bear and boat and thing and what?

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

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."

Bereft Poster

I went ahead and made a poster for my senior film: BEREFT.

Rigging Doodles 4

Today's break doodles 

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

THE PICK-UP PRINCESS IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!

My first ever animated children's e-book is finally here! The Pick-up princess is a story about a little girl who imagines herself to be a princess. The queen, her mom, has ordered her to pick up her room. But the princess has other ideas. Pick up your own copy of her adventure today!

Find it in the app store: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-pickup-princes/id633484028?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

A big thank you to everyone who has been supporting myself, my crew, and my cousin through out this whole process. I don't think I was ever without a loving person to moan at about how hard something was being, how annoying flash was, or any other complaint I might have had. And through it all, I was constantly told to keep going. I hope The Pick-up Princess finds it's audience and success. But I've learned so much from my time on this project, that I feel successful already.  Thank you everyone!

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! 

3!!!!!!!! Featuring Sean Ward

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! I'm jumping for joy, you guys!

Today we feature Colorist on the project Sean Ward.

I met Sean during a particularly late and frustrating night at my school's animation building. He noticed that I was about to punch a hole through the computer I was using and came over to suggest that I not do that. We ended up quoting SNL skits for the rest of the evening and I've been following him around ever since. His excellent word play and acceptance of my constant spewing of Monty Python skits make him an invaluable friend and I was so happy to have him on this project. Stay "What chyo' swattin' at" Seanicus! 

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!

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! 

8!!! Featuring Margaretta Westerman!

Only 8 more days until the animated children's e-book "The Pick-up Princess" launches!! As a part of our countdown, I'm featuring one crew member every day. Today our story and art comes from Margaretta Westerman who was a rough animator on the project. 

"I had a lot of toys when I was younger but one of my favorite toys was a giant Meeko plush (from the Disney movie Pocahontas) that my dad gave me. I was living in England at the time and my Dad was sent to Texas for work. Well like most father's he brought back gifts for my brother and I and mine was this giant Meeko plush. He said he saw it and thought of me and since he had only brought one suitcase he had to stuff this giant plush into to his suitcase in order to bring it back to England. It's old and worn now but I still have it, he sits at the edge of my bed back in Virginia where my cats like to sit and sleep on him, he's just that fluffy still."

Margaretta is currently working at a Disney theme park soaking up all the artistic brilliance down there. I remember her animation being some of the easiest to clean up because she's one of those people who is good at hands and fingers. That may not sound like much, but trust me, hands are a nightmare! I'm completely jealous of her hand talent and was very blessed to have her on the Pick-up Princess team. Stay classy, Margaretta!  

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!

10!

10 DAYS! There are only ten more days until the children's animated e-book "The Pick-up Princess" launches on the app store! I am so happy to be able to say that, this has been a long time coming. 

To celebrate, I will be posting an image done by a member of my crew each day of the countdown about their favorite toy from childhood. 

Starting the whole thing off is myself: Debbie Scheller: Director and miscellaneous tasks person

14 DAYS!!

Hey everyone! 14 DAYS UNTIL THE LAUNCH! We're so close now! The anticipation---GAHHH! I thought I would share a story this week...because...well...I didn't have time to draw anything. So sue me. I was genuinely doing a happy dance for a month after getting the contract in the mail, though. It was so official that I felt like one of those real human adult peoples for a second.

In other news, it's midterms week here at SCAD, so it's probably a good thing that The Pick-up Princess isn't launching quite yet. On top of my school work I also have some very intense freelance work that is keeping me jumping. It's going to be a stressful week, but a good one...I hope. There will be the 10 day countdown to look forward to. The Pick-up Princess crew has a very special surprise in store! So don't turn the dials that no longer exist today...more things should have dials.

19 Days and Counting

Just 19 days until the animated children's e-book "The Pick-up Princess" is released! It's hard to believe that after all this time, it's really happening! 

Backgrounds Before Swine

These are the backgrounds for the short pig themed film I'm creating in my 2D production class. I like to play with the flatness of things and experiment with hard shapes that maybe aren't so literal. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. Backgrounds aren't my speciality, but I really want to get better at them. They just define so much of a film's tone.

Princess e-book Update

In my mad dash to finish all the clean-up for this project, I ended up accidentally putting the wrong outfit on one of the characters. Oops. So this week has been spent going back and fixing everything. Sigh. It's my own fault, but finding out about it made me feel like a woman in an old horror flick. All I could really do is strike a pose and scream. On the bright side, I'm almost finished with it and two of my colorists are in the end stages of their most recent scenes. So this setback hasn't hurt production too much. Phew!

Princess Update: The Start of Summer

Last week I finished finals and traveled back home for a well deserved break. My boyfriend and I are celebrating by watching continuous episodes of my new addiction: Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, this has also made me a bit lax about working on my animated children's e-book "The Pick Up Princess". I'm still hopeful for a launch sometime this summer, but I doubt much work is going to get done before I head back to Savannah for my summer classes. Long distance boyfriends and family sometimes take precedent.

Mirror

My final for 3D Production this quarter.

Princess Update. All the things. All of them.

Well it's finals week and that means a lot of deadlines and work ahead of me. On the bright side, I took a break from clean-up on The Pick-Up Princess to color another scene. So another shot is all done and ready for the next step! I can't wait for a break so that I can really get the rest of this out though. Oh, yeah, and that whole relax thing...I've heard that's nice...

My pardons to Hyperbole and a Half for the use of their joke. It just perfectly expresses how I am feeling.

Nightwing Warm Up

Today's warm up. Dedicated to my sister who loves this character and just had surgery. Nightwing makes everything better!

Nightwing (c) DC comics