Tom's Art Adventures

The weather in SF Bay Area since the holidays has been pretty stormy and we had a bit of a cold snap with a rare snow occurrence down to about 500 feet in December. Lots of people bundled up for both cold and rainy weather, somewhat unpredictable. But Winter Girl is a constant, at least I hope she continues to be – making her appearance in a variety of places, only the past two years these Winter Girl sightings have been in grocery stores – not a complaint, just an observation.

I saw this lovely young lady in SF at the top of the stairs that leads into Whole Foods Market from the cafe/bistro below. She wore warm leggings, rough boots and had black flowing hair and gray-blue eyes. She reminded me of a cross between Megan Fox and Jennifer Connelly. I would have at least said “Hi” as I passed, but she was on her cell phone and deep in conversation. But her memory lives on in this year’s drawing.

I used AutoDesk Sketchbook Pro 4.1 for this one. I like the fact that you can rotate the canvas and now has some good ruler and ellipse tools in the new version. It also allows you to work with layered Photoshop files where before, you could only save out in that format.

It was a splendid day in Los Osos, CA., near San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010.

Made for a perfect atmosphere for celebrating the life of Art Clokey, Gumby creator who passed away on January 8, 2010. The ceremony was uplifting, with music and touching stories. Joe Clokey, Art’s son was positive and thankful. There was a handful of us 1980’s Gumby crew there to pay our respects, but it was a shame more weren’t able to make it. I thought I’d share a few photos from the reception.

Reception Entrance:

The crowd in the reception hall:

Joe Clokey and Family Friend:

Animator Steve Buckley:

Mold Technician Dan Morgan & Steve Buckley

Animator Stephen Wathen:

Animator Gene Hamm:

I know that there is great sadness in the animation and film-making community that an icon in the industry has passed. He was certainly an icon in my eyes. When I was first so privileged to join the team on the 1980s Gumby TV series it was obvious that I was embarking on an adventure that would thrust me on my way to a career. Something in his eyes when he interviewed me told me that I was in the presence of a deeply caring and generous human being. And then I was floored when he asked me to stay on the smaller crew for his Gumby Movie. I owe my career completely to him and I’m sure that many others feel the same way. Thank you Art, you’ll be deeply missed.

I found a couple of photos from the set of Gumby that I thought I’d share here. The first is a grouping of puppets set up for a Christmas card photo shoot. The Art Clokey puppet as well as his late wife Gloria (both in front), Holly Harman (over Art’s left shoulder), Cora Craig – who made the costumes and Denis Yasukawa – model maker (to Gloria’s right) were all sculpted by yours truly. It was such an honor to do sculptures of Art and his family.

The second photo was taken on the set of the Gumby Movie. Lynn Stevenson (editor) on the left holding her puppet likeness that I also sculpted, the late animator Ken Willard next to the gazebo, animator Dan Mason on the platform rig and production artist Tansy Brooks next to him on the far right. And way in the background, looking proud as can be with his pal Pokey riding on his hat is Art Clokey. What a great experience it all was, one of the best in my lifetime.

-Tom

It’s going to be a grand holiday event, I’m thinking! A host of our industry colleagues and friends will have art for sale this Thursday night, December 10th. Read about the artists participating here as we compile the list and give a sneak peek at the art:
http://maverixstudios.blogspot.com/

Here’s my entry:

Come on out and join us! Pick up some art for the Holidays!

-Tom

Man, what a crazy Summer and crazy year. A bit tragic, sad and quite unpredictable. So now that Fall is here and Winter is about to bare down, the New Year can only bring better days – at least one can hope. During a shining moment, near the close of the Summer months, that ‘hope’ appeared in the form of a lovely young lady making her way to nearby Art School just a block or two from Maverix Studios where I work. It was another of those moments that I had to capture as a pleasant memory in this digital painting – not unlike those moments when the “Winter Girl” makes her annual appearance.

It was a moment that lifted my spirits, at least for that day. Things got a little better in life from that point on.

Here are a couple more digital sketches for the sake of drawing lovely ladies as usual:

Have a great Fall season folks, and I’ll see you again real soon here.

-Tom

It’s been a tough summer. Loosing my father to cancer in June & treading water with freelance jobs enough to keep a roof over my head. At least I have a roof for now, right?

Well, I intend on getting back on my feet and forging on. One good turn of late is a bigger studio job is finishing up and that lifted mine and my studio mates’ spirits. We just need to keep it going to the end of the year. Now with summer nearing a close, I thought I’d share some summer fun art before the fall.

Should be no surprise that there all ladies here. Based on photo reference, created with pencil, Sketchbook pro & finished in Photoshop CS3. Enjoy the rest of the Summer folks, I think for me, Dad would have wanted it that way.

Writing comes to me in spurts. I hardly ever take the time to just sit and write anymore, and it’s ridiculous. It’s got to change – and soon. What helps me get back in the mood for story-telling is drawing. It isn’t such a stretch because my art has always involved story-telling in one form or another.

Here, I’ve done a series of exploratory sketches in the hopes of capturing the frame of mind of a particular character. It’s part of Art Direction to create mood in the moment using framing, composition, lighting, color, etc. In this case I wanted each mini scenario to reflect the state of mind of the character through some rough studies.

Art Directors in film, also known as Production Designers use similar techniques to help the Director of the film capture particular moods in a scene. One of my favorite examples in feature film Production Design is Richard Sylbert’s work in 1982 film ‘Frances’ starring Jessica Lange. The story followed early Hollywood actress Frances Farmer through her mental deterioration, Sylbert employed his use of color to depict her frame of mind ingeniously.

In my sketches, I experimented with framing, composition and body language. See what, if any, insight to her mood or personality comes across from these drawings – it would be a great exercise for me and hopefully a bit of fun for you. And maybe – just maybe I’ll finish writing the stories I’ve already started.

Cheers!

I know it isn’t summer just yet, but I wanted to share an observation as we approach the season that typically has us looking forward to more social, outdoor activities.

Between iphones and blackberries, the wireless phenomenon has become pervasive. You might think at first that it all adds to everyone being isolated and in their own bubble. Instead of being at your computer all the time at the office or at home – ignoring more social activities, you can now have your “computer” in the palm of your hand everywhere you go. You’re always looking at your phone and not paying much attention to your surroundings. As a result, no real social interaction, right?

Well, it seems there’s a new trend emerging from this, and it’s sort of getting back to a more social experience. People are sharing things with each other not just through texting and emailing on these devices, but they’re actually holding their phones out to let their friends have a look at whatever is on their screen. So, they’re interacting with each other again. Every now and then I’ll see groups of people huddled around one guy or girl trying to get a glimpse of the latest “app” or “youtube video”. So maybe it’s a good thing.

Here’s a piece inspired by that latest observation. Based on a couple of photos I took at the 2008 San Diego Con. I used Sketchbook Pro and Photoshop CS.

This is the original Sketchbook Pro line art:

I hope this summer you’ll all enjoy more social activities too – even if it involves looking at your friend’s hand held device!

-Tom

As much as I really like the feel of the Wacom Cintiq and the sensitivity of the stylus, nothing beats the good ole pencil. I’m bouncing back and forth all the time between the two. It’s about sketching with the side of the pencil or going in with a freshly sharpened lead for fine line work, and on the other hand there’s multiple undos, the choice of tools and brushes that you get working digitally. Did I mention paper texture and line smoothness? Definitley two side of the coin.

Well it’s safe to say that I like certain things about both, so I’ll always have my sketch pad, HB pencil and pencil sharpener near my Cintiq work station. That’s the way it’s gonna stay.

Since, oh around 2003 when I joined Maverix Studios I was inspired to draw mostly the female figure – and while it’s been fun – believe me, I feel it’s time I change it up a little. Here’s a series of creatures I’ve done in the past month:

Here’s a some other creature sketches that I did using Alias Sketchbook Pro:

I’m going to do some more of these critters, but I’m also trying my hand at environments which I’ll be posting here soon. Thanks for peeking in!