Being Brave

 My wife has been bugging me to post some drawings from my 5 year journey on "BRAVE". I'll post more Brave work later, these were just the ones that were convenient to locate.

 This a concept drawing done early on in "BRAVE".  I was 

experimenting with different brushes and this happened,  

I could never repeat this effect to bad because I like the look.

Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson took a pass at "Brave" as well.

This is one of the beat-boards for there take on the story. Mom 

is still angry for Merida shooting her in the butt.

The idea that Merida could ride on the back of mom was pitched

 early on the project. The idea was shot down, but it reemerged at 

some point.  I did a few of these drawings and have a drawing like

 this in the Art of Brave Book. 

I did lots and lots of bear drawings while working on "BRAVE"

not always for an assignment though. I can't remeber what I did

this one for.

This was an idea with a character name Silas the stable boy,

 he was the son of Beason the royal tailor. Both were characters 

that existed in the first couple of drafts of "BRAVE". 

In earlier drafts mom turned into a bear in a tanning shed that

was outside of the castle, it was much scarier than the way they

they had her turn into a bear in the film.

This was an illustration (a two page spread) done for a friend's

book. 

Choices, Results, and Sacrific

Our lives consists of choices, from the moment we wake to the very moment we fall asleep. Your first choice of the day might be, "Do I get up this very moment or do I delay and hit the snooze button for ten more minutes; as a matter of fact, you might choose to not get out of bed at all.  Yep, life is a bunch of perpetual choices, nonstop, a continual berage of choice making, one after another after another.

Before we go any further, understand that a choice is an option (Should I go left or right, should I have fruit for breakfast, or skip it all together?). When you've made a choice it becomes a decision (you have chosen), as in, you have picked one of your options. A choice is not the same as a decision but every choice requires a decision. They kinda go hand-in-hand but for the sake of clarity let's keep them separate for now. Okay, we all  learn that we have the ability to make choices in life as children, but not necessarily at the same place (age/maturity level play a factor) in our lives. We are all presented with choices at a very early age (we are encouraged to make choices/decisions) to teach us how to be independent. Just watch any parents with small children and see how they encourage their kids to make choices ("Do you want the red one or the blue one?").  Choices in life start small and simple but as we grow and get bigger so do the choices we have to make.

I grasped the concept of choices vs. desicions at a very early age and I'm sure I'm not alone in this early understanding. The problem with an early understanding of the power of choice making is that most people do not  pocess the materity level required to understanding the repercussions that comes with our choices. After the first time I got my hand slapped for touching something forbidden, I put it together pretty fast that I made an unpleasing choice and the outcome of that choice was unpleasant for me.

I haven't always made the best choices, but I did always feel as though I understtod the possible outcomes for my poor choices. Let's just say, I wasn't surprised when things didn't go my way when things went bad (I chose to play the odds and lost).  I learned the hard way that some choices have direct impact on my future and others come back, way later. Either way, I would have to deal with them the rest of my life.

So now you know you're gonna be presented with choices - nonstop - throughout your life wether you like it or not, from beginning to the very end.  Therefore, choosing to begin taking your choices in life much more serious would be wise. I know, on the surface this sounds pretty simple but it's becoming more and more evident to me that, although people may understand the concept, very few are actually practicing it with any true conviction. If we only had the insight of the ramifications that follow a decision from a choice - any choice, WOW, how are lives could be different. 

Now, I was under the assumption that everyone was aware of the importance of making right-minded choices, but as of late, I'm not so sure.  I'm sure that everyone is aware that good decision making is important, but possibly their diligence has faltered and they have become complacent. Sadly enough,  I think some have just surrendered it to others or even worse they, just don't care.  Okay, so life is made up of CHOICES, that's it, that's simple enough.  Before you make the choice to just skip over this rant of mine I want you to take a second and ask yourself this one question, "Have I been making choices with the complete understanding of the outcome of those choices or have I been running on auto pilot and hoping for the best and dealing with the repercussions or ramifications of bad choices?" If you're honest you'll have to admit that a good portion of your choices are probably made on auto pilot, that's right,  no consideration of the results of said choices. You might be thinking, what's the big whoop, so I make a thousand decisions a day. I know this might be misconstrued as semantics but decisions are more conclusive than a choice.  

Think of it like this, a choice is like something that causes a ripple in a pool of water. The wiser the choice, the less it ripples. The poorer the choice, the more and bigger the ripples. For every choice there is a multitude of results, some good, some bad. A choice is either going to have results that are prosperous or have consequental ramifications. Again, before you make a decision on any choice in front of you, take the time to look into the future a little bit and envision where each choice's avenues may takes you. A couple of seconds of forsight can be a game changer.

With all choices, whether good or bad there comes sacrfices. With good choices less sacrifice and with poor choices come the repercussions and many sacrifices. Either way, there are ramifications. 

 Thumbnail sketch, digital. I love this brush.

                        

 A quick little drawing done for a coworker, digital.

                           

A friend of mine unexpectedly passed away, I was inspired to do this digital illustration in honor of her.  She was a very sweet person, with a good heart.

A ray of light and a flower in a dark world. We will miss you Connie.

These are the front and back of a manilla folder that I had laying around. They were

sketches done with marker and color erase pencils. I scanned them in and digitaly touched them up.

These two sketches were on a piece of letter head. I liked the tooth of the paper and drew on it when I could get my hands on some of it. I scanned these in as well and digitly worked them up.

                            

        

New post coming soon. Is getting old the only way to gain experience?

Sorry gang, I know I haven't posted anything in a long while but I have a good reason for this. I have been really busy starting a new chapter in my life. I will be posting the whole story in the coming weeks. In short, I'm moving back to Florida, and I'm starting a fantastic new job. It is a blessing from God for sure. I'm excited but it has been tough going for me and the family. I thank you for your patience and loyalty, new post coming soon.

This is from my "Bear Period". It seems that my Bear Period has lasted about eight years of my life, maybe more. It was briefly interrupted with an ice age interlude but that did not last long. I'm moving on, but I have plenty more bear drawings to share. 

This is one of the few paper drawings that I've done over the past five years. They are line roughs, one has a little value, it was add digitally. Not the most efficient way to work, old habits die hard. The ways have changed and me with it, adapt or fail.  

This is a background, done totally digital.

Bee on a string, bee on string, everybody sing I got a bee on a string!

Bee on a string, bee on a string, everybody sing I got a bee on a string. I sang this catchy little Diddy as I danced around holding on to a piece of thread with a black carpenter bee attached to the end. It took an entire day to catch one, but I did it and soon their I was dancing around with my children freaking out around me. I was doing the bee limbo, and I was walkin' the bee etc, etc. Look at me, look at me, I've got a little pet bee, don't worry about him stinging me, why, cause he's my very own special pet bee. Buzzing left and buzzing right dancing around with my string held tight. Bee on a string, bee on a string everybody sing I got a bee on a string.

Okay, maybe it is a little weird that a 47 year old man was so excited about a bee on a string, but let me explain. For a brief moment, just a smidgen of time, I got to revisited the innocence of my youth. I got lost in the moment and did something that, as simple as it may sound, seemed impossible to achieve, and yet their I was with a bee on a string. I wasn't thinking about anything but my bee on a string, not my house, not my job or bills, nothing but my bee on a string. Somehow, that bee on a string took me away, and their I was, eight years old again. There I stood, a cup in one hand and a long piece of grass (I called a bee tickler) in the other. Waiting for the right moment to jump into action. I am the stealthy hunter, I am the super hero, I am all those things I dreamt of being as a small boy, I am a man with a bee on a string.

Oh, how I have missed you youth, oh how you surreptitiously left me. Oh, how I have missed you innocence, oh how you indiscriminately transformed naiveté' to maturity without any warning of the disadvantages. You deceiver you! Oh how I rushed you out the door and as soon as you were gone how I longed for your return. You left without so much as a glimpse back in my direction. Now I watch the young fritter their time with you as well. I attempt to make them understand the gift that they squander but they scoff at the silly old man who tries to impart wisdom on those who have plenty of youth to waste. Oh, how the tainted ranks fill with those you have abandoned, one by one.

I know my last few posts have been kinda of downers so I wanted to share this story with my readers. I made some new friends this weekend as well, and that is always awesome.

I love it all!

I love what I do for a living (Animation/Film Making). It is a very challenging career in many ways, hence a very fulfilling career as well. This may sound boastful to some, but I'll say it anyway, I am very good at my job, and not many people are diverse enough to do the jobs I'm capable of doing. I have crossed over from layout, to visual development, to design, and into story boarding. I've experienced all different aspects of the animation industry, from animation, to clean-up. All my experiences have given me an unique approach to film making.

I'll say it again, I love film making, from script writing to brain storming ideas, etc.... I love it all.  

Some over weight castle guard, inspired buy the old Warner Bros. cartoon characters.

Here are some "ICE AGE II" drawings. I know you guys love production stuff, these are concept drawings.
Manie and Ellie save the day.

This was an idea presented for crossing the river. It was called rafting. It was all good until the EFX department said we have to cut 50% of the water effect out of the film.

These are some workbook drawings from "BROTHER BEAR". They are out of context, but who cares they are cool.

The panel at the top is the camera move for the Lilo and Noni chase. I was told the background was to long, so they shortened it. To make a long story short, they lengthened back out because there was enough room for the animation. I didn't say, "I told you so" until now. The panels below the "LILO AND STITCH" panel are thumbnail camera ideas from "MULAN". They are from the "Be a man" sequence workbook.

These are all camera moves from "MULAN", "LILO AND STITCH", and "BROTHER BEAR" workbooks.

Marching forward with intent!

You can say a lot of things about my family, (some good and some bad) but one thing you can't say is that we are lazy. On the contrary, anyone that knows a Grasso will undoubtedly agree we are anything but lazy. We don't like to sit around, as a matter of fact we relax by doing things. I call it being a motived person, motivated to just do, to do without any reason to do. One example in my case would be that I do yard work to relax and think. Now, if you watched me while I was in the midst of the gardening you'd probably think that I'm not enjoying myself very much, you'd might even think I don't like gardening at all, but you'd be wrong. My neighbor saw me trimming my bushes in front of my house one day. He must of thought I looked miserable, so he offered for me to use his electric sheers. He said, "Hey Craig, I have some electric sheers you can barrow, it would make that job a lot easier and you'd be done in a flash." I told him no thanks, I have electric sheers (I do own electric sheers) it's just that I like to feel my way around the bush as I trim it, plus this is relaxing, he gave me a funny look and went on his way.

Yes, I can say with confidence that the Grasso's are hard workers indeed, at what ever task we may be handling at the time, to a fault sometimes. This innate (nose to the grinding mill) quality can and is misinterpreted at times as aggressive behavior, or that we are trying to show our coworkers up or that we are bucking for someone's job. This is not the case at all, you could easily see this when I work alone, I'm exactly the same way, committed to doing the very best job possible. I believe that whom ever I'm working for is entitled to the very best that I am capable delivering. To do this I need to be focus and tenacious. This behavior has prompted others to tell me that I can be a little intense, and that maybe I could lighten up bit, etc...

Me intense.... baaaa....alright so I admit it, I'm intense. Okay, I'm an intense person, but what does that even mean? Is being an intense individual a bad thing? Does it mean I'm not capable of being funny or silly? Does it mean that I never laugh or tell jokes, and more importantly that I can't laugh at myself? Well,the answer to all of the above is no, it doesn't mean any of that. The dictionary defines an intense individual, as a person that is; passionate, impassioned,ardent, fervent, zealous, vehement, fiery,emotional; earnest, eager, animated, spirited,vigorous,energetic, fanatical, committed. If this is the definition of intense, then so be it, I'm intense. The thing to realize is that I'm intense about everything, from work to vacation, happy, sad, love, fun, well......everything thing. I call it living life.

I share another quality with my siblings as well, it's the ability to follow through on what ever job we are tasked with, no matter how unlikable that task maybe end up being. It's not just finishing what we started, it finishing with the same passion that we started with. I don't know if it is an obsession or just the idea that I refuse to be defeated, I just can't quit or give up until what ever I agreed to do is completed. I call that committed, others may call it tenacity. All this and more have added up to people telling me that I am intimidating, and not in a good way either. I don't try or even want to intimidate people, but I refuse to pretend to be anything but who I am. I believe that being true to yourself is part of building character.

When I was a young man my father gave me some advice on how to succeed in life, although I don't remember exactly how he phrased it, it went something like this. " Son, if you work hard, always tell the truth and respect others you will be successful in life". I was young and naive and so I misinterpreted what he meant. I thought that he was telling me how to be successful in my career and that in-turn it would be the answer to success in my personal life. The two are sometimes intertwined but not necessarily reliant on each other. Now, I know that I'm not the perfect person or employee, but I ask you, who is? I do know that I have been true to my father's advice. As of late I find myself in an uncontrollable situation with my career and it wasn't until recently that I truly understood what my father was trying to say. In this life, jobs will come and jobs will go, you will be the hero one day and forgotten the next, careers will change and careers will end. Outside of your work ethics their are thing that will directly influences your life, such as poor management, economic down shifts, over saturation of employees and so on and so on, all of which are out of your control. It doesn't matter how talented you are or how hard you work it will not can't change those outside situation having a direct affect on your job. What he was saying was , don't gauge your success in life on a place or a job, gauge it on your character and your family.

Okay, I accept that somethings are out of my control, but here's what I know I can control, my attitude and my character. I will continue to be the intense dedicated worker that I've always been, I will not give in or give up, I love what I do and I know that I'm good at it. It is not until a man is confronted with grim and difficult adversities in life, that his true character is determine. His character's resolve will be tested and it will be determined wether he is a quitter or if he going to continue march forward with intent?

Only God knows what lays ahead for me in the next several month's. The way I see it I have two choices, I can choose to go forward with fear and worry or I can trust God and go forward with excitement, what does he have planned for me and my family next? His way has not always been easy but it has not disappointed me one iota in the end, it has been full of blessings and love and success.

Here are two character sheets of children, mostly little girls, because that's what I have for reference at home, three beautiful little dramatic girls.

This piece was for a children's book about a troll who was making a forest sick. The project was canceled before I finished this illustration, some day I'll finish it.

This was a rough for "MULAN", it is not finished as well, I believe this scene got cut from the film and I stopped working on it. I found it in my pile of papers.

This is a page from my vacation journal. We went to family camp, (Lair of the Bear) for a summer vacation, I'd never experienced that before and documented the whole holiday.

This is an illustration I did of my friend after a freak accident. He hung this caricature drawing on his wall for years, it's a funny story that I'll share with you someday.

Let your "Yes" be yes and "No", no!

Is their anybody out there that is willing to just say what's on their mind anymore? Is it asking to much to expect people to be genuine? Really, I'm not asking for anybody to divulge their deepest secrets, all I'm asking for is a modicum of integrity. Does the word "Character" mean anything to anyone anymore? I don't think people believe it's okay to operate through manipulation, deceit and other untruthful manners, but I do believe they think it's okay to walk in the grey area of dishonesty. Even a little white lie will taint a barrel of truths.

Here is a novel idea right out of the good book (The Holy Bible), let your "Yes" be yes and your "No," no. I'll bet this sounds like a simple concept doesn't it? Well, as simple as this idea may seem, I know of only a hand full of people that truly understand it and try to live by it.

Everything in our current society works against this ideology. As the lines of honesty and integrity disintegrate so does our society. If people could learn to live by this simple yet seemingly impossible principle of let your "Yes" be yes and"No" no, the world would be.... well.... better, easier, nicer, less confusing, kinder and more. So, why is it so darn hard for people to do it?

Now, some of you are probably making the mistake of thinking that I'm strictly talking about telling the truth in life. Their is more to truth than not lying. before we can go any further we will have to clarify the true definition of some words we like to use instead of yes or no.

The first word I'd like to look at is "Maybe". Maybe meaning, possibly or perhaps. It does not mean "I don't want to say no to this person, so I'll say maybe and then back at at a later date". Next words to be clarify are, "We will see", again this means possibly or perhaps, not to be confused with, "I hate confrontation, so I'll tell the person asking what I think they want to hear and then back out at a later date".

There's a whole plethora of statements that are commonly misused in our vocabularies. Here are just a few examples of things people say to avoid yes or no. "I'll think about it", "Sounds like something I'd be interested in", "Let me get back to you on this". Okay, so none of those statements are bad or wrong as long as they are genuine (truthful), it's when they are used in the place of yes or no that becomes the problem. If you have commitment issues and you are not willing to say yes or no then say "I can not make a commitment to what you're asking right now".

Here is where the problems lies (no pun intend). First, passive aggressive behavior has somehow found favor in society over directness. It is masking itself as a polite way of communicating, but in actuality it is anything but polite. I find passive aggressive behavior to be dishonest, manipulative and controlling and condescending in it's nature. In my book it is just plain rude. Just because someone says something in a nice way doesn't mean that it's polite or pure in it's intent. With that being said, being direct with someone doesn't have to be unpleasant either. I choose direct over passive aggressive any day, at least there is no confusion in what the person is saying. Alright, let me be direct about how I feel about passive aggressive behavior, I hate it.

The next thing that I believe interferes with letting "Yes" be yes and "No" no, is the fear that people have of confrontation. So you don't agree with someone's ideas and/or you you don't want to do something someone asks you to do, this doesn't make you confrontational. Even if you tell them you don't agree with them or that you don't want to do what they are asking you to do, still this doesn't make you confrontational. Being hostile or argumentative, creating conflict or clashing with another party, now that makes you confrontational. So, rest at ease when you say what's on your mind as long as it is the truth and delivered in a direct and thoughtful manner you are not being confrontational. Here is another direct statement you may or may not agree with, life is full of confrontations,going through life avoiding confrontation is cowardice and self defeating.

Lastly, some people live under the guise that they are being kind when they are not direct with someone. They believe they are being loving when they tell people what they think they want to hear instead of the truth. They think the right way to handle people is to letting them down later instead of just speaking the truth right then. I believe telling someone the truth in a direct manner with kindness and love shows the proper respect everyone deserve. The next time you have the opportunity to just say "Yes" or "No", try it out. As a matter of fact if you make it a policy to operate by this standard you will be amazed how your life will change for the better.

This is the underdrawing for a piece that went on a video box. It was a documentary about this family of hemophiliacs that contracted AIDS. There community ostracized them and tried to run them out. Very sad story.

This is digital over water color.

If you are afraid of clowns this is not the page of drawings for you.

What's your perspective?

My wife made a statement recently, and ever since then it has been echoing through my head. Weirdly enough it seems to keeps emerging in every deep conversation I am engaged in. It was one of those statements that is simple and yet quite profound. She said, "It's people's skewed perspective of things that makes their life so difficult." Skewed perspective...skewed perspective... skewed perspective... it keeps echoing and echoing. She is so right, a skewed perspective totally causes people have such a hard time dealing with their problems, if they would make a little adjustment they would see how easy it is to find solutions for happiness.

Some people are so thick headed (dense) or maybe just stubborn and refuse to change, but I find myself asking myself, "Why, is it so hard for people for people to accept someone else's ideas", or "What's it going take to get through to this person?" "Why can't they see this from a different point of view? Frustrating! It's beyond me how people can continually make the same mistakes in life over and over again and still point a finger outward and blaming others for their situation.

One of the definitions of perspective is; to have a true understanding of the relative importance of things; or to have a sense of proportion. Funny enough my wife and I today were discussing how some people don't have a firm grip on what their limitations are, they want to be something they are not. Example, I am not a person of multiple languages, I would love to speak Italian and I am whittling away at learning it. Point is, I don't posses the natural God given talent to pick up languages easily; hence, I knew that becoming a linguist would be a fruitless endeavor. Besides the obvious inability issues, I also lack the obsession or love of languages required to become an expert in them. This is called a reality check. I'm no less of a person for my honesty about my short comings.

Reality is defined as, the world or the state of things that actually exists. Reality isn't so hard to deal with when you put things into the proper perspective. Let's take a second for a reality check, life isn't always fair, but, let's try and remember that fair is a relative term, besides sometimes life is more than fair. Sometimes we get more than we deserve, so, not getting everything we want is part of life's reality. Good things are going to happen in life and bad things are going to happen as well, good and bad, all these things are what make life what it is. Life is an enigma, a mystery, an adventure and at best unpredictable in it's nature, but one thing is for sure it is a path to be explored, come what may.

Here's something to wrestle with, you only get out of life what you put into it, until you come to the that reality, you will live in a world of dreams and regrets. It's actually quite simple, If you approach life with a terrible attitude, life will be terrible. Try avoiding statements like "reality sucks" and try understanding that reality is what it is. How we choose to interpret and deal with life (reality) will determine the state in which you end up in life.

Sometimes we find reality favorable and sometimes we don't, regardless of what we think, it is imperative that we realize that it is an actuality, a truth. When we start living in denial of the truth, our perspective of reality becomes skewed. Altering the reality of things in our minds to suit the way we would like things to be does not change the reality or truth of the actual situation. What it does do is make it harder to find a way of dealing with what is happening in that reality.

This brings us to the idea of our status quo. The definition of status quo is defined as the current situation or existing state of affairs in which one may find themselves, regardless if they find that current state they are in acceptable or not. Sounds a lot like the definition of reality. I am dumb founded by how many people I have been aquatinted with in life that are so unhappy with their status quo. You should understand that I'm not talking about a global status quo, I'm not even talking about a national or state governmental status quo. I'm talking about a person's own personal status quo of life, you know, where they are in their career, in the relationships, in their spiritual lives, etc...

What is even more puzzling to me is how a person could be so dissatisfied with their status quo (their life), and do absolutely nothing to alter it. I want you to take notice that I did not say change the status quo, I said alter it. Adjusting one's status quo may indeed entail making some change, but understand it is change with a purpose, with true intent and a direction. Know this, change for the sake of change is pointless and it usually results in outcomes which are no better than the status quo ante, the previous existing state of affairs in which one was in originally unhappy with in the first place. A different status quo isn't necessarily better, it's just different. So, to avoid any confusion, I'll be using words like adjustment, modify, alter, etc...., instead of the word change, I think they are more suitable in any case.

I'm sure you've heard the idiom, don't throw the baby out with the bath water, it's a very suitable statement for the idea of modifying one's status quo. Why should we get rid of the whole kit and kaboodle when some of our stuff (parts of our life) is just fine? You don't go and buy a whole new car just because it needs some repairs, do you?

I digress though, another thing we both (my wife and I) had a hard time understanding is the mentality of a person that makes no effort, no stand, no attempt or even a gesture that can lead them to an adjustment or modification of their current displeasing situation. Many of these individuals have plenty of resources and support to actually achieve their goals if they just tried.

It is hard to make adjustment in life and it takes time and persistence. I am frustrated, I am discontent and growing ever more weary with the lack of stamina in people now a days. The lack of commitment and steadfastness in people is disheartening, people can't even standing by the own principles and ideologies anymore. I would even venture to say I see a lack of resolve, fortitude, moral fiber, courage, bravery, endurance,resilience, perseverance,diligence, tenacity, or commitment in our society in general. Get out a dictionary and look them up and try and argue against my point.

1 Corinthians 13:11

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Question? Are people unhappy with their status quo or are they just having a hard time accepting reality because they have the wrong perspective on life?