Sunday, June 29, 2008

3D Illustration


Hey friends, I've been waiting a long time to share this with you and I couldn't be more excited about it. Now you'll know what I've been up to lately.

Imagine this....What if you could see an image in 3D without the need for 3D glasses?

When was the last time you looked at an illustration or painting?

I mean REALLY looked at it and experienced the artwork by getting completely lost in it? My new book "DEPTH CHARGE, 3D Illusions" does just that. It will debut at the Comic Con in San Diego (table B8). With this book you will be able to experience the images contained in it not as images on a flat surface, but you will perceive them as if they exist in space. You can pre-order it HERE.
You will also be able to get it directly through me in a short while at SCULLERY PRESS.

"What? Did you just.....what?"

I've spent the last while breaking through the boundaries of the page and finally I can tell you about it. Above is one of the images from the book, an easy one to get you started with, and I hope you get the same feeling I did when I first created 3D Illustration.

One of the most important things I learned when I started animating was to think of the page, not as a flat surface, but rather a cube that you have to sculpt an object out of with your pencil. When you learn to see the images in my book, your mind will see things like a multi-plane camera, and you'll be able to explore the space contained within the image and be able to jump from one area to another.

Now I don't usually write too much in this blog, so to keep things easy to digest, here's a "Quick Start" guide to seeing the 3D illustrations. Yeah, I know, who ever knew you would need a quick start guide for a illustration book. I'll leave the long version inside the book, but this should get you up and running for the moment. As usual, click on the images for a bigger version.



Okay. At first it's just a little tricky to get the hang of, and it will feel really odd at the start, but once you "get" it, you REALLY get it. Here's some tips....

When you look past the image and can feel that there are three images, just think of the one in the middle as if it was a real image or object. Shift your focus to that
middle image (you'll still see three images, but that's the one you're to look at.)

If the middle image is a little blurry at first, it should come into focus after a short time. Once it does, it will jump off the page both in front and behind the image plane.

The longer you look at it, the more your eye can look around the image and jump through the space.

The further away from the image you are, the more depth there will be. Sit back in your chair to give you more visual space.

That first Eureka moment will never be forgotten. Now if you can see the image above in 3D and think that that is cool, just wait for my next post. I've got more surprises for you, and the next one will hopefully blow you away.

So, if you've gotten down this far, here's what the book looks like. 56 pages of
3D goodness. I'll let you know next time what to expect on the inside pages.





Technorati Tags

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Monday, June 23, 2008

Production Time



I've been spending more time manufacturing lately than drawing, so here's a teaser image. Comic Con is just around the corner. Lot of news for you guys and girls soon. For the moment I'll be printing up the next batch....

Technorati Tags

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Jason Ryan Animation

Nice to share this. It's always good news when your friends do something really cool. My pal just set up this great site where he gives tutorials to learn how to animate. Who wants to learn from a pro? Jason Ryan supervised at Disney and is now currently doing the same at Dreamworks.
When I was learning to animate traditionally, I was looking over the shoulders of my mentors. Getting training from a pro working in the biz is one of the best things that you can do. Jason has put together a program which takes you through the process not only traditionally, but also translates that info into computer animation giving examples of both. Check out what some of the tutorials contain. The clarity of explanation is why Jason is such a great teacher and he packs in the info into the tutorials. Click on the image to take you there.....





Technorati Tags

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Scrambled Ink



The best thing about this time of year is that I know my friends are putting their books together. Exciting times. I've just seen a copy of "Scrambled Ink" from my storyboard pals at Dreamworks. It's due to be out in July. Can't wait to get my hands on my own copy. And who are the lads and lassie behind this book?.....Jenny Lerew, Dave Pimentel, Ken Morrissey,
Keith Baxter, J.J. Villard, Dave Derrick, and Ennio Torresan.
Spread the word. Story Artists doing their own books is something to look forward to this year. It's available for pre-order HERE
and HERE.
You'll be seeing it on the shelves soon. This gem is brought to you by Darkhorse.


Technorati Tags

Stumble Upon Toolbar