Big Book Give Away!

The Appy Ladies are giving away five copies of my animated children’s e-book The Pick-up Princess. Be sure to share this with your friends and try to get a free copy yourself! http://theappyladies.com/the-pickup-princess

woof.

new brush warm up doodles

found a new brush today and so i did some warm up sketching. here's the brush: http://stumpypencil.blogspot.com/2009/11/return-of-stumpy-pencil.html

bear and boat and thing and what?

just something weird as a break from my senior film work.

Danny Doodles

It was a Danny Phantom kind of night.

Danny: "Um, Sam? Don't you think that maybe I should handle this one?" 

Tucker: "Dude! Don't be messing with her mojo! I want to live!" 

Crab Tree and Bunny

I decided to participate in a contest for the comic Nice Teeth. You had to design a character that would live on The Island. Check it out: http://niceteethcomic.com/

for those who can't read that small of print:

"Crab Tree is a spicy lass from the depths of The Island. Kind Islanders label her stature as “toad-like”, unkind Islanders just call her fat and short. Crab has a bad attitude and persistent frown, but she does get along with a few islanders. She appreciates the “honestly stupid” and regards the “uppity types” with contempt. Especially those who read. Crab can’t read (who cares about a bunch of swirling letters?). She isn't stupid, but she only trusts her own mind, and believes that those who trust in books are people to watch out for.

Crab met Bunny when he was just a tiny Tree Thing. Tree Things, native creatures of The Island, usually only grow to be 27 inches. Bunny, however, somehow managed to grow the size of the trees Tree Things are supposed to inhabit. Crab and Bunny are best friends as he is very often the only one who will listen to her three hour rant about the benefits of toast in every day life. They live together in a comfortably large house Crab built with Bunny specifically in mind."

I can't believe this actually happened...

Other than some minor tweaks I'll have to work on while animating, my rigging is done! HUZZAH! I'm currently reworking my animatic and it's truly nice to be away from the highly technical stuff...for now. I can't believe that a couple weeks ago I was stressed about loosing my rigger and having to end my summer vacation early so that I could go down to SCAD and hopefully put something together before school started! I went from having half a facial rig and no body rig to a fully rigged character capable of the Loony Tunes style animation I'll be going for in just 2 weeks! Pardon the pat on the back, but I think I deserve this one. *pat* *pat* 

more rigging doodle breaks

The skin weighting continues.

Rigging Doodles 4

Today's break doodles 

Toad Patrol character (c) it's owner which is not me

Rigging Break Doodles 2

Yesterday's break doodles. Just a bunch of nonsense.

Rigging Doodle Breaks

I've been working on some rigging in Maya for my 3D senior animation film and to keep myself sane, I took a couple of doodle breaks. Here are the results. 

Space Kids Sketches

edit: you can look at the sketches a bit closer on my deviantart page 

I've been working on a lot of different story ideas this summer and this is one of my newer ones that has quickly gained a lot of favor with me. I love sci-fi and I've always wanted to do my own sci-fi series that focuses more on the children of a starship than the adults. That's kind of what I have going here. The main character is a young alien girl who is new to the corporate starship. The starship belongs to a very large energy corporation that requires some of it's industrial processes to be done in deep space (partially to expel the waste product into deep space away from inhabited planets and partially because the refinement process needs to be done in zero gravity). On top of it's industrial production, the ship also takes on other company contracts (so they might pick up something for another corporation if they are on the right side of space). 

The main story doesn't focus on the ship. It focuses on a few of the children on the ship and their every day lives as a part of this moving lab. The new alien girl eventually befriends the human girl that I have also sketched here. While the alien girl is trying to be a bit more conformist and safe, the human girl is a wild child who wants to stand out. The main conflict with the alien girl lies in the fact that she is a part of a race that has been recently known to commit acts of terrorism. So her mom wants her to fit in with the other children and be seen as unthreatening, while some of the other children are a bit frightened or angry at her for what a few of her people have done. 

It's all very much a work in process, I haven't quite nailed things down yet, but I'm really excited about some of the ideas I've been coming up with. Hopefully there is a future for these characters, so far they've been a blast to work with. 

all characters (c) Debbie Scheller 2013

The Trio

These are three characters from a story I'm currently developing. It's sort of Wizard of Oz-esk. The toad was actually a prince that was turned into a toad by a witch at a particularly boring party. He's trying to find the witch to be turned back into a prince, or at least a frog (which is way more kiss worthy than a toad). Following him are his two companions: a fish that wants her memory restored and a large cat who wants thumbs so that he can at last fulfill his dream of playing the violin.   

Spring Quarter Finals Are Here!

Have you ever just reached that point during finals where you slip into a coma and just stare at your work? Because that's where I'm at right now. Just one week left until summer! Gotta keep it together!

2!!!!!!!!! Featuring Cassandra Trissler

2 DAYS REMAINING until our app goes live! Today's drawing is brought to you by Rough Animator and Colorist Cassandra Trissler. Be sure to check out her portfolio site when you get a chance: http://www.cassandratrissler.com/

Cassandra's animation was one of the hardest to clean up, but also one of my favorites. She had a really subtle scene and she just ran with it to produce animation that was very smooth and touching. Her style has always intrigued me for being soft and beautiful. Even her comical pictures are often desaturated and create a sense of quiet. I love that about her and her work. Stay beautiful Cassandra! 

4!!!!!!! Featuring Eric Monachello

4 MORE DAYS, GUYS! Today we feature Rough Animator and Colorist Eric Monachello! Be sure to check out more of Eric's work on his website: http://www.ericmonachello.com/

Eric is a fun and lovable guy. I think I speak for all his friends when I say that his most recognizable feature is his beard, though. He looks naked without the furry friend that covers his chin. He's like Santa Clause, except I don't think Santa is nearly as Jolly. Stay bearded Eric!

6!!!!! Featuring Paloma Schultz

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! Wow! Today's post is brought to you by Graphic Designer Paloma Schultz. She was in charge of adding the words to the book and creating a fantastic Title logo! Be sure to check out more of her work on her portfolio site! http://www.behance.net/Paloma_Schultz

"Growing up in the South with the name Paloma couldn't have been good for my child psyche. I was fidgety, loud and obnoxious (fortunately I have overcome these afflictions...maybe). I had a rag doll named Myrtle that I took with me everywhere! She always seemed to be as big as I was, but in all actuality she was probably only about 2 feet long. Despite toting Myrtle with me everywhere, I tended to neglect her for a more exciting task. Myrtle was definitely worse for wear after 2 or 3 years and she had to be retired to the shelf in my room."

There are many areas in which I am incapable: rocket science, hula hooping, anything that involves physical activity, etc. However, I have a special kind inability for typography. Thank goodness that I kidnapped found Paloma! Thanks for all your work, Paloma! Stay sassy! 

7!!!! Featuring Kevin Garubba

ONLY 7 MORE DAYS!!! Today we look at Colorist Kevin Garubba!

"I had this Luke Skywalker action figure who was caught in an alternate dimension and had Dragonball Z powers and had to team up with my Toy Story toys to save the universe...  We saved the universe so many times.  It was a thankless job but somebody needed to do it. "

Kevin and I were in a class together when he heard about The Pick-up Princess project. We had just finished rough animation and he was wondering if there was any way he could help out. I jumped at the chance to add him to our team. Along the way, Kevin made some great contributions including some extra animation on a scene that gave it a special element of life. Thanks for all your hard work Kevin! Stay savvy! 

9!! Featuring Catherine Huyck!

9 DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! Today we look at the first person I brought onto the project. 

Catherine Huyck: Background Artist 

Back when I was a kid I was obsessed with collecting beanie babies. I don't just mean a few, I mean dozens. I had a huge Rubbermaid container full of them. But by far, my favorite was always Bones the dog. He was plain and simple, and always there no matter what. I could also easily stuff him in my pocket so I took him everywhere.

Working with Cathy was so much fun and she provided some of the best ideas for toys ever. Wherever you look in her work, there is always something completely off the wall; whether it be a walrus with a mustache or a Viking ship. Stay weird Cathy!

Smexeh Tree

This image corresponds to an animation I have in my 3D demo reel which can be found here: http://schellerdebbie.wix.com/debbieanimation

I created this as a thank you, but I sincerely think there should be more images of trees with sexy legs around. Where's the love for the trees at, guys?