Attackin' Kraken - Deck

This was the first in a series of skateboard decks I've be working on, it's currently on sale and being shown at King's County - the coolest bar in Brooklyn :) It was completed using acrylics, spray paint and pen and ink.





Sorry for the poor photo quality... These were uploaded from my cell :P

'Currently Untititled' World Map

One of the projects I've been juggling lately is the creation of a fictional world complete with mythical monsters, crafty creatures, magical beasts and of course the ever continuing battle between good and evil. It's been an interesting experience because the world map was the first established factor, while the detailed storyline, characters and the locations have been added later, determined by the maps own geographical layout. This development decision has added a neat random element to the creative process.

The world map was sketched out by a simple prototype at first and then expanded upon by creating the finished version with all the fancy details. For the finalized version I used a few very helpful (and easy!) tricks involving Photoshop and a couple filters. Using difference clouds, embossing and the ordinary level/hue adjustment a realistic map template was produced. The final step has consisted of detailing different areas of the map with various tools and touch-ups.

Click on either map to see the larger version.

Prototype Version

Finalized Version

...Maybe sometime I'll let you in on some of the details concerning this magical world... Ohhh magic!

Last Stand

This project was my first attempt at using After Effects to create an animated short, done in 2008 for a class mid-term. Last Stand was created by using the same technique used on the Creature Feature project, by drawing out body parts separately I then connected them together to be animated. It was mostly a trial and error process (a few strange layering/effects 'glitches' are apparent) but all in all I'm satisfied with it as a first time experience. It was completed in roughly three weeks.

Note: The uploaded video quality is about 50% of the original AVI's.

Creature Feature

This is a project I did for a Special Effects class in 2008. At first glance it just looks like another creature I've colored in Photoshop but WAIT! ...What sets Creature Feature apart from the others is that it was actually constructed with the purpose of being animated in After Effects. It was drawn out in individual pieces so that once scanned, could be 'hinged' together with some 50 different joints to create a movable monster!

All of the body parts were drawn out separately, scanned, colored and then pieced together.

It took many hours to piece it all together but the end result was exactly what I was aiming for. I was able to import all the constructed pieces into After Effects and make a short clip of the monster swiveling his limbs and opening his mouth...Each finger could even be moved! I'll try and get that uploaded sometime. Meanwhile a full sized image can be viewed here.