Brooke Condolora: Blog

The photos are from the Saturday half of our adventures over the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:38:00 -0700

The photos are from the Saturday half of our adventures over the weekend, celebrating our six-year anniversary. We hiked near Big Rock, over in Marin, where Ollie happily shoved his face into holes after lizards, walked over a snake, and wore home nearly 50 ticks.

On Sunday, we went SUPing along the Alameda beach. Part I: Gliding along the shoreline with the wind at our backs, broken only by the frequent splashes of David falling in. Part II: Realizing we’d severely underestimated the difficulty of paddling back against the wind and waves and, instead, wading with our boards the entire mile and a half back up the shoreline.

Somehow our adventures usually go sideways like that, but we don’t mind too much. We get a lot more laughter out of them.

Sketch and final version of an icon for something I’ve...

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:17:00 -0700

Sketch and final version of an icon for something I’ve been working on for Doggins. I’ve now reached and passed the halfway point on art/animation for the game! Release day approaches.

Designed these for face painting at a neighborhood block party...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:42:00 -0700

Designed these for face painting at a neighborhood block party hosted by my church over the weekend. They’re all themes from the party and San Francisco itself, though I guess I could’ve gotten away with just cute animals.

(Bonus points to anyone who recognized the seagull from those scenic drive signs.)

"In being lost to ourselves and our usual routines, we can begin to find ourselves anew by exploring..."

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:50:00 -0700

“In being lost to ourselves and our usual routines, we can begin to find ourselves anew by exploring solitude, time and our relationships with family.”

- Urban Homestead, “The Sabbath Economy”

Some bits from a visual storytelling class I’ve been...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:53:00 -0700

Rough board from a sequence that tells a modified version of the Minotaur/labyrinth myth.

Don Quixote and his less-than-eager horse, part of a larger illustration I didn't quite finish.

Windmill detail, from the Don Quixote illustration.

Pieced together sketches for the Don Quixote illustration.

Some bits from a visual storytelling class I’ve been taking, taught by a Disney animator. Details are in the captions!

Took a short break this afternoon from working on Doggins to do...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:52:00 -0700

Took a short break this afternoon from working on Doggins to do some concept art for our next game. Really excited about this one!

Interview at Design Feast

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:19:00 -0700

Interview at Design Feast:

Last week, I got the opportunity to talk with Nate of Design Feast about my work and why I do what I do. Highlights from the interview went up this morning, with a link at the bottom to the full transcript.

Design Feast is an impressive collection of design-related resources, meticulously compiled by Nate Burgos. Be sure to check it out as well!

I’ve been working hard on mostly secret things, but I can...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:37:00 -0700

I’ve been working hard on mostly secret things, but I can share the Brain&Brain website update I just finished. There it is!

Got a couple of Diana rolls developed, with shots from around...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:00:16 -0800

Got a couple of Diana rolls developed, with shots from around home. I love that camera.

Made this as a Valentine for David this morning!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:47:55 -0800

Made this as a Valentine for David this morning!

Caught up on my 52 Paintings project with some watercolor...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:22:00 -0800

Excess water from brush = moody forehead shadow.

Caught up on my 52 Paintings project with some watercolor sketches of dapper gentlemen from a 1900 Sears Roebuck catalog. Some ended up with paint in unintended places (still figuring out my Waterbrush), but I sort of like them.

A few little things from the end of 2012 that I didn’t get...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:51:00 -0800

Two more paintings in the series I've been painting for my husband, of movies he works on.

Gift for a friend whose sweet Airedale passed away, drawn and then stenciled onto wood.

Printing our Christmas cards.

Our Christmas cards for 2012, a cut-out snowflake ornament.

A few little things from the end of 2012 that I didn’t get a chance to share. Details in the captions!

This is a shot from the Doggins intro I just finished animating,...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:13:00 -0800

This is a shot from the Doggins intro I just finished animating, now handed off to David for editing before it goes into the game.

I actually animated this twice: originally frame-by-frame like the characters, and later in Motion, which was, of course, quicker and a better fit for this type of scene. Still, I much prefer character animation!

Friends from Los Angeles came up to visit last weekend (miss you...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:04:00 -0800

Friends from Los Angeles came up to visit last weekend (miss you guys!), and we spent some time exploring these crazy ruins in San Francisco called the Sutro Baths. If ruins alone weren’t appealing enough, there’s also a river otter named Sam living in one of the pools. And a cave.

Made my own photopolymer plate (for letterpress printing) last...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 08:38:00 -0800

Made my own photopolymer plate (for letterpress printing) last night at an SFCB class! Love getting to have a hand in every step of the process.

A new website and logo, at last! If you’re reading this...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:38:00 -0800

A new website and logo, at last! If you’re reading this through the Tumblr dashboard or an RSS feed, come visit.

I’ve had a redesign in backburner progress for months, but in one impulsive week, I cut off my hair, designed a new mark to match, and built a website around it. Oops.

One reason I’d been planning a redesign was to make my website responsive. It now is, including photosets and embedded videos here on the blog, thanks to some smart guys (see respective links for their scripts).

Also behind the redesign was a desire to simplify everything. Since I’m no longer looking for clients and the majority of my work is for my own projects, I decided to do away with the portfolio and focus on sharing new work on my blog and Dribbble. At some point, I’ll probably add a projects section, but for the moment, I’m happy with all the clean space.

Now, back to game building!

Made an even smaller one! Adding it to my shop later today.

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:53:00 -0800

Made an even smaller one! Adding it to my shop later today.

I’m attempting to do some sort of quick painting every...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:20:00 -0800

I’m attempting to do some sort of quick painting every week this year, and this is the first: watercolor of a character from our next Brain&Brain game.

I should add that I have no idea what I’m doing with watercolor.

Drawing table, improved. Pennant by Always With Honor and new...

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 14:01:00 -0800

Drawing table, improved. Pennant by Always With Honor and new old ottoman with storage!

David and I just returned from a very snowy visit to both our...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:04:18 -0800

David and I just returned from a very snowy visit to both our families. Christmas day found us under a blizzard warning—in Arkansas. It snowed hard all night, and we woke up to around a foot of snow, with drifts up to my knees. It was beautiful.