Ushuaia

Merry, merry...

2011-12-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

Cheers.

Photoshop. Dec 2011.

Color Keys.

2011-12-12T22:52:00.000-08:00

Color script for a sizzle piece. This was the first version of the movie.... That was four versions ago. It is safe to assume that the movie will look very different and probably much better than these early experiments.

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Curly Cues.

2011-12-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

Photoshop 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

School.

2011-12-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Concrete.

2011-11-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 9.

2011-11-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 8.

2011-11-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 7.

2011-11-14T20:32:00.000-08:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 6. Simple Colors.

2011-11-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 5. Simple Colors.

2011-11-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 4.

2011-10-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 3.

2011-10-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory 2.

2011-10-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Old Factory.

2011-10-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Beat Board 4.

2011-10-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Beat Board 3.

2011-10-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Beat Board 2.

2011-10-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Beat Board.

2011-10-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Silly Stuff.

2011-10-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Skewed.

2011-09-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

At the Museum 2.

2011-09-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

A little repetitive, perhaps, but it's not everyday that I can see my work hanging in a major museum. The Tim Burton Retrospective is on exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until the 31st of October (of course). Many thanks to the curator, Britt Salvesen for all her wonderful enthusiasm and generosity.

Film Photograph. Nikon Fe/ 50mm f 1.4

At the Museum.

2011-09-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Film Photograph. Mamiya m645/ 80mm f 1.9.

In the Carpathians.

2011-09-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Sony Pictures Animation.

Town Colors.

2011-09-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Contrast and Affinity.

2011-09-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Town.

2011-09-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

River Bank.

2011-09-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Upper Slöbnik. Lower Slöbnik.

2011-08-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Pencil and Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Quick Sketch.

2011-08-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Pencil on Paper. 2004. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Surprise.

2011-08-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Don't Ask.

2011-08-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Mosquitoes designed by Luis Grane.

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Basement.

2011-08-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Diner for Two.

2011-08-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

The Gate1.

2011-08-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Town.

2011-07-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Night Stroll.

2011-06-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Castle 7.

2011-06-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Castle 6.

2011-06-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

2011-06-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

A Tim Burton Retrospective exhibition just open at LACMA. I have not been able to see it yet, but in a photograph showing the 'Corpse Bride' exhibit I spotted something familiar hanging on the wall behind the beautiful puppets on display.

Tubular pen on Paper. 2003. Copyright Warner Bros.

Castle 5.

2011-06-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

Photoshop & Painter. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Castle 4.

2011-06-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Castle 3.

2011-05-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Castle 2.

2011-05-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Castle 1.

2011-05-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Photoshop & Painter. 2004. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Early Castles.

2011-05-25T18:50:00.001-07:00

Pencil & Tubular Pen on Paper. 2004. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Transylvania.

2011-05-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

The making an animation feature film is often a long and twisted road, a seemingly endless exploration of dead ends and side tracks. Writers, directors, designers, studio executives come and go, adding their little stone to the pile, trying to leave a mark. In some cases this process takes years before the final movie emerges. I worked on three different versions of this project, over a 5 years period, before moving on, two years ago. There has been two more versions since then, so the final movie is unlikely to bear any resemblance with the early development images I'm about to present here to breathe a little life into this site. Those were created between 2004 and 2009.

Enjoy.

Cheers.

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Art Blocks Expo.

2011-03-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

Fun times on Saturday at the Nucleus Gallery. You can bid on the Artwork here.

For Sale.

2011-03-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

The online auction for the 'Art Blocks for Ghana' pieces started yesterday night.

This is a chance to acquire some beautiful original work by famous artists while supporting a charitable endeavor. You'll be surprised to see how low the opening bid has been set for the artwork. The theme was 'Home'... I'm afraid my artistic interpretation of our neighborhood takes great liberties with astrophysics.

Go check it out here. The auction is open for another 6 days. Bid well and bid often.

Cheers.

Art Blocks for Ghana 2.

2011-02-10T19:06:00.000-08:00

Pencil on Paper. Acrylic on Panel. 8x8. Shellac Finish. 2011.

Art Blocks for Ghana.

2011-01-31T14:23:00.000-08:00

A little teaser of my contribution to this project. I visited Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso myself 25 years ago. I expect much has changed and much has remained the same. To see more, please visit the website and support Margaret and Rachel in their effort to raise scholarship money for orphaned kids in West Africa. Cheers.

Three 8x8 Art blocks. Acrylic. Shellac Finish. January 2011.

Merry, merry... Happy, happy...

2010-12-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Photoshop. Dec 2010.

Photo Works.

2010-12-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

I fear that returning visitors to Ushuaia must find the experience a bit monotonous as there has been very little activity this past year for reasons previously explained. As a diversion I suggest a visit to my other pages listed to the right. Harmattan is a collection of my personal paintings and travel sketches while Photo Works is a Flickr page dedicated to my renewed interest in photography. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.

Photoshop. Dec 2010.

Out to Lunch 5.

2010-12-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago the 2nd CTN Expo was held in Los Angeles and a lot of animation professionals had made the trip to attend. It proved a perfect occasion to go out to lunch in fine company. Cheers.

Contact Sheet. Nikon Fe. Various Lenses. Nov 2010.

Out to Lunch 4.

2010-10-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Film Photograph. Nikkormat Ft. Nikkor 50mm/f1.4. Fuji S400. Sept 2010.

Tools.

2010-07-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Film Photography. Nikon F/Micro Nikkor 55mm/2.8. 2010.

Party.

2010-06-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Big Red Button.

2010-06-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Weird Tales.

2010-06-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Asteroid.

2010-06-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Planet.

2010-06-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Character Design by Sylvain Deboissy.

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Out to Lunch 3.

2010-06-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

Film Photography. 6x6 cm. Ansco B2 Speedex. Kodak Ektar 100. 2010.

Out to Lunch 2.

2010-06-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

This one is taken with a 1948 camera made by Ansco, an american subsidiary of Agfa. It's a folding medium format camera that fits in your pocket. Sweet.

6x6 cm Film Photograph. Ansco Speedex B2/Kodak TMY 400. 04/2010.

Out to Lunch.

2010-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the scarcity of new material this year, as I said, it's going to be a while before I'm able to show some animation work again. Meanwhile, I have found a renewed interest in an old medium and a great outlet for creativity. I have been collecting, restoring and taking pictures with a variety of old cameras. I often take one with me for lunch and the result is a set of images that could be called 'Lunch with old Friends'. This one is a gift from a 1956 Yashica. You will find more of my photographs on 'Harmattan'. Cheers.

6x6 cm Film Photograph. Yashica LM/Kodak Tmx. 2010.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année.

2009-12-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Photoshop. December 2009.

Retro Future 2.

2009-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures.

Retro Future.

2009-10-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Pencil & Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures.

100 000.

2009-10-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes last week, somebody stopped by for what was to be the 100 00th visit on that site. Thank you all for your sustained interest over the past few years and for all the kind comments and perceptive remarks left along the way.

Cheers.

Summer.

2009-09-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

Pencil & Photoshop. Copyright Luc Desmarchelier. 2007.

Catching Up.

2009-08-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, due to the protracted schedule of animation movies, I am running out of material that I can safely make public at the moment. In fact, most of my work of the past three years will remain confidential for another two years. This said, I hope you'll enjoy this tidbit of development from a now defunct project.

Meanwhile, you can also visit my other site 'Harmattan' where I intend to post with greater regularity some of my more personal work.

Cheers.

Photoshop. 2007. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation.

Jungle.

2009-06-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

A last one for the little ones. It was probably my only significant contribution to the project.

Bus Ride.

2009-06-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Museum 3.

2009-06-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Museum 2.

2009-06-11T18:05:00.001-07:00

The Museum.

2009-06-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

A Different Jungle.

2009-06-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

For the Young Ones.

2009-06-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

The River.

2009-06-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Junkyard.

2009-06-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Sunrise.

2009-06-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

More Restrained.

2009-06-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

A Little Bit Garish.

2009-05-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

City Lights.

2009-05-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Digging Deeper.

2009-05-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Thumbnail Plates..

2009-05-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Thumbnail 4.

2009-05-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

2"x 31/2". Gouache on paper. 1995. Copyright Dreamworks.

Thumbnail 3.

2009-05-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

2"x 31/2". Gouache on Paper. 1995. Copyright Dreamworks.

Thumbnail 2.

2009-05-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

2"x 3 1/2". Gouache on Paper. 1995. Copyright Dreamworks.

Thumbnail 1.

2009-05-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

2"x3 1/2". Gouache on paper. 1995. Copyright Dreamworks.

A Bit More Stylized.

2009-05-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Old Stuff Indeed.

2009-05-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Some Old Stuff.

2009-05-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Season 8.

2009-02-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

Season 7.

2009-02-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

Season 6.

2009-02-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

Season 5.

2009-02-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Season 4.

2009-02-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Season 3.

2009-02-11T10:04:00.000-08:00

Season 2.

2009-02-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

Photoshop. 2007. Copyrights Sony Pictures.

Season.

2009-02-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

A Little Precision.

2009-02-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

In the interest of fairness, I must explain how this last image came about.

I think everybody is aware that the making of animation feature films is a collaborative process. In the past ten years, the increasing use of Photoshop has allowed artists to share, re-use or transform elements of digital files and re-combine them to produce new images (much like digital sampling in music). Amongst other advantages, this process makes it easier for a group of artists to work in a consistent style.

This last image and the next few color images are the products of such process. I used bushes, trees and rock elements as well as special brushes for grass and flowers, created by the art department of 'Open Season'. I imported, scaled, placed and adjusted these various parts to fit my composition and added characters and lighting.

The artists who created most of the individual elements originally were Andy Harkness and Mike Humpfries. Other parts came from paintings by Mike Kurinsky, Jim Finn, Gerry Loveland, Dean Gordon or Will Weston.

The characters were originally designed by Carter Goodrich.

Cheers.