MegaMind Boards (2009)

Here's a sample from a sequence in which Titan turns the tables on Metro Man after noticing Metro Man's powers have been mysteriously weakened. He discovers why when he inadvertently steps on Megamind's disguise generator.

I thumbnailed this sequence on post-its. I like to do that sometimes because you can rearrange them easily and play around your shot order.

Metrocity is Mine! (MegaMind) 2009

My intention in the next few posts is to put up some MM boards. There's a lot of stuff to sort through however, about 18 months worth, so bear with me. These are a few panels from a sequence called Metro City is Mine. MegaMind is marching to City Hall to take control after the demise of his rival, Metro Man. The guitar riff from AC/DC's Highway to Hell plays as he dances down the street.

You might notice that the last 2 panels are in a different format. They are from an early pass that was done prior to the decision to go wide screen.

Digital Darkwing (2010)

I've been having a lot of fun drawing Darkwing on my Cintique lately. I wanted to see if I could squeeze more out of the design and loosen up on the poses a bit. Let's Get Dangerous!

I've Got To Hand It To You (2010)

When I look at portfolios, I can gauge the skill of the artist rather quickly by observing the way they draw hands. Expressive hands can add tremendous impact to a pose or gesture. After the eyes and mouth, the hands are one of the main indicators an audience looks for when trying to read a character's attitude, yet so many young artists are loathe to draw them. But draw them you must!

Hence this post...

This is the way I think of hands when I draw them. A wedge and cylinders.

Grouping fingers together and varying their direction can help make them look more natural.

No matter if they're beefy hands or slender, it's still a wedge and some cylinders. Try it.

 ©Toby Shelton 2010

Put your hands together, people! Take it to the next level by making your hands interact.

Hope this little exercise helps you to get a "grip" on drawing hands.

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.