HeadKase Artist Series@Nicebunny.com

Head on over to Nicebunny.com to pick up some designer paper toys designed by Brian Castleforte aka Nicebunny. There you can also download the 13 peice HeadKase Artist Series, a collaboration with the likes of Matt Hawkins, Ben The Illustrator, Phil, Sosio, Marshall Alexander, Gianzo, Mari Inukai, LaFlamme, Dickie Jones 33, Josh Coldiron, Remember the Little Guy, Nick Knite, and myself.

You can see pics of mine on the Flickr.

December Papercraft: Jam Master Jay

Run DMC "Peter Piper" [Parental Advisory]

It's been a crazy week. This semester's finals were a bit easier but still just as stressful. In the midst of the chaos, i managed to pull through with the work you've been waiting for. i decided to release them separately through the month so i could have time to build and photograph them all (that's right, i haven't even had time to actually BUILD the other 2). So here's the first of three, the late, great Jason Mizel a.k.a. Jam Master Jay.

Download: Jam Master Jay


Check the Flickr for more pics.

on another note, Rest in Piece to Chad Butler a.k.a Pimp C, 1/2 of one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time UGK and an ace producer. Thanks for all you did for Southern hip-hop.

i Have Not Forsaken Ye

This is just a small post so you guys could see what i was workin' on. i've been really busy lately. Above is a screenshot of what i'm working toward releasing in a week or so, and yes, i'm giving you all three to make up for not having anything for this month or last month.

Most of you could probably guess who these guys are (or not) and i'm thinking of maybe making a series of musicians (but that's still a BIG maybe). Let me know your thoughts on the idea AND on what you see above. It would be greatly appreciated.

i also got a camera and took some pictures of the previous models.


Check the Flickr for more.

October Papercraft: Hedkase Artist Series

Nice Bunny *Exclusive* COMING SOON!

Plus updated Flickr

September Papercraft: The Twins

These guys give another meaning to bi-polar. I try to make each Tubii© a bit different than the next. This one is two sided, ie. the front is made the same way as the back.

Twins.pdf
instructions.pdf

Wacom Practice

So i'm back at good ol' Memphis College of Art and i just couldn't wait to try out the new Wacom tablets. I seriously need to invest in one of these babies.

i tested them out on a few sketches i previously scanned in.

[King the ManApe]

[Audia]

[Street Fighter's Dhalsim]

So these are my first ever Wacom inkings. i think they came out pretty good. Feel free to comment.

Back to School Wrap Up

Mixtape cover art commissioned by Sha-Mecca of KnS

Well, school starts back in a couple of weeks and my internship is about to end. I've been busy working and i learned a few things (mostly about my craft). I have some projects that are in the works that i'll post about in the coming weeks so just sit tight.

The Material Things was selected as a daily pick on AniBoom today so i'm excited about that.

Above is one of the recent commissions i've done which can be found on the updated Flickr stream. As time progresses i'll add more. Keep the jobs coming folks, and thanks for the support.

P.S.: I did fix the Morilla link, so have at it and sorry for the mix-up.

New Month, New Look, New Toy

As you can see, i've made a few changes around here. Some of what you see will probably change, but for the time being, enjoi.

Well, it's August tomorrow so i'll drop this one a little early. I call this beast the Morilla!

Morilla.pdf *LINK FIXED*
instructions.pdf

Brand New Original Paper Toys!

Introducing the TUBii© (pronounced "TUB-bee") line! These are original papercrafts from your's truly that i promised. I've got many designs and i'll try my best to deliver a new one each month!

This month, Angel. This little cutie loves to bring joy to everyone who is lucky enough to witness her. She appears only to those who make beautiful design. Bring her perfection to your space.

Angel.pdf
instructions.pdf


Since i'm lacking in the camera department right now, send me an interesting photo featuring Angel and i'll add it to a special flickr gallery for the world to see!

Instructions:
1. build the model
2. snap an interesting (be appropriate [pg] please) photo
3. send me an email to bryanRrollins@gmail.com with a subject "TUBii" with two attatchments:

1. 72px resolution photo at least 700x700px in .jpg format
2. txt or .doc file with your:
   full name/nickname
   city/state/country
   your site/blog (if any)

This baby is the first of many to come so stay tuned.

AND IN CLOSING: Updated Flickr complete with new desktop wallpapers and

My Condolences to the Parker Family

Randy Hubbard Parker, son of Simone G. Parker and Rap Legend KRS-ONE found dead in Atlanta apartment.

(July 10th 2007) After a long battle with depression, Randy Hubbard Parker, son of Simone G. Parker was found dead in his Atlanta apartment this past weekend. The Fulton County Atlanta Medical Center lists the cause of death as a suicide. Simone G. Parker, wife of Rap legend KRS-One cites “severe depression” as the motivating cause for Randy’s sudden death. He was 23.

Randy Parker was born at Elmhurst hospital on July 18th 1983 in Queens New York. Randy, a graphic designer and fashion entrepreneur, was seeking employment in the Atlanta area of Georgia. A private memorial service will be held in Florida on July 18, 2007 (Randy’s 24th Birthday). Plans for an August memorial service in New York are underway. KRS-One and Simone Parker sends their sincere appreciation to everyone who has already responded to the tragic news.

-Davey D

My thoughts go out to the family.

Audia: Revealed!

Meet Audia, a character i've been working on for about 3 years now. This is a color comp of one of my sketches. i'm finally ready to put her to work in a new project. What will it be? Stay tuned.

BONUS MATERIAL: These are some pages of a shot i did with her in 2005.
Page 1 - Intro
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4 - Title Page

Looking back at them i get that " i drew THAT?!" feeling. Maturing her (and my writing ability) for so long has payed off as you will see later this year.

IN OTHER NEWS: Updated Flickr.

Untitled: Part 1

This is a preliminary sketch for an entry into Design Flip. The deadline is July 13 so i'm still hard at work right now. It's not the correct proportion for desktop wallpaper since it's for a magazine, but you're free to use it as such.

Baby Needs a Name

I was scrounging around the other day and i found some...things. This is something i did a while ago and used to make stickers. He is the first of the two babies that i decided to draw beacuse i never drew creepy babies before and i thought 'what the hay'.

I don't yet have a name for this little guy, but that's were you come in. Got any suggestions? (No, i will not name him 4real).

Here's the other one. She's also nameless. Help me out.

No Woman, No Cry : Finished

Here is the finished piece. This is my first time using Photoshop for a major part of the production. I don't think it's too bad for a first time, if i do say so myself. Thank you Iain McCaig DVDs!

Since the goal of StartDrawing for Live Earth was to raise awareness of global warming i thought,"Why not do a portrait of mother earth?"

Comments are welcome.

No Woman, No Cry

No Woman, No Cry
800 x 800 px
Photoshop

This is a new piece for startdrawing for LIVE EARTH. (unfinished)

sketch

Old Isht

These are some pieces i've done with Shin Tanaka that i never got around to posting. I missed out on designing a Gritty (, but i don't think i was ready at the time anyway) so i jumped at the chance to get in on the action this time.

"DRAGON!" MASK HOODY (series 2)
My original idea for the Gritty was to pay homage to Bruce Lee. When the MASK HOODYs were released i decided to use the same idea, but as it matured, the "dragon" idea became more interesting. However, i didn't want to stray too far away, so i kept the single stripe on the sleeves.

"Bees, boy!" SPIKY BABY (series 6)
At the time i was playing with making cuter faces. i was drawing small circles and smiles of varying sizes and in different positions to see what i got. After coming off the MASK HOODY, i wanted to do something completely free without a real concept. The title comes from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "eDork".


I got some original papercrafts in the works as well, so be on guard.

Brand New for the Summer

"the hypie" entry for Vektoria Magazine #10

Well, the break has begun and here is the first post of the summer. I got an internship and got the rude awakening every designer gets from working for "the man" as i understand it: Discovering that you're designing everyday for 8 hours. boring. But hey, beggars can't be choosers i guess

The Final Motion Graphics Post

So class has ended and I will be taking a brief hietas, but this blog will continue. That said, I'm leaving you with brand new links and never before broadcast videos and a slight revision to "The Material Things".

"The Material Things": View/Critique

Note: Before viewing, read synopsis.

Self-Critique
Given that this was done in a week, I didn't get to do all that i needed. I need to go back and ad in small constants such as the shirt and neck-tie which disappear toward the second half.

Class Critique
- Add more background layers; scenery
- "Rick" stays on the Beetle too long
- Animate the inanimate positions.
- Establish relationship between "Rick" and wife
- Motorcycle moves too slowly
- Play up the motorcycle
- Beef up the transition from Drama to Action

STARTDRAWING.org

Startdrawing.org is a site dedicated to highlighting the contemporary artists of Asia. However, if you're not Asian you can still take part. I designed a header for the site. (see above) look familiar?).

"RICKY BLACK"(working title): Synopsis/Concept

"... AND SANJAYA IS STILL THERE!!!"

This is the story of Ricky Black and his stolen Mustang. Apparently his wife's wedding ring has been stolen, but more importantly, his 1978 Shelby Mustang HAS BEEN PILFERED AS WELL!!! He must get it back, but will he make it in time?!

This piece is a piece about materialism. One of the things I found most interesting in my Blues research was this kind of "minimal" spirit. Most musician's i've read about and listened to live by a philosophy of having only what one needs; living with the bare essenstials with maybe a little extra on the side, but nothing excess. In this piece, I was thinking about the crazy stunts people do to attain wealth to the point of endangering themselves and others.

ALONE: Artist Statement

Download: "Alone".mov (small). 3.3MB. 24sec. [right-click to 'save as']
Download: "Alone".mov (large). 12.5MB. 24sec. [right_click to 'save as']

If we were the only beings in this universe, wouldn't that be a sad and lonley existence.

The blues covers many melancholy subject matters, but I felt that I wanteed to work with the feeling of lonelyness. I didn't want a 'my baby left me' scenario so i thought and researched and decided to recontextualize the emotion by posing the oft asked question: "Are we alone?"

To illustrate, i decided to distill the question to one image which is simply a woman gazing at the stars.

This was an excercise in masking. The comet is masked as well as the grass. The hair and dress are interpolated masks from paths imported from Adobe Illustrator which were initially traced from hand drawn frames. This technique was inspired by the animated series "Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo". The widescreen effect itself is an inverted mask.

Proposal: What is The Blues?

In a since, everybody has the blues, that's what they say anyway. But what is this so called "Blues" and why is it so universal? This medaphor itself is profound; blue is a color that is allegedly calming, yet Blues music has since re-contexturalized and re-defined it as sadness, but despite itself, the Blues never eminates that same sadness.

I propose to decipher what makes

Critiques

Download: davi_soap_spot[compressed](ipod). 30sec. 4.3MB
Download: davi_soap_spot[compressed](quicktime). 30sec. 22.2MB

Self Critique
The middle of the commercial is a slight bit choppy and moves a little too quickly.

Class Critique
- The change of the Cammy's skin is too quick.
- Smooth out the movements when the woman changes.
- Soap package was flat.
- Smoother transition when the camera is moving from Cammy's foot, to her head, to the angels.

Reaction
I think that the class was on point. The fourth point was the greatest technical problem.

Project Write-Up/Critique

Download: Davi soap comercial [unfinished] iPod. 20sec. 2.3mb

With this commercial, I wanted to sell a restorative soap to women in general.

Although it was not finished, I think I captured the feel i wanted. Without sound however, the spot, lacks the nescessary punch to finish it off.

Animation Test

This is the comp. this is merely to test the animation and will not be in the final commercial

download. .m4v file. (quicktime/ipod) 3sec. 288 kb.
download. .mov file. (quicktime) 3sec. 1.8MB.

Research Topics

THE BLUES
Since I've been working more intimately with my friend the internet and my iPod, Juice, I've been increasingly interested in music, Hip-Hop in particular. Since my meeting Juice, I have amassed a great library of artists. Therefore, I feel that this is the perfect platform to continue investigating music and form I have yet to explore is Blues.

PHILOSOPHY
I am very interested in the martial arts specifically the philosophical and metaphorical aspects. The teachings of the martial arts can be applied to any of the arts and in day to day life.

CULTURE
The most intiguing thing about culture is the mystery and the unlocking of that mystery and discovering all kinds of wonders.

Cammy v2.0

This is the final version. I need to work out shadows and things like that because since there is no outline, the colors of the limbs make them hard to decipher when she moves.

Background no.1: Bed

This is the first setting for the commercial. I decided to post this particular pic to show what it might look like in the end even though it might change drastically (plus the bars make it look cool).

Puppet v1.5 "Cammy"

This is the rough sketch for the puppet aka. "Cammy". At this point, I've worked out the movement and joints and I'm more concerned with achieveing some sort of style and giving Cammy some personality.

I'm not as interested in using Illustrator as I first was. I've decided that I like the cut paper feel and actually having the pieces physically cut is slightly more interesting to me.

Mach Puppet

This is the vector puppet to be used. The wrists, elbows, ankles, shoulders, knees, thighs, and head are all articulated. A sandpaper texture will be added in the beginning and will switch to a silk texture.

Construction

Tempest Daví Soap is refreshing, vigorating, and skin replenishing. In this spot i chose to use cut paper to illustrate what this soap can do. The woman in the spot will be made of sandpaper to be a medaphor for rough skin, after the soap is used her skin becomes smooth.

Storyboards for Soap commercial

camera zooms in


woman rubs leg
camera pans up...


...to face

cut to soap

show ingredients

box materializes around soap

cut to scene


skin becomes smooth

cut