New Workspace!! (One of which I should've been doing ages ago...)

Well, I figure it was time to try out somethin' new with the Cintiq. Because it's like a true widescreen format horizontally, it really makes it harder to draw because I'm working out of my preset comfort zone. Normally, most people draw on a paper in the portrait format, so I figure, "hey, why not try that on my Cintiq?". Good thing I can rotate the screen format. 

This is my setup now. As you can see, I have the Cintiq in portrait format. (I was reading a few forums and one gal said that's how she uses hers, I wanted to try it out and-- ) LOW AND BEHOLD, it feels so much more natural now. And the overall viewing angle is much better because you can really see more of what you drawing, even when you're zoomed in close. I was contemplating selling my 12inch for the 21, but now that I've done this, I don't think I need to entertain the thought anymore. (Still, the 21incher isn't bad at all so....)

So working out the layout of my workspace (especially in Photoshop) is gonna take some getting used to. So far I have a pretty good setup.

That's how my main workspace looks. I have all the File Menus mapped to my stylus buttons, so no need for constantly looking at the other screen (something of which I can't stand doing, especially being used to the default PS workspace format for the past 14-15 years...) And even more thankfully enough, CS3 and CS4 got the lil' icon-to-expand window thang going on, so I have my layers, brushes and can put some other stuff around the edges, and expand like so...

I think my life has just gotten a bit less complicating now. :)

Check the Mai out!

Another Girl

Here's a lineart commission I've done recently. 

I think I, for now on, will post all sketches, lineart, and random stuff only on my blog, and keep all the finished work on my dA page.

This was sketched on regular thumbnail paper and scanned and lined in Sketchbook Pro 2010.

Still Trying!

Getting the hang of this technique. :)

WOOOOOOOT!

Still Playing Around with Techniques

Hey guys, I'm still trying to keep this sitr updated. I have so much on my plate, albeit good stuff, but busy nonetheless.

I asked some other friends about the previous tech I was going for, but they weren't feeling it as well as I. Reason being because I was trying to start a whole different way, one of which I'm not even used to.

Noticing the fail and coming to conclusion that I will never most likely be able to truly PAINT digitally, I do know how to work Photoshop, and I can ACHIEVE the effect by using my existing style/technique. And I like it.  Without even really "painting". I wouldn't call this cheating, as it's work as well. It's just that I can't grasp painting and I have so much respect for people who can.

Well, I'm gonna keep trying things out.

Exploration

Yes, it's been a while. Had a pretty busy week and a half - I got the job by the way. :D I'll explain more in my dA journal.

First is a Lara Croft sketch I did on my last night at my previous job. I was just playing around with the rendering more, since I seldom attempt to do tight rendering like so. I used a 0.5 HB and 4H pencils altogether.

The second is a quick sketch study that I always wanted to try. I want to get into different rendering styles and such, focusing more on painting - because I don't have to focus so much on the quality of the line work and tedious flatting. 

I know it isn't anything great, as I rushed a lot of things (hair highlights, etc.), but I was just playing around with coloring over the line art (or using the line art as a guide lightly). This is highly influenced by Krenz's style. I always wanted to try a rendering style like his, and I know it's no where near like his finished stuff, but I kinda deciphered how he goes about doing it. Gonna keep playing around and see what I can dig up. :)

Wondrous Prisoner

Hey, a quick post today. A new Wonder Woman I sketched at work last night. I really didn't have any time to scan this one. Or the Cody sketches as well. But, figure I post 'em all the same to keep with my daily goal. These were done with no ref, from the top of the head. I might use that Wonder Woman later on... See ya tomorrow!

Oh, by the way -- been reading the reviews for Mario Galaxy 2.... I NEED THAT GAME!

Sketchbook Stuff

My wife's family dog, Tails, was put to sleep after 17 years of loyalty today. 'Tis a bittersweet day for us.

These are some sketches I managed to work up last night. Started to play around with different dynamic figures. All of these are from the head, as usual. I think I need to start studying from various references now. Warning: There are few character cameos in this post, by the way.

Until Next Time. :)

Sketchbook Stuff

I'm getting closer to my goal, each and every day. :)

Cyclops!

Did a 10 minute Jam with Kat earlier, and I picked Cyclops. The actual finished-at-time drawing can be seen here. Here's the touched up version, as I forgot pouches and wanted to add some more shading to it.

Power's Back - Powered Up.

Here's some samples of the sketchbook stuff I've been doing while power was out. Nothing great, just some figures off the head and gesture drawings. These were done in pen, by the way. Just uppin' my fluidity.

I also managed to draw Rogue from Power Stone with no reference too. I'm amazed at how much of her design I remembered. Power Stone had such amazing designs. Gonna draw some other Power Stone characters, methinks. :)

Power's back on obviously, or else you wouldn't be seeing these now- now to clean out the fridge. TT____TT

Making Negative Situations Positive

Well, returning from work yesterday, I was very excited and ready to break my artistic block, only to have my power cut off by the great tyrannical power company.

For starters, I would say that I'm what they call literally a 'starving artist'. My wife and I have practically been struggling, and I tend to not tell people and I usually keep things to myself- even possessing a positive demeanor when everything is falling down around me.

Deep down inside, I'm really a negative person to myself. I need to start seriously staying positive, even though I fake it.

I have a new job interview today (it's crazy how those things are so hard to obtain nowadays) and hopefully it'll put us above water if I get said job. I'm hoping and praying right now. It's to the extent where we're scraping for money, just to make the rent and stuff, only to be stabbed by another bill. I tend to always get the short end of the stick with job related matters, and it sucks. I would even say this is happening so much, that I'm getting a bit callous of the after effects from it. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, though.

But making this positive, I'm still going to draw while I can. Having no power will help with having no distractions. So I guess that's good.

Wish me the best on this interview today, guys.

PS. I'm writing this through my phone, btw. :)

Sketchbook Stuff, Part 1 of I Don't Know How Many...

So, since I promised that I will not neglect this blog and put more stuff up that I won't pertain to dA, I figure I'd stick to my word.

Nothing special to the right other than just being some figure sketches. I have a lot more to put up here, but I'm going to start posting mass figure studies here and there. This is pretty much boring, whacked-out randomness going that I sketched at work.

I really want to up my gesture sketching, as I've been neglecting doing that for a while; y'know, being pent up with the stress and all. I find doing gestures to be a tad bit stress relieving, and it keeps the gears oiled. I don't like coming back from a 1-2 week long hiatus from the table, only to feel rusty as a car that's not garage-kept for decades.

So I've been reading a few blogs that talks about staying productive artistically, especially the guys at The Art Center, who have amounts of ideas and tons of inspiration seeping daily. But I need to get back to being as loosey goosey like they, are not to be so hung up on details.

Next is a Batgirl sketch I did over the course of a couple of days. My rendering completely sucks now, but I really want to get back into doing it. Just gotta remember to not smudge and buy me a can of Fixative so they don't mess up.

I might sell this original later on, we'll see.

And lastly for this post, are some spontaneous mermaid gals.  I like drawing Mermaids. ^___^ But I'm not a fruitcake. *seriousface*




That's it for now. PEACE.

PS. I noticed I write WAYY too much in my blog posts.... >______>

Getting Out Of Line

Well, I really wanna start making my own personal lil flair and niche. I've been doing some ink/line tests again with Sketchbook Pro.

I really want to get rid of the perfectionist attitude, trying to treat my linework all perfect and whatnot. I'm just gonna draw them in a whatever fashion. I like the outcome of it, so I think I'm gonna stick with it. It's good to have multiple avenues of lining work anyway, methinks.

I like the sketchy look that I managed to keep intact. Lining in SBPro pushes me to "sketch" my lines, something I fail to do with a pencil or pen (I actually have to be more cautious, careful, and have a steady arm when I line that way.

The other plus side to this is that it'll take significantly lesser time to flat when I color. I'm a fan of color holding my lines, so emphasis won't have to be put on lasso'ing right outside the lines and whatnot when flatting, which can be painstakingly tedious and boring.

All in all, expect some personal changes to my work. Sometimes. :)

Marveled Out

Okay, so I went to see Iron Man 2 earlier today. Feels good to get out of the house and just chill for a couple of hours in a theater. I haven't read any reviews before seeing it, but all in all, I was happy AND impressed with it. I consider the Iron Man franchise to be my 3rd favorite Marvel franchise (Spiderman is my 1st and X-Men is my 2nd, albeit the X-Men/Wolverine movies are considered horrible to me, I rather stick to the comics - I was a BIG "Uncanny" fan growing up).

Despite my few direct hits towards Superheroes and mainstream comics in my comments and stuff, I really don't have a big disdain for the genre as most people think. All in all, I DID grow up on Marvel and DC before even seeing anything from the Orient. I have to say it was the reason that kept me drawing until I met the proper motivation (the Japanese style). I used to create superheroes of my own when I was a kid (in which are terrible designs I would consider nowadays, but we all have a majority of horrible designs when we were kids, so that doesn't really matter), and I enjoyed creating them. So I'm not all mean-faced towards superhero stuff. It's just I find it boring to draw most of the time now.

But I'm starting to get back into it, now that there's been a few things recently that are re-sparking my interest. Marvel VS. Capcom 3 is coming next year, so that's giving me the umph to get back into 'em. I picked up the Ultimates TPBs a few months back, and after reading them, I've been spiked from them. And there have been also a few figures that have been sparking my interest, since I'm an aspiring statue collector.

I REALLY want this Dark Phoenix statue that's coming out later in August this year. I mean, just look at her. Awesomesauce. I always loved the idea of combining the East with the West, and this is no exception to the rule. They also have a regular Phoenix too, but the Dark version just looks much more hardcore.This WILL be among my collection.

Speaking of Iron Man 2, the same company recently released this Mark IV statue, that I MUST get. This one really made my eyes light up (both figuratively and literally, as he got the LED lights to prove it). It's over a hundred bucks, but hopefully, when I get back on my feet, I'll be able to grab him.

(They're also running a Japanese-esque Black Widow that's been out a while that I've been wanting to get as well.)

Figures aside, this has motivated me to start trying my hand in combining styles. I really want to get back into drawing heroes again, maybe these recent surges of events can help me in doing so. :)

I'm a Perfectionist! :s

Don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, but I recently posted this discussion on my Twitter. I found out that I'm a strict perfectionist, and that's the reason why I go into those episodes of always feeling that I'm not good enough or when something goes wrong, I blame myself, accusing myself of being stupid, inferior, and unworthy. It's just something that I really need to put a check on.

I always used to think that I'd never strive to be a perfectionist, but it's coming out one way or the other. This type of thinking not only manifests itself in my art, but also my thoughts throughout life in general.

I even took a test to see if it was true or not, and it states my perfectionism is on a scale of 69/100, which may not seem bad, but I feel that its higher in the sense that I'm always a downer about my work and other stuff.

The test explained this:

"Perfectionism can be a healthy quality that drives a person to try his/her best and to make the effort to excel. Some people, however, take the strive for perfection too far...and there is a price to pay. Extreme perfectionists are forever dissatisfied; they can never fulfill their own expectations so, in their own eyes, they are always failures. Chronic perfectionism is driven by deep-seated feelings of inferiority and self-hate, and by nature it reinforces a negative self-image. Performing tasks or fulfilling goals becomes intimidating and unpleasant, since the perfectionist knows deep down that the finished product will never meet his/her expectations. So the perfectionist might have problems with procrastination. Perfectionism, then, can become a double-edged sword - the perfectionist is driven by a desire to succeed, as well as a fear of failure which leaves him/her paralyzed. 

In all realms, striving for excellence can be beneficial and lead to a fulfilling professional and personal life. Accepting nothing less than excellence, on the other hand, can be emotionally scarring."

I think my level falls near the "chronic category". I do tend to procrastinate for this reason, always feeling my output will never reach the desired goal. 

The test results explained this afterwards:

"According to this test, you have some perfectionist tendencies that may be making you unnecessarily unhappy. You sometimes set high standards that are difficult to meet; either you impose those expectations on yourself, others, or a combination of the two. You may even think that others expect you to be perfect. While a desire to do your very best and strive to reach your full potential can bring you personal fulfillment, you have to learn when good is 'good enough'. It's important that you strengthen your ability to distinguish between reasonable aspirations and unrealistic demands. When you set unattainable objectives, you are being cruel to yourself and denying yourself the rewards and self-acceptance that you deserve."

I guess I need to work towards canning these feelings. I thought it was just something wrong with me, but I'm glad I'm finding the reason of my sporadic episodes of guilt, blame, and total unworth. 

This is not a sad post, as I'm glad I found the method to my madness, and will work on correcting it now. :)

A Link to the Past...

But this has nothing to do with Zelda. -____-

I figure I put some older stuff I found on my old computer. Nothing too special, just a filler post.

This is just a WIP of the Brave Fencer Musashi piece I did a couple of years back. I figure it was interesting to show this because I was totally heading in a different direction at the beginning of the piece. It also shows my horrible composition skills at the time. (I'm still not all that impressed with my current composition skills, but hey, I'm still learning. :) )  Since this was my first outing on doing everything completely digital, it was also a handicap for me as well, as laying out on computer is totally different than pencil and paper. But all in all, it was a milestone for me, and I still like the piece- despite it's horrible composition. XD

That's all for today. Just a look-in-the-past-and-realize-how-much-more-you-sucked-back-then-compared-to-how-much-you-suck-today post. ^___^

Stay frosty, folks! 

I Know I Got The Talent, so...

...why can't I get anywhere?

I turned 24 today, and I was just thinking... it seems like I'm wasting so much time. Yeah I'm young but, time is time. :|

Maybe because I probably can never find time to make a portfolio for a pitch. I'm always drawing things for everyone else (i.e. commissions and clientele) and can never find time to put my own resume-stuff together. And it sucks because I know I can do most of the staff that people in the industry does, but I'm always stuck drawing one-pieced characters, nothing elaborate that can drive my portfolio, no time for drawing a sequential excerpt, etc.

And the biggest thing that sucks is that I can't afford to work on that stuff. I need commissions to help me keep bread on the table. The Job market (part-time, even) is just getting straight nasty out there, and it's not helping that my regular job is kinda hinting at the "ok, so we keep taking days off your schedule; get up and leave already" mentality.

I know this is hurting me, when my gallery is comprised of the same rinse-and-repeat thing on almost every single piece. I have no time and at the end of the day, energy, to work towards putting together a solid portfolio. This is why I never get my hopes up anymore with anything.

There just has to be something that can change soon. :(

Just when you think you got it down...

...You don't.

Well, that's the typical scenario for learning artists; you never really can get something down, even if you at first believe you did. I, too, fall under that category.

Everyone may dig my work and all, but essentially, I'm an amateur. I'm still learning, still grasping new concepts, ideas, and fundamentals. I do take what I learn seriously, always applying and taking it to action. However, one may become so used to doing things a lot, that things can end up becoming dull, bland, and blunt. Think of it like a sword; you can be a skilled swordsman, but if you don't take it to the blacksmith every now and then, your strikes won't do NEARLY as much damage as a nice sharp one. That's how I feel.

Earlier today, I ran across something that made me realize I need to hit the "blacksmith" up. It was an older work I was hired to do, and I, in turn, subconsciously didn't make the connection of what I needed to correct that the client expressed concern about. Long story shortened, I now realize what his concern was. Why did I pass it off? Beats me, but maybe because I was swinging that "blunt sword". I was caught up in the thought of owning a "sword" rather than keeping it "sharp".

I'm speaking figuratively because it's the best way I can show how I feel about this. It also brings humility into play.

I can say, "I see myself as a humble guy", but what is humility if you're 'labeling' yourself as humble? That's kinda contradictory to me. In my head, that's what I believe. Because after every piece of work I do, and I mean EVERY, I always catch a flaw. ALWAYS. Which makes sense because no piece is perfect; though in my head, seeing that flaw always humbles me.

Well again, with this incident, I guess my mind was ignoring that flaw, and it started to feel a bit high and mighty. It just shows how easy it is to get caught up with a proud persona. I'm not talking 'bout "Man, I'm proud of myself on how I did this one"; rather, the pride that no one likes, a la "I think it looks fine" amidst a heavy rain of critique.

I don't know where I'm really going with this, but all I think I'm saying is that I let myself slip, yet again. Everything's a trial-and-error thing, but also a live-and-learn thing. Just keep moving on, I suppose.

Rats and Crap

Hey folks!

It's been a few days since I posted something on the blog, this past week has been horrendously busy. I'm on another job hunt because I have to find something else because my hours have been cut again. Sorry to say that, but that's actually what's going on. Gotta bring that bread to the table. As long as I stay optimistic enough, I think I shall be fine.

Man do I got some upcoming stuff in the works! Collabs, prints, and all other type of good things to come. :) It shall be a good year, I reck'.

Yes, indeedy, Rat Rage is full speed ahead! ^That's my lil' Japanese mock-up logo, I just couldn't help myself. XD

I'm glad to say that production for Rat Rage is finally starting. I'm going to try and give myself a page-a-day quota so I can have something to show. It will be a 200+ pg. Original Graphic Novel, may I remind you. To build up some hype again, I recently did a print featuring Rai and Nini escaping danger. I will do a few more prints for this year, just to have solely as a hype builder and original content.

Here's a few process shots for the print.

1. Thumbnail Sketch

2. Lineart

3. Lineart Cleaned

4. Rai and Nini flatted and toned; BG buildup

5. Everything flatted, toned, and BG almost complete

6. Finishing touches, atmosphere effects, and textures applied.

I would also like to re-remind people that the way this is colored will be in the same manner as how the book will look! 

Other than that, Rob out!

It's very hard...