Nothing Rhymes With Orange

Moon over Griffith

2012-01-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

Tried to capture the view of Griffith Park last night, as seen walking down the road from the observatory.
The Hollywood sign wasn't lit up for some reason.

Wealthy Widow

2012-01-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

Digging through drawings from last year. For a Hansel and Gretel assignment; here is one of the ideas I had for the witch.

Baby Owl

2012-01-18T00:02:00.001-08:00

Searched baby owl on google...

Elphaba

2012-01-17T23:23:00.001-08:00

Speedy sketch on a cintiq.

Maggie Smith Sketch

2012-01-17T01:39:00.001-08:00

Sketch for a possible sculpt. Can't wait to try.

This pig built his house of sticks

2012-01-16T13:50:00.001-08:00

From my three little pigs project. He is a Physical Education teacher at the local high school.

Raoul

2012-01-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

Raoul from Phantom. It's so hard not to make him super boring.

La Carlotta

2012-01-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

A few explorations of the character of Carlotta.

Christine and the Phantom

2012-01-16T13:01:00.001-08:00

Space Vampire

2012-01-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Little Ghost

2012-01-14T15:23:00.001-08:00

Setting Sail into the new year

2012-01-08T19:39:00.001-08:00

At a favorite local coffee shop back home:

Happy Holidays world!

2011-12-23T23:39:00.000-08:00

I really haven't made a holiday card before. Seeing as I'm at the point in my life where I actually know a lot of people, I slapped one together. Have a splendid holiday everyone!

Stargazing

2011-12-21T19:10:00.001-08:00

Cactus

2011-12-21T17:49:00.000-08:00

Another dumb TVPaint thingy from a little while ago. Just trying to get comfortable with the program. Music is from the Grim Fandango soundtrack.

Cactus from Michael Herrera on Vimeo.

Christine Daaé_02

2011-12-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

Some more sketches of Christine.

River Crossing

2011-12-20T20:28:00.001-08:00

Here's a little test for a project I'm working on.

Phantom Poster

2011-12-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

Decided to make a mock movie poster for Phantom. I tried to keep it minimal and theatrical.

Christine Daaé_01

2011-12-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a look at some of the work I did for my Visual Development class this semester. I chose the Phantom of the Opera as my story and had a lot of fun trying to find some fresh and interesting ways of telling the story. Here is one of my sketches of Christine.

Pen, Marker, Photoshop

Animating in marker!

2011-12-14T14:33:00.001-08:00

It's not easy, but it's really fun!
I'll have some "pencil" tests of this guy up soon.

Business Shark

2011-12-12T13:48:00.001-08:00

Bumpy Birds

2011-12-12T13:45:00.001-08:00

Something from a while back.

His name is Ashley

2011-12-07T23:18:00.001-08:00

I thought it would be fun if the big bad wolf had a not so big bad name.

Pen, marker, and photoshop.

Lone Chicken

2011-12-07T22:22:00.001-08:00

Squish

2011-12-04T14:56:00.001-08:00

Just a little test using TV Paint. Tried to do it fast while getting to know the program.

Squish from Michael Herrera on Vimeo.

Sudden vacation

2011-11-19T12:41:00.001-08:00

Well, not really a vacation, but a wedding. Kind of a vacation too I guess.
My big brother is getting married in the Virgin Islands. Wahoo! Gotta run.
Have a great Thanksgiving!

Little Bad Wolf

2011-11-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

Dogs

2011-11-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

Some warm-up sketches on the Cintiq at school. Still getting used to it.

Nose

2011-11-01T21:28:00.001-07:00

This guy will be used to make a mold and then cast in latex an painted. I can't wait. I haven't cast any of my sculptures yet. Should be fun trying to paint some realistic skin effects.

I will make one more detail pass on this guy, to add some more skin imperfections, wrinkles, and a few warts.

Big Bad Wolf

2011-10-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Working on an adaptation of the Three Little Pigs story.
Doesn't he just look like a nice fella?

Shaboom

2011-10-25T19:56:00.001-07:00

2011-10-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

My friend Tahnee Gehm made a great little film for LACMA's Halloween costume ball.

It's quite delightful. Great job Tahnee!

video platform video management video solutions video player

Two ships

2011-10-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Just starting to figure out how to use textures in Photoshop. Had lots of fun splattering ink and paint all over stuff. The most dominant texture is from the cover of a very old book. Yippee.

Man of steel in clay

2011-10-09T10:38:00.001-07:00

Another sculpting assignment. Had to sculpt from my imagination. I've been reading the original superman comics so I guess that was stuck in my head.

(testing out the new blogger app. Hope this works.)

Corbin

2011-08-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

This morning is off to a good start.

2011-05-05T03:13:00.000-07:00

True story. Also, I don't know how to make comics. Good night.

Gallery Show Portraits

2011-03-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post a better image of the artwork I did for the Character Animation Gallery Show, so here it is!

These are portraits of very important, but lesser known historical figures. I plan to explore their universe further. Lots of stories to tell there. The Tiger fellow is done in Acrylic, and the other two are Gouache.

The question

2011-03-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

Lola

2011-03-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

It's crunch time here at school. I'm working like mad now on my film. I'll share stuff from that later...maybe after the deadline.
Here's a little spur of the moment drawing I did while doing some research. I love fashion and color from the 50s. I based this on some old adverts I found.

Food Group

2011-01-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

I picked up these plushy fruits and veggies in the clearance aisle after Christmas. I thought they could use a little more personality.

Just some acrylic paint and a little time. As you can see, some of these guys are starting to go bad, but that strawberry, well he's definitely a zombie. This is my first time delving into the world of zombie produce, and I don't think it'll be the last.
Eat your fruits and veggies people!

Character Animation Gallery Show

2011-01-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

Come on down! Doctor Thadeus Zebulon is exhibiting some of his collection. Sneak peek below. See you there.

Sad and Happy

2011-01-25T17:56:00.000-08:00

In-class exercise with Lisa Keene.

Sad/Happy - Photoshop

Goodbye free time

2011-01-18T22:55:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day of classes this semester. I'm very pleased with the variety of subjects I get to study. Along with animation (CG and 2D) I'll have sculpture, visual development, and advanced character design. All that, and I have to make my film! It's delightfully scary.
So here's the first project I started for sculpture. This was an unplanned piece. We were meant to focus on starting off with simple shapes, building rough and making it up as we go. The piece is about six or seven inches tall I'd say, minus the horns.

Mahoney showed us some amazing monster and creature sculptures, so I just had to make something monstrous. I'll finish this up next week, and I may paint it when it dries. Hopefully I'll get some maquettes for my film characters done soon.
Good luck to all my fellow students. Make this a fantastic semester!

Goofy Pirates

2011-01-11T02:38:00.000-08:00

I'm officially in love with Autodesk SketchBook. This is my first time really taking it for a spin, and I am certain that I'm hooked. I think I might even drop the 30 bucks for the full version. Oh yeah, it's that good.

Goofy Pirates - Autodesk Sketchbook Express

Pirates were on the brain tonight. Surprise surprise.

Wizard Schmizard

2010-12-12T21:50:00.000-08:00


Wizard of Oz Character Lineup - Pencil/Photoshop

Wow, the semester is almost over. I can't believe how much I've experienced and created this semester. It's such a fantastic time here at school. There have been so many lectures and inspiring artists come to visit. I am very excited to get going with my film. I'm going to go finish the animatic right now, so enjoy this for the time being. Character design for Phil's class. Wizard of Oz, as if you didn't know. I tried to give it an old illustrated book feel in this final lineup. Off to work I go. More to come over winter break.

Looking forward

2010-11-22T03:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a little procrastination sketch, just to clear my head a little.
I realize that I haven't posted here much lately. I'll rectify that over the Thanksgiving break.
This semester has been pretty amazing. New computers in the labs, new and wonderful classes, great teachers. It's pretty wonderful. Doing a (very short) film this year. Still working on the story boards, but hope to have an animatic in the next two weeks. I don't know if I'll be posting that here, but I promise there will be some film related art showing up.

Fishing in Paris - Photoshop

Beautiful Decay

2010-10-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

In doing some research for a story assignment, I discovered the work of Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. This is just so inspiring, I had to share. Their photography, from what I can gather, is mostly of vacant, abandoned, and forgotten buildings and landmarks. Their photographs of "The Ruins of Detroit" is simply stunning. It's impossible not to be electrified by these images. There's an article about the Detroit photos on TIME, with a little more insight about the locations, just click here.

Monument

2010-09-02T02:39:00.000-07:00

Gouache on paper, 2" x 3"

Ice Dragon

2010-09-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

The colors on these gouache scans is just terrible. I swear they aren't as snot colored in person.

Gouache on paper, about 1" x 3.5"

Run Bunny Run!

2010-09-02T02:25:00.000-07:00

Gouache on paper, 1.5" X 2.5"

Runway

2010-09-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

A little memory painting from a recent trip to San Francisco.
Gouache on Paper, about 3" X 2.5"

Steadfast Pup

2010-08-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

India Ink Brush Pen at 1:00 am.

Muppetization

2010-08-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

My buddy Ronnie is awesome. The only way he could be more awesome, is if he was a Muppet:
Just a doodle that occurred one night at CSSSA. Miss you CSSSA buddies!

Mornin' Bear

2010-08-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

"A spot of tea, with lots of honey, and the gazette if you don't mind".

Benny

2010-07-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Benny is waiting for the train.
I don't have a scanner right now, so this will have to do for the time being. Thanks Photo Booth!

Le Jazz Hot

2010-06-16T02:34:00.000-07:00

Arr...

2010-04-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

10 minute doodle in photoshop. I love the multiply function so.

Making a film...

2010-04-09T13:32:00.001-07:00

...feels like this.

Something I hardly see

2010-03-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes staying up all night has its rewards. I got to see this todayWhat a good way to start the day. Off to work on my film, with new-found inspiration.

Out of the dark

2010-02-10T04:23:00.001-08:00

Something is brewing.

Me post now

2009-12-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

CTN Expo was so awesome.
Thank you so much Tina Price!
More on that later...

Anyways, it's too early in the morning for me to make with the sense so here's some pictures to look at if you wanna.

Old Galactic General

2009-10-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

Diner Doodles

2009-10-21T10:26:00.001-07:00

Some happy diners I found over summer.

Tram Jam

2009-10-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

On the tram at Disneyland this summer.

Round and Round

2009-10-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Old sketch from summer. Saw this guy and his kid at the mall. He actually said that.

When hinges creek in doorless chambers...

2009-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

A spooky layout, since it's October. This is a study for a possible film I might make. Still test driving it. School is crazy, but you know that. I'm having a blast. I'm not sleeping enough. Oh how I love Cal Arts.

Anchor

2009-08-23T00:14:00.000-07:00

It's a Corgi. It's a Pirate. You're just going to have to accept it.

Lunch Sketches

2009-08-05T01:48:00.000-07:00

You'll always have some great faces to sketch at a buffet.

Part of a complete breakfast.

2009-08-02T00:38:00.001-07:00

Thanks for letting me borrow your pancakes Eric.

Trader Joes Song

2009-06-19T02:46:00.000-07:00

I like Trader Joes. I like this video. If you go there a lot, you'll understand.
Found this on someone's blog and had to share it. It's so catchy.

I didn't make this, but I wish I did.

A Pirate's Shop For Me!

2009-06-19T02:27:00.000-07:00

Arrr!
I thought I'd let you all know about my new shop on CafePress.
You'll find an array of piratey goodness from t-shirts to tote bags. Aye, even pirates gotta have tote bags matey.
Keep a weather eye out for many more designs to come. Good sailin' to ya!

The Island

2009-06-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

So I've been working a lot on story stuff so far this summer. Overall I'm trying to sharpen all of my skills in whatever way I can, while remembering to just have fun, because...it's summer.
I picked up a project I started a long long time ago and abandoned. I'd almost completely forgotten about it but I took another stab at it. I just went in with a completely fresh perspective and had a lot of fun.
I storyboarded the first scene of this story, and made a little animatic. Please excuse the silly iMovie sound effects. I miss you Sound Miner!!! I miss you After Effects!!!!! We only just got to know each other!!!!
Ahem.
Enjoy, and I'd love to hear what you think.

The Island from Michael Herrera on Vimeo.

A photo journalist awakens on the shores of a mysterious island.

Wanna see a Grizzly bear do a trick!?

2009-06-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

Well hello there. I realized that I never posted my film I made this semester. It's really something to distract you from the lack of more interesting things I could post that I'm not posting because I'm too busy trying to find a job. Anyways, here it is. Maybe I'll post some new things I've been working on later this week...or not. Peace love and pencils my friends!

Theo from Michael Herrera on Vimeo.

The story of a daydreaming Grizzly bear in a zoo, who longs to perform for an adoring audience.

This is the work in progress cut of my first year film at Cal Arts.

It all starts here...

2009-05-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

First year at Cal Arts is over.
This is the start of something good.

Disney Inspire Days=Awesome

2009-03-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

On Monday I went to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank for the first time in my life. I was there for the Disney Inspire Days, a day for animation school students to visit the studio for presentations from artists and attend tours to get a better insight to the studio process. It...was...amazing! It was probably one of the greatest days of my life. Since I was so inspired, I should probably go work on my film. I'll talk more about that day later. For now here are some pictures. That top floor corner office used to be Walt's!

Chefs a plenty

2009-03-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

I know I know, you're getting sick of me drawing chefs. Well tough. They're fun to draw. Muaha ha ha.
Thank you Life photo archive!
There were some really great picture of chefs on there and they're all so goofy and amazing looking. I tried some new things here technique-wise. I'm still trying to get photoshop to work like traditional drawing materials for me. It's a slow but steady journey, getting computers to do what you want them to do.

Ratty Rats

2009-03-20T05:08:00.001-07:00

This was from an assignment for a character design workshop with Rick Maki. The first fella is a conman with a sharp tongue and a wicked temper. He dons the accessories of action figures to symbolize his authority. He has a gang too, but I've only drawn one of his goons below.

Water Nymph

2009-03-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Just a new addition to the ol' portfolio.
Inspired by a photo.

60's Mom

2009-03-19T15:20:00.001-07:00

Some doodles inspired from some 1960's catalogs.

Jackie Chan and Street Fighter

2009-03-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Possibly the greatest video I've ever seen ever...

Francine likes flowers

2009-03-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

This is Francine. She like flowers, coffee, fire, gnomes, music, dirt, and she hates garden sharks.
I thouhgt I'd try to add her signature. I need to go work on my film now. Good bye.

Final Film Sneak Peek-Part 2

2009-03-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I gave in and posted my temporary model sheet. I'm not sure his name is going to Theo in the end, but whatever. I'm off to animate him right now! Gaaahhhh!!!

Final Film Sneak Peek-Part 1

2009-03-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some drawings from the storyboard for my final film. These two images sum it up pretty well, though there will be juggling. Oh so much juggling. I'll post some more on the fim soon, and if I have time, some other interesting things as well. Tah Tah for now.

Fancy Waiter

2009-02-09T11:05:00.001-08:00

Grizzly doodles

2009-02-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

More of the Rat

2009-02-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

Scraps the Rat:
I did this the other night, sort of out of the blue.
I have seen some examples of digital paint over sculpture in some art books, so I thought I'd give it a try. Tried to flesh out ol' Scraps, and see what his fur would look like and really feel the textures on him. Lemme know what you think. Here's a side-by-side of the original sculpture and the final touch up.I think I can get the fur to feel a lot more dirty. He's not the cleanliest guy. He needs some dried food and crumbs stuck here and there. That's all.

Funny Girl

2009-02-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

This is from a few weeks ago. This is Follies girl Fanny Brice. This was a drawing I liked that then became a part of an experiment. I just wanted to make it look like an old poster. Twas fun to do, especially with the help of a cintique. I had an awesome picture of her for reference, which was actually in a book. A real book with pages, not the internet!
She's quite a cool gal.

Character Animation Gallery Show

2009-02-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of my space at the Character Animation Gallery Show, which took place a week or two ago. Thought I'd share.

It was quite a new and fulfilling experience for me. I've never really had a space in any sort of group show. It was a lot of fun all in all. I'll post details of some of the work I hung up plus some other things in the days to come.
I'm just starting production on my film. Story story story! I'm very excited.
Keep that spark alive everyone!

Animation...it kind of takes over doesn't it?

2009-02-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

So I won't waste your time with how busy I've been. I will say these past few weeks have been awesome and insane. Between having my first gallery show experience, to seeing an amazing lecture series by James Baxter, to designing characters for a Shane Prigmore and Shannon Tindle assignment, to animation for the first time in months...I've had plenty to keep me away form the internet, and my blog.
So, enough chit chat. It's art time!
I'm posting this since the sketch was the last thing I posted.
Gouache, on Bristol board:

I did my first real attempt at a maquette last semester. I decided to paint it over winter break. Her's a few pics. Sorry they aren't that great. I learned a lot with this project. I'm sort of glad I had so many problems with it because I learned more for the next time I sculpt. Not only that, but I really got a better sense of designing in three dimensions that I think has translated into my drawings. I did do a drawing fro this design first, but the sculpture actually turned out better. Please ignore the many cracks and glue globs.His name is scraps by the way. I'll probably have some tied down 2D designs of him in a few weeks. This isn't for my fillm this year by the way.

Film...ugh....that reminds me, I shouldn't be here...I should go work. Bye!!!

Goodbye 2008!

2008-12-31T15:46:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing everyone out there a Happy Fantastic New Year!!!

Here's a drawing I did the other day while listening to Michael Jackson's album, Dangerous. Good stuff.

So, Happy New Year! Here's to more drawings, caffeine, animation, movies, fun and time wasting in 2009!

a drawing

2008-12-18T05:06:00.000-08:00

Just a drawing. Nothing significant or terribly exciting, but just something to take up space on my blog. Did this from a photo on the fabulous new LIFE photo archive on Google. I need to finish editing images for posting, so soon, there will be art shared. I'm sick too, which is wonderful, and blah blah blah...

That's all folks...

2008-12-13T01:06:00.000-08:00

I have never worked so hard before in my life. This last semester was insane, scary, amazing, brutal, wonderful, stressful...you name it. I'm disappointed that I really never posted anything interesting, so that's what winter break is for. Everyone, have a great Holiday and get some sleep. Sleep dammit! I'll be blogging a lot, so I'll see you around the interwebs. I have quite a lot to share. Now, I am having tacos, and life is grand.

Hope your gobbles were good

2008-11-30T02:14:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post on Thanksgiving, but I was too busy celebrating. So, I wish you all a happy late Thanksgiving. If you didn't stuff yourself with food, pie, and perhaps more pie, than you need to celebrate more and fix those problems. I have oh so much artwork and pictures I'd like to share, but I've been slacking off every chance I get, because every other minute of my life is spent working till I die. So, art to come as soon as I get back to school and have access to the magical scanner.

Last week some of my school buddies and I went to breakfast and I thought it rather interesting that we each ordered a different juice. It sort of shows our personalities I think. Can you guess which one is mine? Ha ha.
Have a jolly good time everyone.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T17:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!

...that is all.

First Café

2008-09-20T22:01:00.001-07:00

A picture of my first coffee I had at Cal Arts:

Orange

2008-09-17T01:26:00.000-07:00

Ok...so I was about to go to bed, and I was looking at my profile...and I just realized...I'm from Orange County...
Good grief.

The first week of the rest of my life...

2008-09-17T00:58:00.000-07:00

Wow. First week at CalArts...I don't know where I should begin. Uh...I'm having a great time. Really. I can't believe how awesome everyone is, or how many of them there are. Animators rock, but so do the other metiers. The first week felt like a month. I've never had to commit so many names to memory in so short a time.
So, there you go. I'm having a super awesome time so far, and I can't wait to get my film going. I miss my Laguna friends. Yes I do, I know you are reading this! I wish I could have storyboarding with the Laguna gang again. Good times.
I miss my friends and family and my Chihuahuas, but such is the price of CalArts. No friends, no social life, just animation. I can deal with it, but it's still a little sad to be so far away from home. Anyways...most of my teachers are cool, and my classes are starting off all right. It's hot and icky in Valencia...and smoggy, but I love the campus. Tomorrow...or today rather (it's 1 am) I am going to paint my cubicle. Yes! I'll have to go scan a bunch of drawings and stuff, so pictures may come soon. Hopefully this weekend.
I love animation. I love Cal Arts. I love life right now.
Good feelings to you blog readers. See you soon.

Compact Mirror-Colored

2008-08-18T06:08:00.001-07:00

I'm trying some new things. I haven't been using my Wacom tablet as much as I should, so here's some digital color. I felt like coloring this drawing because I had such a clear idea of what colors she would wear. I've been fiddling around with gouache painting all summer, and this was a nice change of pace.

super market peculiarities

2008-08-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Some pictures taken at various stores:

This is scary.This is funny.
This is sad.

Mob Boss

2008-08-15T17:05:00.001-07:00

This is a character I've been working on from a story I've been fiddling around with. He's kind of a toad.