Chris Kennett

"Mogwai's song" or "The theme month that never was"

2012-01-31T09:40:00.000+11:00

I'd had such grand plans for 2012. I was going to start the year with my very own theme month. It was to be called "Fanuary" and every day I would post a drawing of something geeky that I loved and it would be crammed full of 80s stuff that us 30 somethings seem so reluctant to let go of. Oh yes it would have been a fun project alright.

But then life got busy. The first few days of "Fanuary" slipped by and already the project seemed doomed to start. With all the best intentions in the world nothing happened. An ongoing job needed finalising, a last minute decision to sell our house saw the majority of free time spent cleaning, de-cluttering and painting. What free time was left saw me collapsed and snoring on the couch. Selling a house is a tiresome affair.

Today is the last day of "Fanuary" and all I have to show for it, is this rough and hastily drawn Gizmo singing his little song.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Friday Quickie

2012-01-06T16:59:00.003+11:00

"Scram-pire"

Have a good weekend folks! Don't forget to wear a hat :)

Searley Youth

2012-01-04T18:29:00.000+11:00

Very sad news to hear Ronald Searle passed away. Ronald was famous for his St Trinian's work, which made me wonder how he might show the "Yoof" of today. Not sure what he would make of my digital scrawlings compared to his masterful ink work. But, for what it's worth, this is for you Ronald. RIP

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T16:46:00.001+11:00

Merry Christmas everyone, if you're into that sort of thing of course. If not, then have a very merry rest of December, however you choose to spend it :)

Lady Zombie

2011-11-28T10:27:00.001+11:00

@ilovescotch suggested I draw a sexy zombie for my warm up sketch. Sexy is subjective of course, but she's does it for me, albeit it in a wrong, creepy way.

Planet of the Japes

2011-11-23T15:34:00.001+11:00

I often have a movie playing while I'm working on my illustrations, often I just listen to the dialogue and look up to watch the exciting bits. Today's movie was "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", and it was pretty enjoyable. You could say I picked a winner. Thank you, that is all.

something different

2011-11-22T09:16:00.001+11:00

Seems as though lately my days are being swallowed up drawing cutesy little animals. My last 3 books (including the one I'm working on) are all animal themed. So when it came down to a little warm up scribble this morning, I thought I'd try a lovely lady. For some reason I always tend to draw ugly guys or monsters (see previous post), so it made a nice change to draw something feminine. To be honest I could use the practice on that front.

Anyway I thought I'd post my scribble and the reference picture I found. As you can see I'd changed up the pose a little and broken her (screen) right ankle. Poor lady.

erm......

2011-11-21T22:29:00.001+11:00

It's been a while since I posted anything. So just in case you were wondering ;)

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T17:08:00.002+11:00

"Hand it Over"

Even though it's hardly celebrated in Australia (outside of retail that is), I can't let the holiday slip by without putting something up. I don't have a lot of time for much personal work at the moment so I quickly threw this little image together.

Happy Halloween everyone.

BOO!

Totoro sketch

2011-10-22T16:15:00.001+11:00

I'm currently half way through a family holiday to Japan and had the opportunity to visit the awesome Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. I couldn't resist
picking up a Totoro plushie and considering I haven't drawn anything for the best part of a week, I thought I'd do a little sketch of him via the iPad.

A2D Exhibition

2011-10-12T10:23:00.002+11:00

"Game, Tech and Match"

This Friday, Flare Magazine are hosting their Analogue:Digital exhibition for the people of Bendigo. Sadly I will be out of town for the big night, but if you are in the area, you should definitely go and check out a bunch of artwork from a range of local artists.

My piece "Game, Tech and Match" will be a part of the show and just in case you can't make it I've put a preview for you here.

Find out more about the Magazine and the show here

Arj Caricature

2011-09-28T18:14:00.004+10:00

Today I scored some free tickets to see Arj Barker on the weekend. The competition organisers suggested I do a little caricature. So I did.

I couldn't resist throwing in a little Poopy sneaking over his shoulder for good measure.

If you didn't know, Arj and Poopy was a web cartoon animated by the incredibly amazing Bernard Derriman.

Check out Bernard's super incredi-skills in this episode and weep!

Happy 75th Jim

2011-09-25T11:33:00.000+10:00

Sept 24th would have been Jim Henson's 75th birthday. I don't think there's anyone alive who has seen a least one of Jim's creations. He continues to inspire to this day. Thanks Jim.

Illustrations approved!

2011-09-21T17:57:00.001+10:00

Today the final artwork and design of the book I'm illustrating for Scholastic was approved!! Obviously I can't share any final artwork yet, as the book won't be released until next year. But here is a cheeky Tassie Devil I've grabbed from the front cover image.

Next I get to work on my illustrating my own story. Can't wait :)

Illustration Friday "mesmerizing"

2011-09-21T13:36:00.000+10:00

"I am an EVIL hypnotist"

Just had a few minutes to throw together a quick Illustration Friday image. When I saw the topic was "Mesmerizing" I immediately thought of the Big Train sketch about hypnotism. The moment when the Evil Hypnotist creeps past the open door is fantastic.

If you haven't seen Big Train before, treat yourself to an afternoon on youtube, it could well be the greatest sketch show ever

Interview in Bendigo Advertiser

2011-09-20T16:46:00.003+10:00

I've been meaning to upload this for days now, but never seemed to find the time. Lucky my good lady wife took it upon herself to scan the article for me.

The story ran in the local paper here in Bendigo on Sat 10th Sept and it covers my book Alpha Monsters plus the exhibition I'm having at Hudson's Hub up until the end of September.

If you're in the area or even in Melbourne and fancy a trip up the Calder, I'd love for you to come and check it out.

Bad Star Wars joke

2011-09-20T11:57:00.001+10:00

Ba-doom-tish!

iPad sketch

2011-09-08T16:14:00.001+10:00

Just a quickie sketch for you today. I was recently treated to an iPad for Fathers day and today while waiting for the kids to get out of school I sat in the car a drew this using the sketchbook pro app. I don't have a stylus yet so I was limited to my finger. This is the first thing that popped into my head.

Hope to use the iPad lots more while I'm out and about, for random sketches like this.

By Crikey! or "The night I bared my art"

2011-09-05T20:35:00.002+10:00

So last Friday (2nd Sept) I had the great honor of attending the opening night of my debut solo exhibition, at Hudson's Hub, in my home town of Bendigo. The Gallery is only a few months old and I was extremely flattered to be offered the first showcase for this awesome new space.

It was a fantastically mild spring evening in Bendigo and as I walked from my house, I couldn't help but think about what the night might have in store. Of course the great fear is that only a handful of people would show up, and the evening would consist of a series of skin crawlingly awkward pauses and copious amounts of shoe shuffling.

As the 6pm start time ticked over a solitary figure walked through the doors ( a high school teacher I knew from a few years ago). we talked and chatted about the artwork and for a brief moment it seemed as though we might be keeping each other company for a while yet.

"And here you can see I've used a slightly different colour than before"
"Hmm yes I see, how fascinating"

Some original sketches

Then it seemed like the literal floodgates opened and the small gallery space, that had previously felt so vast, was now jam packed with art appreciators of all ages. I was genuinely humbled by the turnout who were willing to support a new gallery and also an artist who isn't necessarily proven in this medium.

The space begins to fill up

The queue up for purchases :)

The support from Bart n Print, who were patient enough to deal with my last minute requests and delivered on the quality and authenticity of quality archival prints, was a greatly appreciated. As was local book store owner Harry from Dymocks Bendigo, who gave up his Friday night to supply staff and copies of Alpha Monsters for sale on the night.

Alpha Monsters proved popular too

Of course a big thank you should also go to Cristean and Aiden from Hudson's Hub who spent countless hours framing and prepping the space for the big night and presented an extremely slick event. Considering it was their first exhibition as a gallery, I think they did an awesome job. I'm sure everyone who came that night would agree with me.

Finally to my wife and kids, who have endured endless hours alone with their bleary eyed Husband/Dad hunched over a computer screen, I save my biggest thanks of all. I literally could not do what I do without your love and support. ❤ :)

A little bit bunny blog: Kangaroo Rat

2011-08-31T09:26:00.000+10:00

Earlier this month I was contacted by the brilliantly talented Matt Dawson asking me if I'd like to contribute a collective monthly blog called A Little Bit Bunny. Being such a fan of Matt's work I agreed immediately.

The thought of doing at least one personal drawing a month seemed like the sort of commitment I could easlily...er....well... commit to! :) Well I say that, but I barely scraped in this months drawing of a Kangaroo-rat and to be honest I threw the pie and sauce in at the last minute for a lack of anything better.

To be fair though the pie and sauce is an Aussie institution so it stands to reason that a kangaroo-rat would be partial to a nibble.

Hope you like it, and please visit the ALBB blog when you have a moment. There's some great work on there :)

Analogue:Digital Exhibition

2011-08-24T09:28:00.001+10:00

I've just sent off my application form for my entry to the Analogue:Digital exhibition, which is being put together by a local free publication here in Bendigo called Flare Magazine. I've been sitting on the finished artwork for quite a while now so I thought I'd share a little glimpse of the final piece with you today.

The show opens in October and this will be a one off giclée print specifically for this show. Hope you like this little taster :)

My first exhibition!

2011-08-21T19:32:00.000+10:00

I'm very pleased and proud to announce my very first solo exhibition at Bendigo's hippest gallery, Hudson's Hub :) The show will run all through September and will offer up a selection of limited and open edition prints, plus some original sketches (hand plucked from my personal sketch book).

If you don't happen to be in the Bendigo area and are interested in the show, then the guys at the Hub are happy to take phone inquiries once the show is underway. Contact them here or via Facebook

5 years of Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty!

2011-08-06T14:19:00.001+10:00

Aaron Zenz, or to be exact, his kids have been churning out some amazing artwork over the past 5 years. When you consider their age it is an amazing feat! So to help celebrate the Blog's 5th birthday Aaron has asked artists from all over the world to offer up their own interpretation of the kids work.

This is my contribution with the original from Gracie (aged 10) beneath.

Check out the rest of the kids work here http://isaacgracelily.blogspot.com/

Interview with The Bendigo Writers Council

2011-08-04T20:49:00.000+10:00

Hey Everyone, I recently answered a few questions for the Bendigo Writers Council newsletter. I've posted the article below for you to have a squizz at.

There weren't any pictures to go with it, so I've put up a long forgotten Wild Things picture I found on my hard drive tonight. There you go, enjoy :)

Author Interview

Chris Kennett

Author and illustrator of children’s picture book, Alphamonsters and illustrator of the newly released, If You’re Happy And You Know It – Aussie edition [available through scholastic, bookstores or via a link on Chris’ website at http://crikeyboy.blogspot.com/]. Best of all this amazing talent is a local to Bendigo and he has been gracious enough to answer a few questions for the Bendigo Writers Council.

What are some of the impressions so far in becoming a first time author?

The biggest thing for me is just seeing my work on a book store shelf. From first approaching a publisher to the book’s release took almost 3 years. I ‘d gotten so used to seeing the artwork and text on a screen, to then see it in the flesh is something I’ll never grow tired of. Finding it listed on an online store or discovering an independent review somewhere is also great. Even seeing my name on the National Library of Australia’s database is cool! Somehow it legitimises what I’ve done. So that feels good.

How has the reaction and feedback been from your book and book promotion?

Everyone who has read the book has told me they (and their kids) love it. Which is just brilliant. I think the main issue though, is getting people to pick it up off the shelf, which isn’t always easy. I’ve had several back handed compliments saying “It’s much better than I expected”. Which is nice, but then you have to wonder why they went in with such low expectations? I think the fact that it revolves around the alphabet (to an extent), people think it’s going to be babyish or somehow lacking in story. But ultimately I’m glad it surprises people.

I also had a really positive response to a book signing I recently did with Dymocks Bendigo. A friend and I promoted it quite heavily through Facebook and by contacting schools and kindergartens, which proved very successful. By the end of it I’d been there for three straight hours talking and signing books. It was a really great experience and I hope it’s the first of many.

Promoting a new book, especially for a first time author like me, can take up a lot of your time. Which is hard when you are trying to produce other work at the same time. When you sign with a big publisher like Scholastic you are a tiny part of a much bigger machine. Of course they will help you to a point, but ultimately it’s down to me to spread the word. You also have to walk a fine line between self promotion and self appreciation. I hope I don’t stray into the latter.

As you both wrote and illustrated your picture book, Alpha Monsters, did you invent the story or the characters first?

With Alpha Monsters it was definitely a case of designing the characters first. I originally designed them as Flash cards for my kids and it was a very simple “A is for Apple, B is for Ball” concept. When I first approached Scholastic there was no story, just the basic ABC idea. It was them who asked me to flesh out the characters, create a world and build a storyline around them. Writing an engaging story with so many characters with an 800 word limit wasn’t an easy task, so it took a few attempts to get it right.

With subsequent projects I’ve made a point of writing the story first. There may be a few rough character ideas at the start, but I definitely make sure the story is right before I get too bogged down in the visuals.

What is your next project going to be?

The project I worked on straight after Alpha Monsters is actually coming out in July. I provided illustrations for an “Aussie Edition” of “If you’re happy and you know it”. It’s a fairly straight reworking of the famous kids song, using Aussie animals. I road tested it on my kids and their cousins and they were jumping all over the lounge, so I think it will go down well.

But in terms work in progress I’m actually working on three more picture books (all for Scholastic). The first one will be as an illustrator for another author due next Easter, and the remaining two will be my own stories. I’m really proud of both and I think kids will have a lot of fun with them. I can’t reveal specifics I’m afraid, you’ll just have to wait and see.

Who is your favourite literary character and why?

Like many people Roald Dahl was a huge favourite growing up. The BFG was the first chapter book I remember reading alone, so he’s always been a special character for me.

Have you any advice for the writers of Bendigo?

I feel strange offering advice, because I certainly don’t think I know all there is to know myself. But if I were to offer up any guidance, I’d recommend a few things that have helped get me going.

Firstly always write down your ideas, or if you’re like me, draw them. One of my next books was born from an idle scribble I did while watching TV one night. Get into the habit of carrying a note or sketchbook and jot down anything that comes to mind. It might seem insignificant at the time but some of those subconscious thoughts can often lead to bigger and better ideas.

Get an outside opinion. We all get precious about our work, so we’re not always the best judge of what works and what doesn’t. Be prepared to hear comments you might not want to hear. In my experience though, when people make criticism it’s usually fairly spot on. So, swallow your pride and take it on the chin.

Finally get yourself out there. 3 years ago I had no idea how to get a book published. In the end I grabbed an email address from the Scholastic website and just sent off an idea. My philosophy was, what have I got to lose? What’s the point of having all these ideas written down in books or stored on hard drives for no one to see? Why not just send something off and see what happens? You never know what’s around the corner.

If you're happy and you know it

2011-07-21T22:01:00.002+10:00

This month the book I illustrated for Scholastic hit the stores here in Australia. I haven't posted anything for a while so I thought I'd share some of the art and development I did for this release.

COVER ART:

In the end the designers at Scholastic put the front cover (below) together using elements of my artwork. In the end they went against the yellow in favor of a blue sky. They also opted against the sign written in blood, wonder why?

Pretty books all in a row

This is my original idea for the cover which is basically just a reworking of one of the internal pages. Probably a good call they chose something original. Plus I left out the Koala. Poor guy.

CHARACTER DESIGNS:

Some of my original animal poses and designs. Only one pose from the Koala ended up actually being used.

LAYOUT:

Here is the first rough layout I put together. We quickly moved away from this as it was just too friggin' boring!

This is the final rough layout, including a few more visually interesting pages and spreads.

PAGE PROGRESSION:

These few pages show the progression from original thumbnail through to the final artwork.

The original thumbnail from the layout boards. Check out the detail!

The digital sketch. I still keep this pretty loose as I still like to experiment with things during the vector process.

Final Vector version. A few of them shifted around from the original sketch. Little fidgets! Can you guess where the text goes?

UNUSED BITS:

Here are some sketches and even some final art that didn't make the cut.

A double spread idea that didn't quite make the grade. Note how I lose interest from left to right.

An early Wallaby test that I abandoned half way. I didn't like his face that much, his nose is weird. I did manage to make use of that squiggly grass in the foreground though, so not a complete waste ;)

This group shot was in the book for a long time, but got pulled at the last minute in favor of focusing on each animal individually. Look at dem clapping their widdle hands!

Finally here are some final internals from the finished book.

If you're still reading and want a copy you can buy it, and Alpha Monsters ;) online here or at your local book store if you live here in Aussie land :)

Thanks for stopping by

Google+

2011-07-11T22:14:00.000+10:00

Hey Bloggers, I'm testing out Google+. If you are too, come join my circle :) https://plus.google.com/115075323247952440549/posts

Bubble Rainbow

2011-06-29T17:26:00.000+10:00

Print in print

Recently one of my illustrations and prints "Bubble Rainbow" has been getting some welcome attention. First up the print (plus its 2 sisters) were featured in a local Café and Art space called El Gordo, here in Bendigo. I'm pleased to report all 3 were snapped up, albeit at the very last minute :)

From there the image was chosen as the front cover of Trouble Magazine, a locally produced Art 'zine that has a growing national distribution.

Then, as if to complete its journey, the local newspaper did a story on Trouble and used my image once again for the cover of its weekend supplement. You can read the full article here.

So here then are the 3 images for you to take a gander at...

Bubble Rainbow's sister prints "Sunshine Umbrella" and "Winter Windmill"

I recently gave a set of the prints away over on my Facebook Page and winner Marvin Clifford from Germany has sent me some photos of the prints all framed up and hanging on his wall at home. Thanks Marvin :)

If You're Happy and You Know It

2011-06-27T14:37:00.000+10:00

Woohoo! I got my advance copies of "If you're Happy and you know it" in the post today. This is the book I started illustrating for Scholastic Australia after I finished Alpha Monsters last year.

The book is a pretty straight reworking of the classic kids song, with an Aussie twist of course! It will be available in stores and online from July 1st. Here are a couple of previews of the internals.

By the way, in case you were wondering, I'm clapping my hands right now.

Bubble Headed Fish

2011-06-20T13:01:00.000+10:00

Can you see what I'm thinking?

Today on Facebook somebody posted a cool video about a fish with a transparent head. It looked like something out of The Abyss! Anyway it prompted me to do this quick sketch of my own Bubble Headed Fish :)

Pocket God: New Illustration

2011-06-08T16:00:00.003+10:00

my original

Once again I've been given the fun job of coming up with promo/loading graphic for the guys at Bolt Creative. This time they're unleashing their Pocket God Uranus onto the iPhone and iPod platforms. Previously its only been available for the iPad but they've buckled due to immense pressure.

The official graphic has some extra wording added and a couple of edits, but I thought I would present it to you as I presented it to them :)

The trimmed and edited version

I also thought I'd throw in a couple of early ideas I tossed around. In the end to combined the two for the final version.

Design Montage Interview

2011-06-06T21:35:00.000+10:00

The extremely generous Jenica Smith of Design Montage has just posted a very nice article and interview with me over on her site. While you're there check out the other amazing featured artists :) To celebrate I've posted this featured image which hasn't appeared on the blog....until NOW! :)

A dinosaur chasing butterflies

2011-05-31T09:07:00.000+10:00

Erm...yeah it's a dinosaur chasing butterflies. That's about it really. I like to think that this is the exact moment before the asteroid hit. In fact it's just off the page, right behind him, ready to obliterate everything. But he doesn't care, he chasing butterflies. Like an idiot.

Slim-nastics

2011-05-30T10:52:00.000+10:00

Just a little something I started last week and finished off this morning. Happy Monday everyone!

A Dinosaur for Baxter :)

2011-05-27T13:06:00.000+10:00

This is for you little buddy, hope you like it :)

Licky Stupid Cat

2011-05-27T11:24:00.000+10:00

This began life a s a 2 second scribble during yesterday's lunch break. He made me laugh so I drew him up properly.

My awesome original scribble (sarcasm)

Sorry...I broke your cat

2011-05-26T11:05:00.000+10:00

I quick warm up scribble. I apologise for the title, but it was the first thing that came into my head. If you think it's a little too gruesome, then maybe the "cat" was porcelain and maybe the wee scamp knocked it off the mantle piece by throwing a ball inside ( and we all know how dangerous that can be, right kids?).

So there, a perfectly reasonable explanation. The blood? erm.....I'll get back to you on that one.

BULLSHARKS!!!

2011-05-25T17:11:00.001+10:00

I threw this little mascot together today for my son's under 8s "football" team. As yet they are unbeaten! Come on everybody.....1, 2, 3...

GooooooOOOOOOOO BULLSHARKS!!!!

An Incredible night in - The Pixar Times

2011-05-23T14:32:00.002+10:00

On the weekend I was lucky enough to be featured in The Pixar Times' "PixART" section of the blog. This is basically a platform for Pixar fans to put their spin on their favourite characters from the studio's ever growing output of top notch films.

As you can see I chose The Incredibles as my inspiration.

I also thought I would share with you a few stepping stone stages I took to create this. I illustrated this in Flash with a few Corel Painter textures thrown in and some basic colour tweaking in Photoshop.

My idea was pretty much there from the beginning. Have all the central characters together on the coach watching a movie. I sketched this very roughly with the flash brush tool, to get some idea of character placement.

Then I use Flash's "onion skin" tool as a digital lightbox and give the characters some more detail. I also play around with the positions a bit more, moving Dash off the floor and adding the gag with him zipping and stealing the popocorn.

Then I do another pass with the brush tool, refining the details more and play around more with the expressions. I also fix up the room's perspective a little more.

Then I go for the final colour pass, again drawn in Flash but this time with the pen tool and eliminating the lines after the colour fills. I like the warmth in the room but I wanted to create the blueish glow you get when you watch TV in a darkened room so.......

I export all the Flash layers out as .png files and recreate the image in Photoshop. Here I tweak hues, saturation and brightness levels until I get (what I think) replicates the TV light.

I hope you like the final piece, its one I'm quite proud of :) Click here to read a full interview with me about the piece and general stuff

Victorian Giraffe Riding a Penny Farthing

2011-05-18T11:42:00.000+10:00

What's that? You want to see a Victorian Giraffe riding a Penny Farthing? OK then here. Now don't say I never give you anything.

Blue Coffee

2011-04-19T14:16:00.000+10:00

I saw a guy that looked a bit like this on the world wide webs. So I drew him drinking coffee. In the rain. With blue skin. Just coz.

Alpha Monsters Book Signing Photos

2011-04-12T11:30:00.000+10:00

On Saturday I signed copies of my book Alpha Monsters at a local book store. Head over the the Alpha Monsters Blog to see more and read about how the day went.

Pocket God: Mercury Rising

2011-04-07T11:46:00.000+10:00

Hey Bloggers, sorry I've been a bit quiet lately. I've been busy promoting my kids book "Alpha Monsters" I may have mentioned it once or twice ;)

Anyway, I'm happy to be able to share something else with you today. This is a promo piece I did for my pals at Bolt Creative for their iPad version of Pocket God, "Journey to Uranus".

This one came out really well and I'm super happy with the end result. The brief was retro Sci-Fi and I loved the opportunity to work on something with a limited palette.

I hope you like it.

By the way if you have a iphone/ipod touch/ipad go grab either Pocket God or Journey to Uranus. Once you buy, these guys work amazingly hard to update these apps and supply new content for free! Plus they're fun too.

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 22

2011-03-22T23:24:00.000+11:00

An experiment was carried out...

Been watching Look Around You (series 1) YouTube it! :)

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 21

2011-03-21T21:44:00.000+11:00

My First Fireball

Is March still going? Phew!

Alpha Blogsters

2011-03-21T10:48:00.000+11:00

Hey everyone! As the clock ticks down (10 days to go!!!) I've decided to give the Alpha Monsters their very own blog page. Its a bit bare at the moment but I hope to start filling it soon with news, photos and artwork all dedicated to my first ever kids book, ALPHA MONSTERS!!

Just click the image above or follow this here link http://alpha-monsters.blogspot.com/
You can also follow their exploits over on the Face Book

Please come and join them and help spread the word.

Thanks for stopping by, Oh and did I mention ALPHA MONSTERS?

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 18

2011-03-18T12:43:00.001+11:00

er...yep!

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 17

2011-03-17T16:58:00.000+11:00

Coffee scribbles

Apologies for the horrible grainy photo. I took this on my iPod after someone cancelled a meeting (without telling me). Fortunately the meeting place was close enough to a convenient coffee shop, so I could at least make sure the voyage outside my cave wasn't totally wasted.

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 16

2011-03-16T12:02:00.001+11:00

Oh boy oh boy. Busy busy busy! Just a quickie for a possible upcoming project.

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 15

2011-03-15T22:44:00.000+11:00

I took myself away from the computer for today's sketch and drew these rootin tootin elephants while watching, well, half watching TV tonight. While half baked, half wits, half baked their cakes on yet another seemingly endless supply of reality cooking competitions, I was happy to scribble on some paper.

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 14

2011-03-14T23:19:00.003+11:00

Hubble Bubble

Today's sketch also doubles as Illustration Friday's topic of "Stir". If I get time I may even add a splash of colour. But for now this'll have to do.

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

Update:
I added a quick splash of digital pastel to my original sketch and used a blender tool to smooth out the lines. Only had a small amount of time, but it was good to test out some new techniques away from my usual flat 2D style.

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 11

2011-03-11T21:03:00.001+11:00

Faces only a mother could love

I found this motley crew on this terrifying blog post about bizarre mug shots. There were plenty of interesting faces to work with so I just picked out 5 that caught my eye. Scary!

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

Alpha Monsters Schoalstic NZ

2011-03-11T14:15:00.002+11:00

click to read

I found this being advertised as part of Scholastic New Zealand's Trade show and it gives a little synopsis from the book's back cover and brief description of the books content. Thanks NZ from your friend "Chirs" Kennett

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 10

2011-03-10T23:33:00.001+11:00

Still sketching on Day 10. The good ole interwebs came up trumps with this piece of inspiration http://spoilurpets.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=240 I can't even remember what the original search was for. But really when you see that you don't let it pass you by.

Buy Alpha Monsters online!!!!

2011-03-10T20:57:00.000+11:00

So I've been getting a number of emails and messages about How? Where? When? If? Alpha Monsters would be available overseas. Well tonight a quick and, to be honest, exciting Google search brought up a wealth of online options. So if you want to buy one (or several, winky face) you'll have to dig around to find out their individual shipping costs (as most are Australian owned) and find out who does the best deal. Just follow the links below :)

UK
Book Depository This site offers FREE international shipping so may be the best option for those of you overseas. As the book is not yet released the actual price of the book isn't listed. Might be worth checking back though.

New Zealand
Fishpond NZ

Australia
Borders
Angus and Robertson
Fishpond.com.au
The Nile
Boomerang Books
Emporium Books
Abbey's Bookshop

If you live in Australia but want to pick up a copy from a proper old fashioned book shop contact customer_service@scholastic.com.au to find out which store closest to you has it in stock :)

Hopefully as time goes on and if the book is successful, an overseas release might happen. If so sites like Amazon may join the party. Let's hope so ay?

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 9

2011-03-09T22:35:00.006+11:00

Busy day today, went to Melbourne to see the excellent "Dreams Come True" a collection of Disney art from their most famous Princess movies. I guess I should have done a princess sketch for today, that would have been appropriate. But this was all my brain could cope with after a long commute up and back. Hmmmm

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 8

2011-03-08T12:47:00.002+11:00

SLACKS MURPHY in "Balls of Fire"

Got today's inspiration from a quick glance around my office. Slacks Murphy is the star of a fake movie poster I made using some photos of friends and I leaping from a giant explosion.Slack's expression always makes me laugh, so he's today's sketch.

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 7

2011-03-07T13:14:00.003+11:00

Over the weekend I was listening to some Classic Jethro Tull songs. Yes I know they are not very cool, but I still likes em.

Their front man, Ian Anderson was a crazy looking fellow back in his 70's hey day. These days he's very much the well groomed aging rocker. But for this sketch I wanted to get across his more Cat Weasel like persona which he displays very well in this bonkers clip

More sketches from Sketchbook month here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 4

2011-03-04T15:02:00.000+11:00

A added Apples

OK I'll admit it, today's sketch for March serves two purposes. Firstly it honours my commitment to Sketchbook Month. Secondly it's another shameless plug for my Alpha Monsters book out in April. I drew this today as a possible theme for a follow up book. I can live in hope can't I?

See other the other sketchers here http://sketchbookmonth.wordpress.com/

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 3

2011-03-03T10:02:00.002+11:00

Muuahahahahhhahahahahahahahaaaa!

Day 3, sketch 3! Monster Monster (Fast show fans anyone?)

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 2

2011-03-02T10:27:00.001+11:00

Day 2 and no sign of flagging! Here's today's sketch for Sketchbook Month. Once again Google images came up with the inspiration for this

March of the Sketchbooks! DAY 1

2011-03-01T15:29:00.004+11:00

This month Cedric Hohnstadt has declared it to be Sketchbook Month, whereby all participants produce a sketch every day for the month of March. As he explains "Rarely am I able to draw something I *choose* to draw for practice, to push myself, or just give myself a creative breather". I can relate to that.

So despite being a little busy at the moment, I'm going to sacrifice a half hour every day from my lunch break to whip up a scribble. I don't have a working scanner at the moment, so to save time I'm going to stray from the brief a little and do them digitally. Hey a sketch is a sketch right?

So here's the first one. For inspiration I like to google the word "pose" in images and see what catches my eye (kids you might want to turn that safe filter ON for this, if you know what I mean?).

FYI here's the link where I found my muscular muse (last image) http://www.learn-bodybuilding.com/posing_basics.aspx

Illustration Friday "Swarm"

2011-02-26T15:42:00.000+11:00

Growing up we used to call these kind of lame jokes "Groaners". Named after the involuntary noise (a mixture a amusement and disappointment) you emitted upon hearing the punch-line. This groaner came to me this morning. I groaned to myself and knew it was a contender.

Sleepy Koala

2011-02-25T14:17:00.000+11:00

I've just had the satisfying job of viewing and approving the final layout for the book I've just finished illustrating. This job was for another author and contained lots of Aussie animals.

Here is a little pose sheet I did for the Koala. Unfortunately he doesn't appear too much in the book, which is a shame because I liked how he turned out. I did manage to cram as many poses as I could into the final thing, but only 1 from this sheet made it in. Not telling which one though ;)

Pocket God: Moron Pests

2011-02-24T14:05:00.000+11:00

The new Pocket God update is out for the iPhone and iPod and once again I had the pleasure of creating a promotional image for it. The update is free for those who already have the game, if you don't, it'll set you back a measly dollar!

They're coming!!!!

2011-02-18T09:03:00.002+11:00

The countdown is on! From April 1st Alpha Monsters, my first dabble into children's writing and illustration, will hit the shops in Australia.

The story follows a young boy who finds himself in a strange world filled with Alphabet Monsters (hence the title). The book itself is more of an introduction to the world, the monsters and the alphabet as opposed to a straight out learning book. It's also a story told in verse, which proved challenging at times, but ultimately (I hope) ends up being entertaining.

Hopefully I can share more artwork nearer to the time of release, but right now you're looking at its front cover. Look out for it!

EDIT: Got a few enquiries about the book being available overseas. Unfortunately its only being released in Australia to begin with. But who knows, if it does well and you pester Scholastic enough, it may come to you ;)

I ❤ My Sweater

2011-02-14T17:43:00.005+11:00

An extremely quick and rubbish sketch to combine Valentines Day and this weeks Illustration Friday topic of "sweater".

In fact it's so rubbish I might just do it again at a later date.

A few days later........

See I told you I'd do it again. I'm MUCH happier with this. Just goes to show what a difference a little time and effort makes. I was going to take the first one down. But I will leave it as a hideous reminder that I should never rush and always think before I blog.

Pocket God Promo

2011-02-10T11:21:00.001+11:00

One of my favourite iPod/iPhone games is Pocket God an entertaining app giving you God like powers over islands of Pygmies. I've also been a massive fan of co-creator Allan Dye's work for some time too.

So imagine my joy when Allan contacted me and asked me to create some promo material for their iPad version of the game Journey To Uranus. Here is what I came up with. I had great fun posing out these electrified little guys.

If you have a iPod, IPhone or iPad I thoroughly recommend this app. The guys work really hard to put out regular free updates and personally I think its the best value app out there. Biased? Maybe. Correct? Most definitely!

Little girl all grown up

2011-02-09T10:00:00.000+11:00

This week my Daughter started school. She was so proud of her new dress and school bag. Sure the school bag made her look like she was going back packing around Europe for 6 months, but she still looked cute.

Judging by her first 2 days, I think she's going to get on just fine.

Creepy Muscle Man

2011-02-08T16:38:00.001+11:00

Going to try a do more quick fire sketches and spend no more than 5 mins on each. For practice, for fun, for no particular reason.

Don and the pilchard sandwich

2011-02-02T17:38:00.000+11:00

An old work friend asked me to draw up a picture of our old Boss for fun. So having a few minutes to spare, I did.

After leaving school I spent 3 years working in a print room for the council in Canterbury, England. Our boss was a quiet fellow, who spent every lunch hour sitting in his car eating (more often than not) tinned pilchard sandwiches. To this day I've never tried one and don't intend to either.

This is for you Lee :)

Struttin' Vader

2011-02-01T17:40:00.000+11:00

Just a little something in the last 15mins of the day.

Gabby Girl

2011-01-18T20:53:00.000+11:00

I decided it was about time I updated my Blog of the Week again. Recently I've been enjoying the artwork of Gabby Zapata who does some really charming female character designs. This picture is my attempt at a Gabby style young lady. I pretty much stole the pose and hairdo from Gabby's original design here, but at the same time tried to give it my own touch. Hope you don't mind Gabby, if its any consolation I think yours is waaaaaay better!

Go check out her work and see for yourself.

Long time, no blog

2011-01-17T14:46:00.001+11:00

Its been a while since I posted anything on here. You can blame the Christmas holidays, finishing off illustrations for a book (out mid 2011), various other freelance projects and also juggling 2 kids home on school holidays while battling the early onset of man flu. Yeah I know, Super Dad right?

So anyway with an hour to myself, I sat and drew whatever came to mind. This is what came out. Hey I never said it would be any good, now did I?

HO HO HO

2010-12-16T14:29:00.000+11:00

I scribbled a Santa. Now I'm putting it on here. That's all.

Dingo!

2010-12-06T22:41:00.000+11:00

This sketch of an itchy dingo is a little too cartoony for my current project. But not too cartoony to slap on here.
SLAP!

Interview For X Magazine

2010-12-01T09:49:00.000+11:00

Click to enlarge

Last month I was interviewed for a local publication here in Bendigo, called X Magazine. This is a free mag put out by a talented bunch of guys and gals from the area and sponsored by the Bendigo Bank.

This is the first time I've done anything like this so I was a bit nervous, truth be told. Anyhoo I think they did a really nice job putting it together. They did leave a T off my last name but that's no big deal, I'm in a Magazine for flips sake!! :)

So if you're in the Bendigo area, look out for the metal loving Twiggy in your local coffee shops over the next few weeks. They're FREE so support this home grown initiative and grab a copy while you grab a coffee.

Back in the saddle again

2010-11-30T14:35:00.000+11:00

Don't know why I drew a cowboy, maybe it's because I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption lately. Or maybe it's because of all those Cowboy movies my Dad used to watch, they've finally penetrated my brain. Either way I needed to warm up my drawing muscles after some time away from the tablet. This is what came out. Yee-HAW!

The Sketch

First attempt I abandoned

CTN-X 2010 photos

2010-11-29T12:06:00.000+11:00

Now that I've finally settled back into some kind of routine, I can take a moment to reflect on the weekend of CTN and post some photos courtesy of table buddy Mike Amos. Eager beavers that we were, we set up on the Thursday night when no one else was around. How sneaky!

When the first day began with Jerry Beck handing me his card and offering to review my book (released next April folks!), I knew this was going to be a weekend to savor.

Caught in the act!

Our friend and helper extraordinaire Laura Craig

The table looking splendid complete with preview copy of Alpha Monsters. Although the tub of free Red Vines proved slightly more popular than our actual work!

An admin oversight meant my name was left off the main banner. I soon put that right

There were many other amazing tables around, we didn't get to photograph them all, but here's a small selection of my favorites.

The friendly folks from Muertoons and their great book Rosita Y Conchita

Bill Robinson a blogger I've followed for a while now and genuinely nice bloke

The awesome Disney Peck N Paw project and (below) the super nice Brittney Lee

Special mentions too for Drake Brodahl, John Nevarez and the boys at Ghostbot for being, quite possibly, the nicest guys on planet earth.

All in all it was a great experience. Would I do it again? Heck yeah! But let's just see how 2011 pans out first though shall we?

Goonies never say Diet

2010-11-18T19:10:00.001+11:00

In my ongoing quest to eat all the terrible things I can find here in the US, I couldn't go past these 2 icons of junk. The Baby Ruth holds fond memories for me as the choccie bar that Chunk used to befriend Sloth in the legendary Goonies movie.

In a blog first I shall eat the Baby Ruth live as I type and post my verdict..................................................

it's nice. No wonder Sloth was tamed by a chubby 10 year old boy.

The Twinkies however are vomit inducing.

We went to John K's house!!!!

2010-11-18T18:28:00.003+11:00

OK so it may have cost us over $150 in cab fares and we even paid for dinner, but opportunities to sit and talk with the man himself don't come along very often. So when they do, you grab at them and say to hell with the cost, because moments like this are priceless!

It was a surreal moment as we stood on his front porch waiting for the man, our hero, creator of Ren and Stimpy, to open his door and invite us in. This moment of utter absurdity was not lost on us, as we nervously entered the residence of THE John K. Not only did he show us some work in development, he acted out the parts as he ran us through each storyboard, clearly still in love with the things he creates.

After taking him out to his favourite restaurant to eat a frankly ridiculous salami club sandwich (basically an entire stick of salami in bread), we went back briefly to his place where he effortlessly knocked out a fantastic drawing for Michael and I, and signed my DVD covers. Yay!

Of course being swept up in the moment and never quite finding the right time, I forgot to ask for a photo. Maybe subconsciously I thought he might say "No". But I'm sure he wouldn't have minded if I did, after all I AM his best friend ;)

Disney Studios

2010-11-18T11:47:00.000+11:00

Today Michael and I were lucky enough to get a guided tour of Disney Studios by Michael's animation mentor and Disney feature animator Chad Sellers. Chad was extremely generous with his time and showed us into the inner sanctum of the workings of Disney. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photo's inside, but let me assure you the working environment and general vibe inside the building was amazing.

We got to see a sneak preview of some animation from the new Tangled movie, and it looks amazing. It was great to meet a few of the faces that went into making these characters come to life. I've no doubt their obvious love and enthusiasm for Tangled will translate into every frame of the movie.

Photo's may have been banned inside, but outside was fair game.

The original animation building

Chad points out Ward Kimball's mysterious 6th fingers

That'll be me then. Picture taken by Chad. Yep Disney animators take MY photo!

Countdown to CTN-Xtasy. Seldom Asked Questions

2010-11-11T13:39:00.002+11:00

SAQ

"Hey Chris, was that a clever Steely Dan reference in your post title?"

Yes is was, thanks for noticing. That poorly thought out pun means that I am literally counting down the days before I head off for the CTN-X Animation Expo in Burbank, California from the19th-21st Nov. Oh Em Gee!!!

"Are you Nervous?"

To be sat in a room surrounded by so much talent is daunting, I'll be honest. Considering I've spent the best part of 10 years working alone in the back room of my house in country Australia, this will be an experience I will not forget in a hurry.

"Will I be able to take anything away with me to remember you by?"

Why yes, yes of course. As I've mentioned before, I'll be sharing some table space with extra talented Michael Amos. Together we'll be offering up a small selection of goodies. I'll have a set of 5 postcards available and a limited run of prints (see below)

Not forgetting you can also help yourself to one of my 100% recycled business cards (that's as in paper not ideas).

As well as all that I'll also be giving away a limited edition postcard featuring my upcoming book "Alpha Monsters". Visitors to my table will also get to see the book first hand, though it won't be for sale until April 2011. Sorry about that.

"Wow they all seem like excellent mementos!"

That's not a question but yes, you are right. Nice observation.

"So where will I find you in this sea of talent?"

We'll be set up on Table 57 located in the "Talent Marketplace". That's TABLE 57. Here I've even marked it on a map for you. See.

click to enlarge

"Well that sounds excellent, I'll make sure you're one of the first people I come and visit."

Again not a question, but that's very nice of you. I look forward to meeting you. ALL OF YOU :)

CTN-X 2010

2010-10-28T23:30:00.002+11:00

The lady in the crazy sunnies may well be gasping in awe at the fantastic talent on display at this year's CTN-X Animation Expo. I imagine my expression will be much the same as I wonder to myself, how in the flippin flip did I end up here?

If I'd actually pinched myself as many times as I felt like pinching myself, my arm would be incredibly sore.

So yeah if you happen to be around Burbank CA between 19th and 21st of November and you happen to want to come and say hello then I, and my table buddy Michael, would be more than happy to make your acquaintance. We'll be selling some bits and bobs during our time there. Hurry though stocks are limited. Kidding Ha Ha! Seriously though we don't want to take this stuff back on the plane.

Plus I'll be showing off my soon to be released book to those who are interested. Sorry I won't be able to sell any copies but if you ask me nicely I might let you turn the pages. Wearing special gloves of course.

Now for the hard sell!

CTN-X takes place at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center with ample discounted parking, conveniently located near the Burbank Airport and Amtrak Station. Early bird pricing and discounted rates are available to students and professional industry organizations. Join me and and make more connections in one weekend thenin a year on facebook at this very different event. Register now as my guest and save 10% on any 1-day or 3-day general pass by using this discount code as my guest KECHX10.

Illustration Friday "Spooky"

2010-10-17T17:57:00.000+11:00

"What did the Butler see?"

Once again this is an image I already had (in sketch form), so I thought I would flesh it out and use it for this weeks Illustration Friday. I thought the pose and expression suggested something spooky was going on. I'm not sure what he saw or heard in that big spooky mansion but whatever it was has him rattled.

This was a deliberate attempt to move away from my usual style and attempt something out of my comfort zone and try to be a bit more versatile, I guess.You can see below how I moved beyond the initial sketch which was just drawn freehand in Flash. I took the sketch into Corel Painter to create the final image above.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Illustration Friday "Beneath"

2010-10-07T22:20:00.002+11:00

"Beneath his gruff exterior this monster was actually a great big softie"

I'll be honest I'd already drawn this before the IF topic of "beneath" came up. This was actually a design I did purely for the purpose of getting printed as a postcard to sell at the CTN Expo. But I've decided not to use it and so here it sits in blogland for you folks to (hopefully) enjoy. So er....enjoy :)

Flintstones turn 50!

2010-10-01T13:51:00.000+10:00

When I heard that it was The Flintstones' 50th birthday I couldn't help but draw my own little tribute. The Hanna-Barbera style has been a huge influence on me over the years and their designs are still as strong as ever. Happy Birthday Fred! Yabba-Dabba- Dooooooo!!!!

Buisness card designs

2010-09-16T13:36:00.001+10:00

OK guys and girls its not often I ask something of you, but today I do. I've recently discovered the joy that is http://www.moo.com/ and their ability to print any number of images in one print run. I want to produce some new business cards for my trip overseas and I thought it would be cool to produce a series of cards rather than settle on one design.

There are 15 images here, but I think that's a bit excessive so I want to whittle in down to 10.

Here's where you come in. I would love to hear what designs you think work, what don't work so well and which you think I could leave out altogether. I realise this is a big ask in these busy times, but any thoughts you'd like to share will be welcome.

Thanks for stopping by.

Wet suit man

2010-09-08T22:08:00.001+10:00

Just a mindless doodle that appeared when I should have been doing other, more important, things. I was going to delete it, but then I didn't. Ta da!

Happy Father's Day

2010-09-06T09:26:00.000+10:00

Sunday was Father's Day here in Aussie land and my 5 year old girl gave me this cute little watercolour as a bookmark. Awwww! Apparently my legs are really that long.

CTN-X Sketchbook Promo

2010-09-02T14:47:00.001+10:00

One of the perks of having a table at the CTN-X Animation Expo is that I get some space in the Expo's sketchbook brochure. Seeing as I'm sharing a table with Michael Amos, we also get to share a half page space in the book. That actually turned out to be a cool thing, giving us a nice long skinny format to work in.

In the end I went with a new illustration of Sunshine Umbrella Girl which I'm planning to sell as prints at the Expo. Along with a few other things too!

The picture above is courtesy of Michael who, very kindly, has been using his City connections to track down a great printer for us both. Thanks Michael, this country mouse really appreciates it :)

My Pet Monster

2010-08-04T15:21:00.000+10:00

This is actually a few months old and I had every intention of making a series of these little pet monster soundbites. Of course like so many half baked ideas it fell by the wayside. But for what it's worth here tis for you to snoop at. Snoop away!

Sunshine Umbrella Girl

2010-07-28T16:06:00.000+10:00

I'm thinking about creating a series of images (possibly for prints) using this young lady. I call her the "Sunshine Umbrella Girl" because she's based on this image I did a couple of years ago. Anyway I created this pose sheet to explore her character a little further. Who knows maybe I'll get a story out of her too.

How To Drain Your Flagon

2010-07-13T12:43:00.000+10:00

I've had this stupid pun rattling around inside my head for a while now. So while I had a few moments during lunch I decided to get it out once and for all. There all gone, time to think of other things.

Illustration Friday "GIANT"

2010-07-07T12:07:00.000+10:00

Must have a thing about stuff being squashed lately because when the topic of "Giant" came up for Illustration Friday I automatically went for Squashy angle.

Rushed this a little bit, but I only had a little while in my lunch time. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Mr Squeakums

2010-07-02T15:54:00.000+10:00

Sometimes when I get 5 minutes break, I sketch the first thing that comes into my head. Unfortunately on this occasion, the first thing that came into my head was an image of me stepping on a pet mouse called Mr Squeakums. We don't actually have any pet mice but, if we did, I think I would tread a little more carefully around the house.

Joints Don't Jump wins award

2010-06-22T12:40:00.002+10:00

EDIT: I should point out that I didn't personally win the award, but I appreciate all the kind words. On this occasion it was just nice to be involved. :)

Joints Don't Jump, the 60 second commercial I provided Character Design for, has won an award. A Communicator Gold Award of Excellence to be precise. Congratulations to the folks at Animax Entertainment who put the spot together. I have posted the clip before, but here it is again for those that missed it first time around.

The AAOS have said its OK to share some of the original artwork with you. So below I've put some of the final designs as well as some other ideas that weren't chosen.

The first step was to design the old guy who's dancing at the beginning and the end of the spot. His look would determine the design of the other characters who appear throughout.

Once they settled on the style of design it was time to design his wife. Here are a few options I went with.

And soon the rest followed, with a few minor tweaks along the way.

Animax then took the designs and animated them in a very excellent way. And that, as they say, is that!

Frankenboy

2010-06-22T11:43:00.001+10:00

Frankenboy from Chris Kennett on Vimeo.

This week The Tim Burton Exhibition opens at the ACMI in Melbourne. So by way of celebration I dug out this old eCard I produced for Sugarqube back in the olden days of 2006!! Back then the Internet was slow and wheezy like an asthmatic elephant, so all content had to be produced at an agonising 12fps. Which is why it's a bit jittery.

I think the Burton influence is pretty obvious here, all creepy kids and stripey shirts. I've included some original concept art below, as well as the original storyboard idea I submitted. Hope you likes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Flash CS5 scribble

2010-06-18T17:41:00.000+10:00

Just been testing out the brush tool in Flash CS5. That's about it really. Enjoy the weekend!

Banjo Pig? Why not?

2010-06-18T10:36:00.002+10:00

Guy Francis and Stacy Curtis are currently in a monumental (emphasis on the "mental") battle to draw as many banjo playing pigs as they can. They've also opened up the field to anyone who'd like to join in. Visit here http://banjopigs.blogspot.com/

So last night, in the wee small hours, I made my contribution.

Thanks to Korey Scott for bringing this nonsense to my attention. I love nonsense!

Father's Day

2010-06-17T11:00:00.001+10:00

It's almost Father's Day in the US and I'd almost forgotten this ecard I animated for American Greetings last year. I got to play around with the design on this and also storyboard the whole thing.

Here are some different lion cub designs we went through.

Final design, though his ears got smaller in the final build.

In the early stages we considered a range of cute baby animals. I would have liked to go with the little piggy but the lion won out in the end.

You can view the final card here.