Travel sketches

We've been to quite a few places over the past couple years.  I try to draw or paint everywhere we go, but sometimes you just want to be in the moment or play with photography instead.  Here is a sampling of the ones I managed to capture on paper:














Old Website

If you knew of me about 7 years back, I had a website that was a lot more interesting... a lot more confusing to navigate, but definitely more fun.  I kind of love that site.  I had all sorts of hidden links that you could only find by exploring, including some goofy animation clips from my time on Catalina Island with the Microbiologists (a whole other story).  So, I may get around to redoing it in the same style, or at least finding a way to link to the old one, just for fun.  In any case,  I was going through some old art/web files and found some of the images.  Grad school was a really full, creative time; simultaneously making films, completing assignments, taking film courses, and gesture drawing.  I even took a ballet class and joined a choir for a semester!  You have to utilize all that time and resources while you are in film/art school!  I am also all about saving your artwork and films to revisit in the future.  You never know what old idea could inspire something new.







More things to draw

I've been doing a lot of drawing, just not getting around to a lot of posting. Here are some more story drawings based off the prompts of 642 Things to Draw... I'm actually nearing the 200th drawing!  Yes- this has been a massive undertaking.. who knew it would take YEARS! But its a long-standing challenge I enjoy.  Some are fictional images, some are real memories, but all are typically the first thing that comes to mind.  On occasion a few that are next to each other end up complimenting one another.












Toy Story of Terror!!

Our next big release from Pixar is a TV special called Toy Story of Terror! Its hilarious!  It was directed by Angus MacLane and Matthew was the Story Supervisor.  I did nothing on it... except a crap-ton of scratch voice (which doesn't of course end up anywhere to be heard) for Jessie and all the other girl characters.  Though, its a blast to do and satisfies my love of acting.  Angus is a funny guy, the crew really knows these characters and with all their forces combined they have made a new tradition for holiday TV-  check it out!

Inside Out

Inside Out
This is the feature I've been working on for two years and counting!  I'm so excited they announced the title. Of course I can't say anything more than this article, but its really an amazing project and I've loved every moment of working on it so far.  2015!!


Comic: Post 4

Last pages of my comic, long awaited.. I was out of town. A simple story.  I basically decided to test-run the idea of doing a graphic novel, drawing on regular bristol-full-page paper, then scanning it in to clean up and adjust. I opted not to go with inking this time.  For the story, I just made a goofy short that involved time travel and lots of dresses!  I wondered, what would a teenager do with a time travel device?  She'd clearly snag some killer dresses from the 18th century right?  Haha! (Okay, maybe just me.) And why not make it on her iphone? Everything is an app now.  I have some more ideas of adding onto this story and expanding it... so thats a future possibility!  But for now,  I hope you like this one!






Night Light


About 11 years ago, I made my first animated film in undergrad at VCU.  I used about 1200 watercolor painting to do it.  Today I'm putting it up again for my closest friends who just lost a very dear friend to cancer.  As for my friends Kevin and Maria, years ago, this is still for friends who leave us too soon.

Claire Counterclockwise Post 1

Here is the first post of the comic I finished more than a year ago.  It was potentially going to be in a group comic anthology, but since that didn't pan out, I'm posting online!  So here you go, the first couple pages:  







Number 80

So, I just finished the 80th drawing in "642 things to draw".  Yes, 80, and I started about a year and a half ago.  But, you know, animated features can't storyboard themselves!  I've been a little distracted. :)  But eventually it will be one awesome collection of sketches/illustrations!  I also got on a guache kick and started playing around with it.  Most artists seem to praise acrylics over guache.  I see their point, though I had a lot of fun working with its ability to dry fast, maintain bright colors, and yet still be somewhat flexible!




A Woman for All Time


I've been working on a series of small-postcard size images of women from different times. Its a project I've had in mind for a long time and finally sat down and did it. I love fashion and costume history, and also find the shift in the "ideal" women of western images to be interesting. So I've been collecting reference. Its been fun figuring out what strange cages of undergarments people use to put themselves in. Its such a taboo topic in most times, that it was a bit of a puzzle on some centuries. Then I wanted to juxtapose each women in the garment of their time, the underwear of their time and then in a common outfit (bathing suit), to show their figures. I did each one on watercolor paper with micron waterproof ink pens, then colored with watercolor paint. Now they are all in a poster! (which I will eventually make prints of!) I've thought about adding more... going all the way back to togas and medieval dresses. More to come!! And not just in costumes....





Small Fry!


Take yourself, take the kiddies, go see The Muppet Movie! Not only will you get a healthy dose of muppets....you will laugh yourself silly seeing SMALL FRY! One of the most hilarious shorts we've ever made at Pixar. I was lucky enough to briefly work on this brainchild of Angus MacLane. Another genius voice performance by Teddy Newton for Little Buzz, "You like the honey mustard sauce.... yea ya do." Now lets see if Disney makes this line of silly Small Fry toys! Who wouldn't want a Little Buzz?


The Witch's Butt


When you are a child growing up in a new suburb, you are left with pretty much NO folklore... or very little. So inevitably, in order to creep yourself out on some level, to add to the wind and falling leaves, the general spooky atmosphere of the Fall.... you invent lore. Ours was the witch's butt tree. If you happened to be neighborhood kid in the 1980s, you had the distinct privilege of experiencing this on the Halloween haunted house tour... at our suburban house. Virginia Beach also has the distinction of being a "suburb" without a downtown city to be "suburb" to. (and I always give my friend the little brother she always wanted in my pictures)