Musings and Wanderings

Some work from Pixar's Cars 2

2011-12-29T06:14:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is having a good holiday season! I know I'm enjoying the abundant chocolates and delicious eggnog :)

In 2009, I was an intern at Pixar and had the opportunity to work on Cars 2. The team was fantastic and I learned a great deal from so many artists. Here are a couple concept paintings of the Tokyo bathroom scene.

Have a great week!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

This year, we are babysitting our friend's labrador retriever over the holidays. I made this for the cover of a greetings card, however, my wife didn't like it so much....so I'm posting it here! I thought it was funny.

May you have a wonderful holiday and happy new year!

CTN Wrap-Up...Thank you:)

2011-12-10T05:33:00.000-08:00

CTN was an absolute blast! It was fantastic to see everyone and meet new talent. In fact, the up and coming talent is quite incredible. In looking through portfolios, I had a "ponder moment" about the incredible industry in which we are all a part and the creative minds from all over the world. Each artist creates their own vision (built up through background, experience, and hard work) to eventually collaborate with other artists' visions to make a film, game or product. What a great time to be an artist! There is so much going on!

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came by during the expo. It was the highlight of my trip to meet you and finally put a face with that blogger icon!

Just before the doors opened

Jake Parker and I posing for the paparazzi

New Print

2011-11-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Im gathering together some highlights from the CTN expo and trip to LA. Ill have them up soon. In the mean time, here is a new piece I've been working on.

CTN Expo-Booth T-34

2011-11-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

The CTN expo is almost here and I'm getting anxious! I'll be at booth T-34 with my friend Jake Parker and look forward to all the awesome talent exhibiting this year. Come drop by and say hello:) I'll have high-quality prints and DreamGiver DVD's. There are limited numbers so come quick!

Are you planning on attending? Drop me a line

Color study on shapes

2011-10-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to take to shapes and just explore the qualities between the two. In this study I focused on the colors and their relationship.

When I look at it...It kinda reminds me of Nickelodeon GAK! Loved that stuff

Color Study

2011-10-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with some palettes from Scott Christensen. This was a loose interpretation of one of his studies. It still needs a lot of work but I learned a bunch in the process.

October is Inktober!

2011-10-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

October is Inktober! Tune into Jake Parker's site for posts and links dedicated to filling the month full of INK.

Hunting for Dinosaurs

2011-10-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

I must admit...I am a sucker for dinosaurs. Since I was little, I've always loved them. You can imagine how my life changed when Jurassic Park came out. It was like a childhood renaissance. I had to wait nearly 3 weeks after it came out to finally see it. Because it was PG-13, my parents wanted to check it out in advance.

This is a piece I started awhile back and haven't done much with since. The idea is a dino hunter of some type of mech like tribe. Remember Turok the Dino Hunter?

More to come.

The Reading Tree

2011-09-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Just doodling some ideas tonight.

My wife had a special tree near her house in Sandy, Utah. She used to go there with her dog and read novels and climb up its branches. I'm looking around New York for my own tree!

Sketches

2011-09-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

Some new sketches, concepts and a quickie:)

2 Year Anniversary!

2011-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Anikah and I have been married two years! If your considering popping the question to that special someone, I'd do it...It was the best decision I ever made.

We celebrated at the Cheese Cake Factory and I've got some fun stuff planned for the three day weekend. So let's keep this hush hush. She's been asking for a puppy for about 23 of the 24 months, but neither of us are home during the day. I can't do that to my dog. This card was the next best thing I could come up with.

I think its a mix between a dachshund and a beagle...Any dog breeders out there?

DreamGiver at Comic Con!

2011-07-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys!

Just wanted to write a quick post. If you're headed to Comic Con this week, come check out my film DreamGiver! It will be playing Thursday at 4:20 PM as part of the official shorts program.

Following the screening, there will be a Q & A session!

See you soon!

Jack Jack Attack!!!

2011-04-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here is more work from Jake Parker's class this last semester. This was one of the best classes I have taken at BYU. Jake is an amazing teacher who can design the *&#@ out of anything....I can say that because I graduated from BYU. *&#@ deciphered is heck. Check out his work: the AMAZING JAKE PARKER

DreamGiver Post 7...for graduation tomorrow!!

2011-04-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more backgrounds from DreamGiver...and I'm graduating! The last four years have been more than I could've ever asked for! Thank you Brigham Young University and the Center for Animation!! It has been nothing short of fantastic! If you are looking for a school with top notch teaching, practical tuition,and a great animation/illustration/film program, I highly recommend BYU.....and it also has some cool mountains around it!

Other news, DreamGiver was selected for Cannes Short Film Corner and as official selection in the Seattle International Film Festival!! Congrats to everyone for a great job! It recently received an Honorable mention at this years Society of Illustrators Animation Competition as well.

Thank you to everyone for your support! Especially to the folks here at BYU, my hometown community and those who have left the kind comments via blog, email, twitter, and facebook from all around. It really means a lot to the entire team. We hope to eventually put it up online but need to wait a little longer until film festivals and competitions have ended.

Student Emmy's!!

2011-04-12T08:47:00.001-07:00

I got to spend the weekend out in LA to receive a Student Emmy for DreamGiver from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation. It was a fun event and there were a bunch of celebrities who showed up to the awards night. I think my favorite was Elijah Woods!!!! There were also appearances by: Terrence Howard, Jane Lynch, Geena Davis, Darren Criss, Amber Tamblyn (House), Shenae Grimes (90210), David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place), KaDee Strickland (Private Practice), Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter), Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory), Aldis Hodge (Leverage), Valerie Cruz (Off the Map and True Blood), Michael Cudlitz (Southland), Jason Gann (Wilfred), Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights and The Chicago Code), David Ono of ABC News, Jason Ritter (The Event and Parenthood).

I also got to catch up with some of my buddies at Disney and Sony. It was great to see everyone!

Some media coverage on DreamGiver released yesterday!

Some of the DreamGiver crew: Peter Jones, Aaron Ludwig, Tyler Carter, Michael Murdock, Brent Adams, Moy Parra, Gina Chu.

A big Emmy Statue

Darren Criss from Glee

Anikah and I ready to have dinner:)

Props!

2011-04-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Jack and his Farm...with cow

2011-03-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Wizard from Jack and the Beanstalk

2011-03-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

DreamGiver Post 6: Serpents Lair!!

2011-03-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Designs and Backgrounds for the 2d sequence of DreamGiver....playing in a theater near you! soon...

Serpent Set 1

Serpent Set 2

Simple Statue Map for After Effects. Because the entire 2d sequence was a mixture of paintings and animation, I had to paint in what the statues shadow side would look like as well planes interacting with light. I didn't know after effects could do so much!!

Deleted Scene

Forest Lurking 2

Bill Perkins Color workshop and a Revamp

2011-03-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

It is horrible to hear the disastrous effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Sendai. My prayers and thoughts go out to the people of Japan.

Some 40 minute studies from Bill Perkin's color workshop. If you haven't taken this before, I highly recommend it. Bill is an incredible teacher. Here are some other artists who have posted some great work: Dave McClellan and Simini Blocker.

Decided revamp this image a little bit for a competition here at school....I didn't win but was happy with the result. Thanks for the feedback Dave Dibble!

Thank You!

2011-03-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone for making the DreamGiver Premiere such a wonderful event! We had over 1,400 people attend and there we're only 1,300 seats!! The stage managers told me they've never seen it so packed. Thank you so much for your support and patience during the making of the film. We could not have done it without you!!!

A special thank you to my friend Bill Perkins for coming all the way out from California. Bill, you are the man!

I will keep you posted on DreamGiver awards and successes....until then, here is some personal work I'm doing at school.

DreamGiver Premiere

2011-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

It's finally time to premiere my film DreamGiver! For the past while I've been directing and producing a short animated film with my fantastic team here at Brigham Young University. It is finally time to show! If you are in Utah....or like a good road trip, come on down. Questions? please email me at tycarterart@gmail.com. The film will not be online for about a year as it runs through the festivals. Here is more details about the premiere:

This is the premiere of the newest BYU Animated film: DreamGiver, directed by Tyler Carter.

Special Guest:
-My mentor and friend, Bill Perkins will share his experience from films such as Tangled, Bolt, and Aladdin after the screening. It is sure to be a treat and a one of a kind event.

Other Events in the program:
-From Dream to Reality (a behind the scenes documentary on the making of DreamGiver)

Admission is free but seating is limited to the Dejong Concert Hall's occupancy. It is suggested you arrive no later than 30 minutes in advance.

See you March 2nd!!

DreamGiver Post 5: Backgrounds and their purpose in life:)

2011-02-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest challenges when painting these backgrounds was creating the right mood at the right time. It really made me think about each and every decision.

In this piece above, I needed to quickly establish a new world. I had 3 seconds to do it before we moved to the next beat. It needed to be different from the previous colder environments and more exciting, happy and kinda "dreamy".....I had to say it:). After a few studies, I was still having a hard time getting the right feelings. I began thinking about how I could better utilize the shade from overhead trees. How could those shapes and colors feel inviting and fresh? What should the audience see and feel? How do the colors harmonize to achieve that feeling? As simple as the painting is, it was a challenge. I learned a lot from it.

Here was another piece that really had me thinking. The story called for some specific ques to lead the audience on before our star character realized where he was. To do this, I decided to tell a mini story within the painting. I loved the idea of an Aztec like warrior so I researched archeological finds from Mexico and South America. It wasn't long before I had some cool ideas for a warrior's costume. I had to simplify those ideas a bit because I got a little carried away. I do that sometimes....Ok let's be honest, I do it a lot! The whole mini story within the painting was to warn the audience that something was out there.....something that was big, powerful and lurking.
When I first watched section in the film, it felt ok but the axe was distracting me from where I'd intended the viewer to be looking...add some paralaxing and suddenly it was a big issue. The axe had to go. I decided to add some other props to direct the eye strengthen the center of interest. I added the temple into the backdrop to make our next transition less abrupt. Then I corrected some anatomical issues on the skeleton's ribs. This was also a big step for me. Lot's to learn but I'm enjoying the ride...or is it more of a triathlon?

wheeeeeeeeeee....!!!!!!

Our True Identity

2011-01-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Last year, I did a series of illustrations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was an awesome project and the message is beautiful. Thank you Trevor for the referral!!

I started each of these out as extremely rough painting sketches before receiving feedback from the art director. Once the direction was set I put in local color, details and highlights. These we're a challenge due to the extreme level of detail they wanted in each piece. Sometimes I had to pull detail back to avoid it looking hyper real.

This was a concept I pitched but we didn't end up using it.

The Final Product!!

DreamGiver Post 4: Concept Strip and More Backgrounds

2011-01-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

Here is some more work from DreamGiver. These are some explorations I did for the Dream sequence. Thanks for stopping by!

More backgrounds from the film....

The amazing Michael Murdock put my painting into after effects. He came up with this beautiful sunlight and atmosphere idea which you can see in this clip.

Michael should get a blog.......

DreamGiver 10_C from Tyler Carter on Vimeo.

um.........Mr. Blahk

2011-01-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

So, just doodles and a post here. Playing around with some design ideas floating around in my head.

I made his name from the word blah....and then I added a "k" for a slightly more interesting ring. Epic fail.... Any ideas for a name- (insert here)

DreamGiver Post 3: Concept to Background

2011-01-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Value Study

Color Study

Background

The Dream World-
When I started developing the look of the dream world, I threw together quite a few concepts. The first two posted here were early value and color studies. As you can see, we didn't end up going quite as dramatic with the lighting in the final background (the bottom piece) but these initial studies were really helpful for the 2D team to get a feel for what this world was and allow me to make some design decisions early in the game. The quick studies really help out when it comes to making the deadline. Even though the third image is quite different, I had a good idea how my color relationships would be working before I started the painting.

DreamGiver Post 2: Cut shot and concept

2011-01-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a shot that didn't make it into the final cut for story reasons. Because of the uniqueness of the film, I was occasionally working on the design for finalized story sequences and finessing the story in other less developed areas. Even though it was nearly to a completed stage, I decided the shot must be cut and the sequence reworked because....well, as a good friend of mine once said...

"sometimes things don't work even when they're planned. You have to eat the $%#@ pie and start over! my job as a story artist is to make $%#@ and find out if that $%#@ works. It's hell but I love it. I'd say 90% of the time it doesn't work, but it's my job to find out what does."

I think one of the biggest things I learned on the project was to never get attached to anything I was working on. I had one thing in mind, does it accomplish the story's purpose? If not, we scrapped it. Sometimes we thought it was working as a separate shot but in the sequence it may not be so good. Usually I wasn't in a situation where the thing being scrapped was nearly finalized. On occasion, like this shot, it happened.

Once again, I began with a quickie thumbnail to nail down the idea and appease the story first, then I began looking for ways to design the environment/color around the story.

In the end, I was happy with the direction it was going in as a solo piece of art but because the shot itself didn't satisfy the big picture, I had to let it go.

DreamGiver Post 1: 10H Temple Wide Shot Process

2011-01-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

DreamGiver is a short 6 minute film I've been directing/producing here at Brigham Young University. I decided early on that having 2D and 3D animation would best support the story but it would create a lot more work. In the end, story trumphed the work load and we made it happen. I'm really glad we did because it turned out wonderful. I want to share a little bit about my process on one specific environment in the 2d sequence of the film.

I started out doing a number of thumbnails keeping in mind the context of the shot I was working on. I like to think about the shots previous and following the one I'm on. When I do that, I communicate much more and can help the story occasionally have one more layer. The most important thing is progressing the story. I have to be careful not to sidetrack because I tend to do that if I'm not careful!
In this scene, we introduce a new environment; it is the first time the audience and the character see it. There is trouble lurking and coming in the next shot. There was trouble foreshadowed in the previous shot. I have in the back of my mind a few things: 1. Temple Ruins need to be in your face. They are big, bulky to make the boy feel small and insignificant. If I succeed in this, the audience will imagine something to fit the clues! They should be more interested in the movie. 2. Ruins need some type of foreboding personality to direct the audiences feelings in preparation for the next shot. Similar to 1, the environment needs to give the audience another bit to think about. What is coming? What is this ruin? Is it abandoned? It surely isn't safe, what is its subject matter? 3. Is the composition the most effective for telling these things? How should the camera be placed? Where should the eye level be? 4. Is the lighting appropriate to the story? Is my contrast appropriate to the story? 5. Where do I need to direct the eye?

After I thought about these notes, I spent 10-15 min. on each thumbnail. I think I did about 15 total. Some turned out really poor but became building blocks to help me get to where I needed. This is why I'm only spending a few minutes on each of these. I need to have a set idea before I begin to get into detail. It might sound silly but if I go forward without a solid study I will spend the majority of my time solving problems and not painting. I'm trying to solve all problems in these thumbnails and when I feel comfortable moving forward, it will go much smoother. You can always add more at the end.

Happy with this thumbnail. It addresses the story points and will put me into an effective lighting position where I will be able to really enhance the scene with foreground elements in shadow. I'm pumped to go to the next step.

Directly over my thumbnail I begin placing neutral colors onto the image. I'm just throwing this stuff in and shrinking my image down to look at it small. I do this 2o-30 times as I lay in colors. I begin to set up some layers because I know the image will require parallax movements in post. I enlarge the image and work big. I'm organizing and thinking about what we will do in post.

Working out color relationships. Looking for the best way to simplify elements. I'm considering story points to determine color intensities and major and minor keys like mentioned in my thumbnails process.

Finessing what I can with the production schedule I have. Looking for the simplest way to suggest something: texture on a rock, moss on a tree. At this point, I'm only worrying about what is in the light. This will really help direct the eye if I do it right. Its also going to create some nice light shadow relationships which will add depth to the piece.

I've arrived at a final place to stop. It's not perfect but I'm out of time and it gets the job done effectively for the story. I need to move onto another environment. I name my layers and organize them for hand off.

DreamGiver 10H from Tyler Carter on Vimeo.

In After Effects, we lay the shot out and add elements to the image to create the illusion of a camera. My amazing friend Michael Murdock laid this shot out....and all the shots in the film. I'll be talking about him a lot. He should make a blog...don't you think? After the layers are in, we review the story points, create depth of field and add some artificial lighting. Anything else we can do to polish the story point visually is made here. Then we sign it and ship it!

Crazy things in the Horizon

2010-12-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

Still needs some work but I figured its been awhile....what the heck

There are a few things I'm really looking forward to (In no particular order other than 1 & 2):
1. Finishing DreamGiver
2. Did I mention my film is almost done?
3. Holidays....although they will be busy
4. Egg Nog Smoothies
5. Skiing Snowbird/Canyons
6. Finishing my last classes to graduate in April!
7. watching the special features of Toy Story 3 and HTTYD!
8. J Dawgs
9. Tangled round TWO!
10. Never again stepping foot into BYU's testing center
11. Snowmen
12. Snowballs!
13. Go JAZZ Go! (Deron Williams for MVP)
14. Christmas Parties
15. More Egg Nog.....
16. Staying at the Salt lake Marriot with my fam
17. First Night
18. Donuts in my 93 Forest Green Ford Ranger!
19. Stockings
20. Taco Bell's New Fire Roasted Sauce

Thanks for stopping by, please come back soon! I'll be posting lots and lots of work from DreamGiver!!!!

Reviron Update

2010-04-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Been pretty busy lately. Here is some of the other work from my personal project, El Reviron. I've still got quite a bit of work to do on the island but it is what it is for now. One of my goals in this project was to approach it like I was the production designer for the film-designing/choosing locations for scenes, set dressing, creating a film ideology for design decisions (from one world to the other), progressing the story visually with the narrative, color symbolism and key paintings, environment design and layout, basically harmonizing the look with the story and letting only the story drive my design decisions. Through this process I've learned more than I imagined. It's humbling to think of all the thought that goes into a feature length film. I admire the artists holding our beloved films together: Bill Perkins (Aladdin), Paul Felix (Bolt), Ralph Eggleston (Toy Story, Incredibles, WALLE, UP), Harley Jessup (Monsters Inc., Ratatouille), Thomas Cardone (Emperor's New Groove, Ice Age 2, Horton), you guys are amazing! Like many things, if done right, the art direction will only enhance the story but never distract.

More Reviron Designs

2010-03-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Nave Sketches

2010-02-24T19:15:00.001-08:00

2010-01-27T00:29:00.000-08:00

2010-01-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

2010-01-13T11:39:00.001-08:00

El Reviron Project

2010-01-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the pieces for my personal project, El Reviron. The story takes place during the age of Christopher Columbus and the spanish exploration ventures that followed. El Reviron is the story of a young, Spanish shoemaker dreaming of loftier ambitions. Also, I'll continue posting the project so please come back soon to check out the rest.

Cheers

Summer Sketchbook

2009-10-18T17:47:00.001-07:00

One of my summer sketch books

We went out to San Francisco one weekend. Fishermen were pullin' in sharks from this dock! We went down to Rainforest Cafe, Fisherman's Wharf, and a few sushi places. It was a blast watching people out there.

The Girl of My Dreams!

2009-09-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

On September 1st, 2009 I married the girl of my dreams!

When I first met Anikah it didn't take long to realize she was different. We met by chance when a mutual friend invited us to Lake Powell. The first thing I noticed was how kind she treated others. She always sees the best in everyone (even in me when I'm grumpy and trying to meet a deadline). She genuinely cares for those around her. Anikah never fails to compliment people. She somehow brings out the good wherever she goes and with whoever she's with. She excels at everything she does and learns extremely quick. The first time we went wake boarding she popped right up. Since then, she's never needed anything but someone to throw her the line. Her smile is powerful. She has deep eyes that forgive and look past fault. She is positive and motivating. She's also an amazing cook!

Some things you may not know about Anikah: She likes to hide behind things and scare me when I'm walking around the apartment deep in thought. She likes peanut butter and jelly maybe even more than I do. Anikah loves dogs and somehow has this weird power that attracts animals. We'll be hiking and suddenly there are squirrels and birds running/flying right behind us, coming to her for food (I'm just waiting for the bigger animals...). She even laughs at me when I'm not funny...which is most always :). Anikah is studying elementary education. She's going to be a 3rd grade school teacher. How lucky will those students be!!!
I am so grateful for her constant patience and understanding on this wild ride we decided to take together.

Our pictures were done by Travis J Photography! We were lucky to work with Travis Richardson himself for the day we shot. He is extremely talented and a pleasure to work with. I'd highly recommend him to anyone for all occasions. Not only is he a passionate artist, he's also a great man. He nailed the subtle look and feel we envisioned for our invitations. Check out his work!

I'd especially like to thank Mark Holmes and Cody Dingus for their graphic design insights and making the unique invitation designs possible!

Some Work from Izzy

2009-04-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

An initial Mary Blair Direction

Some of my design work from IZZY. I'm hoping to have the rest up soon (like in a week or so, I hope) The basis of the story is a rhino obsessed girl doing all she can to free a captive rhinoceros. It gets better...there's all kinds of wacky things like African bunny herds, mustache infested zookeepers, and giant hamster wheels (made for a rhino)! A lot of this work is just playing around with some ideas and directions we started with (thus the variety of styles and approaches), while some designs are final and appear so in the film. Also, check out the other designs and killer style of my friend Anthony Holden. Anthony has come up with some spectacular ideas and hilarious animation tests for the film (definitely worth checking out!!)

Dreamgiver Update

2009-04-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dreamgiver is looking beautiful!!!! There's a ton of work that's been done in the last few months. There are some amazing people working on the project, check out their work: Jaetaek Hwang (Modeling/texturing), Levi Harrison (Modeling/rigging), Cory Reimschussel (FX), McKay Farley (FX), Dan Lyman (FX), Chris Rydalch (Cloth Simulation), Nick Beckstead (Character Animation), Alan Bradshaw (Lighting), Stacey Bethers (Lighting).

This is some of the conceptual work I've been working on. Characters, value story boards, environment designs and early concept. I will try to finish up and post some other work soon.

Society of Illustrators Student Competition

2009-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

I just found out, Boy's Dream and Mountain are two of four Brigham Young University entries accepted into this year's Society of illustrators Student Exhibition. I'm humbled and honored to be a part of the show. The work produced this year is nothing short of inspiring.

The show opens on Wednesday, May 6th at the Society's gallery in New York and runs through June 6th.

Congratulations to my immensely talented friend Houston Trueblood who also has two entries in the show (His 2nd year in a row!!! Spectacular!)

I owe a big thanks to the amazing teachers here at BYU. Especially to Robert Barrett and Sam Neilson for their instruction. If you haven't seen it already, Robert Barrett has a new book: Life Drawing-How To Portray The Figure With Accuracy and Expression. He dedicated the book to students. The explanations on solid/appealing life drawing principles are elaborately demonstrated and can cross over into any discipline. I highly recommend it to anyone!