Where Soul Meets Body

I love working on warmer tones. It's so refreshing  from just drawing on plain white. Gives it a more earthy feel.

Drawn on the cardboard backing of a used pack of Bristol paper.

Inspired by this song.

The Wierdos

So I thought maybe I should post my best from this art account on a website elsewhere I don't really update anymore. Y'know, to keep some sort of flow going with this blog. Just some small tidbits of my colored work.
These are more older drawings I thought I should share. I added my new signature to both, but got the years right. Both were made earlier last year when I started getting my artsy spunk back.

Alien sloth...thingies.

It's fun to go out of your comfort zone, I must say. 

I like drawing random shapes and using it as a body type when it comes to monsters.  That bigger one turned out really gourd-like. 

I think I didn't center this one enough, the background looks a bit crowded on the right side. Oh well, better luck next time. The seahorse came out kind of cool anyways. 

Dancing Shadows

More artsies for you!

Okay so these guys were a real-time class demonstration led by yours truly. These are all actually older class demonstrations for my fifth grade class of last year. Done in April or may of '11.
So not TOO old.

Don't mistake him for a bad guy. 

He really likes other bunnies.

A student told me that looked a little like the designs from The Princess and The Frog, Dr. Facilier's shadow minions. That's actually what I was going for as a far as a good example, the shadow characters designed for that film are a beautiful example of good silhouettes. I told my students to think in that sense while designing their shadow character. See how many parts of the body really stand out, whether it be fur, clothing, body type, hair, etc.

It was a lesson on how crucial it is for a character to have a good silhouette. If it reads well as a blacked out image then you've done a good job. 

Far too many artists and cartoons today lack that. To be honest I even lack it sometimes as well.
It was also a partial lesson on negative composition and how filling in dark spaces can either benefit your drawings in some cases or smother it with too much.
This was a very fun experiment and the kids loved it as well. That lesson actually had some of the best quality of work I've seen EVER for 10 year olds.

More madness for the class. 

I should do more of these. They challenge me to really work limited, and sometimes more is less.

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps

AH! Hello again.

Well I've decided instead of leaving this place hanging I might as well start loading it up with older(but still pretty good) art until I've got new stuff that is alright for public eyes.

So I drew these babies back in....late 2010? It was the only drawings I could do for quite a while, I was in a dark state of mind(which is behind me now). Honestly it's rare when I draw like this, I'm known for adorkable monsters, dragons, pandas, happy butterflies and puppy farts with unicorn rainbow glitter. 

I guess when it rains it pours and it showed. 

I love drawing mythological creatures from various cultures around the world, regardless. Just depends on my mind frame whether they come out nice or not.

Crazy this was just a ballpoint pen sketch at one point. Probably took a few hours to finish entirely(with breaks)

 

I swear that bottom guy isn't giving you the birdie.

 Okay he looks more confused than anything

Yeah I dig Bowie if you couldn't tell from the title.

More to come!

Well, here it goes.

My first post here!
My "stage name" is Izzy Zee. Sometimes I go under Liz or L. 
I am a character designer and an art teacher!
I started drawing at age 3, inspired by Don Bluth films, older Disney films, and musicals. I was an oddball.
I made my first characters around 4, about some weird looking thing named smiley and his girlfriend who went on neighborhood adventures. I'd narrate the story as my mom wrote it down next to the illustrations, stapling pages of printer paper together. I would pretend I was a lion in most cases and I wanted a tail.  I'd make up imaginary friends and draw them on the sidewalks growing up in a quiet studio city neighborhood.
I decided at 8 I wanted to draw cartoons for a living and at 13 I realized character design and visual development was my niche. Character design and animation is my life, I couldn't imagine my life without it.
I've always been a hard worker, a bit of an over-achiever. I'd charge into things that most would be afraid of doing, I felt as if my age never mattered and I still hold that theory to this day.
Later in life I was the youngest to attend a college class in animation at age 14. Most of my peers didn't take me seriously, in fact some of them went out of their way to show they didn't like me with dirty looks and ignoring me when I had a say in a project. Ironically I left the class with full credit, an A, and a recommendation letter for a university or work.
I went to an art school in LA for a while. I learned a good amount of skill there for 2 years, taught there, upgraded to every class, and got caught in a whirlwind for a while.
I have now been teaching for 3 years to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Currently I am working on various projects for various people, including illustration, character design, private instruction, etc.  I plan to post those projects as time goes on.
I also do volunteer work for my local community, working with small children in arts and crafts. So yeah, I'm around little ones a lot.
I am majoring in Animation and Visual Effects!
My artistic influences are Don Bluth, Chris Sanders, Glen Keane, Jim Smith, Jin Kim, Chuck Jones, John Nevarez, the list goes on and on.
Outside of animation I am fascinated with theatre. I love making people happy and I am always on to entertain others. Improv theatre is amazing. I am a  huge Green Day fan, something you will come to know as I post tidbits of me. I love 60s and 70s pop culture, cooking, and psychology.  I also really love anything Charlie Chaplin.

I hope to post the journey of my life as an artist, maybe getting to know you all a bit better! I still have much to learn, as any artist. But what knowledge I do know, I'll gladly share.
See that panda up there? Her name is Izzy too! And she likes hugging people, just watch out because she is kind of stinky and gassy. But she means well.