CHRIS DANGER!

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

2010-05-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

For my latest project, I am creating parodies of old 1960s and 1970s tobacco and alcohol advertisements. If you haven't seem them before, the ads always have these false taglines that make you cringe, like "four out of five doctors smoke CAMEL CIGARETTES!" or "cigarettes relieve throat pains". But although these ads are in a moral grey area, they sure are fun to look at! They also have tons of retro cool typefaces. So I created my own products (Pelican Cigarettes, and John Wilkes Booth Premium Whiskey) and made ridiculous ads for them. I also had fun with textures to recreate the old worn-down magazine look. Enjoy! More coming on the way!

Astronauts Love Pelican Cigarettes (gouache)

John Wilkes Booth Premium Single Malt Whiskey (gouache)

P.S. I graduate from the School of Visual Arts with my Bachelor's in Fine Art tommorrow at Radio City Music Hall. Oh goodness.

Little Jimmy Palpatine: the Emperor's Son

2010-04-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here is something I did completely for fun.

VICTORIAN FURNITURE

2010-04-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

So I've been getting slowly into environmental design work. So I started off by doing some small simple stuff here and there. Here are some gouache Victorian furniture studies and also some digital environmental designs.

FACES

2010-03-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

Hello, whoever is looking at this post! I am here to tell you that these last 4 posts were all published at once! so the 3 posts below are brand spankin' new and the one you are currently looking at is also brand spankin' new! just consider the whole thing one super post!

Anyways, here are some facial expression studies and faces I drew in my sketchbook. When I apply to all these animation studio internships in April, I want to show them that I can capture emotions and expressions well, so I've been drawing facial expressions a lot. and you know what? it's pretty fun. I do this thing where I make the exact same facial expression as the person I'm drawing. So I have an angry face when I draw angry people and a big smile on my face when I draw happy people/anthropomorphic animals and such. and I don't even notice it half of the time.

CONFESSION: I make laser and explosion noises whenever I draw space ships.

WILL POST MORE STUFF REAL SOON!

SOPHIE!

2010-03-09T18:18:00.001-08:00

So here is some concept work...
It's loosely based off "My Neighbor Totoro" and it takes place in the South of France rather than Japan. It's about a girl name Sophie who discovers these mystical creatures that come out at night. I did this project completely for fun.

the illustration above is ink and digital coloring. came out pretty good! I don't color digitally very often...so it's a success. the original ink version is below.

ROBIN HOOD 3

2010-03-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

Here is the third illustration I did for my Robin Hood Visual Development and Character Design project...

It illustrates the final chase/showdown between Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

I think I'm getting the hang of drawing and painting horses. (they used to be such a pain to draw, if you think about it horses are pretty funky looking animals).

And here is some character design I did for this project. I did facial expression studies of Robin and the Sheriff and I designed clothing for King Richard and the Sheriff. I might have more character design stuff on the way!

ROBIN HOOD 2

2010-03-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody! Phew...lots of work to do. I have approximately 10 days to finish working on my portfolio. then off to print my portfolio into books and I will apply to internships and jobs by April!

Anyways, here's some more work from my Robin hood project...

Here's the second illustration with the original sketch and a color study I did.

Robin Hood and Merry Men Fight Prince John's Guards (Gouache)

sketch (graphite)

ColorStudy (photoshop)

MAJOR PROJECTS

2010-02-14T14:32:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone. So I'm applying to all my internships the beginning of April.
I will be applying to PIXAR, BLUE SKY, and WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIO.
Other places I might send my application to is LAIKA (they did Coraline), ILION (planet 51), Tor Books, Scholastic Publishing, and Augenblick Studios (superjail on Adult Swim).

So I am currently just focusing on building up my portfolio until March and then adding some final touches so I can print my portfolio by the end of March. Anyways, wish me luck, ya'll!

Illustration-wise, I've been taking on some large projects. I'm currently doing character design and illustrations about Robin Hood. (I made Robin Hood a girl). I'm actually working on my third and fourth illustration for my Robin Hood project, here's a peek at what I have done so far! but I have so much more that I shall post soon!!

A CHARACTER STUDY I DID OF ROBIN HOOD

ROBIN HOOD CHALLANGES LITTLE JOHN, GOUACHE/DIGITAL

I'm also developing a story involving babysitters and time machines. But more of my work is coming your way soon. I just need to find the time to scan them. Bye!

SPECTRUM 17 ENTRY

2010-01-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry I couldn't post for a while. I was in GERMANY and FRANCE the entire winter break. Back to School last week. but I got a lot of paintings done around the end of december because we were snowed in for a few days.

The paintings in this post are what I submitted yesterday to SPECTRUM 17.

First three paintings done in the month of December.
Fourth painting is a re-worked version of something I did in November.

The New Kid, 14x18, inches Gouache

A Surprise for Dad, 14x19 inches, Gouache

German Bears in Strausburg, 14x18 inches, Gouache

Dr. Jennings' Amazon Safari Adventure, 12x17 inches, Gouache & Digital

WISH ME LUCK , EVERYBODY! it's my first time submitting to Spectrum! And I have some more illustrations that I will scan and post very very soon! now that I'm back in NYC, the posts will come weekly! Bye!

The 35th Humana Festival of New American Plays

2009-12-10T23:31:00.000-08:00

A poster I designed will be displayed at the 35th Humana Festival from February 21 to March 28. So if any of you guys are planning to go to Louisville, Kentucky around that time, then...yeah.

But this poster was a lot of work. I basically did little paintings of characters from famous plays.
Plays I used for inspiration include, Inherit the Wind, the Man Who Came to Dinner, Recent Tragic Events, Death of a Salesman and All My Sons. I pretty much did every painting in one sitting, took about 18 hours. Phew. (They're all Gouache on 4-ply bristol vellum, 5 x 5)

and here is the final poster!

Another productive week! hells yeah!

work from THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

2009-12-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here's some stuff from this week. The one below is a personal work I did this thanksgiving weekend. I'm trying to create fun characters and put them in cool surroundings. I need to work on lighting.
This is the PLANSPONSORS bells and whistles piece that I did for SooJin Buzelli's Class. It came out okay. Tad bit Chaotic. (ooh, try saying that five times. tad bit chaotic tad bit chaotic tab dit taotic dab tit taotic tab...DAMN!)

An Oil painting I'm working on...so different from my gouache stuff. wowzers!

THE NEW YORKER!

2009-11-26T01:08:00.000-08:00

For Tomer Hanuka's portfolio class, he wanted us to do a cover for the New Yorker, which was really fun. So I did one regarding New York's high tourist populous, but I kept it from being too cynical. It's just happy and fun.

I really love how it turned out. I think I found my artistic medium soul mate because I'm in love with gouache. Hopefully I'll submit it to "the New Yorker" but after I figure out how. hmm...

Thy Self-Portrait

2009-11-26T01:04:00.000-08:00

here's a little avatar I painted for my business card, which should be finished real soon!

Notice how I painted myself with my trademark tumbleweed hair,my plaid shirts, and my gleeful smile of gleefulness.

GOUACHE DARN IT PART DEUX: lots and lots of work

2009-11-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here is everything I did from Sunday to Tuesday. Phew, I've been busy. But I'm also having tons of fun, and that's what really matters.

These first two pieces are for Soojin Buzelli's class, my favorite class this semester (right up there with portfolio class with Tomer Hanuka's class). The third piece I did for fun and possibly as a promotional piece. The fourth one, was also for fun. The last one is for Tomer's portfolio class. They're all gouache on 4-ply bristol.

THE PROCESS

2009-11-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick run through of my process. And I am going to use my most recent project as an example.

So I had to do an illustration for Soojin Buzelli's class and we had to illustrate something for this thing called "HOT OFF THE PRESSES" that's always featured on PLANADVISER magazine. So I sent the teacher four sketches. (Below)

The fourth sketch (the tiki-running on hot coal) got approved but she "art-directed" me and e-mailed me saying she wanted more tiki-men (and tiki-women) and she wanted them to be dancing on fire rather than running on hot coal looking like they're in excruciating pain, which makes sense. So after I read her e-mail, I did a sketch right away, and e-mailed her back in an hour with this.

I then did a quick color study (will post soon)

Then I went and did the final. The piece was supposed to 8.25 by 2.5 with bleed. But I needed to work larger for the small detail, so I increased the size by 1.4 (11.9 by 3.85 inches) and then I did the gouache painting in that size and made it the correct size on photoshop. The painting took about 8 hours, and here's the final below.

I'm very happy with it, overall a success. I used more pure colors and mixed less. I even used the cadium red and some yellows straight out of the tube, so I can keep the bright fun colors.

R.I.P. OLD HEADER! July 2009 - November 2009

2009-11-12T11:48:00.001-08:00

I will truly miss you, old blog header.
and I will post a picture a picture of you so I will never forget.

Goodbye.

But let's not be too sad. For I have a cool new one.

PATTON OSWALT AND OTHER WORKS!

2009-10-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a portrait I did of PATTON OSWALT, My favorite stand-up comedian of all time. I'm a big fan of "comedy through word choice" as I call it, and Patton is a masterful magician of word choice, garnishes every joke with delectable vocabulary. This is a terrible description. But anyways, you can tell he was an English major. So, I based the illustration off of one of his jokes from his recent "MY WEAKNESS IS STRONG" where he talks about how he has become such a negative sarcastic person that it's really difficult for him to be around happy little children who admire his Ratatouille work. It's done on Acrylic on bristol mounted on masonite. It was fun drawing these little Linguini's and Remy's.

Here's a piece I did for Tomer's class. It's based off of Sloth, one of the deadly sins. The guy is drowning in his bed. Gouache on 4-ply bristol.

GOING DIGITAL!

2009-10-29T23:08:00.002-07:00

So I finally started working on digital art, and the transition from my traditional approach of illustrating has been much much smoother than I expected. All those times I messed with photoshop to place photos of my friends in embarrassing situations and funny backgrounds worked out; it kept my photoshop skills from deteriorating! hurrah! The first piece here was done earlier this week for Tomer Hanuka's class and I consider it a success except it deviates away from my usual style. The illustration is about Capgras Syndrome: a disorder that causes a person to think that his/her loved ones are actually identical looking imposters. That's no fun.

Ok, so I did this work below to experiment with digital coloring. (and it's totally my style!) I only use the "polygonal lasso tool" to make these random color shapes. It looks rough at first but once these shapes blend with the other shapes, it starts to smooth out and it gives it a real original look that I'm very happy with. This technique is kind of how I oil paint or do watercolors; let colors overlap and build up to create depth and shape...it's like two-dimensional sculpting.

I HEART TYPOGRAPHY!

2009-10-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

oops...will post soon. I need to take some photos of things first...

ALIEN INVASION SKETCH

2009-08-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

PIZZA BOY OF THE FUTURE!!

2009-08-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is a piece that I did for fun. However, the acrylic finish was disappointing. It was a little too muddled. I'm considering using the computer next time. I really enjoyed doing the sketches though and it was really fun designing the pizza boy's flying scooter.

OWL!

2009-08-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

I LIKE IT!!!

2009-07-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

So here is a self portrait that I haven't finished yet...
but for now...I LIKE IT!

GOUACHE DARN IT!! (get it? it's a pun.)

2009-07-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

So this past school year (my junior year) I really got into Gouache. My dream job is to work at Pixar Animation Studios, and my favorite artist from Pixar is Lou Romano and he's really my main inspiration for gouache. So these works were all done last semester. Enjoy!

JUNIOR THESIS WORKS AND ETC.

2009-07-22T13:12:00.001-07:00

The following four images here are the oil paintings that I did for the Junior Thesis Show at the School of Visual Arts. It was risky to try a new medium for such a large project but I thought it would be a fun learning process. I was unsure about continuing with Oil Paintings but my teacher Eric White really pushed me to get back into it. And I plan to continue oil painting even for my Senior portfolio.

I also accumulated a lot of unfinished oil paintings during the last semester. I did a lot of paintings to practice technique and I also tried to finish many paintings in one sitting, which prevented me from working on parts of paintings that were really wet. So I ended up with a pile of canvases with 50% finished paintings. But I loved these paintings sometimes even more than my completed paintings.

The thing that I miss most about oil painting is how messy my studio space got...

BLACK BOSS

2009-07-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

So this is, without a doubt, the coolest name ever devised for a can of coffee. BLACK BOSS!
And the can looks really cool! If I wasn't studying illustration, I would be in Graphic Design so I can do package design.

I also photographed my Munny right after my cool coffee can. I painted this Munny with Gouache and coated with Matte Finish. It was for Marcos Chin's assignment last semester and it's been hanging out in my closet ever since. The New York heat makes it a little sticky once in a while but it's been holding together pretty well. I should name the darn thing...I haven't yet... I'll do it now... hmm... REDWOOD McCALLISTER! I like it!

Sketches From My Handy Dandy Notebook!

2009-07-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

So here's some sketches... I don't use pencils to pre-sketch. I simply use my pen and make lines and come up with things as I draw. I think it really boosts my quick decision-making and my brain power, it will teach me to be more confident with my lines, it's a fun way to brainstorm for ideas, and it's extremely fun. My sketches seldom make sense, but making sense is really overrated I think.

This one below is creepy but I love it with all my heart, kinda like my crazy uncle Joe.

and I would love to make a children's book in the style of this sketch below
see what I mean about the sense-making...

HOT CHICKS AND AIRPLANES: a Las Vegas Tale

2009-07-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I went down to Las Vegas for my uncle Scott’s wedding. And his brother (my dad) commissioned me to paint something for the groom as a wedding gift. In return, my dad decided to buy me a new cell phone. I pay for my college tuition out of loans and I work weekends at the Olive Garden to pay rent and feed myself; so my family helps out by paying for my phone plan. So I asked what did he want me to paint, and he responded "I was thinking...Hot Chicks and Airplanes." I guess it makes sense. Uncle Scott is an airplane pilot. A heterosexual airplane pilot. So I went with it and painted beautiful women and airplanes... it was kinda fun. And in exchange, I got the new iPhone 3GS. Isn't it Beautiful?

Here it is in all it’s glory.

I title it : HOT CHICKS AND AIRPLANES #1
The number is a nice touch, I think. A teaser of more hot chick and airplane paintings to come.
It’s like those movies. THE END. Then the question mark shows up. THE END?
(I apologize for the bad picture, the week in vegas was hectic)

But my parents have always been about their children retaining their own independence and working for everything. responsibilities and such. And since the phone plan is quite expensive, they decided I would have to work to keep the phone plan. I would be under uncle Scott's AT&T plan since my parents are moving out of the country to Germany, so in exchange for the two year phone plan I would have to do six more paintings for Uncle Scott. Probably things that he could hang around the house. Maybe he'll make me paint flowers. But this will officially be known as "THE UNCLE SCOTT iPHONE AGREEMENT!" Here is a picture to summerize the agreement.

Here's a photo of the wedding. that's my dad on the right.
Here's a picture of me gambling all my money away

Greetings!

2009-07-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

well folks, it was about time that I made a blog.
yep... that's all I got to say today...