Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Teaser

The teaser trailer for "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" is out! Click on the image above to watch. It's been two years since I worked on this movie after Surf's Up and will be released this September. Here's my own little "teaser" on the design of that elementary school that gets covered by giant pancake.

Above is the final approved design I did for that school. Below are my thumbnail explorations.



Design "C" above was the one picked by the directors and below is my quick sketch when it gets covered by the pancake. Last image is the screengrab from the trailer.


Teaser will be out on the big screen in front of Monsters Vs. Aliens. More to come. By the way, my website(www.armandserrano.com) is BACK ONLINE!...thanks to my new webhost, Fatcow.com.

The Shark Bar

©Sony Pictures Animation.
One of the fun designs I did on a sequence that "almost" made it into the film. It's a bar for the penguin luau. This is the final design. The rough sketch can be seen on the Surf's Up book.

Website Down

My website, ARMANDSERRANO.COM, is temporarily down due to a transfer of webhosts. Will keep you posted when it's back. But for the meantime, I'll continue posting here in my blog. Thanks.

iPod Touch/iPhone Painting 3

©Armand Serrano.
Man, this is addicting. I painted this on my ipod Touch over lunch break earlier and so happy with the outcome. This time, I was using Brushes app and my good old pointer finger. For the serious users, I recommend both Colors and Brushes apps.

iPod Touch Finger Painting 2

©Armand Serrano.
Another round of iTouch finger paintings using Colors app. This app is a bit more sophisticated and has more features. Many thanks to Tom Scholes (http://crayonboxofdoom.blogspot.com) for the tips. I am definitely placing an order for a POGO stylus. Coming up next, I'll be using Brushes app.

iPod Touch/iPhone Finger Paintings

©Armand Serrano.
My daughter loves to use this very primitive finger painting app called Simple Paint on my iTouch. Got curious and gave it a shot. It's very basic but handy. Like that traffic light image on top for example. I stopped on a red light one foggy morning then tried to draw it before it turns green. There goes sketchclub right there.

Open Season 2: Pet Paradise Design

©All images. Sony Pictures Animation.
A year and a half ago, I helped out on Open Season 2 (available now on DVD) in designing the main location called Pet Paradise. Above is the pet waterslide which is the main attraction for the resort. Below is the basic layout of the whole place.

The interior of the waterslide is a hero location and here are the basic designs and layout.




The resort lobby.

Different facade designs for the entrance. The third one was picked which was inspired by the "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland.




The final design for the entrance.


Also, I'd like to welcome the talented Peter Chan, the newest addition to our visdev team here at Sony. Check his blog out on my links list.

Memories: Disney Florida Layout Crew

Happy new year! Browsing through my old photo files, I found these memorable photos of the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida layout crew. Above was taken at the inauguration of the "brand new" animation building right after Mulan c. 1998. (l-r): Tom Humber, Richard Livingston, Kevin Proctor, Jeff Dickson, Norbert Maier, Armand Serrano, Bill Hodman, Andy Harkness, amd Arden Chan.
This was taken right before were done laying Brother Bear out. It was at the Coronado Resort in Disney World after a layout lunch. (l-r standing): Richard Livingston, Scott Kersavage, Robh Ruppel, Andrew Hickson, Joanne Tsuzanos, Craig Grasso, Bill Hodman, Andy Harkness, Tom Dow, Tom Humber, Billy George. (l-r seated): Mike, Franc Reyes, Jeff Dickson, Brian, George Villaflor, Armand Serrano, and Kevin Proctor (not in photo: Peter Deluca) c. 2002. Great crew...miss them all.

Christmas Begins With Christ

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14 written c. 758 BC)

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. " (Micah 5:2 written c. 710 BC)

"A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more." (Jeremiah 31:15 written c. 600 BC)

Here's the Christmas story told with three of over three hundred Old Testaments prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus Christ. The first was completed when Jesus was born from a virign, Mary (Matthew 1:18-25). The second was his birth in a small town of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1). And the third was fulfilled when the Magi didn't report back to Herod the Great where the child was born. Fearing the throne will be taken away from him by the Messiah, Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children two years old and under. By this time, Jesus was taken to Egypt by his earthly parents, Joseph and Mary (a fulfillment of another prophecy). The probability of one being fulfilled in one man is 1 in 10 million. The probability of eight being fulfilled is 1 in 10 to the 17th power. It blows me away that the probability that over three hundred prophecies being fulfilled in one man are incomprehensible. The birth of Jesus Christ is truly the hinge in human history! Fulfilling the old covenant and ushering us to the new, from BC to AD! For two thousand years, no Herod "can put the God man down". Amazing.

May the true meaning of this season be with you all. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year!

Paintings are all done in PS.

Beauty & The Beast

©Armand Serrano.
A different take on Belle and the Beast. We we're at the dental clinic for my daughter yesterday morning and they were showing this favorite film of mine which I haven't seen for a while. Got inspired and thought that it would be refreshing to see a different take on it. Here it is all done in PS.

Dirigible

©Armand Serrano.
Been busy helping out on our Hotel T. project here at Sony that's why I haven't posted for a few weeks. Anyway, here's an image of an airship that for some reason I kept seeing in my mind while driving home yesterday. So late last night, I grabbed my pen and did it in PS.

Pyramid...maybe?

©Armand Serrano.
Just another quick doodle in PS.