The Monster Engine

I stumbled upon Monster Engine awhile back and have continually found it fascinating. The idea of the site is simple: take the incredible creativity and imagination of a child and refine it with the skill, craft and talent of a grown-up artist.

What the artist, Dave Devries, does is he takes the drawings and sketches of children, and then "fleshes" them out with his own painting and art skills. The results are really fun to look at and continue to solidify the thought that children really do have the most amazing imaginations.

If only we could always keep and retain that sense of wonder and imagination, I think life would be a lot more interesting. Oh well, at least we can try :)

For more, be sure to check out the site. Go Monsters!

-G

Still Going Strong

I have a special fondness for Pixar and their movies just like the majority of the public, but I have to admit, the idea of Cars 2 did not sparkle with magic the way all of Pixar's previous works did. Although, due to their history of amazing films, I think the critics, deservedly so, had extremely high expectations for Cars 2. And because this extremely high expectation wasn't met, the critics were extra harsh in their critique and rating of the movie.

Despite this, I think Pixar has proven its record in the past and will continue to do so. If you even have the slightest doubt that Pixar still has it, which you shouldn't, check out the new teaser of their next film, Brave.

Amazing...

-G

Dare to Creep

I was privileged enough to visit the Tim Burton Exhibit at LACMA this past weekend! I wasn't too sure what to expect from seeing his body of work since his style is a lot more dark and creepy then I'm used to but, I actually learned quite a bit. It was pretty cool seeing his progress and development from his early high school days to his present masterpieces. I got to see what art looks like when the artist is completely confident in his style. Burton definitely defies all rules of traditional shape and looks and that's what makes his stuff so unique. If I was to draw a head, it would be circular, but Burton would probably draw an upside down trapezoid shape. One could learn the mentality that artists have the freedom to define their own rules.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is still my all-time favorite Burton film :)

Inspiring and provoking. I wish I could've taken some pictures of the exhibit though...

The exhibit runs through October 31st

-G

Scan In Style

Saw this article and thought it was a beautiful blending of design and business. Art sometimes is criticized as not having practicality and purpose. I think it all comes down to what your definition of practicality or purpose is. A little design and creativity never hurt anyone, right? I thought this was a great implementation of art in everyday life. I especially like the beer belly design on the right.

-G

Fruits Of My Labor

I fulfilled a life dream last semester by taking my very first official art class at a local college. Although my interests lie in more computer generated art and design, this fundamental art and composition course was really something I needed to start off with. It wasn't always what I wanted to learn or draw, but it opened my eyes to a lot of new mediums and styles. I also doubled my knowledge of art supplies. I spent my fair share of time walking up and down Michael's, trying to figure out what a tortillion was. Below are some of the fruits of the last semester for Art 102 Drawing and Composition I.

Bora Bora: Oil Pastel

Taipei Night Market: Prisma Color Pencils

James Dean Portrait: Pencil

Paul Newman Portrait: Charcoal

Facial Study: Pencil

-G

All In The Family

These were made by graphic designer Joe Stone. You can check out his blog here.

These designs embody everything I like.

Simple, Creative, Nerdy.

-G

Redefining Ugly

Ugly Dolls have been around since 2001, and I've always loved their simplicity and design. The colors and shapes along with the creative back stories of these plush characters make them extremely marketable and fun to collect. Their popularity is definitely an awesome dream story and really inspirational to folks like myself.

There was awesome news today that Ugly Dolls just got the green light for their very own animated movie and it lead me to reread an awesome interview of David Horvath, who along with his wife were the creators of Ugly Dolls. The story of the creation of Ugly Dolls is also a wonderfully sweet story as well. Nothing beats the beauty that comes from the harmony of creativity and story. You can check out the interview here.

-G

Get Animated

They're really rough first attempts at flash animation from a few years back, but I had a lot of fun with them. Seeing these again on an old computer folder got me looking at flash animation again. Hopefully I'll be able to show some improvements in the near future.

Appleman Landing Test

Fake Orchard Heroes Opening Sequence

-G

Closing A Chapter

The Nosco Project begun as a response to a point in my life where I was seeking a challenge both as a means to break me out of a creative valley and as an interest in seeing how far I could go. I wanted to see the result of my creativity if it had been pushed to different limits and forced out of comfort zones. I invited friends and friends of friends who found this project interesting in order to have some company in this pursuit of challenge. Although short-lived, the project brought out responses from me that surprised me at times, which is sometimes pretty cool. I had a lot of fun working on the themes and actually came up with some work I'm pretty proud of.

A heart-felt thank you to all those who participated and I hope you all had fun. This chapter has now closed as has The Nosco Project, but it only serves to mark the beginning of the next!

Below are the rest of the pieces that I never got a chance to post. For more visit www.TheNoscoProject.com.

-G

Garden

Balloon

Coffee

Smile

Poker/Playing Cards

Shadows

Ice Cream

Fish

Reflection

Fountain

Three Little Pigs

Baking Made Easy

Contrary to popular opinion, I do not survive by feeding off of cereal and frozen dinners for three courses a day. I actually enjoy cooking. My mom is a great cook, so I may have developed a slight interest from her. I also love trying new recipes and experimenting with new ingredients and flavours. But one thing I have yet to figure out is baking. I don't really have an interest in it, and I suck at it too.

A friend of mine is in the early stages of brainstorming and dreaming about what it would be like to make a business out of her baking abilities. I thought I'd help encourage that thought process with some brainstorming of my own of some designs that she might find useful.

Baking is just this easy right? Follow the formula and POOF! Delicious pastries and baked goods!

If she ever does start her business, I hope to use my doodles and sketches to pay for these tasty products that I've yet to figure out how to pronounce.

-G