Caravan Updates as of 03-29-10

More New Caravan Shots 3-30 from Mel Miller on Vimeo.

Progress on Caravan is continuing to come right along. Spring break saw to the closure of all of the rough animation on my to-do list, and I'm right back to clean up, color, and final composite. Finished 5 shots this past weekend, and as always, it feels fantastic to see those completed clips. As per usual, here's a quick-link list to the latest progress on Caravan, via entries over at the Caravan Production blog, including the above reel of more completed shots from the film.

• Everybody Likes ol' Charlie

• Quirk's New Cover

• Patrick's HoobleDoodles

• Peaceful Mia (Rough Test)

• Shot 26 Progression

• Pat's Mia and Hoobler

• More New, Completed Shots!

Cheers,
Mel

Poltergeist and Mook

A quickie from my overly-uneventful pre-Spring-Break proctor shift on campus. This here is, along with the previously posted Velocity, another new character I've been considering for my Nexus series' line-up: 12 year old Geist and her little goopy goulie buddy Mook. I keep giggling that it sort of looks like she birthed poor Mook here which was hardly on my mind when I sketched out the poses. Moreover, she's supposed to be creating\manifesting the thing from her hand, as her spiffy comic book powers allow her. We'll pretend it looks like that instead.

Yet another all marker and micron image from a sketchbook named Quirk. The base marker sketch to this was particularly rough because I had no idea what I was going to draw when I began. I am pleased though that I'm getting faster drawing like this. So far so good - the exercise is proving effective! I hope to get speedier through these exercises to help me pick up a bit of pace with Caravan's cleanup in the coming weeks. Here's hoping!

For the record, her hair isn't nearly the intense teal blue you see here - I envision it far lighter - ghost-like. Such is the nature of my hilariously limited marker collection at the moment, however. I make do ;)

I'm on spring break this upcoming week. A large portion of that will be spent completing all remaining rough animation on Caravan and hopping right back into clean-up and final composite. Updates over on the film's production blog will likely come of that. Ill be keeping with Quirk doodles as well, for the sake of sanity (And hopefully skill\portfolio strengthening too!)

More again soon,
Mel

The Young Guru

Another installment from Quirk. This is TKP's resident forest guardian, The Guru, in his much-sprightlier years. Another piece drawn entirely in Prisma markers and Micron pens - no pencil or eraser involved.

-Mel

Maxiim in Markers

A side-character from my TKP series, Maxiim, from my latest outing in my new sketchbook, Quirk. Max here is yet another attempt at drawing entirely in Prismacolor marker and Micron pen - no pencil and eraser involved.

The Art of Quirk (Post 001)

It's been ages since I've last challenged myself to keep a proper sketchbook - not out of my desire to do so, but out of sheer lack of time, what with having a 6+ minute film to create for my thesis. I decided this past week, though, that it was not only more then time to try, but needed, simply for the ability to draw things outside of Caravan, and excise the ridiculousness that routinely runs rampant in my mind.

So, I bought a sketchbook and a mitt-full of markers. I named said sketchbook Quirk. From here on out, Quirk will be filled primarily in marker-and-ink drawings where I will not allow myself to erase, and push myself to draw faster, and commit more readily to line. So far, it's been a fruitful production.

A Cynic's Life For Me

A teensy bit of a self portrait. Anyone who sees me on a daily basis can pretty much count on this outfit or some variation thereof. Ah, the predictability of animators with nary enough free time to consider that fashion... stuff.

'Guin and Carl.

'Guin discovers Carl, the stupid-happy turnip. Boop.

Inkster, PP, and V

Inkster the creepy comb-over Octopus (Originally doodles for my roommate's awesome "Draw an octopus!" challenge) Velocity, a new-ish character I've been considering for Nexus, and the Pillow Puppy.

WTF

My other half Niles and I had a dinner-out-n-draw-weird-shit date Saturday, and decided upon the following odd combos to doodle: A rabbit and a chimp, a lemur and an armadillo, and a goldfish and an old man.

The Gully Draconis

Dragon-esque creatures in my TKP series are called the "Draconis" species, and they are comprised of numerous types. Little forest-dwelling Dracs (roughly the size of your living room coffee table, are a breed I'd not yet drawn. Despite some proportional fail brought on by making myself draw as fast as I could swing it, I enjoy how this fellow turned out.

More again soon,
Mel