Pirate - Life size Bronze Bust
from the gallery archives...
 https://www.billrothartist.com/figuresculpture/sculpture/bronze-sculpture/bronze-figurative-sculpture/realist-sculptus/
https://www.billrothartist.com/

Movie Special Effects Sculpture

        

       Movie Special Effects Sculpture - ILM, Tippett Studio, etc.

                                                    Back in the day...

      Some people have been asking  me lately about the old days, back when movie special effects were fabricated and made by hand. Here is a small smattering of  movies I worked on as a sculptor for George Lucas's company, Industrial Light & Magic, Tippett Studio, and others. This was before computer technology ( The Dark Side) took over the industry.

Hmm, Star Wars 1, Galaxy Quest, Starship Troopers, Evolution, and others...

                    

                                 

Old Crew Photos: they would march us all out to a huge soundstage and take these group photos.

Art by colaboration.

                                                  

Leah Santa Lucia

 Well it's been a dog's age since I posted anything new so here's
a quick 20 minute figure drawing I did today of art model Leah Santa Lucia.
She's one of the best models in the Bay Area, talented and mysterious.

  I've had quite a large number of views from Russia lately.
 I have no idea what to make of that...

Muscle Beach Venice Hall of Fame

 I designed and sculpted the first Muscle Beach Venice Hall of Fame plaque in 2006.
I’ve been making a few of these bronze plaques every year since then.
They honor bodybuilders that have set historic standards and advanced the sport of health & fitness.
  Sculpting and casting these things is time consuming and labor intensive.
 Once I finish them with a final patina they look pretty darn good.
 After a season of sand, sea, salt air, dogs, tourists, and  beach denizens, they don’t look nearly as good.
 I’ve been trying to get the city Department of Parks & Recreation to stay on top of the upkeep but so far no one is listening.
 Here's a few I just finished.
Anyway, they should look good for the summer season.

Muscle Beach Plaques

Assistants

Muscle Beach Denizens

Life Drawing - Portraits

 Most schools are off for the summer, not this one.
We keep them working year round.
A short break in So Cal and now back to teaching the digital age how to move a pencil.
One of the many problems students face in life drawing is placing facial features and establishing character.
I have found it useful to start beginners out with drawing a profile.
 It helps them to understand that the face is not set on a flat plane.
Single source lighting allows you to see the edges and contours more clearly than in the front and 3/4 views.
  A couple of new models. Becky and Inky,  came in to pose this week.

These are a few quick demos done in class, about 20 minutes each.

Becky -  14" x 12"

Inky - 14"x 12"

 


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Koyote Joe aka Joe Segrest - 14" x 12"
The last drawing I did of Koyote Joe before his untimely passing. R.I.P.

Mary Queen of Scots & Sarah Bernhardt

  I took the Design class to the art museum the other day to expose them to some “real art.”
After I give them a  tour and lecture I let them loose to draw some of the art.
While I’m there I generally knock out a few sketches as well.
I’ll walk around until something pulls me in.
This time it was a couple of women…

Mary Queen of Scots by the French sculptor, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse.

Sarah Bernhardt by Jules Bastien-Lepage

 Sometime later I discovered that Sarah Bernhardt had 

portrayed Queen Elizabeth in a 1912 silent film.

Queen Elizabeth had her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots,

 beheaded at Fotheringay Castle on February 8th, 1587 for involvement

 in a plot to kill her.

Zoo/Animal Drawings.

 Today was warm and sunny so I took the drawing class out to the Zoo to study and draw the animals.
It’s the only place where you can go to experience non-indigenous creatures up close and personal.
 It’s also kind of "cool” to see the little kids get excited seeing the animals for the first time.
I knocked out a couple of quick sketches while I was there.

Some individual Aldabra giant tortoises are thought to be over 200 years of age.
This is difficult to verify because they tend to outlive their human observers.

Common Elands form herds of up to 500 animals, but are not territorial.
This Eland was banished by a territorial giraffe before I had a chance to finish the drawing...

Rodin - The Three Shades

 I take my Design class to the Art Museum every term and I always knock out a few sketches while I'm there.
 Often the museum is crowded so I find somewhere unobtrusive to stand and draw.
The Legion of Honor in San Francisco has a huge Rodin sculpture collection ( thanks to Alma de Bretteville Spreckels ) including the full size Three Shades sculpted for The Gates of Hell.
Generally the museum visitors are looking at the front of the sculptures so there is no one around on the backside.
I've stood around back on a few separate occasions and done some sketches.
The last time I was there I was approached by a museum guard.
 I assumed he wanted to look at my drawing.
 Instead he admonished me for inadvertently dropping a pencil.
 He said it could possibly cause injury to a guest.
 So, I picked it up.

Here are some sketches - The Three Shades by Aguste Rodin.

Star Wars Episode 1

 I came across this video while checking on some of my students work.

I sort of remember a student asking me some questions about the work I did at ILM on this old film.

Anyway, here's a picture and a link.

Episode 1 trailer/interview

Star Wars Episode 1 - Sculpting "Beggars Canyon"

Concept Art Doodles.

 A concept artist is someone who generates ideas and communicates them visually.
Concept art can be expressive and abstract, not just realistic.
Studying the "real" enables you to create believable designs with the added ingredient of your imagination.
In the world of Pre-Production for any creative project ( films, games, etc.) concept art is where it all begins.
I'm teaching concept art this term at the college.
When I get a spare moment I scribble out random ideas and character sketches.
Commonly known as "phone doodles" in times past.
 Let them out swift, refine them later...
"Quick and dirty - Fast and loose."

Giant Thorny Walking Stick

 I took the drawing class on the field trip to the zoo again today.
The day was hot so I hung out in the bug room.
Always a strange smell in there but ...
Here's a new drawing of a Giant Thorny Walking Stick.
 I'll be posting more new stuff soon.( I've been busy.)

( Alien life is here, at our feet, in our backyards.)

Zoo Animals

 Back at the zoo the other day.
The drawing class field trip, again.
I take the students there to help build their visual library for future creature concept design.
I go because I like the animals.
 I've been there more times than I can count but I always find something that draws the attention.
(Then I draw it.)
A good exercise in selective concentration. ( Focus.)
Here's a few new sketches.

Winged Walking Stick

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Golden Frog

Elephant Head

Figure Sculpture & Mold Making.

 I'm a sculptor by trade so I thought I should post some sculpture and related topics.
Creating a sculpture from clay is just the beginning of the process.
Besides the basic principles of form, anatomy, modeling, visual clarity, and organic unity,
a well rounded sculptor knows armature building, mold making,
casting, welding, metal finishing, patinas, etc.
 "Within its contours the statue stands alone."
 Here is a recent1/5 scale clay figure sculpture I completed..
Next comes mold making.
In the images you can see the basic sequence of the clay up, first silicone layer,
subsequent layers, and the mother mold.
I'll be putting more sculpture, techniques, and related anecdotes up as they occur.

Jennings McCown - Figure Drawing

                                                          Well, Jennings McCown, one of the best male 

Jennings McCown - 12'' x 18''

 models in the Bay Area had a bad injury.
 He's a circus performer and a great anatomical specimen..
Seems he tore his right subscapularis from the insertion into the lesser tubercle of the humerus and the anterior part of the shoulder - joint capsule. Ouch!
Here's a quick figure drawing I did of him right before the injury.
Hopefully he will have a speedy and full recovery from surgery.

Zoo Trip.

Went to the Zoo with the drawing class the other day, knocked out a few quick sketches.
I always try and draw a few animals and at least one insect while I'm there.
It's good practice.

Art Museum

The demographic of the students where I teach is drawn from young people who are obsessed by:
VFX driven movies, comic books, and video games.
The majority of them have no interest or knowledge of Art History.
Some know a few artists names but only the ones that are Ninja Turtles.
Many of them have never set foot inside an art museum.
Its my job to take them there.
 I give them the basic tour and talk about the various periods and artists.
Then they have to study and draw some of the art.
It's an invaluable lesson from the past.
 I always try and knock out a few sketchbook drawings while I’m there.
Here’s a couple from the other day.
 I block them out quick and then increase contrast and selective details. 
(I have a lot of drawings I do at various museums and may put more up later.)

Bust of Pope XXI 10'' x 8''

Rodin - Thinker - 10'' x 8 ''

Add caption

A few more figure models.

 A few figure models came down to pose for the drawing bootcamp class this past week.
I’m teaching the students to understand proportion and anatomy from various views.
Some of them find it challenging when they can't see the models face and frontal anatomical landmarks.
You use the same principles of drawing in any pose the model takes.
 Proportion, value, anatomy, and basic hand eye coordination
 Here are a few more demo’s from class.

20 minute drawings. (Quick & dirty.)
 Models curtsey of: The Bay Area Models Guild.

Koyote's Back 17'' x 12''

Carrie's Back 17''  X 12''

Koyote's Back Again 16'' x 12''

Carries Back Again 17" x 12"

Some Recent Figue Drawings.

  I knocked out a pencil portrait of the figure model as a demo in class the other day.
Basic principles of drawing what you see. How to hold the pencil & then: structure, form, value, anatomy.
20 minutes (quick & dirty.)

Wendell 18'' x 12''

Here's a couple more 20 minute life drawing demos from last week.

Models curtsey of: " The Bay Area Models Guild."

Dread Locks 18'' x 12"

Jennings Back  15'' x 11''

Figure drawing- measuring proportion & value demos.

With the new term ramping up, I had the first figure model come in for the drawing bootcamp class.
On the first figure drawing day I have the students draw the model head to toe for 20 minutes with no prior explanation or instruction.
 What I hope to see is everyone drawing expertly and have my job made easier.

20 min. figure proportion demo 20" x 14"

But, most of the time the beginning student drawings are badly proportioned and sometimes barely resemble the human form.
So, I’ll have to do a 20 minute figure drawing demo while explaining measuring, head count, plumb & level lines,
triangulation, anatomy, value, etc.
Here’s the demo from the other day with measuring lines visible.
Here’s a couple more quick demos from the same day on how to draw with white charcoal on dark paper and how to use pencil and white charcoal on middle grey/blue toned paper.

Portrait - 14" x 11" quick demo white on dark.

Seated figure - 14" x 11" quick demo pencil & white on middle grey

Apple & Pear demos

 The Apple & Pear demos from the other day in drawing class.
How to draw what you see
Basic drawing principles.
Light to dark values, form shadow, cast shadow, positive/negative space, etc.
Routine boring stuff but useful.
( Drawn in about 15 minutes, quick& dirty.)

Apple. 18" x 14"

Pear. - 18" x 14"