Merry Christmas!!!

"Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you: he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:11) 

HAVE A FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

©2013 Armand Serrano.

30-Minute Spitpaint: Statue of Mushrooms

Daily 30-minute spitpaint warm-up. 

©2013 Armand Serrano. All rights reserved.

CTN Animation Expo

Don't forget today at the CTN animation eXpo, 3 AMIGOS plus 1!!! Marcelo Vignali, Marcos Mateu, and I will be on a panel talk hosted by another good friend Paul Lasaine!!! 2-3 pm at the tent. See you there!

Also I'll be at the Disney Animation booth 12-1:30 pm!

For Sale Signed Prints For A Cause!

"Crusader" 8.5 in. x 11 in.     $20.00

"Scout" 8.5 in. x 11 in.     $20.00

All proceeds will go to the Typhoon relief efforts in the Philippines. Prices include shipping and handling. Will ship only in the US and Canada.

CLICK HERE to buy prints.

Dangerous Beach

Originally intended for Daily Spitpaint, I sketched this on my iPhone at the dental office only to be interrupted halfway when I got called in. So I just finished it off in PS another time.

Coming Lectures and Workshops

This is the list of my coming lectures and workshops in the next two months for those interested.

©2013 Armand Serrano. All rights reserved.

It's Alive...

The car in the woods...

©2013 Armand Serrano. All rights reserved.

Happy 90th Anniversary Walt Disney Company!

Rejected by the army during the First World War, Walt Disney joined the Red Cross and drove an ambulance in France 1918. Happy 90th Anniversary and more power to our Walt Disney Company!

©2013 Armand Serrano. All rights reserved.

Happy Columbus Day!

The Santa Maria, Pinta and Niña entering the Bahamas in 1492. Happy Columbus day everyone!

©2013 Armand Serrano. All rights reserved.

Leif Erikson Day!

Today is Leif Erikson Day. Not exactly sure why we celebrate him but I guess from some historians' belief that he could have discovered America and not Christopher Columbus after all. Either way, Vikings are always cool to draw! :)

Click this post to see step by step painting process below. Enjoy.

© 2013 Armand Serrano. All rights reserved.

Crusaders - Fun Warm Up

This was a fun warm up to test out some new brushes. The step by step is included in this posting. 

Click to see full post with all images.

All images ©Armand Serrano. 

The 3 Amigos at CTN Expo 2013!

Im happy to announce that I'll be speaking and sharing the panel with two best buddies of mine, Marcos Mateu and Marcelo Vignali at the CTN Expo 2013 on November 16, Saturday, at 2 pm. The session is titled, "The 3 Amigos: A Collaborative Approach From The Artists Point Of View." Excited to share the floor with these guys to talk about collaboration, friendship, respect, teamwork, Surf's Up and of course, El Pacifico. Exciting time, too, to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, and just enjoy breathing in fresh flow of amazing creativity into our artistic veins. Don't hesitate to stop by and say hello.

F104 Starfighter and Battle Of The Bulge

Random warm ups using new PS brushes. Enjoy.

All images ©Armand Serrano.

SIGGRAPH Recap

(top) Demoing the new Wacom Cintiq. (above) With Jason Scheier from Dreamworks.

All photos ©Armand Serrano.

Demo at SIGGRAPH 2013

At Siggraph this Thursday, July 25th, I'll be sharing the floor with Jason Scheier from Dreamworks and character designer Bret Bean in doing a demo presentation representing CTN at the WACOM booth #119. Other presenters also include Armand Baltazar, Craig Elliot, Brian Kesinger, and Erik Martin. For presentation schedule, please click here. 

Environment Sketching For Production - Summer Class

On one my online sessions, I demo a process on how to efficiently and effectively work this bw rough layout into a painted version in an hour. Anyone interested in my Environment Sketching For Production online class, go to: www.cgma2dacademy.com. Registration starts June 17th. Register soon for slots fill up fast!

All images ©Armand Serrano.

Random Photos...

(top to bottom) Stephen Silver and I at the record breaking airsoft game in US history with 2300 players at SC Village last week. On the same team with my airsoft buddy Butch Datuin. Jumping over the fence to visit friends over for lunch at Dreamworks. (l-r) Marcos Mateu, me, Christophe Lautrette and Simon Rodgers aka SimR.

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.

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.