A new take I've been wanting to do on the Toon Boom Wishling concept. Not sure why I love exploding eyelashes so much. In other news - I am still working on a rig for Caelith from the animated short (below). It's definitely turning into a potentially powerful and reusable rig. I'll admit that the original inspiration for the short was a Soundgarden song... so, the recent death of Chris Cornell took a lot of wind out of the sails for that project. But the idea has a life of its own, and I'll be posting more updates on that soon. Also, other announcements on the way.

Some quick roughs I did for Caelith. Depending on how rigging goes, I might not have to do cleanup.

Hey, I want to give a shout out to an extremely talented animator friend of mine who just launched his Patreon. Michael Winn of Alpha Omega Animation Design has experience in many areas of the animation industry, including studio, freelance, and teaching, and is developing an original property called ARMSmasters. Lots of content has already been produced, from concept sketches to fully colored and produced animation, with more on the way!

http://www.patreon.com/aoanimation

Your support could be a great way to get a look at the kind of artwork that goes into animation development, not to mention getting to see more of the cast of ARMSmasters, and Winn's uniquely anatomical drawing skill. Check it out, and spread the word!

Built from the central peak of a large crater, it's part rock, part... alien tree... thing.

Back design. Simple and symmetric = Easier to animate. Hopefully reads better, too.

Fleshing things out a bit more. Still finalizing her equipment and air board

I haven't updated in a while as I've been either focused on my professional work, or focused on my personal work. But of course, that's not a good reason to post less often... it's a good reason to post MORE often! So, here's a look at some of the development I've done for a new animated short I'm working on.

Also ... I got hired at Titmouse, as a Toon Boom Compositor! :D I also had an awesome gig with Hornet before that! Anyway, here's a space girl. Expect more updates

Digital speed painting I did the other day with Photoshop. This is the placeholder background art for one of the shots in my pilot episode animatic that I am making. The featureless area at the bottom will be masked by foreground elements.

Here's my new 2D animation demo reel! Toon Boom Harmony was used for pretty much everything, although depending on the project, sometimes Flash or After Effects was used, as well.

We went to see Kung Fu Panda 3 recently and I got inspired to do some fan art. Nico Marlet's character designs are incredible! So I thought I'd try my hand at a blind clouded leopard character in his style. If you'd like to take a shot at this character design challenge, you can download the high-resolution template here: http://halsteadart.com/uploads/img/KungFu_Character_LG.png

I wanted to do a shout-out for an awesome audio show that's going on right now. It's called "Switchboard Infinity," and it's a fun and funny (that is to say, hilarious) sci-fi about a guy named Malcolm who escapes from the Jupiter system and tries to get back to Earth. It's made with a mix of theatrical improv, excellent acting performances, and extensive professional sound design, and is frankly a joy to listen to. Check it out now for free on Soundcloud! https://soundcloud.com/switchboardinfinity