For those of you who actually read this blog you may have noticed that I changed the theme. I was tired of the old look and since switching themes is so easy, Why the heck not? This look is a little cleaner. I think.

I have successfully upgraded to WordPress 2.5. This may seem like a small maneuver, but I hate database linked, theme protected, overwriting-file, type upgrades. So much can go wrong as I straddle the divide between intellectual trust in the code and half blind faith in the voodoo magic that twinkles in the gaps between 0’s and 1’s. Of course I have learned a lot about playing within the box that WP provides for customizing themes. In some of my earlier attempts, I dove into outside areas and pages and tweaked little pieces of code to make it do something that was in reality far simpler to accomplish within the theme. The result at upgrade time was a vast line by line comparison to make sure all my tweaks survived the transition; a cumbersome event that guaranteed that I only upgraded when absolutely necessary.

This time however, my tweaking was kept to a minimum, my customizations where limited to the theme code and I was able to upgrade without worry and with (very little) no trepidation.

I love it when a plan comes together!

BTW, I added some new medallion sculpts I have been working on under the sculpting tab.

I am working on a web site for a client who also needs a logo. The logo was not part of the original bid, but rather than build a site around a brand that sucks eggs I took it upon myself (read FREE) to put together a simple branding solution. Since it was a freebie I did something that I don’t normally do, that is start with some clip art. As an illustrator I find it very difficult to use somebody else’s work as a solution to my own. Even if this means saving money. But this time around I did not have the time so I jumped to istockphoto and found a piece of illustrator art that I could use as a jumping off point and then fill in the blanks. Over all it worked great. The client loves it, and now I am free to move into the work I am actually being paid to do.

The creation of a basic model sheet is an exercise in 3D visualization and rendering. Anybody can create a cartoon character. It takes style and experience to rotate this character so that he or she (it?) is still recognizable as a unique persona. Add to this the sometimes subtle variations of expression and we begin to nail down the character within the character. The third assignment for the semester is it create such a character (head and shoulders), and build a model sheet that includes three rotations or “turn arounds” and at least 6 emotional expressions.

If you Google “model sheets” you will find quite a few examples of different approaches and styles. One of these is of course Disney. Books have been written about the Disney approach to character creation, and having some first hand experience with this group I can tell you that they leave NO stone unturned in nailing down character traits through model sheets and then protecting that character through eight inch thick style books. the link below will give you a little view into thier world.

Lion King model sheets