rainy day

I'm not dead

Forever...that's how long it's been since I've posted anything new. I do have some good excuses. I was in Singapore for a few weeks living it up beachside. It was an amazing place despite the oven-like heat and humidity that hits you like a wall the minute you walk out of the airport. I adjusted quickly though and took advantage of the pool, the cool ocean breezes, and the 40 cent ice cream. I would definitely go back again so long as I can tolerate the 25 hour flight that leaves you with the worst pain in the butt. That all goes away though once you get there and see that you're in paradise. I miss it already! the smell of food, the shopping, walking and riding the train instead of driving, and the diversity of cultures that all live peacefully together. (4.5 milllion people on an island that's only 3.5 times bigger than D.C.) Claustrophobics beware!
Anyway, I wish I had some cool things to post from my trip there besides pictures. All I have is this... a quick study from my sketchbook that I played around with in PS. Not very much of a memorial to my vacation.

speedpaint and hands

I don't do enough of these speed paintings but I should do more because this was fun. I wanted to keep the colors somewhat muted and limited and concentrate on the mood and atmosphere. I started with using gray tones and then set the mode to color and dabbed bits of reds and greens here and there. I usually find it easier to work that way so it's become a habit. Oh, this was
roughly about an hour and a half.

Then there are these hand studies. I'm terrible at painting and drawing hands, fingers, fingernails, etc. so I thought I should start focusing on that area a little more. Somehow it's always the last thing I worry about when it comes to figure painting or drawing and character design. It's always the part that is lacking the most too and ultimately the whole piece suffers. So, these were just some quick studies drawn in photoshop ranging from 5 minutes to 10 minutes per hand. Next time I know to use a pencil.

Happy Valyntynsday

sketch

This was a sketch in my sketchbook...just felt like coloring.

I couldn't sleep so.....

I painted these owls for you. I could've maybe painted sheep but owls are way better.

RIP Mac

My Mac crashed after a long and loving 5 years and so did my heart when I thought I lost all of my work. It wouldn't turn back on no matter how hard or long I pressed the button so my friend built me a super computer instead. Now I have OSX, Windows, and Linux all living together in harmony. Don't know what to do with all 3 yet but I'm sure there will come a time. Here's a quick study I did in Artrage since I can finally use it.

Study

I love doing quick studies of paintings from the masters. Maybe not an old master but this is a copy of a painting from Malcolm Liepke. I added some things that weren't in the original though like that red texture. I think its extremely beneficial to really study how others paint and use color etc. Its also a lot of fun!
This was around 2 hours done in photoshop. Dammit I need to get away from that program but its fun to try and make it look like paint. Next time I'll use the real thing. I've caught myself a couple times reaching for my Command E (eraser tool) key while sketching on paper. :|

Crackalactic

I finally made it to figure drawing last night! It's been a loong time. I find it so relaxing though and its a good way to clear my head. It is good to be going again and I can't wait till next week. If I had more time I'd go every night. Its a full class though so I usually have to make the best of the view that I have. Anyway, this was done in close to an hour. I'm a bit rusty. Things are maybe looking a little unaligned though in the butt-crack area.

Looking Glass Wars

I'm so excited that I get to post this! I thought I would have to wait a long time. I've been designing characters and creatures for the brilliant and amazing Frank Beddor and his company Automatic Pictures. If you haven't checked out The Looking Glass Wars you can visit the website at lookingglasswars.com. These books are amazing and I'm thrilled that I get to be a part of it. Read them and you will understand!!
Anyway, this creature is called a Tuttlebird. I love anything that illuminates.

my 7th grade teacher.

This one started out as a doodle then I noticed how much it was starting to look like my 7th grade Social studies teacher, Mrs. Oday. She was always reminding me to sit up straight and to stop doodling, but really I think I might just have been her favorite student. She would always wear something lime-green and her sweaters always corresponded well with her pants. Luckily, I didn't listen to her about doodling bit but I think maybe I should've taken her advice on posture. My back is shot.

I could live here

Still have some issues I'd like to fix. The big mountain is flattening the whole piece and driving me crazy. I'll fix it soon though.

frequently infrequent

So, its been awhile since I've posted on here and I feel like a slacker, but oh, I am not. I've been working myself to death and enjoying every second of it. I do make time to see movies, which by the way if you haven't seen Transformers, Harry Potter, or Ratatouille, stop what you're doing and go watch.
Other than that I've been doing a lot of work which, unfortunately, is all top secret, confidential, information. With that being said, I sound important, and I only have one piece to post for your viewing pleasure. I started working on this many months ago and never finished it. It was boring, dull, and and I was kinda stumped as to what I wanted to do with it. So, I finally dug it back out and here is the result. Still not really finished but I felt that I had to post something.
Oh, I've been having strange coincidences lately . So tonight while I was working on a character design and looking up fireflies(or lightning bugs, not sure of the difference) on google something happened that still makes me smile this very minute. As I'm staring at the computer screen at these odd little creatures with lights on their butts, out of the corner of my eye a big flying insect comes full speed wrecklessly hitting me in the side of my head and landing on my book. Scared the crap out of me but to my surprise and relief, walking around curiously inspecting every square inch of the book, is a freakin lightning bug! May not sound too crazy to you, I'm sure, but I haven't seen any yet this year and anything is better than searching Google images to no avail. He chilled on my desk for a while before I put him in a cup and took him outside. I'm sure he thanked me.
Anyway, that has nothing to do with anything but I like coincidences!
Enjoy this piece.

fish/insect hybrid creature

This is a fish bug hybrid. It can live in and out of water and can fly like a bug and swim like a fish. It also has gills giving it the ability to live underwater. It eats whatever it can catch but mainly flies or fish smaller than itself. I'm working on a story and this is one of the many characters. I'll post more about it soon. Enjoy.

character

just a quick character. I've been real busy lately so haven't had much time to do any of my own work. i'll try to update this a little more frequently. Enjoy!

sketches

there must be others. i like drawing characters like this. he's ugly but cute at the same time.

just some randomness.

of or related to the squirrel family

I'm done complaining about how it's not cold enough to be winter. Now its cold and I want it to be warm. This has nothing to do with the painting above. Just though I'd tell you that.

portrait

I felt like painting a portrait and experimenting more in Painter...although I should be using real paint instead of digital all the time. I'll get to it soon enough. I've always had problems when working in Painter that when I take it into Photoshop the contrast is a lot darker. I'm sure it is an easy fix but I'm just too lazy to go in and fix it. If anyone knows how to do this PLEASE e-mail me. I don't know if the settings in Photoshop are just too dark or if Painter is too light. It tends to make my darks really dark. I've noticed too that when posting anything on here it's always much lighter than my original. Hope everyone has a good new year!!

Merry Christmas- a nice little card

Merry Christmas Everyone. Not your typical Holiday Greeting card but, what can I say, I'm not typical. Hope you weren't on the naughty list.

finally done with that!

Sometimes it is just necessary to design female warriors with white hair. This is Athena, the greek warrior goddess who amazingly sprung from the forehead of her father, Zeus, fully grown and ready to take on the world. Go girl! Yes weird, I know, but I didn't write it. I don't do a lot of these kinds of characters so this was fun to work on. Most of my work is more on the stylized side as you can see. I enjoy designing layouts for things like this too. Not sure if it's the best layout but it shows what I needed to show. I'll try to post more stuff. I'm getting lazy, I know. Christmas is almost here and it's still in the 50's here in Cincinnati. Damn global warming! How can I get into the Christmas spirit when I only need a jacket to go outside. Lots and lots of watermelon candy canes, maybe!