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.

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.

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.

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.

Freelancers

Sorting my hard drive and I found this! A bw sketch I did for a friend's game studio's presentation at E3 last year.

©Armand Serrano.

Animahenasyon 2012

I'll be speaking at the Philippine Animation Festival next week in Manila. Quick trip but should be fun.

CTN 2012 Photos

Always a blast to catch up with these guys: (l-r) Mark McDonnell, Nicolas P. Villareal, Armand Serrano, and David Colman. Other friends I saw: Tony and Tom Bancroft, Robh Ruppel, Stephen Silver, Faye Hsu, John Nevarez, Jeff Ranjo, Armand Baltazar, Holly Miller, Craig Elliot, Bill Perkins, Chris Deboda, etc.

Manned the Sony fort on CTN day 1. (l-r) Boola Robello, me, Ken Maruyama, JC Cornwell

All images @Armand Serrano.

CTN Animation Expo 2012

I'll be at the Sony Pictures Animation/Imageworks booth this Friday, Nov. 16th from 2-5 pm. Looking forward to seeing friends, colleagues, upcoming professionals and lots of artworks! Stop by and say hello.

SURF'S UP Revisited

Last week, a special screening of Surf's Up and Q and A was held as part of Sony Pictures Animation's 10th Anniversary celebration at the animation campus in Culver City for ASIFA members. (top photo, l-r): Armand Serrano - visual development, Rob Bredow- vfx supervisor, Chris Jenkins - producer, Ash Brannon - director, Chris Buck - director, Charles Solomon - moderator. Ash is now consulting and an independent director, Chris J is with Dreamworks, Chris B is back at Disney, and Rob is CTO of Sony Imageworks. Fun night to reconnect with these guys. Be sure to watch the short video presentation of this event including our interviews from Sony.

Surf's Up was one of the most beautiful animated film ever made and one of the most challenging but satisfying production I ever been involved with. The team collaboration with artists of such caliber was a rewarding experience. I strongly suggest to watch it if you hadn't seen the movie yet. I'm pleased to share here some of the fond memories I had in this film. Enjoy.

Image above is the design concept that started it all! The squid on the stick on the left was a signature I placed on many of my earliest designs that carried over to the big screen.

The waterfalls after the glow worm cave sequence.

Above is a perfect example of team collaboration that so evident in the film. Characters are done by Sylvain DeBoissy. Foreground elements are painted by Paul Lasaine. The rest are done by me.

Japan beat.

Glow worm cave.

Originally, Geek's house and the board shack are in the same location. Here's an early concept. Notice the squid on a stick? :)

These two above are initial iconic designs that were approved.

Board Shack shape studies. I knew early on that the tree is bent. Its just a matter of how much. Then Marcelo Vignali came to me one morning with a fantastic photo of a palm that bends to the water then peeks up. That's the inspiration for the last image above that we all agreed on to be the final shape.

The Board Shack final design. A collaborative piece with my good friend Marcelo.

Story change pushed Geek's house inland.

My "Poly-pocket" view of Geek's house interior.

Geek's house entrance. Again there's the squid on a stick!

The lava tube entrance. This layout ended up on the screen.

More lava tube concepts.

Geek's house on the beach. Sunny Apinchapong has a painted version and can be viewed on his website.

I based Pengu Island north shore, where Geek lives, from the beaches of Palawan, Philippines and Phuket, Thailand.

Then the south shore, where the Competition Beach is located, was based from the Seychelles Beach in South Africa and Hawaii.

The Competition Beach final design. Another collaborative piece with Marcelo Vignali.

Original story calls for a penguin rodeo (with dolphins).

These Big Z memorial early designs carried over to the screen. I admire such decisive moves by directors that when they see early designs they like and its working, why change it. 

On an early version of the film, promoter Reggie throws a party the night before the competition. Above is the main banquet table. What a hoot to think like a penguin and what would I love to eat if I'm one! :) ... and lotsa squids on sticks!

The "sexy" trophies. These are actual names of our female co-workers :)

Early concepts for the Whaleway station in Shiverpool.

For finale, I did this just for kicks! A some sort of "Where's Waldo"-type piece depicting Pengu Island carnival which was included in the early version of the story. 

Can you find the directors and producer checking in on me during our drive-by?

Click HERE or the link on the Labels on the right for more Surf's Up posting

Photos are ©Armand Serrano. Artworks are ©Sony Pictures Animation