The Art of Gino Whitehall

If I was a wizard

2012-01-10T15:29:00.001-08:00

The sketch group topic this week was "Wizard's Familar". If I was a wizard, my familiar would be my enemy's head in a jar, kept alive by magic. He would be forced to help me, give me advice, teach me spells. I could also throw or punt him, if needed.

Random Caricature Extravaganza

2011-11-30T13:34:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-10-26T14:53:00.001-07:00

For the new set, "Throne of the Tides"

Exploding Murlocs, you say? Sign me up!

Sketch Group Demo

2011-10-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-06T14:19:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

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

Zombie Attack

2011-09-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-14T23:28:00.001-07:00

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

Warming up on a Sunday

2011-09-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

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

Flash of Light

2011-06-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

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

Electro-Monkey

2011-05-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

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

Look! Pencil!

2011-04-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

with some free filters thrown in

even more pen sketches

2011-04-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Maybe its time to explore pencils?

Lieb's Lookout Spot

2011-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-27T23:48:00.001-07:00

from the olde sketchbooke, ballpoint pen

Gator Pass

2011-03-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

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

More WoW TCG

2011-01-26T20:15:00.001-08:00

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

NEW POST?

2010-11-29T16:55:00.001-08:00

Thats right, a new post. I decided to chronicle my morning at the DMV, I had a feeling people would be dying to see. Ballpoint pen, i love you so.

Wow

2010-09-12T23:55:00.001-07:00

Im all updatin n stufff

WoW and Figure Drawing

2010-09-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

I feel like my blog is slowly springing back to life. Lets hope i can keep this momentum going!

my first WoW trading card from back in Nov...Already makes me wince to look at haha

5 and 10 minute poses from figure drawing

Sketchbookin

2010-08-31T10:15:00.001-07:00

Random doodles from the weekend. I gotta work on making mechs that dont look straight out of Roger Rabbit...

Karate Oc

2010-08-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

More sketch group madness! Tried out a brush pen this time, those things are very tricky...

Flying Garlic Castle

2010-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Dont try to make sense of any of it.

Gizmo redesign

2010-07-18T15:20:00.001-07:00

another take on Gizmo from the movie "Gremlins"

A Salty Snack

2010-07-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Sketch group last night! I was feeling brave and decided to go pencil!

Arm Surgery

2010-07-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

still at it, learning more with every painting...

star trek study

2010-06-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

2am already...shoot...

Sketch Club Gator Madness

2010-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ive been attending a weekly sketch group at work lately, its a lot of fun! Between this and my CDA class, expect many more updates! (finally)

2010-04-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

I made an interesting brush this weekend so i thought id spend a few hours painting with it. I got about this far and now im at that point where i feel like im about to break it... ideas, anyone?

self explanitory!

2010-03-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

air fives: serious business

end of night paints

2010-02-22T02:20:00.000-08:00

from a few weeks back

Bauernfiend Study

2010-02-22T02:05:00.000-08:00

Some orientalist goodness, bout 2 hrs. Really trying to work on brush economy...Over detailing is an old enemy of mine

2pt perspective demo

2010-02-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

Done for my class tonight...hope its useful for them

late night spaceshippin

2010-02-03T23:26:00.000-08:00

working on my weak spots

Moon Study

2010-01-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

good movie!

random facebook portrait #1

2010-01-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Felt like doing a caricature so i grabbed a random facebook buddy. The lucky winner is fellow concept artist Lidat!
http://www.lidatdesign.com
Ah, that was fun.

rock study

2009-12-08T09:38:00.001-08:00

inspired by some of the crazy guildwars 2 artists

Humid Dungeon

2009-11-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

a quick one, but fun to paint

Caladan Arrival Gate

2009-11-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

this weeks sketch for class...feels like its allllmost there

SF!

2009-10-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

I pretty much slay with this guy in 3rd strike...

Dune evironment sketch

2009-10-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

not as finished as id like it to be, but heres my work from my CDA environment class, very fun and informative so far, i shouldve been taking these way sooner!

Big Trouble in Little China

2009-09-22T02:35:00.001-07:00

loved this movie!

Pirate sketch

2009-09-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

Capt. Piranha Harpoon Arm!

chaaarrrrggggee

2009-08-25T02:16:00.001-07:00

Not done yet, but i figure now is a good time to get some feedback before i go any further... needs more epicness!

keepin it loose

2009-08-14T01:21:00.000-07:00

did a couple of sketches tonight, really working on staying loose, fighting that pesky urge to zoom in and detail...

figures, co workers

2009-08-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

I couldnt think of a cool title for this one. Just some 5 minute poses and some co workers. The most fun part of people sketching is successfully not getting caught. Ive developed little tricks to seem as inconspicuous as possible. I should totally become a secret agent!

stereoscopic test!

2009-08-03T00:28:00.001-07:00

my first experiments with stereoscopic images. (google if you havent done it before)
Pretty interesting! I might try a few more...

whats this?? an update??

2009-07-21T15:28:00.001-07:00

Imagine that! :p

still battling with it

2009-07-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

half asleep end of nighter

2009-07-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

Ill try to go back and finish it up.
Ive been inspired by alot of work online lately, trying to experiment more and see if I cant push past my same usual habits. Also trying to get better about painting in my non-work time, no matter how tired i may be! ...We'll see how this goes...

robo G

2009-06-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago the talented Ji Kim and I did a simultaneous collaboration in OpenCanvas. The result was an amalgamation of awesome, if you will. Included as a bonus feature is an end of the night sketch that i probably wont finish. Still, free stuff is free stuff!

figure drawing!

2009-05-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

Another fun night after work with the ole ballpoint pen.

Visitor Docking Bay on NovaTokyo 6

2009-05-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

still workin on it... any suggestions? Crit it up!

Mechanical Man

2009-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Spent a couple hours in good ole photoshop last night.

Mothers Day

2009-05-10T03:36:00.000-07:00

Make sure to thank your wonderful mothers for putting up with your ass. This one is for my wonderful momma

Demon Demo

2009-05-01T22:50:00.001-07:00

Did a demo tonight for some talented guys at Art Institute! Just started scribbling till I saw something. A fun night indeed!

figure painting 0409

2009-04-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Had a long pose for figure drawing tonight, it was so much fun! I still dont feel brave enough to break out the real paints again...

Bower Power

2009-04-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

research trip to the Bowers Museum! Always a cool place to go.

Balpherion 6

2009-04-20T02:05:00.001-07:00

I dunno what that means but its a good name for the city i suppose. Just sat down tonight and started scribbling, my mission was to try and stay loose...ish. and now, sleep.

2009-03-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

Back again, some random end of the day/start of the day scribbling, a blob-mobile racer and a cute girl :p Next up: Dominance War!

2009-03-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sketched a couple o heads last night, I gotta start thinking about this Dominance War thing... Hopefully I can manage my time efficiently and come up with something cool...

custom brushin

2009-03-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

played with a custom brush tonight, got some neat results!

more meeting madness

2009-03-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Any likeness to persons living or dead is of course purely coincidental!

Morning Warmup

2009-03-09T10:28:00.001-07:00

2009-03-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Life drawing once again! Started out really frustrating till I just gave up on making it look good, and just started putting down lines. By the time I started feelin it, it was time to go. Maybe next week...

2009-02-28T06:33:00.000-08:00

Late night adventures with the lasso tool

2009-02-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

more figure drawing at work! Im really glad they have this, Its something I plan on doing as much as possible. poses were 2-5 minutes.

Zenitha Stardust

2009-02-24T03:27:00.000-08:00

Im really bad at drawing women, so tonight i wanted to try to paint a woman, ended up staying up later than i should have :| ah well at least im painting.

2009-02-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

a sketch from last night, trying to work on my color sense, my work feels stale lately.
*edit: thumbnail is acting whacky...click to see full image*

2009-02-21T03:59:00.000-08:00

just felt like painting some trees.

2009-02-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

Morning meetings, the perfect way to warm up the wrist!

2009-02-10T00:27:00.000-08:00

A few weapon designs I did in the summer of 07, while interning at High Moon Studios. It was a great experience.

2009-01-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

Back again, continuing my rediculous affair with the ballpoint pen. I wonder if ill ever touch pencil again...

2009-01-26T11:42:00.001-08:00

some more recent warmups, pretty quick...

2009-01-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

Mustard Monster, Grass Monster, and uhhh...Toilet Paper Knight!

Just a few recent things, trying to revive the ol blog... might have to get the paddles out...CLEAR!

2009-01-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

anudder warm up!

warm up sketch

2009-01-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

trying to get in the habit of doing these every morning! shouldnt hurt...

ballpoint ftw

2008-10-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

gahh i need to update more! Anyhow, this is something i sketched from a magazine to pass the time on a plane. Who needs pencils, i say.

more figure drawing!

2008-09-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

felt good to draw some wrinkly man flesh again!
2-10 minute poses, ballpoint pen

and another

2008-09-19T04:03:00.000-07:00

i miiight come back to this one...

bar sketchin

2008-09-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Huntington Beach Beer Co. with my dad. Good times.

gettin the kinks out

2008-09-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

Havent done life drawing in too long, luckily work finally starting hosting life drawing sessions once a week! Woo! Expect more soon

Heres a few quick poses, before a migrane forced me to retire early :/ Damn these computer screens and their straining effects on my eyes...

bedtime metal

2008-09-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

a relaxing sketch before bed!

nightcaps 09-01

2008-09-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

cooooome n get it

random late night blah

2008-08-31T04:14:00.001-07:00

scribbling until i feel like sleeping...

portrait 08-22-08

2008-08-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

echo...echo

blarg tired

2008-08-21T01:01:00.001-07:00

super quick sketch tonight

from tonight

2008-08-18T00:19:00.000-07:00

the evolution of a random mindless scribble

Dropping in

2008-08-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

Just a few sketches from recently, work is going well but obviously not leaving me with enough time to draw on my own. I guess ill have to make the time...More to come!

Living Room

2008-07-02T10:16:00.001-07:00

Got a job at Blizzard Entertainment and got a new apartment! Fun times! This is Tim enjoying the luxury of the new living room.

Suprise Shaman Attack!

2008-06-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

1 hr

troopas

2008-06-05T15:56:00.001-07:00

still trying to stay loose

nightcaps

2008-05-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

just messing around

singapore sketchin

2008-05-13T11:05:00.001-07:00

Just returned from a trip to Singapore and Japan, where i filled up half a sketchbook! Heres what i had time to scan for today. More to come!