First Digitial in a while.

Here is the first digital work I'm posting in quite some time. I've been trying to get back into the groove of things, so to speak. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this place updated a little more as well. This is essentially a character I came up with for a concept project for my class. It took a while and I'm still not too thrilled with it. I'm really having a hard time learning the ins and outs and finding a way to proceed every time I start a digital piece. Not to mention still having issues understanding the nuances of color. Hopefully I find a comfort zone.

Recent quick studies.

Been a while since I've updated again. Hopefully I'll be more consistent from this point forward. In any case, here are some recent quick studies I did at a few workshops at my school.

Poster concept for local street fair.

So here is a poster concept I did for the annual Haight Ashbury Street Fair that is held here in San Francisco. All in all I feel "okay" with the results. I haven't used Illustrator that much (been learning for only two months) and I learned a lot of do's and don'ts during this assignment. The reaction from my classmates for this one was mixed. I put a lot and time and effort into this piece though so even if I don't do well in the contest (there are a lot of good ones out there) I still don't feel that bad. Next time though I'm definitely going to use the line tool more instead of taking my chances with the blob tool the majority of the time.

Here are some figure drawings.

These are some figure drawings from my clothed figure class. I definitely have more trouble drawing bigger and there is no question I have more trouble drawing figures with clothes on. It's really hard to prepare for something so random and unexpected. In any case, hopefully I get better. I still want to find ways to work with basic shapes and keep that strategy in mind. From what I've learned and observed from others, that may be a good approach to go about things.

Digital character design.

So this is one of my first character designs I did in photoshop. Not to thrilled about it, but whatever. I've always been apprehensive about anything involving color...even when it's made easier in Photoshop. Of course I know I can't just limit myself and I'm going to have to branch out and study more about color theory and such. Photoshop definitely makes it easier and I believe I'm learning more and more as I go. My confidence has gotten a little higher I suppose. On this piece I had some help from my teacher and a friend with the fire. I mostly used a round...I like it a lot for some reason, but of course I plan toy with other brushes in the future.

Another watercolor piece.

I did this a few months ago when I was taking a class and trying to learn watercolor. It's the same class where the previous piece I posted came from. Watercolor was definitely a struggle for me, and I'm not sure I'll ever get into it again. Which is a shame because it looks like a great medium. At this point in time it's not where I want to lend my focus to though. As for this piece, I'm not too thrilled about it, but I thought I would post it because it's one of the two I kind of liked that I did in class. Whatever.

Haven't posted in a while, but here is something.

I really need to do a better job of keeping this updated. At least a couple of times per month. Even if I have one follower, it's still important to keep the ball moving. In any case, here is a sketch I did of Hong Kong movie star Gong Li. I tried to go with a comic book style (since that is what I want to gravitate towards overall as a career path) rendition. Doesn't look like her that much, but whatever. I got tired of working on it and unfortunately I'm not at the level yet where I can do good likenesses of people in comic-form. Trying to follow in the footsteps of David Finch...but it's hard work. Aside from the anatomy issues I think I overworked her hair. I really need to change the way I render. Maybe more of a pure scribble instead of lines in the same direction. Cleaned it up in photoshop (which was hurtful to my ego).This is actually a portfolio piece for my Chinese-speaking class. Hopefully my teacher finds it interesting.

Finally a watercolor piece up here.

This is a piece I did for my Illustration 2 class. It was supposed to be a shopping bag design. My topic was women's shoes, although I did receive a little backlash from some folks about the composition. Used some photo reference reference for this one...seeing as I can't come up with that pose straight out of my head and feel good about it. I enjoyed doing this piece a lot. And it's not due to the nature of the illustration. I felt comfortable and in control with my water color application. It was a good experience. Of course my girlfriend did have some insight, so that helped also. My teacher liked it I think, but also said I should have more value contrast and punch up some of the background colors to make them more vibrant. I might scan this in later because it doesn't look that great seeing as this photo is from a digital camera.

Might as well add this.

Nothing much to see here. Just a sketch I did for a language class I'm taking that want some cultural substance. If you hadn't noticed, the class I'm taking is Chinese. So I did some historical inspired drawings here. I would like to revisit the story of Hua Mulan again and do some work on that. It was kind of fun looking into the backstory.

More sketchbook work.

Here are some more samples from my sketchbook. Hopefully I'll be able to add more diversity to this blog in the near future with stuff other than my sketchbook. Stay tuned.

Random sketch.

Here is some random drawing I did. When doing this I wondered, does anyone even use house phones like that anymore?

Sketchbook update.

Some recent drawings from my sketchbook.

Western comic pencil samples.

It's been a while since I've posted an update. I really have to be more consistent with these things. In any case, I have some new material to post finally. This was done a few months ago at the end of the semester in one of my classes as a final assignment. Took me a while for each page (I wanted to see how the pros did it at their pace), but it was really fun working on it. I'm really starting to believe that my interest really is in sequential storytelling. In any case, these are just some pencil samples. Nothing too specific. I'm not even sure if I'll continue the story. But we'll see.

I love a girl in uniform.

This is just some random drawing I did from photo reference. I wish I could get that 2H lead darker. Hmmm...

Watch out they spit...

Here is an assignment I did for class. The topic was ancient Egypt. Pretty basic perspective technique here.

Saddle Up.

Here is a piece that I did for my perspective class. Wild West. I think it turned out okay, but again I wish my anatomy was more realistic and not so cartoonish. But that is what practice is for.

I really need to update more often.

I know a lot of people don't visit my blog, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the amount of updates I provide. I know once my artwork gets better I'll probably have more people looking. Having more stuff on here is also a way to keep myself motivated. So I'll keep trying to update. I don't want to be one of those guys that never updates their blog.

Anyways, here is some stuff I've been working on. I'm taking an advanced perspective class at my school right now. It's really helped simplify a lot of things, since the whole idea behind the class is to put composition first and then plotting second. It's designed to get pieces done quick...although I admit I'm a slow worker still. In any case, here are a few pieces I did with the themes of Samurai, Geisha, and Noah's Ark. All were pencil drawings that I darkened up/cleaned up in Photoshop. Some stuff I'm okay with, but a lot of it I'm a little disappointed with. I think my biggest need is still an improvement of anatomy. I think by knowing everything a lot better in my mind, I won't have to sketch something out as much and erase...and my drawings won't look overworked, which I hate. Remembering certain things about perspective is a must as well...such as how tall a person is if they're on a certain building compared to the ground or how big a compartment should be if you see a man leaning out a window. Hopefully this is all resolved with repetitive practice.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I decided to be in the giving spirit today seeing as it is Christmas, and show some work. Just sketches really. A coupe of pages from my main sketchbook and a couple from my small sketchbook. I still need to pick up the pace and explore more in my opinion.

Missed Communication.

These three comic pages are another assignment from class. The premise was about a man and a woman having to meet on a street corner. Unfortunately they accidentally meet on opposite ends. The man starts to think he's been stood up. However, little does he know the very same woman he's trying to meet is across the street trying to get his attention. Unfortunately she's unsuccessful and the man leaves believing he's been stood up.

As students we had to do our best to try and illustrate this story. I didn't think I could do it in two pages, so I opted to do it in three. There are some things I don't like...some which are obvious, others more subtle...but I'm trying to get better as fast as I can so I don't have to endure these tough days for too much longer.

Alice in Wonderland cover and more!

It's been way too long since I last posted something. I really need to stop being lazy and start working harder. Even though I haven't been posting, I have at least been practicing in my defense. In any case I wanted to post a few penciled comic boards. For those of you who don't know I'm a big fan of sequential art...especially comics. If I could do that for the rest of my life and make a decent living off of it I'd be happy plain and simple. Definitely would be a dream come true.

Here are two assignments for class. The first is a penciled cover based on the theme of Alice in Wonderland. The second is a couple of pages I did that was based on a true event that actually happened in my life. I had a lot of fun doing both. Both were penciled with a lead holder and mechanical pencil with 2H lead. Then I went to photoshop and cleaned them up while darking the levels a bit. Hopefully my drawing and understanding of values gets a lot better. Because I know I really need to kick up the contrast on both, especially the party scene. I did that one a couple of months ago and now I see what he was talking about (I've also been looking at countless penciled works of professional artists). Anyways, advice is always accepted.