Haylee Herrick

VendMendSend

2011-06-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, long time and no posts!! Sorry folks, life has been quite a whirl-wind of a ride as of recent, and the only artwork that I have been doing is not to be seen by any of your lovely public eyes.

Alas, I was contacted by a kind gentleman, Craig Bowers, who invited me to be apart of a wonderful cause to help out with the disaster in Japan. It's called VendMendSend, and is taking place here:

Friday July 1, 2011

118 North Howard Street

Baltimore, MD 21201

So all those who are in or close to the Maryland area, please stop by to take a look, or participate in the raffle to help benefit doctors over in Japan.

As for the piece of artwork itself, it was done to show my love to a good friend of mine. He's very precious to me. <3

Cheers,

A Few of My Favorite Things

2011-03-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks,

This was my donation to the ArtBlocks for Ghana auction that took place last week. So, it's as the title says, and I wished I could have only done more! I hope you all like.

Cheers,

HH

I'mma Gonna Be an Animator

2011-01-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Please forgive the long absence here on the blog, life has been taking an interesting turn and it's been quite the ride.

I was given the greatest birthday present, which was being offered a position at Digital Domain's new feature animation studio as their first story/visual development trainee. I was also blessed with an even more incredible Christmas gift with a house to be able to live in for this new opportunity! God has blessed me with an new, amazing creative family; namely my mentor Craig Grasso, who is hands down just plain awesome. Go check out his amazing work NOW, you'll be thoroughly satisfied with all the wonderful work there.

Also, good news for the Anthology Project Vol. 2. It will be ready for purchase around the end of April to the beginning of March! It will be a first to be published in an anthology with a comic, which is truly exciting, and hope that I will be able to join the Anthology crew for their third volume.

I hope to be posting some actual work soon! So hold on to your horses in the meantime, and I appreciate all of you who have been hanging in there for me!

Cheers,

-HH

Semper Fi Progress// Installment 2

2010-10-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well, have been very busy as of late working on this comic. I commend all of you hard core comic guys and gals out there--it's hard!! Yet I've learned so much in putting these pages together, and have so much more to learn. For those who are amateurs like myself, I discovered a gem of a book.

It came in later after doing my layouts for the comic, but it's super jam-packed with lots of history and great examples of design from famous comics ranging from Marvel to Bone. It's highly recommended for any student or teacher to have for inspiration or instruction.

Also along this journey, I stumbled over another beauty! Marcos Mateu-Mestre is a long-time story artist at the Dreamworks Animation Studio, and his work certainly stands the test. This will certainly be an essential addition to any aspiring animation lover's library. I've been a fan of Marcos' work for quite some time, and he's a wonderful guy to boot!

In addition to progress on the Anthology comic (which we made our $7,000 goal and still going!), there is some good news brewing with a children's book company and a feature animation studio that I hope to be joining in the near future! Everyone say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed... Good things certainly do come to those who work!

Thanks to all those who follow my work!!

Cheers,

HH

//Anthology Project Vol. 2 Kickstarter!!//

2010-10-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hello there folks!!

Been super busy with lots of work, personal and business...Alas, some great news from the AP crew! THE ANTHOLOGY PROJECT Volume 2 is well underway, and we NEED YOU!!!

You can enter Kickstarter from the image above. This is an opportunity for us (the AP crew), to build a relationship with you (lovers of all things art). It’s a way for everyone that loved Volume 1 to not only pre-order volume 2, but for you to help out in getting it off the ground in a very meaningful way!

Beyond that we’ll be offering other things like prints, buttons, original sketches, special editions and signed copies of the books depending on the size of the donation.

So please help out if you can to make this a great success!

Cheers,

HH

Semper Fi Progress

2010-09-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks,

Been quite busy!! Here is some progress on the comic that I've been working on for the Anthology Project. Which is very exciting, since these are drawn at the size that it would be printed, and it will feel really great to see it finished. This thing I have with war somehow keeps creeping into my work... maybe someday I'll grow up and draw fluffy happy things.

NAH.

Hope you all enjoy.

Cheers,

-HH

Pres Romanilios 1963-2010

2010-07-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

I've personally never met Mr. Romanilios, never went through his history to stare in awe of his drawings, the chance has slipped by for me to even know that he was probably one of the most kind and influential people in this world. Now my eyes have been opened to his amazing achievements and caused me to reflect upon how much more there is for one artist to become. To know more about Pres, go to this link that has a great testament to his character.

Thank-you Mr. Romanilios, for being such a huge inspiration and making it a better place. Rest in peace.

Semper Fi

2010-07-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Please pardon the dust! It has been quite the time for me in my life! Praise God!!! So here are some studies and explorations for a comic that I'm doing for the Anthology Project. Which I must thank Joy for inviting me to be apart of, it is so incredible to have such a wonderful group of artists!

Hope you all enjoy.

Cheers,

-H

Mister Hyde

2010-06-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks!

Many many many apologies. It has been quite different adjusting to new life back home and catching up on 3 years of lost sleep. Who has ever heard of a regular sleep schedule anymore!

Anyhoo--here is some work that was done at the end of my senior year at Ringling College on the 3-D program Z-Brush. Very fun program, once you get past the frustrations of the tools and learn to have patience with the constant crashing. (Hey Z-Brush, go and have a meeting with Adobe and make our lives a little easier!!) So I now have a completely new respect for all you modelers out there. You know what you're doing. Me: was just winging it the whole time. Although I rather enjoyed modeling Mr. Edward Hyde.

Hope you all enjoy!

Cheers,

-H

The Delivery + Extras

2010-05-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

Howdy howdy,

It's about time this gets shown, so without further ado- I present what was a part of my senior thesis at Ringling College of Art & Design. It was a blast doing the story and learning from these characters. The story here is very close to personal interactions...and a hope for who ever my love is out there in the world.

In addition to the fancy animatic there is a turn around of a Z-Brush model I had done of my little chef, Lily. It was painfully exhilarating to do this.

Cheers,

-Haylee

The Most Exciting Time...

2010-04-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

...Is when you don't know where you're going with your life. When you think you do, then you're in trouble!

This time, no artwork from me. This is all about people who have recently come in and influenced my life. This past week was a whirlwind of interviews and meeting old connections, and new ones. It was all kicked off with the showing of Don Hahn's, Waking Sleeping Beauty; followed by what was one of the most inspirational talks from the director himself.

Don's talk was a great insight into the animation industry, and explaining the importance of having a group of incredibly talented people who are unified in the goal of achieving what may be the best film they could produce. It's refreshing to see guy's like him take a step back and review what is currently happening at the Disney empire and the rest of the other studios. Many points were mentioned that seemed obvious at their mention, yet when it's thought about, they are easily overlooked like they are in movies today. Movies from decades earlier than our time, they were a major event. There was no fooling the audience or making them question if they liked a character or not, it was purely great storytelling that kept people going to the box-office for months. Risk-taking needs to continue into this generation in order to bring audience's into these dark rooms to watch good movies, leaving their bills and worries at home to be taken to where they have never been before. That is our responsibility as artists today. Who knew that the crazy idea of putting rats in a kitchen would make a good story, or putting an old man in a balloon-house to South America? Ideas like these are "against the movie law", yet have become some of the best ideas.

During the talk, the point was also made that animation is a collaborative sport. You have to take off your ego at the door, hang it up on the coat rack, and then take it when you leave home. In a team effort, you have to have everyone work together, failing fast and failing often to get to that good idea. Not creating movies that are necessarily "edgy", but clever and proper representation of our time. Don repeatedly mentioned a quote that Walt Stanchfield said often: "Impression without expression leads to depression." This is a perfect example that studios today should be learning from the affects that movies of yesterday still have in our hearts. It was also interesting to hear Don speak on the topic of the relevance of music and the visual arts; that it's a dying art and needs to be explored further. On a personal side note, emotion will always outlast technology. (Sorry, 3D just doesn't do it folks!)

So encouragement to my fellow peers seeking a job: don't worry. If you do get the job, that's great! If not, then that doesn't mean to crawl under a rock in submission to failure, but creating that "movie" you want to tell. Like Emily Dickinson's collection of unseen poems, still remain a true artist and continue to fashion that one masterpiece. So thank-you Mr. Hahn for all your encouraging and insightful words!

There are also two announcements that I'd like to make to help out some fellow folks at the Disney studios:

Pres Romanillos is an incredible animator who was supervisor on Shan-Yu of Disney's Mulan. Pres has recently suffered a relapse of leukemia and is in the hospital awaiting his second bone marrow transplant. To help him out his friends are putting together an art auction for his benefit.

Please help him - more information here:
http://www.pres-aid.com/

The Visual Development team at Disney has been putting together an anthology for Comic Con 2010, this year! More details to come soon on but in the mean time check out the blog and keep updated with the printing process and news!!!

www.pecknpaw.blogspot.com

Wait wait wait...ANIMATE! Part 2

2010-04-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

Okay fellas,

Here's the second installment of these animation explorations of Reese and Lily. In this one, I thought I'd have him saying something along the lines of "Well, I uh...love her."

I love Reese to bits.

On another note, lots of exciting stuff happening in the life of Haylee! Lots of job options are happening right now, and very excited to see how everything plays out in the coming weeks.

Hope you all enjoy!

Cheers,

-H

Wait wait wait...ANIMATE!

2010-04-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hello folks,

These drawings are something that I purely enjoy the most. I can paint and what have you, but when you give me plain paper and a pencil/pen I'll be happy for hours on end. In my opinion it's the most pure form of art, since everything is intentional and honest in the marks.

Also, I apologize if anyone's tired of seeing this character. There may be an installment of her companion later. In the mean time, I hope you all enjoy!

Cheers,

-H

PS. Also, yes, Glen Keane has a heavy influence on this character and her movement. Thanks, Glen!

Thorny & Bone

2010-03-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to upload a quick sketch that I just did and a self-portrait done for Orlando's Megacon, which was amazing! Thank-you to all who came and chit-chatted, it was wonderful to finally put faces to the names!

Hope everyone enjoys the above drawing. Bone has completely turned my world upside down, and can not get enough of it. Normally I don't do fan art, but jeez louise, this is WAY TOO GOOD not to!

Cheers,

-H

First Ride

2010-03-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks!

This painting was quite the doozy, yet all is well. This week the action is going to be downplayed a bit until Megacon. Which is actually tomorrow. Jeez time flies!

Also, just recently got myself wrapped up in Jeff Smith's Bone comic--and wow! Can not put this book down! So I bow down to you Mr. Smith, and all your magical ways of storytelling with line!

Cheers,

-H

**PS Also, you may notice some changes going on. Please bare with me while this blog undergoes some revamping. Thank-you.**

My Friend, Mr. Hyde

2010-03-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

It's nearing a nice break for me now, so now work like this will progressively be put together for all of you to see. Personally, dealing simply with character design and discovering the character is what I enjoy the most. So these coming projects will be exciting since they involve more character design than anything.

Here I have an exploration sheet that I put together of Mr. Hyde from a current story project. Yes, yes, there are a lot of head studies...Yet I suppose that is what helps me figure out most of the character first and build from there. Also, I have been incredibly inspired from Nico Marlet's How to Train Your Dragon artbook. His designs always blow my mind!!

Cheers,

-H

Busy Bee

2010-02-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

First, I'd like to thank-you all for those who have been following this blog, whether making yourself known or not. It really helps out when you're looking around like a frightened animal who hasn't seen light for what seems a lifetime, and receiving a positive compliment. It makes me feel a lot better, honestly. I'm not aware that my work effects others, since I'm mostly too busy checking out other's work! So, thank-you.

Also, here is the finished pencil drawing of my thesis character, Lily. Paul Felix has made a huge influence on my work as of late, and I tried to emulate it here. His ability to make the unbelievable tangible in his illustrations is mind-blowing, like Milt Kahl's uncanniness to animate. Paul deserves so much more recognition than he receives. So here's to you, Paul!

Also....Go Apolo Ohno!! He's amazing!!

Cheers,

-H

Sneek-Peek

2010-02-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Quick sneek-peek at a WIP of a huge graphite illustration! Hope to post the finish soon. Thank-you to Paul Felix for all his wonderful inspiration that is spurring me on!

Cheers,

-H

Moment Before

2010-02-13T04:16:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Wanted to show you a finished painting that will be a companion in my senior show come this spring. This has been quite the time for motivation as of late, yet you just have to keep truckin'! Hope you all enjoy.

Cheers,

-H

Ms. Willow

2010-02-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

I have been delving into some of my old sketchbooks of late and thought I would share with you some of my favorites. Since I really don't keep a cohesive sketchbook, there's a mishmash of all sorts of writing, drawing, and foiled plans to take over the world.

Yet, I would like to introduce to you all, Ms. Willow. While spending time at George Pratt's museum of a house, I went through some photos of a model he recently photographed and these drawings were the result. It's also a more academic side that I feel that I rarely show here.

Cheers,

-H

Collaborating Is FUN.

2010-02-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

As mentioned above, collaborating is fun. This was a mixed effort between Christina Ellis and myself. Since we're going to Megacon this coming March representing Ringling College, everyone was asked to do a "fight" scene. Just so we could completely dodge the copyright jazz, we decided to pick one of each others' characters and have them fighting one of our own! So my gun-toting lady here is a slight homage to Mr. Mignola, and the slightly agitated flame monster is Miss Ellis'.

That's all for now!

Cheers,

-H

Commissions & Save the Hodges

2010-01-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hello folks--just a quick update with a recent commissioned piece that I can now share.

Also, I wanted to bring to all of your attention a very important auction right now to help benefit a great cause. Help the Hodges now has eBay auctions of great original animation work that will be displayed until the end of February. Spread the word!

Cheers,

-H

Balance

2010-01-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, I'm in a bit of a jam and need your help. I've been putting together a storyboard project and do not know the portfolio level it should be shown in a movie format. Here is a frame that has just been drawn to convey the story idea.

Here is a much more touched up version that I would have in the final composite. What do you all think? Too much? Any feedback will help!

Cheers,

-H

In the Life of...

2010-01-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Please forgive the complete Norman Rockwell reference to this image...I could not help but put these two together in this illustration. It certainly feels good just to concentrate on line and familiarize yourself with the characters. There are still a few quirks and kinks that need to be smoothed with this piece, although I am quite happy with the results of the silhouettes. Those are always such a challenge!

Also, I'm in great need of commission work...and I know what you're thinking: "I don't have the money the give you kid." And that's fine, we all could use some extra help in this economic time. Although, soon I plan on moving out to California and have little in means of dollars to make the trip there. Character designs are my specialty, yet I'm very open at this point. Any help you guys can offer would be most graciously accepted.

Cheers,

-HH

Dr. Jekyll or...Mr Hyde?

2010-01-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

This year, I would rather like to be a Dr. Jekyll, yet the Hyde inside needs a little taming at times. This is a version of what Hyde would look like to me, and is a current project that I have been developing over the past holiday weeks. The idea goes along the lines of Hyde not being able to return to the form of Jekyll, therefore being forced to conform to a model citizen.

We'll see how well it goes. Enjoy.

Cheers,

-H

Thanks to 2009, and Hello to 2010!

2010-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

Hello there folks, another year has gone by and a new one is laid before us, fresh and uncharted. This was quite the year for realizing a dream and seizing it, and this journey will continue into the new year. The opening of a very important chapter is beginning in my life, and I have every one of you to thank for supporting, inspiring, and encouraging my work. Making the work we do wouldn't be half as fun if we could not share it with the world. So lets continue doing so in this new year! I can't wait to see what you all have in store!!

Cheers,

-HH

7 Samurai

2009-12-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a poster image for Akira Kurosawa's, Seven Samurai. A wonderfully shot and composed film about whiny villagers and samurai rejects.

Enjoy.

Cheers,

-HH

All I Want For Christmas....

2009-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

This week, I thought it would be nice to give you all a treat. All of you have a very Merry Christmas, and warm wishes for a wonderful holiday season!!

Renovating!!

2009-12-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

Ahh yes, it's about time I clean up the ol' blog. So please excuse the mess as I update and rearrange banners, links, and info here.

Bare with me folks!!

Best,

-HH

The Princess & the Frog!!!...and character designs!

2009-12-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Hope you're still clicking, because there is some great news to tell! Today is the opening of Princess and the Frog, and you should take all your friends and family to see it. It's certainly the revival of 2-D animation!! Here are a few of the guys that I was fortunate enough to come to know while interning at the Disney studios: Aurian Redson, Paul Briggs, Bill Perkins, Jin Kim, Scott Watanabe, Kendelle Hoyer, Lorelay Bove, and many others... (these guys worked on the film).

As for these guys, they were done as a side project. These are a few of the many designs that were chosen, and that I particularly liked.

Cheers,

-HH

Progress

2009-12-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on the progress of the characters as they are melded into their final forms. There's still a bit more tweaking that need to be done to each of them, just to make them easier to animate. The boards are looking pretty tight for this short film story, now the exciting work begins with animation tests! My hand is just itching to flip some more paper again. It's been interesting while creating these characters since it's been an exploration of the self and the deep dark inner workings of a character and why they tick. Thanks to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston for reminding me what it means to make a character live and breathe.

Until next time!

Cheers,

-HH

Fashion fashion fashion

2009-11-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Not a whole lot this week. Been really wrapped for time. Here is a recent fashion illustration just completed.

Also, I will be at the recruiting tables at the CTN-X Animation Expo in Burbank this coming weekend. It's going to be the San Diego Con of the Animation world, and it's awesome to be able to make part of it happen. So come on by to say hello!!

Cheers,

-H

Designs, CTN-X & Numen Square!!

2009-11-08T14:18:00.001-08:00

Hey there folks, been quite busy as of late. Alas, I will still try and maintain my weekly updates to keep everyone up to date on my whereabouts.

Luckily, I have been recently fortunate enough to be able to attend the CTN-X in November 20th-22nd. I'm very excited to be apart of the event, so if you have plans of going, stop by the recruiting tables to say hello!

Also, I was invited by the talented and genius Wesley Eggebrecht to be apart of a blog he has started involving many artists. It's called Numen Square, and has tons of wonderful work that is upload every week. So take a look!!

Work Smarter Not Harder

2009-10-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

These are some of the set designs for my short film characters, yet I wish to explore them a little further. These past few weeks have been trying to think as these characters would and truly understand who they are. Playing creator is much more difficult than imagined.

Also, here is a mustang promotional piece that was done a few months back to make up for last week.

Take care,

-H

Mexican Serenade

2009-10-17T12:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a piece I just recently finished for a Mexican themed show. It was fun doing this one all in gouche, since it's just so vibrant.

Hope you all enjoy!

Cheers,

-H

Short Film Moment vis dev

2009-10-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, here is a recent visual development piece that has been done for the current short film I've been busy boarding and developing the story for. Paul Felix's work done for Tarzan has been a huge influence on this piece.

As always, crits, suggestions, ideas and comments are always welcome.

Cheers,

-H

Story Moments & Exploration

2009-10-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ahoy ahoy! There be an update this week! I'm feeling quite pleased that I'm beginning to nurture this blog and nourish it with plenty of imagery. Here are three of about 18 or so story beats that are being developed at the moment. This is the inciting moment of Lily entering the antique shop where Reese keeps himself busy with inventing. The third is a key moment with Lily receiving a gift in return for her own. A token of love returned.

Here is an exploratory painting in progress of a possible clerk character that assists in packaging at Lily's bakery.

Lastly, here is another visual development piece that is underway. Paul Felix and his uncanny skill to pencil things out at an unbelievable quality. Some day I hope to join him in the trenches and create spectacular work together.

That would be awesome.

Until next time, stay cool.

-H

Reese & Lily Studies

2009-10-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit dusty around here, and once again I apologize. I should promise not to make promises from now on to update regularly. Reverse psychology, ya know?

Anyway, this is not finished/polished work, and soon there will be. There are a few editorial illustrations that I have slowly been collecting, so those may possibly be featured soon. Alas, these are the developments of my thesis characters, Lily, the pastry chef; and our adolescent inventor who is now newly named, Reese. I have many illustration ideas that I've been developing between these two, along with the fanciful 1930's/Steam-punk/Victorian era that they live in. I'm thinking of possibly making them live on this island that has one large mountain that has the entire city carved into it like the Village of Eze. Although, the story is under heavy construction, since it's being remade and torn down day after day. They aren't kidding when they say story is everything!

Speaking of which, I had the pleasure of watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button recently and was completely blown away by the cinematography and heart-touching story. Usually I don't like to advertise, but this certainly is worth the boasting. At least for those who have not or are unsure of seeing it.

Anyway, please give me feedback on the characters. Personally I don't know what to think if Lily should have a braid or a pony tail. What do you guys think??

Until next time,

-H

Boys & Girls of Summer...

2009-08-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks! I seem to be on a roll with this whole updating thing, so I'm going to try and keep it going!! These designs were done a ways back at the beginning of the summer for a summer course focusing on Indian marriages in comparison to American marriages. It was fascinating to study and helped me develope a deeper respect for the culture. Brittney Lee was a heavy influence for these designs, since I admire her sense of weight without the use of line, or very little of it. Summer is coming to a close fast--I better go get back to drawing (or in my case now: ANIMATING!!)!

Cheers,

-h.

How I Make a Picture...

2009-07-27T08:20:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone, I thought I'd maintain my blog here a bit by updating a piece that I tried to document every step of my process. To begin, there aren't any special secrets and a personal process is just going through trial and error, seeing what works and what simply does not. Although, this is only my way and thoughts on process. There's no right way of doing a piece, and there are many avenues that can be explored. This is my way of going about finishing a piece, where thumbnailing is essential to keeping the mind fresh and open to laying down abstract shapes. It also keeps you loose and prevents images from being tied down too early.

Also while doing my ideation, I thought of what I wanted the characters to look like....Well, these characters have been around for quite some time, and it was about time that they be drawn again since they are going to be starring in my upcoming senior thesis.

After nailing down a solid sketch, value studies are explored along with color. Revisions to shape and placement also occur within these stages. I try not to stray from my original concept of the image, but if improvements to silhouettes prove to strengthen a part of the composition that isn't working, I stick with them. So keeping an open mind to possibilites to happy accidents and aides in the process of picture making is essential. This train of thought has revealed that even the most skilled professionals remain as masters of their craft because they remain in the constant train of thought of learning. Once the feeling that a plateau has been reached in a career and know all there is to know--then you are finished. All channels of knowledge have been cut off and the learning curve utterly stops.

After many revisions to the tight sketch, then the piece is finally executed to a finish. This is still a work in progress, and for now has been put on hold due to my time here at Disney. Alas, there will be many more illustrations done of these two, along with my developing story line. There are many epic ideas I have in store for my thesis, the challenge now is to make it all possible.

Until next time!!

-h

Figure Drawing with Titans

2009-07-18T10:43:00.001-07:00

Long time no post!! Wow--it's been quite a while!!!

Summer has definitely been an adventurous roller coaster ride since I've been interning here at the Walt Disney Animation studios. It's been exciting to meet the giants of animation here at the Studio of not only Disney, but Pixar as well. I'm making plenty of new friends and acquaintances that I hope will last a lifetime. Unfortunately, I can not speak of my goings-ons here at the studio---yes, yes....grumble grumble!! Although, I will share with you all my drawings that I've done in Karl Gnass' anatomy classes. These vary from 1- 5 min. poses and were completed with compressed charcoal. The very first drawing was done in a private figure session with James Finch and Bill Perkins.

I feel very small among these animation masters.

Character Designin'!!

2009-05-30T17:22:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, a quick post of a quick character design for this Character Design Challenge blog. Every two weeks an assignment is given, and man--I loved doing this one! So here's a samurai trying to get his sleepy-eyed friend up and awake to go off on another adventure. Maybe some coffee or tea will perk him up??

Take care,

-h.

Aquatint Action

2009-05-12T12:14:00.001-07:00

Thought I would update with an aquatint for all of you! I've been quite busy trying to relax after a stressful, yet wonderful spring semester. I can officially call myself a senior now!! As for the image, this is an aquatint that has been through four phases of dipping and burnishing. I intend to make the plate even darker than this one, but this was one of the tests I was most pleased with.

*Someone had asked what an aquatint is, and thought I should add the description of it in this post. An aquatint etching is when you take a copper or tin plate and spray it and dip the plate in a cloric acid that bites into the plate. This creates the texture and darkness you see in my aquatint above. You can also scrape and burnish into a plate to soften edges, which is what I'm attempting with the smoke. It's a very tedious technique involving hard ground which is a toxic liquid you use to "stop out" the whites of your image.

** I've also added the original drawing that the etching was copied from.

I also have plenty of other work that I would like to show all of you--and it will be up shortly. I promise I have tons of goodies to display in the upcoming posts!

Take care,

-h.

New Illustration Academy Website!

2009-04-17T09:06:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!! Guess what....the new Illustration Academy website is up and running!

CHECK IT OUT!!!!!

Spaddon!

2009-04-15T12:20:00.001-07:00

As promised: here are the first three pages to my civil war comic, "Spaddon"! I hope you all enjoy it, I'm not going to show it all since I'm going to be submitting the rest to Pop Gun comics for publication. So be on the lookout for an announcement!

Take care and keep drawing!

And as always...I'm always open to crits and suggestions!

Ill and Drawing!

2009-04-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to give a quick drop in to the ol' blog to upload my latest creation for a mock-up editorial article. This was for Esquire, and man, it sure was a challenge! The next post I'll be showing some pages from the comic I just finished touching up a while ago. So sit tight for some civil war action!!

Also, I was just notified today that the full Illustration Academy scholarship has been awarded to yours truly. So a big shout out the big guys at the Academy and a huge thank-you to my inspirations and viewers like you! I wouldn't be where I am with out cha!

Take care, and be on the lookout for another post real soon!

Esquire Ill Sneak Peek!

2009-04-01T19:32:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! It's quite dusty around this place, huh? Well, I can assure you that I've been very busy and producing tons of work, I've not really had time to scan it all in! My comic is still coming along, and it will be up shortly.

I've some really exciting news that I've been nominated as a 2009 Zangel Scholar Nominee, which is quite the honor. I owe a great amount of gratitude to all the illustration faculty here at Ringling for the opportunity. So I wish luck to anyone else who has been nominated!

That's all for now, I've plenty of work to do for portfolios and upcoming gallery shows.

Take care,

-h.

Spaddon Studies & N.C. Wisdom

2009-03-10T16:25:00.001-07:00

Well, here's the promised post of studies that I had done for the "Spaddon" comic, based off of a true civil war story on a Union scout named Spaddon. I took some liberties with the original story to make it my own. These are a few of the prelim character sketches of the main characters. Then there's a page of random people I liked while thinking of a concept for a new illo. The smell of coffee at Barnes and Noble is so invigorating.

I also came across a wonderful passage in my copy of the N.C. Wyeth Letters:

"The greats in all the arts have been primarily romanticists and realists (the two cannot be separated). They interpreted life as tthey saw it, but, "through every line's being" soaked in the consciousness of an object, one is bound to feel, beside life as it is, the life that ought to be, and it is that that captivates us! All great painting is something that enriches and enhances life, something that makes it higher, wider, and deeper. 'A great painter is a great man painting.'"

Take care, and next time I'll post up the finished comic!

-h.

Survival of Mankind and Future Plans

2009-03-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

Aw, there's no return of affection to this poor guy's offer of a nice time from one of these cool ladies. I apologize to you all for dragging my heels on updates lately, my new years resolution has already slipped away! Well, times have been busy yet productive. I just completed the inks on a civil war 6 page comic, and when I get the pages back I'll be scanning them in to lay over halftones and adding in the text. So, in the next post I'll upload some character studies and thumbnails of the pages.

Been thinking of future plans for the summer and am planning on attending the Illustration Academy for my second go, and a first time trip to the San Diego ComicCon!! So I hope to see a lot of familiar faces, along with learning some new ones on my adventures!

Stay cool.

-h.

Oils+Galkyd Lite= Love

2009-02-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd give a quick post of a 3 hour figure painting done this past week. I was able to experiment with the galkyd lite medium, and love it. I'm very pleased with the results. This time around, the model decided to challenge us with adding in her glasses. It was fun and frustrating, and was a rewarding challenge. I feel I'm finally getting a decent grip on this whole painting idea.

My next illustration should be up here shortly, meanwhile head on over here to read some solid conversation about life and art. I was able to include James Gurney's commentary on such a deep subject of human relationship and love.

Girls and Boy Studies!!

2009-01-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd update with some studies from my moleskine on a project that is currently underway. The idea of the article it's based around is from Dave Barry's hilarious article about "the survival of mankind hanging on by the pick-up line". So these sketches will give you an idea of what the final illustration is going to look like. I'll post soon some of the process of the piece. It's the most fun I've had yet!

Stay cool,

-hh

NY Scribbles and Degas Copies!!

2009-01-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hello once again everyone! Here are some doodles I did while in NY to attend the James Jean show. I'll have to say that the big apple intimidated me at first, since my roots come out of a small town with no more than 2,000 people; but I grew to like the city. I can happily say I can see myself living there, since I wasn't too sure about my travels out to Cali a couple months back. Everything seems bigger to a small person I suppose, since I consider myself to be quite short. Anyhoo--I have some sketches from the Grand Central station at the top, figures from the Society's drawing night, and some Edgar Degas master copies at the bottom from Christmas break. Most of his painting doesn't really grab me in any way, but his drawings are tight! Master copies are great, it's like following along someone else's line and understanding the thought behind each mark. It's a remarkable feeling.

Anyway, keep a look out for the upcoming issues of Creative Quarterly and CMYK, I have a piece in each this coming spring!

Stay cool!,

-hh

Being an Illustrator...

2009-01-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been thinking quite a bit on being an illustrator and thought I might share my thoughts:

I've come to understand the secret to success... It's dawned on me that it's really all in your heart to become what you want to be. To create what you really want to see come to life. There's no formula to any so called "over-night successes", anything but.... It's truly hard work, dedication and a passion all rolled into one. I've discovered that there's no secret, it's what's beating inside of you that wants to come out and speak it's experience to the masses. That intense desire to connect and communicate on a grand scale beyond anyone's imagination. Although, I've learned how easy it is to be side-tracked and that the most important habit to have and exercise is to focus. True, it sounds elementary, but it's one of the keys to getting you ahead of the game. Just when your eye-lids are about to close on you and the end of the tunnel is in sight--wake up and go for it!! Yet, never forget to learn how to take a break, recharge and have some fun! Always trying to find ways to work smart, not hard. I've learned doing both brings great results. Most of all--do what you love! It will show in your work and maybe you'll inspire someone along the way....

Thanks for reading, and stay cool kids.

-hh

Figures

2008-12-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

Finally photographed some of my figure paintings that have been lying around my studio for the past week. It's been great being able to hang out with my mom and enjoy the holidays in sunny Florida. I can't help but say that I miss the snow, but that will change soon....Because I'm heading to New York the second week of January to attend James Jean's show at the Johnathan Levine Gallery!!

Also, I'd like to say that all of you can follow me daily on Twitter to check on the current projects that I'm working on, music I'm rocking to, and daily thoughts. So if you have Twitter--awesome! If not--get it! It's really contagious!!

Take care and have a happy holiday everyone!

-hh

Ancient lands and Arabians and Beasts...

2008-11-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

...OH MY!

Yes indeed, I've been really getting into the Arab culture with my past few assignments. It feels like I'm digging into my own ancient roots, yet my heritage mostly resides within Hungary and Ireland. I still find the design of the culture fascinating none the less. So what I have up here for work is a preview of my procession piece that you can see in my previous post, a sketch of a "Call of the Wild" book jacket, and some character exploration of a self-promo piece I'm going to be digging into soon.

Also, congrats to everyone who got into Creative Quarterly 14!!

As always, constructive crits and comments are always welcome!

Cheers,

-HH

Tata Gala, Ills, and More

2008-11-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't disappeared my friends! I promise that I've been making all sorts of things for your eyes to see. To go from bottom to top: the robot piece was inspired by Jon Foster and Phil Hale for a billboard assignment, the girl piece was done for the annual Tata Gala show in Sarasota at the D3 studio gallery (which had an awesome turnout this year!), the third is a head study of a model that I felt came out decently, a shot of my current studio space with a comp. ill assignment on the easel and storyboarding work in the moleskine, lastly is a rough sketch of our current open assignment. I really do hope to make the top sketch a real home runner for the final, the story behind it is very close to my heart.

That's it for now--stay tuned!

Cheers!

-HH

So Much Work--So Little Time!

2008-10-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

I thought that I accumulated enough to keep you all busy for a while. My apologies for not keeping on my weekly schedule, I've been a bit behind and am trying to catch up. Time management is a key issue as of late, but whew!--tons of fun dudes and dudettes! To go from top to bottom with work, I have some recent process on a current assignment, process work and reference pictures of myself for "The Who" portrait which I intend on painting in gouache, but will remain a digital painting for now; and lastly I have recent molskine action from George Pratt's drawing class among numerous drawings from my own figure class.

That's it for now--hope you guys enjoy! And as always comments and crits are welcome.

Cheers!

-HH

NEW WORK

2008-10-11T15:58:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Thought I'd make a quick post on what I've been up to lately. Here's some recent work done for promo for the Illest show, and my final of that Antimatter piece.
That's it for now, gotta get back to work!

Cheers,

-HH

Moleskine FUN!

2008-09-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy these past few weeks, preparing for the Illest show with decorations, posters, video fun, and of course art work! So what I have for you here are a few pages from my moleskine. From bottom to top, I have studies of a new storyboarding project based around a little tike learning to ride his bike (ha! that rhymed!), some studies of Miles Davis for a likeness portrait, and The Who for a caricature portrait assignment. I'm gonna have loads of fun with The Who since I'm going to turn them into Dr.Seuss' "whos" and have all sorts of fun with their instruments. Anyway, just wanted to quick post something--I promise to post up some real finishes soon! Sit tight!

-HH

MEGA Postage!!

2008-09-14T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!

I apologize for all the dust that has accumulated around here, I promise that I've been busy! There are all sorts of goodies that I have for you to see. First off, I'd like to give a shout out to all the wonderful artists that I was able to meet at the Totoro Forest Project auction, you were all very gracious and wonderful! I hope to see you all sometime in the future. Also a big thanks to Dice for the time he took to give me a moment of his hectic life at the auction. It was an adventure I'll never forget, that's for sure!! So everyone be sure to check out the pics and results of the auction on that link. I'm sure the book that was made for the show will be up for sale soon on the blog.

Other than doing self-promotion, I've been quite busy trying to help out with the Illest of Ill show this year with posters, set-up and all sorts of extras that we're having to really make the show as big as possible. I have a feeling that the show is really going to be the event of the year!

I also have some recent work on an illo that I've been working on as of late. This is some of the process so far. I plan to do two versions of this: one in acrylics and one in ink. We'll see how it turns out! Plus I have a little drawing I did a ways back thought I'd share it.

Take care for now kids! I've got some goodies for you here, I just need to figure out how I can link them to my blog.

-HH

JESUSBRANDED!!

2008-09-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Right now JesusBranded is giving away 100 t-shirts, and 100 only!! JesusBranded is an online Christian clothing store that has amazing graphics and awesome messages to go right along with it. Everyone go and check it out!

Peace,

-HH

Illest of ILL 08!!

2008-08-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Our student show, the Illest of Ill, is going to be going on Oct. 10 this year and I just wanted to give a shout out to the wonderful guys behind the whole thing. I think it's going to be our most spectacular show yet. We have Sam Weber and Jillian Tamaki as our judges this year, not to mention awesome t-shirts, and a 6x9 book that some of the world's best artists are contributing to this year's theme: Charles Dana Gibson's "Gibson Girl" and J.C. Leyendecker's "Arrow Collar Man". It's just going to be AMAZING this year.

Here is the Illest of Ill 08 site, so go check it out for updates until the show!!

Cheers,

-HH

It's Christmas in July!

2008-07-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, thought I'd quick post up this portrait that I did for the Rolling Stones cover assignment. The incredible Irving Berlin in all his glory. It was one crazy week getting two pieces finished, although I'm planning on doing the finish for the second one this week along with a Gulf Coast 500 cover. They're making the cover assignment sort of a competition since there's cash involved, but I'm shooting for receiving exposure. Not to mention just having fun with the cover, so good luck to everyone on the cover!

Cheers,

-HH

Academy Update

2008-07-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hey just wanted to give a quick update of some work done here at the Academy. Been really lovin' figure drawing as of late, it's a great technique that I need to explore a little more. Also, I've got a tight sketch from the second assignment that I'm currently messing around with in PS and Corel. So sit tight, I promise to show the final. I've also some studies done for a current assignment, along with a sketch. There's two assignments this week to do a Rolling Stones cover, along with a narrative scene for a children's book. Irving Berlin, a famous broadway composer known for a "White Christmas" is my Rolling Stones musician, and The Gift of the Magi is the story I chose of three. Still have to get moving on the tight sketch for that one--it's a bugger!

I have plans of renovating my portfolio on a very serious level after the Academy, it's about time I get myself out there. So I plan on entering as many competitions as I can, and politely pester all the major places that I'd like to see my work put up on its pages. Although, Pixar and Blue Sky are major goals of mine.

Let me know what you guys think of the work!

Peace,

HH

Rockin Out at the Academy

2008-07-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

I sincerely apologize for disappearing like that, the Academy has definitely been taking up most of my attention and leaving me little space to scan in all the work I'm producing. What I have to show is (yet again) a molskine page of character studies for a current assignment based around the topic of conversation. C.F. Payne was the visiting artist for this week, and wow, what a guy! So far I feel amazingly blessed to be here making all sorts of new friends, getting a professional network going, and going through the thick and thin of all that the Academy has thrown at me. My mind is certainly going to be thinking in a different fashion from now on when I approach a piece, I think it's been that way for everyone here.

For all those going to the San Diego con, tell me all about it when you get back! I really wish I could go, but funds are a bit short for me right now. Although, I do plan on attending the next CA workshop in January. Let me know how all of you are doing, I'd love to hear how everything has been going!

Also, one last thing I'd like to share, and it's this quote said by the father of illustration himself: " Periods of hard struggle are big stepping stones to success." So for all you artists out there having a hard time, remember it's all for the better.

Peace out,

-HH

Illustration Academy: WEEK UNO

2008-06-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

It's been quite the week dudes, very intense but very fun! Thought I'd upload a little somethin' to show that I'm still around. I apologize for not being consistent the past couple of weeks with updates, it's just been quite the ride for me lately with projects and the Academy. I finally broke in a new moleskine and did up some sketches of students here, along with one of our awesome instructors: Sterling Hundley. Sterling is not only wicked with his work, but he also has the gentle prowess of a humble instructor. He's just simply amazing. I've also been able to befriend many invaluable people while here at the Academy that I would not be able to do most of my work without. They've been such a huge help along with the instructors' careful guidance.

To touch on the first assignment that I'm about to finish, it was given by Mark English to do a square format image on the theme of "A Slice of Life" from Sarasota. I've realized how important the very basic and raw components of a picture are, and that you must completely submerge your brain completely in that one image. The color, value, diagonals, symbolism, placement and overlapping, they all are key to the success of an image. I realize now how closed my eyes are to the illustration realm, thinking I was beginning to see that light of knowledge. I've also realized how really working the process out completely to the very tee and getting all errors out of the way makes doing the final piece a breeze. Although, I realize I have trouble with my focus points, and making them intentional. There's so much I'm learning at one time, it's almost impossible to remember the simple things that make a picture work.

Well, better get busy--there's work to be done!!

Take Care,

-HHerrick

Summer Update

2008-05-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a few good weeks since school got out, and man--it feels good to relax again. I've kept myself pretty busy, emptying the library's shelves of their books, reading, writing, drawing and painting. Of course this is all preparation for the Illustration Academy, which is less than 23 days away now. I've been holding out on some work, a digital piece which is modeled after 2 fellow peers and some fresh work done today for Mother's Day. It's gonna be a double-wammy for my mom since it's going to be her birthday this month. Another show is coming in June at the D3 studio also, and hopefully I can get some more exposure. Oh, and I plan on going to Orlando next week to see the Norman Rockwell exhibition, it's going to be great. Give a shout-out for any of you who want to do some painting, I'm going to be around!

***Hey everyone, took the time to give this blog a more professional face lift! What do you think? Comments are always welcome!***

Take care!

-HHerrick

Senior Ills & Good,Bad & Ugly Footage

2008-04-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I got a mega post going on right now. I've got photos from the Senior Illustration show here showing various people and senior set-ups such as Jane Radstrom, Erin McGuire, Adam Volker, Tina Sweep, Andrew Wright & Larissa Neto. They may not be the most flattering pictures of the Seniors, so sorry guys. I'm still trying to figure out how to make my photos look decent. Also, I've got photos from Erik Jones' "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" show that was hosted by Digital Three Studios. It felt really good to be showing with other big-wigs like Nathan Fox, Shawn Barber, Sean Chapman, and much more. The pics I took were before the flood of people that came from the CA show, but it was a good turn out.

So I also have my full portrait of Zero Wolf from Apocalypto, and some spread illustrations done for a mock-up article.

Congrats to all you seniors!!

Cheers.

-HH

The Good bad & UGLY!!

2008-04-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! Thought I'd quick upload the info for Erik Jones' "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" show. If you're in the Sarasota area stop by Digital Three Studios that's located off of Blvd of the Arts on Saturday, April 26th from 8pm until Midnight. It's going to be a great show since I was able to see a sneek peek of some of the pieces, and they looked nice! So I have a small preview of my own piece: Zero Wolf from Apocalypto.

Hope to see you at the show and take care!

-HHerrick

Best of Ringling + Progress!

2008-04-18T07:51:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!-- Hope everything is going well for you. Just got back from the Best of Ringling show and took a couple shots while I was there. Also, have some goodies for you all to feast upon ranging from some pencil renderings, figure painting and a recent illustration done for a play called "The Giver" that's being shown here in Sarasota. It may possibly make the poster for advertisement, although there's not any dosh involved at least my stuff will be seen.

Anyway, thought I'd give a quick update--back to work!

-HHerrick

Foley's & FEWS

2008-04-05T04:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, two updates in a week, that's a record for me. Just thought I'd post up the best of some figure work that was done this past Friday, and some photos of Jane and Tina's show at Foley's. It was really awesome to see some of our most talented peers being shown with Picasso's drawings, not to mention the sushi was delicious.

Picasso was once asked: "Out of all the pictures you've done, which is your favorite?" Picasso replied, "The next one."

Take care everyone and thanks for stopping by!

**Edit: I added in that portrait piece that I said I've been working on. Just got it photographed properly for all your viewing pleasure. Hope you all dig!

-HHerrick

Update

2008-04-01T18:35:00.001-07:00

Been quite busy as of late. Been feeling the fire underneath from all the deadlines that have been pelted at me the past few weeks. But hey, this is the most fun I've had yet! Been learning and connecting more with all you good people, it really is great to hang out and just learn from one another. Well, I've been motivated to practice more with graphite as of late and it's been quite rewarding (not to mention really relaxing). It's making me return back to my sense of values and shifts in planes, which is something I need to practice at daily.

I've really been trying to push my vision as to seeing in three values and dividing values into simple shapes. Also I have some head studies of a friend for a new painting I'm conceptualizing, pics from the past Avant Garde event (sold two pieces!) and a finished illo based off of the fable "Androcles". Androcles is the story about the man who removes a thorn from the paw of a lion, and is later captured; the lion sparing his life once they are placed in an arena together. It was fun to illustrate, quite helpful with using the James Jean technique by dividing shapes with color over your line work. I realized that I have too much going on in my compositions and need to really simplify my focus.

Hope you all did well at the Avant Garde, and the best of luck to those entering for the Best of Ringling! It's going to be a wicked awesome show this year!!

Cheers!

~Herrick

Figures, Figures, Figures....

2008-03-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, thought that I should put something up since it's been quite some time since I've updated. I was feeling guilty and figured I should let you guys see what I've been up to. I was trying to hold over on a post until I got my huge portrait assignment properly photographed. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to find help in photographing it. On another note, I have plenty of figure work to show varying from paintings to conte charcoal drawings. Been checking out Steven Assael and Michael Hussar with their wicked painting styles. It really blows my mind how many colors that can be found in flesh. I just need to lay off that cadmium orange a bit and let those much more pale colors play against the darks. I've just been revisiting the basics with value and color in my work as of late, since I've realized I lack a lot of that basic structure in my pieces.

Also, for all of those who missed the Next Step Conference this year at Ringling; it really was a blast. Chris Sickels of Red Nose Studio came the first night and gave a powerful testimony of struggle and failure that inspired and gave hope to a lot of people in the room. For sure it was very comforting and wonderful to see his process and it was a great pleasure to be able to skim through his sketchbook. Go and check out Chris' stuff out, it's great stuff!

Oh, and the pic at the bottom is from the conference where the concept guys, Chris Sickels and fellow Ringlingians (I guess that's what we are?) are conversing together and having a good time.

Cheers!

~Haylee

WORKWORK springbreak WORKWORK

2008-03-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post a little of what has been going on as of late with some work for all of you. This is a sketch for Concept class of characters that we were able to create. Naturally they are Lily and Andy, my thesis characters. I didn't move around much from the scene I did back during the storyboard project in Illustration, but I really do like this scene. Also, I have a studio shot of the portrait assignment that I've been working away at. Although, there has been much more done to it than what you see in this pic right now. I'll have the final up on the next post for sure!

I also have a pic given to me by George Pratt that was taken last April when the famous Jon Foster graced us with his wisdom, experiences and two painting demos to boot! I just really liked this one because of the angle and how we all basically "cornered" Jon with our questions. It really was a great experience, almost magical for me. Because I went to the demo not knowing who Jon Foster even was, and then I was shoved by Pratt right over Jon's shoulder taking pictures. I guess I'm posting this due to the excitement of the Illustration Academy this summer, it's going to be great!

**I added in a poster that I did for a graphic design class. It was supposed to be a Russian constructivist poster; instead I turned it into a possible movie poster starring my two main characters. I left out all the mumbo-jumbo of the text. Enjoy!

Cheers!

~Haylee

Rockwell & More Figures

2008-02-16T13:54:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day week, it was quite the week for myself. I've been quite busy with figure work and illustration as of late, plus I'm getting used to being the new precollege liaison. Quite the dream job. So any of you who have been to precollege or plan on going to precollege over the summer, let me know. As for what I have posted up here, I've got a scan from my sketchbook on my most recent portrait assignment. We were able to choose between a student and faculty, and my subject is none other than Mr. Francis Vallejo. Rockwell is a great influence of his, so I thought it cool to have the big guy in the illo with him. Hopefully I'll be able to do both of these great artists justice! Also I have recent work from FEWS and a 3 hr. figure painting that I had fun experimenting with this past Thursday.

Your comments are much appreciated.

Until next time, Cheers!

~Haylee

More Figures, Inks, Charas and Don Brandes!

2008-02-09T23:28:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, have you ever seen such a sight? This completely made my day when I saw this image of a double Don Brandes. Rob Chandler and Lake Hurwitz were responsible for this hilarious goodness. We all love Brandes so much around our Ringling campus. Maybe a little too much.

Well, I did some more figure painting as well as more FEWS drawing. I apologize for not uploading any formal illustration work as of late. There are pieces of mine that are being held onto for display purposes and the 30x40 illustration is still under way. I just need to paint it to my liking before it can be shown properly. Any crits are welcome, I really do enjoy hearing from all of you.

Until next time-- cheers!

~Haylee

Figures, Paintings and Chara Designs

2008-01-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

These are a a few figure pieces that I've done in my Figure II class this past week. I feel that I'm finally getting over my fear of pressing a little too hard into the paper and worrying about technique. I've yet to really see and feel the actual colors that make believable flesh tones. Those greens and blues baffle me. Anyhoo, the first image is a long pastel study and the second is my first figure painting in oil that I did today. I'm quite pleased with the results, but man--so much to learn!

Here are some recent character designs done up for Concept class. These were a lot of fun to do. Not too proud of the first two but I love the pompous lizard/bug thing and the fuzzy plant creature. I would love to do a walk cycle for him.
This is a landscape done in oils that I believe was done last Friday. Totally skipped out on FEWS to do it, but I definitely needed to do paint to warm myself up for a 30x40 illo for ILL I class.

Anyway--hope you all dig. Take care and cheers!

~Haylee

Spectrum, Gifts and Inks

2008-01-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not uploading in such a long time. Been hectic balancing six very demanding classes, but whoo am I learning a ton of knowledge about illustration. Well, I decided to be quite brave this year and submitted an entry into Spectrum. I'm real apprehensive about it, but wish me luck in getting into this year's annual. What I have here for you all is my refurbished "Insecure" portrait that I put in for Spectrum, a Christmas present to a friend here at Ringling, and a black & white page of numerous sketches complied all together. I've yet to know how to put together a nice sketch page, but these are figure drawings from FEWS. Except for the little guy in the corner with the shades and robe.

Also, I'd like to give out a big thanks to Francis Vallejo for telling me about Norman Rockwell's book: "How I Make a Picture" aka "Rockwell on Rockwell". It is the most insightful look on how to make successful illustrations, not to mention Rockwell is just the man when it comes to creating heartfelt images.

Well, take care until next time! Cheers!

~Haylee

Goodbye '07--Yo To '08!

2008-01-07T04:24:00.001-08:00

Hey hey people. Sorry about not updating for a while. It was pretty hectic back there at the end of the semester, and I was without the internet for Christmas break. So here I am updating now that I'm safe and sound back at my apartment!

What I have here are my finished storyboards that I promised to update with. They need a bit of tweaking, but they were all loved my my classmates. Which is a check plus. Then I have an old watercolor from my media class where we did the other class's portraits. I ended up with this guy, who I think was pretty awesome to draw and paint. Lastly I have two music albums that I did for my Ill class. Did the first one to Ali Farka Toure, a famous jazz/blues musician in the 90's and the second one to Morrocan accordion music. T' was tons of fun those two albums.

Well, I missed out on the Revelations workshop in Seattle this year, but I hope that all who went had an awesome time. Maybe next year I'll save up some dosh so I can get myself over there to see how they work their magic.

Heh, and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Mine sure was busy, but I got some well-deserved time off. Cheers to this new year and all the new artwork that will come from it!

Take Care!

~Haylee

Portraits, Toys & Turkey Dinner....

2007-11-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

Hey hey, bout time I put somethin' new up again! Not very much this time around. Been trying to organize for the coming Thanksgiving holiday. As for what I have you here, the first is a somewhat finished self-portrait that is supposed to represent "insecurity". There's a second one representing "confidence", but that's still in the works. Not quite pleased with it's results. I think the insecure portrait (along with a bonus portrait I did) won over the pair.
The other two pics you see there are character studies for a storyboard project that's currently in the works. Tomorrow the company Reel FX is coming to crit our storyboards, so I'm going to be naughty and try to skip out on one of my classes to get my stuff looked at. Next post you'll all get to see the storyboards completed. Although, these character studies didn't pass since the clothing and hair had to appear wooden or painted onto the toy figure. Heh, figures.

Anyway, hope you all like. Cheers!

~Haylee

Mista Gorilla & Illest of Ill

2007-11-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I thought that I'd post up some recent stuff that I've been workin' on. Here I have Mr. Gorilla for my media class where we had to do a tightly rendered acrylic painting. The specifics were that it had to be of some kind of animal, and to "paint every hair" on the animal. I did a little twist that was suggested by a classmate, and I think it's the best acrylic painting I've done yet. The pictures you see are a select few from our Illest of Ill show. I thought I got a couple good shots. I put in a few pre-show pictures along with the ones at the show. El Coro was the judge of this year's show, which was pretty cool. Didn't get anything in this year--but that only means I get to work a little harder for the next!

I plan on doing a second post with more work and pics, so hold on tight kids!

~Haylee

Look out-there's a new blogger in town!

2007-10-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

After rolling around the idea of creating a blog in my head all summer, I finally made the decision to make one. So here it is! I thought that I'd put up a couple images for you all to look at other than this temporary template.

The first image is a character sheet of my new creation: Lily. She's basically supposed to be the representation of myself when I was just a kid. I still consider myself a kid! But the story is going to be about Lily, a young 12 year old who longs to be a great chef some day. She's pushed away by her fellow female peers, and even more by her male peers. Lily tries to fight her self-esteem along her journey to being a chef, but is taken notice by a boy who secretly wishes to learn the culinary pathway. And....that's all I've got so far! I'm planning on doing something a little more with the boy, but for now I'm still debating what purpose he's really going to have in the story. The story is also going to take place in a futuristic village that resembles the Village of Eze in Nice, France because I'm planning on creating an anthromorphic community where people, animal, and machine are trying to reside in peace with one another. Ultimately I'm planning on doing a 2 minute short that would want the audience to see more of the story and it's characters.

This second piece is just a bunch of expressions of Lily that I've compiled over these past couple of weeks, along with some animation studies. I kinda scribbled a scene with hot air balloons down in the corner. Used to love going down to Kalamazoo, Mi to see the hot air balloon shows as a kid. So that's going to be a scene in my thesis for sure.

If you guys have any ideas, crit. or thoughts-- please comment. I'm always open to new perspectives. Other than that, thanks for your looking.

Cheers!

~Haylee