THE LAST AIRBENDER

 COPYRIGHT © 2010 PARAMOUNT PICTURES

These three images show my digital painting for water bending and the background. I used Photoshop CS4 and worked very large using a Wacom tablet. When the painting was sized down it looked photo realistic. 

I've been crazy busy, so when I have time I'll post a few of my character sketches of Aang . . .

THE LAST AIRBENDER

 COPYRIGHT © 2010 PARAMOUNT PICTURES

These images are are samples of my digital painting assignments depicting water bending effects and backgrounds for the Paramount Pictures property The Last Airbender. Working on this project was amazing. I got to meet M. Night Shyamalan the day he was flying out to adopt his daughter. My wife and I adopted both our children so I appreciated his excitement and commitment. 

What I remember most is walking into our first meeting getting a jolt of all of the creative energy. Being in that room with so many artists and creative thinkers who were dreaming dreams and making them become reality through their art was so inspiring. I left that place feeling excited to be a creative thinker—a person living beyond the box. 

PEN SKETCHES

I thought I'd share a few of my doodles that I did a while back with just about any pen that happened to be laying around. I doodle ideas, thoughts, anatomy studies such as eyes and faces, and sometimes I even doodle artist's paintings to learn as much as I can about their work. 

Doodling helps me see and better understand the world around me. Most often we think we see something but we really don't fully comprehend the significance of it all. It never ceases to amaze me how light can wrap around a seemingly insignificant object and yet cloak it with beauty and deep emotional impact. 

CHARACTER SKETCH

PRISMACOLOR PENCIL

Rough character sketch using Prismacolor on vellum. Just getting a basic understanding and feeling for this character and his personal characteristics as I see them.

PENCIL SKETCH

This pencil is from memory for an oil painting. Most of my conceptual ideation is in rough pencil sketches. Even when I go to the final canvas or digital painting I most often draw everything out to make sure the anatomy is accurate and the layout is working. The sketch posted above shows my usual style and technique for both thought and preliminary canvas layouts. Sketching people, places, ideas and dreams really helps me grow as an artist. I go through several sketchbooks a year and seem to do more now than ever before.