Michael Dougherty

T.U.F.F. Puppy "A Doomed Christmas"

2011-12-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

Here are two assembled pages of designs I did for the recently-aired T.U.F.F. Puppy episode "A Doomed Christmas". (Shout-out to super-awesome storyboard artist Fred Gonzales!)

Santa Dude

2011-12-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

Based on a real guy my wife and I saw standing on a Burbank street corner wearing a bright red zip-up sweatshirt, matching jeans, brown socks, brown shoes, and a Santa hat...while taking drags on a cigarette.

1950s Stewardess #3

2011-12-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to coloring the third and final stewardess in the series. I went back to the line-less, sponge-painting style of #1, which knocks #2 out of continuity, but oh well.

Animation Award Nomination!

2011-12-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.annieawards.org/consideration.html

Wow! I came into Nick this morning to happily discover that I received a nomination for the 2011 Animation Awards (Annies) in the "Character Design In a Television Production" category for my work on the T.U.F.F. Puppy episode "Iron Mutt"! I'm incredibly excited and humbled to be a first-time nominee. Thank you to my wife and family, creator Butch Hartman, art director George Goodchild and board artist Brandon Kruse. Best wishes to all my fellow nominees!

Race Car

2011-11-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a piece of "pro bono" development freelance I did a year ago which was not accepted. I had a lot of fun designing and painting my first race car.

Red Sweater

2011-11-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

Just another fun exercise in color styling and digital sponge-brushing.

The Duke

2011-11-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

The Karate Kid

2011-11-18T11:16:00.000-08:00

Listening to Bill Conti's score to The Karate Kid (1984) inspired me to do a quick sketch of Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso doing his famous "crane technique". I did it in one pass, without overlays, in about three minutes. The impromptu drawing surprised me and I thought the likenesses of the caricatures were pretty good, so I spent an hour coloring it. It might have been a good idea to have Mr. Miyagi holding a small Bonsai tree, but 'oh well.' This one was a lot of fun to do!

1950s Stewardess #2

2011-11-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Stewardess #2 is less painterly and graphic than #1; I took more of an ink-and-paint-by-number approach...more like a character design for 2D, TV animation.

1950s Stewardess #1

2011-11-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

Just for the fun of it, I'm designing and coloring a brief series of three 1950s airline stewardesses. This one will be a little more painterly than the next two, which I will post shortly. I really like removing the line art, focusing on shape design and color styling, and painting with these chalk and sponge brushes in Photoshop. Stay tuned for more...

T.U.F.F. Puppy "Santa Claus"

2011-11-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

On occasion, I am assigned to design a particular character (usually, one that is prominent in the script) before the storyboard artist works on the board so that he/she can use the character as reference. We call it "preliminary design", or "pre-design". I really enjoy these assignments because I get to design a new character from scratch and it's an opportunity to draw a bunch of fun variations. These are just a few variations I drew of the polar bear "Santa Claus" from the T.U.F.F. episode "Mission: Really Big Mission Part 2".

Walkin' the Dog

2011-11-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a funny moment my wife and I witnessed a few days ago.

Lampooned Lyrics

2011-11-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

My wife and I were driving in the minivan on Saturday when we heard on the radio that cheesy '80s love song by Paul Young: "Every Time You Go Away..." Then, I remembered my older brother, Thomas, many years ago making fun of the lyrics, changing the next line to: "...you take a piece of meat with you." My wife thought it was a funny mental image, so here's the cartoon image.

White Dragon Martial Arts "Christmas Poster"

2011-11-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law, Sifu Ming Lau,commissioned this piece as a Christmas advertisement for White Dragon Martial Arts, a chain of Kung Fu/Tai Chi studios in San Diego County. He requested the company logo, a Chinese white dragon, chasing after the "Pearl of Wisdom", tugging Santa in his sleigh. You can view my thumbnail sketch and color comp below. I had a lot of fun painting the finished poster in Photoshop.

Ron Paul

2011-09-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Physician, Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. My wife suggested I do this caricature/portrait.

Bicycle Shop Mascot

2011-09-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

I was asked to come up with a new mascot/logo for a bicycle shop: a wacky, adventurous duck holding a bicycle wheel. So, I did a duck wearing aviator goggles and a bomber jacket. The final logo has yet to be accepted but, if and when it is, I'll post it. I did the ink phase in Sketchbook and the colorized version in Photoshop.

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

2011-08-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite rock albums (and I have few as I'm not a huge rock fan) is The Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots". While listening to the album for the upteenth time a few weeks ago, I decided to do my own take on the Yoshimi album cover illustration. I separated Yoshimi from the background in image 2 to showcase her a little more. Drawn and inked in Sketchbook Pro, colored in Photoshop.

Frog

2011-07-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here's an advertising character (or mascot) I did recently for a new client. The frog was designed to be able to hold different signs, so I painted the entire figure in the necessary pose so that he could accommodate any signage. I added the "ribbit" sign just as an example to show how the frog would appear holding a sign. I dusted off some old rendering skills and painted this one Photoshop.

Anne Shirley

2011-07-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

My wife recently re-watched Kevin Sullivan's productions of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea, inspiring me to do this piece. This one isn't necessarily a cartoon of Megan Follows, but is just my cartoon version of the Anne character. I really enjoyed painting this one in Photoshop.

"Farm Pit" Title Card

2011-07-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here's an opening title card I drew for the Fairly OddParents season seven episode "Farm Pit".

T.U.F.F. Puppy Designs

2011-07-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

A few character designs from the T.U.F.F. Puppy episode "Iron Mutt".

Girl

2011-07-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Maybe she's looking at a prom dress she really wants to buy. Painted in Photoshop with a chalk brush. I've keep my basic color palette in a margin so I can use the eyedropper tool to key all the colors.

T-Rex

2011-07-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

I love noodling. The initial drawing took no time at all, but I spent the next few hours hatching and wrapping value around the forms which, for me, is the most fun part. Done in Sketchbook.

Hotdog Vender

2011-07-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Git yer red hots! Git 'em while they're hot! I sketched and cleaned this one in Sketchbook, bucket-filled some color and used a chalk brush in Photoshop.

iPod girl

2011-07-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

My first post in a long time! I dug out a post-it sketch I did a few months ago, made some changes in Sketchbook, then colored it with a custom chalk brush in Photoshop.

Lumberjack & Forest Ranger

2011-03-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

It's been two months since my last post and that's because I've been incredibly busy finishing up my work on season one of T.U.F.F. Puppy. I will upload some season one T.U.F.F. designs soon but, for now, here's my most recent personal work: more paper craft! Lumberjack and Forest Ranger are currently on display at the Nickelodeon group show. Though the small-scale cutting and pasting may be too tedious and patience-taxing for some, I enjoy doing intricate work. The hardest part, for me, is coming up with a good character design. Once that's done, it's just a matter of spending many hours of doing the cut and paste work.

Big Time Rush

2011-01-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

Here's the main character line-up from the Big Time Rush animated segment from their Christmas special. The guys appear as pajama-wearing squirrels and sing in squeaky voices -- a lot like Alvin and the Chipmunks. This assignment was quite a juggling act: I had to capture recognizable likeness and funny caricatures of the BTR guys and make them look like cartoon squirrels. The final 90-second segment ended up looking awesome, thanks to the prop design skills of Jennifer Wood, the stylish backgrounds of Jim Worthy and the beautiful paintings of Kaz Aizawa. It was an honor and a pleasure lending my help to this episode and having my work appear --for the first time-- in the context of a live-action TV series. More designs to come...

Snoop Dogg

2011-01-08T09:22:00.001-08:00

I had the pleasure of designing the characters for a brief, animated Christmas segment of Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush series in which the one-and-only Snoop Dogg made a cameo. I was told that Snoop approved my designs and thought they were great. I'll always remember that as one of the highlights of my animation career.

Home Stallone

2010-12-21T10:53:00.001-08:00

Final blog post of 2010! Several years ago, my brothers and I came up with the title "Home Stallone" as a play on the Home Alone movies. I had the idea that, instead of a kid planting booby traps around his house to keep the burglars out, you'd have Stallone playing a Rambo-type character who goes into killing mode and wields an M60 machine gun when he finds out that burglars are trying to break into his home. Instead of Harry and Marv getting paint cans in the face, they'd be dodging Sly's bullets and grenades. I imagine "Home Stallone" would be a hard "R" rated-movie for extreme violence....not the sort of movie you'd take your kids to see. ...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Boy

2010-12-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

I did a Post-It drawing of my 13-month-old son, then cleaned it and splashed some color on it using SketchBook.

T.U.F.F. Puppy Designs

2010-11-13T21:29:00.001-08:00

Here's a page of designs I did from the T.U.F.F. Puppy episode "Puppy Love".

Skeleton Pirate

2010-11-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

A blog visitor recently asked me to do this piece as a gift for her boyfriend. It was more of a gift for myself, because I had a really good time doing this one.

Dirty Harry

2010-09-24T10:02:00.001-07:00

"Dirty" Harry Callahan started off as a mediocre-but-had-potential paper drawing, scanned, redrawn and cleaned up in Sketchbook, then colored in Photoshop. This one was a lot of fun for me.

Ringo

2010-09-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

This one started of as a paper drawing, then I inked it in Sketchbook, then colored it in Photoshop. Ringo was a lot of fun to do. Eventually, I'll have to get around to cartooning the other three Beatles.

Cartoony Portrait

2010-09-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

Being a professional artist means you get to do a lot of freebie favors for family members. One of my nieces in Ohio persisted in reminding me I owed her a caricature/portrait of herself, so I finally got around to doing it yesterday into today. I had fun painting it in Photoshop.

Knitting

2010-05-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

My niece asked me to do a drawing of her knitting.

Dick Tracy

2010-04-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the new paper assemblage pieces I did for the TUFF Puppy/Fairly Odd Parents art show at the Nick gallery. The scan didn't quite replicate the true look of the values and colors; the piece looks much better in real life.

Nickelodeon Gallery Show!

2010-03-07T23:08:00.001-08:00

The artworks of the T.U.F.F. Puppy/Fairly Odd Parents crew are currently being featured in this month's gallery show at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, CA. A few of my recent art pieces, shown here, are a part of that show. If you're in the Burbank area, I would recommend arranging a visit to the studio where you'll be able the see some amazing art from the very talented folks on the TUFF/FOP crew.

Gorilla

2010-03-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

I did this piece for the T.U.F.F. Puppy/Fairly Odd Parents crew art show at the Nickelodeon Studios gallery. This is cut paper on illustration board.

Crazy Cat Lady

2010-01-27T00:06:00.000-08:00

...Everybody knows one.

Best Dad Ever...

2009-11-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

A rough blue line, a quick inking and a few squirts of color and you have my depiction of something awful I saw today while walking in downtown Burbank. On our way to Starbucks after a sandwich lunch, the TUFF Puppy guys and I saw this saggy, baggy, dopey-looking dad holding his few-month-old baby like a football or a heavy sack of potatoes. The poor, little tyke had no neck support and his fair skin was fully exposed to the blazing midday sun. It was darn-near child abuse. We couldn't believe our eyes and we all wanted to give that dad a slug in the gut! What a slacker! I was so ticked off, I had to do this sketch.

"Fairly Odd Blog" Interview!

2009-08-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Frederator VP Eric Homan recently interviewed me for the "Fairly Odd Blog." Please check it out at the link below. Thanks!

http://frederatorblogs.com/odd/

Mermaid and Seahorse

2009-06-09T09:48:00.001-07:00

When I painted this in Photoshop, I wanted to focus only on keeping the shapes and color design very simple, and not necessarily rendering the piece to death, which is what usually happens. I tried using simple gradations and shapes of value to visually separate all the elements. I just keep squinting at the piece to make sure it's clear and legible.

Mario Bros. vs. Goomba

2009-06-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've had it on my mind to do a piece dedicated to the Super Mario Bros. -- two pop culture characters who were very much a part of my childhood. Maybe it's because I've had the Mario theme stuck in my head for the past two weeks...or the past 20 years. Once again, cut paper on illustration board with some colored pencil.

Bandito!

2009-05-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

I did this piece over the Memorial Day weekend. Cut paper on illustration board with some colored pencil.

Leprechaun

2009-05-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

I drew a leprechaun on paper, then painted it in Photoshop. I had a lot of fun doing this one.

Baker

2009-05-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

I relied on my first grade art skills and used my scissors and glue stick to assemble this character out of different colors of construction paper. I had fun doing this one. This is one of the few non-digital pieces I've done recently.

Crocodile

2009-05-12T16:15:00.001-07:00

A crocodile businessman...with an alligator briefcase.

'50s kid

2009-05-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

I drew this 1950s kid in Sketchbook, then painted it in Photoshop using my favorite Pixar brush.

Sea Captain

2009-05-07T15:20:00.001-07:00

A salty, old sea captain with his seagulls.

Alex Jones

2008-11-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

A caricature I did of my favorite radio personality/documentary filmmaker. Visit INFOWARS.COM

Stone Chief

2008-07-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I did this design with good old graphite while on "Tak and the Power of Juju". At some point, the Pupununu tribal chief becomes immortalized as a stone statue. Thus, the design you see here.