Gadget Model Sheet (Rescue Rangers) 1988

Playing against type, the idea was to have the girl of the group be the "grease monkey". Inspiration for Gadgets hair style and costume came from a petite story-board artist at Disney TVA with blond hair and bangs who wore a lavender jumpsuit to work on occasion. Gadget turned out to be a very popular character in spite of her ghastly last name -- Hackwrench. Yikes!

In case you missed it. Monterey Jack and Zipper model sheets were in my Aug. 16th post. Check 'em out.

I Only Have Eyes For You

While working at Disney many years ago, we were asked to do a drawing exercise to explore expression using only the eyes. Some of the eyes we drew ended up in The Illusion of Life book. The idea was to see how many variations we could get by changing up brows, eyelids, pupil direction, etc. We were told that the first thing the audience looks for when connecting with a character on the screen are the eyes. Therefore, the eyes needed to clearly convey the thoughts and emotion of the character. This is a fun exercise I thought some of you might like to try.

 © Toby Shelton 2010

Tips: 1.) The left eye doesn't have to do what the right eye is doing. Variation can add life to your expressions. 2.) Don't think of eyelids as "windshield wipers" or "venetian blinds" mechanically moving over the eye. They are soft fleshy parts that wrap around the eye and can change shape when pushed and pulled by facial muscles.

Going Digital: Story Sketches (HTTYD) 2006

It was during my stint on HTTYD that the DreamWorks story department began it's transition from traditional boarding with pen and paper, to digital boarding on Wacom Cintiqs loaded with Photoshop. Like most of my colleagues, I was eager to try out this new technology, so I jumped in with both feet.

These panels are taken from one of my first digitally drawn sequences. Alas, the sequence ended up in the recycle-bin, but the die was cast -- I had traded my Sharpie for a stylus and there was no turning back!

Some Early Character Sketches (HTTYD) 2006

Far from the sleek, black Night Fury that appeared in the movie, these early sketches of Toothless depict a common, garden variety dragon of little consequence. Consequently, he was tossed from the picture.

This one feels a little chihuahua-like.

For a time we explored the idea of Hiccup's rival (Snotlout) being a girl viking.

I was thinking of Rosie O'Donnell while drawing this one.

Just a random dragon idea here.