Huntington Gardens

Today, I went out and visited The Huntington Gardens. I brought an itty-bitty sketchbook along and did a few drawings(they're not even the size of ones hand).

One is of a fascinating bonsai tree and then another of a random tree that was 100 times larger.

Very relaxing and beautiful spot.

Raider

Back in December, I took the plunge and adopted a cat. Owning a cat has been on my mind since I graduated and after moving to a new apartment, I visited a local shelter and spotted this itty-bitty puff:

 

Now a couple months later. Raider is no longer a puff, but a 10 pound gangly goofball: 

He's been the best bud to have around. Plays fetch, hangs upside down off of anything, rolls over for belly rubs and is always stalking me and making the morning/evening feeding routines for both my parrot and him highly entertaining:

 Legs make for especially great prey. Raider has the habit of hiding behind corners and pouncing on me when I pass.

 And just some more doodles of the spaz. He's a pro at tail-hunting.

THE CROODS!

With DreamWorks’ “The Croods” opening this weekend, I thought I’d revive the ol’ blog with writing about my experiences on the show.

“The Croods” is my first feature film after graduating from CalArts. I came onboard in January 2011 and after a few weeks of training, I was animating away on a feature film! Some of my first few shots involved Eep climbing up a cliff-face. I was given a little overview by my supervisor about the show and the expectations for the show's animation style(cartoony, but grounded with realistic believability)  and I was extremely excited after hearing about the family, the world, and the creatures! From January 2011 until November 2012, I was animating all kinds of supremely fun shots on the film. I couldn’t feel more proud of everyone involved in the making of  “The Croods.”  Some of my favorite memories involve attending dailies (when animators show their wip work to the directors), and watching the character’s traits/the whole family dynamic really develop.  The crew was constantly discovering new ways to push the animal-like movements on the family members, pushing the physical comedy, and really tapping into the heart-felt moments between the characters. All of which was very inspiring and motivating to a newcomer like me (and intimidating, but I learned so much on every shot)---I’d usually leave dailies very eager to get back to my desk and animate. Congratulations to all of my co-workers across all departments, it’s so exciting that the Crood family is now out for the world to enjoy. I feel very fortunate to have been a member of Team Croods!

I thought it’d be fun to end with some thumbnails. As I plan a shot, 99.9% of the time I do little planning drawings to figure out a course of action. I then use these as a starting point for shooting reference, scouring YouTube for more inspiration, or just diving right into posing the characters out.  This is a collage from a variety of shots I worked on, some ideas stayed, other changed as the shot progressed. 

Saturday Night: Beer n' Donuts

I was doing some grocery shopping at a local Von's on Saturday afternoon and this guy was right in front of me. His purchase solely included a pack of beer and a pack of mini-donuts---the makings of one wild weekend.  He also could not keep his balance very well, constantly swaying with every weight shift.

Ready, aim.....

Just for fun, for the past couple of Saturdays I've been taking archery classes. It's a great way to spend a morning and you get to see a lot of characters(all nice, very enthusiastic people too.) I'm pretty hooked on it. Here are a few doodles:

There are always about a dozen kids running around who are all very disproportionately sized for the bows. I'm always a little worried when one is next to me because there's a good chance of getting whacked with that bow while they try to setup.

 

Then there are the veterans to archery...though this was the first time I've seen this guy at this range. He had all of his own very fancy, top-of-the-line equipment(awesome back quiver!), more arrows than wildlife in the area, and wasn't talking to very many people. But with a great, "Let's DO this!" He charged past me into the bushes. I didn't see him the rest of the class, so he's probably going all Bear Grylls in the hills of Pasadena. This pose doesn't really do him justice, I was trying to get a clear read on that quiver and his intricate tattoos that covered much of his skin.

 Yesterday this boy was really excited about his first round of archery. He gave a play-by-play recount of the events leading up to his first hit. It was cute to see, especially the "woo hoo!" moment when his dad told him he got it on video. Yes, he fist bumped with his bow.

And then one of my own attempts:

 To be fair, it was my very first time shooting from the 20 yard line(had been practicing at the 10 yard line.) and didn't know what I needed to do to compensate for the new distance. That walk of shame to pick up that lone arrow was a fun one.... at least I now know what to do, and have gotten much better.

An update from the couple sketch trips I've taken between March and May.

First, I went on a drawing trip with my friend Kristen to the Natural History Museum, so here are a few that I didn't draw from my previous visit.

And then the usual round-up of the zoo crew. Now with tiger cubs(though they're quickly growing and barely resemble cubs.)

 

A few weekends ago I ventured out to Long Beach and sketched at the Aquarium of the Pacific. They had my two favorite animals: sea otters and puffins! Always fun to study those guys.

Been way too long since the last update--I just noticed that my last post was February! I'll be playing catchup for a little while here.

I was invited to interview with Animation Insider recently, the interview can be found here:
http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/04/jennifer-harlow/

It's a cool and very inspiring site, thanks again to Mike Milo for giving me the opportunity to participate.

And then a couple weeks ago the first official poster for DreamWorks' "The Croods" was released onto the internets! I'm currently very busy animating away on it and havin' a blast.