As an intern... continued

I went around to other productions at Nickelodeon and asked several artists to give me artwork with which I could practice my skills. To tell you the truth, these tests forced me to learn how to paint digitally, as well as cleanup rough sketches.

These are a few digitally painted BGs from cartoon called "Johnny Test" which aired on Kids WB for a season or so. These were my first BGs I've painted in Adobe Photoshop (CS2). My portfolio teacher from Woodbury suggested I do some light studies with these. So not only did I practice with a variety of fun photoshop brushes, but I learned how important it was that the color modes for both the monitor and the print job be in sync. Too technical for my liking.



Study of day and night for an Interior setting.



Study of day and dusk for an Exterior setting.


Study of the four seasons on one Exterior setting.

As an intern...

My first internship was at Nickelodeon, on a production called the "X's." It was a cool-looking show with a lot of very talented artists, many with whom I still keep in contact. Here are just a couple of the BGs I used as practice. The BG style was very monochromatic, much like Ragnar's style. These two were my first BGs I ever cleaned up using Adobe Illustrator (CS2). Now that I look at these, I notice where I can improve. But I guess it just shows how important practice is.

Inspiration

While a lot of people back in school were inspired by Ragnar, I was inspired one day by Michel Gagne (I have a link on the side to his page.) Gagne had released a book called Insanely Twisted Rabbits, which I had picked up in college one day. Because I wanted to practice my design skills and amp up my Illustrator skills, I produced these two twisted monsters.

Eyes Meet Tongue. Tongue Meet Eyes.



While in junior high and high school, besides all the Lisa Frank stickers I collected, I was also a huge fan of Mary Engelbreit. Here's something I made for my mom one year for Mother's Day:



Then, in college, I took another Art Appreciation Class, this time learning about Renaissance to Modern Artwork. So many pieces on the Maesta that I had to do one of my own. This one I also gave to my mother on Mother's Day one year.

Pumpkin Patch

Since I love watercolors and I love digital painting, here is a comparison between the two. I designed and painted these years ago... back in college. The assignment was to create a design for a napkin.

I guess I veered away from the traditional and into the digital because there is just more of a demand for painting in Photoshop or Illustrator nowadays. However, I feel like I need to learn about painting in Maya because so many jobs now are turning CG. But for now, the Creative Suite still overrides the traditional ways.

Another practice session

Yet another one I did in my college years. Oliver did the line art because he was practicing bg layout. He gave it to me to color for him. This one was meant as another study of the seasons: Snowy vs. Sunny.

I only finished the snowy version.

My First Pitch

Back during my internship years, I met a lot of fellow artists who were pitching to Frederator. They're the ones who produce the Oh Yeah! cartoons, now Random cartoons. Such toons that got famous from their short cartoons were Fairly Oddparents, Teenage Robot, Chalkzone, and now Fanboy. Yes, it was at this time I worked with Eric Robles on the X's. He was a character designer at the time. He was pitching Fanboy, and just seeing his artwork and hearing his premise inspired me to pitch my own. So I teamed up with Oliver and pitched a story called "My Pet Peeve." I pitched it two times, both pretty much completely different stories, but keeping the same style and characters. Oliver did such an awesome job with the pitch boards. Maybe it was my delivery that needed work. But it was my first time, I was still a student and didn't know much professionally, so it was a great, if daunting, experience. You know how on Mario Party they have the computer difficulty level as being easy, medium, hard, and brutal? Well, I think they were on Brutal-mode.

Anyway, here is a sample of the artwork. I should include some character designs Oliver did. This is just the exterior of Pauline's house, day. Oliver did the black and white sketch. I cleaned it up and colored it.

Maybe I'll return to this one day.

My Passion

For those of you who know me, you know that I've wanted to write. Since I was a kid I've dreamed of writing and illustrating my own children's book. In junior high and high school I started writing a story called "Visona." It ended up turning into a series. I've written the first drafts for the first 3 of 7 YA novels. I've envisioned a fantasy-type world, and a friend of mine from college helped me come up with a few character designs. Here are a few that I've worked on throughout the years.


The protagonist. (My first attempt at coloring in photoshop - 1999.)


Her guardian angels. (My first attempt at coloring in illustrator - 2004.)




Queen of Fairy Queendom - Flioran (2 Versions)


The Equine Family - Defenders of the Fountain of Youth

My first watercolor painting

I painted this back in high school when I was a junior. It was the first watercolor class I'd ever taken, and I fell in love with the medium. It's beautiful if you apply it right, but it can also be unforgiving, which there are a couple areas where my teacher had to help me save the piece. I love fruit!

Really really old... like high school old....

As you can tell, much of my inspiration came from anime and video games. And the occasional fantasy novel through which I had been perusing. I was in junior high when I had this idea for a fantasy novel of my own. So I created a girl much like me in many respects, and I named her Rachel. (Can you see the similarities already?) Rachel travels to an unknown land called Visona, and there she encounters friends she never dreamed she'd ever have. She goes on adventures with them, and in so doing discovers herself and her true gift. Yes, very typical premise to many in the fantasy genre.

Here are some images from my beloved story:

1. Rachel solo
2. Woodblock Print

3. Collage - Rachel vs. Relic

4. Relic Face
5. CD cover

As far as the book series goes... I've completed the first three, though I revised the first one three times thereafter, and then I outlined the last four. I feel it will always be my work in progress, much like the life I lead.

* Note: "Visona" images and story copyright Rochelle Perry *

Pigment of the Imagination

Welcome to my site. It's been a long time in the works - at least in my brain - and I can now finally say I did it. Not only is this a way to display my work (so I can keep getting jobs in the industry) but it also motivates to create at least one new piece a week.

For those who I haven't spoken to in a while, I am now officially working as an artist full time at Nickelodeon. It's been a long time coming, with a few freelance gigs here and there, so I am super excited to share the good news with you. I have gone through many ups and downs since living on my own and "growing up," but it's good to finally say things are looking up. I feel super grateful for all the wonderful things I have been blessed with.

This site is dedicated to displaying all sorts of pigments of my imagination. I like that we have been blessed with a world of color, and I love being able to color between the lines for a living.

If you have any artwork you would like me to cleanup and/or color, please let me know, as I am trying to stretch my abilities and work in as many styles as possible.

Thanks for the support!
- ROchelle