"Crayon Dragon" - a genuine work of art

My Youtube account makes viewing recommendations for me based on my viewing habits and, probably more often than not, it does a pretty decent job of guessing what I'd like to see. This gem was a treat, so I'm recommending it. It's called "Crayon Dragon" and was done by Toniko Pantoja.

An animation of my own

Here's an animation I'd done in 2011 in my final year at Lindenwood University. It's a story rooted in Greek mythology and can be followed (intermittently) at my other blog The Prince of Banes.

(C) Copyright 2011 Wes Murrell.

The Color Script

I recently watched pieces of Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda 2 (a personal favorite) with my niece and nephew and, as usual, I quite enjoyed it. One of the things I enjoy about KFP2 is its art direction and color palette. Note the dominant red in the following image:
I enjoy the marriage of warm reds with cool blues and greens, throughout this film. If you've never noticed a film's color tones, pay attention to an animated feature's palette, the next time you watch one. Some are less subtle than others, but they all create a tone for the picture as a whole. Good examples of films might be Kung Fu Panda 2 or Finding Nemo. In animation, someone who creates a film's color tone creates what's called a "color script." Below is a color script from Pixar's The Incredibles, written and directed by Brad Bird. If you've never created a color script and are still in the early stages of working up a new animated project, I might recommend giving the color script a go. It's a visual guide for maintaining a project's tone and it can help keep you on track with your vision. I'd like to take a look at Pixar's color script book The Art of Pixar: 25th Anniversary; and if you're interested in color scripting, you might should too.

Animation test by Disney legend Glen Keane

Lately, I've been studying animation more closely, looking at illustrators and animators like Tony Fucile, Brad Bird, and Don Bluth, etc. -- all of whom continue to inspire and motivate me. I thought I'd share this animation test for Disney's Treasure Planet, by cartoon legend Glen Keane, as I continue to cook up a new animation of my own.

How to draw Poseidon

I did this for a fan of The Prince of Banes website. He seemed like a cool (and rather young) guy.

The Little Denim Boy

This is easily one of my favorite drawings, partly because it's based on my nephew Titus and his sister, Addy. The old man in the background is a dear coworker of mine and a mentor to countless young people. He's fantastic and full of stories. It was kind of a no-brainer involving him in the adventure.

Steampunk Character Design

I drew this up when I decided to experiment a little with the steampunk genre. I'd had no idea about the genre until a prospective employer asked me about the style. I didn't know much then, but I've since tried my hand at it a time or two (or three). This was my favorite one.

The Leprechauns Wilmer & Laude

These fun guys are from a children's book manuscript that I wrote a while ago. It's a rhyming fairy tale about a princess and knight and leprechauns and dragons and such, with a few fresh (and tasteful) twists. The manuscript itself was awarded Honorable mention in the Writer's Digest 75th annual writing competition. That was cool.

The Lords of Men

This is for a samurai story I've worked on for years. I'm not yet sure as to what its future is, but I've had fun illustrating for it.

Athena - The Prince of Banes

I can't take full credit for this one. My 16 year-old sister Catherine drew the pencil artwork on the left, and then I inked and colored her for the image on the right. She hadn't intended on my using her artwork, but she just blew me away with her Disney-eyed enchantress. Athena's my favorite goddess and she plays a crucial role in The Prince of Banes, so I couldn't just let my sister's artwork just sit on her desk (or wherever she had it) -- her drawing had to become Athena for my animated chapters. I'm just glad my sister was willing to let me use her.

Erastus - The Prince of Banes

Not a lot I'll tell you about this guy just yet. He's a general. He's b.a. He's kind of a bad guy. Okay done.

Apollo - The Prince of Banes

Apollo is one of my favorite Greek gods simply for his namesake. I couldn't pass up the chance to redesign him for The Prince of Banes nor resist making him the most b.a. green dude you'll ever see.

Winner - The Prince of Banes

I can't not put this into my portfolio. Come on now.

Hermes - The Prince of Banes

If you haven't noticed, I'm a cinematic guy. I like to create things that have a very cinematic feel. This is Hermes, the god of travelers. I wanted to give him his traditional winged helment but without making him look like a pansy cupid, like he usually does. This is how he appears in my animated saga The Prince of Banes. Interestingly, I've cast friends from Africa to play him twice (once, a friend from Tansania and once a friend from Nigeria) -- I like the idea of his being exotic; however, I keep deleting the scenes that feature him -- no connection, that's just the way it keeps turning out. Maybe I'll get him in there one day.

Screenshot - The Prince of Banes

This is a screenshot of the blind priest, from The Prince of Banes. If you're getting curious about all this "Banes" stuff, you should probably check it out. It just might be your destiny.

The Prince of Banes

This was a cover piece for The Prince of Banes. It captures the essence of the two characters' relationship with one another.

Sketch - The Prince of Banes

This was a drawing I did in two layers and depicts a significant scene from my animated saga The Prince of Banes. Follow the saga. It's won me 3 awards so far. Can't complain about that :)

Aphrodite - The Prince of Banes

This was the goddess Aphrodite, from my animated saga The Prince of Banes. I later replaced her role with the goddess Athena, which made more sense.

Ray - Here's a Sketch

This is actually a guy I knew in college -- Ray. He was a real cool guy. Or was he...

yes he was.

But was he...

yeah, he really was. At least to me.

Daniel Craig - Defiance

Well, I guess they can't all be cartoons. This was my rendition of Daniel Craig, from the 2008 film Defiance.