REEL 2024
"Out In the Streets" Part 1 (2022) Digital Painting.
Titled after my favorite Shangri – Las song, it is a showcase of some of the many characters I have created after numerous sketches. It was important to me that each character showed a sense of their personality and hinted at a narrative around them. This is part of a tryptic that I’m currently working on.
"Introducing Mrs. Peepping Tom" (2022) Animation
This is a sample of my animation style and an introduction to this character. Although she is not a murderer like Peeping Tom from the 1960 horror movie, she does like to peep and creep to get what she wants.
"Midnight Rituals" (2022) Digital Painting
The two women in this piece are the cartoon versions of Belika & Apollonia Masterbedroom. You will be able to see their real-life versions in the next slide. In this piece they are using their evil magical powers to convert hunks into their servants by replacing their faces with masks and beautiful wigs. The concept of alchemy or transformation is a common theme in my work.
"The Masterbedrooms Become Eternal" (2013) Short Film
This is an introduction to the mother and daughter evil duo Belika & Apollonio Masterbedroom. Don’t be fool by their charm and if I were you, I wouldn’t accept what they are offering. I want to expand their story as cartoon characters.
"RKO Presents..." (2022) Digital Painting
These are my versions of the Hollywood stars of yesteryear: the creature of the black lagoon and the werewolf. This is a behind the scenes photo as they get ready for their love scene together. Although these monsters were part of Universal. I titled it “RKO presents” as a nod to the films of Val Lewton and a studio that longer exists like a long-gone extinct animal.
“Motherly Love” (2008) Short Film
This is a genre bending piece of film noir and horror. It introduces the characters of Rosetta and Augusto Guerrero: twins played me. I like to include this piece to show an example of the type of narratives I want to continue developing. Although this short film is performed by humans, I believe that it could easily lend itself to an animated world. I am currently working on the animated versions of the main characters. My dream is to be able to collaborate with writers to fully flesh this world I have created into an animated tv show or film. This film was selected to be screened again in 2021 at a virtual screening for Last Projects Gallery. I was surprised by how it still had a warm reception after all these years.
"Los Secretos de Mercedes" (2022) Digital Painting
In this piece you see some returning characters. Belika and Apollonia can be seen in the intercom and an early version of Mrs. Peeping Tom makes an appearance. One of the Masterbedroom’s hunky servants has been kidnapped and made to become an alchemy experiment by the devilish Mercedes. This is a continuation of the idea of golden turds that I first explore in the film you will see in the next slide.
"Ka.Ka" (2010) Short Film
Twins Augusto and Rosetta Guerrero return with a new adventure. They seem to be feeling down and beaten by life, but will a new discovery change it all good? I want to continue developing these characters motivations, woes and stories but as cartoons. I also want to continue creating narratives in Spanish. This film was selected and screened in various film festivals including Frameline and MIX Brazil.
"Hunkasaurus Rex" (2022) Digital Painting
This hunk was inspired by the 1993 version of “Attack of the 50 feet woman” starring Daryl Hannah and the character design of the Fleischer Studios film “Gulliver’s Travels”(1939). I’m fascinated my characters with extreme dimensions. I’m currently working on a piece that includes this character and a giant nurse inspired by Naomi Campbell.
"El Mago" (2021) Digital Painting, Collage, Photography
During the COVID 19 pandemic I made a lot of collages. It started with regular paper and glue and slowly morphed into something completely different. The background is taken from an old vodka ad in a 1970’s playboy magazine. I also took the photograph in the center of the piece. This hints at my deep interest in making live action/animation combo works. You can see my first attempt at this in the video in the next slide.
"Lysol in Mouth" (2016) Music video for artist Biice.
I wrote and directed this music video. Although I did not make the animation, it planted a seed for my future projects. The concept of the video was to animate the conscience of the main character in the form of the traditional devil and angel characters. In this case, the conscience completely betrays our protagonist Biice and leads him to his demise. We were selected by the Berlin Music Awards as part of their Silver Screenings
“Por De Love of..." (2021) Digital Painting.
This is a homage to one of my favorite scenes ever: Dumbo getting drunk in the 1941 film. But in this case I created a character that is experiencing similar episode to Dumbo but at a gay rave. One of the things that I find the most irresistible about animation is how it can visualize the mental state of a character with endless possibilities.
"Space is the Place" (2022) Digital Painting
The title is a homage to Sun Ra and a nod to Blur’s 1998 track “Bugman” that use that title as a lyric. Sci Fi or to be more exact retro sci fi is another genre that I will like to explore. I was also inspired by Marvin The Martian, “Futurama” and the 1990 film “Total Recall”.
"Animated Movie Review for Saint Maud " (2021) Short Video.
This is one out of the two episodes I created for a YouTube show of animated movie reviews. The concept was to start every show with a different animated intro based on the movie reviewed and have animation interacting with the reviewer to emphasize what he is saying. There is animation sprinkled throughout the video. The music was done by Biice who I frequently collaborate.
“Golden Diamonds” (2009) Short Film.
I would like to highlight the cinematography on this one. Some of the shots are a direct homage to Andy Warhol “Blow Job” (1964) and scenes from Igmar Bergman’s “The Silence” (1963) I would like to use my cinematic influences into my animations . Animated films like “Perfect Blue” (1997) and “Akira” (1988) come to mind as examples of the type of cinematography I would like to attempt. This film was also screened in several festivals including Frameline and the queer experimental festival MIX NY. Lastly, thank you so much for taking the time for checking my portfolio out.
