Ostrich Concept Sketches

A few months ago I was hired by an independent film studio in Hollywood to work on some concept sketches for an animated feature film they are developing. They had brought in an artist to do some concept work but that artist was no longer available. I was asked to do some sketches of one [...]

2-Part Character Design Seminar

Just a reminder that I’ll be giving a 2-part seminar on character design at the Motion ‘09 animation conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 11-14. It’s a real honor. Last year’s conference was packed with great speakers and seminars and this year the conference has even more to offer.
I’ll be part of a new “late [...]

I’m Speaking At The Motion09 Conference

I’ve been invited to give two presentations on character design this fall at the Motion ‘09 animation conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 11-14. It’s a real honor.
I attended last year’s Motion ‘08 conference and it was one of the most fun and informative conferences I had been to in a while. I attended seminars [...]

Mascot Contest Winner Announced

“Mascot Contest 2″ officially ended on Friday. A lot of people entered and most identified all the mascots correctly. Those who did were entered in the drawing. I put the entries on slips of paper and my two-year-old daughter picked one out of a baseball cap.
The winner of the mascot contest is David Oldham. Congrats [...]

Mascot Contest 2

(EDIT: Contest is now closed. Winner and correct answers here.)
As a character designer I’m fascinated with product mascots. A good mascot, when combined with a strong ad campaign, can be an enormous benefit when promoting a product or service. My favorite freelance projects are when clients hire me to design a mascot or character, either [...]

New Sketchbook From Craig McCracken

Craig McCracken, creater of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, has released a brand new sketchbook entitled Wander Over Yonder. I’m a huge fan of his character design work and can’t wait to get my signed copy in the mail. Don’t wait too long to order yours. Word on the street [...]

Download My Updated PDF Portfolios

Along with posting new work on my website and on this here blog, I also make samples of my work available as a free PDF download for clients to print and keep on file. The last time I updated the PDF was in January 2008. A lot has changed since then and an update was [...]

A Treat From Sam Nielson

Recently artist Sam Nielson ran a contest of sorts on his blog. He wanted to practice some digital coloring/painting but didn’t feel like drawing anything, so he asked for submissions. Two winners would then be chosen to have their sketches colored by him. Cool!
On a lark I submitted some concept sketches (above) from a “buffalo [...]

Character Design: Chocolate Covered Leprechaun Ears

I recently completed work designing a mascot for a new product, Leahy’s Chocolate Covered Leprechaun Ears. It’s a new confectionary product, fine cashews dipped in rich chocolate. They’re shaped like, well, leprechaun or elf ears (hence the name). I’ve sampled them and they are delicious! Easily as good or better than the name brand chocolate [...]

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

Recently I was hired by Snert Studios to design a wacky rooster character for a Flash-based children’s website they are developing. The site is still under construction but the client has given me permission to post my work on the project.
I wanted to push the designs in a more stylized direction than normal so I [...]