Sadness for the Animation World

The animation world has lost a good one. Richard Pimm, most recently a Producer with Studio B, passed away last week in Vancouver, BC. I had the pleasure of working with Richard in the last few years at the studio. He will be sadly missed by all of us.

Here are a couple of links to the news of his passing.

Animation World Network
The Big Cartoon Forum

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Buy My Book!

Near and dear to my heart is Kip and Zara's Money Adventure, written by Bill Roche and illustrated by l'il ol' me. It's about two alien friends who learn about how to handle money and is a great learning tool for children aged 4 to 8. There's also a workbook section that let's parents become involved in helping to teach their kids valuable money saving and spending concepts.

To order your copy for only $11.95 (plus tax & shipping), contact me today!

Limited time Offer:
Order Kip and Zara's Money Adventure and get your copy autographed by the illustrator!

Long Time No Post!

Greetings animation fans! I haven't posted in months due to a change in careers...that's right...I no longer work in the animation field full time! I left Studio B last June after working there for 10 years and am now a licensed Realtor in the Vancouver area. Wow, what a change! But I'm loving every minute of it.

I must say, I miss storyboarding and drawing. I miss teaching at Capilano College, where one of the best animation programs in the country thrives. I miss watching my former students enter the industry and do well, very well. I especially miss some of my insanely talented associates and friends who I worked with in Vancouver.

What I don't miss is the progressively long hours, less pay and tighter deadlines...all for the sake of the bottom line. Decisions on what you get to watch are often made by executives who study the numbers and gamble on what will make them the most money. Yes, my friends, the hard truth of the matter is, animation is a business.

Having said that, some funny toons do manage to get made, despite its commercialism, despite the suits. They get made largely due to the creativity, hard work and dedication of the artists and animators who love making them. And although it doesn't happen nearly often enough, sometimes the artists get a pat on the back for their efforts.

The Second Annual Elan Awards took place on February 15, 2008 in Vancouver acknowledging local and international animators, gamers, and students. I am honoured to be included amongst the award winners, along with a great & extremely talented guy, Dennis Crawford, for Best Storyboarding: GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE: "Naked Ape Man".

Congratulations to all nominees and winners! And thanks for all the emails, texts and good wishes. I may not be working in the industry anymore but my heart will always be there with you.

Postie Note Doodles Continued

Here's some more telephone doodles. I'm an old movie buff and it shows here with the dark, shadowy style reminiscent of 1940's film. Done in B pencil.



This one has fairly minimal pen strokes but has an interesting look. Again with the dark and moody! Must have been a good day. Does anyone else find that your mood translates into your drawings?



Just to break up the testosterone level, here's a really rough sketch of a lovely naked lady. Not sure if the balance is working. The whole drawing is about 2 inches high and done in pencil.

Postie Note Doodles

Can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted! Just to prove I'm still kicking, here's a couple of postie note doodles that didn't get crumpled up and thrown away, probably done while I was talking on the phone.



The drawing above was sketched with a B pencil. The bearded dude and company below was done with a pilot V5 ink pen, one of my favourites...reminds me of a young Cronus from Class of the Titans...mmm, I'm working too hard!

More Kip and Zara Sneak Peaks

Hey! Here's a few more drawings from the recent book I illustrated, Kip and Zara's Money Adventure. It introduces money management to kids 4 to 8 years old and was written by Bill Roche, president of PowerPlay Strategies. It's not available in stores yet but if you'd like a copy for $11.95 plus tax, send me an email and I'll get one to you. Thanks for your support!




The illustrations were drawn on paper, then scanned in photoshop and colored digitally.

More Titans on YouTube!

Here's a couple of more episode teasers from season one to take a look at courtesy of Studio B and Brad Goodchild.

Eps. 14 - Make-Up Exam
Eps. 8 - See You at the Crossroads

Class of the Titans on YouTube!

If you're a fan of the show, you've gotta check out these Class of the Titans episode teasers! Episode 13 teaser was storyboarded by yours truly. Thanks to director Brad Goodchild for posting...don't forget to visit his blog at http://kookalamunga.blogspot.com for all sorts of goodies from the show including a couple of more CTT teasers to come!

Eps. 13 - Little Box of Horrors
Eps. 2 - Chaos 102
Eps. 1 - Chaos 101

George of the Jungle Thumbnails

People always ask how they should start to design a character. Everyone is different and has their own method. I like to work small and do really rough, sketchy thumbnails. These doodles are only about 3" high. When I come up with something I like, I blow it up and refine it further.



Sometimes it takes a bit of work but once in awhile, I come up with something pretty quick that's very close to my finished submitted design. Take a look at the GTJ designs below and see what I mean.

Class of the Titans Sketches

These are a couple of my rough sketches for a storyboard in CTT season two's episode 39, Dreamweaver. It turned out as a horizontal pan across a battle scene of dead titans. Cool, huh? Who could do such a dastardly deed? Stay tuned and find out!