YETI SPAGHETTI

You can never draw enough Yetis.
These are a couple little doodles I did during some down time at work today...

mmm think I'm gonna do some more soon... had a lot of fun drawing these guys.

-Hat

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TITLE THIS POST

As per requested by anonymous on my previous post, here are some more Flapjack boards I cleaned up.

Unfortunately, I didn't actually keep too many copies of the work I did while on the show, so I think this (and the stuff a couple posts down) are all I have.

With that being the case, I thought I'd at least post more of the storyboard test I did.

Note* These were not actually used in production, only from a test I did applying for the position.

 

While rummaging through boxes of piled and packed paper, looking for more Flapjack boards, I came across this piece of artwork from the production of Manny and Khan, not sure if myself or Joey ever posted it, so thought I would;

At the studio they had a wall dedicated to the 'Cartoonstitute' program, where they would pin up artwork from each short. This is the piece we gave them to hang up. The font was drawn by Joey, characters by DanBob Thompson. I'm pretty sure it's the same pose from the spinning logo we used in the short.

-Hat

I AM DB

I just found out that I'm on IMDB...

Josh Lieberman (v)
 
I feel so official. I don't know who made the page, but thank you! Here's a special drawling I made just for you.

Much love 
-Josh Lieberman number 5

MOREMIES

More me's. That drawing I did for the last post is god-awful. Apparently I can only draw on a cintique now.

-Hat

Hmm...

Well... It's been a while blog. I'm sorry for neglecting you. And if it's any consolation,  I've even been ignoring you're younger brother, who is basically still an infant and needs my constant attention.

I wanted to take some time out just to thank everybody. 

And by everybody, I mean you, the person reading this, anyone who is reading this, or anyone who has read anything on this blog before. Over the years, maintaining this blog, I've gotten a lot of cool comments and emails from people. Often we can take simple gestures like this for granted, something as simple as a compliment. However going back through the archived posts here, it was pretty heartwarming to see all the people who have taken the time to express themselves.

So thank you for sharing, sharing your comments, opinions, ideas, and your artwork! Through connecting with fellow bloggers I've been able to see a lot of incredible artwork I would have never seen. Never seen had YOU not taken the time to put it up. So thank you. Thank you for the inspiration.

To return the favor, I offer this rendering of myself.

Don't try and be perfect.

Try and be happy.

If you happen to stumble across this, please leave me a link to your blog! I want to be inspired by you.

Much love 

-Hat

CHECK OUT MY WILLY

I was fortunate enough, a few months back, to have a chance to work on Thurop Van Orman's Flapjack doing storyboard clean-up and revisions for them. It was the first gig I got off of doing a story-test, so the show holds a a special place in my heart. I'm so thankful Thurop gave me an opportunity to work for him, he's an awesome guy with the heart of a whale and the beard of a man whale. One of the first episodes I was given to clean-up was, last nights premier, 'WILLY'.  The episode was quite ambitious, a lot of action, a lot of singing, and... a lot of crowds.

Below; Original rough board and cleaned-up crowd/Willy

Below; Another cleaned-up crowd

Below; I think this is one of the first crowd shots I cleaned up. And it was great because I learnt how to draw every character in the entire Flapjack universe ever. I made photocopies of the colossal crowd at certain points along the way to track the progress,

EDIT; I realized the big crowd shot below wasn't actually from the episode 'Willy!', but a different episode I had been given to clean up.

Original rough board;

Small crowd;

 

One of the great things about working clean-up on the show was forcing myself to draw in a new style. The shapes and proportions of the characters are really wacky, fun and exaggerated, they contain a lot of stylistic properties I'd never really explored. I think we all have certain formulas we instinctively stick to, whether we are aware of it or not, and working on Flapjack was a great way to push myself into new design territories. Thaddeus Couldron is the current character designer on the show, he's an incredible artist.

Medium crowd;

Colossal crowd;

 

I'm not sure if this shot made it into the final episode? I don't have a tv, so didn't have a chance to catch the episode. They probably would've blown their entire budget on this one shot.

I also got my first TV screen credit

I did Manny and Khan before working on Flapjack, which would have technically made that my first screen credit, but who the heck knows when that things ever gonna air...

BUSY BEAVER

Got a lots goin on of late, so thought I'd post some of the recent stuff I've been up to.

Been doing a lot of writing lately, more on the philosophical side of things. Started a new blog dedicated more to the literary lines of labor. Just finished putting together a first collection of essays, one I'm in the process of having self-published. I've put it up on the blog free to download for anyone interested;

humanationessays.blogspot.com

Still busy boarding, hard at work on Madagascar 3. Can't post any of the artwork I've done so far, but got this gem of a picture. Me and some of the board artists stayed late to work the other night, so production ordered diner for us. They put the order in my name. The guy delivered the food and below is a picture of the receipt;

So that was awesome.

I now have a new nickname! By day I'm mild mannered Josh Beaverman, but by night... BEAVERMANNNNN! I'm also in the early stages of development on a new TV pilot with a major network, tentatively titled 'leave it to beaverman'.

I'm really dissapointed none of my friends came up with that when I was growing up. It's so obvious.

Also, now that a whole bunch of the cartoonstitute shorts leaked, I can finally post;

This was a little 'thank you' drawing I made for Derek Dryman. He really helped mentor me and Joey through the making of Manny and Khan, he's an awesome guy and super talented, have you seen Danger Planet!?

And check out the Danger Planet production blog if you havn't.

incredible stuff.

peace out

love in

-hat

MANNY AND KHAN LEAK 2.0

These guys just won't stay dead;

The short I made for Cartoon Network with my good buddy Joey G leaked online again, and this time in high def!

By high def I don't mean the sound is so high you'll go deaf, that was the older leak.

Special shout out to the cartoon cavalry on Toonzone for all your support, you guys are the coolest. It means a lot to know that people who like cartoons like Manny & Khan.

Much love.

POST SCRIPT

No new art stuff to post, so thought I'd start posting some of my writing. This is a spec script I wrote of 'The Office"

download here; The Office Spec Script

It takes place somewhere in the middle of season 2, much prior to Jim and Pam becoming a couple.

TEX BOOKIN'

Been a long time since I posted some artwork. I spend most of the day drawing at the studio, all of which artwork I can't yet post, and tend to work more on writing in my limited spare time. But I thought I'd post a little exercise I did recently. Something I struggle with is handling multiple characters in a panel or in a particular pose in which they all interact. Below is an attempt to understand better the science of posing multiple characters together.
A screen grab from Avery's 'Rural Red Riding Hood'.

First I traced the drawing (one of the greater advantages of having access to a cintique).

The first thing I noticed in studying the pose is the line-of-actions of each character and their respective relationship to each other;

The main focus of the pose (and the gag) is Red Riding Hood kissing the cow. All of the line-of-actions work to create a focal point centered around the smooching skulls of Red and the Cow. Red's upper body leans in towards the Cow, as does the Cow's upper body into her. The wolf, as a secondary character to the pose, enhances the juxtaposing angles by mimicking the Cow's slant and creating an even greater push towards Red. The Wolfs angle leads the eye towards the focus of the pose and draws no attention to himself. Red's legs have the same affect on the pose. By having a parallel angle to that of the Cow and the Wolf it even further helps to push the eye towards the important part of the pose. What we find is 3 repeating angles pushing against 1 angle, creating a clear focal point.

Below; Eyeline
The eyeline of all three characters lie on the same plane, leaving no question as to where you should be looking.

The extraneous limbs of both the Red and the Wolf continue the idea of supporting the main line-of-action by creating a perpendicular angle. It helps lead the eye to the kiss.

When you put all of it together;
Everything either points directly to or enhances the primary action/focus of the pose.
They make it look easy...

Some additional studies;

MORE OLDER ANIMATION

So recently Alexis_from_Animation contacted me about a blog she's starting up which focuses on the animation industry and it's inhabitants. She was kind enough to interview me for her blog;
Meet and greet: Josh "Hat" Lieberman


There were a few question left out because of spacial issues, so thought I'd post the remainder of the interview here.

~How did your family/friends react when you told them about what you wanted to do?
Animation was something I'd already been doing my whole life so I'm not sure it came as a surprise to anyone around me. My notebooks from high school were always filled with more doodles than notes and I basically just carried that practice on with me to higher education. That is of course until I got bored with paying an absurd amount of money for information I could get for free and decided to leave. Plus I didn't have any friends growing up so it was easy explaining it to them.

~What's the most rewarding part of the job?
What's the worst?
On a personal level, the most rewarding part of the job is that I can hardly call it a "job". I get to come up with jokes all say, draw stupid pictures and then just happened to get paid for it, it hardly feels like work.
However in a more altruistic sense, as I grow as an artist and an individual my perception of what it means to actually be an 'artist' continues to evolve. Currently I like to invest a majority of the importance of what I do into inspiring others.
Sometimes I'll just go out and draw cartoons for people on the street as they walk by. The smiles I get in return are pretty rewarding. I've embraced this idea of doing what I love to encourage others to love.
The worst part... the hours. I don't get to work nearly as long as I'd like to.

~Name your three biggest influences.
Number one would have to be singer/songwriter Jason Mraz. He's had as much if not more of an impact on my work than any visual artist. The way he chooses to live his life and the person he chooses to be is incredibly inspiring. His approach to his craft is extraordinary, insisting that his creations are hardly "his" but "ours". It's a remarkably refreshing outlook in such a self centered industry as "art". He's a good part of the reason I dropped out of school and headed westward to follow my dreams.

Stephen Hillenburg has had a pretty big influence on me as well. Spongebob came out when i was 12 and when I first saw it I think things really clicked for me and I said to myself "That's what I'm going to do." He was also kind enough to personally write me back after I had send him a fan letter with some of my own drawings, which I'm sure at the time were quite crude. That letter still inspires me to this day.

Three would be my mom and my dad, unless that counts as two? Not sure I could pick just one. They're hard work is what allowed me to be able to pursue my passion uninterupted. Without them I wouldn't be here.

~What's your ulitmate goal as an animator/artist?
Direct Space Jam 2 starring Lebron James.



Not much new artowrk I can post yet, but found some even older animation I did. An excerpt from another unfinished project "underground". It was originally supposed to be a feature flash animated film loosely based on some high school friends and me... I think I completed about 4 minutes of animation. I did write the screenplay in its entirety however.



peace

-Hat

OLD ANIMATION

mmm... Been super busy boarding on Madagascar 3, which is going great, but don't have much new stuff to post.

Thought I'd post an old animation I made. I did this at the end of my sophomore year, right before I dropped out. So I guess that would make this my senior film...?
The assignment was a 10 second turn and react, or something along those lines, but I wanted to make an animated short...

I remember at the time I was pretty into Tashlin, I think it shows.



peace

-Hat

DEFINING GREATNESS

I think too often artists put more emphasis on exposure than expression.

There is this preconceived notion that ones work is only worthy when viewed by an audience larger than that of their common community. An idea that one's art is only as impressive as the amount of people who see it.

This obsession with mass acceptance stems mostly from human nature, however when examined from an artistic vantage point seems somewhat misguided.

This infatuation with seeing our name in bright lights can easily blind us, so much so that we lose sight of (or never even come to realize) the fundamental forces behing our creative craft.
Prolonged periods of this acknowledgable concern can often hinder our very ability to perform.

When embracing these assumptions, one begins to defince success as recognition and not execution.

And although there may be countless cases to confirm this theory (success = recognition), there are as many, if not more, examples of individuals who's unglorified existence suggests that quite the opposite also qualifies as an accurate description of success. Take for example Van Gogh, a house hold name who is just as famous for his paintings as he is for his lack of ability to sell them.
Although I'm sure the adage of Van Gogh never selling a single painting is far exaggerated (he probably sold 3 or so, his paintings aren't that bad) it is well documented he made little to no living off of being an artist. And yet today his name rings synonymous with 'painting' and even 'artist'.

One can easily argue you that Van Gogh is "successful", however, he doesn't know that.

This alternative perspective of success only weakens its very definition by proving that both ends of the spectrum can yield the same results. Thus recognition (known or unknown) is ultimately only a side effect of success, and not its core definition.

(A stupid drawing to break up the text. Khan takes birthday's very seriously)


This approach to art is something I've been exploring the past few months as I try to define myself as an artist and an individual. In doing so I've embraced a new understanding of being an artist, simply put; inspire.

I do what I do to inspire others. To have a positive impact on their lives.

Now initially it is easy to be overwhelmed by this outlook assuming that 'impact' like recognition is only as powerful as the amount of people you reach. But before jumping to that conclusion one must examine and understand the true nature of inspiration.

When beginning to approach the question you will arrive abruptly at an evident truth, inspiration is impossible to measure, and yet this problem is actually the answer.

When you understand the vastness of inspiration, it becomes evident that numbers are irrelevant. Do not under estimate your ability to impact, whether it be one person or one hundred persons. The quantity is insignificant, the quality infinite.

When dealing with infinite forces it is impossible for any particular snap shot to be more focused than the whole. Inspiring one person is the same as inspiring a hundred people, they are indistinguishable from one and other.

I've always envied musicians, those capable of singing on street corners, whose message impact every passerby. Whether that individual stops to listen, or refuses to engage in eye contact, your words are heard. I admire this kind of immediate inspiration and I began to ask myself, "why can't I do that?"

and then I realized "I can."

I performed covers of my favorite artists, Stephen Hillenburg, Craig McCracken, as I drew characters from Spongebob and Foster's Home for the good people of my community. In doing so i have granted myself an opportunity to have an instant impact on a person's life, creating a brief moment of brightness that I'd like to think can have a lasting affect.

I play music with pictures.
As far as I'm concerned, I've "made it".

you can be as successful as you want to be when you choose to embrace a definition of the word that allows you to be so.

It is impossible to define greatness, not due to its abstract nature, but because it is a fluctuation force with varying degrees of altitude. Each of us are capable of greatness in our own ways.

One can only be as successful as you allow yourself to be.

Peace

-Hat

THERES A LEAK IN MY SHORTS

Well... this happened;


Making Manny and Khan was a huge learning experience, and unexpectedly, continues to be so.
It was pretty awesome to hear my short had been 'leaked' (my favorite method of obtaining entertainment), and it's been a pretty overwhelming and emotional couple of days.

The flood of feedback has been exciting, both good and bad, all embraced and processed. Absorbed through my soft skin, pumped through my veins, ultimately exiting, and leaving behind a more porous layer, albeit stronger. The 'leakage' has given me a whole new perspective on making cartoons, being an artist, and even life.

It's funny to know how much thought has gone into an idea, how much sweat and blood is poured into a project, only to have it pinned up helplessly in front of a firing squad. Manny and Khan from conception to completion was probably about a year and a half. And despite those early mornings and long nights, it takes most but 30 seconds to decide whether or not this product meets their standards.

I am not opposed to this reaction, and I myself am guilty. Human nature I suppose. Just something that has been brought to my attention through this incident. It has conditioned me to operate my gag reflex with more control, and perhaps step back to look deeper into what is in front of me.

I believe both Joey and myself know a lot more about these characters than is presented in the cartoon. It is hard to know everything about a person from a single seven minute conversation, heck, you probably won't know anything about that person realistically. He or she will be categorized within the larger compartments of your brain as a general archetype until further information is gathered. This is something I have taken away from the criticism, and will work to manage better in future projects.

I know this short is not perfect, in fact, far from it. I think there are things that worked, and things that didn't work. To be honest, I never really imagined anyone would like it. I love cartoons, I love making cartoons, the folks at cartoon network were kind enough to give me and Joey a shot to do just that. At the time, the idea of people actually enjoying what we made was perceived as being merely a bonus.

This cartoon was it's own life form, growing and evolving constantly.

Style was strongly debated;
Things are over analyzed;
A tree with a hole in it.

When you are so close to a project for so long, it becomes hard to see in it's entirety. Hard to examine, as if using a microscope lens set at x100 when the actual organism can and should be viewed at x10 (in HD of course).

I want to thank everyone who took the time to watch Manny and Khan, and encourage thoughts to be expressed. I've taken a lot away from this experience, mouthfuls in fact. If you enjoyed the short, I am honored and touched. It's incredible to know something you've put so much into can have a positive effect on an individual, even things as simple as smiles.
If you didn't like the short, perhaps there are still things to take away from it. I'm sorry Manny and Khan didn't touch you, I guess tonight you'll need to touch yourself.


This is not an angry rant. I am not yelling... my characters have already done enough of that.

In joy
-Josh

MANNY AND KHAN AND MANNY

Like a drawing this universe is malleable.
You can craft any reality you can imagine.
Imagine a world with no limits.

We exist only now.
There is no yesterday or tomorrow.
The only time you have is the time you make.

To do is to learn.
Mistakes should not be feared.
Failure does not exist when you learn from mistakes.

Define success.
If it something that alludes you
your definition is wrong.

Be a ripple not a wave.
A ripple will reach the shore.
Waves destroy the face of the earth.

Live Learn Love.

Peace
-Hat

REINVENTING AND RECYCLING

I was recently fortunate enough to have an opportunity to drive up the captivating Pacific Coast Highway (Number 1 Highway), as I relocated to a higher latitude, 'climate best by government test' Redwood City.

My entire life was crammed in my car as I left the city where not too long ago I began my "career" in animation (you can hardly call this a career). Burbank was chill, I got to meet a lot of cool people and be a part of some exciting projects. I was able to plant my roots there and absorb an enormous amount of knowledge, mostly by staying grounded. I'm sure I will return in the near future to the seeds I've planted in Burbank and share the fruits of my labor with new and old friends.

While residing in Burbank I maintained a cartoon collage on the wall above my desk as a source of inspiration. As I went to remove the meticulously placed scraps of paper I realized the cacophony of clippings represented my 2 year stay in Burbank almost perfectly, acting as a visual time line. From left to right I could clearly distinguish the different eras of my existence;

Intern, Freelance, Unemployment... more unemployment... Big break, Breaking in.

I could go on, but this picture says more than I ever could.


Relocating gives you a great opportunity to reinvent yourself, something I've been exploring the past few years, and continue to do. As I discover the human being I strive to be I've made some simple choices to help achieve my goal.
Opting to ignore cable, in lieu of more time to create, explore, read, write, draw, and in recent weeks began picking up sewing, and fashioned the over-the-shoulder briefcase that can be seen in the picture below.
I chopped off my longer locks in lieu of a shorter more summer-friendly hairdo in almost a representation of sorts of the shedding of skin (or in this case hair) and starting a new chapter in my life.

I've summed up my new outlook on life with a simple message;
Recycle Love

In the same manner we recycle plastics and papers, recycle love and kindness, pass it on. When something nice is done for you, do something nice for someone else. Or even start a whole new chain of love by doing something nice for a stranger.

Recycle love.

-Peace
Josh
AKA

Hat