The Art And Feel Of Making It Real - INTERVIEW TOO

http://www.canvassingartists.com/2009/02/to-say-that-mark-mcdonnell-artist-is.html

After purchasing a copy of my book, I was lucky to be asked to be contacted by a very talented and interested Monica Eastin to have a sit down and talk about what I do and why I do it through the ever popular Skype software. Please let me know what you think - (It's short and sweet and gets right to the point).

This interview is a very nice personal and revealing piece that I was surprised and delighted to read when it was completed.

Best,

MAC

Recent Sketches . . .

MAC

The Art And Feel Of Making It Real - INTERVIEW 01

I was recently interviewed by Randall Sly, who runs a very popular animation and entertainment blogsite that is devoted to animation and entertainment artists. The site is "Characterdesign.blogspot.com," for which I was lucky enough to do an interview for. Today I was informed that they have posted the interview alongside some of my work for people to get an insight to who I am and what I do:

http://mark-mcdonnell-interview.blogspot.com/

Take a look and let me know what you think when you get a chance.

All My Best,

MAC

The Art And Feel Of Making It Real - Sample Pages!!!

PRE-ORDER IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!!!

MY BOOK IS NOW OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!!!!

I got the final word from the publisher and all is on time and on schedule for delivery the last week of March, SO ORDER NOW!!!!


MAC

SketchCrawl - Back In 2009

Good people and good times,

MAC

Happy Holidays . . .

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to everyone and their families. I hope everyone gets a chance to relax and enjoy the time off and smile when looking back at 2008, and on to a nice and bright 2009!



Best to everyone on the digital airwaves . . . Happy Holidays!

MAC

Misc. Character Exploration . . .

MAC

Late Night Doodle . . .

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families,

MAC

Watercolor Doodle

MAC

Tinkerbell Props

I was lucky enough to have the chance to work on Tinkerbell and Tinkerbell 2: North Of Neverland for a little stint. These are some prop concepts I did for a book design for the first film. The pace was very fast and furious as I got on the project as it was nearing the final stages of design, so there was little time to add final touches here and there. They quickly moved away from the simplicty of design to a more ornate decision for this particular design.

Best,

MAC

Happy All Hallows Eve . . .

Happy Halloween . . . enjoy what emerges out of the shadows, if only for one night.

MAC

Allen Mezquida On The Loose . . .

My buddy and all around humorist, artist, musician Allen Mezquida has recently put his animated shorts up for the world to see his unique brand of humor. Take a look inside the man's mind:

http://www.youtube.com/user/allenmez

MAC

Frrrrrrrrt . . .

AH . . . friday,

MAC

Gesture Watercolor Sketches

Recently I have been getting a lot of questions by students or class members as to when it's best to experiment and how do I begin my process. Also, I am hearing when can I start using watercolor? Or when is it best to try a different medium? I think these images above are a great indication of the transition to a different medium or a shift into more personal experimentation. I ususally start sketching with a pen or unerasable medium. It programs me to think more in the begining, and flow later on in the session. As I feel I've warmed up and the poses are 3 minutes or greater, I will begin experimenting and seeing where the drawing(s) will lead. Unfortuanlty it's different for everybody and is more of an organic process. You just have to go with the flow and not be too concerned with accomplishing that "one thing" you set you to do. Most times, in my experience, it's best to listen to what you drawings are feeling like and know when to stray off the direct path to try something new and different. It should happen naturally . . . and if you have different things to experiment with in a close proximity, it's easier to natually reach for that next thing, whether it's the "one thing" or another choice to experiment with.
It's wordy, but I hope it helps.

Best,

MAC

Random Gesture Drawing

Happy Friday,

MAC

3 Minute Watercolor Sketches . . .

MAC

Figure Drawing 3 Minute Sketch . . .

MAC

ORPHAN WORKS ACT BILL 02

LUCKILY the idea of someone being able to take your artwork and present it as their's as well as claiming ownership and useage rights has NOT come to pass . . . due to the ORPHAN WORKS BILL not being passed (FOR NOW). This issue is a very unsettling idea and lacks the kind of respect and appreciation any artist should have when presenting their own artwork on ANY platform. Sadly I will be presenting less of my work and all of it will now have the appropriate copyright information plastered across the image. If you have any questions in regards to this bill and what can be done, please see Marcelo Vignali's post: ORPHANS ACT UPDATE (IMPORTANT!) - @ http://vignalistudio.blogspot.com/

Best,

MAC

Darkness Falls . . .

These 5 minute sketches are examples that I used while teaching, discussing how it's most important to create a story or a story idea that will make your gesture drawings more personal and less "figure drawing" or capturing a "pose." Here you can in these images, they have taken the model and created a character with a dark background that should leave the viewer asking to know more. All in time for All Hallow's Eve coming around the corner . . .

MAC