Damon Bard is a sculptor, 3D modeler, and character designer with decades of work under his belt. He says it best himself on his web site: “For 28+ years now, Damon Bard has been working as a freelance artist in the entertainment industry primarily as a sculptor but also as a development artist and designer of characters and creatures. Since then, he has contributed to nearly 30 films and other various projects during his career. Damon has also been fortunate enough to have worked along side some of the most talented, acclaimed and awarded artists and directors in the industry and on a few of the most successful films ever made: Kung Fu Panda II, How To Train Your Dragon, Coraline, Kung Fu Panda, Ratatouille, Shrek 2, Star Wars: Episode 3, and Madagascar to name a few. Additionally, Damon works on his bronze figurative sculpture and oil paintings between and during projects as time allows.” A busy artist. His site also features a link to his demo reel, showing off some of his 3D digital works.
Furry Art
The Man, The Myths…
We met a lot of cool people at the CTN Animation Expo. (You probably noticed!) Another one to pay attention to: Randy Bishop, a freelance illustrator and character designer. Of both humans and very stylish furries, it should be noted. Recently Randy decided to get serious about his first self-created project called Monomyth. He imagined a world in which all the myths and legends of every culture live together in our world — and how that tends to complicate life for everyone. Take a look over at Randy’s web site to see more about Monomyth as well as lots of his previous color works and sketches.
International Appeal
Another multi-talented artist we stumbled across. Huguette Pizzic is a character designer and illustrator with a distinctive swoopy, very fluid style of art. (Woo, look at that: Otters that look made out of water!). Originally from France, she’s found work around the world in places like Scotland, Australia, and the USA. “If you’re not scared of silly monsters, tough cowboys, or puckish Chihuahuas, go and have a look at her portfolio!”
Panda POW!
Nolen Lee is another multi-talented artist, often employed in the animation business. He has a specialty though: Pandas. Specifically, pandas wearing boxing gloves. Who seem to have a thing about punching the nearest… whatever! Now Gallery Nucleus is selling Nolen’s portfolio book titled, appropriately enough, Punching Pandas. According to their web site: “Nolen Lee is a freelance animation artist from originally from Portland, Oregon who is now working from Seattle. His art book Punching Pandas is full of ink and digital works of fighting pandas in mischievious situations – often finding their way into a strange franchise or two. The idea may sound adorable, but don’t let these pandas fool you. They’ll punch anything and anyone, even you!” You should also visit Nolen’s web site to find out what other sort of merchandise (t-shirts, prints, etc.) you can decorate with your favorite pugilistic panda.
Kitties of Justice!
We almost let this pass us by. Betsy Bauer is an illustrator who’s worked in animation for some time (on projects like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) as well as illustrated children’s books. But her latest project is… dumb. Or at least she says so. It’s called Super Dumb Coloring Book of Super Dumb Cats, and it’s a collection of dumb superhero puns — with cats. (Look, these are her words, not ours! Honest!) Join Catman, Sailor Mewn, and I-Yarn Man (!) and all the rest — and add some color to their lives. You can find this black & white (obviously) paperback at Amazon, Stuart Ng Books, and Gallery Nucleus.
Another All-Around Animator
… and illustrator, whom we met at the CTN Animation Expo. Christina Halstead is a character designer and, yes, animator who has worked freelance on projects for outfits like Toon Boom and games like Beast’s Fury. Her personal art web site is called Shadowed Brush Creations — there you can find sketches, character paintings, and even short animation samples from her work.
All Right You Big Ape, Draw!
Fans of comic book art how-to’s would be wise to look up the Pen & Ink series from Boom! Studios, where professional comic book artists go into the details of their creative process in a step-by-step manner. For the next installment, Boom! have tapped the creators of the popular series Six-Gun Gorilla (which we’ve covered here previously). Now artist Jeff Stokely (aided by insights from writer Simon Spurrier) bring us Six-Gun Gorilla: Pen & Ink, which re-creates the first two issues of the comic in a large 11 x 17 inch black & white format with commentary on each panel. You can check it out over at Previews.
Myths and Magic Come to Life
The artist Larry MacDougall describes what he does as “fairy tale illustration, comics, and animation”. Working largely with traditional materials and techniques to create his fantasy dreamscapes of humans, fairy folk, mythical creatures, and anthropomorphic whatsits. (We hope he won’t mind us saying that his work reminds us a lot of Brian Froud — in a good way.) Larry has a new paperback book out now called Traditional Magic, Fantasy, and Fairy Tale Design, published by CTN. It features drawings, sketches, and full-color paintings divided up by various creatures. You can keep up with Larry at his Blogspot site, and see more from inside the book over at the Center Stage Gallery.
Did You Know This Is My Very Best Art?
First the art of My Little Pony the TV series — now, the art of My Little Pony the comic books. Thanks to IDW, of course. They’ve released My Little Pony: Art is Magic, a nearly 150-page trade paperback of works from the various My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book series. “Read along as fan-favorite artists Amy Mebberson, Sara Richard, Tony Fleecs, Andy Price, Brenda Hickey, and Agnes Garbowska showcase a selection of their most cherished pieces, provide insight into their process, and share the identities of their favorite ponies!” Each artist has also created a special unique pin-up piece just for this collection. Take a look over at Barnes & Noble to find out more.