Challenge Accepted!

I have long been aware of CGHub.com, but with all the other sites I have been trying to maintain I thought it best not to start yet ANOTHER profile that I would not be able to keep up efficiently. However, this week's Character Forge 2D Challenge was to hard to resist, thus I now have a CGHub account if anyone cares to check in on my activity there. I plan to just use it for challenges and I may or may not post my entries elsewhere - so definitely worth a peek every now and then!! Hope to see you there! : )


EDIT: Okay...so did not realize the deadline for this challenge was so soon. I have been working at it, but I don't think I'm going to have a decent finish by noon this Saturday. I'll post my finished piece on my CGHub account when I do get it done. 

Xi Shi

 

The next Ancient Beauty of the series - Xi Shi with imitation coy (since she was so beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink ;p). Might take a break before I finish the last two - to work on another portfolio piece since a workable composition finally came to me while at work today. Thank goodness it was truck day so I had ALL the cigarette boxes to break down and sketch thumbnails on...hey, it's better than drawing all over the receipt tape. lol...sigh -_- 

Wang Zhaojun

AhHa! Another update!! This is a revamp of Wang Zhaojun and a fanciful bird of paradise (since she was so beautiful that birds dropped dead from shame ;p). Stylistically I wanted it to be recognizable as something I would do and find visually appealing - but I more heavily referenced a different set of artists than I normally do in an attempt to start experimenting a bit more, pushing those style boundaries, etc.

Honestly I was most influenced by a set of prints that I purchased at CTN this year by Liana Hee of four geisha. I was drawn to them for several reasons, but most importantly because they are ATTRACTIVE. When I say they are attractive I mean that their simple shape language reads clearly, tells four individual stories that are cohesive as a set and they possess a certain charm that makes smiling irresistible. I hope that as I revamp the other three Beauties of China that I can also make them as attractive as Liana's geisha are. : )

Post CTN Surge

So. CTN was awesome. I saw many familiar faces, had the opportunity to speak with more artists that I admire (And purchase their lovely books and prints), sat in on many informative/amusing panels (Glen Keane's talk was totally worth the two hour wait in the rain and following cold), got a lot of promising feedback on my portfolio, and a few job leads - which means a portfolio revamp!

And thus...the above came into being.
Basically, I wanted to explore a character I had already created - still arguably the strongest in my existing portfolio - and give her the long awaited companion she's always blubbering about: Silvio!  (There is a specific sound that accompanies this piece in my head...something along the lines of a horse's whinny...because I think they are that deranged). The idea of Clarice and Silvio in the Comedia Del Arte "A Servant of Two Masters" is that they are more in love with the idea of being in love than with each other. It is a young, idealized love that makes them rather foolish and prone to extreme reactions (My favorite lines in the play being Silvio: I love you with all my heart! Clarice: Yeah? Well, I hate you with all my...SPLEEN) and other riddiculous-ness-es. Here I pictured them falling head over heels in their remedial love. Fun times.

More exciting stuff to come soon!! : )

Quick Update!!

Sorry there's no art with this one - thus I'll make it brief. I now have a Behance Portfolio and will update whenever I can!! http://www.behance.net/gallery/Square-One/5821045  Hope to see you there! : D

More From Kit's Class

Another spare moment to post so here are the first two projects from Kit's Character Design Class: The Historical Costumes and the Yourself as a Super Villain. One might recognize Konstantin and Yelizaveta from a previous post - though with some modifications. In regards to the Evil Me, I thought about habits I would NEVER have (EWW SMOKING >P) and sought out a period of time and space in which I would have fun researching after the last project. My evil power is related to xenoglossy and clairaudience - I can speak in tongues or any other language and don't have to speak aloud to be heard - I get into your head and muck things up basically. My minions/victims are basically reduced to schizophrenia or other dissociative disorders and I get a good laugh out of how fun it is. I thought in that time of great excess I would delight in going over the top. 

Anyways, I hope to get around to coloring these in the next couple weeks when I get the chance. We'll see if time allows.

Treasures of Middle Earth Contest

Hello anyone who reads this! I have been quite busy, but I have somehow managed to find time to post this: my submission for the Treasures of Middle Earth Contest. I am mostly pleased with how it came out, though will admit there is much room for improvement. Honestly, I don't recall Galadriel being in The Hobbit, but since she made it into the upcoming films she was fair game. If you have time to vote, please do so at http://www.thehobbitdesigncontest.com/gallery/characters. I - and everyone else who entered - would be thrilled that you took the time to show us your support!!

Just in Time

Argh! I have been so busy that I was beginning to worry I wouldn't get a chance to post this month...let alone have anything to post. Have been working two jobs, neither of which I am particularly fond of nor will cover upcoming expenses, and started refocusing on the portfolio for CTN. (Got my ticket and am so excited!!) Also decided to start a contest entry, try a digital master copy, and "unofficially" audit a class that was already 3-4 weeks in.
> <
So here are two still unfinished characters for Kit's first project that I hope to finish this weekend. I have dubbed them Konstantin and Yelizaveta. Their attire is Russian circa 1905 and the idea (Besides researching accurate costumes of the time) was to separate the two characters by age, social rank and gender. So hopefully they read as a younger man of lower economic status and an older woman of nobility. I'll admit I was mainly drawn to her hat (kokoshnik) and listened to the sound track of Fiddler on the Roof. ^^

This is only part 1 of 3 in the assignment, so it's safe to expect at least four more characters along these lines (In pairs) as well as the exercises that I missed at the start of the course.

So much to do. So little time. Guess I should get back to work. Cheers!

Ximena Redesign

 I have decided at this point that if I'm feeling inspired one-way-or-another I should just run with it instead of frustrating myself and getting nothing done. I mean this strictly in terms of my personal work obviously. Thus said, I felt energized to pick up a pencil and work on Ximena's redesign...not the ASUBB pages that I told myself would get done this week. (It's still early, who knows - they might still manifest?) The result being the above as opposed to no post at all. Having something to show is better than having nothing (well...I suppose guilt and frustration aren't nothing, but it's harder to show them unless abstractly and I don't fancy abstract art).
I'll start Gregorio here pretty soon. He's being a bit more stubborn. Silly boys always are.

Taste Test Round II

 

Ah Ha! The last taste test before I start posting pages regularly - a little ways off now that I have a tighter schedule, but still closer than I was before. ^^ I struggled a bit with the visual content of this page, whether or not I should just jump into the action or not, and decided for pacing purposes that this was best. Who is this woman? What impact does she have on this story? More than you would imagine - but you'll have to follow along to find out!!

Learning ALL The Things!

 So...I randomly decided to learn Trimble/Google SketchUp because why not...and this was my first attempt at an interior. Saori's Tea Room. It took me a couple afternoons, mostly because I fussed over that table which I already want to change for so long. The only things in there I didn't build from scratch were the tea set and the chairs because at that point I was ready to try different things. And the "paint" job was just the default swatches since I was just experimenting. I wanted to take it into DAZ to light it before truly painting it in Photoshop, but then found out that I needed the non-free version to have that feature...or find the plugin elsewhere. I have the plugin now, so maybe so I'll get around to finishing this...but WAIT I've already started a new model!!

So here it is in Top view with the perspective turned off. (One may or may not catch that this is more directly related to the project I'm working on now) I found saving out a quick flat allowed me to map it in Photoshop super easy. No graph paper involved! And I guess, as is, it is a rather boring layout to look at, very symmetrical and lots of straight lines. But that works for the inhabitants. They are very unimaginative, paranoid, unwavering people...sans the eldest son. Anyways, pulling this one into 3 dimensions has taken a couple days at least because of scale and detail. I started in the kitchens on that fireplace and went on from there, still periodically working on it since it's helpful in staging scenes more accurately, but am now back to what I really need to be getting done.

PS. SketchUp - You have taken much frustration and wasted resources/time out of my environments. Considering that I've only had you for about a week now...well, I just wanted to say Thank You. I'm sure our future together will be happy and productive. You're awesome. Cheers!

Shall We Play A Game?

Aha! Proof that I have been quite busy. While I haven't reached my goal of posting some serious stuffs now, I have made much progress - in compiling a more thorough Style Guide, some quick character redesigns, mixing various digital palettes (Why didn't I do this earlier??), finding mean-time employment, taking a weekend trip to visit family (Not mine, but I love them as if they were), etc.

Anyways, I guess I do have a sneak peek at what I'm working on...

Anyone recognize this guy? This is a relatively-fast color study of his redesign. I wasn't trying for a render, but I did try to push it further in regards to edge control and general presentation. One small step for Beki. One giant leap for Raul's patience. : )

Agricultural Classroom

Here is a layout I did to better understand perspective and size/spacial relationships in an interior setting. It is a conservatory-type room where students would come to learn botany, etc. I drew most of my inspiration from Moorish Architecture.
The marginal notes were mostly cut off, but they detail and explain areas such as the entry room in the far back where students would change shoes and leave their bags; the practical demonstration table upstairs; the storage room below; the lecture area; the gated planter space that is irrigated by the fountain (which draws its water from an outside reserve) and channels that span the tiled floor; etc.
As a sketch it is still relatively loose and there is much more that I need to consider in regards to available technology and materials before I venture forth in rendering a scene in this location.

Spanning the *Imaginary* Globe

I've been struggling a bit for the last week or so to better understand and become more confident in certain artistic areas that I realized were sadly lacking. I wouldn't say I'm totally uncomfortable or purposefully avoid them...since I have found several earnest attempts when searching through past work that aren't too ghastly...I just don't feel like my skills there are as strong as in others. Plenty of time to fix that now since it will effect other working projects soon.

Anyways, pulled this from the game pitch I did as a supplement to the very last project in Comp. Illustration II. It's a manipulated photograph of a 3D map I did a while back, NOT for school, when I was really bored - made out of folded paper and LOTS of tissue paper/tape and careful application of acrylics...hmmm, now that I look at it, this was before I added the moss-tree/forests in the greener areas. The highest mountains are probably 1-2inches above the sea level which is the wood base.
As I was so bored when starting this map, there exists documents figuring out the plate tectonics that would cause such features, weather patterns for each region, political distinctions, general flora/fauna - though I didn't get to sketching out some of those creatures before the next semester started - and an outline for a Creation Myth/Pantheon. Yeah...I was really bored...I probably watched all three LOTR movies four times with each set of audio commentary in the process. Good times.

Primghar

Layout for the village of Primghar in AS:UBB. Small, quiet place that's tucked a little ways off the main road between Caza/Winzor and Adenbrooke (Aberdene). More history listed in the brief description included. I guess reminiscent of the idea I have of the small town I grew up in, though now when I pass through my small town - well, it's not so small anymore.

Diva's Chambers

Clarice's room, where the diva bounces around and probably sings silly pop songs all the time, out of key and at the top of her lungs, while trying to be all dramatically mopy because of the equally ridiculous behaviors of her boyfriend, Silvio. I feel like she should have more...I don't know...stuff, but at the time I was more concerned with getting the perspective right and the light patterns to make sense. Big leap forward I think considering where I started, but there's still a lot of room for growth - on that note, back to work!! : D

ASUBB: Insect Sketches

A random sampling of slightly older sketches from ASUBB while I keep working on the final output. All the kids in their party clothes plus Mama and Papa Fa Floridian looking grumpy as always. I feel like my feet are dragging on this one, which is very unfortunate, but I still aim to have a large enough buffer so I can start posting pages at the end of July. I guess that means it's time to stop commenting here and get back to work!

The Last Cat and Some Sequentials

 So here is the finished cat. He's more of a spirit, vanishing like the Cheshire Cat of Alice's Wonderland, a psychopomp who guides the spirits of the dead to the next plane/life. I toned down the Dia de los Muertos theme on the black jaguar, but really wanted to keep the bow tie because I imagine him to be a little playful, a little mischievous while he goes about heralding peoples. I'm tempted to name him Felix.

Below are a couple storyboards: The first is the Angelic War which features the designs I did for Michael and Lucifer. The second is the Public Service announcement that features Katherine and Owl. Obviously one has a more serious tone than the other. (I am not advocating any particular religious belief, nor is this what I believe actually happened, just ran with the story in a way that I thought would be most visually interesting) I enjoyed the challenge of them both. ^^

Still plugging away on story completion. Last 2 weeks worked strictly on portfolio to submit to Dream Job and sent it off this morning...nervous, anxious, excited, hopeful, only somewhat confident. All out of my hands now so back to working on the stories and local job hunt. Enjoyed going to Denver ComicCon, much bigger than I anticipated but not yet as impressive as Armageddon was in New Zealand, especially when it came to the COSplayers. (Thank you, Raul, for going with me even though I know you didn't want to be in those crowds any more than I did) Kudos to all the awesome artists who showed! If I'm still in Denver this time next year I'll see what I can do about getting a booth too. As a last note, I just wanted to say that I'm super excited for Pixar's Brave coming out soon - can't wait to see it!!!

 

No More Cats Please

So...I'm starting to get tired of drawing so many cats. I definitely think it helped me understand the cat: understand how it moves and emotes, how far I can stretch it before it breaks into a monkey, etc. There might be one more posting involving cats - just the finished one left - but for right now I'm taking a break and drawing something else.

Cat Crazy

Oh my goodness, more cats! You'd think I was some sort of Cat-Lady at this point...but it's just more practice trying to find this new character. Almost got it!!

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

Working on portfolio pieces and noticed that I don't have much in the way of animal characters, so I thought I'd try to fix that by the end of this week. Had no idea what I wanted to do, so took Raul's suggestion of CAT and ran with it. Started by drawing some studies from W. Ellenberger, D. Dittrich and H. Baum's Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists and sketching from photos I took at Auckland Zoo and found by googling just to get the idea of how the kitty worked before I started playing with shapes, etc. More pages to come as I wrap up kitty today/tomorrow. Good stuffs.

Oh yeah...I was going to post this too.

So I was going to post this much earlier in May, but I forgot and now here it is. Ta da!