Happy New Year!!!

Wishing everyone a happy New Year! Here's to looking towards next year and a higher degree of success! Looking to push my work to the next level! It's going to be fun! If you need an artist, contact me!

Princess Peach? Nope Princess Peaches.

 Instead of having royal linneage, Princess Peaches is a beauty pageant winner but that doesn't make her any less desireable. The Martin Bros have known Peaches since she was a girl and have always had a crush on her. No one, and I mean no one is gonna mess with their precious Princess Peaches the southern belle.

Teaser Image

 What happens when Marcus, LeVon and Princess Peaches all get together. You'll find out soon enough.

What if Luigi of the Mario Brothers was really a brotha too?

You betta believe if there is a Marcus of the Martin Bros, There got to be a counterpart... LeVon, the much more get down to business brother. These two guys get it rippin and laid down. Hahaha. That is a carpentry joke, I suppose. Hahaha.

Timelapse if you are interested in the process as well.

What if Mario of the Mario Brothers was really a brotha?

A Fun little series I'm doing. Instead of the brothers being plumbers they are carpenters. Also they are brothas as well as brothers. Soo much fun!

Mario Brothers with a little soul.

Imagine for a second:
Before the Mario Brothers was a couple of Brothas, The Martin Brothers. Marcus and LeVon Martin are a couple of carpenters who tear up a floor in a vintage home in Los Angeles only to be transported to a fantasy world where they must save Princess Peaches so they can return home. Hahaha. I love the Mario Brothers series and thought why not do a little twist on the concept.

Girl, You on Fire!

Diva extraordinaire going through the photoshop machine she got the full color makeup. Keeping the palette a bit more subtle and not quite over the top kid like. Hoping to have a greater appeal. She is confident and aware that she is on fire. Not the neck rolling type, more elegant and aware of who she is.

In Living Color

 My main man Wood had going through the photoshop machine and has got the full color workup. Keeping the palette a bit more subtle and not quite over the top kid like. Hoping to have a greater appeal. He is just a down home good time fella.

More what if Toy Story - BL

Dropping that ink. Image that Buzz, I mean BL was sponsored by Jay Z. A suit with ROCA WEAR styling. This guy surely had that hiphop attitude.

More Toy Story Fun!

 To continue this series of what if Toy Story was cast with black characters instead. Here is Buzz Lightyear, hold on, BL. He is a bit more brash than Buzz. A former top athlete who was drafted to the corporate space program. Sponsored by Jay-Z, he is a walking talking endorsement machine.

Hey it's Jessie uhhh Ja'Shae

Revisited the drawing of the character Jessie, whoops Ja'Shae. Toy story in on of my favorites so I thought I'd throw some lines at these characters. I'm sure I'll color both, not sure If I'm gonna do a Buzz revisioning. Cleaned up the art. I'm looking to do an African American interpretation that don't have some sort of 'Hood' or 'Gangsta' feel. I'm not judging, just say thing there are other spectrums to the character of Black people than hip hop.

Hey it's Woody, err Wood!

Revisited the drawing of the character Woody err, Wood. Cleaned up the art. I'm trying to resist the temptation to do some color work. Then again I wasn't planning on cleaning up the art on this, but you know how it goes, that first line of ink is the last line of ink. I'm thinking that first spot of color will end up the same. Hang in there people!

Jessie naaa Ja'Shae - Toy Story Redux

Continuing with my new toy story. Ja'Shae is Jesse. Sweet and Spice and everything nice. Girl got style for sure. I couldn't leave my boy Wood without his girl right...

I have a great idea for the next toy story.

Ok I have an awesomely ridiculous idea. If Tyler Perry, or Spike Lee, or anyone looking to do a black version of Disney/Pixar flicks I'm gonna do drawings of some of the popular characters if they were black. C'mon the time is coming. Give me a holla.



I don't or haven't worked for Disney / Pixar or Tyler Perry or Spike Lee, ahem, but I'm here ya know.

No reason. Just making stuff.

Finished my 11 second club, could resist the temptation to do something else. These strange fellow showed up. Not sure what they are looking at though?

11 seond club is almost done. Face Animation time!

Not only is it face animation time. It is finish the hand animation time. Finish the arms, double check all the arcs, animate her little bit of hair she is supposed to have. Oh my goodness, less than a week left. I just might have to duck out on thanksgiving.

Scratch that, can't skip all that delicious food, I mean that is a crime isn't it? Well isnt in?
No need to fret, I'm on pace to get what I want to get done by the deadline. This last week is going to be a test of mettle. I'm going to try to put in 6 or so hours a day to get it done.

Sleep is for babies! WHERE IS MY COFFEE!!! WHY AM I YELLING!

11 second club! You're killin me!

November 2013 11 second club - progression
Soo many things are changing. Too many things I didn't like in the last revision.
Excessive arm movement, Excessive movement on the guy. I don't have much time left, so I have to start tying things down and getting to face animation! AAAAAH!

I'm gonna punch both of these characters in the gut if they don't get their act together. I'm trying to meet a deadline here. Actors. pfffft!

11 Second club update! Nearing the end.

Not very many days left, but most of the gross animation ( The larger movement feel good). I need to work out the anticipations in some areas, then move on to lip sync.

This is turning out to be a lot more work than I anticipated, along with working on my MFA Thesis as well. Probably not a smart idea. However like drawing, it's about mileage and experience. So I figure the more animation I do, the better I have to get at it. Right?

If your curious and haven't read any of the other posts and want to know what I using to do this.

Pencil ( Palomino Blackwing Pencil, makes a nice black line with minimal smudging and sounds cool - BLACKWING!)
8.5x11 Copy Paper ( Bought a giant box from Costco, when I run out I think I may upgrade to larger paper)
Animation Peg ( 3 hole punch - www.lightfoot.com)
Simplicity Cam ( To grab animation drawings - it's really a nifty webcam)
X-sight ( Software for grabbing still images
A couple lights ( So images don't turn out super dark, so it's easier to vectorize later)
Photoshop ( I haven't used it yet to  adjust levels so it is easier to vectorize the animation, but it'll be coming up soon)
Toon Boom Harmony ( Timeline, X-sheet, and vectorize tools ) - Im using it to do the pencil tests before I decide to vectorzie, it's also pretty easy to line up your drawings with the internal x-sheet which is pretty convient.
Jetpens- I use brush pens from this company, they have a great selection of Japanese brush pens!
Manilla Folders- HAHAHA ( I also have a giant box of these from Costco, helps keep stuff organized, ALOT!
Colin Johnson Animation Desk - Adjustable light table with animation disc.
Simple Desktop PC- Nothing fancy here.

That's all. Enough typing, sleep then animate some more.

November 2013 11 second club Background test

Doing some inbetweens, cleaning up interactions, almost there, then I'll begin work on mouth shapes and hair overlap motion. I wanted to see how it looks on the background. I'm such a fan of these blackwing pencils, they have the right amount of black without the smudge. Eventually I'm going to be vectorizing all the lines in toon boom to get a cleaner look. Right now I'm directly importing images to do pencil tests. Although the BACKGROUND on this one is Vectorized line art.

11 second club progress

Not much time is left to start fine tuning timing. Right now the timing feels a bit even, and the accents are not strong as I would like in some sections. I'll watch it a few more times and re-work some areas. I've removed a number of excessive poses to avoid too much movement.

11 Second club Pose test numero 3

Running through the logistics of poses and character moving from point a to point b. I need to do break downs and fine tune acting still. Slowly but surely.

11 second club, pose test 2

2nd pose test. There are still some areas that need refinement pose wise, and I like to test before I commit to charting and animating. So after this pass on the posing, it will be on to charting and animation. I'm going to weed out the stuff I don't like. In particular the way it ends.

On a side note, one of the ways that I play with some of my timing is by cutting out the poses and taping them up on another sheet. It saves time instead of redrawing them. Just a little FYI.

x-sheets

Let your tears roll, I still want to go back and make some additonal acting notes on the xsheet before I get to animating. Plan and plan oh, and plan.

More 11 second work - thumbnail synced

Pose test. I'm in the process of refining x-sheet and will post soon.

More 11 second club updates

The concept is still along the lines of flirting/advancements un warranted. Ultimately the guy goes in for a kiss, gets rejected, begins tearing up, then scoots out the shot. I wanted to test my idea and poses, and I'm going through now and re-thinking some of the beginning as it goes a bit fast and is unreadable. I also changed the staging a bit.



Background Art Drawing Timelapse as well.

11-second club nov 2013 - boards first pass rough

I still like the idea of the characters flirting, but the composition I was leaning towards crowded the set, and preventing the characters from having space to move. The concept is still along the lines of flirting/advancements un warranted. Ultimately the guy goes in for a kiss, gets rejected, begins tearing up, then scoots out the shot.

11 second club nov 2013 - character and bkg planning

So I decided that I enjoyed the pain of animating and doing inktober, and thought I should take on another challenge while I work on animating on my Thesis. So I'm going to do this month's 11 Second club. I'll make an earnest effort to show my progress as much as possible.

Most of the thumbnail and planning is soo bad it ain't worth posting, but these character ideas and bkg concepts are going in the right direction.

 The concept is simple: Using a sound clip, transcript of clip below:

 Voice One ( woman): "Your job is to break through barriers, not accept blame and say 'wah wah wah'. So what?"

Voice Two (man): "I don't cry."

 Voice One (woman): "You wanna be really great? Have the courage to fail big and stick around."

 I like to think about characters and what they are doing, it helps me to plan the animation. So my idea based off this clip is that the guy has been flirting with the woman when he should be working, she is brushing him off, in the end he finds himself stuck to the jet engine he is supposed to be fixing. A simple idea, and the goal is not to go crazy with the concept, but set something up that will allow for solid animation.









Forgot to add in my shortcut boards where I drop in the bkg so I can focus on the characters acting, because I don't plan on any camera moves.

BTW, I found the storyboard template on deviantart.com where there are a ton of storyboard templates.

Last day of inktober!

#inktober 30:

 C'mon guys grab hold, the last words utter by these fearless adventurers!

Read up on Inktober here:

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/

 check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

Get outta that trap!

#inktober 30:

These little fellows gotta eat, don't get caught up fella.


 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/

 check out more of my work here:


 http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com


 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

Almost there. Bleeding Ink.

#inktober 29:

Keep staring and we gonna have a problem!!!


 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/


 check out more of my work here:


 http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com


 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

Sometimes you don't wanna grow up!

#inktober 28:

Who says you can ride a trike when you get older!!!



 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/



 check out more of my work here:



 http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com



 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

Gotta work on vehicles more.

#inktober 27:

Johnny don't take no mess...


 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/


 check out more of my work here:


 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

Switching up the approach a bit.

#inktober 25: This guy has been exploring the wrong spots! POW! http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/ check out more of my work here: http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/ Music:

It's the minions!

#inktober 25:

The witchdocta and her minions!

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/


 check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

Music:

The inktober train continues.

#inktober 24: Big guy wants to get in on the action too!

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/

check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober day 23 ... Man I should voice over like a star trek log.

#inktober 23:

 Of course the Ladies are not to be out done! Lady Warrior!

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/ 

 check out more of my work here:

 http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com 

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober 22 - I feel like a warrior myself... still pushin!

#inktober 22:

Warriors come out and play..

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/



 check out more of my work here:

  http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober 21 - More comic style art

#inktober 21:
 Another Brotherman drawing, the Terror Twins knocking cats out 24/7 .

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/ 

 check out more of my work here:

 http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober day 20

#inktober 20:

Another Brotherman drawing, thought I would play with the proportions a bit.

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/

 check out more of my work here:

http://grade-a-fun.blogspot.com

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober 19 - Ink don't fail me now!

 #inktober 19:

 My lil version of one of my favorite comic characters ever Brotherman, google that, and buy whatever they are selling! Indeed.

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/

 check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober 18

#inktober 18: I recently saw a preacher going at it so hard her started ripping clothes off, don't tell anybody I was sketching at church.

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/

check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober 17

#inktober 17:

Sometimes I feel like holding this sign!!!

 Read up on inktober here:

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/ 

 check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober day 16

#inktober 16:

This old day is sure that she is looking hot!

 Read up on inktober here:

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/ 

 check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober day 15

#inktober 15:

Old guys don't like anyone on their grass!

 Read up on inktober here:

 http://mrjakeparker.com/2009/10/01/inktober/ 

 check out more of my work here:

 http://cbdetective.the-comic.org/

inktober 14

No recording for this one, but I mananged to get on in today. I want to start working on stronger shapes for the rest of these. Still watching hip=hop videos on youtube. This time Phillip "pacman" cheeb