bryankonietzko:

Awesome storyboard drawing of Asami by (awesome as usual) Ryu Ki Hyun from a Book 3 animatic.

fuckyeahavatarshipping:

youngjli:

owldee:

yournewmegzilla:

the-avatar-alchemist:

meehighmeelo:

Commence fandom freak-out…

SOOOOOOON

cross those fingers, cross those toes, cross it all

Book 2 release date or an official soundtrack…PLEASEEE.

FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, AT LEAST ANNOUNCE AN SDCC PANEL WHERE WE’LL GET A RELEASE DATE

(via sherbeeee)

bryankonietzko:

For some reason, this “tight rough” for the second piece of press art we released didn’t make it into the Korra art book, but I like it so I’m posting it here. I based it off of a storyboard panel of Joaquim’s from the premiere episode, and he did some further revisions on top of my drawing, which are included here in what you might call a “jam.” I wouldn’t call it that. Without wincing.

Sorry again for the lack of posts! Our production schedule is simply brutal as we are working on Books 2, 3, and 4 simultaneously, and I have little time for anything else once I try to fit “being a human being” in there. Such is the nature of TV production and its protracted, overlapping schedules… Despite the absence and the delays (which are all symptomatic of The Difficulty of Making Animation and little or nothing else), I would (as I have in the past) humbly ask you for your continued patience: It is a good year to be a Korra fan, and a lot of great stuff is coming down the pipeline that we are excited to announce (when we are permitted to announce it) and to share with you all. Thanks, sincerely!

pro-tearbender:

owldee:

I got sneaky and found some bigger versions! Still not quite full size, but better!

Korra page 1

MD (Mike DiMartino): Following in Avatar Aang’s footsteps is a hard act to follow, but as soon as we started talking about ideas for Korra’s character, we knew she would be a worthy successor. We wanted her to be headstrong and aggressive, someone who would never back away from a fight. But we gave her a vulnerable side too. Early on, we hit upon the idea that Korra had been sequestered away in the South Pole, which is why she didn’t grow up with any close friends and hadn’t seen much of the outside world. She spent her childhood mastering water-, earth-, and firebending. But she had never been able to airbend, due to her lack of a spiritual connection.

JDS (Joaquim Dos Santos): The drawings to the upper left are actually my first and second attempts at designing Korra. Although the style of the show shifted somewhat, I think the essence of her character came across in these early passes and helped inform her evolution. Her athleticism and physicality were something that we discussed thoroughly before we even began drawing. 

BK (Bryan Konietzko), upper right top paragraph: I was hoping to find a background painter who had this…[unintelligible]…own distinct style that we could adopt for the look of the new series and got lucky when we were given Fred Stewart’s portfolio while he was finishing his last year in college. The concept of Republic City at night from Fred’s background test is the earliest example of what evolved into the Korra painting style. Paintings by Frederic Stewart. (Preceding spread)

BK, upper right bottom paragraph: Mike and I had the idea for Korra’s character, but we really wanted Joaquim to be…[unintelligible]…the ground first when it came to her design. We had a phone call with him where we described her as being a Water Tribe version of a snowboard or MMA fighter. Joaquim went right to work and about an hour later, he e-mailed in the drawing in the in the upper left, which is very close to how Korra ended up looking. Korra concepts by Joaquim Dos Santos and Ki-Hyun Ryu.

(via ebonynightwriter)

pro-tearbender:

owldee:

mako and bolin page 2

JDS, mid-right: Mako keeps himself warm during a cold, snowy night in Republic City. This concept was done to help get the…[unintelligible]…of the character…[unintelligible].

BK, mid-right: Joaquim really had an Industrial Age/Dickensian take on the Korra world, especially in his explicatives of the brothers. Mako concept by Joaquim Dos Santos.

BK, bottom right: Once we revised…[unintelligible]…Ryu’s…[unintelligible]…take on the brothers, he…[unintelligible]…in and did a fantastic job finalizing both of their designs, all the way down to Bolin’s skivvies. Mako and Bolin design by Ki-Hyun Ryu. Color by Bryan Konietzko and Sylvia Filcak-Blackwolf.

(via ebonynightwriter)

slacktension:

pro-tearbender:

owldee:

mako and bolin page 1

MD, top: We wanted to include a story about brothers in Korra, which is where the idea for Mako and Bolin came from. They also illustrate how family and culture had become more mixed, seventy years after the original series. Mako and Bolin’s mother came from the Fire Nation and their father hailed from the Earth Kingdom, but they both were killed when Mako and Bolin were young. Forced to grow up too soon, Mako protected and shielded Bolin from the darker side of the world. This is why Mako grew to become the more cynical and serious of the two, while Bolin still remained childlike and naive.

JDS, middle: This is a pretty early pass I did on the brothers. It’s kind of strange to look back at these now, as I think our initial…[unintelligible]…was to make Bolin a little pudgy. Still, you can see some of the DNA for the characters…[unintelligible]…in. I can remember struggling to find the impact that progress and industry would have on fashion in the Avatar universe. Mako and Bolin concepts by Joaquim Dos Santos.

MD, bottom: Mako and Bolin spent much of their youth running small-time scams in the…[unintelligible]…streets of Republic City (above). Concepts by Eun-Sang Yang. Paintings by Frederic Stewart. Right: Ki-Hyun Ryu’s wacky concepts of a version of Bolin that never came to be. 

JDS, bottom: You’ve got to love Ryu…Only he could envision one of the lead characters as a bowl cut-wearing…[unintelligible]…clown. Bolin concepts by Ki-Hyun Ryu.

RUNNING SMALL TIME SCAMS

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH H H

(via ebonynightwriter)

pro-tearbender:

owldee:

korra page 3

JDS, top: In my opinion, one of the coolest aspects of the art direction in Korra is the hybrid nature through which most of those early designs were finished. 

BK, top: For Korra’s final design recipe, Joaquim provided the majority of the ingredients, Ryu added the… [unintelligible]…and I mainly baked it all together. Korra design by Joaquim Dos Santos, Ki-Hyun Ryu, and Bryan Konietzko. Color by Sylvia Filcak-Blackwolf.

BK, middle: It was fun to play with the familiar motifs of Water Tribe…[unintelligible]…by giving Korra a more fitted, three-quarter sleeve parka, as well as…[unintelligible]…her blue outfit with firebending gear when we first meet her as a teenager, little things we really didnt seen in Avatar. Designs by Il-Kwang Kim and Bryan Konietzko. Color by Sylvia Filcak-Blackwolf.

MD: “I’m the Avatar. You gotta deal with it!” Ryu wrote a version of this dialogue on one of his early sketches of young Korra. We loved how perfectly it summed up her attitude and personality and incorporated it into the first episode. Four-year-old Korra design by Ki-Hyun Ryu. Cleanup by Jin-Sun Kim. Color by Sylvia Filcak-Blackwolf.

(via ebonynightwriter)

pro-tearbender:

owldee:

korra page 2

BK, top: Even though Joaquim figured out the general look for Korra within a very short time, it still took him, Ryu, and me several months to successfully combine our efforts and finalize her design. We would each take turns drawing over each other’s samples, in a sort of “one step forward, two steps back” pattern. The concept above is a revision Ryu did to one of my attempts, and it definitely helped inch us closer to the finish line. Concept by Ki-Hyun Ryu and Bryan Konietzko. 

BK, bottom: Ryu may have some wacky ideas for character designs from time to time, but once a character’s been established, there is no one better on the Korra crew at doing expression sheets. His drawings always leap off the page, full of life and personality. Korra expression by Ki-Hyun Ryu.

(via ebonynightwriter)

owldee:

Update from a Nick Animation Press Event that happened earlier today.

Yep, my money’s still on a fall release and an SDCC panel giving us the date and lots of new stuff! Just a little more patience guys, we’re getting there!

(via moveslikekorra)