Ben Reynolds

Beer League

2012-02-12T01:09:00.004-05:00

I did this illustration for a friend who plays in a Mens rec hockey league, or "beer league" as they're sometimes known. Usually because if you win you drink beer. And if you lose you drink beer. And then you look like this guy.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T23:45:00.003-05:00

My version of the big jolly red guy. Merry Christmas everyone!!

CTNX Wrap-up!

2011-12-06T21:59:00.013-05:00

This is a bit late but I just wanted to share a couple photos and memories from attending my first ever CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, California. It was an amazing experience and I hope to go next year. If you work in Animation or a related field (or if you're just a really big fan), I strongly suggest you attend. The level of talent all in one room is mind-blowing! I had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing artists like John Nevarez, Willie Real, Mike Yamada, Victoria Ying, Stephen Silver, Mark McDonnell, and many, many more. Plus I got to spend a lot of time with my ol' buddy Hans. It was a blast. To all the artists that I ran into - it was great to meet you! Check out a few pics I took at the event:

Peter de Seve and John Nevarez on stage doing their thing.

A picture I snapped of some drawings John Nevarez had going on his table.

Character Design workshop by Sergio Pablos (Hercules, Tarzan, Rio, Treasure Planet, etc).

John Nevarez working on the Cintiq.

Some of my swag from Mike Yamada, Victoria Ying, Willie Real, Stephen Silver and Christophe Lautrette.

Bye bye L.A...till next year!

CTN Animation Expo!!

2011-11-05T14:02:00.007-04:00

Hey All - I'll be attending my first CTN Animation Expo in a few weeks! I've wanted to go since its inception, so I'm pumped to finally make it. I'm looking forward to learning lots, meeting lots of artists that are inspirational to me and to just soak it all in (including some weather). If you happen to read my blog let me know - I'd like to meet all of you!

New Website

2011-10-30T10:50:00.002-04:00

Check out my brand new website!

www.benreynolds.ca

Forest Creatures Redux

2011-10-16T19:08:00.004-04:00

So I just pulled out some designs from the past and worked on them a bit. It was fun to revive this work that I originally posted here.

Still rough sketches, but before they were REALLY rough. Threw some quick colour on them too. Enjoy!

Monster Pet Shop

2011-10-04T20:43:00.007-04:00

Hey Guys,

I'm super pumped to finally show a project I've been working on for a while called "Monster Pet Shop"! Its a game for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and is available now in the App store. In the game you own and run a pet shop, and you fill it with....Monsters. Ok that part was already pretty clear, but this was a ton of fun to work on and Art Direct. I got to design hundreds of Monsters, tons of other characters, backgrounds, etc. Below is some of my favourite rough artwork from the game, and some finished bits. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The Wife and I

2011-04-28T19:06:00.004-04:00

On April 2nd I got married!! It was an amazing day, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be married to the most beautiful, caring, sweet girl that is also my best friend. (Gonna score points if she ever visits this blog! Aka..I'm not going to score points) 3 weeks in and let me tell you marriage has been awesome! I love my wife tons and this is a drawing to prove it. Thanks for visiting!

Christmas Dragon

2010-12-13T21:28:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd post this really quick sketch of a standard run-of-the-mill Christmas Dragon. I drew this one a bit differently...really quick right in Photoshop just done with shapes using the selection tool.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Alien Sundae

2010-08-05T17:46:00.005-04:00

Recently I had the pleasure of working on a Flash-based game called "Alien Sundae". It was fun for sure. I mean who doesn't love drawing Aliens and Ice Cream right? The characters are all done in Flash and the BG's are Photoshopped. Word up.

Jungle Friends

2010-06-05T09:31:00.004-04:00

Hey Everybody - my promises of more posting? Those were lies. I have, however, dug this little goody up from the archives. This is some work I did for an education Flash-based game back a while ago. The client wanted the characters to be VERY simple, almost "fisher-price" like. They didn't want the characters to have legs etc...just basically "ball" lower halves, like you see here. Since they were going to be so small in the game (bouncing around) and it was for little kids I feel the style really worked. The main character was this girl you see above and she is a jungle explorer. She goes around making friends with all these animals. But guys! I know what you're thinking: "oh, isn't this a happy game!"...but there are poachers and hunters ok? So stop smiling.

Canada Gets Active

2010-03-10T11:15:00.004-05:00

About 6 months ago I had a chance to work with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) on a project called "Canada Gets Active". It's an initiative across Canada that supplies Grade 5 students with a Community Activity Pass that provides them with FREE access to designated recreation facilities. It was a great project to work on, and is a great effort by the CPRA. I created a poster design, logo, characters, as well as the actual passes for the kids to use. Here's a look at the sketch of the characters from the poster design. The characters we created for the project were based on sports equipment so as to avoid race and gender. Hopefully I can show more soon. Read more about "Canada gets Active" here!

Bodybuilding Bird

2009-06-29T13:05:00.004-04:00

I was recently approached by Fusion Bodybuilding to create a custom illustration/character for their Twitter page. The Twitter bird has really been hitting the gym hard. Enjoy!

Teen Wolf

2009-05-26T10:44:00.005-04:00

So a little while ago I had this urge to see the awesome popular 80's movie Teen Wolf. I told my buddy Jesse I wanted to see it and he did me the solid of getting me a copy of it. Thanks dude. It's hilarious. And by hilarious I mean awful. It was one of those situations where my memory of watching it as a kid was way better than the actual movie is. Anyways, I drew Teen Wolf and here it is. I tried to do something a bit different this time..no line work...I just went straight into blocking out colours, it looks a bit different I think. Anyways thanks for looking and I'd like to dedicate this to Photoshop for crashing every 5 minutes. I hate you Photoshop. Thanks!

Deco Activity Book Cover

2009-05-11T18:31:00.007-04:00

The Deco Activity Book is all finished, so I thought I would share the cover with you guys! If you're out in Western Canada this summer and need your windshield fixed be sure to pick one of these up. It's full of illustrations by yours truly. It was a ton of fun!

Image copyright Deco Windshield Repair Inc, 2009.

Chip McCracken

2009-04-19T19:06:00.006-04:00

As promised, here is Deco-Man's arch nemesis, 'Chip McCracken'. I don't want to get into too much detail about him, but he's a very tragic villain. Here's the details: He grew up in Ireland and was one of 18 sons of a very Famous leprechaun, Shamus McCracken. As is leprechaun tradition, each leprechaun passes his gold down to only one son. When Shamus picked Doug, Chip's brother, Chip reacted in the same way any of us would: He moved to Western Canada, filled his pot with rocks and started throwing them at windshields. Thus began his feud with Deco-Man.

I put way too much thought into this stuff. Be sure to check out Deco Windshield Repair, to whom this character belongs.

Deco-Man!!

2009-04-02T12:37:00.007-04:00

Here is a sneak peek of a project I have been working on lately. It's a mascot for a company in Western Canada called Deco Windshield Repair. This character, naturally, is the "Deco Windshield Repair Man"...the Western Canadian superhero whose sole purpose in life is to repair windshields with his patented (not actually patented) "Repair Gun". It's been super fun to work on so far. I am currently working on Deco-man's arch nemesis, as well as an entire activity booklet that will be handed out to lucky kids of Deco Windshield Repair customers this summer. I'll be posting more of that stuff soon. If you live in Western Canada and have a cracked or chipped Windshield...click on the link above...you may be lucky enough to have Deco-Man HIMSELF repair it! Just keep an eye out for Chip McCracken! (coming soon).

To the Batcave!

2009-03-02T13:40:00.004-05:00

Sorry for misleading you Batman fans with the title and making you think this post was related to the Caped Crusader. It is, in actuality, just a Cave for Bats. Some of them may be superheroes though, I can't really confirm or deny that.

Kids and Animals

2009-02-22T04:22:00.010-05:00

Kids love animals. I encourage you if you have a small child to let it play with an Elephant or place your child on the back of a Sea Turtle and see what crazy adventures they go on! Ok, I'm not a parent, so I'm not sure if those are good ideas...but it is a good idea to look at these drawings of mine for an upcoming as of yet unnamed project. That I do know. Thanks for visiting!

Ice Cream & Badges

2009-02-09T15:44:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple old things I thought I'd throw on here. These are both designed for Online Games. The first is a bunch of badges for an 'outdoorsy' themed game involving small cartoon critters. These badges are earned for doing well at different activities..sort of like scouts/cubs/pioneers in real life. The second is a girl-themed background for an Ice Cream Game I worked on. You can check it out at www.allgirlarcade.com.

Sayid

2009-01-28T00:17:00.006-05:00

Confession: I am a massive (maybe obsessive?) fan of the popular show "LOST". If you don't know what it is by now..then I'm sorry I can't help you. The people at Best Buy CAN however..they have all 4 seasons on DVD for your buying enjoyment. I highly recommend it. But don't stay up all night searching Online for the answers to the shows secrets like I do. You don't want to do that...you'll go crazy and start drawing the characters from the show and posting them on your blog. Speaking of which, here's a sketch I did tonight of my favourite character on the show, Sayid Jarrah (played by some dude named Naveen Andrews). I'm thinking I'm going to start drawing more of these characters. For you LOST fans out there - who should I draw next? Most votes wins!

Desert

2009-01-08T18:34:00.009-05:00

I didn't know I'd be back that quick..but here I am. I'm on a roll..2009 is my year! I hope I spelled the title of this posting right. It's supposed to be the word for an expansive stretch of land that receives very little precipitation, and not the delicious treat you eat after your dinner. Never know if it's one "S" or two. Anyways, I could look it up but...well, I just won't. These are some backgrounds I did recently for an animation project called "Fraidy Bat". All these images are copyright 2009, Our Children's Friend (All Rights reserved), so don't get any big ideas. Big thanks to Adrian Ropp for trusting me with this assignment! See you guys in blog-land again real soon.

Baby

2009-01-05T17:58:00.006-05:00

Hey Everybody, long time no show pictures to you.
Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, Happy Halloween..and every other holiday in the last half of the year to all of you! Here is a drawing I did of my Friends' Todd and Sheryl's Baby boy, Myles. Hope you enjoy it. I'll be back soon. Maybe 2011. ...Maybe.

Animals of the World

2008-08-18T19:35:00.006-04:00

Hawaiian Surfers

2008-08-11T18:47:00.011-04:00

Here are some characters that are again out of my usual style. I drew them to match some existing drawings designed by someone else. The eyes, hands, and pretty much everything else were drawn in a way different style than I'm used to but I feel they ended up matching pretty well. Hope you enjoy!

Forest Creatures

2008-07-05T17:31:00.006-04:00

Again I have been slacking with the Posts. Some friends of mine (cough~KYLE SLOAN~cough) have been virtual-yelling at me to put some stuff up. So for fear of horrible virtual-indian sunburns (trust me you don't want one), here is some artwork I dug up. These are a bit of a different style for me. I was trying to push them in a certain direction to fit the style of a project I was working on. Hope you enjoy. I threw some quick colour on four of them for fun. That's about as 'finished' as they'll get I think.

Campground Map

2008-03-28T17:16:00.010-04:00

This goes along with the post I did called "Lodge Background". 10 'Ben-blog points' to the first person that can find the lodge on the map. That was a trick..I've already found it and given myself the points.

Alien Kid

2008-03-28T16:50:00.000-04:00

If you can figure out what's going on here then congrats. I have no idea.

Girly Boutique

2008-03-28T16:48:00.003-04:00

Here is a BG (what we call Backgrounds in "the biz") for a girl-based property we are working on here at the studio. This is being used in a promotional 30 second animated trailer. There will be a girl buying a bunch of stuff at the counter, and a clerk behind the counter.

Talent Scout

2008-03-28T16:39:00.002-04:00

The Pocket Geek

2008-03-26T23:16:00.008-04:00

Here is a project that I recently worked on for client QNX Software Systems. The company I work for, Fuel Industries, was hired to create an interactive website/game to promote their new product: "Foundry27". The project was an online game where you as the user are assigned the task of keeping a pocket-sized coder productive with combinations of entertainment, food, drinks, and toys in a fun interactive game. It's pretty hilarious. Anyways I helped design the toy package he comes in, as well as a bunch of icons. Check it out! Oh..and a little bonus...it's MY hands that open the toy package. I know, I know..you thought it was a hand model. My hands ARE that pretty. Here are the links to check out:

The Pocket Geek
QNX

Lodge Background

2008-01-08T23:29:00.004-05:00

Here is a background I did for an online game.
Enjoy!

Tree Fort

2007-06-10T00:22:00.000-04:00

I did this drawing a while back, but I like it because it reminds me of when I was a kid on my parents farm. I loved climbing up in my tree fort..only mine wasn't really this nice. It was actually just an old door we didnt need nailed up in a tree. That pretty much sums up my youth...lying on a door in a tree. Man, that's really sad.

I'm not a vegetable, I will not control myself

2007-04-25T20:30:00.000-04:00

Here's another project I'm working on for Compass Creative, who are handling the art-directing on the project. It's a cover for a school workbook, aimed at teaching kids to eat properly. The concept is a race between healthy foods and junk foods. Which is pretty un-realistic in my opinion, but hey I just do what I'm told. Anyways, guess who wins? Well, I wanted it to be the fries...they're so light, they would win right? But I was overruled. So here are some really quick sketches and cover composition ideas. So no one guessed that flag! It was the YUKON territories, which is a territory of Canada. You all need to learn your provinces and territories. New contest- who knows where I got the title of this post from? Hint: it's a song. Called "Vegetable". By a band. A band called Radiohead. Whoops.

Provincial Bear

2007-04-14T19:08:00.000-04:00

I have been totally neglecting my blog since I did the big move from Florida back to Ontario, Canada. Here is one part of a project I am working on right now for Compass Creative. I am doing an animal for each province and territory of Canada.

New Viking

2007-02-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

I just did a re-design of one of my old characters. If you scroll down this page you can see one of my first posts (ok..my 6th..) was a Viking Character. I'm working on my portfolio and as I was placing this guy in I decided to tweak him a tad. Let me know what you think, and thanks as always for all the comments! Also, with all the AMAZING artists who frequent my blog..I would really like to absorb some knowledge from you guys. I would really appreciate any constructive criticism you could give me. Lets start with this drawing: Tell me what to improve! Thanks! See ya in two months.

Isaac

2007-01-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

My brother Joel and sister-in-law Andrea recently had a bouncin' baby boy named Isaac, so for this Christmas I decided to make them a unique gift for the little guy. They have decided to use the theme of giraffes to decorate his room (partly because they are both so tall) so I wanted to do something to add to it. This is the final piece. It was plaked on a 10" x 24" board and turned out pretty snazzy. If you want you can check out pictures of Isaac (and his parents) at Joel's link to the right. Let me know what you think!

Misc. Sketches

2006-11-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

Yikes..its been a while! You guys are awesome with the comments, thanks so much! Here are a bunch of sketches...some I've put up to show you what a first sketch of mine looks like (messy!). Sometimes I can't even tell some of the things I've drawn when I come back to it! And then some other things here are a little bit more developed. All in all some pretty loose, quick ideas..nothing too crazy. Cheers!

Elephant Sketch

2006-10-17T10:11:00.000-04:00

Quick Sketch. Thanks for all the comments guys!

Hot Dogging

2006-10-10T15:56:00.000-04:00

Here is a Marching Hot Dog. What else is there to say?

Big Props

2006-10-05T14:47:00.000-04:00

This kid's job is to be in charge of the Props on a movie set. All those weapons and stuff...pretty sweet gig if you ask me.

Beluga

2006-09-07T17:27:00.000-04:00

I colored this one a lot quicker..maybe 30 min. I thought underwater would be fun to do. Not "fox in a log" fun..but still a good time.

La Renard

2006-08-28T16:11:00.000-04:00

I decided to do some more colouring in Photoshop...and what's more fun to colour than a Fox in a log?? Nothing, thats what.

Da Bears

2006-08-22T16:05:00.001-04:00

The bear on the left may look like he's sleep-flying but he's actually lying on a big slanted rock (with his arm hanging off the edge). I'd put the rock there to show you what I'm talking about, but I don't have it. I didn't draw it. Its...complicated. I'm going to let you figure out the other bear on your own. Thanks for looking!

Captain Silverbeard

2006-08-11T10:05:00.000-04:00

I drew and coloured this Sea Captain up the other day just for kicks. Thanks for all the comments guys..enjoy!

Something Fishy

2006-07-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

Here are some concept sketches I've done recently for some random fish/aquatic life. They're not on vans YET...but all in due time. Well, one can hope anyways. Let me know what you think!

Wedding Bells

2006-07-21T08:57:00.000-04:00

Here is an illustration I did for my brother Adam, and his bride-to-be, Rachel. They wanted a cartoon done of them to put on their wedding invitations. Adam decided it would be funny to have them in some atrocious clothes...so naturally I made his suit purple and gave her dress sparkles. I think they look nice. They should dress like this for the wedding. Enjoy!

Van-tastic!

2006-07-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

I have arrived.
It's been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to see my artwork on a van, and now I can proudly say that day has come. I did some illustration work for "Camp Mini-Yo-We" (a kids summer camp in Ontario) a while back , and they have taken that artwork and plastered it on all their vans! My brother Joel (reynoldsjoel.blogspot.com) ran into one of these vans this past weekend and took some pics of it for me. So check it out..I personally love the look...forget paper, i'm going to start drawing on vans.

I'm ACTUALLY posting!

2006-07-11T15:26:00.000-04:00

Ya..I know, I've been slacking. Thing is I didn't know anyone would notice...but it turns out there are 2 people that did! So Hans and Andrea this is for you. Here are a bunch of sketches from different projects...some work-related, some just for fun. If anyone is interested my buddy and co-worker Hans Ranum (hansranum.blogspot.com) has been colouring and cleaning up some of my characters and they are on his blog. He is making my stuff look really slick as only a young Dane can...check it out!
Till next time! (aka Next year)...Ben

Animals

2006-07-11T15:15:00.000-04:00

Meeses

2006-05-16T23:52:00.000-04:00

Here is some some concept work from that moose project I worked on a while ago. Some things worked..some things went nowhere....you know how it goes!

Monkeys!

2006-05-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple monkey sketches...I WILL post more soon..with more regularity!!

Character Rotations

2006-04-08T20:53:00.000-04:00

Here are rotations of the biker and lifeguard, created for 3D modeling. I'll get something in color up soon!

Wizard

2006-02-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

Here is a design for the Villain of my "Make Believes" story (see first post). He is an old wizard-dude who steals the imaginations of children to become young again. Pretty standard really.

Ice Cream and Basketball

2006-01-23T20:51:00.000-05:00

Here are some sketches I did today. These are fresh folks. Funky-fresh. I slapped some color on these suckas again for fun. Let me know what you think.

I can row a boat...Can Moose?

2005-12-12T19:31:00.000-05:00

Here's an illustration I did for a Camp in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. I used Photoshop to color the character and Illustrator for the Background. It's a canoeing moose..I don't know what else to say.

Spooky Cottage

2005-12-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

Here is a rough layout of a weird cottage up in the woods. I would imagine a very scary lady lives there. And her dog. Which would probably also be kinda scary.