dibujos, the art of willie

bread

2012-02-03T03:23:00.006-05:00

sooo... this piece was started last year =] it was the last drawforce blog topic before everyone went their own way and/or lost interest etc etc. it never made the light of day. until now. it's still a wip but i kinda like where it's going and i promised more posts (hope you dont mind if they're a little rough) anywho, it's about a bread shop... with some mysterious happenings. but the pigeons don't care =]

life sketching at work

2012-01-11T14:11:00.003-05:00

more vehicles... boats!

2012-01-08T23:15:00.001-05:00

sketching/riding bikes w los on sunday (amazinglyclearday)

bikes.2012

2012-01-04T02:19:00.002-05:00

happy new year everyone! hope your 2012 gets off to a swell start =] here are some bikes i drew in my sketchbook just before the holidays.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-15T02:13:00.001-05:00

New favorite vehicles to draw...

2011-10-26T02:42:00.001-04:00

... laundry carts! =]

APE 2011

2011-10-05T19:10:00.004-04:00

APE 2011 @ The Concourse

Hey Guys. Just wanted to say I had a lot of fun at ape this past weekend. I got to meet some pretty cool folks, meet up with old classmates, and spend a few pennies on some cool books =] Kristin sold a bunch of her cards and a lot of 'Sad Monster' prints sold along with 3 original drawings from the book! So thanks for stopping by and saying hi and thanks for all the support!

Prints & Originals

Inking a drawing of ...

... an octopus barber!?

my ape tag team partner ;)

Sad Monsters n Apes n stuff

2011-09-21T18:18:00.012-04:00

Hey! Look what came in the mail the other day =] It's the 'Sad Monsters' book I worked on a while back with super funny writer, Mr. Frank Lesser. I had a lot of fun illustrating some of the hilarious characters in this book... and it's my first cover! You can come by APE on Oct 1-2 in San Francisco where I'll have some of the originals on display at table #701. I'll also have a few copies you can check out (maybe even some for sale?). You can pre-order some right now via amazon, powell's (yup, that awesome store in portland) or other fine retailers at the bottom of the Sad Monsters website.

steven colbert!!! whaaat!!?? ...that's just bananas.

here's the inked drawing next to the final

...a chupacabra who's good at ballroom dancing.

godzilla feeling under the weather (sorry, i couldn't help myself ;)

a stay at home genie

and a couple of details from other illustrations in the book.

got caught!

So yeah, come by table #701 at APE and say hi. I'll be there sharing a table with my tag team partner who makes these adorable little cards you just want to eat up. I hear the google doodlers are in the house as well... a super crew of artists I have the lucky chance to work with. Anywho thats plenty of chatter from this box! Hope to see you guys there! -willie

Chocolate Milk. It's Good For You

2011-09-15T03:18:00.003-04:00

One more quick post before I'm off to dream land. Chocolate Milk was the topic over at drawforce this month-ish =] What better way to enjoy your chocolate milk than in your tighty whities. Pure happiness.

Rio art and development

2011-09-15T02:27:00.007-04:00

Oh man, apologies for such a long time without posting anything. A new job and a new home can take a lot out of you... but alas that's no excuse... I'll try and be better. By now you might've seen 'Rio' which was the last released film I worked on at BlueSky. Well I visited some friends who are still there last week and it reminded me of how much fun that place was. So many talented folks and soo much inspiration oozing out everywhere. Just wanted to share some of my favorite assignments on that project... Hope you enjoy =]

Happy Birthday Lisbon Tram!

2011-08-31T14:57:00.001-04:00

Celebrating Lisbon Tram's 110th =]

If you missed it you can find all the doodles here.

stupid cloud, stupid kid

2011-07-01T03:37:00.002-04:00

just had an idea for a cool short...

Man...

2011-06-24T10:16:00.005-04:00

Thanks for all the spoon love everyone. I'm super happy everything sold =] In other news I'm also happy of a little doodle I did for work. It was a quick deadline but nonetheless a fun one. Hurry before it comes down!

http://www.google.com.br/

(if you missed it or any of the doodles you can always check 'em out here)

The Spoon Show

2011-06-20T23:33:00.008-04:00

sold out

Hey everyone, thanks so much for your patience. I know some of you were interested in buying the spoons I worked on so here they are... an art opening of sorts. Without the snacks and the beverages of course... although, I am having a glass of wine tonight if you'd like to join me in honor of 'The Spoon Show' =]

If you'd like to purchase a spoon (or a drawing below) e-mail me at williereal@gmail.com. I will respond (on a first come, first served basis) with a confirmation e-mail where we can get pay-pal started. Once the funds are accepted I'll ship the work to you. Pretty simple.

Enjoy the show and again thank you for your interest and support!

1. Clark - 10.5 x 2.5 $200 sold

2. Sam - 2 x 8.75 $125 sold

3. Alek - 2 x 8.75 $125 sold

4. Franklin - 4 x 9 $180 sold

5. Harry - 5 x 9.5 $200 sold

6. Gustav - 4 x 9 $180 sold

7. Anne - 2.25 x 8.5 $125 sold

8. Joy - 2.5 x 6 $125 sold

9. Megs - 6 x 9.5 $200 sold

10. Mustache Man - 8 x 8 $200 sold

11. Space Man - 8 x 8 $200 sold

12. Figure 3 - 5 x 7 $125 sold

13. New Kicks - 8 x 8 $200 sold

Thanks again! I look forward to doing more of these spoons very soon so stay tuned =]

all artwork on this blog unless otherwise stated is copyrighted by willie real 2011

Art Thief

2011-06-16T03:42:00.003-04:00

Here's an 'art thief' piece I did tonight while sitting in a cafe on fillmore. It felt good to use the brush pen again... it's been way too long. Wanted to keep the colors simple bringing the line work front and center. It's the latest topic over at the DrawForce blog... which is still kicking I promise.

The big move

2011-06-06T12:20:00.003-04:00

Bloggers!... apologies for my major hole in posting. A lot has been happening in these parts the past couple of months. In brief, I moved from NYC to San Francisco (where I'm originally from) to start a new gig with Google! I'll be illustrating the logo you guys see every day along side some very cool cats who can 'doodle' their pants off. I'm super happy to be home =]

I've received some inquiries and a lot of great feedback on the spoons I recently worked on... I'll be posting those up for sale shortly so stay tuned. Thanks for your guys patience! See ya soon! =]

-willie

a spoon man named enrique

2011-04-16T00:01:00.002-04:00

brush pen and gouche

bush+leavenworth show update

2011-03-30T23:48:00.004-04:00

I had a chance to visit d-structure (a very cool venue) this past week and was glad to see all the awesome work on the walls... AND apparently one of my pieces sold! whoohoo =] stay tuned because I might try to sell the ones I'm getting back on here...

drawings and spoons

the gang

what'er you lookin' at?

what dreams are made of

2011-03-29T22:35:00.004-04:00

Here's to the 1941 classic 'The Maltese Falcon' and to the excellent dialogue in that film... especially the line at the end of the movie by Humphrey Bogart (apologies if you haven't seen it). Happy Birthday Mr. Labriola =]

acrylic 3.5 x 5

Watson

2011-02-28T00:35:00.003-05:00

Here's my human touch on Watson, the super computer who wiped out the competition on Jeapordy and is this month's topic over at DrawForce, which by the way is still alive and well... we've just been a bit busy with personal projects and other extracurricular activities. I'm glad were back to it fellas =]

'nuestra casita'

2011-02-24T01:29:00.008-05:00

'nuestra casita' - digital (the one at the show will be acrylic)

Here's a painting I'm doing for the preview show of The Art Blocks this Saturday at The New Art Center in midtown. It's part a few original goodies that are going to be auctioned off the night of the event. The big shebang a bang bang auction will be happening online in March so stay tuned! It's a wonderful cause that will provide boarding and education for orphaned children in Ghana. You can find out more about it right here. Shout out to the whole PBP Foundation who've put soooo much hard work into this. You guys are truly amazing =]

SF Show! (March 4th)

2011-02-22T18:46:00.006-05:00

Hi there! I wanted to announce the Bush+Leavenworth show coming up at D-Structure in San Fran next week on Friday March 4th. An buddy of mine is unveiling his spring line of clothing and invited myself and a few other artists to showcase our work. I've heard they throw some pretty cool openings so if you get a chance definitely swing by =] Unfortunately I wont be able to make it =[ I have some previous commitments I cant flake on. I'm showing these for the first time so I'm very excited. They're a nice change of pace to everything else I do so I hope you guys dig em. (I added a few drawings below that will accompany the wooden spoons)

Jelly cont.

2011-02-01T00:31:00.003-05:00

sneak peek

If you go back a few posts you'll find the old jelly test. It's for a picture book a friend and I are developing... I couldn't decide if the line version was working or not so I decided to try a different route. Fuller color, flat shapes against form etc. I like to try stuff and I'm trying to find a picture book style I guess you can say. Any who I hope you digs. I'll post some more as it comes along... slowly but surely =]

Character Demo

2011-01-15T17:52:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick demo I did for my students in Denmark. A few of them wanted to see my process in designing a character from the idea to the finished stage. For the purposes of time I kept it pretty simple and really rough.

1. rough thumbnail 2. cleaner line drawing 3. color

1. I start with doodles, rough shapes, quick sketches to get an idea of the silhouette. They gave me the idea of a boy with glasses holding something. This stage is where I have the most fun and usually do more than one rough but again the demo was quick.

2. Then I copy the rough, scale it up, turn the opacity down and do a cleaner sketch adding all the details. The glasses, the sweater he's wearing, a pipe (to fill with candy) and of course chuck taylors.

3. Once the drawing is done I fill in different elements (the pants, the sweater, his skin, his hair etc) and create clipping mask layers above those elements to add color, textures and shadows etc. These really help with painting gradients and keeping stuff separate in case you want to do variations or need to change something quickly. I keep going from here until it's finished and viola. Pretty simple and rough. You can go as detailed as you like but I like to keep my stuff less rendered... showcasing some of the quirky lines in my work. Any who, just wanted to share it with you all =]

Denmark! (it's a wrap)

2011-01-08T12:59:00.008-05:00

Happy New Years! Hope 2011 is good to all of you guys and gals out there =] I just wanted to post a few pics of a tremendous opportunity I have to teach a character design workshop this week with the talented Florian Satzinger all the way in Viborg, Denmark. Hosting us is the super awesome, super duper dedicated Animation Workshop which has a beautiful campus where they work and play. Can't wait to start classes on Monday... wish me luck =]

country side

my temporary desktop

mmm... cant wait to hit the sack after a long 12hrs of travel!

near the teachers' building where i'm staying. It's an old military barracks

a cemetery on the way to town

i found a small door! =]

the viborg museum

i saw this little guy on campus and loved him =]

the animation workshop inhabits an old military facility

the sunrise at 9:20am

the students hard at work

head of the class

the desktop guardian...

... and her arch nemesis.

final dialies where the students showed their finished pieces =]

and that's a wrap

florian's guest book sketch

and mine

I had a wonderful experience teaching such talented and dedicated students at the Animation Workshop. The facilities there in Viborg are top notch! The town is very charming and the Danish people are very welcoming. Thanks to everyone for their hospitality and a special thanks to Florian Satzinger for the invite, to Anja and Lana for all their help and guidance =] I wish all the students good luck with their final projects!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-21T20:43:00.002-05:00

doodle-age

2010-12-10T12:16:00.003-05:00

CTN was awesome and being home in San Fran was perfect. Thanks to my brother from another mother I was able to sit in on a clothed figure drawing workshop. I've rearranged and thrown in some cafe doodles in there too... and I love bikes =] Hope everyone's holidays are going smooth!

1-3 min poses . brush pen

fernando and an imaginary bud

2010-11-18T00:51:00.003-05:00

hey guys, i'm soo excited for ctn... really looking forward to meeting up with old friends, colleagues and some fun in the california sun. i wanted to sneak in another post before the weekend... i'll be away for a while but here's a color study i did for a personal project called 'fernando and his imaginary friend'. not crazy about the title but it's still very early...

kitchen set- color study & rough scale

you might remember these guys from long ago... ralf & fernando.

brush pen

above are some drawings i did while waiting at grand central station. that place is amazing every time and it's such a good place to sketch. i meant to put them up a few posts ago. see ya soon!

a little color please

2010-11-11T20:19:00.004-05:00

Hello! Sorry for the delay on responding or posting. I've been hibernating in my studio trying to get ready for CTN along with finishing up some freelance work. I've been developing personal work and trying to add some color to my portfolio...

left to right - Trot, Button Bright & Cap'n Bill

Above is my take on characters from Frank Baum's fantasy novel called 'Sky Island'. Like his Oz books the Sky Island world lends itself well to visual development. Doing characters in full color is a process I'm still developing and wanting to get better at... Below is a moment in the story where Button Bright is looking for his magical umbrella in the evil rulers treasure chamber, that of course is guarded by a blue wolf =] Hope you enjoy and please, any feedback is always welcome. Thanks.

the treasure chamber

Art Blocks for Ghana

2010-10-05T15:59:00.004-04:00

Here's my contribution to the 'Art Blocks for Ghana' auction happening early next year. It's a wonderful event being put on by a dear friend for a great cause. You can check out their site for more info and you can check out all the 'art blocks' going up on their blog too. I'm very proud to be a part of this and very excited to see all the wonderful art work people are already submitting. Everyone should definitely stay tuned and participate when the time comes.

The theme was 'home' and my piece is based on a fond memory from my childhood. The block I grew up on had a small family owned deli where Joyce (the lady in the picture) made unbelievably delicious sandwiches. She always saved us the best part...

'salami ends' acrylic & pencil 10x10

the samurai's son

2010-09-17T01:11:00.006-04:00

the samurai's son

here's my playful take on the topic over at the drawforce blog... 'the samurai'. what if a kid was messing around with his dad's samurai mask, boasting about how his dad can beat up anyone else's dad... spooking out all the kids in the village? =]

below is a rough pose, the line drawing and a detail of the mask. please enjoy and thanks for stopping by and leaving comments. you guys are dope.

rough variation & the inked drawing

detail of the mask. i messed up the inked version so i added the teeth in ps.

washington square park

2010-09-15T15:31:00.001-04:00

The Wanderer

2010-09-01T18:57:00.003-04:00

drawforce - the wanderer

warrior princess

2010-07-13T17:34:00.004-04:00

warrior princess - willie (drawforce.blogspot.com)

Going for a picture book style on this one. Sorry for the delay in posts...I've been a busy bee. Hopefully you will all get a chance to see the fruits of my labor shortly =] Thanks for all the wonderful comments on here too... you guys and gals are all dope and inspirational. gracias.

-willie

shape test 001

2010-06-17T00:04:00.003-04:00

a doodle turned drawing in my sketchbook. i've been playing around in my studio lately with brush pens, and shapes, and old stuff and will soon post the fruits of my labor. but first i'm off to italy for a week for a friends wedding and some time off... arrivederci!

Starfighter

2010-06-05T23:52:00.003-04:00

hey guys and gals! sorry for the lag in posts...stuff is kind of busy right now and I'm trying to work on more personal work outside of everything. i'll post some of it soon. till then the topic over at drawforce this month is 'starfighter'. not sure if i hit the mark but i kept picturing this little guy going around trying to capture all the stars... in the universe! he's kind of a punk.

Beautiful Grim Wave 2

2010-06-02T14:40:00.002-04:00

the second wave of the beautiful grim art auction is up on ebay! check the link and support this wonderful cause (and wonderful person). here's your chance at one of my original ink drawings...so go, go, go!

beautiful grim art auction

beautiful grim - willie real- pen & ink 8x11

The Conductor

2010-05-04T01:20:00.002-04:00

drawforce.blogspot.com

Ed Catmull interview

2010-04-22T11:10:00.003-04:00

There's this really good interview with Ed Catmull (co-founder of pixar) that I found very interesting, inspiring, and wonderfully honest. There are a ton of great points he makes about the film process and the success of his company, but there was one that really stuck with me. He was answering a question referring to children being 'consumers' and changing with time and technology and here's what he said...

" ...In terms of the way we think about our stories though, we don't segment them in that sense. We do make films that children can enjoy but we also make films WE can enjoy and we believe very strongly that children live in an adult world. We want things in the films they don't understand, not that were trying to do that. What makes things interesting for children is they are figuring out their world and if you make something that is all easy for them to figure out your actually having a distortion of the world they operate in and the world they like to be in."

He has a really good point when it comes to censorship and 'thought control'...something I personally juggle when making decisions about what's acceptable when I work in film or in picture books. Anyways, my apologies for the personal post...I was really inspired when I listened to it and I'm posting it hoping you all will be too. Thanks for all the comments lately! Stay tuned, more to come =]

-willie

'beatdown'

2010-04-14T13:44:00.003-04:00

a moment/color piece i'm testing out...originally it was for a charity show called 'beautiful grim'. I was nowhere near where I wanted to be so decided to hold onto it and work on it a bit more.

'beatdown' - digital

Mural

2010-04-06T00:57:00.007-04:00

digital

Above is an image I was commissioned to do for a mural in NYC. An awesome couple are having their first new born and decided they wanted to give their little guy a safari in his room. I jumped at the opportunity and tried a picture book style, which in this case worked well (i thought) for the wall... I also tried tying all the characters together in a 'moment' under a tree in the safari somewhere...

1. projecting the design and tracing it onto the wall

2. prepping... i have to thank bobby and vinnie for suggesting pre-mixed paints. you guys saved my life.

3. filling in...

and more filling in (thanks for the help babes!)

4. the line and detail came next. this took a while. if you look closely i re-drew most of it a second time, with white chalk...just to make sure my scale and relationships weren't gettin' crazy.

fin!

one of my favorite details.

Dragon Emperor

2010-03-29T16:24:00.004-04:00

Dragon Emperor was the topic over at DrawForce this month (how to train your dragon was awesome! congrats to the folks who worked on it!) Anywho, I wanted to take this one a bit further with color. It's new for me to finish something to this level but I had fun and I'm trying to balance flats and form to create something that you might see in a picture book...or in an animated short. Please drop knowledge or crits here...

meet woodrow...

2010-03-11T00:59:00.010-05:00

Blog-land, this is Woodrow. Woodrow, this is blog-land. hi. hello.

I have this old wooden toy that's been sitting around for a while and I finally gathered the courage to draw on it. I've been testing brush pens on all kinds of wood recently and It feels really nice...natural if you will. Lines flow very nicely and wood welcomes the ink. I have a few other things in the works that I don't think are quite ready to show, but stay tuned! In the meantime here's Woodrow (last name?)

Woodrow loves chucks

sorry about that... Woodrow tends to go pee every two hours
and strongly feels that 'when you gotta go, you gotta go'
-willie real copyright 2010

fake book cover

2010-03-01T19:43:00.002-05:00

i'd love to illustrate book covers and things of that sort, so here's a mock cover i did for fun...

girl wearing keds

2010-02-15T23:30:00.004-05:00

A drawing I did (from reference) with some buds over the weekend. i like when a girl sports some clean keds. if keds gave me an assignment...i think this is what i'd do =] hope everyone had a nice weekend.

added some color below...

pen & ink & digital - willie

Evil Motoman

2010-02-08T15:18:00.003-05:00

The topic over at Draw Force had me soo very excited that I did 2 motorcycle men. I wanted to contrast the previous smooth, clean, cool motorcycle man with this filthy, exhast spewing, grimmey, motocross, mad max like character who's thirsty for blood. -willie

Moto Man

2010-02-05T17:52:00.004-05:00

moto man, digital - willie
Draw Force!

The new topic over at Draw Force is motorcycle man and I had soo much fun diving into reference for this. Steve McQueen was all over the web and I fell in love...

Beautiful Grim

2010-02-03T09:58:00.004-05:00

'beautiful grim' pen and ink - willie

The piece above is for an auction called 'beautiful grim' concocted by a few colleagues for an old classmate of mine who's gone through some downs in recent times, but none the less is on the come up. More info here and please keep tuned in for updates on when the auction starts. Thank you all for the wonderful comments as always and take care.

Oh, almost forgot... There's another auction I'll be a part of for a few bud's who've made a documentary called 'Brownstones to Red Dirt'. You can read all about it here and check out the blog with all of the amazing postcards that will be auctioned off for a good cause. I've also added the link to the right. You might remember my posting from a few months ago...

pen & ink, acrylic, varnish - willie real

Again, thank you.

-willie

gnome

2010-01-31T21:48:00.002-05:00

gnome for mike d

Space Man

2010-01-25T11:17:00.006-05:00

'fist pound'

Draw Force isn't dead!...it just took a long nap =] Add it to your faves and check back often. Hope everyone is doing good and thanks soo much for all the comments on the blog! I'm terrible at replying but I truly appreciate each and everyone of them...so thanks again to you all. Here's a little process to the piece above...

1. rough on the cintiq

2. pen & ink on paper

3. best of both worlds (detail of final)

fernando & his imaginary friend

2010-01-04T18:07:00.004-05:00

here's some work for a short i'm developing about a boy and his imaginary friend. the story is very, very loose and it's been in and out of my head for years but i thought of starting off the new year with a decent post. the first is a moment where the imaginary friend is helping fernando with a 'midnight snack' and the second one is a page of character studies.

happy new year! i hope yours is filled with inspiration and creativity.

-willie

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-17T16:13:00.002-05:00

vampire baseball!

2009-11-30T12:51:00.001-05:00

or a food coma is more like it...

Polska

2009-11-18T19:49:00.004-05:00

polska . copyright willie real 2009

Polska, which means Poland in Polish, is the name of a little old lady whom lives in a little old town that's a little out of the way. Polska is very determined! She's determined to cook with the freshest most essential ingredients and will accept no substitutes whatsoever. She'll travel to the ends of the earth on her trusty little mo-ped for the freshest food. One summer day she was planning a very special little dinner and that's how far I've gotten in developing this character =]

I love getting into the story and the environment when drawing characters. You can really find your answers when you want to know what to draw...

I hope to have the oppurtunity to make this some day.

-willie

wooden postcards

2009-11-11T15:36:00.003-05:00

pen and ink - 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" thin birch wood

here are three postcards i'm doing for a benefit auction that's coming up. they're works in progress... i still want to add some mouths and varnish them up to punch the black ink. i'll post more info about it when its closer to the date. it was very pleasing to tune everything out and use the brush pen again.

-willie

new sketches

2009-11-02T21:07:00.001-05:00

Merci

2009-10-20T12:17:00.003-04:00

New Header!

2009-10-01T23:11:00.004-04:00

You might notice the new header above along with my blog's new name... 'Dibujos, The Art of Willie'. Dibujo's means drawings in spanish and the little delivery truck is bouncing along delivering (or littering) my drawings all over this blog for you to see =]

I've been a busy bee lately and promise to post more as my schedule allows. I'll start off with some figure drawings from the workshop that's held at the studio. Figure drawing is soo good for you...I highly encourage it. Until the next post! -willie

Jelly McGoo

2009-08-30T18:39:00.005-04:00

So I've finally managed to finish a page of the picture book a friend and I are working on. I had posted a test a while ago and decided that desaturating the colors a bit would help showcase the line work I am so fond of. I've also added hand written text, which in my opinion is always the way to go... it allows you to play with certain letters and words and their relation to each other. Any who, our main man, Jelly McGoo, is a jelly fish who isn't to happy with his...jellyness. In his travels deep under the ocean Jelly encounters other fishy's who are dissatisfied with themselves.

Poor Fishies

-willie

sketches

2009-08-18T15:13:00.002-04:00

This is only a test...

2009-08-08T17:52:00.003-04:00

...If this had been an actual picture book spread it would have hand written text telling a story, a better composition (with the text) and the page layout. Stay tuned for the finished version. I want to push some of the shapes a bit more and figure out the color in photoshop. I also want to finish most of it in pen and ink and find that middle ground of simple graphic shapes with form in there as well. Thanks for all the comments on the previous post!

-willie

Where The Wild Things Are

2009-07-26T00:05:00.004-04:00

I was very pleased to contribute to Corey Godbey's wonderful project, Terrible Yellow Eyes. A collection of work in honor of Maurice Sendak's beloved classic, Where The Wild Things Are! Such a cool idea...

My idea was a simple 'what if'...like what if a wild thing was sitting in max's room when he arrived from his trip, eating max's hot dinner? I hope you enjoy!

where the wild things are - tradigital - 11x11

The Suspect

2009-07-13T11:21:00.004-04:00

I've had a nice double sided frame sitting on my desk for over a year now and finally decided to do something with it...

'The Suspect' Pen & Ink 4x6

los monstros mariachi

2009-06-30T10:54:00.003-04:00

'los monstros mariachi' - 16x20 mixed media

Here's a piece I did for an upcoming show in Santa Monica. A few friends threw out the invite and I couldn't pass up on Monsters. I'll post more info as it comes to me but if you're in the area and want to check out an awesome show, go. I believe the opening is on July the 11th, 7:30pm at the Copro Gallery, 2525 Michigan Avenue, T5 Santa Monica, CA 90404. It looks prettier in person...3 coats of varnish prettier =]

-willie

Digital sketch/painting

2009-06-30T10:01:00.003-04:00

I was trying to paint with oils the other night and I learned a few important lessons, one of them being there is no undo. I succumbed to the cintiq and got this...

Hopefully I will get the chance to post an oil someday.....someday.

sketchbook pages uno y dos

2009-06-26T17:19:00.002-04:00

boy bat/bat boy

2009-05-28T14:06:00.002-04:00

boy bat/bat boy...which ever you prefer - willie

Picture Book Project!

2009-05-14T23:13:00.003-04:00

Chesch! (Hello!) I've just returned from my first Polish wedding which was pretty amazing...I've never consumed so much good Vodka and meat in my life. My Polish bro was getting married and I promised him I wouldn't miss it. Before I left for my big trip I managed to squeeze in a piece for a really cool charity called "The Picture Book Project." A designer at work filled me in about it and I couldn't pass up the oppurtunity to contribute to this wonderful Picture Book. Here's a little about who's behind it.

Rachel Tiep-Daniels and Margaret Wuller have spent time volunteering, teaching, and getting to know the children of Ghana and Tijuana. Rachel spent a month working with the Save Widows and Orphans Development Center (SWODC) in Ghana. Margaret volunteered with the Corazon de Vida Foundation, which supports 13 orphanages in Tijuana, Mexico. Both organizations help to provide, educate, and empower women, orphans and destitute children. Your support will feed, cloth, educate and provide a family to children who would otherwise be left to the streets.

So the artist was asked to submit two versions. A black and white version which children will be able to color and have fun with...and a colored version which we (bigger children) had a chance to color and have fun with =]

Thanks Rachel!

b&w line drawing

final

'the argument'

2009-03-30T08:18:00.004-04:00

hey folks. long time no see...here's a drawing i did over the weekend that just evolved on it's own. at first i wanted to do a monster with stubby tentacles but it turned into 'the argument' i had with my markers...i kind of like it. maybe i'll follow it up with another drawing called 'making up'? cheers

Hooded Henry

2009-02-26T21:23:00.003-05:00

A quick doodle in between larger projects. I present to you Hooded Henry...a boy who's shy and tries to hide what lies atop his head.

wolf = fin

2009-02-15T23:29:00.003-05:00

The wolf piece I've been working on here and there is finally finished! Pen & Ink is one of my favorite mediums so I chose to go light on the values...hoping for the line work to come through. I also added a linear effect to the wolf's lollipop to accentuate it's mystery. Maybe it emanates odors that paralyze little piglets nearby? Or maybe it's the wolf's elixir of life? Still working on that part =] Below are some details I enjoyed. I love, love, love hand lettering.

The Wolf Who Cried Wolf

2009-02-09T02:55:00.004-05:00

Here's a line drawing from a work in progress currently on my plate. A few posts ago I did a sketch test with a wolf that felt creepy so I wanted to elaborate. I'm selectively adding color to it...stay tuned.

and a detail.

the elephant in the room

2009-01-25T23:22:00.009-05:00

I can't ignore the elephant in the room and one of the best learning experiences of my life so I'm posting a few things from 'Horton Hears A Who', my first roller coaster ride in the animation industry. With a lot of hard work, immense amounts of luck, and the right timing Blue Sky hired me in 2005 after 5 years at the Academy of Art in San Fran. Some of these drawings were done shortly after and span the length of the production, on paper or in the computer....most of them dabbing in both worlds. For those of you who ask what I do all day...I'm fortunate to try and keep up with the 'super crew' here in Greenwich, CT. Hope you enjoy=]

All images are property of 20th Century Fox & Blue Sky Studios

Here at the studio my title is 'Designer'. I'll work on environments, props, and pretty much anything else besides characters. The image above was one of my first assignments. I was working with pencil, markers and a brush pen. It's the very top of the mountain where Horton jumps for the clover after Vlad flies off with it. The image below was sort of a map of the mountain and various obstacles Horton runs into.

The end of the line for Horton.

'Cracked Desert' was a 'moment' piece where Horton would travel high and low, near and far, through sizzling deserts and all... to remain loyal to the clover and it's Who's. It took me all day to draw every crack but in the end it was very therapeutic and I had myself a homemade texture.

An early concept for a Whoville home (above), and a 'turnaround' (below) for the modeling department to model from.

I have to be honest when I first heard of Blue Sky working on Dr. Seuss I scratched my noggin. How were they going to pull off that wacky Seuss style which was very organic and rubbery...almost jello like? It was hard stuff to emulate on paper alone and there are a lot of 'cheats' in the flat world of books. The pre-vis and modeling wizards at the studio really worked their magic, man! I was blown away when we were called into rounds the first time we reviewed the buildings. It was definitely one of those 'pinching myself' moments.

'Town Hall' took like 48 drawings before I got to the one above =] The Seuss style was very difficult for me to pick up...I probably didn't get a comfortable grasp until 3/4 through the production haha... seriously. Don't underestimate that Seuss guy, he's a genius!

Look mom! I got a character in the movie...
actually...he got cut.
All images are property of 20th Century Fox & Blue Sky Studios. Yup, that goes for you too Momma.

el nino astronauta

2009-01-21T01:33:00.004-05:00

'el nino astronauta'

Initially this started as a sketch of a little guy and his mom at the smoothie bar in Grand Central Station. Aside from his joy and anticipation of the sweet smoothie to come, he gazed and wondered why the grown man with the sketchbook was invading his personal smoothie space. I couldn't help admire his big, puffy jacket that reminded me of an astronaut.

A picture of the sketch with a nice glare of the silver paint marker I used for the zipper, patches, and gloves. Wish I could figure out how to get this 'shine' to show up when I scan it.

The Sequential Exhibit (January 7-January 24, 2009)

2009-01-18T20:31:00.005-05:00

Hey guys and gals, I forgot to mention that the Sequential Exhibit is up at the Society of Illustrators in NYC. Some of the work I did in the Out of Picture book was selected!!! The work will humbly hang alongside some pretty spiffy art work by some pretty spiffy cats until Jan 24th. If you're in town swing by! The show looks amazing!

saturday's sketchcrawl

2009-01-12T21:50:00.004-05:00

'the drinking faucet in grand central'

wolf sketch

2009-01-07T01:31:00.001-05:00

to be continued...

The Merry Mob...

2008-12-24T17:00:00.005-05:00

...wishing you a Merry Christmas.

happy holidays =]

2008-12-18T16:32:00.002-05:00

ho ho ho

Figures cont.

2008-12-04T22:45:00.002-05:00

I believe these are all 30 seconds...

And these range from a minute to 5 minutes.

Part of why I love figure drawing is because it breaks the artist down. No details, it keeps you loose and most of all there is no time for love. Sometimes I get lucky and capture a pose and maybe some unconventional proportions that I like, which I'll try to replicate in a later drawing. I think it's safe to say your own drawings make for good reference....sometimes =]

wine lover

2008-11-26T15:25:00.001-05:00

Figure Drawing Workshop

2008-11-13T10:21:00.005-05:00

Every Wednsday there's a figure drawing workshop here at the studio for everyone to attend. It's really nice to have and extra really nice to attend. I love getting lost in my sketchbook...

one pose the whole time...

Use the drawforce luke

2008-11-04T14:20:00.006-05:00

Here are some of my latest contributions over at the drawforce blog...

the night owl's ride

hellboy

One of the best portraits of the 19th Century?

2008-11-03T00:40:00.004-05:00

'Conditional Neutrality' - L. Richeton d'apres W.Q. Orcardson, R.A.

detail

Really!? And I just bought it at a print shop in the city??? Noo, it cant be...can it? So I started doing some research. First I looked up the title 'Conditional Neutrality' and came up with an artist named William Quiller Orchardson, this guy...

...which I then looked up on Wiki. It mentioned 'Conditional Neutrality' twice! Once as it being one of 'his most highly regarded pictures during the first eighteen years after his move to London', and a second time under the legacy tab, where it says 'would deserve a place on any list of the best portraits of the 19th century'. Whuuaaat?!!! So I commenced freaking out. I called my roomate (pete) over and told him why I was bugging. He did what any good roomate would do and asked what time we were going to work the next morning and wished me luck with my search for treasure.

After thourougly looking at it again I noticed another name on it along with the French word 'd'apres' which I looked up. It means 'after'. It turns out L. Richeton was an artist who etched this work after one of W.Q. Orchardson's pieces. An oil painting maybe? Who knows? I cant find a picture of the original work by W.Q. No question it's a beautiful etching and it is from the 19th century but my gas would run out and it was my time to hit the hay sack. After all, Pete and I had to get to work early the next morning. My search for treasure would have to continue another time.

snake eyes

2008-10-22T10:45:00.004-04:00

I was lucky to have a co-worker and friend, Tony Jung, be inspired to sculpt an old snake eyes design I did a while back... which turned out clean fresh! It's intriguing to see a flat drawing come to life in real space. You can learn a lot from the translation of 2D to 3D...so thank you Mr. Jung. I look forward to doing it again =]

clothed figure drawings

2008-10-19T19:30:00.003-04:00

some clothed figure drawings i did a while back. it was wonderful practice and i went for the contour line with a japanese pen. any who, i thought they looked okay together in a lineup.

trumpet man

2008-10-14T10:17:00.004-04:00

drawforce is back!

2008-09-30T15:56:00.004-04:00

yessir...and to get things started we turned to the man bat who never lets us down. here's the blog and here are the contributors....so far....

jake parker

peter nguyen

mike lee

vincent nguyen

willie real

jelly mcgoo

2008-09-29T10:41:00.002-04:00

an idea a friend and i are working on...

heads-continued

2008-09-20T16:02:00.003-04:00

i know, i know...i've been slacking on these but hopefully this post makes up for some lost time =] i'll be adding more and more so stay tuned!...

some ideas i have...

2008-09-03T00:53:00.003-04:00

the spider prince...

and some monster boys!

more heads...

2008-08-11T11:54:00.003-04:00

i lost my initial group of heads (i must've saved over the psd when i flattened to a jpeg) but here is another batch. i'll re-scan the old ones and combine them soon. I want to keep adding to it and eventually have this super long strip of heads....sort of like a bus stop =] peace.

happy birfday vicienzo!

2008-08-02T00:49:00.003-04:00

put put put put put put put

totoro forest project

2008-07-17T11:36:00.003-04:00

Word is out and the site is up! The Totoro Forest Project is an amazing project and a wonderful looking site...check it out. Here's the description I submitted for the piece I contributed...

The supernatural feel of Totoro and the playful spirit they bring make me reminisce to when I was a child. ‘Imaginary’ friends, excavating my backyard, hide and seek, all of these fun activities were part of my daily routine. Recent news of floods around the world that have devastated peoples lives, interrupted children’s daily routines have deeply saddened me, so I wanted to do a piece where my Totoro are acting as guardians, protectors to these children.

'Hold On' 10x21 Tradigital (pencil, pen, ink and a computer)

Everyone's work looks really great...I can't wait to see it in person. It's been my pleasure.

heads 2

2008-07-15T15:47:00.002-04:00

huh?

heads

2008-07-08T01:09:00.004-04:00

Remember that 'Head 1' post a while back? A complete failure, I know. I wanted to draw a head a week but I've been busy with doing laundry. I'm jump starting it again though! This time I'll draw a head a week (maybe 2), on their own page, and combine it with the previous one to see if they can get along. I'm excited! Here is the first happy couple...

you're ugly

plane doodle

2008-07-01T23:10:00.005-04:00

Here's one of the many plane doodles I did at this years mocca festival in NYC. I got excited about adding a video so here it is. Enjoy. Oh and come by and visit the Out Of Picture booth in San Diego this year and we'll do all kinds of doodling in your books =]

video by the freckliest labriola

la bella y la bestia

2008-06-22T23:55:00.005-04:00

did this in whole foods while the rain was coming down on sunday. plenty of rain, plenty of time to use my brush pen. i'm not sure about the eyes... just a technique i developed while doodling that i find very fulfilling.

el pescado

2008-06-22T22:27:00.002-04:00

a little paint test i did, with reference of course...hopefully i can start practicing more and more.

Mocca 08

2008-06-10T23:07:00.010-04:00

Here are some pics from last saturday at Mocca in NYC. It was scorching hot but plenty of people still came by and showed their support. Both OOP volumes 1 & 2 sold very well and plenty were signed by a hand full of us who attended.

Yup, it was soo hot that I started seeing speech bubbles.

The crew arriving bright and early...

...and setting up.

We had some curios cats come by before doors opened, while Peter and Lizette sat and waited.

The view.

Jason Sadler signing away.

Nash Dunnigan doing his thing.

Lunch break with some good buds and a man behind a 'censor' curtain...