Wine Commercial - Layout

 These are some process images from a new commercial.

 This is my initial concept sketch of the shot. At first I wanted to have a giant  "Middle Man" in the center of the page who would grab these huge dollar bills from the customer, eat them, and spit out some small change at the winemaker. Once I began layout of the shot, I realized I wouldn't have the time needed to animate the shot in that way. So, I decided to go with more of a crowd scene to represent the "Middle Man". I figured it would be less complex to animate, and would illustrate the point just as effectively.

Below is the shot developing from a rough sketch to the final image.

When I create a crowd scene, when possible ...given the time ...I like to make sure it is made up of a variety of characters. Different faces and body types.

 

Background Sketch

Final Image

Linetest progression.

Bug mugshots

These are some characters I created for a commercial I am working on. Rough sketches and final art.

 

Mosquito...

 

 Bedbug...

 

Ant...

 

 ah you know...

Cockroach...

This Nick Nolty mugshot (from www.thesmokinggun.com) was my reference for the last character - The Cockroach. Nick's lookin' like a animator in his Pixar issue Hawaiian shirt.

I wonder if there is a noticeable increase in ones animation skills while wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Just a thought - I notice a lot of animators wearing them. Does anyone out there have experience animating with and without a Hawaiian shirt?  Are they awarded after a certain level of achievement in animation?

John Lasseter thinks I'm on to something - thumbs up!
John Lasseter images are from here and here.

What the...!

When I create a character, I spend a lot of time sketching on paper. I keep the drawings very rough - at times working in an almost fast scribbling fashion. I'm just searching for interesting lines that will be the foundation of the character.

It doesn't always workout  - for this sketch I was actually attempting to come up with a really awesome design for a kid character.