Flying Through

more dumping

2011-02-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

I guess it's also worth noting that I've got a tumblr which I update a whole lot more often than my blog. However, I post more than just art there (inspirations, artsy musings, etc.).

Dump!

2011-01-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

/semester

2010-11-08T21:45:00.001-08:00

Over a month of working on these, they're finally done!

My work for this semester is now complete!
I have to go collapse now.

School Life Bluuurrr

2010-11-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

So, seeing as my last update here was in September, I think it's safe to say school has been occupying all my time. But in a good way :] I've been able to work on my own personal projects for my studio practice, and it's been going smoothly. I'm almost done the seven portraits, and have typed enough about the world of Pontis to include in a process book I'd like to turn in with the artist statement paper I need to have completed before the end of the semester :] That aside, it's all been good!

Here, have some sketches, a sprite, and a WIP:

Portraits!

2010-09-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

So, school has begun and I've hit the ground running. Being a fourth year painting major, I've decided to dedicate my entire fourth year studio practice to my project, The Soothsayer of Pontis--no surprise there. The surprise lies in the fact that my instructors have given me the go ahead and approval to do this! Being a digital illustrator in a fine art major in ACAD is...something of a novelty. The instructors often don't know what to do with me, but at the very least, they do seem to enjoy what I do! I'm the only artist in the big white studio space doing figurative work... At least I get kudos for being 'breaking the mold' in the fine art department. Which has a sweet sort of irony to is when everyone else seems to thing non-representational abstraction is so bold and 'avant garde'. I appreciate it, but it's hard to be refreshing with your work when everyone else is doing very similar things for very similar reasons, with very similar influences. At first, I was really unhappy being a fish out of water, and pined deeply for the VisComm majors. However, in Fine Art, I've nestled myself into a very comfortable niche which no other classmates have been able to come close to. Anyone else who's started to dabbel in similar mediums with illustrative narratives seem to be immediately compared to me and my work by instructors, and this is a very good place to be. It's good to be 'first'. But it's especially good to have such open minded, supportive instructors--especially with the existence of such strong contentious rivalries between the fine art and VC departments. The painting department has been very accommodating for me and my practice (to the point that I even have a school monitor installed in my studio space! Which is apparently a first for a painting major.)

These first few weeks of school have set a very fabulous pace for the rest of the year, and I hope to continue running with it.

Anyways, enough banter! I've been spending all my time working on these portraits as a way to introduce the entire Pontis cast: Here's the sketches and the flats. Tomorrow, I start painting them up!

I hope everyone else is doing well! :] Cheers!

Progresso

2010-09-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

I tried to paint something that didn't involve a character's face. That owl seriously does not count.

Some progress shots if that's what you dig:

I wished I had more WIP shot of the room being painted. But I kinda plowed through it and failed to save any jpgs of the progress as I went along :T sorry about that.

More stuff and stuff

2010-08-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling pretty "blah" in terms of art lately. Just in time for school to start up again. Convenient. Though, I know once I get back into the college atmosphere, my mojo will get a healthy kick-start.
Irregardless, have some painting and sketches!

The last six are sketch commissions--characters aren't mine :]

Fabel's End

2010-08-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

Here we are, another finished piece to toss up here!

I know his expression isn't exactly befitting to his grizzly situation... I came to fully realize this by the time the background was complete, but continued to finish the image regardless.
Perhaps he's just been caught wondering as to whether or not he left the stove on.

Here are two progress shots, if that tickles your fancy:

I'm glad I nix'd that globe :/

SwanSong

2010-07-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

So, some more artwork I suppose!

Tried a few small things, but nothing entirely novel. Mostly, I just mucked around with coloring the linework.
Here's a section at 100% for kicks:

Aaand here, have a sketch or two!

I like em a little older.

2010-07-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Have some more Julian, because I don't think your sick enough of this guy yet:

T'was a quickie done in a couple of hours for fun. I'm not normally thrilled with 'realistic' images when I see them, especially portraiture--but they are fun and easy to paint.

doodlebook

2010-07-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

Ohai!
I've been sketching. A lot.
Despite having sprained my right thumb rather severely. I grit my teeth and take the pain, YES.
Here's a few sketches now!

With those last couple of sketches marks the start of a rather long, perilous journey towards finding a comfortable style that's more removed from realism than when I had until now. A 'semi-realistic' style is nice, but it's not what I want. Also, like the 'anime/manga' genre of art, it's becoming harder and harder to distinguish yourself as an independent artist when you focus on a 'style' so heavily based off real life.
Being able to draw true to life is an absolutely important skill to have before any successful stylization can occur, certainly.

However, as an illustrator trying to tell a story with my characters and artwork, I find a style that clings so heavily to realistic form is restrictive. It's more difficult to get away with exaggerations that would otherwise succeed in better telling the story, and perhaps that's what bothers me most. I crave something slightly more whimsical, while still echoing confidently my foundations when it comes to drawing true to life.
We'll see where it takes me. I just know I want to break away from the constraints of realism and away from that unfortunate stylistic 'uncanny valley' I was stuck in due to my indecisiveness as to whether I wanted to go more realistic in my approach, or into something more stylized.

Now, I am absolutely certain as to what direction I want to go in. I just need to find a shoe that fits.

Lotsa Spaghetti!

2010-06-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

So, exciting things happened. I entered an art contest. I never enter art contests as I get way too obsessive compulsive, and too competitiiive. However, this one was a blast, and it was a collaboration!

Entrants were required to depict themselves as a character from alice in wonderland.
I conceptualized and drew the image, and a good friend of mine Pencakes colored most of it, and during the last sprint, we were BOTH painting the image at the same time just so we could beat the deadline hahaha. While she was hustling trying to finish one part of the image, I was working on an older merged, fullsized WIP scrambling to finish other small things on a separate layer. Eventually, she sent me a jpeg with all her finished work, and I dumped it into the psd with all my finish work, Voila! Completed image and I got it submitted to DA with merely two minutes left before the deadline.
Shit was crazay. But I think we came out with a pretty decent result!

In the mean time, I've barely made any progress on this piece:

But it's getting there haha! I do believe there needs to be more framing elements...

This fate could have been avoided if Mandy had a sassy gay friend...

2010-05-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Both of these are collaborations with Hunter. She sketched them up, and now I'm coloring em 8) Julian (left) is complete, but Mana (right)--I'm still working away on her! Fun fun under the sun.

In other news, more mushy stuff:

Awwwight. Lots of red. Red's been my color, lately, I suppose.

It's a love/hate thing.

2010-05-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Mana and Julian are my favorites, haha!

It's the most demented relationship I've ever written. Long story short, he's incompetent and she wants to kill him for it. Where's the romantic chemistry in that? IT'S A MYSTERY.
This is why I can't write romance novels. Ever, ever, ever.

Well, finally.

2010-05-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

Huuuughsdfkgjhsdfsdas

Yes...I think it's done.
Truly, there must be a more efficient way to make paintings like this...

Here, have some progress shots!

icons abound!

2010-05-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

so...there's a few here.

All but one of these were done as commissions. I think I'm icon-exhausted. I've got three more to do before I'm free of them, though! haha!

Sean is fully responsible for some of these!

Disturbing Proportions

2010-05-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know what these are--but there are now two!

They're kind of ridiculous and creepy.
...There needs to be...more.
I will make...more.

I can't believe it's not butter!

2010-05-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! And welcome to my blogspot. The blog I apparently had for two years prior to this post. I went through the whole "making a new account" procedure, and all it did after I went through the trouble of that--was log me in. I was editing my profile, and was kind of wierded out when it already knew my interests, education, hobbies, and even had a short bio...creepy blogspot.

So, I'm absolutely horrid at keeping up with these journals....for some reason. Which is weird, because my online presence is normally so...good! But alas. These journals seem to escape me.

I suppose I might as well kick this off by posting some sketches and quick things, followed by a current WIP. Because this is an art blog, you see.
So--alright, doing that, then.

Some character sketches for a small story arch I'll be working on for Sean K. Dunkley. It's about sky pirates and such. From left to right, we have Starling, Lark, and Wren :]

Some Artist Trading Cards for a couple of fine folks in an exchange group I'm a part of. These little guys are done in acrylic ink, and are 2.5" x 3.5". All the characters belong to their respective owners, of course.

This here was something I did up in about four(ish) hours. A lot of my work is very character oriented, and I don't actually want to be that artist that just does busts or waist-up portraits of characters doing boring things with some kind of secondary, unimportant background slapped in behind them. This was my first step towards breaking that habit--consequently also my first 'matte' painting of sorts. The Merchant's Republic of Pontis!

And this sketchy little thing here is my current work in progress. Hopefully it'll look sharp and colorful upon completion....

Yay, my first post! Lets see if I can keep this up.