Sunday, July 15, 2012

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.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

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.


Sunday, June 10, 2012

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.


Sunday, April 29, 2012

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. 




Sunday, February 19, 2012

Drawing with Dinosaurs

Decided to have a spur of the moment trip to the Natural History Museum to finally check-out the new dino exhibit. It has only been on my radar for the past several months:

Bonus Ground Sloth! He was in a different hall then the rest, but because I find them so fascinating, I had to stop and sketch him.

On another note, the arm poses on the actual Carnotaurus skeleton are pretty wonky, seems like an evolutionary step backwards. At least t-rex's tiny arms make a little more sense on the whole functionality scale.


The way this ended up being drawn...it looks like these two are having a casual conversation rather then a life or death hunt. "OH GUUURL! WHO DID YOUR NAILS???" This was also a lesson in how not to layout my drawing so it wouldn't run off the page....fail.

Saturday, February 18, 2012


I was heading out to run some errands this morning and en route met a new neighbor!

He was really proud he had made it from the apartment's laundry facility without dropping anything and in his excitement, shared this news with me(with the biggest 3-toothed grin he could muster). I wasn't so much impressed by that accomplishment as I was by his poncho/bare feet look. I'm sure I'll be seeing him again on his next trip....I didn't immediately spy anymore ponchos in his tower of laundry, but I bet they were buried in there somewhere.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

LAX: Holiday edition


Another round of LAX drawings from when I flew home to Oregon to spend Christmas with my family. My personal favorite is the gentlemen in the lower right corner---he was a cornucopia of character. Lots of visual splendor. Though I also treasure those moments of spotting an owner that looks like their pet(a very cheery couple).