Here’s a quick sketch I did using a Sharpie.

On one hand it was nice to see my work in a medium that wasn’t my own sketchbook.  On the other hand, I was mortified  that something so rough found its way on the back page of a published comic book, for all the world to see.  If I had really thought it through,  I would have created a better piece for Eugene.  That same feeling of remorse had resurfaced when Eugene coincidentally posted that same sketch of the Grasshopper I did in high school on facebook.  This time I was going to make up for all those days regretting I gave him such a ‘less-than-satisfactory rendition of his character, the Grasshopper.  This past weekend, I decided to bring it back to the “drawing table” so to speak, and create this character that I always envisioned in my mind.

The Grasshopper has now returned. Eugene – please do yourself, me, and the rest of the world a favor and keep that old school Grasshopper where it belongs… back in the 90′s.

Here are some old animation tests I found while I was cleaning my desk and workstation
for the New year. It’s always nice to look back at old work and see how far you have
developed as an artist. I remember my excitement working on these exercises while
I was at The Animation Academy.

I look forward to bringing this same energy and enthusiasm to all the
projects I work on for 2010.

]]> http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/more-life-drawings/feed/ 0 gbalino 5_LifeDrawing 6_LifeDrawing 7_LifeDrawing 8_LifeDrawing 9_LifeDrawing 10_LifeDrawing http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/huge-sketchbook-dump/ http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/huge-sketchbook-dump/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:03:33 +0000 George http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/?p=692 ]]>

Here are more pages from my sketchbook. A habit I am hoping to break is throwing out preliminary sketches. If I am not satisfied with the overall look of any of my sketches, despite the amount of time and effort I have already put into it, I simply throw it out.
I have been doing this for as long as I have been sketching. My wife, Debbie, hates this habitual behavior of mine.

Inspired by my love for my wife and not hearing her cringe when I crumple
up a drawing – I’m getting better at this. My new habit is to keep those unwanted
pages and draw on top of them with new sketches.

]]> http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/huge-sketchbook-dump/feed/ 0 gbalino page6 page5 page4 page3 watercolor1 watercolor2 watercolor3 watercolor4 animal2 page1 animal1 page2 http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/agent-k/ http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/agent-k/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:30:45 +0000 George http://georgebalino.wordpress.com/?p=626 ]]>

Here is the final render of Agent K. When I was designing the
character, the first thing that I envisioned was the typical ”Grey” alien.
(You know the ones you see in all the shows with big bug eyes,
big forehead and really tiny mouth).  I wasn’t really satisfied with the
overall look so I reworked his head making him more alien-like.
Be sure to check out Agent K’s close-up.

Last weekend, Deb and I went to the Nucleus Art Gallery in Alhambra for the James Jean’s signing.  With his book, Process Recess 3, in hand, I met James Jean for the second time and got him to do a quick sketch. James Jean is a talented artist noted for his work on Fables for DC comics, Prada and Gap.

Check out his website at processrecess.com and pickup his book PR3.

Here’s a quick sketch I did today using Sketchbook Pro.