30 day sketchbook challenge

Those of us in the Pixar Story Dept. recently initiated an unofficial assignment to fill a sketchbook in a month.  It was an attempt to get us to draw more outside of work commitments- in the event only 4 of us kept up with our books. We're used to meeting crazy deadlines here but this one was a push to hit, even for those of us who maintain a sketchbook regularly.
I kept the book in hand constantly rather than in my bag-it makes you more willing to open it and jot down observations (sage advice from ex-Bournemouth Animation tutor Peter Parr)

 I usually avoid 'commuter' drawings -I did hundreds of these on the Tube in London and the  Paris Metro but usually you just end up with a sketchbook full of floating heads!  But with the pressure on to fill this book I would inevitably spend my time on BART trying to capture some of the locals.

 Walking home through the Mission District after work I made a habit of stopping to draw anything that caught my eye, from old Victorian style houses to the roadworks on Cesar Chavez.

Strolling around my neighbourhood one weekend I discovered a park with a great view of Bernal Heights

 I figured a Dr Sketchy's session would help fill up some pages. This time the theme was 'zombie slaying'!

Town house on California & Van Ness.

Gesture Class helped fill pages . . . 

Noe Valley 24th Street

Oakland Broadway nr Jack London Sq.

Macarthur BART station, Oakland

'Pops' dive Bar in the Mission

Quick 'vignettes' scribbled while waiting for public transportation.

Half Dome, Yosemite

Kintetsu Mall, Japantown

Nob Hill

Ball Park

Dive Bar

Tenderloin view on Hyde & Post

Modern (ish) & vintage Bay Area transportation

Check out the books of John Hoffman, James Robertson and Ronnie del Carmen

'More San Francisco than San Francisco itself' - kind praise from EA Art Director Audran Guerard who has illustrated part of his article with my sketches. Apparently Gamasutra is a widely read online magazine for video-game enthusiasts.  You can read the rest of Audran's thoughtful essay via the link.  He advises CG artists to maintain their traditional skills.

Joe

I made this short strip last year for the proposed AfterWorks follow-up anthology book. Ted and Scott got side-tracked with Trickster and the book was never finished. My short story was based on an exchange overheard on the Emeryville shuttle bus to work. I'd see Joe often on his way to the Oaks cardhouse and imagined his story . . .

Rough layout pages & thumbnails

More comics here