Lower World Habitat

An old environment piece. You never go wrong with Dr. Seuss' shapes. Here's the step by step. Enjoy.

 ©Sony Pictures Animation. ©Armand Serrano.

First Look on BIG HERO 6!

Big Hero 6 Visual Development crew: (clockwise from left: Jim Martin, James Finch, Sarah Airiess, Scott Watanabe, Jin Kim, Mike Yamada, Shiyoon Kim, me, Paul Felix, Charlyn Giampa, Blair Bradley, and Helen Chen. Not in photo: Ryan Lang, Justin Cram, Lorelay Bove, Vicky Ying, and Jeff Turley).

Here's a first look footage at Disney's BIG HERO 6 (slated for November 2014), the film I'm presently working on. Enjoy!

Video ©Disney Animation Studios.

Mechs

Some unused mechs I did from way back. Fun.

©Sony Pictures Animation.

Pooch's House 2: Another Glimpse Of How I Sketch

Here's another glimpse of one of my processes in sketching and laying down the values. There's  still few seats open on my online class at CG Masters Academy, Environment Sketching For Production scheduled to start April 20th. Register now! 

Step 1. Very rough Quick sketch in pencil then scanned. I normally do my line work straight in PS but every now and then I still play with my pencil.

Step 2. Laying down the values and surface tones of elements.

Step 3. Added the trees to frame the house. Im loving the BG so Im not touching it anymore.

Step 4. Cast shadows added including the the mailbox detail

Step 5. Finishing touches.

Step 6. Felt empty on the left side of the house so I added the FG tree to solidify framing and depth. Always remember, don't loose the fun and playfulness of lines when you're sketching. Enjoy!

©Armand Serrano.

Happy Easter!!!

"No weapon forged against you will prevail..."(Is. 54:7)

Happy Easter to all!!!

©Armand Serrano.

Environment Sketching For Production Class

Reminder that registration for my online class at CGMA starts March 18th and has limited spots. This class focuses not just the 'how' but the "why" in laying the foundation of solid visual development designs. 

Click HERE to register!

I Am Back in the Mouse House!

I am now officially back at the Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank! Last week was a bitter sweet moment when, after 9 good years and a total of 15 projects, I had to say goodbye to my Sony Animation family in Culver City. It was a privilege to work side by side with these amazing talents through those years. The caricature was done by my dear friend Marcelo Vignali.

Lecture Presentation At Blizzard Entertainment

Last week, I had the honor of doing an hour and a half design lecture/presentation to the talented artists of Blizzard Entertainment. I had great time also touring their awesome studio, and get to see my friend Craig Harris.

All images ©Armand Serrano.

Rustboy Lighthouse Moment

An old piece I did for the defunct Rustboy project.

©Sony Pictures Animation. ©Armand Serrano.

Design Evolution Lecture at Graphika Manila 2013

Almost 3000 people attended last week's Graphika Manila 2013! Representing Sony Pictures Animation, I was one of the seven lecturers at the event. I showed the Sony anniversary video and did a lecture on my visual development/design process for Hotel  Transylvania and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

Rustboy Character Line Up

Four years ago, we tried to develop Rustboy into a feature film at Sony. Im not much of a character designer but I took a shot on this one since I was part of the early story development team.

Above was a snapshot of the development "pod" right after our pitch to Sony execs: (l-r) Armand Serrano, visual development; Todd Wilderman, story; a talented scriptwriter which I forgot his name; and Brian Taylor, creator of Rustboy.

Images ©Sony Pictures Animation and Armand Serrano.

Pooch's House: A Simple Process

Another unused concept art from last year. The setting is suppose to be somewhere in contemporary Toronto during summer so I had to look for some online references. I've been asked a lot about my drawing/painting process so here's one of my simple, speedy but effective process. There's no secret other than first and foremost, lay out all the basics: readable shapes, composition, values and lighting; then proceed to color. I don't even think about textures and overlays for the most part since they're just secondary for me. Enjoy.

Draw the linework. Keep it loose and control the shapes and amount of details. Have fun like when you were a kid. 

Apply values using the lasso tool. When done correctly, it gives controlled but bolder, even looser shapes than your line work. This is crucial for it is the very foundation your color. Define the skin tone of elements and apply consistent lighting.

Completed value.

Apply color without loosing the values. I don't use multiply but color brush instead.

Make adjustments in color balance and apply highlights. For those familiar with how I work, I use the old #19 preset brush. No fancy stuff :) Then on the finished piece, I did some last minute adjustments on the lighting for a slightly different time of day, added the ball, applied a simple texture overlay, then turned off the lines layer.

©Armand Serrano.

Photos From Animahenasyon 2012

Visual development talk at Animahenasyon 2012, an animation convention held at De La Salle University of St. Benilde College of Arts and Design in Manila last November.

Have A Merry Christmas!!!

"Oh Come Let Us Adore Him.

Christ The LORD."

Have a joyful Christmas and a blessed new year!

©Armand Serrano.

iPad Paintings: Procreate App

Been lazy with my iPad paintings lately. These are the more recent ones I did. One on top was a late night painting. One at the bottom is an early morning view of my backyard. Both done in Procreate app. Fun.

All mages ©Armand Serrano.