BACK IN BLACK

She had a funny expression, as Jeremy so accurately captured, but there was something in the posture I wanted to capture -- hence the back view.

Jeremy, you were right, she did have long sleeves. When I saw your post, I could have kicked myself.

Guest Artist Jeremy Spears at Sketchclub

Last Friday, we had the distinct privilage of having guest artist Jeremy Spears join us for Sketchclub. Can you believe it, he drove all the way from San Luis Obispo to sit in on one of our outings! Jeremy is a terrific cartoonist -- as this drawing would attest.

Thanks Jeremy! It was a pleasure having you join us for lunch.

Here's his version of the "mark!"

--Sketchclub Managment

I think she had glasses.
- Noelle

A Very Busy Intersection

She certainly had her arms full!

He made me think of a XVII century philosopher.

-Noelle

Alter Ego?

Here's a mark from Friday.

When I study people, I look at the shape of their head, the fashion sense (or lack thereof), the way they hold their bodies, and then attempt to caricature that. Sometimes, the fashion, shape and posture don't mix...and I realize that person might be in the wrong timeline -- wearing the wrong clothes. So, I try to imagine them in a different era, with a different wardrobe.

Despite the hippy look, he had that 50's era school principal look to me.

Classic (Dangerous) Beauty

Yep, I know it's been a while since we've posted at our Sketchclub blog, but Sketchclub is still going strong. We still meet every Friday, and still have lots of fun.

Here's one, a different take than Marcos, but you can see the similarities.

What?

I can't believe I'm posting a drawing at the sketchclub blog.
Not that I don't go most fridays, but I admit (couldn't fool anyone on this one really) I've been kinda lazy in terms of "the mark of the day" thing recently.
Aaaaaaaanyway, here's the one. We were coming back from lunch with Marcelo across the back lot and we saw this young lady obviously working in a show there. Although she wore actual regular clothes she made them look like it was some 20's 30's costume.
-Marcos.

cool

Sketchclub is great. It was a beautiful day out, and the company wasn't so bad either. We spotted this guy from a long way off, or at least his headband. He narrowly took the prize for the mark of the week.

-Seth

Eh. Man, it's been a long time! I love the other entries. If nothing else, you can say we've got style. Almost as much style as this guy.

-Seth

Cool-Haired Guy

Here's my take on that dude with the cool hair. I can hear John Lennon songs in my head when I saw him.

--Armand

Cross Walk

Fun day sketchin' with Marcelo, Seth and Armand...Can't wait to see what they come up with on this week's "mark." Not your everyday haircut...
-T. Dan

We are having technical difficulties ...

Hang in there, we're unable to view the blog from our end. I'm not sure if that is a problem for everyone, or just in our area.

--Sketchclub management

PIRATE GIRL 2

Hey Moe, again sorry for the delay. It's been a "busy" downtime. Anyway here's my version of the girl we spotted last Friday. I believe it's not a matter of what movie she's planning to watch. But she's torn on who she loves more - Jack Sparrow or our very own Dinga-man. You may never know she may be a blogger. Oh my, I forgot about the boots.

By the way, for those of you who are wondering who Dinga-man is, click here

-- Armand

PIRATE GIRL

No kidding, she was wearing a pirate hat!

As Armand and I were leaving our favorite restaurant of choice, we passed a movie theater. That's when we spotted this girl waiting to see a movie...wearing, of all things, a pirate hat! And fashionable pirate style bootlets. (Hmm, I wonder what movie she was going to see?)

Obviously, this was our "mark." With our on-line pirate comic blog "El-Pacifico.blogspot" in full swing, it seemed the appropriate subject for us. If you haven't checked out our improvisational comic blog, you've got to check it out.

--Marcelo

WHEN SKETCHCLUBS COLLIDE 2

Don't worry Marcelo, you're not the only one. And not only that, I'm always late. Here's my take on that lady from our last week's session. She reminded me of an older Olive Oyl and it helped me retain the image till I was able to sit down on the drawing board this morning. By the way, It was great to have the talented Mark McDonnel with us last week visiting from Burbank. Chicos! Mark.

--Armand

WHEN SKETCHCLUBS COLLIDE!

I know, I haven't been posting very often on Sketchclub lately, but I have been doing the Sketchclub lunches. I think my El-Pacifico.blogspot entries have been eating into my memory sketching time.

This time around was special. We had the very well known Mark McDonnell (from the Sketchclub East franchise) come to the West side for a little Sketchclub rumble! We had a great time sketching and spinning tall tales while we ate. We spotted this woman as we left the restaurant.

The sketches are pretty spot-on Mark, but I don't know about that light going through her dress. I guess I wasn't looking that closely...maybe I didn't want to! Mark, you're a better man than I.

In a Sketchclub first, we are going to post our memory sketches on both sites!

Sweet

I really enjoyed Sketch Club the day we spotted the dog with the girl attached to it. She's not our usual target, which is one of the reasons she had such great appeal. When T.Dan said, "Look at those jowels!" I didn't know if he was talking about the dog or the girl.

-Seth

Dog Taking a Girl for a Walk

Last week it was jus' me'n'Seth again, and it was a bright sunny day in Culver City. Some interesting characters to choose from at the end...Some on bikes going too fast, but this pair wandered by and we both thought, "Yeah, this is it." First dog in the Sketch Club?

-T. Dan

As a rookie to the sketch club, I was trying to keep up with the ol' veteran Seth. I had fun sketchin' the customers, the waitresses, the cashiers, the busboys. And then at the end we spotted this character. The suit must've looked quite dapper when he bought it 25 years ago. I believe he knew he was being observed, hence a double helping of scowling was applied.
-T. Dan

Another Old Guy

One might start to wonder if I have been a one-man sketch club as of late, but this is not the case! T-Dan Hofstedt joined me this week. He's an amazing animator, caricature artist, designer, illustrator, story-board artist and more. Hopefully we'll be seeing some of his work up here soon. It was a pleasure sketching with him. This "mark" that we picked out was a great character, with such a strong jaw line, we couldn't pass him up!

-Seth

Another Steakout

I wonder what he was steaking out. Whatever it was, it was somewhere over there to the right.

-Seth

The Sketchclub

Here's a typical Friday sketchclub session in Culver City. From left to right: Marcos Mateu, Armand Serrano, Seth Hippen, Marcelo Vignali and Noelle Triaureau.

What are you lookin' at?

I never got color on this guy, but I thought I'd post him anyway, seeing as how it's been a few weeks without anything new. I thought this guy's expression was particularly funny as I saw him realize that a small group of people were staring at him from across the street. Then as we got closer and past him on the crosswalk he just looked exasperated from all the eyes on him. I was the last one past him and by that time he looked like he had given up trying to figure us out.

-Seth

Fright Night

We were crossing the street trying to find the spot of the day when Moe asked "Do you guys want to do Dracula over there?". He's right. He reminded me so much of the guy in that 80's movie Fright Night but shorter. Noelle even quipped "Oh it's so easy to remember him. He looks like a French rock singer!" Anyway, here he is and I dont want to know what that purple object in his bag...

-Armand

70's Dracula

And he was walking straight towards us (...can you imagine?)
-Marcos.

Young Revolutionary in Tinsel Town

One look at this guy and you know you're near a studio. I'll bet this guy has a play or a script somewhere about fish mongers (If you haven't seen the film Barton Fink, the joke will be lost on you).

--Marcelo

Ichabod

What a great profile! There's got to be a term for a nerd with style. Whatever it is, it's something that I aspire to. It was a great day for Sketchclub.

-Seth

Capuchin Friar Fashion

This is a curious fashion statement, this kid -- though odd to us wearing his hood during a sunny day -- historically looks like a Capuchin Friar. The contemporary baseball cap is a great touch.

--Marcelo

The Dude

Marcelo spotted this guy far away, and he walked right past us so we got a good look. Luckily our covert undercover skills were at their peak, otherwise there could've been trouble if we stared at this guy too long!

-Seth

The "Mountain Dew" Man

I know he has a head there somewhere... Very big and confident specially in how he walks. Better get out of the way!

-- Armand

What's He Smiling About?

This kid had a smug look on his face when the Sketchclub Executives spotted him. As he neared our crew -- and I was busily trying to capture all the visual information -- I noted that he was carrying a brand new Kurt Vonnegut book. Hmm, that's probably why he was smiling!

--Marcelo

Sketchclub Guest Fil Barlow

Greetings everyone. We have a special treat for you, special Sketchclub guest Fil Barlow!

Well known in the industry for his work on the comic book Zooniverse, various animated cartoons...too many to count, and the character designer for the celebrated CG animated series Starship Troopers.

Hopefully, Fil will come and join the rest of the Sketchclub crew when his busy schedule allows it. Stay tuned...or should I say, "Stay Zooned!"

--The Sketchclub Management

Gothic Olive Oil

I think all color had long vanished from her except for the shoes. They refused to go along with the program.

-Seth

I admit by the time I realized this young lady was -the- mark of te day she had just passed already...and I missed out on a lot of detail !
So for a well documented reference please take a look at the sketch of any other of the club members !
'Soon
-Marcos.

FLASH ... COLD SNAP HITS LA!

Well, she certainly had a look! What struck me was her pale skin, dark hair, and those redish shoes.

We had snap of cold air that would make any Californian do the unthinkable ... don a sweater. And, that is indeed what this brave woman was forced to wear when the Sketchclub executives spotted her. It must have been about 55 degrees! All right, maybe I'm exaggerating ... but it was cold!

--Marcelo

It's two for the price of one today ! (...and worth the effort).
-Marcos.

"Disperse, or you will be arrested!"

First, I would like to apologize to Seth and Noelle. Originally, we all agreed to draw a different "mark" ... but then Marcos and I went to get some coffee and our Sketchclub crew separated. It was then that Marcos and I came upon a live film set on the street.

Honestly, how could we pass up on this opportunity? Apparently, the Culver City courthouse was turned into the Hollywood Police Department for a taping of CBS's Criminal Minds. With a laser beam's precision, Marcos spotted this sexy detective. It was then we took the liberty of choosing a different "mark" other than the one we had already chosen with Noelle and Seth.

It took a few minutes of preparation, and then the director called out, "ACTION!" A couple was escorted out to their car under a swarm of photographers. The couple climbs into the car and this police woman jumps in-between the photographers and the couple and flashes her badge! She barks out orders demanding that they disperse ... or they'll be arrested. Tough talk!

Marcos and I took our mental snapshots and headed back to the office.

--Marcelo

Mountain Brew

What a blast! It's not too hard to find characters 'round these parts.


-Seth

The Hat Did It ...

When the Sketchclub executives made their mark, I tried to figure out ... why this guy? It was the hat that did it!

--Marcelo

What a great day out there today !
-Marcos.

Sketchclub's Latest Member

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce Seth Hippen! Seth comes to us via Utah, and is currently working at Sony's Imageworks. He's a family man, an animator ... and now has the distinction of being the latest member of Sketchclub. Check out his web site at ... http://www.roosterrhino.com/

--The Sketchclub Management

IN THE DOG HOUSE

With his arms flapping like he was trying to safely flag down a plane, this poor guy was looked to be in the dog house! Two fly looking girls were paying no attention to him as he desperately tried to convince them ... of what I have no idea ... but I can only imagine. "Yo, that ain't the way it was ... that other girl don't mean nothing to me!"

--Marcelo

STOP THE PRESSES! ... one more late entry.

Sorry for the late drawing, but i still remember him.

--Armand

Well, it's taken me a while to put this one up.
Here's my version of the "retired" guy we saw around the other day.
-Marcos.

Ol' Timer

It was a good group at Sketchclub this past Friday ... there were five of us. Not only have we picked up Armand Serrano last week, but we also picked up Luis Grane this week. (There will be more to come on Luis when he posts.) Hopefully we'll have both their drawings posted shortly.

Our "mark" this time around was an old timer sitting on a bench soaking up some sun. Ah, California winter!

--Marcelo

Our Newest Member To Sketchclub

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new member to Sketchclub ... may I introduce to you Armand Serrano.
Armand is currently working with the rest of the Sketchclub crew here at Sony Pictures Animation. Armand is one of the industry's top visual development artists. Please have a look at this web site at: http://www.armandserrano.com/ his work truly is amazing!

--The Sketchclub management
(We will be adding Armand's link to our site later.)

Johnny Bravo?

When the Sketchclub executives made their mark, special Sketchclub guest Armand Serrano remarked, "Who? Johnny Bravo over there?" That's exactly what this guy looked like ... sans the muscles of course. Boy, whadda head of hair!

--Marcelo

In Like Flint?

This older gentleman had a little of that James Coburn thing going: rugged, slim, with a shock of white hair. Here's the set up ... Noelle and I spotted him as he was talking with his wife outside the theater, then he turned and walked up to the ticket booth. That was when I took my mental snapshot, "CLICK." He had a peculiar walk as he hurriedly waddled from side to side on his bow legs; he was probably thinking, "I've gotta see that King Kong again!"

--Marcelo