more avatar work

so i finally got around to jpg-ing, resizing, and uploading the miscellaneous 190 or so sketches, doodles, illustrations, props, costumes, paint overs, textures, rejected concepts, etc - that i worked on for avatar. it only took me 4 years. some definitly more 'exciting' than others (read as navi_bowl_variation 157A totally rocks navi_bowl_variation 154cd!! omg!), but i've gone ahead and included the non descript and less interesting pieces anyhow. i'm trying not to be too selective since it was my first show and i can accept the growing pains visible in the work. :)

pensketch.com/gallery/avatar/

happy friday!

THORSDAY!

THOR comes out today! treat yourself to some aussie norwegian man god fun and get out there! i'll be checking out the 7pm showing tonight at the sundance kabuki. unfortunately they're only showing it in 3d, but the reserved seats and booze service will help me cope. i've also updated my website and gallery thanks to the friendly, yet slightly costly wysiwyg at www.squarespace.com.

i worked as an illustrator on thor for about a year and helped in the preliminary design of asgard, odin's tower, heimdall's observatory and some other environments and set dec. it was a lot of fun and i was in the company of some very talented individuals. i can't speak highly enough about the production designer, bo welch.

oh and the thor 'art of' book is out. along with some of my work you'll find some incredible art from my talented friends: ryan meinerding, charlie wen, michael kutsche, vance kovacs, raj rihal and kasra farahani to name a few.

some of the stuff that didn't make it into the book i'll have up in my gallery. you know, for the net-street cred and such...

as you were.

HAPPY THORSDAY!

 

Kicking off 2011 in Mammoth Lakes, Ca

happy new years everyone! i had an amazing time getting fresh tracks in mammoth with friends and fam. the search and rescue effort to find a lost compadre aside, good times were had by all. also got to spend some time with a new board and really enjoyed the results. the 2011 burton sherlock for powder, park and president.

San Diego Comic Con 2010

wow. another year has passed and hollywood comic con is here. i'm indulging this year and flying down to san diego on wed night and flying back to s.f. on sunday afternoon. it should be a blast. i'm looking forward to a long weekend of books, art, geeking out with friends, and sipping on something tasty. oh, and i'll also be presenting some work and discussing my process with some colleagues on friday:

Friday, July 23

5:30-6:30 Concept Design for Entertainment— Avatar and many recent and upcoming productions are using not only state-of-the-art technology but also state-of-the-art design. Four of the industry's leading and award-winning creature and production designers discuss and demonstrate how films are made from a nuts and bolts perspective and share their creative and artistic approach to design in film. Avatar's lead creature designer Neville Page, production designer Rob Stromberg, concept designer Craig Shoji, and technical creature developer Alex Alvarez share not just the process of design but also the philosophical perspectives behind the approach. Room 5AB

i’ll most likely spend more time talking about my process for creating an illustration, and the problem solving that goes into it than showing off work. i’ll post the breakdowns on this site after the weekend. and i unfortunately won’t be able to show anything from thor since the content marvel is letting out is strictly controlled and out of my hands. but there’s enough visual candy getting out there anyhow that’s much more drool worthy.

i’m also looking forward to sipping a brew and watching diggnation live. and the TRS panel/taping. whatever the hell it is. i'm looking for laughs.

if you’d like to cross paths this weekend then get in touch. otherwise, have a great time in san diego!

Alice in Wonderland

Here is some work from my time on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I was fortunate to work with, and befriend a great team of talented artists and designers.

I'm hoping to properly post these on my website at craji.com, but I'm still pushing to make it more complete before it goes live. This should do for now.

- - -

Alice in Wonderland
dir: Tim Burton
pd: Robert Stromberg