jon suzuki

James Gordon Head Turn

2012-01-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

Head Turn for James Gordon.

© and TM DC Comics and WB Animation

James Gordon Character Turn

2012-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

Four point turnaround or James Gordon.

© and TM DC Comics and WB Animation

James Gordon

2012-01-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

Preliminary color concept for James Gordon. It was essential that we got Gordon to look good in 'Year One' since it is as much a Gordon story as it is a Batman/Bruce Wayne story. I think Moi did a fantastic job with him.
Gordon was one of the first characters that we signed off on. A lot of the decisions that we made regarding Gordon ended up impacting how we handled a lot of the other characters. Should we use open line? How do we handle his glasses? Leave it white? Draw the eyes in? Should we cut hard or soft shadow shapes? Do we emulate the line thickness from the comic? How do we handle wrinkles? What level of detail will work best? What types of shadows do we use? So many questions that aren't just random decisions, but ones that need to be thought out logically. Hopefully we were somewhat successful.

© and TM DC Comics and WB Animation

Selina Kyle Turns

2011-12-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

Interestingly enough, I had to produce two completely different turns for Selina and Catwoman. The difficult part was trying to maintain some level of consistency, particularly in the face, between the two models. There is a certain amount of wiggle room, but the two designs do need to maintain a level of plausibility that this is the same character.
These were done so long ago, I realize I miss the simplicity in these designs. I also miss the 'dead line' and open line we used for this project.

© and TM DC Comics and WB Animation

Holly

2011-12-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing this is as good a time as any to post about Holly.

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics.

The Pimp

2011-12-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

Rough concept/color for the Pimp. He's such an odd looking character with his pockmarks and 'melty' appearance. I chose to 'redlight' him simply because he is lit that way in most of his scenes in the comic.

Catwoman Colored

2011-11-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

Colored pass for Catwoman. This production ran so smoothly, initially, that I was able to find some time to play around with color. Part of the process included doing specific shadow shapes. We took a 'minimalist' approach with our shadows. Executive producer Bruce Timm had suggested we take a look at the approach taken in one of the segments for 'Gotham Nights.' Most of the shadow shapes were kept for undersides of forms and a spot here and there to give just a hint of dimension.

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics

Catwoman Turns

2011-11-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Attached are the final turnarounds for Catwoman from 'Batman: Year One.'

For this particular project, I was fortunate enough to work with a talented young artist, Junpei Takayama. He was a beast. He handled most, if not all of the Catwoman short designs, along with many of the special poses, incidentals and expression sheets for the characters in 'B:Y1.'. He did a lot of work.

Check out his blog in the above link.

FYI, these were not the models designed by Junpei (as has been incorrectly credited). Hopefully he will post his on his site. Feel free to bug him about it.

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics

Det. Flass Colored!

2011-11-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

Color pass on Det. Flass. I hope everyone went out and bought a copy! If not, with the holidays coming up, I think this qualifies as a GREAT gift idea.

© and TM DC Comics and WB Animation

Detective Flass

2011-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ah, Det. Flass. The general direction for Flass was to make him look like a bully/linebacker and a jerk. I thought they animated him EXTREMELY well. There are some really cool shots with Flass throughout the DTV. I like how smug he appeared and so sure of himself. No doubt, that sort of attention to detail can be attributed to our awesome director/producer. All of this needs to be accounted for and represented in the storyboard. If not, we won't get it when it comes back from overseas. Simple as that.
It's funny to look back at this design. I feel he should probably be thicker than he is, especially on the profile. Not sure if that's just because of the current projects I am working on where we are allowing ourselves the opportunity to push shapes/body types. For 'Year One' the intent was for more realism, and thus, more restraint. Perhaps we could have pushed the design MORE, but we can run the risk of taking him, along with the viewer, out of the world we are trying to create. If the design goes unnoticed with all the other pieces, perhaps I did my job.

© and TM W B Animation and DC Comics

Officers:Rough Color

2011-11-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

Rough color pass used for all of the police officers in 'Batman: Year One.'

Brendan

2011-11-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

Alas, here it is. Special request fulfillment for 'Anonymous.' I didn't color Brendan because I colored another generic officer which will be posted shortly.

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics

Commisioner Loeb

2011-10-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

The initial animation footage we got back featuring Commissioner Loeb was a touch off the mark. Once we provided a better description of him, they GOT IT.

This was another instance where my super cool producer allowed me to make some notes to help in the animation process. I think the gist of it was to not be afraid to make him 'ugly.' In essence, his 'rotten' inside surfaces on his face, ie pockmarks, odd wrinkles, etc. We also tried to help them find the 'structure' in the facial features of Loeb to avoid making him too 'doughy.'

Skeever's Attorney

2011-10-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned previously on the blog, at times it is more fun to design the incidental characters. This character must have been on-screen for a matter of a few seconds. It's odd to think that what we take a day or so to design and flesh out (when taking into account rough to cleanup, to color) will only be on screen for such a brief period of time. This doesn't even take into account the amount of hours spent drawn in the storyboards, animation and in-betweening.

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics

Alfred Pennysworth

2011-10-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

First post for the just-released 'Batman: Year One.' It feels like ages since I worked on this. What a thrill to work on such a classic comic that I read as a kid!
I tried to keep the 'cartoony' aspect of Alfred, particularly in carrying on specific proportions/dimensions from the comic. I liked the huge cranium/forehead. I like the spontaneous line, but that's pretty tough to capture at times without some of it looking like a mistake.

TM & © WB Animation and DC Comics

RELEASED: Batman Year One & Arkham City

2011-10-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you spent your hard earned cash to pick up not one, BUT TWO FINE BATMAN PRODUCTS yesterday.

First, a link to the official Batman: Year One website, followed by a recent interview with executive producer, Bruce Timm.

And the OFFICIAL link to Batman: Arkham City.

I will begin posting some model sheets/production art shortly.

BATMAN : Year One Links

2011-09-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I haven't been able to post much lately. I've been pretty swamped working on the current undisclosed DTV.

In the meantime, here's a link to an interview with director Lauren Montgomery for 'Batman: Year One,' followed by a brief interview with the master, Bruce Timm.

For those of you who are not familiar with Lauren Montgomery's work, check out her blog. Lauren is a mega-talent, and I was fortunate enough to work with her on 'Year One.' She allowed me to do as much as I could to help make the DTV look as good as we possibly could and I really appreciated that. At times, designers have to work with directors that are heavy-handed and overbearing to the point where the designer is absolutely handcuffed. Lauren was not like this at all! In large part due to Lauren, working on 'Year One' was an enjoyable experience. We did the work the best that we could, didn't sweat the little silly parts of production, were efficient and focused our energies on the important stuff. Nice! The way it should be.

And finally, a link to the official web site. I believe it releases on the same day of the video game. Go out and buy them!

Hands! Hands!

2011-08-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

You've probably all heard the spiel that the hands are second only to the face when it comes to acting, importance and range of emotion. A lot can be conveyed with simple hand gestures/positioning and I have felt the need to explore different ways other artists execute this.
This all came about from me not wanting to draw hands the way i draw them. I hate how I draw them. Part if it is due to the wicked schedules not allowing me the time to finesse my drawings. Part of it is due to my repeatedly taking the same 'shortcuts,' if you will. And yes, part of it is not putting in the time. But the bottom line is, I've been pretty dissatisfied with how I have been executing them, so I wanted to get some practice in. My equivalent to a basketball player practicing his free throws.
So I decided to draw hands from other artists. Some draw graphically, some fundamentally sound, others not. A lot definitely draw a lot less heavy-handed than what I've been producing. Whatever the case, this is simply an ongoing exercise to diversify and add to that visual vocabulary.

See if you can guess whose hands I drew from. I drew from some reputable artists or classic comic juggernauts. Various sources, different disciplines. All good.

Superman Turn

2011-07-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

4 point turnaround for Superman from 'All Star Superman.' I wish we kept a few aspects of the comic that did not make it into our dvd. First, his trunks. Quitely gave Supes the equivalent of today's boxer briefs. No one wears the tighties anymore, right? Second, the blue they used for Superman's costume. It seemed to be a bit more of a teal blue. Less cool ultramarine blue and more pthalo blue. I just liked how different it was from other Superman projects, but perhaps there was a risk of that blue turning 'greenish' in different times of day. Oh well, maybe next time. You still should BUY IT. Matter of fact, you should support many of the DCU DTV's. They are tons of fun.

© & TM DC Comics and WB Animation

Nasthalthia Luthor Expressions

2011-06-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just 2 expressions provided for Nasty. Unfortunately within the script she was not given much to do. In actuality, she is a pretty unique character, probably most associated with Supergirl stories.
In the "All Star" comic, she expresses her evil plans to conquer the world, and we get more detail about that darned headpiece.
For the DTV, we did decide to age her down a bit. She is supposed to be 16 or so, but at times, Quitely made her look like a 20-something vixen. Nice!

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics

Lex Expression Sheet

2011-06-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Fun stuff to do when we get the opportunity to do so. I feel this is as helpful as anything to provide for the overseas animation studio. It's our attempt to dictate what is on/off model.

These are from different scenes from "All Star Superman." If you haven't bought it yet, you should. I have provided a link for your convenience.

© and TM WB Animation and DC Comics

Somethin' Different

2011-06-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

A card I made for my wonderful wife, art directed by my daughter. It was a good opportunity to do something a little different from dudes in tights, and a way to do whatever I wanted. I wish I could have had more time to finish it, but it was good practice.
It really doesn't make sense, but I kinda feel my kid and her crazy ideas would make for a good kiddie's book.

Lex Luthor

2011-06-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Kal Kent

2011-06-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Kal hardly made an appearance in the DVD. He did have a slightly more prominent role in the comic. Unfortunately, a good chunk of goodness had to be edited out of the DVD, so Krypto and Mytzlplk, along with a lengthier Papa Kent scene got completely taken out.
For this and other reasons, I'd recommend purchasing the comic AND the DVD. Links have been provided for your convenience!

Clark Kent Turn

2011-05-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Full body turn for Clark Kent. We handled him as a completely different design than Superman to maintain the quirkiness of Quitely's interpretation of Clark. Typically, we would 'trace' our Clark closer to Superman in terms of his face, body proportions, etc. We made a conscious effort to make Clark distinctly different, from his stance/posture, to even adding on an extra few pounds. I'm so glad we kept his pigeon-toed feet!

© and TM Warner Bros Animation and DC Comics