quick thumbnail

I did this sketch in a class I'm taking over at Gnomon. This is pretty much how I see my teacher, Ed Li. His head just barley peeking over the monitor up at the front desk. It's a pretty small thumbnail, only 1.5"X3".

Zoo page

Had a good time at the zoo today on lunch. Got a decent view of the tigers and was able to practice a little watercolor.

Forest House

Cowboy sketch...

Airport study

This is a sketch I did on our return trip back to LAX over the holiday. I liked how everyone was lined up at the luggage claim.

Thanksgiving watercolors

Over the holiday as I was traveling to and from Minnesota, I was able to fill a bit in my sketchbook. I've been inspired by other people's blogs to do a little watercolor. These are some of my first attempts at the wet medium in a looong time.

Costco shoppers...

I joined a couple friends the other day and went "people watching" at the local Costco.

Zoo Sketches...

I was able to get out and head over to the zoo on lunch today with a group from CN and a couple guys from Renegade. Had a good time, gotta love that spoonbill...

Daily Sketch

I did this sketch on the computer and as I was painting it, I accidently discovered that it looked pretty cool with the line layer turned off.

Rough concept design

just for fun...

I was inspired looking at some other people's sites and I opened a blank photoshop document and began sketching. This is the result...

Friends of mine to check out...

I've had such a positive experience with this blog thing that I've told friends of mine to set up their own. Here's a couple friends of mine that have recently started their own blogs...

TIM SZABO


Tim and I go way back. We worked together at my first animation job at Reelworks Animation in Minneapolis. Tim helped my wife and I move out here and shortly after that, he decided to move out here himself. He's currently working at Renegade Animation. Not only is Tim a decent guy, but he's pretty damn talented too. But don't take my word for it...see for yourself

ROB LILLY


Rob was one the first guys I worked with once I got out here to LA. Since then, we've worked at pretty much every studio together at some form or another. He's currently over at CNS, animatin' and designin'. And he's pretty damn good at it too. But don't take my word for it...see for yourself

Noir Study

Quick Photoshop tone studies from the noir classic "Out of the Past". Inspiration for the "Fairfield" short I'm making.

New York, New York...

Just a sample sketchbook page from a trip to NY...

Heads Up!

I was a guest speaker the other night at the Animation Academy's seminar series, and while we were waiting for people to arrive, I sketched out this page. Somewhat based on the students in attendance, but not really. I'm no characaturist and I don't pretend to be. After a small compositional tweak and a quick color pass, this is what I ended up with. I'm always amazed at how fast you can color something in Photoshop and how much it adds to the final product.

*Charles just posted some photos of the evening on Animation Nation. Check them out!. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see me doing a digital storyboard pitch on a rather small laptop, but I think people still liked it :)

"Fairfield" short

A few months back, a friend of mine, Steve Meyer and I decided to join creative forces and make a short film. We're making "Fairfield", a black and white futuristic film noir short about a hit man. Mitch Larson has written a kick ass script and we're now in the early stages of pre-production. I've started a blog that will follow our LOOOONG path to the final film. Check it out!

We'll be posting updates throughout the project, so stop on in from time to time!

quick sharpie sketch

I did this sketch of my wife while I was on the phone. Sometimes it's good to have a post it note and a sharpie at arm's length. You never know when something may come out. A quick photoshop pass and here it is!

Edwards Air Force Sketches

Over this last weekend I was able to find some time and make the trip out to the Edwards Air Force Show on Sunday. Here's a page of compositional studies I did while I was there.

Random sketch...

Citizen Sketches

Did these while watching Welles' "Citizen Kane". Amazing cinematography and lighting in that film...

Queen Mary Visit...

This is a sketch that I did while on a visit to the Queen Mary a while ago. It's of a gun on the deck of the ship that was added to the famed ship during it's war time. I try to vary not only what I draw, but also the sketching technique. I love doing this loose pen line look. It was a fun day, I wish I had more time to get out more. This was done when I was on a hiatus.

Film sketches...

These are a couple random character sketches I did after watching movies. One is of David Niven in "The Pink Panther". The other is inspired from a Reese Witherspoon film. Any of you guys out there that are married, you know that from time to time you have to watch films like "Legally Blonde". Might as well make the best of it.

Bodie Sketches

I guess a fun way to start is to show a series of studies I did while visiting the ghost town of Bodie, California. It's an old gold rush town that's been preserved as a state park. I went up there with a couple good friends of mine, Rob Lilly and Tim Szabo. We decided to take off one Friday night and head up there on a camping/research trip. It was a great trip and an incredible place to visit. If you'd like to know more, check out their website...http://www.bodie.net/. These are some of the studies I did on the day of our visit...and a couple photos that Tim took.

Jumping on the Blogwagon...

I've been dragging my feet for more than a year on making myself a website. I'm as computer savvy as the next artist, but who the heck wants to do all that programming and scripting junk? Looks like my procrastination has finally paid off! Ha-ha! Free blogging! Take that tech geeks of the world!...actually, I'm just kidding...please don't give me a virus!

I hope to get this figured out and start posting soon...hopefully later tonight. Thanks for stopping by!