The Dead Sungod

Just playing around with getting a combination between that painterly poster feel and my own style. I really want to try my hand at some real painting once I have the time, it's been too long since my last serious attempt. There is still so much to learn...
Other good news, we finished the "Anna" short, which should be available online soon, maybe even as soon as next week! I'll post it here, once it is online.

An exciting day for Anna

Here is an update on the animated short I am working on together with my two studio mates Lukas and Joost. We've started animating a few weeks ago and a couple of sequences are nearing completion already. Here are stills from the openening sequence.










The story is about Anna, a little girl who has to live with a new family for a while, because her own parents have trouble taking care of here. The goal of the film is to inform young children about what happens, when they themselves, or children around them get involved in a difficult situation like this.

Here is a collection of preproduction artwork. The designs are all done by me and we are animating it together. So far, this is has been a great project to work on!

The Princess's new Clothes

So here it is, my new Star Wars print, soon available through Acme Archives! I've been working on this for a long time, but in the end I think I succeeded in cramming every single character that I liked about this scene into one drawing. When the first 2 Star Wars films where released I was either not born at all (episode IV), or just a smelly pink baby (episode V). When Return of the Jedi was released I must have been 3 or 4 so I can't say I saw that one in the cinema's either, but I do remember receiving a few toys for my birthday one day and they really made a big impact on me. I remember looking at the back of the packaging, seeing all those strange creatures and also the ads in certain magazines that I read as a child showing pictures of the classic Jedi Kenner toys and I was mesmerized. Luckily I have a dad who managed to preserve his inner nerdy kid a little and he got me a some of them when they went on clearance. I still have Bib Fortuna, Ree Yees, Gamorrean Guard and Lando Skiff Guard, along with a few others. Never got Jabba though. For a long time, since I only saw the actual films years later, Star Wars to me was mainly about toys. So this print is a homage to all the toys that kept me company during the dark and scary first years of my life! Here's to you guys, I promise I'll pay you a visit in the attic soon!

I will have a few signed copies of this for sale myself, so if you are interested in getting one, keep an eye out on my blog. It will be produced in two sizes: 15x30 inch or 13x19.

So, here is a little peek in the kitchen, showing a few explorational sketches. I knew from the start that I wanted Jabba as the centerpiece of this print. I also wanted to show something that was only implied in the films, but never shown on screen, and I wanted to put as many characters in as possible.

Star Wars this, Star Wars that...

What's with all the Star Wars lately? I have no clue, it just seems to follow me like a mad rabbit with a taste for attractive, dark haired geeks. But of course, that doesn't mean I'm not having a great time making this stuff! Here is a collection of sketch cards done for Topps Star Wars Galaxy 5 trading card set, all of these will be inserted in packs, so they could be yours if you bought enough boxes at your local retailer. Next stop, a new Star Wars print for Acme Archives!

Some characters

Here are some character studies for an animated film I will be making together with Joost Lieuwma and Lukas Krepel, two friends with whom I share a studio. Nothing final yet, just toying around trying to find nice shapes suitable for the workflow we intend to use. I am going to push the design of the grownups more towards the little girl.

In the mean time...

Here is a piece I did for the upcoming Topps Star Wars Galaxy 5 trading card set. It is of a scene that isn't actually in the film, where Han Solo finds the place where Luke Skywalker was slapped in the face by the Wampa creature and dragged away. I am working on a Star Wars print for Acme Archives at the moment about another scene we didn't get to see. I won't give away much, but it features Leia and a certain overweigt snail.
And here is one of my preliminary sketches that will probably be featured on the back of the card.And here is a piece I made for the Drawing Jam at the drawingboard.org. I am not sure about the colors, I can't seem to get my Cintiq callibrated the way I want it to be. It's based on a photograph of a model named Jamie Koeppe.

Coming Soon

So, why is it that I mostly posted older work the last couple of months you ask? Well, because I've been sweating away on my graduation film for almost 2 years now, without much time to work on anything else, that's why. Thankfully it seems like the end of this project is finally getting in sight. Here is the sketch for the poster that I am working on right now. I need to touch up a couple of animated bits and finish a few backgrounds, after that my work on the film is done and it's waiting until the score and sounddesign are finished. Exciting times!

Again, this is still a mock-up, I might change the design into something completely else.

Return of more Living Dead

I was holding out on posting new deadites because I was planning to draw up a little congratulations drawing first for director Tomm Moore, for winning the Audience Award at the Animation Festival of Annecy last month with his film Brendan and the Secret of Kells.

I worked on the film for a few months as a posing/ lay-out artist and it was a great experience in every way. Unfortunately I couldn't attend the premiere in Dublin, so the viewing at Annecy was my first time seeing the final film and it made me very happy to see the audience appreciated it so much. Very strange to suddenly see it finished and on such a big screen but it turned out to be a great film and if you get the chance, go see it in cinema's. I believe it will be released across the globe at various moments later this year, so keep an eye out for it at your local theater. For more information on the film, check Tomm's blog here. Unfortunately I can't find the time to make a little Brendan tribute, so words will have to do: CONGRATULATIONS TOMM! Also a shout to all the people I met this year, I know it's a little late, but I had a great time so thanks to everybody and hopefully untill next year!

So, on to the undead flesh. Please keep in mind that these were all done over a different period of time, so the designs change from piece to piece.

















Last but not least, here is a little Ash in motion. Well, you can hardly call it a motion, but he turns a bit... And blinks...



Well, that's all I have on Army of Darkness for now, I might dig up more stuff later.

More Deadites

Here's a few more nasty undead from my Army of Darkness project. Next time I'll post some actual stills and storyboard pics...