Live Long and Practice.

Generation i

2011-12-03T12:48:00.001-08:00

Last week I was asked to do another illustration for an article in Swerve Calgary. The article explores the increasingly common sight of technology reaching children at a much younger age and how that potentially changes the way they learn and intereact. The four images are subtle colour variations for slightly different tones. The image above was chosen for the article. Here is a link to the article:

http://swervecalgary.com/2011/12/02/digital-darlings/

Random Character

2011-11-29T14:10:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd post a page from one of my sketchbooks. This is a random one, I saw this character on the page and felt obliged to elaborate on him so I broke out the pencil crayons and markers.

Peer Pressure

2011-11-18T13:47:00.001-08:00

I was asked to do an illustration for Swerve Magazine about home parties and the pressure and obligations that are common place for most women, one of the few things that remain a tradition to this day. Here is a link to their site with the article printed in their magazine along with today's Calgary Herald. Thank you Swerve.
http://swervecalgary.com/2011/11/18/home-evasion/

Random Sketches

2011-11-13T22:46:00.001-08:00

Bizarre Characters/Creatures

I thought I'd throw in one more before I call it a night. This is a page taken from one of my sketchbooks. This page is basically filled with random thoughts, random characters. I was exploring line weight and intensity between pen and pencil, finishing the drawings off with some color. I Broke out the pencil crayons and Prismacolor markers which, to this day is still one of my favourite mediums. I've recently grown an appreciation for pastel crayon pencils. My exploration of the medium will begin to appear in my sketches in the near future.

The Pouaki

2011-11-13T22:13:00.001-08:00

The Pouaki

Hello everybody! As you know it's been awhile since my last post. I have been keeping busy which means all the things I've been working on since will show up on this post. My apologies folks. I shall strive to keep my posts regular.
A few friends and I decided to take it upon ourselves to imagine creatures of myth selected at random taken from an encyclopedic book on these creatures as a way of motivating each other. Here is my rendition of the Pouaki taken from my sketchbook. The Pouaki is a monstrous bird who hunts people and livestock. This particular creature comes from Maori Legend and has quite a fascinating history.

Prince of Peace: One World

2011-09-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

It has been too long. I hadn't realized just how long it's been since my last post. I've been working on a mural for a friend who had graduated at The Prince of Peace High School. She wanted to do something special for her school and had asked if I could lend a hand. I think it is a mural intended for their library if I remember correctly. The idea or message behind the illustration was to communicate that diversity and unity are the root and foundation of the school. Working with her and her mothers initial idea of using a kind of puzzle to create the crucifix and have something symbolize the world bringing and holding it together, we eventually decided on having the children and teenagers literally assemble the puzzle.

The color choices changed as I approached the finish line. I eventually decided on colours that are a little less saturated and intense in comparison to my past colour palettes.

Hope for Japan Sketch

2011-06-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ever since the chaos that erupted in Japan took place I've been sketching different ways I can express my condolences to everyone who has lost a great deal to the calamity. JOI Media promoted a big event to raise funds for relief efforts and I contributed an illustration for the event. Though that was a success I still felt I needed to create an illustration that felt more personal so in that regard I fell upon this sketch.

The images above are rough sketches, plans to my next illustration which will be dedicated to those who lost loved ones in Japan due to the relentless earthquakes and tsunamis. This will depict survivors who lost those close to them sending off floating lanterns to honor the departed, similar to the Obon ceremony. Though this idea is a bit after the fact, nevertheless I still wish to complete it and see it through. This is my first step towards that goal. I'll be using Japan's current, somewhat bizarre and almost goofy looking mascot as the lead man honoring those who have passed on. I will be aiming for a serious, somber tone to the overall piece including Sentokun's design, but using colors that may seem unconventional within a mournful setting. This will be a piece meant to commemorate those who died and to express hope for the living and the departed. I should have this piece done sometime in July.

Bucky O'Hare Intro

2011-06-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

I figured I would post a link to the very catchy intro to Captain Bucky O'Hare, complimentary to the Bucky Illustration I completed. I miss the 90's cartoons.

Retro Tribute: Captain Bucky O'Hare

2011-05-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

Finished with a little time to spare before the Calgary Entertainment Expo. I wanted to do a few more illustrations dedicated to the re-imagining of retro 80's and 90's cartoons that I used to watch, maybe even the ones I didn't get a chance to know as a child. I know for Captain Bucky O'Hare I wanted to do an illustration showcasing some of the liberties I took in a few of the character designs as well as the ones that didn't change. I loved this cartoon and still do. I can definitely see potential in a series reboot if it ever happened.

I should probably identify this motley crew for those who are not familiar with the cartoon. The two big brutes above the image are Betelgeusian Berserker Baboons. The big guy on the left is Bruiser and next to him his big brother Bruce. Apart from being the muscle of the crew Bruce is actually a distinguished engineer on Bucky's frigate "The Righteous Indignation". The dog with the big gun is Captain Dogstar, who leads his team with the frigate he's come to name as "The Manifold Destiny". Fantastic names for space ships, honestly! The feisty feline next to him is Jenny from Alderbaran. She has psychic abilities, abilities of persuasion much like e Jedi. On her home world she is an artificer and is a member of The Mystic Order of Alderbaran. The adventurer with all ears is Captain Bucky O'Hare, leader of the crew and main character. He goes where no ordinary rabbit would dare. True story. The human boy caught in all this is Willy, a San Fransisco citizen who happens to be 10-year old scientific genius who creates what is called a "Photon Accelerator" which accidentally throws him into a parallel universe. The Aniverse. (Yes yes, I know...)

The tiny, grey one-eyed robot is Blinky, a fitting name. His role on the team is Science Technology Officer as well as an Interface Interpreter, no idea what that is. Finally we have the four-armed, gritty duck known as Dead-Eye. His official title on the team is Chief Gunners Mate, haha. Well he was a space pirate and he looks cool. Good times.

Finished the Race at Last!

2011-04-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

The last stage of this idea was lost in all the other ideas I have rattling around in my mind and hard drive. I had it pretty well finished a month ago or so minus a few touch ups here and there but I never posted it for some reason. I guess I forgot about it actually. Opps. Well here it is finally realized. I extended the amount of sky on the right side just in case I decide to accommodate some type. I took my time with this idea, longer than I should have but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I kind of went nuts with the colorful and bright holographic bits but I had to get it out of my system. Though I would like to create some simple illustrations of different racers and their loyal hippo taking a pose for the cameras. Perhaps sometime in the near future.

A Dream Finally Realized

2011-04-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

So a funny and sad story had lead up to what you see now hours and hours put into this particular project. I intended to create this illustration as a potential piece for the Make a Wish Foundation to use in an auction to raise money. We had been given a much needed extension from the original deadline and so I thought I had plenty of time. Now for some strange and idiotic reason I had thought the deadline was due on the 17th of April when in actuality it was the 15th. I hadn't double checked my email that had the deadline until the night of the 16th! I suppose I just suffered from wishful thinking and believed the deadline was the 17th. Needless to say I was quite heartbroken when the reality of the situation hit me. It was such a shock and disappointment I just caught up on some much needed sleep feeling no desire to continue working on the project that night.

After taking time to rejuvenate the mind and soul I found the motivation needed to finish this illustration despite missing the deadline.

I broke the illustration down into sections here. The first image is what I would have submitted had I met the deadline. The image below with type is the full illustration. I felt there were quite a few interesting characters that came from this project and it's hard to see all the little details in the final image. The smaller pictures below should give a little glimpse of the details just in case one is inclined to taking a closer look. I will be making prints of this illustration for the Calgary Entertainment Expo at the Artist Alley this year. Can't wait!

More Thundercats!

2011-03-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Here are scans from my sketchbook with rough sketches of familiar Thundercats characters. These are sketches of Tigra which is actually spelled Tygra in the cartoon, Wilykat, Cheetara and Snarf. Tygra is so much fun to draw and redesign. I felt I needed a few more passes at Cheetara's design. It's still in the works but I think I'm getting close.

Morning Scribblies

2011-03-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

I figured I would post some of my morning scribbles that I do to warm up before the day starts. I find sketching in the morning to be very refreshing and exciting because it's a good start to my day and I try not to limit myself when it comes to deciding what to draw. It's basically whatever comes to mind and often times it can just be plain bizarre which I'm embracing more and more each day.

Dreams & Wishes Refined Sketch

2011-02-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

Things are getting clearer. Some of the creative process comes as you move along and isn't always planned. Spontaneity can be a good friend.

Thundercats, Ho!

2011-02-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

Just some sketches from the book. Random, but mostly Thundercats doodles. A prelude to my desire to redesign them. Lion O to me is pretty much a 'Shazam' kind of character. A child forced into the life of a powerful man or being. Its a bit of a tongue-in-cheek kind of sketch.

Dreams & Wishes

2011-01-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

One of the Expo's sponsors include The Make a Wish Foundation and they are currently accepting donations of illustrations to be chosen for charity. This is a sketch of what I had envisioned with their theme about dreams and wishes. Monsters taking the time to help children reach the stars hanging in the sky. Literally.

Captain Bucky O'Hare vs. The Toad Army

2011-01-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been quite a while since my last post. the Calgary Entertainment Expo is coming up and I would like to have new illustrations ready for the Artist Alley. For some time now I've been wanting to take a stab at reinterpreting or just illustrating some of my childhood cartoon favorites and Captain Bucky O'hare is one of them. Last year I posted some of my sketches of Bucky which was a few months ago now and the sketch I have here is what I want to create. This is a sketch of a battle scene with Bucky and his allies taking on the toad army. I'm going to start on the final production soon and have it ready for print before the Expo starts.

Heroes for Hire

2010-11-18T02:54:00.000-08:00

"We didn't start the fire! It was always burning since the world's been turning! We didn't start the fire! No we didn't light it but we tried to fight it!" Great song by Billy Joel. I just felt it was appropriate given the fiery nature of this latest character design/illustration line up. My friends and I had discussed awhile back about what comic book heroes we could try to rethink. We decided on going with the original Heroes for Hire, Luke Cage and Iron Fist from Marvel Comics.

Luke Cage for myself hadn't gone through too much alteration from his current look but what I wanted to focus on was the person. I pictured in my mind which actors I felt would play these heroes so for Luke I saw Lawrence Fishburne and for Iron Fist it was a bit of Leonardo Dicaprio and the rest kind of invented itself. Cage has impenetrable skin and I thought the first thing I would do if I were him is not wear shoes ever again! I mean that kind of freedom would be great! Clothes would kind of be optional but for the sake of appearance I'd wear the simplest, cheapest clothes so it wouldn't cost so much to replace, which would happen frequently given the hazardous nature that comes with crime fighting. I've always felt that the only thing that looked okay about Iron Fist was his mask and the rest being completely goofy and impractical. It's ironic here how his mask is the only thing I didn't include. I liked the look of Daryl Hannah's character in Blade Runner, a replicant named 'Pris'. In the movie she airbrushes black paint across her eyes which I thought looked like a mask and I loved that idea. Iron Fist's mask is airbrushed in my design and wears a bandanna with his costume. For his costume I wanted to blend elements of his original look which I think seemed more of a uniform or GI with kind of an outdoors look like a sports jacket. I would explain Iron Fists' origins and powers but it's a bit complex. In a nutshell take Kwai Chang Caine from 'Kung Fu' and mix in a bit of Green Arrow with a dash of mysticism and fantasy and you have Iron Fist.

Skyworld's Hadi & Tariq

2010-10-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post this up. I found myself with some free time to touch on some of my unfinished projects so I went and finished coloring Hadi and Tariq. These characters will look a little different and have slightly different functions in the story. Skyworld's first draft is currently being written and I've found it to be a very challenging and exciting experience. I hope my storytelling will be good enough to make this an enjoyable read someday soon. Fingers crossed.

JOI to the World

2010-10-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Joi Media was also looking for a new image to add along with their updated look and concept for the JOI to the World campaign. This illustration was done for their Campaign blog site and will be used as the background image. This was a fun and real challenging project simply because I had to step out of my comfort zone and rely on shapes and color to define the children and the objects. I've mostly done illustrations involving line work so this was a nice change and a great learning experience for me. I hope this brings a little joy and cheer to their campaign this year.

Good Will Box Concept Designs

2010-10-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've been working with JOI media on a project of theirs these past few weeks and it has been quite a busy and exciting time for me. JOI media has an annual campaign called "Joi to the World" which focuses on providing relief and hope to families and individuals in need of support. They've asked me to help update the look of the Good Will box for this upcoming Christmas season. The top image is the final look that was decided and the others below are some rough concepts I had as options.

The Race for Flying Hippos

2010-10-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to produce an illustration for the Childrens Hospital where interested illustrators would submit their piece voluntarily. A particular theme is chosen for us to base and develop our illustration on and the theme this year is sports. I decided to create an illustration on the sport of racing, a race dealing with racers riding flying hippos in the sky to be exact. I'm sure this seems like an unusual approach for a sports illustration but I wanted to do something that is fantasy and conveys a sense of adventure, excitement and whimsy.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to finish it before the deadline so I can no longer submit it to the Childrens Hospital but I am currently getting close to finishing it regardless. The images above are the general stages of the piece. The completed illustration draws near! No pun intended.

Another Commissioned Piece

2010-10-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

I've missed a few figure drawing classes lately just to get some commissioned work completed. This was done for the same client under their specifications. It's a similar scene with the scientist going to the government for funding this time. It's nice to have some steady work lately. I will have a new commissioned colored illustration posted up real soon. It will depict the festive cheer of Christmas and the gift of giving. I feel like I'm back at school with a kind of exhausting but very exciting routine. Good times!

A Commissioned Piece

2010-09-20T01:11:00.000-07:00

After quite a while of absent postings I finally have something to post. I've been working on an illustration meant for the Children's Hospital but I didn't make the deadline. Regardless, it will be complete hopefully real soon and uploaded here.
The illustration above is a kind of cartoon meant to symbolize the barriers that prevent the sharing of ideas from one culture to another. I'm not all too sure what this illustration is going to be used for but the client had specific details which needed to be met in the picture. It's an interesting approach to depict limitations in the world of business when it comes to sharing. I never would have thought of this myself but it was a fun piece to tackle. Hopefully the client approves.

Figure Drawing Tuesdays 2

2010-08-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some more life drawings from figure drawing Tuesdays. They're getting a good variety of models which keeps things new and challenging.

Tribute to a Friend

2010-08-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

My parents pastor at their church whom I hold a great deal of respect for left to relocate to another church who needs his talents. After knowing him for over 4 years I felt compelled to create an illustration dedicated to him. This is an illustration of Father Dominic standing at the altar with a relaxed and cheerful expression, wings outstretched and glowing proudly. I hope to send this to him with signatures and messages of thanks signed by other members of the church.

The Adam & Eve Sci-Fi Project

2010-07-28T02:26:00.000-07:00

I seemed to have forgotten about these illustrations I had done for Dennis Bugen's Environments/Landscapes class. These are a few months old now. This is a concept based on Adam and Eve set in a distant future where the earth is mysteriously void of human life. The only remaining people are the passengers of the ship referred to as "Eden", believed to be a sort of maximum facility prison meant to separate the most dangerous from society. The story would start with these passengers waking from cryosleep suffering from extreme memory loss.

Janan & Jehan

2010-07-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the lovely ladies of Skyworld in charge of imbuing life and energy into all things living. Esther, the Spirit of the Stars is still the only character that hasn't come to a decided design for me. She's the most challenging because she's still a little unclear to me.

Dead Eye Duck

2010-07-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

One of the Bucky O'Hare's most loyal crew members is Dead Eye Duck, an ex-pirate sharp shooter with a cantankerous attitude. His design is quite funny seeing as how he has four arms and is a duck. Odd combination but he's one of my favorite characters in the cartoon.

Skyworld's Amala, Yazid & Ansari Enhanced Colors

2010-07-09T02:01:00.001-07:00

I figured since I was coloring my non colored Skyworld characters why not update the colors of the first three. This one didn't take long to enhance. I like the colors in this a lot better but they are subtle changes.

Skyworld's Zahir & Khalil Color Finals

2010-07-09T01:45:00.000-07:00

I've also been working on coloring the Skyworld characters I developed while at was at ACAD which I posted earlier with only the line work. Some of the character designs are going to change in the future but I'd say I'm satisfied with the design of Zahir and Khalil. Expect the rest to be colored soon as well.

Captain Bucky O'Hare

2010-07-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

I've been a long fan of Captain Bucky O'Hare and it's one of those cartoons that was quite brilliant for a kids show. I mean it was still cheesy in a lot of areas but it had heart. I'm going to illustrate a kind of movie poster of Captain Bucky O'Hare, the villains and his intrepid crew in all their glory. The most engaging part is redesigning these wonderful characters, some more so than others. I feel that I didn't completely reinvent the look of Bucky because he's pretty much cool originally. I've made some subtle changes but mainly my style or type of design is applied to this memorable character. Expect sketches of the rest of the characters shortly.

The Green Goblin

2010-06-29T00:53:00.000-07:00

So David, Dan and I are doing a group sketch challenge weekly. The first one was Venom which i have yet to post and the second one was The Green Goblin. We try to challenge each other to do our interpretation of the character so that often involves rethinking their design. This is a sketch I did tonight. I might want to try a few different designs and a profile shot of him if I have the time. Goblin has always looked goofy to me and it appears I didn't stray too far from that. It's actually quite hard to.

The Woody Project

2010-06-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

I've been studying the complexities and subtleties of graphic novels and I've realized there are a lot of things that need polishing and practicing so I've put the Skyworld project on hold until I can get a handle on a smaller project of mine. David Joyce is helping me write and develop stories for a character I created. At the moment the character's name is Woody, a small but powerful alien winding toy who goes through fantastic and sometimes outlandish adventures while maintaing its innocence the whole way through. I want to gain a visual language, style and storytelling style as I develop this story or stories. In order to give Skyworld the best treatment I need to learn what to do and not to do in this project. Here is the process of finding the design of Woody.

Fourth Year Figure Drawings

2010-06-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Since I've been going to figure drawing on Tuesdays I went through my fourth year drawings and I felt that some of them were pretty good. Some of the figures have bizarre, somewhat abstract effects and that's because at the time I felt I screwed up in those drawings so I would try and cover it up with interesting decorum i suppose. Either that or if I felt the pose wasn't interesting I would make those weird shapes and designs to keep myself motivated. I try to keep in mind the whole picture instead of zoning in on every detail with the limited amount of time. I love conte and newsprint.

Figure Drawing on Tuesdays

2010-06-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

I've been attending figure drawing sessions on Tuesdays and it's good to be practicing and sketching from life. Keep practicing.

Wombats and Furries

2010-06-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

I've been trying markers, pen and pencil crayon on watercolor paper to benefit from the texture that comes from it and I liked it, but the teeth were too coarse. I decided to get another sketchbook with a little texture to it and I'm really liking it. The downside is that my markers may run out quicker than usual because the paper absorbs a lot more.

I've been touching up a little on Captain Wombat Adaire and design some other wombats that may be in the story. These sketches are the results of some successful and some failed attempts. The bat was intended to be a wombat sketch but it ended up just becoming a bat and another some kind of mole.

The Alchemical Monk

2010-06-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted any drawings and so here are some that I did back near the end of April. This character design was for a collaborative project my buddy Dan and I had conjured up originally and later peaked David's interests and enthusiasm into the project as well. To keep it short the concept was about a martial arts monk with alchemic abilities. The story is more complex but I won't get into details.

Favourite Quotes

2010-05-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Quit, don't quit? Noodles, don't noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."

-Oogway

Gods achieve their power by encouraging us to believe in them.

Superman achieves his power by believing in us.

-Mark Waid

No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher. Teacher say, student do.

-Mr. Miyagi

Does anybody really think that they didn't get what they had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment?

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will.

-Nelson Mandela

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Garuda's Theme Park

2010-05-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

One of our projects in ACAD was to design a theme park but because I am more geared towards character design and I tend to think in terms of developing stories I decided to create a theme park within a fictional fantasy story. In the story Garuda is depicted as an angry and mischievous and he transforms an ancient hill tribe into a dangerous theme park and spreads the heads of the tribe's sacred statues across the park. In order to restore their village the gods who roam the lands and the chosen residents have to overcome the park's obstacles and retrieve the scattered heads to reconstruct the statures and their home. I like this concept so much that I want to develop this into a graphic novel too.

Project: Skyworld-Bioware Pitch

2010-04-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I posted anything. The Fourth Year is coming to a close and it's been a roller coaster ride the whole way so there wasn't much chance for posting if any. So here is what I've been slaving away over. I've carried the concept of skyworld from a children's book to a video game concept for bioware. In the end though I ultimately want to make this into a graphic novel and I'm going to kick it into high gear when school is finished. I want Skyworld to be a graphic novel by next year in time for the comic expo so I have my work cut out for the next several months. Good times.

More Skyworld Characters

2010-02-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Here are more sky characters that have reached a near final stage if not complete in terms of design.

2010-02-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

Yay! Here is the color final for my Skyworld characters of this set. This was a fun image to color.

Skyworld Characters

2010-02-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

Skyworld has many characters that need refining and defining. Until then here are the first three that are pretty well resolved. I'm working on the colored versions of these characters as well as the many others. Amala is the human girl of the story, Yazid is the Villain and Ansari is the spirit boy appointed the task of painting the skies.

Skyworld - The Last Twilight

2010-02-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

The black and white double-page spread is a scene in the book where Ansari mopes at Anan Palace, King Umar's home.

The colored middle image is my book cover and the bottom image is one of my first sketches of the cover.

Skyworld is a conception of my own for a kind of children's book project in school. I've had this image of a blue child surfing the skies painting it in the vibrant colors we see during the day for about a year and a half now, but the concept and story were still nebulous to me. It wasn't until I decided to make this one of my school projects that the mythology and story behind it flourished. It happened on a Tuesday morning on the way to the transit station. I was so excited and eager to get it down on paper that I wrote all my ideas down in the car, parked of course. It's strange that ideas seem to come to me the best either late in the night or very early in the morning.

I've taken strong influences from my project involving Haroun and the Sea of Stories and carried that same cultural influence to Skyworld because I felt really inspired and I wanted to do a magical tale of my own with that same visual style and feeling. I want to make this book become a fully realized completed project in the future which hopefully will be soon.

Hulk Confused?!

2010-02-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a random sketch just for David. As you can see he totally digs the standard superhero wardrobe arrangement.

The Completed Rusty!

2010-01-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

I also forgot about the completed version of Rusty Spotnitz in motion and in a kind of context, with the help of my instructor Kevin Kurytnik, he suggested that I create images in relation to the character that I can run through in the background instead of a background that he interacts with. So I decided to create the animation as though it would have been used as credits if this was an animated series. The images in the background were done in my sketchbook so I scanned them and added color on the computer. The credits are just full of names I chose at random. The music for this video is "Movin'" (re-record) by the Ventures: 60's Rock Instrumental Collection Volume One.

Captain Wombat Book Cover

2010-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post this quite a while ago but I forgot about it until I browsed through some of my old files recently This was done last year as a third year project and was the first time I drew this group together. Captain Wombat is my own conception. I wanted to do a science fiction story and world of my own involving animals set it a fairly dark setting, and after reading Blacksad it reinforced the feeling that this could actually work if it is well planned. I want to make this into a graphic novel series in the near future.

Salman Rushdie's Haroun and The Sea of Stories

2010-01-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the final piece as intended.

This illustration is my interpretation of Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Ever since I read this book in one of my Liberal Studies classes in second year I had thought about what these characters would look like so it felt natural to eventually do a project of exactly that. This illustration is not finished yet. There are elements I still need to add and refine on the ocean and there is also color balancing that needs to be done, not to mention that big space on the left side of the image which is where the name of the book will sit. Lots of work but this was fun. I will have the finished piece up hopefully soon along with some of the stages in process.

Rusty Lives!

2009-11-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

For my locomotion project I used Rusty Spotnitz as the main character for the animation. I'm not sure how I feel about animation now, it's a love/hate thing and when I reached this stage I love it. I'm happy to see that I actually got Rusty to an animated realization. I had fun with this and I may want to do another project similar to this in the future.

Wolf and Man (Panoramic)

2009-11-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on the graphic novel project due next Monday and this originally was intended to be a cover for the comic, but because of the dimensions of the image I don't think it will work for a cover. This is a panoramic scene of the forest and the wolf's epic version of what happened. I wanted the huntsman to be taller than the trees so that I could show off the look of the landscape. This will help me determine the look and feel of the forest in the comic book pages I'll be working on this week.

It's Morphin' Time!

2009-10-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

We did two morphing projects each one week long and this is the digital version of my morph. I had done another morph where I turned into a panda which was done with watercolors. I feel this one was the most successful of the two. I'm not entirely sure what I'm turning into in this one, perhaps a demon of some sort, my dark side!

Fire Eater

2009-10-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first stage of the drawing. This was done with a col-erase pencil. Very light drawing.

The second stage is the inking. I use black technical pens and occasionally the brush pen.

The marker stage comes next. its a very simple marker coloring. The reason why his beard is white is because I didn't want to use up all of my black marker.

Here is my antagonist of the portrait project. The Fire Eater is the Marionette director who imprisons Pinnochio for his own selfish gains. Its the contrast between the creator and the captor.I'm not sure how I feel about the bars on Pinnochio's cage but I'm settling for now until crit which takes place tomorrow.

camera Animation

2009-10-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here is my animation for last week where the foreground, middle ground and background are separate pieces set at various distances from each other to imitate a sense of depth. In this animation is just the camera that is moving. This project was a pretty easy one, but due to my stupidity I ended up wasting hours exporting the file with nothing but the foreground and a wall of white throughout the video clip. It ended up being a simple thing that I overlooked and hadn't figured out until it was three in the morning. Stupid.

Robo Hillbillies

2009-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well this is my third animation this week and this one didn't take so long to do. It's a simple loop exploring the use of pegs and the bezier curves in the Toon Boom program to manipulate the velocity of the movements. I used the bezier curves for the tall robot which was interesting. It was mostly just guessing what the curves do. The center of gravity of the tall robot is on his hips and to give the illusion of gravity his feet need to express his sense of weight and balance by having one foot placed firm on the ground alternating as he is dancing. I'm pretty happy with the little robot. This was a fun one week project.

Gepetto

2009-09-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my first project for figure illustration class where we are assigned to create two portraits of our chosen protagonist and antagonist. I chose Gepetto and the Marionette Theater Director, the creator versus the captor of Pinnochio. I'm taking most of my character description and story from The Adventures of Pinnochio book and trying to stay clear of Disney's interpretation. This is a prismacolor marker and digital image. This is probably going to change, alterations based on the advice given by my instructor. Hopefully the next one will be much better.

Moist - "Resurrection"

2009-09-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is my second animation project and this time it is a rotoscoping project. I eventually chose to rotoscope a music video by Moist with their song "Resurrection" which is both a great song and a cool video. This experience was a long and grueling one in terms of the amount of work and time needed to work. I outlined every frame in the first ten seconds of the music video and because of the nature of the video it allowed me to loop the entire scene. It took over 200 frames to get ten seconds worth of animation and I don't think I really reached ten seconds. I have to say I hated the process because it was long and tedious, it requires a lot of patience. After the first 20 frames in in an hour and a half I thought I was getting somewhere, but when I looked at how much it I did, it was really only a second. from there on I knew I was in for a long night or nights. Piece of advice for everyone, buy your dvds. Don't just download movies, especially animated movies. The hell people go through to make it is intense.

The Mole from Captain Wombat

2009-09-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

This is my first real taste at animation in a long time. The last one I did was in High School and one shortly after, but nothing significant. I'm not sure how far I'd like to take animation in terms of a career but if it can be a possible future for me why not? I finished this for Kevin Kurytnik's animation class and when I actually animated it I was fighting a nasty flu. This project was pretty easy but with the flu it was a bit of a task. This is not the greatest thing I've done but I'm proud I got it finished. I'm actually happy with how it turned out.

D & D Character: Dragonborn

2009-09-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the original scan of the black ink pen and prismacolor markers, again in the nude. I felt it was even more important to draw this figure in the nude because there were a lot of things to consider in terms of deciding which parts of her were more human and which parts were more dragon.

This is what it looks like in the middle stage of integrating line work of the armor in photoshop, adding the texture and color. After this stage is complete the shadows and highlights come next.

Finally, after a slow month of trying to get this done it has finally reached its finished piece. I'll post the process in a short while. This was one of the assignments we as a group gave each other and the marker drawing was done for some time, the digital work took most of the time. Realistically it didn't take a lot of time to actually do, it was the long breaks I took watching t.v. shows that slowed me down. What can I say, I felt like slacking off a bit this summer. I'll explain the turtle. This particular Dragonborn was supposed to be a shaman as well as a warrior and I chose a turtle to be designated as her animalistic spiritual guide. So far I haven't decided on what to add that would describe her as being a shaman and the turtle clearly symbolizing her guide.

Hulk's Poker Face

2009-08-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

This attractive young man has a face fit for poker and anything else that involves intimidation. This marker sketch was done with the full figure Hulk below on the same page. I wanted get a closer look of his face. His face turned out to be slightly different from the one below and in the Hulk and Wolverine splash page. Consistency in character illustration is a tricky thing for me to successfully pull off. I still need more practice on that.

Future Hulk in The Nude

2009-08-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

When I was thinking about the look of the Hulk set in the distant future I saw him increasing in weight and his arms growing in size because of the extensive use of it over the years, I mean after so many "Hulk Smashes" there's no way you won't develop muscle scarring. I'm not exactly sure if the humps on his back representing his aged spine can anatomically workout to look that way with his given pose, but the theme for this Hulk for me was exaggeration. Markers, such an underrated medium.

Sal-Talek in The Nude

2009-08-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

As you have may have noticed there are a lot of naked people popping up. That can be the nature of character design. I'm trying to do this process so that I can understand the figure without the coverings. Once the figure is down in its entirety the clothes can be integrated much easier. So this is Sal-Talek without any photoshop. Just plain markers.

First Wolverine Sketch

2009-07-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Since I posted my first sketch of Sal-Talek in the buff I figured why not continue the trend. What we have here is my first sketch of Wolverine as an old man set in a far future which led to my earlier post of Wolverine in a pinup battling an aging Hulk. I eventually reduced to hump on Wolverine's because it did feel a bit too extreme. I didn't change it a lot though, the line would reach just below his head, I think you can see that in my other post of a wolverine sketch below. His arms are kind of like Popeye's in that they are thick and almost bulky. I liked the idea of Logan's muscles growing larger where his claws are hidden which would be his forearms so that's why they look unusually big. Originally I wanted to make him fat and old, but when I threw in the idea that Logan has reverted back to his wild side and now lives in what's left of a forest with wolves.

First Definitive Sketch of Sal-Talek

2009-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I did a few sketches of Sal-Talek before I went and did the final which included what her hands would look like. This sketch is Talek from head to toe without her armor and clothes. I mostly try to get in the habit of drawing characters in the nude, especially when the character is a completely new creation and is unfamiliar.

Freaks

2009-07-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

I did these sketches in my older sketchbook last semester during my early marker experimentation stage. I'm not sure what they are or what they were inspired from. They just came on the page after a few random strokes with the red pencil. Shapes started to form and I started to see figures, as strange as they are now.

Dr. Zeus

2009-07-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

During the first semester of third year we had a class in ACAD that pushed us to try different mediums and materials so I purchased a sketchbook with the cover and the pages recycled out of cardboard. I carried that sketchbook into another class, which I think was Figure Illustration II, I don't remember exactly, where I sketched an idea i had about a scientist who travels through time not at the speed of light, but at the speed of sound. Yes, against physics I know. I was attracted to the idea that he had a shaggy look, with a beard and hair wavy like the greek statues of Zeus, hence the name Dr. Zeus, and that he plays an electric guitar hooked up to the time machine. The jars behind him are jars of dirt he collects from different time periods and places.

First Group Project: Missouri Smith

2009-07-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

Missouri Smith is David's character which Jordan, David and I had drawn in the way we saw him based on his description. As you can see Smith is quite exact in his wardrobe choice down to the torn shirt and fedora, a true Indie fan.

The Jedi: Sal-Talek

2009-07-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm finally finished the Jedi Project! Sal-Talek is from an underwater tribe and for now her species is unknown, if you think about it no one really knows Yoda's species either so it works. I finished this piece yesterday and I'm pretty happy about the way it turned out. I'll have to see what the rest of the guys think about it and if there are any problems that can be fixed. The character was drawn and colored in markers in my sketchbook , and then was scanned and transferred to Photoshop. From there I added her attire, lightsaber and the background which was exciting and so fun to do! Making the background was great. I don't think I have it down quite right yet but with practice I should be able to develop a more convincing space scene. So this is my Jedi.

The Thing

2009-07-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

After markers became more familiar during third year I went and colored a drawing I did of the Thing and this to me was another indication that markers are an underrated medium. I want to take a stab at watercolors pretty soon, probably this summer so I'm hoping I can get a similar result in terms of handling the medium and making it feel right to me.

Wolverine Marker Sketch

2009-07-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first sketch of wolverine done with markers and technical pens. Figuring out where his hair recedes and adding liver spots on his head were just so appealing to me and from there it was easy to draw. I think I will draw him again in his attire and warpaint. I'd like a polished version of just him.

Hulk vs. Wolverine

2009-07-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

This pinup of Wolverine and Hulk was one of the summer projects we assigned each other to do. Typically for me it became a battle scene. The setting is post-apocalyptic and the guys have aged quite a bit since their glory days. Wolverine has somewhat reverted back to his wild side, dwelling in what's left of earth's forest and sporting tribal body paint which echo the design of his costume. This one was sketched and inked in my bristol sketchbook, then scanned and colored in Photoshop. This was also a piece that became an item at the Show and Sale.

Sci-Fi Gladiators

2009-07-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a gladiator scene with a science fiction twist and I was quickly reminded of the first issue of Crossgen's "Scion" and the amazing design concepts of armor forged by energy, basically force fields shaped like armor. The big kid in me said I have to draw that and I was pretty happy that I was at a point where I knew just enough about Photoshop to pull it off. There is still so much to learn in Photoshop.

This was a piece for our last project in Figure Illustration which was a crowd scene/procession. unfortunately I neglected the processional part of the project but this was a rewarding project for me. It put everything I learned in the course of a year to the test. I found that most of the things I learned, the best advice I received came from students in class, especially for this project. I worked hard on this one, and for once I was actually kind of smart about approaching this in layers, stages. Patience is truly a virtue when it comes to illustration because often times the piece doesn't look like much at the beginning, but with time it all starts to fall into place. Organizing your stages is important.

Beauty and The Beast

2009-07-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at trying to really understand the nature of Photoshop was with this piece. It was intended for an editorial illustration project at school but it didn't make the cut. This was done somewhere around February or March.

Savage Dragon

2009-07-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

I started writing a list of things I wanted to just sketch, interpret or redesign and 98% of the things listed were character design in nature. This is the first one that I had done early this summer, somewhere around April, and I wanted to touch on the coloring and line work using Photoshop. Its a similar approach to my crowd scene project which I will post soon. Savage Dragon was one of the five pieces that I had for sale as prints at the Crescent Heights Show and Sale which was fun. A good way to spend a Saturday.

Trigg

2009-07-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

This piece is an interpretation of Jordan's character for a science fiction story he is trying to develop. As a group we each gave a description of a character of our creation and drew them as we envisioned them to be. This is what I saw with Trigg's description. A 70 year-old man on a high tech battleship serving as a janitor, an unassuming old man filled with tactical experience and knowledge of the old wars who keeps to himself.

Robot in Forest

2009-07-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

I took a landscape and environments class and that was a lot of fun. I learnt a great deal and landscapes are challenging for me. I think I need to do more of them, its not my strong suit at the moment. This is a digital image done in Photoshop and was sort of rushed to meet the deadline.

Rusty and his Trusty Sloth

2009-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a sketch of the team ready for action. As you probably noticed, I am a fan of the prismacolor markers. Most of my sketches to date are colored in prismacolor.

The Villain from China

2009-07-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

It was for a pulp fiction project. Cheesy and stereotypical was the name of the game. This is Captain Rusty's villain.

Rusty's Trusty Sloth

2009-07-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here is Rusty's faithful pet.

2009-07-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

These are variations of Captain Rusty which was drawn before the sketch below.

Captain Rusty

2009-07-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

This was one of a few prismacolor marker explorations in my sketchbook for a school project. This was a fun sketch. When Tom Rhodes had instructed me on the way he utilizes the markers I was suddenly so much happier with my sketches and my sketchbook had finally become a place for my imagination to expand. Its still a work in progress but I'm enjoying the markers a lot.