Morgan's Art

Sketchbook Quickie - Disconnected, Fashionable People with Vacant Expressions

2011-06-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some cool guy drawings of some cool guys.

Gorgonopsid

2011-06-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all, you know that I cannot seem to break my fixation on animals, including extinct animals. Anyway here's another one. I am learning some new coloring techniques, since i need some desperately. But i didn't use them this time.
I set it a bit low, in a little more gator-like squat. It's wrong, cynodonts and gorgonopsids are more straight-legged like modern quadrapedal mammals. But i wanted the eery reptilian movement of our mammalian's ancestry to show through.

Sketchbook Quickie - Japan Stock Character Types

2011-06-20T13:23:00.001-07:00

I don't like to post more than once in the same day, but i did!!! Guh!

Just some fun playing with some of the awesome stock character imagery of Period-era Japanese mangas! I love the scenarios of Japanese history- such an interesting mix.

Some Visual Design for "Dino Boy"

2011-06-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

The main hero for this animatic was meant to be an accessible, generally-relatable little boy character we are used to seeing in most television series and games. I didn't want to give him too many extreme features. The more identifiable the better, and the more general, the more kids can feel that they are like or know a kid like him.

In some cases, this is a good thing for a protagonist. He's a kid who saves his parents by befriending dinosaurs- a basic idea but the appeal is core. I wasn't sure what kind of adventures he'd have, so i tried out a lot of different looks. Spy, army guy, etc.

Animatic: Dino Boy

2011-05-17T14:16:00.001-07:00

An animatic for a pitch for a saturday-morning series I came up with.

Dino Boy from Morgan Gibbons on Vimeo.

My foray into Pixelation

2011-04-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Pixelation, apparently, refers to the stop-animation of humans. Don't ask me why.

Pisselation from Joey Majdali on Vimeo.

MEGAMAN Fan Art!

2011-03-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

That's right!

I had to throw back to the original box art and the old 8-bit graphics. This is my interpretation.
I'll do another treatment of the more accepted megaman soon.

Heads

2010-10-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

Scott Pilgrim

2010-10-06T10:58:00.001-07:00

If you have still not read this comic, i ask, "why?"
Go:
http://www.scottpilgrim.com/

Indonesian Demon

2010-08-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick sketch i did at work for the Avalance art blog.
http://avalanchesoftware.blogspot.com/

It was supposed to be trolls, but i didn't succeed at that.

Brian Lee O'Malley Emulation

2010-06-15T11:57:00.001-07:00

I've been a huge fan of O'Malley's work since Scott Pilgrim #1, and i thought with the release of his final book of the series and the hype about the film, i should finally do that emulation i had been planning for years. I'm really inspired and impressed by what he has done to reclaim accessible, universally enjoyable and creative comic storytelling from years of bad manga and cheesy superhero mags. Scott Pilgrim and his earlier work Lost at Sea were about normal people, dealing with stuff in a creatively depicted way.
Michael Cera is about the only actor that i felt was mis-cast in the upcoming film adaptaion by Edgar Wright. I love Wright's stuff too, and am please with what we've seen so far in terms of maintaining the vibe and pace of the very enjoyable, wacky-yet-cool comic. I can see how in some aspects he fits the role, but most people who i've talked to (especially girls) who have read the comics imagined Scott as much more attractive than Cera. Cera is just goofy-looking.
I also grew up in the Scott's world, have been through a lot of his struggles, and even share birthdays with Scott. So i figured this was about past due.

Portfolio Posted!

2010-04-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Celtic Story Images

2010-04-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

Some thumbnail sketches with values for a super, top-secret sequential image story project I'm involved in. It's the story of two brothers.

Sina and the Eel

2010-04-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

A scene from a group project retelling a Samoan/Fijian folk tale about a Fijian prince transformed into an eel, who falls in love and sacrifices himself for a Samoan princess to stop a famine. It was really a solid version, i think. This scene had some heavy, serious overtones though.

Baggy Dragon

2010-04-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

This dragon is a baggy dragon. i owe my inspiration to Secret of Mana for christmas of 1992 for the furry dragon idea.

Facetious Personal Reflections

2010-04-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

I drew this a long while ago, the day after finding out that an ex-girlfriend got hastily engaged to the next guy she dated, a couple months after meeting him. In addition to confusion about other people's life choices we feel from time to time, it also expresses my relief that i didn't marry her. :)

I figure that since its been a long time since it happened, it's ok to post now. MWAHAHAHAH.

Storyboards - Space Danger!

2010-03-29T16:12:00.001-07:00

Zebracorn!

2010-03-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Really more of an African Wild Ass, and heavily inspired by Terryl Whitlach's Quagga design, who's work i will always adore.

From-the-hip ballpoint drawings that are even semi anatomically sound always give me a mild sense of satisfaction that somehow, deep down, there are days i can draw.

Sun WuKong / Hanuman Design Process

2010-03-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

You may know the famous monkey king character Sun Wukong from the Chinese story "The Journey West". He has thousands of incarnations from the commercials from the Beijing Olyimpics to Goku's Dragon Ball Z.
I decided to take a shot at him for a 3d project from concept sketch to model.

I played around with a lot of different looks for his face. i wanted him to look both a traditional Asian style and still "cool" in a hip, current sort of way. I also used a lot of real old-world monkeys for some great face reference.
Monkeys faces are so expressive and similar to ours that they don't need much to become an acting character. I also decided to do square-ish fingers stylistically because it also economizes time spent modeling nice deformations.

Sun is such a charged, interesting character, i had to make sure he had the "spirited" look to him. He is full of folly, pride and foolishness, but is also clever and powerful. I wanted him youthful and boy-like in his playfulness and appeal, but also bestial and intense. I feel like anyone who spends enough time with monkeys feel anxious in this way.

I tapped into some Naruto and Calvin (and Hobbes) themes to try out a slightly more personable look, but ended up pulling back in the end. He mustn't be too generic. I like the drawing of him with his wife and child.
Monkeys often have black eyes (humans are strange among primates in having "whites" to their eyes, though gorillas almost do. Visible whites are useful in social signals.) and i tried that option out, but buckled because i needed him to not be scary.

This is the final design i settled on. He has your typical dude hairdoo, and a sort of balance of physical strength and cuteness. He has enormous hands and feet, because his special brand of Kung Fu* was an emphasis. Swirly designs on his ears, headpiece, tail and fingerprints are ambiguously mystical and ancient.

Here is the model with basic shaders and colors thrown on. I regrettably didn't ever do texture or bump maps for this guy before i lost all the Maya files. His pose is awkward. I modeled his head too small, his hands and feet a little too big. I also never got to really rig him. My hard drive crashed and i lost all my work from the program up until last September, so i can't go back and spruce this guy up. it makes me sad!

I'm a sucker for bright colors, and i feel like Sun was a perfect character to go all out on. His face is a little creepy, he looks like one of those area 52-hoax shaved monkeys to me. But i feel like with some texturing, a good shader, and some proper lighting i could get him to act and de-creepify a bit. He would be SO fun to see come to life! I am really sad i never got to rig and animate him. Oh well. Next time, i will do better!

*Just for the record: All of this was done before any announcement of Kung Fu Panda! So there. :)

Chibi Zulu Warrior!

2010-03-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Xing - gestures

2010-03-17T16:24:00.001-07:00

character gestures for the protagonist of our senior group film - "Xing". The armadillo girl is hit by a car, dies, and tries to get her boyfriend back.

Storyboards - Snow Trex

2010-03-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

A storyboard sequence of a true story from my childhood.

Imaginary Friend - Cheetah!

2010-02-24T18:06:00.000-08:00

When i was a kid, i imagined a lot of things, some of them friends. Most of those friends were animals, some of them cheetahs. I love/d cheetahs. This was an assignment for a class, i threw some color on. But it took a few hours. To be honest, it's not my best work. But oh well.

Old Stuff- Dunkleosteus Thing

2010-02-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

A subject that has always been a horror and fixation since my youth, giant, lurking sea beasts still captivate my imagination. I figured a goblin shark + dunkleosteus would be a sweet-looking mix. I also threw in some lion/african Butterfly fishes into the mix.

Twilight Fan Art ZOMG!!??!

2010-02-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

I have a tolerate/hate relationship with the Twilight series. Stephanie Meyer graduated from my school, yet i don't consider her a strong writer. Her series is sappy, trashy and tasteless, yet i can't deny her success among the masses AND in synthesizing some likable stereotypes. It has the freshness of taking place in the Pacific Northwest and featuring an extremely less-known First Nation tribe, but at the same time perpetuates some horrible cultural notions about relationships, gender roles, and materialism.
In short, i attempted to convey in my drawing of Bella Swan and Alice and Edward Cullen how i perceive Twilight: Absurdly silly.

I particularly enjoyed showing Edward as a creepy psycho... because he is.

Tank!

2010-02-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

a tank. i want to learn to draw mechanical things better. i's never been my forte.... not yet anyway.

Triceratops Warrior Guy!!!

2010-02-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

My homage to 80's cartoons, action figures, and a whole lot of other things. I was also satisfied to find that i am getting faster. i retouched and colored this all in one afternoon. Yay.

Dear Deer Lass.

2010-02-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hunting her kin, i suppose.

Old Stuff - Chasmosaurus Riders

2010-01-28T18:34:00.000-08:00

Also done in Japan in 2005. Ghetto colored pencil.

Old Stuff - Smilodon Warrior

2010-01-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

Maybe the second or third watercolor i've done.
A warrior dude from the neolithic. He uses the pelt, teeth and claws of the beast he killed as his armament, channeling a furious beast-man rage as he beats up homo sapiens, mammoths and evil spirits. So cool!
I love his shiny swirly-muscles. he could be a luchador.

Old Stuff - Hindi Woman

2010-01-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

I had fun with new colors on this one.

Old Stuff - Tengu

2010-01-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

While i was in Japan, i found myself drawing a lot more from Japanese mythology and such. Here is one spin on the nefarious and pesky air goblins, Tengu.
Done on a 8 x 5.5 " sketch page with a 100 yen colored pencil set.

Old stuff - 466

2010-01-28T17:42:00.000-08:00

A quick digital sketch of my old apartment. It was one of the best gatherings of good people, warm associations, and fun times.

Snarpledontid.

2010-01-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

a little tribute sketch to Terryl Whitlach and her incredible beasts. She is one of my favorite artists because she has such a rich understanding of the life of Earth, and so is able to create fictional animals that are totaly unique but still follow the "rules". You may know her work from the star wars prequels, or her amazing book, The Katurran Odyssey.

Lizard Man Lava Danger!!!

2010-01-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

I am colorblind, so i have to approach color very carefully. but i think i pulled this one off. Plus i captured some peril, some adventure, and some story. there's something going on with this lizard man- than just some crony, he's a character. He may not be the main character or even necessarily a "good guy" in the plainest of terms, but he can certainly be a protagonist.

I also feel like this could be a magic card image or something.

Retro-Manga Future-Suit Lady!!!!

2010-01-08T15:08:00.001-08:00

Random Sketch Page

2009-11-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

A man. A plan. A Canal. Panama.

Classmates 2

2009-11-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

Some more of my pals in Anthropology class. Some great personalities there.

Girl in my Anthropology Class

2009-11-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

She had a hat. Her hair is red. i drew it.

Quick Sketch: Egyptar

2009-11-03T19:24:00.001-08:00

Silly and quick concept of a a superhero.

Quick Sketch: Fighting Lad

2009-11-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

Three Faces of Eve: Explorer Girl

2009-11-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Three of a series of sketches based on a trio-of-characters stereotype referred to as "three faces of eve".

Three Faces of Eve: Thief Girl

2009-11-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Two of a series of sketches based on a trio-of-characters stereotype referred to as "three faces of eve".

Three Faces of Eve: Spear Girl

2009-11-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

One of a series of sketches based on a trio-of-characters stereotype referred to as "three faces of eve".

Elantris Character Design - Hrathen

2009-10-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

From Brandon Sanderson's novel, my own image of the antagonist after reading his fabulous book. Truly a fascinating, complex and empathetic character despite his steely efficiency. One of my favorite villains.

Asian Unicorn Dog!

2009-10-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

this is a rather silly design, but i think fierce enough that it could be taken seriously, as far as magical shinto shrine-guardian dogs go.

Some Intense Dude.

2009-09-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a dude. You can tell he's got a good heart, just barely, by the right image, i think.

Trying Some Cross-Hatching

2009-09-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

I saw some other people like Jake Wyatt do this stuff years ago... thought i'd try it out and here's one of the results.

Mesoamerican Dude

2009-09-18T13:35:00.001-07:00

Tarbosaurus in the Snow

2009-03-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

I "One-Shotted" this with a bic ballpoint in church a few weeks ago- no pencils, no rough outline, just went to it and it turned out marvelously. i feel pretty good about it.

I love dinosaurs. they're so beautiful. You may notice the robust bones of the forelimbs as way more substantial and beefy than the actual fossil remains. I sort of gave it a big cat feel in that sense. but it feels more powerful with them in the frame. I like that it feels alive, not in a frozen, odd pose like some taxidermy bit.

Dargon!

2009-03-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

I really like this guy. i think he'd be great for a toy design, or something. I just can't resist the cuteness of dragons and dinosaurs. they just warm my heart.

Paul Boren's Future Wife.

2009-03-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

This piece has quite the story behind it. i wont bother explaining it. I just like the drawing! I like that she has personality, has flair.

Old Stuff- Ashcan Page and colorblindness

2009-03-11T00:23:00.001-07:00

This was a random page of comic i did for an ashcan that Anthony and Jake got some people together for. We were going for a comicon booth. I just wanted to do something generic, typical and cliche, with barbaric peoples wandering across a hostile land, fighting monsters pointlessly. you know, the fun stuff.
They ended up submitting my pencils instead, mortified by my coloring job. To be honest, i did all of the colors in about 45 mins that afternoon to meet our own deadline, so wasn't too concerned about that, but was nonetheless stunned when they took me aside, sat me down, and asked me sincerely if i really knew jack about color theory.
i suppose i didn't, and after a quick crash-course by Jake, i was able to calibrate and adjust from then on. it really helped, i think- but it's always going to be a challenge with my colorblindness. I don't think it will become a major obstacle to me in the long run.

Monsters.

2009-03-01T15:02:00.001-08:00

An Oni. Props to google image for the beautiful character rendering. I'm no calligrapher. In retrospect, this looks pretty Mignola, but i'm ok with that. he's a genius. I wanted to do a not-necessarily-evil Yamabushi-style mountain ogre, who has a good story to tell around a campfire, and much traveling to do.

A minotaur. i wanted to do a minotaur character, since i hadn't done one in a while. I took the Assyrian slant, to mix it up, and in homage to their many fantastic sculptures emblemizing cattle as glorified animals.

Arcane West Environments

2008-06-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

Arcane West

2008-06-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

The Hero.
The Villain.
The talking, magical, side-cracking horse.
The Love interest.

A story about magic in the wild west. A fun, goofy idea with a lot of cool potential.

Pilgrims of Dawn and Dusk - Story Concept

2008-04-26T12:53:00.001-07:00

Designs for a sci-fi story that a few friends and i came up with on a road trip.

On a humid world which rotates on it’s axis at an exceptionally slow rate, humans struggle to survive under the duress of a millenium-long day-night cycle. Pushed along by the falling sun and the lengthening shadows, they must constantly and slowly migrate as a transient civilization.

During Noon, or 250 years into the Day, civilization is at its peak, farming is prosperous under the sweltering, ever-present sun, and food is stored up in heavy provision for the travelered along the Caravan road, which leads in a gigantic circumventing strip around the entire planet. Cities and culture flourish in strips along this roadway, and entire economies are governed by the pilgrimage that inevitably must take place to avoid the oncoming 500-year Night and its dangers.

During the nightmarish Night, complete darkness engulfs half of the world. No plant or normal animal life can survive, and the biosphere is dominated by huge, poisonous fungi and horrifying shadow creatures which cannot tolerate the direct sun. Entire cities are ruined and lain to waste by the carpets of fungus and destructive shadow beasts. Anything left behind is lost for 500 years until the next Dawn.

While the Rearguard works to keep people for being lost by the oncoming night, the Vanguard research teams maintain camps on the front edge of the sun’s light, seizing the opportunity to salvage what the can of the civilization that once existed there, 500 years before. The fungus decayed and the shadow beasts long since scattered by the touch of the sun, the Vanguard eagerly awaits the rays of light to climb over the next mountain ridge and reveal more knowledge.

Weylin -

Rasnus’ eccentric old grand-uncle, and survivor of a cataclysmic shadow beast attack, Weylin is the head mechanic of the caravan’s Rearguard and Rasnus’ ornithopter. His knowledge is valuable, but his sanity is in question.

Ulloa -

Captain of the Rearguard, an organized force who fights against wandering shadow beasts and overseeing evacuation of the caravan. Ulloa, infuriated upon learning that Rasnus has gone into the Night, pursues him to ensure his safe return.

Protagonist- Rasnus

An avid explorer, mechanic and thrill-seeker, Rasnus has become a master pilot of his custom-made Ornithopter while living on the Dusk-side of the caravans. When the only hope of curing a sudden outbreak of deadly disease lies over 200 years back into the Night, Rasnus volunteers to fly with minimal fuel and scant supplies over the trailing ridge and into the shadow, in hopes of finding the medical stash noted on records of the two century-old city.

Forager-

During the 500-year long Night all photosynthetic life and any secondary or tertiary consumers are completely unable to survive. Chemosynthetic shadow beasts and heavy funguses begin to replace the fauna and flora, sifting out processable chemicals from the air, rocks and decaying life. The Forager is the largest known of the shadow creatures, and is mostly harmless and uninterested in humans. Occasional fatalities have been reported, however, when victims drew too close to the powerfully-absorbant axons that sweep beneath their immense bodies.

Gnawer-

An amphibious creature, Gnawers are most at home in water. Yet during the frequent periods of scarcity of chemosynthesis-compatible nutrients, Gnawers are known to leave water, maintaining a sticky fluid and moving by pulling themselves with forelimbs and undulating the body. Powerful, crushing jaws with blunt teeth allow for a heavy bite, and a paralyzing ichor spit from the mouth can allow for a deadly ambush weapon.

Feeder-

Some of the smallest shadow beasts, feeders are parastic pests that swarm over and drain any source of nutrients, energy or minerals available. Only about 0.5m in height, their sapping bites nonetheless pose great threat to humans. Additionally, when threatened Feeders will release chemical energy in their body, exploding and killing anything nearby along with themselves in order to protect the population.

Crusher-

The first humans culturally advanced enough to attempt taking shelter during the Night quickly realized the destructive power of the Crushers’ digging claws, which tore straight through concrete and steel in order to reach and devour them. One of the most aggressive of the shadow beasts, Crushers are covered in armor for fighting and killing other wildlife of the Night. The mineralized remains of it’s victims are stored in a crystal formation on its back, which can be used as nutrients when food is scarce. Human skeletons have been preserved intact, visible from the outside within the crystal prison.

Super Spirit Warriors III: Ultra - Fighting Game Concept

2008-04-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to create a cool fighting game idea to pay homage to all the classics i used to rock with my brothers back in middle school. High school kids, elemental super powers, and transforming into mighty ancestral warriors? can't go wrong. Also note the super-cheesy captions i put in about each of them. This was just a ton of fun.

Stranded Band - Environments

2008-04-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

The Stranded Band - Story Development

2008-04-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

A visual development for a story idea of mine about clashing band personalities, car trouble, and a pent up frustrations exploding at a rest stop on the way to a gig. It was a lot of fun to characterize the different people, and have that reflected stylistically in each of them.