Random Caricature Extravaganza

One day back in college I was sketching monkeys at the local zoo, when I came across a little caricature stand, drawing couples, kids, parents, twisting their features into a variety of entertaining and potentially offensive ways. The art of caricature had always fascinated me, and it seemed like it could be fun. I thought "what the hell" and approached the booth, asking if they happened to be hiring. The next day i was sitting at my own little easel, with a giant "IN TRAINING" sign above my head. My stint there lasted about 2 years, and it was a blast.

I will say one thing: There's nothing quite sobering as seeing the enthusiasm drain from a customers face, as the crowd of observers behind loudly whisper encouraging lines like "that looks nothing like him", "that nose is huge", or "why does she have a moustache?". However, when you nailed it, and the crowd approved, the customer leaves happy, and you feel great!

Anyhow, sketching my friends and family is something I still love to do, I thought id post a few of them.

Dragon Weaver: An Adventure in Progress

A few weeks back I was invited to join up on a great side project involving a few of my co-workers here at Blizzard, as well as other talented individuals in the entertainment field. As soon as I saw a few sketches and test animations, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it. "Dragon Weaver" tells the story of our hero Hiroshi,and the trials and tribulations he endures in his quest to learn who he really is, the legendary Dragon Weaver!

I don't want to give too much away yet, but the story is really fun. Its going to be a hybrid of 3d animation and comic book styled panel sequencing, think something along the lines of that great Metal Gear Solid interactive comic that Ashley Wood had done. My buddies on this team are true pros in every sense of the word, so this story just reeks of potential, and Im so glad to be involved!



Heres a paintover i did based on Josh Singh's model of Hiroshi, designed by the creator and founder, Brad Marques. Ill be acting as Concept Director for the project, essentially just trying to make these characters look as bad ass as possible, which wont be hard, given the people Im workin with here.

SO! I urge you all to check out the Toon Sushi Blog, where we have little snippets of whats to come. You can get a feel for what were aiming for here, I really cant wait to see it all come together...

WoW TCG: Exploding Murlocs!

For the new set, "Throne of the Tides"

Exploding Murlocs, you say? Sign me up!

Sketch Group Demo

I did a quick demo this week for my buddies in our after-work sketchgroup! Its the reason i go to work on Mondays.

Sketchbook spring cleaning

I know its not spring, but i wanted to dump a few selections from the sketchbooks so I can look at my blog and feel more productive :D

Defenders of the Faith

True Metal Heroes! Done for an art challenege with some co workers.

Zombie Attack

The other day I knew I wanted to paint something, but had no idea what. I grabbed a random picture and just started scribbling. I had also tried my hand at recording this one, but i did something wrong and lost the file. Maybe next time...

used this photo as a base

Fat Flash

Its just excess water weight from all that creatine, bro.

Warming up on a Sunday

Knocked this one out in a few hours on Sunday afternoon, based on a study from the great photos I always see here. I had a lot of fun translating and simplifying shapes. There's something I find very appealing in capturing the mood of a moment while keeping it clear and simple... Could this be the minimalist influence I didn't have the patience to understand during art school??

WoW TCG- Inner Will

Another recent one for the WoW trading card game. These Worgen sure are hard to draw, and dont even get me started on the armor designs...

Art Dumpage

Ive been sketching a ton, I promise, just slacking on the posting a bit. To remedy this, Ill post a few of the most recent:


Memories of my first time seeing one of my favorite artists, Adam Hughes






My cat actually sat and posed for this one. I had to keep making weird noises so he would sit and stare at me.


More soon!

HazMat Vehicle

Done for John Parks Vehicle/ Mech class. Finally a drawing i can comfortably call a "vehicle". Learning tons in this class!

Flash of Light

The lastest WoW TCG card, recently released! This card taught me that Taurens are really, really hard to paint, haha.

Electro-Monkey

Got inspired by the cool mechs my blizzmate Luke(http://mr--jack.deviantart.com/) has been doing lately. I couldnt help but give it a shot.

Micaela Rose

A portrait of my sister, done for her birthday. Yes, I am a good brother.

Look! Pencil!

with some free filters thrown in

even more pen sketches

Maybe its time to explore pencils?

Lieb's Lookout Spot

Tried to capture a moment of my cat, guarding the house like the good dog he thinks he is. Ive been trying to really be conscious of my painting, less layering of forms and more thoughtful execution; something I dont do nearly enough. In this one I tried to pay attention to edges, color, and composition, all at the same time, and all 3 suffered for it. My composition became sorely neglected. Next time I have to choose just one, and focus only on that. Still, its nice to be painting on a sunday!

the sketchbook collection

from the olde sketchbooke, ballpoint pen

Gator Pass

Tried to hide a gator head in the scene... didnt work out very well. Still, really loving ballpoint pen and sharpie!

AI Demo pt 2!

Another demo for my AI homies! I took suggestions from the crowd...

More WoW TCG

More World of Warcraft cards were released recently...These are really fun to do!