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Joe Massey 1975 - 2010


My wonderful kind friend Joe Massey died on Feb 17, 2010. Joe and I worked together and became good friends.  He enjoyed doing the Portfolio Review with me, and was excited to see and read all of the emails that we had received from all over the world. Joe delighted in caring for and helping others. He is survived by his parents Dallis Newell and Mele Massey, sister Malisa Massey, wife Kelly Ann, and children Benjamin (11), Savanah (9), Jacob (7), and Sydney (5).  Joe will be sorely missed.

Diego Molano

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

inkastudios@yahoo.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

media:pencil, ink, photoshop

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

Pixar

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

Chris Sanders, Shane glines, Bruce timm

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Stitch, harley quinn, Bloo

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

religion. Because of all the colors and opulence

What inspired you to become an Artist?

the teenage mutant ninja turtles were my brothers growing up (only child)

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/
http://drawn.ca/
http://cartoonbrew.com/







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Israel Covarrubias

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

intuiart@hotmail.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

Normally 3d max for my characters 
Of course mechanical pencil and rubber

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

Spain or Vancouver
there is a high level of animation

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

There are many excellent characters designers

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Carlos Baena o Patrick Beaulieu are great

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

Monster o Cartoons

What inspired you to become an Artist?

in Pixar Animation Studios, Dreamworks, Blue Sky

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

http://animationtipsandtricks.com/
http://3dyanimacion.com/index.cfm
http://intuiart.blogspot.com/






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Lance Archer

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

lancejasonarcher@gmail.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

I use various mediums ranging from pencil to paint to polymer clay.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

Being that I enjoy movies, the kind designed for kids both young and old,I would love if I could to intern at Dreamworks, Aardman studios or Pixar.

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

Brian Froud's character designs for Jim Henson's movie The Dark Crystal are amazing. The way he captured the melancholy spirit of the old Mystics and the decaying desperation of the evil Skeksis was awesome. Offset against the childlike innocence of the Gelflings Brian managed to create a truly unique world which puts him for me at the top of the pack.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

n/a

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

My favourite subject to draw is the human figure as there is an infinite supply 
of different sizes, shapes and spirits to be found and captured.
Then with having tried to translate them onto the page I am always left feeling
that I have learned truly invaluable lessons which utilize and focus my talent
and perspective, also figure studies constantly remind me of how much I still
have to learn.

What inspired you to become an Artist?

At first I thought my response to seeing a beautiful work of art was akin to
a birth defect; the sense of amazement and awe seeing them inspired was
gobsmacking, the fascination I felt as I studied the detail and the technique.
I immediately knew that this profession was the only one worth pursuing.
The pleasure of the process, from conceptualization to the final result is
totally encompassing. Unlike a lot of other careers where once a formula is
learned it can be applied over and over ad nauseam, with each new project I
undertake I continually have to return to the basics and reinvent myself.
This is what inspired me to become an artist and continues to inspire me daily.
Besides that I just like getting dirty.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

n/a









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Marko Antonio Luna Soto

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

markoluna@gmail.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

I use a wacom tablet, Photoshop and Painter for all my concepts, sometimes I draw on paper and afterwards I scan it and use it as a foundation.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

I would like to work at Pixar or Ubisoft like a Concept Artist, thats one of my biggest dreams!

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

There are many but some of my favorites are Marko Djurjevik, Andrew Jones and Daryl Mandrik

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Actually one of my favorite character designs is Hell boy from Mike Mignola

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

MONSTERS, because I love TO draw grotesque forms AND ANATOMY to create strange situations on the character

What inspired you to become an Artist?

Video games, inspired me a lot, when I was a child I was always curious to see how they did it.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

http://sixmorevodka.blogspot.com/
http://alessandrobarbucci.blogspot.com/
http://mandrykart.wordpress.com/
http://androidjones.com/






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Daniel Swartz

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

dan@daniel-swartz.com
www.daniel-swartz.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

All of my pieces start out as natural media drawings.  Depending on the project I use varying degrees of either Prisma-color markers or just good old #2 pencils.  I find it best to really hash out my designs by hand where I can really work back and forth (addition & subtraction) and have a kinetic connection with the work.  I can get a better flow and rhythm to my characters and spaces when I sketch it out first.

After I get my finished underdrawing to a point where the design is complete I scan or digitally photograph the drawing and drop it into Adobe Illustrator as a top layer on Multiply.  From there I work to follow the initial feel of the sketchs as I build up layers of flat color, gradient and texture.
 
I also create my own textures either through combinations of filters, collected reference that I modify or my favorite: getting dirty with paint and finding new tools to apply it with and creating textures that I love and give a more 'hand crafted' look to my spaces.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

Well Pixar is always at the top of everyone's list.  Just for the incredible team they have assembled of artists and creatives...it would be invaluable to rub shoulders with and learn from their experience.  Other than that, there is a design studio called  Invisible Creature.  Their work is beautiful and they do a lot of work where stuff is brought into digital, then printed and they work on top of that and back and forth.  Great stuff.

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

I would have a really hard time narrowing it down.  I love the work of several animation and advertising studios from the 50s.  A couple more contemporary artists I enjoy would be: Alberto Cerriteno, Bob Logan, Mike Casal and Robin Rosenthal.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Although they are a totally unrelated style to mine, I really enjoy the designs from the Final Fantasy video games.  Dennis Jones does great work that is very energetic.  Mary Blair's concept work for Disney is beautiful.  

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

I think above all I enjoy drawing the human figure more than any other subject.  There is a beauty and a rhythm and flow that is both challenging and enlightening.  As I continue to improve my life-drawing skills I watch my illustrations and character designs become more complex and unified.  I really feel that they both build upon each other to such a great degree.  

What inspired you to become an Artist?

It started off with the fact that I could draw just slightly better than the other kids in 1st grade.  Since then my inspiration and reasons have changed a lot.  I used to be very inspired by 'beating' everyone else at drawing and art.  However that has changed dramatically.  I work very hard not to pit myself against other artists now unless it's to learn from them and find weaknesses in my own work.  Now I try to create great work because I believe it's the fulfillment of who I am.  I believe we were all created to do something great with our lives and to better the world around us.  So now my inspiration is to utilize my God-given talents to their fullest...anything else would be a waste. 

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

I visit www.Drawn.ca religiously.  You should too. :)





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Margherita Premuroso

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

mmeghy@mac.com   and me webpage is www.margheritapremuroso.com.

What type of tools or media do you use?

I use pencil draw to scketch, and laer I use Photoshop and Painter.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

I prefer work by home in my studio

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

the top characters design are Wndlings Claire , and David Colman

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

My favorite characters are pixar's characters

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

My favorite subjects are people , that I saw on the underground.It 's the best place to find new type of face deformation ...I like people because are more expressive ..

What inspired you to become an Artist?

I like draw , it give me freedom , It' a great grace....

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

wwww.margheritapremuroso.com
http://alcornstudios.blogspot.com/
http://jacanimation.blogspot.com/
http://www.aldogagliardi.blogspot.com/
www.animationmentor.com







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Jonathan Miller

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

seppo@videotron.ca or www.millertoons.blogspot.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, pencil, pen and ink

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

I think I would love to intern at Hallmark and/or American Greetings studios. I've been inspired so inspired by so many artists and designers they have working there. Their is such an abundance of styles there, that I would continue on a daily basis to not only learn from some great talent, but to be inspired to push myself to be greater at my craft and excel in areas where I never thought I would be good at. When you see other work done by illustrators you admire, or styles you love to see, it inspires me to work and draw even harder.

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

Most people tend to think that all great character designers only work in the animation world. I agree that animators are incredibly talented and have skills that are second to none. But artists at small companies that we've never heard of, or large ones, like a Hallmark or American Greetings, have such a pool of talent, where they can design from the simplest of characters to the most complex.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Mike Adair, Miah Alcorn, Nate Wragg, Johnny Yanok, Bob Staake, Steve Mack, Anna Chambers,Leo Espinosa...the list is really endless

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

I have been in the children's publishing business for 6 years now. And as much as I love to draw humans and animals, it tends to get a bit repetivive at times. I adore kids, and recently have been doing work for the baby/toddler industry and fell in love with that style. I love coming up with cute little animal characters and icons, but not in typical pale baby colors, but more of a bold and vibrant feel. I think artists like Bob Staake and Johnny Yanok are great examples of artists who's style's and illustrations are not only great and unique, but the colors are so vibrant, you instantly are drawn and love them

What inspired you to become an Artist?

I can't say for certain what inspired me to be an artist. I've always had a love for drawing since I was in kindergarden and eventually made a career out of it. There was no one in particular that inspired me to become a cartoonist, it was just something I continued to do every year and eventually made a decision that it would be the career I wanted to do.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

http://www.mikeadair.blogspot.com/

http://www.drawger.com/bobstaake/

http://www.alcornstudios.blogspot.com/

http://annachambers.blogspot.com/

http://www.spotillustration.com/







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Eric Guzman

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

My email is Worldsfinest81@gmail.com and my webpage is www.worldsfinest.deviantart.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

I use mechanical pencils with 2H lead, col erase pencils various colors, and photoshop 7.0 with a wacom tablet.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

I would like to work for any animation studios as a character designer (preferably warner bros. or Cartoon Network).

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

There are many great artist out there in which i am greatly influenced by, ranging from american animation and japanese animation.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Some of my favorite designs come from a lot of the 80's cartoon era (He-Man, Thundercats, GiJoe,Silverhawks etc.).

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

I like to draw people because of the variations in structure that can go into creating a character is always fun and challenging.

What inspired you to become an Artist?

What inspired me to become an artist was growing up i was always fascinated by the look and feel of characters in animation. 

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

www.wizarduniverse.com
www.daredetectives.com
www.stevegordon.com
www.animationinsider.com









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Ted Kim

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

I can be reached at seoulman@hotmail.com , and my website url is http://www.tedkimchee.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

Generally I like to use various col-erase pencils and 0.9mm & 0.5mm HB mechanical pencil. I'd be nowhere without my wacom tablet and predominantly use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop although I've been meaning to work with Painter. I've been missing out!

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

Pixar, Orphanage, Lucasarts and Bioware

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

Bruce Timm, Ben Caldwell, Stephen Silver, Lynne Naylor, Jose Lopez, Sean 'Cheeks' Galloway, Shange Glines, Joe Madureira, Franciso Herrera, Humberto Ramos, Skottie Young, Carlos Meglia, Alberto Ruiz, J. Scott Campbell, Jim Lee, Mike Mignola, Claire Wendling and everyone on your site!

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

I really dig all of Bruce Timm's work. He really pioneered a new era in American animation with the birth of the Batman series. Genndy Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack is another amazing example. Various Japanese Anime such as Samurai Champloo and Afro Samurai.

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

Hmm, really anything to do with superheroes, sci-fi and fantasy. These days I'm very into Asian mythology.

What inspired you to become an Artist?

The two biggest artistic influences in my life I'd have to say are Jim Lee and Bruce Timm. I've always loved drawing but I took it as a mere hobby for years. Seeing Jim Lee's work in the 90 's opened my eyes and spoke to me not only artistically but at a cultural level as well. Him being a second generation Korean going against what is typically accepted as a 'professional occupation' in Korean circles gave me alot of inspiration and hope to pursue art and my love for comics. Bruce Timm's style and sensibilites was another turning point imparting the element of simplicity and dynamic design to my own growing sensibilities.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

Many of them are already listed on your site but here are some of my faves:

http://www.drawingboard.org

http://www.conceptart.org

various arstists:

http://gotcheeks.blogspot.com/

http://humbertoramos.blogspot.com/








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ANWAR MADRIGAL

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

You can visit my page at http// www.madpencil.deviantart.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

TRADITIONAL MEDIA, PENCIL, PAPER. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP, ILLUSTRATOR, ALIAS SKETCHBOOK

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

DEFINITELY PIXAR ANIMATION

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I'M A BIG FAN OF DAVE GUERTIN, TOM BANCROFT, CHUCK JONES

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

I LIKE STUFF LIKE THE INSOMNIAC GAMES CHARACTERS, THEY'RE LAYERED SOLID CHARACTERS. THEY HAVE A LOT OF SUBSTANCE TO THEM

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

I LIKE DRAWING ANIMALS AND GIVING THEM HUMAN MOVEMENT AND ATTITUDE, I TEND TO USE PEOPLE AS MY FOUNDATION FOR MOST OF MY ART

What inspired you to become an Artist?

THE ESCAPISM ASPECT OF IT, THE IDEA OF CREATING A WORLD IN WHICH A PERSON CAN FIND PEACE OF MIND EVEN FOR A SHORT WHILE

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

CREATUREBOX.COM
GALACTICCHIMP.COM






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SHEKHAR SHIMPI

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

shekharss@hotmail.com
shekhar77.blogspot.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

I use Pencil, then clean my drawing with ink pen, I use Photoshop, Now days I use Wacom Tablet.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

any cool place, If I had choice , would really like to work for Tim Burton, Del Torro or Terry Gilliam.

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

There are lot of, this names comes to my mind instant ,Nate Wragg, Ben Caldwell,Tony Fucile.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

I love "Jack Skellington" from "Nightmare before Christmas", I like charcters from "Incrdibles", and "Triplets of Bellville" and there are lots more.

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

I really love to draw Monsters and Witches, Fairy tales stuff, but bit more darker,
in my opinion there is a lot of scope to run your imagination wild,on this particular subject.

What inspired you to become an Artist?

Growing up watching Old Black &White horror and Sci Fi cinema, Classic Disney Movies such as 'Sleeping Beauty',
Reading Fairy tales, Comicbooks was real inspiration to me.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

daredetectives.com
cgtalk.com
passionforcinema.com








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Justin Cook

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

justin@seencreative.com
www.seencreative.com

What type of tools or media do you use?

Corel Painter 9, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe Illustrator, Alias Sketchbook Pro. I draw directly on screen using a
Wacom Cintiq. I also sketch using any old pencil I have at hand. If I like
the design I'll scan it into the computer and start inking in Painter.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

I'm a freelance artist based in the UK, so I'm open to any projects
that may be offered to me.

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

Stephen Silver,
Gary Ham, Dean Yeagle, Alberto Ruiz and Ben Caldwell.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

Mandy by Dean Yeagle, Kim Possible. I also really like the designs used in
Foster's Home for imaginery friends and The grim adventrues of Billy and
Mandy. I'm also a sucker for any old Hanna Barbera cartoon character, my
favorite would be Huckleberry Hound. Also Peanuts. Fantastic character
designs, and I can really relate to Charlie Brown, haha.

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

Monsters! I love them.
The imagination can run wild when I'm designing a monster of some kind. They
keep me amused for hours. I would love to design characters for a monster
catoon.

What inspired you to become an Artist?

I can't remember a specific moment in
time as I have always drawn from an early age, and I just kind of assumed I
would work in art in some way or another.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

www.schoolism.com
http://stephensilver.blogspot.com/
www.superham.com
http://www.deanyeagle.com/
http://www.daredetectives.com/
http://processjunkie.blogspot.com/








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Ryan Firchau

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted? (Email, Webpage)

You can contact my through my website as soon as I have completed refurbishments www.ryanfirchau.co.uk or my Email www.rfirchau@microsoft.com or www.rfirchau@rare.co.uk and if you want you can also drop me a line on my Deviant art page send me a note http://firecrow78.deviantart.com/

What type of tools or media do you use?

I used to be a pencil and paper man but nowadays I pretty much work entirely digitally, I use Photoshop CS2 and painter on the odd occasion. Having said that, I have started to keep a sketch book for the first time since I left University. I think that you can be in danger of becoming a bit lazy with all the benefits that Digital can provide so It's good to keep in tune with traditional methods and techniques plus it makes a pleasant change to draw on paper.

Where is the place you would like to work or be an Intern if you had a choice?

I love where I currently work at Rare, but I do have a burning desire to work for Stan Winston's studio and Wetta

Who do you think are the top character designers out there?

There have been so many great artists which I have been influenced by and which I admire, but I think when I look back it is mainly two which have had the biggest impact on how I produce my work and they are Albert Underzo. Underzo's illustrations for the Asterix series where one of the strongest influences for me as I was growing up. The other is Paul Bonner.

What are some of your favorite character designs which you have seen?

I recently discovered the work of Florian Satzinger, who's created some fantastic looking characters. The character work on PIXARS The Incredibles is fabulous, such stylized shapes integrated with such believable and subtle reality. I enjoyed the work of McBride on the Pirates of the Caribbean films, I especially liked Davey Jones who was designed by Mark 'Crash' McCreary another big hero of mine. And of course Animal from the Muppets, everyone loves Animal.

What is your most favorite subject to draw? And why?

Creatures are my obsession, I love monsters and ugly things that look scary, always have! I guess it must have come from watching films like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth and all those cheesy 80's horror movies. I also love dark fairy tales and gothic subject matter the brothers Grimm that kind of thing.

What inspired you to become an Artist?

It happened when I was very young, in Kindergarten, I drew a picture of a rabbit and showed it to my teacher and I guess it must have been better than average for a child of my age and I remember the positive reaction I got, it seemed to make people happy when I drew pictures, children are always so keen to please and be noticed, I guess this was a major part of what kept me going also I received a lot of encouragement from my parents and friends. I was average at all other subjects but I loved art, I have always had an over active imagination and drawing is a release for me I couldn't imagine my life without it. These days I try to learn as much as I can and I turn my hand to lots of different disciplines from sculpture to airbrushing and photography. I'm constantly pushing to improve my skills and my visual library, as a concept artist I need to have a broad wealth of knowledge of different subject matters. Research and reference is all part of the job, but I enjoy it so much that I'm always at it, not just during work hours.

What are some of your favorite website links that would be relevant to this Blog?

http://www.paulbonner.net/

http://paperwalker.blogspot.com/

http://marknewman.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://www.andyparkart.com

http://cheeks-74.deviantart.com/gallery/






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