Emily Eslinger: Character Animator

BEHOLD THE MIGHT OF THIS DRAGON I HAVE ANIMATED FOR YOU.

I was going to post it as a gif but tumblr was being it’s usual picky self and wouldn’t let me.

So I saw a picture of Stephen Merchant smoking a pipe in a 3 piece suit and thought, “I should draw him in a Pith Helmet” And so I did…That made more sense in my head. Now that I type it I realize the complete lack of logic I just described.

Took a break from cleaning up the animation I’m working on to do another likeness exercise. I’ve attempted this guy before but only really cartoony. Thought I’d try a more detailed straight-from-reference approach this time. Threw a cartoon one in at the end. Turned out looking kind of insanely-enthusiastic but its funny so I’m leaving it.

I kind of feel bad for Mr. Merchant; in half the pictures I ran by while looking for reference he had this hint of, “Oh crap, a camera,” in his facial expression. He must get ambushed often.

Another piece of fan art I drew that should have been confined to my other blog but escaped to this one (I’m trying to fill this blog mostly with original things I make, not fan art and not re-blogs). I’m just feeling a need to fill the void of posts lately. The projects I am working on (outside of fan art breaks like this) are animation projects which tend to take a while. Don’t want my blog to go dry in the meantime. 

I always worry about being seen as unoriginal when I do a pile of fan art, like it will look like I can’t come up with my own characters or something. (And it doesn’t help that my fellow drawing friends have that attitude towards fan art in general) But I would like to justify it this way:

One, I do draw my own characters and stories, all the time. Two, when I become a fan of something, I get creatively revved, and that’s never a bad thing. If doing a few drawings of something I find inspiring will spur me into a creative and productive frenzy, why stop it? It’s all good practice and it’s the kind of thing that can get you out of an artist’s block plateau and on to making other things than just the fan art that gave you the momentum. So the fan art haters can go feel superior about themselves elsewhere. I’m posting fan art today gentlemen.

I drew this for someone on my other blog (the blog I shamelessly clutter with fan art) Failed to resist urge to post it here also.

rockabirdie:Can anyone who is adept at drawing please do a crossover of Venture Bros. & Team Fortress with the Scout as Dean and the Soldier as Hank doing the Team Venture V High Five saying “GO TEAM FORTRESS!”?

(Me): CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Hope this fulfills your fandom crossover needs. Have a nice day :)

rockabirdie: THIS IS AMAZEBALLS! I cannot stop laughing! Thank you so much!!!

(Me): Glad it made you laugh :D

I animated this. It’s super serious guys.

Brace yourself world. The profound thoughts of a tortured and imprisoned rodent’s mind have finally congealed into the second installment of this artsy, dark, serious, series. Its so artsy, so dark, and so serious, that you probably wont understand it. You being so…not artsy, dark and serious…you.

Please enjoy this artsy dark and serious performance. Try not to let it blow your mind. You may find yourself thinking in only rhythmic patterns of 5, then 7, then 5 syllables from now on. I will not be held responsible.

More Likeness Practices: Patton Oswalt

I am so happy! This is getting easier every time I try it. The very first page of sketches I did for Patton here turned out looking like him! I only edited out two drawings of him from this page, and even they weren’t horribly off.

(not as horribly off as the ones I had to throw away on my Stephen Merchant attempt. I didn’t even bother scanning the first page of attempts I did for him. I am going to retry him now that I’m getting the hang of this.)

Anyway, enough babble. I know these aren’t perfect but they are the closest I have gotten so far and for now I am happy with them. Next I am thinking maybe Stephen Colbert or Craig Furgeson or Callum Blue. Not sure yet. Maybe all of them.

Likeness Practices: Stephen Merchant and John Oliver

I decided recently that I really need to work on likenesses. Usually when I draw people they turn out looking similar to the person I intended, but not accurate enough to be immediately recognized.

SO, I’ve decided to draw some favorite actors and comedians over and over and over until I get them right. So far I’ve done Stephen Merchant and John Oliver. I’ve actually made many more attempts than what I am showing here (PAGES OF FAIL), I just grabbed the semi-successful ones. I need to try Stephen again. I’ve only attempted him as simplified cartoon so far, I need to draw a more detailed version like I did with John. I had thought for some reason that starting from a cartoony, exaggerated place and then easing into a more realistic version would be the easiest approach, but the opposite turned out to be true. OH WELL THAT’S WHY I’M DOING THIS ANYWAY.

I’ll try these two again soon but for now I am going to try a few other people. I’ve done two lanky Brits so far, think I need to try a fat American next…probably Patton Oswalt.

I was Tumbling on my lunch break when I was suddenly assaulted by a post to the effect of: DROP EVERYTHING AND DRAW YOURSELF AS THE MOST RECENT VIDEO GAME CHARACTER YOU PLAYED AS.

Being bored, and on my lunch break, and obedient to powers of bolded, capslocked letters, I scrambled this together. I couldn’t remember if I had played Portal or Borderlands last—So I drew Lilith the Siren carrying a portal gun and wearing some bastardized hybrid of combat boots and the long fall boots.

No it doesn’t really look like me more than having my hair style and being my gender and age. I have coincidentally put “likenesses” on my list of things to work at. To my credit though, I did it in the time of half a lunch break, and I was really more focused on the costume and other details.

whatever, it was fun :D

I have to share this.

Just came from a meeting about what music is appealing to the younger crowd these days—we are making animations and a website aimed at the high school age group.

 I said, “Dubstep. Dubstep is the thing now.”

“What’s ‘dubstep’?” They asked.

I showed them. They sat in silence. I thought they were frightened.

They LOVED IT.

I get to animate to dubstep…I GET TO ANIMATE TO DUBSTEP!

BEST MEETING EVARRRRRRR!!!! wubwubvvvtvvvt!

BEHOLD! A cartoon at rest. This is what a few minutes of animation looks like when it’s not moving. Myself and one other person drew all of that. This is a picture of what I spent about a month and a half of my life creating: A fat stack of drawings that will now be filed away in a dark drawer, possibly forever.

If I sound bitter, I’m not! This was easily the most fun project I have done at work so far. I am proud of that fat stack of drawings. I will miss it. Even though our timeline was kinda ridiculous. Just wanted to document the moment before archiving it.

(I apologize for the terrible quality of the picture. I took it on an ipod real quick and I wasn’t thinking about composition or anything at the time—the mug and the back of the folder are tangent with that line on the cubical wall and it is DRIVING ME NUTS now.)