“The Dude” – Sloth Animation Sneak Peek

So today I wanted to get back into TVPaint and do some traditional animation. So I decided to grab a snippet of dialogue from one of my favorite actors (Jeff Bridges) in one of my favorite films “The Big Lebowski” – So without further ado I present “The Dude… Sloth”

[youtube_sc url=”jG3rNpNHV40″ width=”750″]


This is a sneak peek at an upcoming series of animation training videos and lessons that I am working on coming early this year. Enjoy!

UPDATE: My Animation Tutorials are now available.

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.

 



First Ever “Art Giveaway Contest” Winners + Happy 2015!!

Hi Everybody!

We had a great response to our first ever “Art Giveaway Contest”.

First, I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who purchased my Custom Photoshop Fur Brushes. I’ve had a great time experimenting with them myself and I wanted to let everyone know now that I’m currently working on creating a second set, so stay tuned!

Note: There were too many entries for me to provide individual feedback on each one. But as a general rule I must say that I was very impressed with what I saw and each and every one of you who participated has talent and should continue to develop and pursue it

As for the art we received…We had such a wide variety of subjects. It was so much fun going through everything and seeing how the brushes were used. There were illustrations, photo-retouches and more! Everything was really great and I could see the fun you guys were having. That being said, there were a few that stood out for me. Out of the entries I picked five.

I’d also like to announce that along with the first place winner receiving a signed original drawing from me, the remaining four will receive signed prints. So here they are!

Ann-Lauwers-Mouse-in-Cup
First Place: Ann Lauwers – Mouse in Cup

Click the Images Below to See the Other Winners:

 

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.


A final note on the the “Photo-Retouches” there were some really fun and solid ones that were this close to making the final cut so please don’t hesitate to keep them coming in future events. There were also some great images that unfortunately came in after the deadline. Sadly, to be fair to everyone I’m trying to keep the cut-offs as serious as we can. So if you don’t see your name here, keep at it and be on the look out for my next art challenge which is coming soon !

Once again, Thank you so much for your participation and Happy 2015! 

– Aaron Blaise

P.S. I’ll be contacting all the winners shortly to get shipping details, etc. – Congrats Again!

Timelapse Digital Painting of Yao from “Mulan” in Photoshop

Lately, I’ve been having a blast revisiting my “old friends” from the Disney films I worked on. Yao was a character I designed and supervised the animation for the film “Mulan”. Here I’ll take you through my process as I paint him in Photoshop.

Below is a time-lapse video of the process and the final image:

[youtube_sc url=”TpnIk_VZ5Wc” width=”750″]

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.


Aaron-Blaise-Realistic-Yao


You can also see my take on the Beast from “Beauty and the Beast” HERE and my Rajah from “Aladdin” HERE

Time Lapse Video of Digital Painting of Rajah from Aladdin in Photoshop

Rajah (from “Aladdin”) was the first character I was ever given the opportunity to actually design and lead the animation. It was a huge deal for me. I was 24 and I remember being very nervous. It was fun to draw and paint him tonight after so many years. Thanks to John Musker and Ron Clements for having faith in me way back then.

Below is a time-lapse video of the process and the final image:

[youtube_sc url=”LuaMG0_-xWw” width=”650″]

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.



You can also see my take on the Beast from “Beauty and the Beast” HERE

Painting Rajah from "Aladdin" in Photoshop

Digital Painting of Beast in Photoshop

So my friend and  I were talking and he thought it might be fun and interesting to take some of the characters I’ve animated in the past and do realistic renderings of them in Photoshop using my painting techniques and photographic textures. I agreed and so I decided to do The Beast as my first one. This was the first major character I ever animated thanks to Glen Keane. I’ve always loved drawing him.

Below is a time-lapse video of the process and the final image:

[youtube_sc url=”C6Dk7EEFTG4″ width=”650″]

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.


ImagineFX Cover Issue – ON SALE NOW

Hi Everyone,

I am so excited and extremely honored to announce that the latest issue of Imagine FX Magazine features a cover story and new video tutorial by me. It was a lot of fun putting this together and the whole team over at the publication did an outstanding job. They are based in the UK so it hits news stands there today, November 7th and it should be in USA and other international book stores soon after! In my area I know it can be picked up at Barnes and Nobel bookstores. 

To celebrate I am offering a limited time 30% OFF promo code for my site. Just enter “ImagineFX” at checkout to receive 30% off your order.

 

Below is gallery showing the final cover and a sneak peek at the interior article. I’ve also included a number of alternative cover sketches that I did. Continue reading ImagineFX Cover Issue – ON SALE NOW

Watch My Adobe Max 2014 Session

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to give a demo on “Creating Photo Real Creatures in Photoshop” at the 2014 Adobe Max Conference.  Well today I am pleased to see that they have posted it online and I wanted to share it with you as a free demo.

NOTE: This was a screen capture so you will only hear my voice for the first few minutes. After that though the full demo is visible. Also, this was a new audience so some of the info may be familiar to you if you have watched some of my other videos. It runs just over an hour.

Enjoy,
Aaron

New Disney Inspired Art

I’ve often been asked what my favorite movie was to work on while at Disney. With the exception of my experience directing “Brother Bear”, I’d have to say that it was working with Glen Keane animating the Beast on “Beauty and the Beast”. Glen was incredibly generous with the scenes he gave me to animate. He got me to elevate my game higher than I thought I was able to do. Because of that… it launched my animation career to new heights. I owe a lot to Glen.

So the other day I say down and got inspired to draw the Beast… It has been years since I’ve drawn the character and I wanted to see if I could still do it. After that I started doing a few other characters as well.  I’m also posting these and a lot of other images over at INSTAGRAM so please follow me there if you want. Enjoy!

Student Discount

I often travel the world giving demos & lectures and get the opportunity to work with aspiring artists, illustrators and animators from all walks of life. I am continually impressed by the talent out there as well as the questions that I get. A HUGE part of our mission with this site is to continue to offer affordable art education. As a special “Thank You” to returning students I am offering a 50% Off Promo Code for signing up for my newsletter.

Continue reading Student Discount