Showing posts with label quick sketches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quick sketches. Show all posts

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Animation - work-in-progress

In 1998 I wrote this story I made into 3D animation using the primitive tools I had using the Dos version of 3D Studio. While at Siggraph 1999 I was glad to pass on copies of it to some of my associates thereSince then production of this story has slowly taken shape as a book illustration and animation. It is going at a snail pace because I am interested in having it done on my own free time. Because if it was to be released sooner I would have had to make a serious investment into it by putting aside my mainstream #creative jobs. So here I am presenting my first official release of the animation work-in-progress. I had released about 75% of this line test way back in 2010 the sketches on paper I had made on campus at New York University, NYC  in 2007 but did not really discuss the message of the story. Keep following these WIPs to piece together my story and aesthetic progress while I produce the completed version soon.

Title of this clip: Breaking Free
Type of Animation: Line test
Release date: 20 Sept 18
Author: Remy Francis


Friday, August 2, 2013

Illustration Friday Jungle theme submission

The Jungle theme of Illustration Friday was an interesting theme and looked forward to it.

So here I am making a submission of some quick sketches I made of Indian Jungle animals from a live backdrop....a good reason to enjoy the nostalgia too....back in the days when I did frequent outdoor sketches and animals-in-motion studies as a growing animator.

At this point I'd like to add a very interesting incident that happened while sketching the elephant rushing-off shown on this piece.

It was a warm summers afternoon back in the early 90s when I set out with a pal to capture jungle friends from a local zoo. When I sat down comfortably under an Indian banyan tree gearing up to sketch this beautiful elephant by its caretaker....perhaps 500 meters away. 

No sooner did I look away for a 30 seconds...and look back, I was startled and almost fell off the platform when I spotted a zoomed-in view of Mr. elephants foot....within inches away from where I sat....he stood right in front staring down at me.

I did not see my friend next to me then for she had made a split second decision to run as far away as quickly as possible in fear :o))). This animated experience sticks with me whenever I pull out this image and am very pleased to make this mention, at this time.

A cartooned-up version of the hilarious scene of that day is somewhere in my archives and will have it up here in a while when I get back to my physical work days. 

Am back at work again and am glad to find you the sketch of the humorous scene here, I promised you I'd upload about a fortnight ago: (Upload date 20 Aug 2013)

It has been Eid in Dubai and I just took a part-holiday this festive-summer holidays in Dubai.
Had the best time enjoying the rains in the peninsula.

Take care!






Saturday, July 14, 2012

An Artist from the Animal Kingdom - Should we be worried for the right reasons?

As an independent who seeks to thrive in an ever-growing competition of today... a look at this video amuses me!

Should I worry that this guy here has a better niche following than some of us? Or worry about who is making this a niche market which surely should be lucrative not for the artist.

Just a couple of days ago one of my associates were mentioning about these amazing artists with their skills in Thailand. That would be a painting made by an Elephant.

Today as I was making my routine weekend Google of a few pending research topics, I was amazed to come across this Elephant guy make this piece ... which looked like a piece of art (to humans) or a master-piece? Though am not sure what it looks like to the artist here.



I am in awe wondering how on earth is it able to get the forms right. Just watch it closely, how in it's mammoth form puts all its delicate energy into drawing the lines. Just look at how it has one of its legs suspended in sheer concentration. For a moment, it looked all normal to me, until i saw the Mohawk walk into the scene with a Kane....Now I look at it in horror... is he overseeing his slave at work??

Looking at this, I can't help thinking, why would an elephant pick up a paint brush and start painting, just like that. If it did that was just perfect for all of us to be dumb-founded. Would it do that in its natural habitat when it needs to relax? Of course not! This is no relaxation for an animal!? Though it is said that an elephant thinks like a human being in certain ways. All I know from my experience hailing from a part in India where there exists a natural habitat of Elephants, is that they love to eat plantains in loads and grace on grass and would do anything to have that. At the same time they also obey when they see the stick. There has been millions of instances when they have attacked if they cross the border line into insanity where the Mohawk has been hurled by the elephant to his death. Alas! what do they do? They take the elephant away and shoot it down. Failing to look at who is performing these acts of insanity in the first place. Like any domestic animal it can be domesticated and they respond best to kindness but this is no response to kindness!! Is it? What do you think? I suddenly felt a sense of sadness not because of a fear that my profession of art could get wiped out, but the thought of depriving the freedom of another earthling for the sheer entertainment and commercial gain for human beings.

Though I must commend the skill of the trainer, I am pretty sure these Elephant Artists have got through an extreme amount of trauma doing an abnormal thing like this. I can think of many comparisons to human artists getting compelled to take to art and stardom against their will. At the end of the day they are humans trained by humans. But animals are more close to an innocent being. They get obedient against their will if they fear their extinction. This is what I see in this video

But elephants are such beautiful beings and humans could derive such pleasure by doing so many other things by their majestic presence on earth. Provide a safe habitat for example. This is what I did as an artist with my elephant heroes. I did sketches of them on my child-like visits to the zoo quite often like this sketch here:
And this is one of my comic experiences on one of my zoo trips again with a friend.

This is my take as an artist who loves and dotes on animals and pets. What is yours!!?

This week I lost one of my family pets "Gypsy - our golden retriever" who had a helpless demise after 10 days on saline. What I feel for Suda - the elephant (which animal writes in English!) is most profound when I grieve for gypsy.

I will have Gypsy's portrait posted here one of these days. And some of her funny videos. See you soon! and thanks for sharing my thoughts.