"E-Rik" ("Wall-E")


Pencil Marks: For Wall-E I decided to take a different approach that we've done before. I can't quite tell what inspired it or even what I was thinking when I came up with the concept of a Wall-E robot with an Erik paint scheme, but when I see this finished piece it all makes me smile. Of course it did take a heck of a long time to actually see the finished results, since Jake was taking his sweet time getting it done!
In the end though I think it came out superb. Really one of the best actual works of art that Jake and I have posted on this little website. Oh we post tons of pinups and pictures, but only rarely do we post something that approaches what I would call great ‘art‘. - Tony

Ink Smudges: It took me six months to come up with that background. That simple, generic looks like I spent four minutes on it background. Six months of toiling to come up with a lush scenery that would do justice to Pixar's film of a little robot alone in an abondoned junked Earth. But nothing worked. Everything was so out of place and awkward that I went back to the drawing board. Six months of trying, and ultimately, failing.
It will sound silly but I needed to hit a home run on this picture because "Wall-E" just brings up a lot of bad memories. Not because of the movie (I thought "Wall-E" was Pixar's best to date and I bought it on Blu-Ray the day it came out in stores) but because around the time it came out in theaters was around the time I suffered what I could only call a severe breakdown. Things were in such an upheaval that I thought seeing that movie with someone I was hoping to start a relationship might turn things around. Instead it made it worse.
You know... I don't know how to put it into words. All I can say is that I really, really, REALLY wanted to succeed with this. I'm sure some folks will like it and might even tell me it turned out pretty good. But I can't agree with that. To me, this is just another picture where I let everyone down.
Let's just move on to the next one. - Jake