mas pinatas, por favor

...and here's the side and front views of the turn-around that i did in flash (i learned real quick to do character designs in flash, 'cuz the boss likes to make a lot of "little changes," and in this format i can easily scootch things around or change the color scheme, etc.

aye dios mio!

it has been awhile since i've posted...been super busy with my internship. here's a little fella that i just designed to be used for an animation that the boss wants in 3D with a "2D look." it should be an interesting challenge...next up, modeling this cutie in maya.

for reels, yo

current animation reel from chris case on Vimeo.

have one hellava hula!

so i've been so busy animating this sequence that i haven't had a chance to post the last couple of steps, but..here's the end result! (dangitt!there are still a few things that aren't perfect....but i'm walking away from it for a couple days at least!)

i have seen the future, and it is hula

more progress on the hula cycle...still gotta fix the giant hair pop in the beginning, and i want more drag on the hair when it comes back down on the right side. i like how the style of the hula girl evolved as i added details, so now i just need to keep her features consistent throughout the cycle.

reel genius

alrighty, my first stab at a rough reel...

una mas hula, por favor

my hula girl was feeling neglected, so i did some more work on her. i'm working on this one in a nearly opposite fashion as i am the Kali piece: that one i am doing most of the elements on separate layers, with lots of planning; this one is more of a straight-ahead free-for-all. it's nice because i can just sit down and animate this one, or, if i'm feeling more ocd, i can work on my other piece. i'm enjoying having several pieces in the works, it keeps me from getting stuck.

bollywood bonanza

here's a couple of great videos that i have watched (over and over and over) to get ideas for the movement of Kali's arms. They were definitely helpful, but at the same time i'm glad i didn't see them before i started the project, otherwise i may have gotten over-ambitious with the dance moves.

Dola Re Dola

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9oeBzNBIso&feature=related

Nimbooda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWwTIzoCmz8&feature=fvst

figure drawing frenzy

archiving some of my figure drawings.

oh my goddess!

a more finalized character design for Kali. now i just need to figure out how to move all them arms!

jungle boogie

some quick sketches for a jungle-babe (yes, i know it's cliche) that i'm working on. i want her to have a mid-sixties look about her...

feed your head

here's three heads that i did as studies of facial expressions in sculpey. my goal was to take a single simplistic character and attempt to recreate it while exaggerating it's features and emotions. it was basically an experiment in creating replacement-heads for stop-motion.

fill 'er up

another of my trailer park cyanotypes. wanted to scan it before i take it down to a cafe and try to sell it. feels weird to part with work, but it is a more exciting prospect than eventually accidentally spilling coffee on it and having to throw it out.

a splendid suburban specimen

a friend gave me this vintage tablecloth, which his grandmother had kept unopened since nineteen-fifty-something. the illustrations are just adorable.

shake what yer mama gave ya

another rough booty-shake cycle...this one is going to be used for the kali character. now i need to add four snaking arms.

toys with taste

these are digital prints from an imaginary ad campaign i dreamed up for yikes toy store (hey, if you guys wanna use it, have your people call my people). i really love the colors in these (and the reflected pantie-shot on the silver platter STILL makes me laugh).

back in the day...

this is a very OLD photo from when i first starting doing photography, and didn't know about filters or cropping or, well, much of anything. but i've always liked this shot...maybe now i'd burn some of the darker areas and crop the right...but still, there is just something about catching a moment like this that makes taking pictures exciting.

medium-format frenzy

ah, the holga is such a harsh mistress. three rolls of film for one good shot...in these prints i got to experiment with solarization. when i made them, everyone really loved the waterfall, which i thought was kinda dull. i personally prefer the top piece and the bold outlines that occurred.

creepy dollies are my friends

since i'm not feeling too swell today, i'm just gonna keep archiving and posting stuff until i fall over. these are negative prints from a pin-hole camera. i did some positive prints, but i really prefer the spooky vibe of the negatives.

d as kiki

a study that i did after man ray a couple of years back.

hey sailor, buy me a drink?

i did these sketches at three a.m. after waking up in a cold sweat...i hate being sick. but naked ladies are always comforting.

hula if ya got 'em

so here's my rough hula (i have no idea how to get the video to loop, but it's a cycle), with five frames of a first-pass clean-up. i started doing the cleaner drawings so that i could add in some construction and refine the proportions. i also wanted to get an idea of how the hair should move (and see how much tweening i need to do). i'll do the skirt on another pass, because the hair is more intuitive for me, and i know that clothing has a different sort of follow-through that will demand a type of attention all it's own.

bible pin-up mash-up

these are some traditional darkroom prints that i did on fiber-paper. i went for a biblical-pin-up theme because i am a heretic and i am going straight to hell. the titles, from bottom to top, are as follows: 1) salome 2) lot's wife 3) bathesheba 4) delilah 5) jezebel 6) eve 7) body of christ (self-portrait)..."christ" is my nickname, but i also may have a TEENY TINY god-complex. don't laugh, i'll smite thee.

domestic bliss

finally got some of my prints back. this is a cyanotype that i made with a print from my holga. the location? the shady dell in bisbee, arizona...an amazing "trailer park hotel." all i've ever wanted is a trailer and a white-picket-fence to call my own...

a hula a day...who needs apples?

clean up, aisle hula!

fast and loose

took a break from working on my hula animation sequence to do some actual drawing... and the first thing i drew was a hula girl! maybe there's some sort of 12-step program for this...so then i REALLY branched out and did a go-go girl with too-tight hot pants. i guess it was just a chubby-girls-busting-outta-their-clothes kinda day!

bollywood nights

a fun sketch that i did of kali. i'm using a slightly tamer version of her in an animation (sans the hands full of whiskey and cigarettes) and with four arms instead of 6 (it's more culturally accurate, makes her look like less of an insect and is umm, easier to animate).

fun with figure drawing

some sketches from a recent figure drawing expedition...it always feels good to stretch those muscles, even if the results aren't perfect.

putting the cart before the horse

nothing like havin' a business card before a business...this must be part of that positive visualization jive that people are always talking about ("imagine yourself getting a strike before you let go of the bowling ball").