Art of Abby Lee

Whale Shark!!!!

2011-11-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

I meant to upload this a few weeks back. Oh well.

Whale shark.

Swimming with a whale shark is most definitely on the list of things I need to do before I die.

I would love to do more caricatures/pushed designs using these awesome creatures. They're just so large. It's kind of hard to fit such a large animal in a single frame!

I started drawing recreationally again as I finished an internship.

Also, next week is CTN. I can't wait.

From Sketchbook to SAi

2011-09-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

A character illustration.....

Here is the original sketch. As always, loved more (by me) than the finished.

Done in SAi. (I've been about ignoring my Mac/photoshop lately)

Bat Cave (Pt. 1)

2011-08-07T02:15:00.000-07:00

Our breakroom at work used to be stupid.

We're talking, a slapped on strange dark blue color (poorly painted) with no matching colors, spaces of white poking out of everywhere. It was dark, it was gloomy, and no one liked it.

My caring bosses have given me full creative responsibility to paint this breakroom however I want it. I design it, get paid to paint it, they supply the orders.   (Granted, supply orders are low low budget, but that doesn't matter)

The only disclaimer is that I do not put a "likeness" to any particular real life person, or especially employee of my company. I do not display brand logos or point anything that may occur in real life out.

That being said, there have been two inside jokes at my work for years.

1.) When it's slow in the summer and we need more business, whomever is "punished" has to "wear the yeti suit and dance outside."    There IS no yeti suit, and such a thing doesn't exist. But it's somehow still a threat.

(Old art, Circa 2008)

2.) Management was once assigned to read a particular book titled the "Energy Bus." The weeks that followed consisted of many silly drawings of "energy" creatures. The one that stuck was the energy bat.

(Old art, circa 2009)

With these explanations, here is the WIP of my first ever mural project!

The bat cave is in chalkboard paint. :)

More progress to come in the near-future!

Sib the Peafowleo Pt. 2 (The Maquette)

2011-08-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

A lot of learning went into the Maquette building process. I felt for a first timer that this was a successful and sturdy character. Baking gave me few problems, and he still stands, guarding my living room.

Here is his lovely turnaround. Complete, as he shall ever be.

Sib, you will be animated soon.

Scratch that.

Sib, your animation will be REFINED soon.

I can't even say how many times I've done this creature's strange walk-cycle. It's quite prancy.

Sib the Peafowleo Pt. 1 (The Process)

2011-08-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

Time to meet Sib. He is a Peafowleo, and this is exactly how it sounds. The looks of an owl and peacock on the proud body of a huge lion. An intelligent soul, yet unsure of his own strength, and an ego to boast of.

(Click for Hi-Res)

More development: Baby Sib (Peafowleo)

He was a character that I fell in love with, and the character I chose to take from 2-D to 3-D.

The following is post on how he went from the above design to my first Maquette!

(Click thumbnail for hi-res)

The next post shall be his completed turnaround.

Eurynome

2011-08-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

I did this series a few months ago for a Mythology class...the object was to write an essay, but luckily in Art School relevant drawings are also appreciated. Drawings in sequence, my take on the creation myth of Eurynome and Ophion (Pelasgians).

Born naked from primordial Chaos, Eurynome was the goddess of all things.

Since Eurynome had no where to stand, she first starts to dance, and this creates the sea
and sky. From her sphere, water pools beneath her, and vapors raise above her. A great wind swirled behind her, getting faster and faster, until visible.

As the north wind swirled behind her, she seized it in her hands. Eurynome started to roll the wind between her palms in such a way that it started to take the form of a serpent.

Once the serpent had become living, she named him Ophion.

Eurynome continued to dance (it is said to keep herself warm), and as Ophion watched her, he
felt lustful. Joining her in her dance, he coiled himself around her and made love to her as she
danced. Now impregnated, Eurynome transformed herself into a dove and brooded on the waves
where she would later lay the universal egg.

My thoughts on this: SCIENCE!!!!!!!

But the drawings were fun to do.

Oh, and tools used, regular paper, marker, colored pencils. All thanks to the Prismacolor!

AISHIA - COMIC THUMBNAILS

2011-03-24T01:22:00.000-07:00

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE POSTING FOR ONE NIGHT!

When the inspiration hits, you must hold onto it and nurture that for as long as possible!

Draw, baby, draw!

Anways. I wanted to show off a current W.I.P.

I'm in the process of writing a 22 page comic book. MY FIRST ONE! YEAHHHH!

I am tremendously happy to finally be DOING IT.

These are my thumbnails for the first act.

Like a mad evil genius, I too, will stroke my non-amused cat and laugh maniacally.

Done posting for today. I promise.

BORDER COLLIES!

2011-03-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

I have always admired my three border collies. They belong to the family of my boyfriend. Yes, they are all insane, they each have strange little quirks, and they are quite a handful 100% of the time.

But they are wonderful creatures, and good friends. Before you look any further, here are my dogs.

I've fallen in love with the breed, naturally living with them for so long. Yet, I've rarely drawn them. Drawing border collies from life is difficult, if not impossible. They are gestural, blurry streaks on the lawn. They only ever stop moving when they are asleep.

I spent the majority of my night drawing Border Collies.

I started out trying to do quick gestures. Different dogs were used for reference here.

I've always felt jipped that there are very few borders in animation. The only one I can think of is the Border Collie in Rover Dangerfield. I realize now that it's because they're pretty complex.

I tried to do some character sketches, determining head shapes, eyes and muzzles for the males and females. I like how these came out.

This came later on in the night after I had warmed up.

These are some cartoon designs I came up with.

I think that the left is the most simplified, but I like the one on the right the most.

Lastly, a couple sketches of Finn and Brooke.

Brigit has a funny attention phobia.

She hides from both cameras AND sketchbooks.

Needless to say, I didn't draw her this time.

She'll get over it. :)

Enjoy, lovelies!

Blue Jays

2011-03-23T15:50:00.001-07:00

I think blue jays are awesome.

This was part of my drawing-a-day attempt.

I'd say these guys are between 20-30 mins each. I wasn't as fast today.

I blew out all of my early energy on this:

Don't ask me why. I think it's a seal crossed with a mermaid, crossed with a unicorn.

It just happens sometimes.

Non-Derpy Birds

2011-03-22T00:12:00.000-07:00

Hey all, long time no update.

Most of my work I can't show on here, and little of it I refine.

I have sketchbook full of quickstudies and thumbnails, yet I would feel strange uploading them here.

Anyways, I realize that I've gotten too comfortable with pencil and paper, and I really should be expanding my horizons a little bit, and working digitally AS WELL as traditionally.

So I'm going to try and upload a drawing every day or two. Quick things. Quick but good things.

I felt like drawing some birds today, since I'm more partial to mammals.

The bird on the bottom is the one that I failed to draw quickly, because I was so fascinated with it. It exists, and it's called an Amherst Pheasant.

They are SO crazy looking!!

The top two are really fast drawings. 10 mins at the most.

Anyways, glad to be back!

Linacal Run Cycle

2010-04-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

I felt like uploading a rough test!!!

This is for a video game level I am creating right now. Picture something like the Lion King Game for Super Nintendo.

Hand animated character sprites, and lush backgrounds.

I was going to inbetween this, but I suppose for a small character sprite, this is more than enough! This character will also have a jump and stationary sprite. And eventually, it will be vicious and have the ability to attack stuff!

All in a day's work. The tail, and facial features/cleanup/color within the next week.

Basically, she's running for her life while carrying two kits in her mouth, and it's raining and scary outside. Woooo!!!!

My first big cat run cycle. I think it looks awesome for a first timer!

How To Train Your Dragon

2010-04-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

I promise to keep fanart and copywritten content to an absolute minimum here, but I will admit, I have also been bitten by the Dragon bug.

This is a serious condition, as I've been reading up on it and seeing it plastered all over blogs, Facebook and Deviant Art. Non-stop Fanart of Dreamwork's "How To Train Your Dragon."

But I understand now.

That movie was incredible. I no longer resent that I may eventually turn to 3-D animation, because this movie showed me what I needed to see. I felt like a kid again; I have returned over and over to the theater to see this movie. Purchased the soundtrack, went to McDonalds for a Toothless toy.

Best movie I have seen in years. My favorite 3-D movie so far, and I think that's saying a lot.

So here, before I ramble too much...

Toothless. The show stopper, the cutest thing I have ever seen.

And I Viking'd myself heavily influencing the drawing based on artist Nicolas Marlet's individual style.

He is a huge inspiration. And I'd love to draw like this more.

T-Square is my sword, Animation Disk is my shield. I thought it was cute and creative.

I guess that's all for now. Seen the movie three times now. That number will increase, I'm sure.

Off to animate!

Cat Nab Visual Development and Color Keys

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

IT'S SPRING BREAK, WOOO!

But I'm not on a break by any means!

As always, working on my beloved film. I took a break from animating, and did a few speed paints in photoshop using some of my layouts. I strongly believe in good color theory to help move your film.

I was trying to show greens and purples in the first and last one, to portray greed or envy, and pastel golds and purples in the middle one to show a serene calm, loving setting.

I'm a little rusty with Photoshop. Truth be told, haven't touched it in over a year.

But I do love Vis Dev.

More color keys to come soon!

Animal Drawings

2010-03-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Some new drawings, finally.

It's been a busy semester. I've been working on two films, one my own personal, the other collaborative. My brain feels like mush, but it is SO worth it.

I've been stuck animating a lot of little girls, so I decided to do some different stuff in ye olde sketchbook. Life drawing, oh I missed you.

Drew these at the Berkley Vivarium. The Rhino Lizard was so awesome. He posed perfectly for at least five minutes.

And creepers. I always wondered why there weren't millipede characters or spiders in animation. Now I know why. They're really hard to caricature.

I felt -compelled- to draw a Hyena. So I did.

And last but not least, a new animal which has only recently started to intrigue me, a PALAS CAT! I think they are so neat and puffy. I would like to see one up close and pet it (without it biting my face off).

I would like to make a character out of this.

I think that's all for today! I must animate now.

Cat Nab Production - 01

2010-03-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Been working on my film..... Here is some of my character development.

It's based on a true story about a young girl stealing a kitten from its mother, and then realizing the consequences a wee bit too late.

Since this is my first real film, I had the roughest time trying to settle on a story. Long before the film class started, I tried boarding a sequence or two to try and find something with a strong enough story, and something fairly possible to animate.

My first idea was of from an aboriginal tale about where the platypus came from. It involved a duck who got kidnapped by a water rat. She escaped, and then laid eggs weeks later. What came of it was the platypus! It was a little suggestive in story, and I couldn't get the length down to less than 3 minutes.

There was another idea based on an Aesop's Fable about the Stag and His Reflection. It involved very detailed deer and lion anatomy, not to mention, a big technical issue of how to animate detailed antlers stuck in a tree.

I was frustrated. I was telling my mom about this, how I didn't want to just "make something up," I wanted to base it off something, a real story. I know my strengths and strong stories is just not one of them.

My mom didn't even have to think. She said, "Why don't you make a movie about the time you stole that kitten...."

The rest is history.

Here's some character development....along with Character Design concepts. The top left is the finalized character design.

Various Layouts:

For my own security, I'm going to take this down in a week or so.

But uploading it for now so you all can check it out.

This is the first sequence.

So yeah. Cat Nab.

Bring it on!!!!

Cartoon People I Know...

2010-03-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since I last posted. I am ashamed.

I'm sure most animators or character artists do this: Make cartoons out of their friends.

It's not that easy sometimes. Never been able to explain it. There are people who are just dying to be drawn and then other people who are extremely difficult to draw and have them look like them.

Now that I'm more experienced, I realize it's because their features are subtle versus exaggerated.

Now, a group of animators, that's easy for me.

And now a group of co workers. Let me tell you.....

The guy in this picture is really hard to draw!!!!! However, fun too, once I figured him out.

I gotta do my roomates next, and some more animator ones!

Cats

2009-11-26T00:40:00.000-08:00

My animator roomate and I were talking about our three cats.

And this happened.

There is a plot. And we think we want to make a short out of this.

Crash = Strung out, non-neutered anorexic.

Frank = Tuxedo wearing, serious fat cat.

Ollie = Female, fluffy, cheerleader bimbo.

And yes, my two cats on the right were named after Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

:D The idea is great too. I SO want to animate them now.

CTN Animation Expo

2009-11-25T00:09:00.000-08:00

Well, what can I say?

It was amazing.

Sketches are always better. :)

I got to meet a few of my living idols such as Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, James Baxter, and Tony Bancroft.

I got to see Eric Goldberg and Tom Sito again.

I met some new awesome people, all from the industry. Handed out business cards, in the hopes that maybe someone will like what they see.

I DO need to upload more, though. It's serious at this point.

Myself and the people I was with had always been wary of LA. This was an unjustified fear. LA is no different from any other place. The people there were nice, and in some ways, even nicer than the people in San Francisco. (We WERE in Burbank). The weather was (once again) beautiful the whole time we were there, and there was plenty to do locally. We even found an awesome bar called The Office.

And going there, and being surrounded by other people just like us, and so many industry professionals.....it was home. It was just a convention. But it was home for three days.

Point being, I'm more inspired than I ever have been in my life.

Tonight, my roomate and I had a Disney marathon (kinda), and watched Emperor's New Groove, then followed by Treasure Planet. We sketched characters from the movie while it was playing, trying as hard as possible to keep them on model and do it quickly and proficiently.

It was a fun excercise.

I found it so neat watching Kronk animated too, after Tony Bancroft showed us so many demos with him!!!!!

Life is so good right now. There isn't anything else for me in the world.

Now I gots to prove it.

Nudes

2009-11-19T22:24:00.000-08:00

Some figure work. :)

Simba Walk

2009-11-19T21:04:00.001-08:00

A quadruped walking across a log...

Who really resembles Simba from Disney's "The Lion King."

^_^ 'Cos it is.

And Some More...

2009-11-19T20:43:00.001-08:00

And on the topic of story panels, here are some music inspired ones.

Went to a Porcupine Tree concert, and had a great time.

So I tried drawing some of the band in a 16:9 aspect ratio!!!

Story Panels

2009-11-19T20:41:00.000-08:00

Some of my story panels!!!

These characters are my own.

And some more...these are not sequential.

I love storyboarding so much!!!!

Shark Week 2009

2009-11-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

I participated in Shark Week this year.

Here are some of the many drawings.

There were a ton of others, but I put colors in these, and liked them the most.

Squid

2009-11-19T20:19:00.001-08:00

I felt like painting. :)

This was inspired by a local graffiti artist in San Francisco.

Gouache and colored pencils.

Stop Motion

2009-11-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

For years I've had an interest in stop motion.

Always wanted to pursue it, but it's hard to do without a studio.

The Durability Test of my rig.

And he DID survive the film.

Here is the same creature, in a paper stop motion test.

Paper animation is so awesome. I can't even stress it enough.

Here is a second stop motion excerpt from my film....

I love this character so much!!!!!!

Faces. Portaits. More Charcoal.

2009-11-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

On the previous topic of portraits, here are three others.

These are quick hour drawings.

And my Tyler, downward view, watching Lost.

I love him. :) :) :)

Ink Wash Me.

2009-11-19T19:27:00.000-08:00

Self Portrait with Inkwash.

Charcoal and ink!

Cat Skeleton.

2009-11-19T19:22:00.001-08:00

The last post reminded me of a project I started this summer.

I was lucky enough to find a perfectly preserved skeleton of a young cat.

Unfortunately, this is as far as I got with its assembly. I need to figure out a base to put it on, and figure out how to reinforce it and wire it.

What amazing reference!

Abyssinian

2009-11-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a study of a cat skeleton. I love Osteology.

The cat here was an Abyssinian.

The cat render. Intos Tablet, Photoshop.

I liked it. :) Drawing kitties is what I like to do.

Border Collies

2009-11-18T23:26:00.000-08:00

Border Collies!!! :) :) :)

I tried really hard to get the anatomy right in this one.

Skeletons are so much fun to draw!

And then the render. Done with intuos tablet on Photoshop!

Some life Studies....A border collie and a miniature Australian Sheppard.

A quick pencil test trying to follow the strange movements of my border collie Brigit. She has a very peculiar run, as she doesn't really bob her head, and the only things moving are her legs.

Border collies are weird. Brigit is almost always rigid. Especially while she is "working."

(She has a career in 'ball getting.')

And the inspiration. :)

Finn (Top) and Brigit (Bottom)

Platypi

2009-11-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

I want to animate these guys. :D

Platypi are seriously the coolest creatures ever. Especially when in cool colors.

Prisma Markers.

3D Dialogue Test

2009-11-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

A quick dialogue study. Trying to figure out blend shapes for the first time.

Now I have to figure out how to rig the head!!!!

Dialogue : David Cross, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.

Yellow Snake

2009-10-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

More Lovelies. I guess I'm inspired by Atlantis somehow.

Oh well, the snake's cool.

More to come tonight, I upload some of my figure drawings.

When you're trained to draw the figure first, you put that drawing down, and before you put the clothes on, realize that you're about to alter a perfectly good figure drawing.

I end up calling a lot of my nude drawings finished.

This one in particular is prisma/construction paper.

Pepe Le Pew Film

2009-08-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here's some rough animation!!!!!

Pepe Le Pew needs to stay away from mirrors.

Break one, and it's a lot of bad luck!

San Francisco Zoo Drawings 01

2009-05-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

Life Drawings from the San Francisco zoo.

Lions, Peacocks, Penguins, Kangaroos and Rhinos.

It's sometimes easier to pick a few animals a day instead of trying to draw every single one.

Going back for some more animal drawing tomorrow!!!

Spring 2009 Sketchbook Winners

2009-05-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook Drawings done from Late March to May 2009:

Some of the best from my mini sketchbook. Most of these are just simple doodles, but no matter, sometimes simple drawings can be really appealing.

There's just something about curves. It's no wonder why you see more women portrayed in drawing than men. No offense, guys.

Colored pencil, prisma marker

Dinosaur drawings.

It's amusing to mash up different species.

Brontasaurus Rexes and Tybrontasaurus Rexes are always fun to look at.

Or at least say.

I would like to do some drawings of the Dinocephalosaurus...the swimming dinosaur.

Frank and Ollie.

Amusement, Inspiration, Friends.

A few more at a later date.

Sep the Warrier Dreadlock Woman....

2009-04-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

Her name will be Sep for some reason.

This was just a class doodle, but there is potential in her character design.

There were only two colored pencils available at the time, and that's why she looks goth. Next run, she won't.

Sutro Tower

2009-04-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

Quick illustration from my balcony.

This be Sutro Tower and Twin Peaks of San Francisco.

On particular nights, the fog swirls around this tower and it looks like an alien mother ship coming in to take over Earth.

Fog is hardly ever that swirly, but every once and a while, the lighting is just like so. Oranges and blues. It's so beautiful.

Did the quick study with Micron pens, then put in the blue flats with Prisma markers, then blended with a few oranges and reds. Then went over it with some white pastel.

Mixed Mediums is fun.

Ocelot

2009-04-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

A drawing of an ocelot.

These guys are really neat to draw. They have a wonderful nose and very round eyes.

Their mouths also go back toward their cheeks. It's very reminiscent of a Chuck Jones smirk.

I would love to draw these more often, if not for the spots. This was a twenty minute drawing, which is normally the longest I want to spend on a render. Spots are implied, so that's good enough for me!

Toned Blue Paper, red prismacolor pencil, White charcoal, black 6 B charcoal on 18X24.

"Rar!"

Hello!

2009-04-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm finally going to get this blog up and going.

3/4 through my third year at school, and I don't even have a real site yet.

As of April 2009, I am still 22 years old, a college student studying traditional/classic/2D animation, a San Franciscan (with a Pennsylvanian upbringing), an animal lover, and a lurker who doesn't have many social outings.

I present my logo, and not much else.

Real art will follow this entry.

All other personal posts will be made on my other blog, which I will not give out the URL/Link.

All posts made here will be professional and animation/art related.

-Ciao