Over the last few months I have been getting a lot of questions here on DA about what my next project would be and when it might be announced and released. Also, I am thrilled to say, that a lot of you awesome friends and fans have expressed the idea that following Young Justice, you would like to see more DC animation work from me. Well I am happy to reveal that the next project featuring my design work is the recently announced Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, directed by the super talented Jay Oliva, and it will hit the streets on July 30th. I did the designs for this film last spring and summer (after production wrapped on YJ: Invasion) and we just finished post production on the project last month. I gotta say that thanks to all the tremendous talent involved in making this thing, it's looking pretty epic. I personally pushed my style into a slightly more exaggerated look for much of this film and I  hope those of you who dug the look of Young Justice will get a kick out of seeing the style evolve. I can't say much more than that right now, but I will have more stuff to share as we get closer to the release date.

For now here is a Link to the press release...
[link]

and an early peek at some of my designs that have already been posted...
[link]

Man that old journal was buggin me! Time for an update!
Although it's been over a year since we wrapped production on YJ, with the dust settling on the finale it seems like a fitting time to express my gratitude to all the people I worked with on the show and all the fans who helped make the whole experience special. I'm WAY too lazy to list ALL the amazing people here (that's what IMDB is for guys ) so I'll just keep it quick.

Deepest gratitude of course goes to Sam Register, Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman who brought me onto the project when development began in Spring of 2009. At that point it was just the four of us meeting to discuss design and direction while Brandon and Greg began crafting the overall story and history of this version of the DCU. Without these guys there obviously would not have been a YJ cartoon at all, and although we didn't always agree on everything, I can't imagine having worked on it with anyone else really.
I also want to give major props to our awesome in house directors Mike Chang, Jay Oliva, (season one) Mel Zwyer, Tim Divar and Doug Murphy (season 2), as well as our guest directors, Sam Liu, Chris Berkley, Matt Youngberg  and Vic Cook. All these dudes made it happen in a big way! Much love also goes to our amazing editor Jhoanne Reyes who's tireless dedication to the show helped make it a success.
Of course the show wouldn't have been very interesting to watch at all if not for the great talent of our overseas animators at studios Moi and Lotto. It's easy for fans to forget that we conceive, write, design and do all the preproduction for animated shows here in the states, but that the final animation is done by a team of brilliant artists in South Korea.

Finally, a ton of awesome board artists, designers and painters helped to make the show great, but for me I have to reserve MY biggest thanks for my own character design team, Dusty Abell and Jerome Moore. I've sung their praises before, and if you are familiar with their work you know I don't exaggerate so I won't go into too much detail about their tremendous talents here, I will simply say that my already challenging job on YJ would have been considerably harder without the support of these two great artists. Thanks for everything guys, it was an absolute pleasure working with artists I consider to be the very best.

I think that's it ... roll call over?  Oh no wait... the fans! And all the awesome artists and art enthusiasts on this site! You guys! Everybody who has stopped by my page to wish me well, I want to thank you for all the kind things you have said about my work and tell you how much I appreciate the show of love and support. It means a lot to me to hear from you guys and girls and it really never gets old. A lot of you have expressed to me that you have hopes to see my work in more DC cartoons... well I have more on the way. I have been working steadily on new stuff at WB since YJ wrapped in Spring of 2012 and I will be able to share the details here as things are officially announced.

So that's it, now I'm done, enjoy your Saturday!

Just a heads up to all you Young Justice fans out there, Matty-Collector is offering one last opportunity for us to all get our hands on brand new YJ figures, specifically Miss Martian and Superboy in his Season 2 outfit. If there are enough pre-orders they will ship the toys, if not we get a refund, which I will then spend on booze so I can drink away the pain of never getting a Miss Martian figure.
You can order them here: [link]

Also I just wanted to thank everyone for stopping by to say hello and leave nice comments on my page, I truly appreciate it, you guys are the very best!

One of the neat things about being the lead designer of a show like Young Justice is getting to interact with the fans through sites like this one, seeing the awesome fan art you guys do is a big inspiration for myself and a lot of the other artists and writers on the show. It really keeps us motivated knowing that you guys and girls appreciate the characters and stories we are creating. Along with great art my other favorite aspect of fandom, and easily the most hardcore representation of it, is the cosplayers and their dedication to show accurate costumes. So with SDCC right around the corner I thought I would share a little something interesting with all you Legend of Korra fans out there, as well as cosplayers in general. Last year at around this time my good buddy, Joaquim [link], who is a co-executive producer on Korra, asked my wife, she is a clothing designer by trade, to create a show accurate Korra outfit to be worn by the official model representing the show at SDCC 2011.
She worked with the show creators Mike and Bryan and the model to bring Korra to life for all the fans at last years con.  Anyway, the costume rocked and so did the panel, and I thought it would be neat to share her blog with those of you out there who digs the Korra.
Click the link for some behind the scenes making of the Korra outfit and stuff.

[link]

Other than that I hope everybody is having an awesome Friday!

So a few months back I did an interview for the awesome folks over at World's Finest online regarding my work, we mainly talked about Young Justice and my DC/WB stuff, but we covered some other things as well, including how I broke into the industry and my process and approach to art and design. Anyway, the interview is up on their site now and I just thought I would let you guys know so you could check it out. I get a lot of questions from young artists on this site who want advice or insight into pursuing a career in animation, I think I might write up a FAQ tab for my page compiling the various answers I have given to aspiring creators over the years because it's getting harder and harder to answer individual requests for advice. Anyway, until I do I think this interview might actually shed some light on some of that stuff for now.
Cheers!

Here is the interview...

[link]


A buddy of mine at work just found this clip of a guy who looks like me, drawing Robin for the DC nation camera crew. The guy they film is a lot dorkier than I am, actually. Check it out if you are a fan of Young Justice.


[link]

So I just wanted to give everyone a shout and let you guys know that Justice League: Doom is out in stores today, if you are a fan of the DC animated movies this one is not to be missed . I designed the characters for this movie a little over a year ago and had a great time working on it, I was super lucky to work closely with two of my dear friends, and during the preproduction phase. It was an extra tiny crew doing a lot of work really fast and everyone was juggling multiple projects at once ( I was right in the middle of designing the first season of Young Justice at the time!) but in spite of that I think the movie is pretty sweet. I'm gonna post a link to some of the favorable reviews down below (as for the not so favorable ones, you guys will have to find those for yourself, objectivity is not required when I'm shamelessly plugging my own work!) Plenty of awesome people worked on this, but notably and sadly it was the wonderful Dwayne McDuffie's last script featuring DC characters, he passed away a little over a year ago while the movie was still being animated. He was a great writer and a sweet guy and he will be missed.

Here are some of those reviews giving us the love!

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Also I just want to thank everyone for stopping by, the well wishes and the love I get from this community does not go unnoticed and certainly is much appreciated even if I rarely have time to respond individually. I am humbled by this affection and deeply grateful to all my friends, fans, fellow artists and art enthusiasts here on DA!
Now, run out and go get my movie so we can keep making them!
Cheers!

A big thank you to all my peers, friends, fellow artists and art enthusiasts who stopped by my page to congratulate me on my recent prime time Emmy win for Young Justice. Time and again I am humbled by the kind words of appreciation I have received from the people in this community. Thank you all so much. The biggest thanks I save for the entire cast and crew of Young Justice, without whom there would be very little to celebrate in the way of accolades and acknowledgements, you guys are the best!
My wife posted some of the photos she took after the ceremony on her blog, which you can see here [link]

Also, YJ is officially back on the air with a new episode this Friday! I know some of you have already seen "Targets" which was accidentally leaked a few months ago, but this time you can watch it properly, on a TV set with commercial breaks in between!
[link]

Just a heads up to any fans of Young Justice who will be attending SDCC this year, our panel will be on Sunday, July 24 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM in room 7AB. Confirmed for the panel will be myself, Producers Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, as well as the super awesome Danica McKeller, the voice of Miss Martian in the show. Following the Panel we will be signing at WB Booth #4545 from 11:15 AM to 12:00 PM. Hope to see you guys there!

I wanted to update my journal today for a couple reasons. First I want to thank all the Young Justice fans who have stopped by my page to say hello and tell me how much they dig the show. Thanks for all your kind words, it means a lot to hear from the fans who support and appreciate all of our hard work.
Second, OMG, Thor: Tales of Asgard arrived in stores today. I did the character design for this waaaay back in early 2008, and to be completely honest, it's delayed release leaves me with mixed feelings. Looking at my contribution in hindsight, it's kinda hard not to cringe at some of the art and design choices. Oops? Thats not to say that I think I did a terrible job, I'm sure it was the best I could do at the time under the circumstances. In fact I worked so hard on this thing, I came down seriously ill at the tail end of the production and only through some sort of crazy asgardian will power was I able to feverishly sweat out the last few designs. I will say this for the movie, a lot of super talented folks contributed quality work to the production and it's largely due to their efforts that it's worth a spin. The movie was directed by the brilliant and sublime Master Sam Liu [link] who's patient discipline helped guide the entire production. As the only in house board artist, my buddy Rick Morales story boarded a huge portion of the movie and did some really top notch stuff throughout. Freelancers included animation powerhouses Lauren Montgomery [link] Adam Van Wyck,  Brandon Vietti, and Steve Gordon who all did great work in various sections. Fedja Jovanovic contributed some truly wonderful work in the BG design department as BG supervisor,   and our in house color department consisted of James Peters and Steve Nicodemus, both of whom did an amazing Job in creating much of the mood and atmosphere of the movie. All these fine people are truly masters of their various disciplines and have inspired and motivated me on this and many other productions over the years.
Let's not forget Supervising Director Gary Hartle who wrangled most of talent to create this fun little romp through Asgard! Gary is one of the nicest most unique dudes I have ever met in the animation industry. Anyone who knows the man, knows that to say his enthusiam is infectious is the monumental understatement to end all understatements. That guys volume is just about always turned up to 11 by default, god forbid he get a cup of coffee in him! LOOK OUT! Breakin horses all day. Seriously though, it was Garys love for the material and passion for the project that kept us going when things got rough, he's one awesome cowboy .
I also want to personally acknowledge a couple of my good buddies who helped me out with some inking and model clean up when I was in a tight spot and under deadline on this thing.
Both incredibly talented artists I'm proud to call my friends, the dashing Steve Jones [link] and the utterly peerless David Brohawk Williams [link]. Both these guys have come through for me when I was in a crunch more than once. Arigato my friends.
Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle crafted a fantastically fun action packed story, and a ton of other talented folks did some great stuff but I can't possibly list them all here because I actually still have to get back to my desk tonight! Young Justice season two development beckons...

MTV put a six minute teaser for the two part Young Justice premiere on their website, enjoy.
[link]
Also, you know you have gotten way too acclimated to working digitally when you're at a regular drawing table and you reach for the undo button that isn't there.
Happened a couple times today, weird.

I just want to say thanks to everybody who wished me a happy birthday yesterday, I really appreciate it! You guys are totally awesome, and make it a ton of fun to be part of this community of artists and creative people.  Looking forward to what this year has in store, and can't wait to share more art and things with everybody in the days to come!

I have not posted any new updates for a while now, partly because I didn't have permission to talk about my current project. But with all the announcements at SDCC this weekend the cats out of the bag, so I guess it's cool. For the better part of the last year I have been designing the characters for the upcoming Young Justice cartoon for WB animation. I am truly excited about this project, it is epic in scope and ambition and it is both challenging from a design standpoint and inspiring as a fan of the DCU.
The show is being produced by two super awesome dudes, Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, Spectacular Spiderman) and Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood and a billion other things) and is set to premiere in the fall.
Once again I am thrilled to be collaborating with such a talented cast and crew and want to assure fans that we are doing our best to give them something truly special.
I don't think I can post any artwork yet, but check out the link below with a sneak peek at some of what we have been working on.
Keep in mind this is EARLY STUFF as far as the animation is concerned and some of the designs as well.
[link]

In 2009 I had the humbling honor of designing the characters for the new Justice League movie from WB home Video, and working alongside some of the finest talent in the animation industry. Designing all the DC icons on a Bruce Timm production stands as probably the most challenging and rewarding experience of my career, thusfar. It was also my third collaboration with the one of my favorite directors, the immensely talented, Mr. Sam Liu [link] and my first time designing for one of my other favorite animation directors, not to mention one of the best, Lauren Montgomery[link]. These two fabulous directors are so evenly matched in talent, skill and ingenuity, it's hard to believe they exist in a single reality! The movie will be in stores next Tuesday and having seen the final cut, I have to say it's pretty awesome. I think if you like superheroes you should check it out.
I was lucky enough to get to hand pick some of the best designers in the biz to assist me with this monumental project, and could not have possibly pulled it off without the support of
Jerome Moore:[link]
Dusty Abell:[link]
Steve Jones:[link] and
Jon Suzuki
Also wanna give some major props to the in house storyboard team, who absolutely killed on this film, there is no better crew for action adventure coreograqphy and staging than these dudes, take notes!
Jay Oliva:[link]
Rick Morales:[link]
Tim Divar:[link]
Chris Berkley
Next week I will start uploading my production and promotional artwork and things of that nature but for now, peep this!:[link]
UPDATE!
I just wanted to correct an oversight on my part, and let all you guys know that the brilliantly crafted first installment of the DC Showcases short, featuring the Spectre, is included in the 2 disc edition of JL Crisis on Two earths. This is not so much an attempt to pimp our product as it is an opportunity to recognize the work of some of my gifted peers who created the thing. The Spectre short was produced, directed and art directed by the utterly peerless, Joaquim Dos Santos. I'm not exaggerating when I say Joaquim is one of the biggest powerhouses of talent on the animation scene today, artistically speaking, he can pretty much do it all, and do it with style. I was thrilled to ride shotgun in the design department, and get the chance to work in his style for this series of shorts, beginning with The Spectre.
A bunch of fantastic artists contributed to this thing, I don't have links to all their sites but notably, the awesomely talented Mr. Ryu[link] on storyboards, and Dan Norton, AKA, the skillionaire,[link] all over this piece on the design tip. I learned a lot from all these dudes and just wanted to give them, and all the rest of the DC Showcase crew their props. So, do yourselves a favor and check out this fine piece of animation, and then head over to Joaquims page and tell him how fresh it was!
[link]

I just found this clip from Marvel's upcoming Planet Hulk on MTV.com. I did the character design for this movie back in 2008. The dvd and Bluray will finally be released next Tuesday, February the 2nd.Check it out, it's pretty fun stuff.
[link]
More details, links to collaborators and production artwork to follow next week...

Way back in 2008 I designed the characters for Marvels upcoming animated Planet Hulk movie.
They released a trailer for it at this years SDCC. You can check it out here [link]
What's not to like about The Hulk wearing a skirt and sandals and becoming a gladiator like Russel Crowe? Hulk-imus Decimus Meridius.
Enjoy.