © Sifaka Productions, LLC