dean kelly sketchbook

hilltop

2010-08-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

TS3

2010-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

see it.
it's an amazing film.
congrats to everyone here who worked on it!

waterfall

2010-03-22T11:28:00.001-07:00

up for air

2010-03-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

hunting

2010-03-18T08:57:00.001-07:00

happy st. patrick's day!

2010-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

sushi

2010-03-16T15:18:00.001-07:00

rainy friday

2010-03-12T15:56:00.001-08:00

island transportation

2010-03-12T15:38:00.001-08:00

lost and found

2010-02-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

a sketch i'm working on.

barefoot through the grass

2010-02-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

veteran's day

2009-11-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

more island boy

2009-09-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

the dr.

2009-09-24T15:43:00.001-07:00

island boy

2009-09-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

island man

2009-09-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

more old guys

2009-09-17T14:51:00.001-07:00

Four Gun Conclusion pin-up

2009-07-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

i was pleasantly surprised and honored when my good buddy, bobby rubio,
asked me to do a pin-up for his newest comic, Four Gun Conclusion.
this was the first time anyone had asked me to contribute a sketch to their comic.
and i'm glad that bobby was my first!
thanks, buddy!

big game

2009-07-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

here's a sketch from a little story i'm working on.

mad men

2009-03-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

my wife is a wicked awesome graphic designer and she asked me to do an illustration
she needed for this invite she was working on.
and the theme was a 50's inspired dinner party, influenced by "Mad Men".
and here's what i came up with.

operation plush and cover

2009-03-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

it's been way too long since my last post...
so, in honor of my first episode of penguins airing this morning, i thought
i would post some of the storyboards i did for it.
the premiere of penguins was the highest rated animated show in the history or nickelodeon.
which is pretty cool.
congrats to the whole penguin crew!
and keep watching!

cliff house

2008-11-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

here's another sketch for my island story.
i'm trying to focus my ideas as to what the "world" looks like.
i'm trying to be a bit more specific with the geography and the landscape.

happy halloween!

2008-10-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

clear blue

2008-10-09T08:46:00.001-07:00

old west designs

2008-10-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

wild frontier

2008-10-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

a few sketches for an idea i have for a graphic novel.

cliff jumping!

2008-10-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

i'm trying to post some more sketches from my island story.
here's one i did a few months back.
i drew it on the cintiq and colored it with marker.

october sketches

2008-10-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

caleb's card

2008-08-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

this is a card i recently did for my buddy, caleb.
he was storyboarding on penguins with me and left to work on american dad.

friday sketches

2008-08-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

more cintiq sketches

2008-08-08T14:41:00.001-07:00

to cintiq, or not to cintiq...

2008-07-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

here's a sketch i did at work.
each sketch i do on the cintiq, the more i enjoy working on the computer.

island concepts

2008-07-27T15:20:00.001-07:00

here's a few more marker sketches for my island story.

island girl sketch

2008-07-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

island boy

2008-07-17T07:23:00.001-07:00

it's been a while since i've blogged.
here are some sharpie sketches for my story.

olivia's 1st birthday

2008-05-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

our daughter turned one year old on april 29th!
it's been an amazing year.
here's the sketch i did for her very first birthday party invitation.

boy smiling

2008-05-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

yet another sketch of my island boy.

green eyes

2008-03-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

backyard

2008-03-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

graphite storyboards

2008-03-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

here's another storyboard page from an avatar episode.
it's kinda refreshing to look back at my old boards.
especially since i work all digital now.
i really enjoy drawing on the cintiq,
but there's something very appealing to me
when i draw with a pencil on a piece of paper.
i guess it's the textural quality it achieves.
or maybe it's because i've been drawing on paper for so long.

kung fu studies

2008-03-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

on avatar we would shoot live action kung fu reference with the help of our martial arts expert, in the gym at nickelodeon.
here are a couple of pages i drew from that kung fu reference.

avatar storyboards

2008-03-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

i thought it was about time to post some storyboards.
these are from an avatar episode where jet confronts zuko, about being a firebender, in a ba sing se tea shop.

what's he look like?

2008-03-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

some sketches on how the boy's design might look like.

boy meets girl...

2008-03-20T16:42:00.001-07:00

first day of spring

2008-03-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

photoshop sketch

2008-03-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

here's a sketch of the boy in my story.
when i'm at work, i draw on a cintiq.
when i go home, i stick to the classics...pencil and paper.

happy st. patrick's day!

2008-03-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

piggy-back ride

2008-03-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

another concept from my island story.

island girl

2008-03-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

abort

2008-03-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

here is another page from my comic, spaceman.

ruins

2008-03-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

elephants

2008-02-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

some elephant studies,
for possible character ideas for my island story.

boy and grandpa

2008-02-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

this is another concept from my story idea.
a boy explaining to
his grandpa that he saw something off in the distant mountain tops.

sketching at work

2008-02-22T17:40:00.001-08:00

two old geezers with hats

2008-02-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

cintiq sketches

2008-02-20T13:54:00.001-08:00

here are a few doodles i did on my cintiq at work.

president's day

2008-02-18T08:41:00.001-08:00

trying to work out some story points with a
few image boards.
it helps me keep my focus, as a bunch of different ideas
run through my head.

some stuff

2008-02-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

here are a few sketches i've done for a story
i'm working on.
quick pencil sketches with some marker on top.

brad-grad

2007-10-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

if time permits, i try to make a card for family and friends on special occasions.
(birthdays, anniversaries, graduations...)
this one i did for my brother after he received his masters in journalism.
and no...
he doesn't smoke.
artistic license.

new project

2007-10-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

i've been focused on this one story
i came up with recently,
and i've been throwing together
a bunch of different ideas and thoughts
towards the look and feel of the characters.
visual exploration.

old men

2007-10-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

a page from my sketchbook.
i like drawing faces with a lot of personality.
historical figures have always appealed to me.
they seem to be characters already.
especially the ones with big, fat moustaches.

spaceman

2007-10-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

i've been trying to come up with these little short stories and put some images to 'em.
(part comic-book, part graphic novel.)
here's a page from one of those stories.
maybe i'll post the whole thing someday.
wouldn't that be something...

olivia

2007-10-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

my beautiful wife and i have had the amazing pleasure of being 1st time parents for five months now.
and i have found that my daughter, olivia, is a fantastic subject to draw.
even if she has trouble holding poses for me.
it's a treat to watch her grow,
which i try to record through drawing.
i've learned that when she sleeps is the best time to capture her...
very little movement.

work in progress...

2007-10-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

here's a "new" piece i've been working on.
i started it over a year ago, and i haven't colored it yet...
i'm a huge pearl jam fan.
huge.
once i get the sketch to where i feel it's good enough, and before i color it,
i scan it, print it, and throw it into this vintage type-
writer and add little notes, names, dates, etc.
i feel it adds this raw, textural quality you can only achieve with an old typewriter.
then i look through this stack of 1930's newspapers i found in the basement of my college apartment.
they're perfectly weathered and they bring this collage dimension which kinda helps tell the story a little more.
sometimes i get real lucky with finding someone's name or date.
i haven't found "pearl jam" just yet.
maybe that's why i haven't finished it.

poe

2007-10-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

i did this a couple of years ago.
it was gonna be the start of a series of illustrations.
gonna be...

#1

2007-10-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

i have finally joined blog nation.
and to kick things off,
here's a little illustration i did a few years back...