Ernie Gilbert

Clancy

2011-12-01T00:58:00.001-08:00

This is a piece I did recently for Stephen Silver's new iPad app & upcoming book. Stephen has assembled some terrific models, and photographed them in various costumes and poses for artists' reference. A great idea, and sure to be a must-have book. I call this guy "Clancy", 'cause that's just what he looks like to me.

...and some of the sketches that were done before deciding on the final pose

Rockin' For The Arts 2011

2011-05-26T11:19:00.001-07:00

Recently finished the poster for this year's Rockin' For The Arts concert (coming up, June 3rd, in case you're in the area)!
4 things I like about this gig:

1) Kids playing musical instruments- always a good thing.
2) All funds raised support arts in the school- very cool.
3) Making music with my friends- one of my all-time favorite activities.
4) It gives me an excuse to design a poster every year.

If you're around, come on out for food, fun, & rock & roll! It's a great event, and I'll be funkin' out in every way.
Hey- that dude in the post underneath will be playing guitar! Hows that for blog synergy?

One from the archives

2011-04-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is a cover I did for Nickelodeon Magazine's special Fairly Oddparents issue several years ago. I roughed out half-a-dozen or so thumbnails until the publisher was happy with the design (if I find those thumbnails, I'll add them to this post), the image was then cleaned up by Ray Leong, and I did the painting. First cover I ever did, and I must say- seeing your artwork on the magazine racks at your Barnes & Noble is pretty cool!

Anthony Zierhut

2011-02-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

This is an image I made for my friend Anthony Zierhut's birthday. He plays some mean blues & slide guitar... and he looks like that, kind of...He's also a terrific artist! You can check out his sketchblog here.

Extras, Miscellaneous, & Whatnot

2011-02-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

In addition to designing the central characters involved in a particular storyboard, the character designer has several other responsibilities. Here are some examples of the work that goes into a given assignment: A sampling of incidental background characters, special character poses done to help guide the overseas animators, and a special mouthmchart, designed to accommodate a specific line reading (in this case, by Jerry Trainer- the voice of Dudley Puppy). All of these images were created for the same TUFF Puppy episode: "Doom Mates".

TUFF Puppy: Sally Mander

2011-01-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

This is one of the earliest designs I did when I was assigned to develop TUFF Puppy. I thought the receptionist for an organization like T.U.F.F. would have to be a real multitasker, so I put her prehensile tongue & tail to use. At the time I was gunning for a 60's look for the show, which explains the pillbox hat. This character seems to have disappeared after delivering one line in the pilot episode (which is why the model sheet was never refined & cleaned up). Ah well- it was fun while she lasted!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

2010-12-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

HO! HO! HO!

Cactus + Ukulele = ?

2010-12-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

So... I was approached by a ukulele group from Tucson AZ, to design a mascot/logo for their club- "The Saguaro Strummers". It was suggested that something involving a ukulele and a cactus would be in order (turns out a saguaro is a cactus), and since they sought me out in response to seeing my Tampa Bay Ukulele Society logo (which can be seen a few posts down), I guessed they would like something character-oriented rather than an abstract pairing of the two.
I have to say putting the two together was not as easy as I hoped, but I ultimately came up with this idea- going for a little bit of a retro-kitsch-Trader-Vics-Menu vibe, and they seem to be pleased with it. Hope you like it.

TUFF Puppy: The Chief

2010-10-23T00:15:00.002-07:00

This might be my favorite of my Tuff Puppy designs- the Chief- the Flea who runs TUFF (Turbo Undercover Fighting Force). I wanted Danny Devito for his voice... I pictured him with a cigar, but we couldn't do that for obvious reasons, so I gave him a churro instead. I figured it was his substitute as he struggled to give up cigars. You even still get the falling ash effect from the cinnamon-sugar.

TUFF Puppy: The Chameleon

2010-10-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the villains I designed for the new show- Tuff Puppy. Included are some of the special poses & expressions from the Chameleon episode that has already hit the airwaves. I especially enjoy this character, with his Peter Lorre voice (Provided by Daran Norris), his wild, independent eyes, and his ability to transform into any and everything. Hope you like it!
The Chameleon

TUFF Puppy: Kitty Katswell

2010-10-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Well, the show I've been working on has finally aired, so I can share some of the work I've been doing more recently. I'm excited about this project because it's my first opportunity to design the main character line-up for a new show. The character of Dudley was designed by show creator Butch Hartman, but I was asked to design the balance of the lineup: Kitty Katswell, The Chief, Keswick, Snaptrap, Dudley's mom, etc. These characters were all initially designed over one weekend, although the turns, mouthcharts, and expressions were done later. Here is the first character I did for the show: Kitty Katswell.I tried to push for a mod sort of sexy/sophisticated 60's look. Her trenchcoat was later replaced with a jumpsuit, and her hair was made a little less graphic. Other than that- she remains pretty much the way you see her here.

Kitty Katswell

"Rockin' For The Arts" 2010

2010-05-30T00:37:00.000-07:00

Just finished the poster for this years "Rockin' For the Arts" concert! This concert is a fundraiser for arts programs in our public elementary school. Through this and other fundraisers, we've added a dedicated art bungalow to our campus, with a full-time art teacher, music classes, dance, creative drama... and because we are raising the money for these programs ourselves, they haven't been decimated by the state budget cutbacks. I hope you like the posters (I'll include the designs for the past two years, too), and if you're in the Glendale area on Friday June 11th, come on by and rock with us! I'll have my electric, telecaster-style ukulele, and I'm not afraid to plug it in!

Ukulele Mascot/Logo

2010-05-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I just finished designing (the first incarnation of) a mascot & logo for The Tampa Bay Ukulele Society. Steve Boisen, of The Barnkickers is the organizer, and while I'm on the subject, I highly recommend the CD "Square Pegs & Round Holes". It was produced by Steve, and all the profits from it's sale go to benefit the American Aspergers Association. Plus- it's a great CD!

Well, here's to the TBUS!

My Volunteer Life

2010-03-27T20:09:00.001-07:00

I think it's important to give back to the community, and I spend a lot of time volunteering for various local organizations... the theatre group that I spend a lot of time with is currently producing one of my favorite stage comedies: The Foreigner, by Larry Shue. I agreed to do the graphic for the program, and for publicity, etc... and here is what I came up with. The play centers around an Englishman, who winds up at a fishing lodge in the American south. His only desire is to be left alone, but he inadvertently becomes privy to some pretty nasty plans by less-than-savory locals, and finds himself at the heart of a sinister plot, and at a personal crossroads. The play balances some pretty serious subject matter with a great deal of hilarity. The result is definitely worthwhile. If you have an opportunity to see a production, I highly recommend it!

Incidental Thugs

2010-03-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

I'm in the slightly awkward position of working on a show that hasn't aired yet, which makes it difficult to find anything current to post. Here are a couple of drawings I did a few weeks ago, and I just learned this sequence was cut, so here you go! These kinds of crowds can be intimidating to start, but with our production schedule racing along at locomotive speed, there's only one viable approach for me- one pass to rough it out, and one pass to tie it down. There's no time for agonizing, so there's always the desire for more time to go back & finesse, but on the other hand it's a great exercise in hitting the ground running, & following your first impulse. In the first image, the thugs are surrounding a character who is too small for us to see... in the second he blasts out of their midst...

Baby Poof and Foop Comic-Con Posters

2010-03-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here's something a little different. I haven't been posting much, partly because I figure people are likely getting tired of seeing Fairly Oddparents posts, and the show I'm currently working on hasn't aired, so there's not much I can show from that.
Here are two posters I did as a promotion for last years Comic-Con in San Diego. One is of Baby Poof, and the other, his anti-fairy nemesis- Foop. What was different about the assignment is that I got to do everything, from concept to design, to the rough drawing, to clean-up, to final color. These are obviously very simple in concept, but they were very gratifying nonetheless.

Making up for lost time...

2009-05-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another model for an episode of FOP- Meet Bob the clown...

Dirtybeard

2009-05-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well, again, in the usual tradition, I have to apologize for posting so infrequently, and thank anyone with the stamina to check back once in a while. Here's a drawing from some time ago. Hope you be likin' it, matey!! AAAAARRRRRRRRGH!

Foster's Home...

2008-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

While we were all on hiatus from Fairly Oddparents last year, I had the privilege of working on a couple episodes of Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. What a treat for me! Here are some of the characters I did during that time.

Tango Music & Parlor Guitars

2008-07-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

I love old turn-of-the-century American parlor guitars.... my favorite guitar design. When I was asked to design some Tango musicians recently, I gave them... what else? It may have nothing to do with authentic tango music instrument selection, but what the hey? I knew they would be on screen for 6 frames anyway, and you gotta have some fun! I figured I couldn't get away with giving them ukuleles...

Cosmo, Preggers!

2008-02-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

This is also from the "Fairly Odd Baby" episode. Some drawings to guide the animators, as they laid out the sequence where a pregnant Cosmo dances joyously through a bucolic landscape, celebrating his impending motherh...er...fatherhood.

Unfortunately the animation of this sequence was really disappointing, and what should have been a very funny animated segment blows by almost before you have time to notice it. That's what happens when you export art to the lowest bidder.

BABY POOF!

2008-02-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, Here I am back on FOP (The Fairly Oddparents), and my first assignment when I got back last June was to develop this character that was to be introduced in the season premiere. Cosmo & Wanda were slated to (gasp!) have a baby, and of course the details were all tightly kept under lock and key. Who was having a baby?... is it a boy or girl??... what will it's name be???...

Well, as of last night, the cat is officially out of the bag. Our season premiere, entitled "Fairly Odd Baby" aired, and Baby Poof (a boy), has been introduced to the Nickelodeon viewing world with enormous success!

This was not only my first assignment when I came back to Nick, but also my introduction to drawing on the Cintiq! Here are a few exploration pages- the earliest development of baby Poof. I hope you like 'em!

Mandatory Update!!

2007-12-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, a co-worker by the name of Joel Fajnor told me I should update my blog. Yesterday, my sister emailed me to say the same thing. Can TWO people be wrong?? Here's an incidental family I drew recently for an episode of the Fairly Oddparents. This particular family happens to be mine (what kind of dad would I be if I didn't put my kids on TV when I had the chance)?

Incidentally, this is the ONLY way a child can appear on national television, without becoming a boozer, going through rehab, and/or getting pregnant out of wedlock.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

THE PUMPKINATORPencil Rough

Final Color

I'm trotting out an old one, but this seemed appropriate for the season. This is the Pumpkinator- done for an FOP Halloween special a couple of years ago. At the time, I was drawing almost exclusively on post-its, adding and removing elements to my designs without sweating ruining a precious drawing. I don't do that anymore, but it was fun while it lasted, and gave 3M stock a nice healthy boost.

Anyone who's been faithful enough to return to this blog, after an extended leave of absence by me, I thank you. Those who sent letters of condolence to my family- thank you too, but I'm not dead, as it turns out.

I have however returned to Nick for yet ANOTHER season of Fairly Oddparents- the show that was canceled twice, but just won't die. Say- that sounds appropriate for halloween too, doesn't it?

"Just when you thought it was safe to get up on Saturday morning.... FAIRLY ODDPARENTS 3- The resurrection!"

Ludwig Van Beethoven

2007-04-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

This is Beethoven. He was really, really great. He was the Jimmy Hendrix of his day, and just as divisive, too!

This is from one of my first Fairly Oddparents episodes. Cosmo (magic, as he is) decided to put together an all-star band, including Beethoven on keyboards, and Nero on (what else?)- fiddle.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of your blog??

Chinese Lunar Festival (...and ukulele)

2007-02-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

For anyone interested, I'll be singing and playing (ukulele), as part of L.A. Chinatown's Chinese Lunar Festival, this Saturday, February 24th. The festival starts at 10:00am, the Golden dragon Parade begins at 2:00pm, and I, along with several other musicians and performers, will hit the mainstage at 5:00pm. I'll be performing about five songs, and it should be a lot of fun, especially if I don't embarrass myself.

We all know what an important historical role the ukulele has played in Chinese culture.

It's a natural! For details call (213) 617-0396. There should be something for everybody!

More Cowboys

2007-02-19T20:41:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple more hombres from that pilot I was designing at Nickelodeon. These two face-off, in a macho contest. Purty tough, I reckon...

Your feedback is always appreciated, ...uh...y'all.

Sherlock Holmes

2007-02-07T10:31:00.000-08:00

The World's Greatest Detective, what?
(I'd like to personally thank the guy who invented post-its)

(Comments always welcome)

Crusher

2007-01-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

Crusher! The name says it all. Imagine being named "Crusher" at birth, and having to live up to the expectations that must create? No wonder he looks angry.

Here's the rough:

And the final art (The "Thanks for looking!" was added when I made him the last page of my portfolio.):

Incidental Egyptians

2007-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a page of incidental Egyptians, done for a shot in a Fairly Oddparents episode.

Good Old Days

2007-01-04T04:43:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years, I've been working as the Art Director for The Fairly Oddparents, while continuing to occasionally do character design for the show as well. These are from one of my favorite episodes of that show, called "The Good Old Days". conceived, written & storyboarded by Dave Thomas, this show was a joy to work on, and everyone on the crew really gave it everything they had. While the character designs here are mine, Gordon Hammond shared character design duties for this episode. Jim Worthy did the amazing background designs, and Dan Chesher painted them with remarkable authenticity. Props were done by Frank Rocco. What we were going for, was a 1930's, Max Fleischer look to the show, which essentially (and reverently) spoofed the cartoons of that era. Of course, the main characters still had to look like the main characters from a very graphic, modern show, which presented it's own set of challenges.

Get a load of this background~ lavishly drawn by Jim Worthy, & beautifully painted by Dan Chesher. Trolley, hydrant, & car by Frank Rocco (who else?)

One of the most exciting things for me, was getting to provide the singing voice (and play ukulele) for this character- Chippington Skylark III

Here are some screen-grabs, from the final episode

Here's a frame from the song sequence

Hear the 1920's Icky Vicky song (with me on vocals and ukulele) here!:

ICKY VICKY SONG

Thanks for lookin'!

Some rough sketches

2006-12-30T01:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a little development I did recently, for a pilot show. A rough sketch of some western desperados- COWboys...get it?

A horse...

And a couple incidental townsfolk, who've just discovered the joys of ice cubes and rubber bands.

Thanks for lookin'- Y'all come back, now!

Galactimus

2006-12-23T00:22:00.000-08:00

Here's another drawing from my early days at Nick. In this episode of FOP, Timmy had to become a super-villain (an obvious spoof of Marvel's Calactus") in order to get some quality time with his mom & dad, who had become super-heroes. I thought it would be a good chance to slip in some comic-booky style, but I didn't know if the art director at the time (Bob Boyle) would go for it. He did! Here you go, Ben.

Here he is, frozen in ice- the rough, and then the finished model:

And this is about as randy as things are likely to get on this blog:

On The Air!

2006-12-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Well- One of the hi-lights of the year for ME was the fulfillment of two personal life ambitions: To write and direct a radio play, and to sing & play with a red-hot jazz band. In May, I directed an original show called "On The Air!", with local theatre group The Steppingstone Players. Frank Rocco assisted with the writing, and Dan "Soybean" Sawyer did the musical arrangements, and directed the band. The show was a big hit, thanks to a terrific cast, and an amazing band. I'm only a pseudo-musician (at best), but since it was my show, I got to play ukulele and sing a little bit. What a thrill! Here are some shots of the band and cast, from one of out last rehearsals- this is one or two nights before we opened, and costumes were about 65-70% at this point. I'm in the porkpie hat, and that
s Soybean at the keyboards & banjo-uke-

"SOYBEAN, AND HIS RED-HOT VEGANS"

"SWASH-BUCKLING ADVENTURE!"

The Dread John Flintlock, and son.

Allan Hunt (as Desmond LeRoi), advises Matt Rosell (as Jimmy).

Ivan scats.

Soybean wows listeners with his Über-chops, on his Gibson banjo-uke.

The Very First Noel & The Unflappable Cheneys

2006-12-17T07:26:00.000-08:00

I didn't draw this, but I'm in this picture (twice)!

Okay, so I've been privileged to be involved with some cool projects in the 14+ years since I moved to California to make my fortune in animation (actually, I initially moved out here to stake my claim in the great Gold Rush, but quickly learned I'd missed the boat on that one), but THIS project takes the cake!!

About seven years ago, good friends Yarrow and Carrie Cheney (they're good friends to me- they're married to each other) got this cockamamie idea, that they wanted to make a 3-D animated film, about the Journey of the Three Wise Men to the Nativity. The cockamamie part is they wanted to do it themselves, that is to say, without outside interference. and without target demographics, focus testing, backward ball-caps, and without being told that baby Jesus needs "more attitude", or the suggestion that- in the interest of selling toys- couldn't the Wise Men travel on skateboards instead?

Well, suffice it to say, that seven years later, through sheer, unwavering determination, and many of leaps of faith, the Cheneys and their support team (led by Carrie's parents- The ever-stalwart Buells of San Diego) have emerged with a holiday video that is sure to by heralded for all time! (Cue the trumpets). With an all-original script by Carrie, imagine a Christmas special, with the heart and Warmth of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, or A Charlie Brown Christmas, coupled with the beautiful, lush Art direction of ...say...well- Yarrow Cheney!

This movie is a treasure. You should get it. In fact you should do what I'm doing, and get it for everybody on your Christmas list. They'll be your friends forever . I'll go one better- if you have a friend that you'd frankly like to ditch- start by NOT getting them this movie. That should go a long way toward putting a rift between you.

Q: What does this have to do with me, you ask?
A: I'm glad you asked! (Here's the privilege part). I was asked to voice the character of Joseph, and also "The Tall Shepherd" for this special, and my lovely wife Cathy voiced the part of Mary. You might say she was blessed among actresses. What fun! And before you go thinking that I'm promoting this so that Cathy and I can retire from residual income, forget it. To the best of my knowledge- residuals for DVD sales (and cable- This special is airing regularly on DirectTV) are still pretty negligible. I'm pushing this special because it's absolutely delightful, and deserves any exposure it can get.

Q:Didn't you promise in an earlier post that you wouldn't be really wordy on your blog?
A: Uh...yeah..sorry about that, but my enthusiasm for this special predisposes me to effusive rambling.

ANYWAY, watch it. You'll be glad you did.For more, go HERE, or HERE, or buy it HERE.

On-Line Waitress

2006-12-14T01:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a character I did for my old boss, Steve Belfer, over at Warner OnLine. All bosses should be as cool as Steve. This was for an online game for....some burger place...Hardee's maybe? RALLY'S, I think! It had to be simple, because it would be really small on the screen. Hope you like it.

Artwork

2006-12-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

Artwork! Oh, Yeah! I should probably start posting some drawings... I figure since my blog is new, I can get away with posting OLD STUFF for a while, before I start feeling pressure to generate NEW STUFF for this page, so..

Here's a band I designed for an episode of The Fairly Oddparents, called "Twistory". That was during my early days on the show, and I was surprised to see the episode, and learn that the band was on-screen for about a frame-and-a half, never to be seen again. Things move quickly on that show.

I later did this marker version in Zac Moncrief's sketchbook.

Roosevelt Franklin

2006-12-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

Most people I ask don't remember "Roosevelt Franklin's Elementary School"- a semi-regular sequence on Sesame Street, when Sesame Street was worth watching. Well, even I don't remember this black & White footage, but it sure is awesome! I'd like to see Elmo and Baby Bear pull THIS off...

Ernie Gilbert

2006-12-07T23:36:00.000-08:00

Hi, everybody! I'd like to say that people have been hounding me to finally start a blog. I'd LIKE to say that, but the truth is, the people I hang with are generally unmotivated, and still aren't entirely convinced that the personal computer is truly here to stay, so... I'm doing this because I think it'll be fun, and of course, will surely make me rich and famous! Well, here goes nothin!