Brer Bear

GameboyADVANCE SP. The worlds GREATEST hand-held

Pictured above is my GameboyADVANCE SP. I've had it for a while now but wanted to give it due credit and rant about it today. I absolutely love it. Now ... it's not the latest GB on the scene, for those of you that don't know and even though I have most of the other GB's too, there's something about the SP that keeps me coming back for more. Not to mention that Nintendo got the size perfect this time round; not too big or small, the built in light, the bigger screen (than previous version to sp model), the long battery life and the excellent list of games available for it ... the fact that you can play classic NES and SNES games on it as well as it being backwards compatible with the original gameboy games (the big grey one from the 80's ... and you may need a flash card to play orignal GB games) all come together to make this a sure fire winner (for me). Even though the newer models like the 3DS can play older games too and have some great new features, I actually prefer the SP. Btw, the game above is one of my faves ... the Zelda series has stood the test of time and it's not often that I claim to being a fan of something, but I feel no shame at all and am actually quite proud to be a part of the whole Zelda thing.


My verdict: Go and buy one :)
Shigeru Miyamoto =  legend

Clumsy Catherine Flash Model Sheet

ClumsyCatherine Model Sheet from Daniel on Vimeo.

Hey guys, this is Clumsy Catherine. Any of you that are familiar with my animation will recognize her. I've made a few slight modifications to her design to favor Flash. She'll be starring in an animated short that I'm working on, Will keep you posted.

Clumsy Catherine, what do you do?

Clumsy Catherine, what do you do? from Daniel on Vimeo.

Line Test of fish swimming

Untitled from Daniel on Vimeo.

Update

Hey guys, I been really busy lately so I haven't had time to blog. So below is a batch of post just to wet your appetite ... as there are a lot more things to come :-) Thank you for your patience as I know a few peeps checked here to get the update of what I was up to. I plan to make the post flow more consistently now :-)

People watching 1

Life Painting

Here's a little taster of what you'll find in the PAINTING section of the blog. Enjoy!

The Penguin

This character, inspired by Bruce Timm and the old Batman movies from the 90's, as well as the rest of the cast from 'Batman the animated series', was drawn and painted in acrylic on the walls of the kids party room of an establishment that my friend owns in Manchester.

Here we go ....

Put up 2 new paintings in the painting section of blog (see 'My links', top upper right of blog).

Samson and the Philistine...round two

I love this sculpt and never get tired of drawing it. I find I'm seeing new things and learning so much about anatomy and form, which, I guess is one of the rewards of drawing from life. The next round will be from another interesting angle. For this drawing, I started  quite slowly near the bottom, eventually working my way up and then on the different parts simultaneously. I find this helps me to avoid doing a 'sketch'. It can be tricky to distinguish the form from the discoloration of ageing marble and the effects of stone. I guess Rubens was right. It's a challenge, working with just line whereas, when using tone, drawing errors can be hidden.

Still Life

Papa Bear

Eve listening to voice of Adam

Another one of those long sessions... I love this sculpt and am simultaneosly working on various poses, but this pose was a BIG Big big challenge for me, I learnt a lot about concepts that would take a while to explain here. There were erasings happening literally every 5 seconds at times!I need to start using thicker sheets to avoid tearing through the paper, which I almost did several times. But whenever I made a mistake I was honest with myself and corrected it, which is not easy to do. A few times, I think I put a mark down, even knowing it was not accurate, just to see how it played. But then remembered that no mark I put down should be arbitary. Im trying to get into the habit of this and am slowly starting to see improvements..

There are still a few things that have to be corrected and fully realised in this drawing.. back to 'seeing'.
Dan

Torso of Banovic Strahinja from the side

This was another one of those long sessions.. practicing seeing tone, trying to focus on the key range.
Dan

Samson and Philistine study at museum

This was one of those long sessions... I'm working on longer poses (good couple of hours), trying not to make 'sketchy' marks or think about making a good drawing... but to focus on whats really there..practice this more. Also get a new scanner (this drawing did'nt scan that well).
Dan

The GREAT Jimmy Smith

I'm always amazed by the similarities between art and music. But more specifically, between animation and music. They work so well together. I guess one of the reasons is that they both have 'timing' as an essential part of their structure. Some of my fave examples are Fantasia (classical music), the Tom n Jerry shorts (theres jazz music from the 40's and classical too) and a lot of the work by Chuck Jones. A friend got me this Jimmy Smith collection as a christmas gift..I mean I know about Mr Smith, he's one of my fave jazzers. But I just have to recommend this one to all the jazz lovers out there that know about or have yet to discover the amazing sounds that come from the keys when Jimmy touches them. Its a great intro to one of the best periods of his career, the Blue Note years. BE WARNED: Jimmy is smokin and swingin hard on every track so be prepared to tap you're feet or bob your head to the beat. Check out 'Get Happy' on disc one..ohh boy!

Dan

Jerry

Felt a bit challenged with myself.. I've started setting myself time limts for all my sketches. This sketch took around three minutes. The quicker it takes, the better. This is'nt to say that the drawing should be rushed, or thats its a race, not at all! Learning to work faster should not be taken literally in a way. I want to be more honest in my drawings from life and avoid being 'illustrational' or concerned with style or making a 'nice drawing', so I guess its more a matter of being clear in my mind about what im looking at. I learnt this method of drawing/painting (and am still practicing it) from a virtuoso painter and good friend. I learnt from him that honesty and guts are very important in drawing.. its all about having the courage and humility to put down the colors, tones and shapes that are REALLY there, otherwise the end result is 'illustrational' or mediocre. I have to practice this even MORE now. Also try the opposite, and draw longer poses...I think integrity in art is very important.. Setting myself time limits is one of the methods I am using to achieve this. . I need to remember to buy new paints and a sharpener.. will pay a visit to the store.

Dan

Happy New Year.. from life

What better way to start the year, by posting in the journal. I know I have'nt posted in a while, but will try to get back into the rhythm, have been very busy lately.. Before I forget, much love out to all the peeps on the animation course at St Martins who I studied with. I learnt a lot from all of you, even the 3d guys and yes, even from Tom, who I sat next to for a year. Have now posted some new character designs, MOUSE-SPECTOR HOLMES, a few quick sketches from life.. I should have done this ages ago but will put up my final project and showreel soon. Much love to Shouren Ho and Daniel M.C. Alvite, without your help I would'nt have been able to finish the project.

Dan

my last sketches of 2007