Epic Train Dodge

Peaces

2012-01-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

Decay

Giant Pearl Diving

Here's some pieces that made it to my portfolio. I'm still trying to figure out an efficient way of doing my visual development work and my illustration work. Decay was done for my friend's album cover called Median. The Giant Pearls is a moment piece for the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea story.

Filler Post

2011-10-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Film Studies 01

Kitchen Drawings

Mad Scientist

I didn't know what to update with but here are a couple of oldies. I did the Film Studies over the summer and had a good roll but all of a sudden I got bored so I stopped. Working digitally still never got a hold on me the way traditional media did. Maybe I'm old fashion. The other two are about a year old, there are some issues with them but drawing has always been the most fun part of creating an illustration.

On another note: The homie, Jonathan Wayshak is doing an online comic with Sam Keith, updated every Monday. It's pretty much an "anything goes" kind of procedure where they take turns adding to the strip. I did this exercise with my friends during one of Barron Storey's classes. It was fun to do but to see it done by these two is pretty sick. Anyway, check it out- http://www.chickensrevolt.com/

this image is from www.chickensrevolt.com

This project also reminded me of James Jean's and Kenichi Hoshine's: http://www.politewinter.com/

IF- Hibernate

2011-09-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sleepy Beanie

Collage Reference Drawings

2011-09-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

These were drawings referencing a collage. There is some subtle prejudice undertones but I swear the collage was completely random.

Here's a dope video. I completely understand this.

Face Feng Shui

2011-09-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Face Feng Shui

You start by collage random facial parts and finish by drawing around them. Charcoal is fun!

Heart Melt

2011-09-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

Rabbit Island

God Light

Sunset

Rain Atmosphere

Tughtles

I lived in Okinawa for about 9 years and in Guam for 4 years. It's been over 10 years sinced I've been on an island. The second we got out the airport, the familiarity sank in. It really felt like home. Some things I remembered were the clear waters, the sun and running away from rain clouds :D and my new favorite, turtles. I actually swam next to this guy while snorkeling. Man, my daydreams were on steroids. I swear I'm going to figure out how to make a living form here. C:

Stay Puffed

2011-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Stay Puffed, Charcoal, 18"x24"

Inspired by Colin Fix. The original drawing was a close up of a bone. Colin Fix came by our school for Critique one time and he showed us how he just played with random forms so I tried it with charcoal in this class.

No Robots 2010

2011-08-24T00:42:00.001-07:00

No Robots from YungHan Chang on Vimeo.

Word

Scavenger

2011-08-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

Scavenger, Mixed Media

I did this illustration with methods I learned from my expressive drawing class. Part of the exercise was combining disparate elements and the result will create a meaning in itself.

DFD and Atomic Conductor

2011-08-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Thirsty Fish, Mixed Media, 10x13

Atomic Conductor

Here are some oldies I had laying around. The Thirsty Fish is a portrait illustration of one of my favorite musicians, Dumbfoundead. I'm not sure if it looks like him anymore (lol), oh well. I think I was looking at Kent Williams a lot at the time and tried to emulate how he had some off-qualities to the likeness of his models. It is very subtle. The Atomic Conductor was a project from my visual development class that I never colored until recently.

Yosemite Summer 2011

2011-08-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

I went camping with some friends at Yosemite over the summer. I usually find myself complaining about spending the night outside but I had a blast. Everything was so majestic and... huge! The third photo is the first waterfall you have to climb. When you reach the top and walk further, there is a section where part of the waterfall looks like a hardcore water slide. It was really fun, the sounds of the water splashing was always mesmerizing and relaxing.

Influence Map

2011-04-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

I got this from deviant art and tried it out during my break. Which actually took longer than I thought. The bigger ones are suppose to be more influential but, to me, they are painters who's compositions have influenced me. There was just too much to put down and this list would keep changing. I guess these are the most influential at this point. Doing this also made me realize that I don't look at sculptures, architects, graphic designers or any other artform enough. yep... back to work

Superhero

2011-04-03T17:22:00.001-07:00

I totally ripped off Sam Weber but I've been experimenting in the journal lately. I had a really great day. It's honestly the sun, it puts me in a really good mood. I also have a lot of new music to listen to. Aside from hip hop, I stumbled upon this little gem:

AWESOME!

2011-04-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm not really that great in self portraits, I just give myself a fat, roundish face and hope everything else comes together. So, my friend Craig gave me skateboard he found in the garbage dump and it still works pretty well. It's been awhile since I've ridden a skateboard (years) but I began cruising around again, and today, I fell decently hard... in front of people... and it was... AWESOME!!! I picked up my board and proceeded.

Also, I read this post from Chris Sanders which is what inspired me to draw this.

http://www.chrissandersart.com/2010/07/01/drawing-on-the-road/

Sun Tarot Card

2011-02-05T23:51:00.002-08:00

Adjustment, Mixed Media

Scan, Mixed Media

Sketches, Col Erase Pencil

"Forget the round trip, give me a one way

It's been a year since the case of the Mondays

See, my peers have the face of the mundane

I'm in a place you can taste all the sun rays"

-DFD

I did this for my friend, Nikita. I've known him since the beggining classes of my illustration program, and I've always thought he acted like a kid but it's also the thing I admire most about him. So this illustration was also based off that spirit. I also know that if I'm pursuing something, and I feel like a kid again, then I'm in the right place. I know, that sounds really corny but I've noticed it's been one of my core values and I've never regretted anything in that path. Here's to being a kid again!

Journal 03 - Paper Tiger - Sketches 05

2011-01-13T16:31:00.000-08:00

Journal 03 - Paper Tiger - Sketches 04

2011-01-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

Journal 03 - Paper Tiger - Sketches 03

2011-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Journal 03 - Paper Tiger - Sketches 02

2011-01-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

Journal 03 - Paper Tiger - Sketches 01

2011-01-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

Fear Beer Bear - Shot Chaser

2010-11-28T00:22:00.000-08:00

Line Drawing

Painting

Final

This piece was for a zine in my conceptual illustration class. The theme was Fear Beer Bear and chose to illustrate the issue of date rape. Kinda heavy. The lyrics are bits and pieces from Atmosphere songs.

Figure Painting- 003

2010-11-20T14:06:00.000-08:00

This was the largest I've painted so far. It was a 2 session painting so maybe 5-6 hours to complete. I just began adding colors and working the smaller shapes.

Eyedea

2010-11-01T03:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, a musician that changed my life passed away. I couldn't say he was one of my favorites and I wasn't sure how to feel when I first heard the devastating news. But the more I read about it the more disheartened I felt. He changed my life because he opened the world of hip hop for me, back when I only saw what was on mtv. Rap was the first element I was exposed to, was the most horrible at but became an expressive vessel for my life.

I first saw Eyedea battling on HBO in a competition called The Blaze Battle back in 2000. Man, he ripped his opponents so easily! This opened me up to the underground scene, back when Rhymesayers and Definitive Jux were barely coming up. It went to Scribble Jam, Rawkus Records, Hieroglyphics, Del, Non Phixion, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Cage, Stretch and Bobbito, the Wake Up Show, etc. I watched his battles over and over again which lead to other battles and freestyles. This world of hip hop was my school and my homework. After school I went to learn one of the elements of hip hop. I wasn't into the high school experience thing. I fell in love with hip hop and it changed my life. Any BBoy, MC, writer, or dj will tell you the same thing.

Freestyles were the best. The spontaneous build up of energy amongst peers or colleuges or strangers allowed me to become expressive. The best thing I learned was that It is OK to fail, just keep going! Which is something I always forget to do. Failing is such an important part of learning. The battle scene also kept your ego stable because the props you get are well deserved and if your ego is inflated, there will always be someone to knock it down. In the end, it's all fun and sometimes competition but we were all in it for the same goals. I know I'm just ranting now.

Anyway, I just wanted to say Thank You to Micheal 'Eyedea' Larsen for teaching me to know myself and to be confident through it. Your music and voice has touched many hearts and changed the hip hop world forever. Rest in Peace.

Listen to E&A sometime.

Crew of You - The Garden

2010-10-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Lines, Pencil

Paint, Acrylic on Rives

Adjustment, Photoshop

This climactic scene takes place in a Carnivorous Garden where these guards protect a sacred fruit. In this moment, my main character, who is the rookie of the team lets down his teammates when he becomes drenched in fear unsuspectedly out of ignorance of what combat is truly like. He fails to save one of his comrads even though he is the position to do so.

Old Man and the Sea- Character Portrait

2010-10-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Santiago Final, Photoshop

Santiago, Mixed Media

This illustration is a portrait study of a character from Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I tried to work the image so it would be good for print media but I still get a little unclear in the greys. Perhaps I become to careful and knitpicky.

Journal 02 - Thumbs Up - Studies 03

2010-10-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

These are the last of plein airs I've done in Journal 2. This consistency of posting has been really helpful with understanding my learning habits as well as my strengths and weaknesses to work on or keep. So, I need to start doing these again.

Journal 02 - Thumbs Up - Studies 02

2010-10-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

I also kept Nathan Fowkes work in mind when doing these. Simplify.

Crew of You - Apocalyptic Bad-assery

2010-10-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Lines, Pencil

Paint, Acrylic on Rives Paper

Adjustment, Photoshop

These were for my Conceptual Illustration class, Fall 2009. I really want to fix the painting more but I am just finally deciding to move on. Concept-wise, I didn't really grasp what the purpose of the assignment was (hence the title).

Journal 01- Proof - 21-25

2010-10-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

These are the last of my first journal. There are other pages but are just notes and not entries. I also realized how my I enjoy the act of drawing and found how much I use line to communicate a lot of my images.

Journal 02 - Thumbs Up - Studies 01

2010-10-18T14:40:00.001-07:00

I tried to get into plein air more and found it pretty difficult to make color choices. I stumbled upon a tutorial on Erik Tiemens website about oil painting. He said to first start just copying John Singer Sargent's pieces in Black and White and then using Burnt Umber and Prussian Blue. I didn't do that at all, but I thought it meant simplifying color with just cools and warms, and so I began painting with that pallette. I found it helpful as it trained me to develop my senses of cools and warms, especially in the greys.

Journal 01 - Proof - 16-20

2010-10-17T03:24:00.000-07:00

Drawing, Drawing. APE was pretty dope.

Journal 01 - Proof - 11-15

2010-10-16T03:16:00.000-07:00

The main ingredients of visual journalism is: what's outside your head, what's inside your head, and their connections. I've been trying to keep these in mind.

Journal 01 - Proof - 6-10

2010-10-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

I heard people said they like my sketchbook stuff better than what I usually put on this blog so I'm trying to get some of these things up. Some of these look wierd because I had no idea what I was doing. Number 9 are notes about visual journalism which I combined with something my other teacher, John Clapp, taught which was visual notetaking. There was also an attempt in how Jonathan Wayshak does his journal entries.

Sculpture- Donato

2010-10-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Barron brought in a bunch of clay for the students during one class while we talked about our characters. This is what I managed to finish.

Journal 01 - Proof - 1-5

2010-10-14T01:31:00.000-07:00

My teacher, Barron Storey, taught the difference between keeping a "sketchbook" and a journal. He taught a few things about visual journalism and tied in a lesson: "Lower the claim and raise the proof." In retrospect, many of these drawings aren't "nice" but say something more about the time it was recorded. Many of these entries are my attempts in lowering the claim and raising the proof. In fact, the ones that look "nicer" were less engaging to me.

Figure Painting- 002

2010-10-12T21:59:00.001-07:00

Christina

Self-Portrait

Forgot Name

Figure Painting. Word!

Pinky Swear - The Traffic Lord

2010-10-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Pinky Swear- The Traffic Lord, Mixed Media, 2009

I did this for a zine called Pinky Swear. The theme was childhood misconceptions. I used to think that there was somebody under the intersections that controlled the traffic lights. The idea still entertains me actually.

Old-fashioned

2010-09-28T02:19:00.000-07:00

Word!

Figure Painting- 001

2010-09-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

The colors might be kind of funky. I couldn't finish covering the greens.

DEBUG Magazine: Rickshaw Hustle

2010-08-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Rickshaw Hustle, B&W Medium, 2010

I did this illustration for Debug Magazine. It's a local San Jose Magazine that cover really awesome topics. The next issue's theme is struggle. Look for it within the next month or two and read some of the articles. This illustration is about how these Rickshaw Bikers are making cash.

Muir Woods

2010-08-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Muir Totoro

Muir Waterfall

Muir Stream

Muir Log

Muir Elder

Hiked in the Muir Woods over this weekend. I didn't get a chance to paint anything but the team was focused on getting to the beach, which we never reached. It was a really long hike. We had to turn around before it got dark and the national monument closed. Next time.

Up in the Air

2010-07-01T01:27:00.000-07:00

BG Alley

Sketch

Classic

The background is a rough for a student film me and my friends are working on. I just did a sketch today and I decided to start taking photos. It helps me get into the habit of composing. Yep.

Sketchbook- Perspective 003

2010-06-07T02:23:00.001-07:00

Entrance, BBP, 2010

Back Art, BBP, 2010

Bed, BBP, 2010

Top Dog, BBP, 2010

Kitchen, BBP, 2010

Front, BBP, 2010

Dailies. Spelled wrong?!

Sketchbook- Perspective 002

2010-06-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

My Room, Ball-Point Pen, 2010

Living Room, Ball-Point Pen, 2010

Laundry Room, Ball-Point Pen, 2010

Living Room, Ball-Point Pen, 2010

TV Set, Ball-Point Pen, 2010

Work Desk, Ball-Point Pen, 2010

Throw back exercises I've been neglecting for awhile. 6 perspective studies a week.

Maya Spring 2010

2010-05-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

Sketches and Plans

Maya ZAG Development

Maya ZAG Glory Shot

Maya ZAG Glory Shot II

I designed it from scratch, meaning I just took a bunch of parts I liked and placed them together as cool looking as possible. It's more of a melee weapon so you can do a chainsaw uppercut-shotgun pop up- to hurricane kick combo when the world becomes infested with zombies. That last one is a photo of me, I'm a star in Japan as the Resident Evil Chainsaw Zombie. Those scars are from my intense training with the gun. I'm currently working on developing an Ultra Combo that I can someday use in real life.

Sketchifragilisticexpiallidocious

2010-03-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

Explosion Sketch

Animation Lab Sketch

MD Trumpet Sketch

Just trying to keep updating. I take advantage of procrastination when it comes to scanning.

Inspiration

2010-02-03T01:06:00.000-08:00

some inspiration

ROAR!

2010-01-15T23:45:00.000-08:00

Roar, Mixed Media, 8"x10"

Let the wild rumpus start!

Santa Cruz with Emily

2010-01-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

Emily's Backyard

Me, Astro, Danny, Izzy, and Mark went to visit our friend, Emily, in Santa Cruz. Her backyard is awesome! So was her house which was basically a treasure trove of stuff. We hiked up a hill and, back down, we followed a creek and did much rock jumping. I think I slipped a few times (Fail) and kinda twisted my ankle but I just walked it off. It was really fun!

Santa Cruz- Plein Air 01, Digital

Santa Cruz- Plein Air 02, Digital

I did some digital plein air while we were in Santa Cruz. I am really out of shape with the plein air paintings but carrying this DS is allowing me to grow accustomed to it faster. They aren't that great but hopefully it's a start of something bigger. I still get too caught up with detail... Big shapes, Big shapes... and I definitely could've thrown in more darks.

Colors!- Rembrandt Study

2010-01-10T00:23:00.000-08:00

I just got Colors! for my Nintendo Ds and this was the first art from it. It is pretty handy and working on the small screen forces me to simplify what it is I'm drawing. Good stuff :D

Empire Seven Gallery- Monsters

2010-01-08T22:51:00.000-08:00

Flavashark, Mixed Meda, 10"x11"

I did this during an art session at Empire Seven Studios. I believe it is scheduled once or twice a month, every other Thursday. My friends Sean Boyles and Roan Victor introduced me to the event. I had a fun time, very chilled and relaxed and whatever came out, came out.

Art Exchange- MTB

2009-12-18T03:33:00.000-08:00

Makeshift Terror Beak, Mixed Media, 8.5"11"

A bunch of my friends did an art exchange event and I did this piece for my friend, Tara. I based it off a comic she did during our beginning illustration class, as well as graffiti. I pick up a lot of graffiti influence from The Seventh Letter, CBS crew. Craola is probably my favorite writer. Doing art for others is always fun for me to do, and she seemed pretty stoked when I gave it her, so yeah... dope!

IPYB Collaboration

2009-12-09T14:07:00.000-08:00

IPYB, Mixed Media

I did this piece with my friend, Bryan Kistler (check his stuff out) and we put it in a Graffiti Show. It was located behind a recycle center, which I thought was a pretty cool place to do an art show at. Collaborating on a piece was a great experience, luckily we didn't complicate choices (but may will next time) and it was a fun and spontaneous process.

Winter Sketchdump II

2009-11-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Long overdue but I haven't been keeping up with posting. And if people know... that is Giant One's Tag. I ran into him in an artshow.

Do the Tengu

2009-09-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Do the Tengu, Mix Media, 18"x24"

Done in Barron Storey's Conceptual Illustration class.

Figure Drawing- 004

2009-09-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Blue Pencil, 11"x14", 5 minutes

Blue Pencil, 11"x14", 10 minutes

Some figure drawings done since school has started. I've been swamped so I may not be posting as much...

Sub-Zero Shrunken Heads

2009-08-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Me, two girls, Brian, Kristina, Sideshow Bob, what appears to be some kind of Dan and Harley Quinn, and Hardcore Jerome are in Content Magazine's "space" issue. These were during the Sub-Zero Festival, an artwalk in San Jose, a couple of months ago.

Cephlacidae

2009-08-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Cephlacidae, Graphite, Painter

Spent some time on Painter, figuring out ways to use it. This was an old drawing back when I was still in my Beginning Illustration class. In this I was just trying to retain the original drawing and just playing around. I also got that metallic look I was trying to achieve. I worked under this notion as well.

"Pyle never understood color. He realized this and it embittered his whole life. But he arrived at this fundamental truth about color; the shadows carry the drawing and the light carries the color."

Harvey Dunn

Journal 1: The Art Spirit- 01

2009-07-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

072509 Study Study, Ballpoint Pen and Xerox, 10.5"x8.25"

072109 Mom Time, 072209 Twins, Ballpoint Pen and Ink, 10.5"x8.25"

071509 Pier Patience, Ballpoint Pen, 10.5"x8.25"

Everytime I see Barron Storey's Journals, they are always inspiring but I would always fail to comprehend what the purpose may be. However, I've noticed that there would be a common theme in each journal, so I am trying to approach a journal with that same quality. These are some pages from my "Art Spirit" journal, learning from the great teacher of art, Robert Henri. Of course, I have no idea what I am doing necessarily. I am just trying to sync myself with what the book is about, sometimes passages and sometimes approaches. The readings are very inspiring to me. I've also been collecting maps after looking at Corwin's sketchbook, where he had a few inside of it. They are awesome!

A passage and some notes from the The Art Spirit.

"The sketch hunter moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to note them down in the short hand of his sketchbook."

He is looking for what he loves and it is found everywhere. Hunters don't see this. They are learning to see and to understand... to enjoy.

Figure Drawing- 003

2009-07-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Ballpoint Pen and Blue Pencil on paper, 11.5"x8", 5 minutes

Ballpoint Pen and Blue Pencil on paper, 8"x11.5", 5 minutes

Ballpoint Pen on paper, 11.5"x8", 5 minutes

Blue Pencil on paper, 8"x11.5", 2 minutes

Ballpoint Pen on paper, 11.5"x8", 20 minutes

Ballpoint Pen on paper, 8"x11.5", 2 minutes

Here are some figure drawings I have done over the summer. My goal has been to make it more of an experience rather than a systematic analysis of the human body and trying to kick the habit of not being too precious with what it is I produce. Sometimes I try to make notes of analogous descriptions about the subject.

Sketchbook- Perspective 001

2009-07-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

06/22/09 Billboard, Blue Pencil and Ballpoint Pen, 12"x8"

I thought I would post a sketch since I haven't done so in a while. For that matter, I haven't drawn anything from life either. I also just tried to create an interior out of my head, and man, was my perspective horrible... lame. So I am taking it back old school, via art28 and doing 6 perspectives a week, at least.

P.S. a Will Eisner interview. This is the part where he draws but watching the interview in its entirety is well worth it.

Prehistoric Pandemonium

2009-07-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

Dragonosaur, Pencil and Painter

Jawsaurus, Pencil and Painter

Pirahnasaur, Pencil and Painter

Colored some old sketches. I wanted to practice painting and modeling on top of the line drawing. I was also trying to achieve a slick, metallic look on surfaces which I think I worked best on the Dragonosaur. I believe it was from the soft edges, high contrast and reflective light. Upping the contrast on the Pirahnasaur worked well but I removed the intense reflective light source which took away from the metallic look I was trying to achieve.

Ox Demon- Warrior

2009-07-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ox Demon Warrior, Pencil and Painter

This was a character design for Project Spank that I finally found time to color. I wanted to keep it high key so it has a more chalky, specter attribute but looking back at it, it appears to be closer to a mid-range of values. The palette was taken from a Frederic Church painting by color picking in a specific high key area. Oh yeah, Painter is awesome!

Forest Opening

2009-07-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Forest Opening Sketch, Blue Pencil and Ballpoint Pen, 10.5"x 8"

Forest Opening Color, Painter, 10.5"x8"

I pried the sketch a couple of days ago and just felt like coloring. I haven't done an environment since the "Tidepool" class. I focused more on saturation in this painting and I think it's time I explore different brushes for environment design. The forms tend become rounder as I render areas, which worked well for areas immersed in atmosphere but I wasn't too sure how to handle the read of details in the foreground. In conclusion, I am off to do more nature studies.

Shaman

2009-07-04T03:40:00.000-07:00

Shaman, Blue Pencil, Ballpoint Pen, Painter

She was the shaman who prophesized of King Aboiye in January (according to our Gregorian calendar). In addition, we can infer from the list of names etched in her cane that she comes from a family surviving fourteen generations; She was of the Enu Tribe.

I've been drawing characters out of my head recently and started exploring digital painting more. Painter has so many features on it but I found brush I liked and its blending application is more comfortable than photoshop's. I used one of Rembrandt's palettes for this image. I wished I developed it more but I accidently saved incorrectly and lost a chunk load of pixels.

Also... check this animation out... It's hilarious and involves ninjas.

Various Drawings

2009-06-03T01:27:00.000-07:00

Various Sketches, Ballpoint Pens

I've been experimenting with the new drawing knowledge I gained from the animation class by drawing more spontaneous and gesturely. I also built a habit of building the drawing and taking my time with the process. It gives the drawing a chance to reveal itself as oppose to putting down conclusive marks.

The first drawing of a kid was done doing another exercise which is using a finished drawing (which was a gesture) and applying it to a character. I managed to do a few but this was the best in the bunch as I spent quite some time working the "insides" before a put down the indelible linework, which I also tried to keep at a minimum. My brain began churning in a different directions reconfiguring the accumulated gesture drawings over the years and had lots of fun doing it...

yay!

Academics- Beginning Animation

2009-05-24T01:28:00.000-07:00

This is the sack pantomime project for my animation class. It turned out OK but I learned the most from this project about animation. There's an obvious volume change. I think it's because I was producing the animation as two seperate parts. Actually, now that I think about it, I did it in probably several different parts. I would 70 percent of it was straight foreward animation and then built upon. It kept me loose in drawing, fast, and spontaneous which is good but it also created flaws like a lack of a plan and that stupid volume change. So, I am going to practice animation more during my break and immerse myself in the scene too.

One more. Here's a video of Dustin Hoffman. The last question of the episode really motivated me when I first saw it almost two years ago. Just really inspirational, especially because I still wasn't completely sure with I was going to do with my life. Check out the whole episode as well.

Figure and Drapery Studies

2009-05-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tonal Figure Drawings, Graphite and White Chalk, (2)8.5"x11"

Figure Drawing, Graphite on Paper, 10"x10"

Drapery Study, Graphite on Paper, 10"x10"

Here's an animation by a Cal Arts student.

Academics- Intermediate Project pt2/ Kazuto Nakazawa

2009-05-13T00:22:00.000-07:00

Dark Forest LRRH, Acrylic on Illustration Board, 9"x12"

Dark Forest Color Comps, Acrylic on Illustration Board, (6)2"x3"

I managed to finish one of my environments for the illustration project. I developed greatly and picked up all types of habits from Bunny, my instructor for the class, and gained some technique as well from constantly looking at N.C. Wyeth and Ivan Shishkin. Placing their masterpieces in front of me while I paint was one of the best habits I picked up. I know there are flaws and mistakes everywhere but I couldn't solve them in the painting. The next few rounds of environment design should be better. The class was also about process and I tried to follow it, especially using the black and white rendering as a guide and using the color comp we had chosen. Achieving a piece by going through the development process was the most important lesson to me.

Also, over the course of the semester, I delve more into the animation and film realm. One day I was flipping through one of my old sketchbooks and stubled upon an artist and director, Kazuto Nakazawa. He's worked on a few animation projects such as Samurai Champloo, Animatrix, and Kill Bill to name a few. I've been a big fan of his work, since I saw Samurai Champloo, and thought I'd share some of his work here... enjoy! (sorry for the lack of subtitles)

Telos Blackbook

2009-05-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Gesso, India Ink, White Out, Pen, Sharpie, and Sticker, 11"x17"

Pen, Sharpie, and Sticker, 11"x17"

Graphite, Pen and Sharpie, 11"x8.5"

It's been awhile since I actually did one of these... Telos asked me to do a piece in his blackbook. I put some pages out of book so people can see his work. It was really fun to do and a nice way to vent and do personal work for a change. It's always an honor for someone to ask you to put something in their sketchbook and a high degree of respect for anybody to enjoy your work more than you would so I was pretty stoked that he asked me to do a piece. Flipping through a graffiti artist's blackbook was inspring because I saw a different type of an artistic process. I thought one of the most unique features in a writer's blackbook is how other artist's are welcomed in it, so I also saw other artist's that he met.

Figure Drawing- 002

2009-04-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Graphite on paper, 8.5"x11", 1 minute

Graphite on paper, (2)8.5"x11", 2 minutes

Graphite and Ballpoint pen on paper, (2)8.5"x11", 10 and 20 minutes

I've been learning new techniques as well as mastering old ones over this semester. I believe Professor Chai showed us a Vilppu video and explained to the class that we should take our time with the drawings. Many students in the class were trying to get full figures completed resulting in a rushed drawing.

There are so many things I had to keep in mind in these drawings. I always find some trouble in retaining the gesture of the figures after constructing and placing in anatomy. Proportions were also an issue for me because I grew a habit of exagerrating poses which led me to relearning previous studies. Using the Vilppu and Walt Stanchfield techniques were very helpful and I'm currently trying to finish those up thoroughly so I can I apply those concepts and hopefully it'll remedy those problems. study study study.

Academics- Intermediate Project pt1

2009-04-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the work from the new criteria for the Intermediate Illustration Project Class. It is a forest design for a version of the Little Red Riding Hood story called, The Grandmother's Tale. The story had a very dark atmosphere and maybe you can read it... here. So based on the tale, a concept was designed by my friend, Cory Peckham who was assigned to be my art director for the assignment.

I had also done another forest but I don't feel I conveyed the idea as well as the "evil" forest. I'm planning to redo the project over this break because this was also an introduction to landscapes, in which I completely got slaughtered in. We're currently working on our color comps for the project so I'll be posting the those along with the final as well.

Draw Off- 001

2009-04-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here's some drawings from a game the crew plays while we are working in the art building. We just call it "Draw Off." Usually everyone contributes an attribute and then we design a character but generally, the game is to just work around an idea. Sometimes we play a version where we draw a character that's already been designed and just sketch from memory. These usually come out insane looking and sometimes random but these are my better ones. We'll probably get a blog soon because we have a ton of these drawings but I don't know... we'll see.

Draped and Hand Study

2009-04-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

Here's some sketches done late into the night in the art building. The "Draped" drawing was just a sketch I drew around a drapery study. I'm currently listening to MF Doom's new CD, Born Like This, and it's well worth a listen. MF Doom has some of the craziest imagery in his lyrics and his rhyme schemes are amazing, the guy can rhyme anything... good stuff. The semester is almost done, just pulling through the last haul.

Academics- Intermediate Illustration

2009-03-20T02:41:00.000-07:00

Assignments from my Illustration Class. I learned much from this semester and developed my knowledge of color more, though I still need further progression. My painting skills grew immensely and I learned how to "render," where you basically copy everything tonally to the core.

Music Video

2009-03-19T04:25:00.000-07:00

A music video shot over night. It's pretty awesome. It should be on facebook.

Slumber

2009-03-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

I sketched over the weekend during all-nighters with the crew. It was really fun hanging out late into the night. The most random things get said. I also watched a documentary of David Choe, Dirty Hands, which you all should get a chance to see.

Winter Sketchdump I

2009-01-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here's my "sketchdump" for the winter sketchbook prior to getting our feet wet in the Animation/Illustration program. The sketchbook has been a very experimental and opened many doors to how I think about my approach. I'm currently obliterating pages I previously disliked and working on top of them with something new.

Here's a portion of the Chuck Jones documentary: Extremes and Inbetweens, a life in animation. It was a very educational watch and incredibly nostalgic. Check it out and the rest other 9 parts are on youtube.com.

Conspiracy Theories

2008-11-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

Conspired on illuminati paper

Mass Grave Reversal

2008-10-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here's that reversal project. I finally got a good pic, shooting for the portfolio (sorry Kristina). It's not done and there are alot of tiny shapes everywhere. I also can't bring out the white as much. I was actually about to use white chalk but it started to get really repetitive and boring. This was my first real understanding of tones.

Obligated To Post

2008-10-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to add my friends Clam and Jeff to my list on the side and I always feel obligated to post everytime I update but I couldn't find anything new so here's an old figure drawing from a year and a half ago. I wish I knew what I learned in the classes I have taken since then because I didn't know squat about shadows and most of my drawings tended to be in high key. Fortunately, this was one of the ones that were suppose to be drawn in high key. Back then I always focused on certain areas that I reacted to the most. In this case it was the the hand and arms. I took the face a challenge because it's always been difficult for me to draw heads that aren't right side up.

I just got done with a rendering project and I remembered this quote my friend Dan showed me by Paul Madonna. After a couple of all-nighters, this quote epitomizes how I feel at the moment.

I've had trouble knowing when I've done enough in a day, unless I've worked myself to exhaustion./
What bothers me the most is that I try to measure accomplishment against time./
It feels cliche, but I wonder,/
Would I criticize a tree for how often it blooms?/

Here is the link to the artwork that accompanies the words.

Travel Sketchbook Pages

2008-10-03T00:21:00.001-07:00

I've been pretty irritable over the past two days from lack of sleep and catching up on work. It sucks. This was probably the last good drawing I've had in a awhile. It was some weeks ago, I rememer looking through Kristina's sketchbook and it had this sick drawing. I couldn't remember it exactly when I refered to it in my head, except for how it was rendered so it motivated me for these pages. It's amazing how much tones can compensate for lack of accuracy or any other factors because this guys face is completely inaccurate. My teacher, John Clapp, had also told me that edges will take a lifetime to master so I was really trying to develop my sensabilities when approaching tonal ability. Nikita's sketchbook and Kim's figures had also stepped up last time I was flipping through them. I'm thankful and motivated but FUCK! this crap is becoming overwhelimg. I'm lacking the time to learn and the majority of my shapes in my Black and White render are still off. I have to write papers plus I'm annoyed and sleepy. rant...

peace and god bless

Brain Freeze

2008-09-06T01:01:00.001-07:00

I did this while watching Juno, which is a pretty good movie. I was looking at Willie Real's blog and just really liked how he draws the eyes for his characters and I just ended up sneaking it in the drawing. I've been trying pull out stranger concepts lately. I love Odd Nerdrum's strangeness quality.

Chasing Tales

2008-09-01T10:46:00.001-07:00

I found this little guy running around my spray can and thought Kristina would like it, so it ended up being her birthday present. It's based off the japanese folklore of Kitsune, meaning fox. "The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity."

Say Cheese

2008-08-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is a word association piece using "smile." I just worked around the idea that sometimes people have something to hide behind smiles. This was mostly for playtime with acrylics after asking some of my collegues how to blend with them because I wanted to prep for the illustration class I'm taking this upcoming semester. The letters where newspaper cut out.

Sorry about the quality. I adjusted it in photoshop but this was the best I can do.

Figure Drawing- 001

2008-07-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

Just been practicing Sheldon's process: gesture, structure, anatomy, and then blurring the lines in between. Actually, he says to them at the same time. These were either just 10 or 2 minute poses. My current goal is to achieve the volume while still retaining the gesture and the "Cal State Cools" are helping tremendously.

Here is an interesting insight I read about James Jean's process.

I'm also interested in what you've referred to as a "matrix of rules" pertaining to how your creative ideas come about. Can you explain what you mean by this?
Once you put anything within the boundaries of a picture, you start to create relationships. Scale, color, perspective, texture—your mind starts making connections between these qualifications. Once you have characters in a space, they intensity of the relationships becomes very literal. I try to orchestrate these relationships so that they are ambigious yet believable. A good way to pull that off is to understand "the rules" that I've created in the picture. Once you create an action—say if a character is in repose or if that particular part of the composition is in darkness—then there must be an opposing force to have put that character in that position or to have cast that park of the picture in shadow. I draw this world until it reaches a kind of balance, until each action is accounted for in some way.

Also, some interviews of my favorite artists of all time...

ID4 Week Sketches

2008-07-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

I spent the 4th of July in SoCal visiting family and had mix of fun and tear-jerking moments. But over the past week I had a great drawing binge, probably because I haven't drawn from life in a while. Nothing amazing... when drawing from life, I always want to strengthen my sensibilities. Doing the blinds and semi-blinds were the most helpful lesson I got all year when it came to drawing from life. I still need a great amount of work on my tonal skills though. The writing were just some lines from "Moon Dance," written by Van Morrison. I like the August Rush version and how it was played on a slower tempo.

Check this video out. It's extremely disheartening.

Ante Up

2008-06-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

India Ink, Gouache, Paint Markers and Pens. Jonathan Wayshak was a huge influence for me with ink. It's amazing how much value he can create with lines. I was also looking at tattoo magazines for design ideas.

During my process I went back and forth so many times with ink and gouache, constantly making choices between design versus following "rules." After and series of thumbnails and ideas, I came up with the final plan but it was still to be experimental. I really enjoyed how different brushes can create a variety of effects and learned that it doesn't matter what kind of mark you make as long as the image reads the way you want it to. I guess the way you create a mark can be one way to designate a "style." My biggest problem was creating the ninja in low-key which led me to do some low-key and high-key studies soon because I wasn't even sure of what I was doing. probably The highlights might have just appeared to be overwrought.

Animal Sketches

2008-06-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I went with the CTExWS crew to the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday. I saw lions humping, bears playing and penguins swimming. I'm still familiarizing myself with drawing animals so much of the drawings are still very gestural. The worst problem for me is drawing an animal from the side without making it appear to be flat. I think I'll try to analyze them constructively next time I drop by the zoo.

Really good 1980's animation

GI Joe now means Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity

Ante Up sketches

2008-06-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

There is a contest for 100 dollar shopping spree at Azuki and these are the sketches for my entree. I was going for a grungy, urban look. It also gives me time to delve back into the medium. Aside from these sketches, everything else will be experimental.

Blind Faith. I was channel surfing and saw this guy on BET, of all places, the other day.

Amoeba Records Art

2008-06-08T15:00:00.001-07:00

I was in SF this past Saturday with some friends and I stopped by Haight. I've always been meaning to take pictures of the wall of Amoeba Records. Some of my favorite graffiti artists have pieces there and I finally did.

Graffiti/ Low brow/ Street art is always my favorite because it always motivates me to "be myself" when I create pieces or even sketches. I hate meeting artists that believe art can only be done a single way. It's nice to just meet people that enjoy what you enjoy doing.

Azuki Deck

2008-06-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

This is the deck that I painted for Azuki in San Jose. I feel like I marked my territory whenever I leave a piece somewhere. I thought I'd get experimenting with acrylics and color. I also wanted to practice some perspective and composition. Although this piece is jampacked with errors, I learned a lot.

"Contrast is the meaning of life." John Clapp, one of my instructors, after random talks with him after class about other artistic factors, also told me that it works on multiple dimensions, though value should be the most important, which was something I failed to do in here. I had an arduous time at solving value composition. A ton of the light sources are wrong.

I played with contrasting colors as well. Figuring out the focal point, I decided would either have to be between the ninjas, a ninja, or the graffiti. I never decided. The ninjas have as much white on their faces as the graffiti, placing them up front simultaneously and although the ninjas are colored in complete black, the graffiti pops out as well because of its cool colors. This is all in theory.

During this semester, I remembered John being disappointed at my ability to not listen but I did learn more than I would need. I had used acrylic titanium white to fix mistakes in my comics. He told me I should've used Guoache because "acrylics are transparent BY NATURE." I've been wanting to paint eversince he said that. I experimented with scumbling, washes, and what marks I can make with different brushes.

I also learned that I should "be thoughtful." So I'm going to leave these long notes after each of these artistic endeavors come to an end. I can't wait for color lessons I'm going to learn in the next year.

CTE, WS, RBS

During my Nine to Five

2008-05-02T02:22:00.000-07:00

I love my job. I'm currently working on giving students their graduation gear and it's been kinda slow due to the rush being over. So while waiting, I managed to pry this guy out of my head and onto the back of one of the regalia merchandise sheets. It turned out better than I thought considering it was originally suppose to be a feline. I realized I sucked at drawing animals on all fours correctly so this ended up looking like some mutated gerbil. Chill jobs rule!

Harold and Kumar with Iron Man kicks ass!

Monsta

2008-04-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

I found my character on some random user's flickr. I've been waiting for the behemoth site to post the table drawings but I guess they were too busy. I wish I knew what the rest of the crew drew so I can spot them.

Illustration Friday- Heavy

2008-03-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is the piece I did for Illustration Friday this week. The word was "heavy." It's pretty straight forward. I tried to design it so the weight was the focal point but place light tones around it. It's also the darkest and least saturated. I'm starting to play with the layer mode effects more in photoshop but I want to eventually learn to create textures on my own without the need for layer shortcuts.

Wonder Con

2008-03-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

Wonder con. This was my second convention and this time I remembered to bring credit cards and money. I chatted with a few artist like Marc Gabbana and Jonathan Wayshak.. oh yeah, and Dave Yee. I learned so much from that guy like if you want to find SJSU students just go to a Mexican restuarant. Great knowledge. Someone accidently gave Nikita three 3-day passes so I ended up going for two days.... sweeeeeeeeet. The photo is of the Cult28 crew. Up next is Supercon, Fanime and ComicCon. Cult28 Out.