Voices from the past

So welcome 2011.
And while looking forward to the future, here are some images evocative of other past times. The first three are out of a design job I did in 2004 for 'Ghost' Studios in Denmark, one general view of a ghostly hall and two magnified details. The other one, a 'two character' quick inspirational sketch for 'El Pacifico'.
All the best for this New Year!

"Toto Sapore" 2001 (© Lanterna Magica)

In 2001 I got contacted by Lanterna Magica and Maurizio Forestieri (in Torino, Italy) to design a film based on a traditional napolitan story called Toto Sapore. It was great fun to create all the visual language for that film. Here are a few samples of that, four interior and exterior architectural studies for some of the characters locations.
And we are wrapping up a year... Happy 2011 to all of you!

Crimea?

Again like in the 'Near Miss' case, since I spent quite some time going about details, here is the full illustration plus a few close ups.
I don't know if this will be my last post before Christmas... but just in case it is, Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you enjoy this time of the year in a nice and safe place with your loved ones.

Saying Hi

Just an improvised sketch to say 'Hi' with. It's been hectic around here lately, not much time to dedicate to this blog. Hopefully things will get a bit more relaxed around Christmas.
By the way, if you live in Southern California I hope you are managing to stay dry!

Crowd

This crowd passed by my Cintiq. Next thing I knew they were gone...
(The more it goes, the more I love this tool by the way)

Near miss

Near misses, how many of these do we have in life?... Hopefully none as dramatic as this one.
I spent quite a bit of time on the detail here, so I include the magnified sections to have the feeling it was actually worth it!
Have a good weekend everyone.

Whispers

Things one can run into when walking around at night...
Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Runaway turkey?

They call him Mr. Panics.
Anyway, maybe he just saw the turkey he was going to have on Thursday break away from the cage and make a run for it? ...don't blame him (the turkey I mean). Whatever it is, it looks like the guy had better days.
-Happy Thanksgiving everyone!-

Reading

Eyes reading other eyes, ...and going to take action next.

Swords and daggers

A bunch of mean spiritet people... or maybe they aren't?
At least one of them is armed though, we know that.

Huntington / Culver City (more memories)

The peace of Huntington Gardens in Pasadena on a February morning in 2009, and lunch time sketching in Culver City two years before that. Two very intense experiences indeed...:)

Old project, new review

Years ago I already started with the idea of writing a book on composition. This double page spread is a sample I did back in 2003 while exploring ways and options for the project, pretty much establishing the basic principles I would eventually use in 'Framed Ink'. As you can see though it was based on the idea of illustrations, not so much on 'continuity/narrative art', as it ended up being.
By the way, Fernando Caire from CGChannel wrote a really nice review about the book on his blog just yesterday. Thanks Fernando!

Pirates!

Also during the Sony days, Marcelo had a great idea, let's do a comic book together, one page at a time, one continues where the other one left the story! It was Marcelo, Armand and myself, we had lots of fun for quite a while with this pirates story called 'El Pacifico'.
Here are some character sketches I did for the story, plus the first panels of my contribution to it.
(Dinga-Man character © Marcelo Vignali 2010)