Hmm...

Just practicing some quick gestures that I drew from photos and comic books. Busy day with visitors from out of town then a dance performance at Grace St. Theater, so not as much done today. I know what I have to do now.

"What would the successful version of you be doing right now?" - Bobby Chiu

The painting isn't going very well and I was really frustrated yesterday and this morning. Every thumbnail and composition that I tried to scale up on the final drawing just didn't add up to what I saw in my mind and I didn't know how to fix it. Rather that sulk and curse myself out like usual, I decided to turn on the Bobby Chiu podcasts and just started drawing early this morning. I felt like studying noses.


So even though I didn't yet achieve my goal of having a sweet illustration to show everyone today, at least I got something done, and I feel a thousand times better than if I had just said screw it and went back to sleep feeling depressed. It's a lot more obvious to me now where I could be in only one years time if I do this every single morning.

Sell Your Textbooks For Cash! YEAH!

I purchased a textbook from the VCU bookstore earlier this semester for 70 dollars. I tried to sell it back today and all I was offered was 10 bucks. VCU wins again.

Happy Easter

Can Can Brasserie (French place in Carytown) has the best steak and cheese that I have EVER had. Ever.
Currently working on two paintings, one is due this Thursday so pictures then.

saturday

Nobody likes Jimmy Buffet except frat boys and alcoholic chicks from the South!!

Bought a novel at random today. I've realized that most of the time I'm thinking about things like bills, money, food, my future, and blah blah (all things that induce stress) but nothing to really exercise my imagination. Nothing that made me enjoy art in the first place. This book is just what I needed. Not only is the story full of fodder for my brain, the art on the cover is quite motivating. Not because I want to do illustrations like it, but because I think it sucks. If this guy could get work, then yeah. It's not even that bad of a rendering, its just stupid. The poses, the expressions, nothing seems to have been thought out. I dunno, maybe it was stock art from something else. This was in 2000, so perhaps the art director has changed since then:


Been frustrated with what I need to do as far as school assignments go. I feel that while I'm in school and in Sterlings class, my projects should be heavy on concept which makes me feel like doing fake covers to fantasy novels is too open ended. I dunno. :X
Also, some interesting developments with people lately. Some negative but mostly very positive. My peers around me, whether they be in my major or any other, who have been successful in what they do have always been the biggest inspiration for me. Even more so then the professionals that I've looked up to all my life. I'm tired and can't write coherently anymore. So goodnight and a big congratulations to Naomi and Jessica Oyhenart! (you guys kick ass!)

California

I'm back from the west coast and it was pretty sweet. It was my first time over there and it really is true what they say about the weather. Didn't do too much drawing as I kept myself occupied with all the tourist attractions, although I of course could have done more. Got a really cool tour of the Warner Bros. studios and saw some actors from shows I've never seen. Just happened to be down there during a Blizzard concept art show at a local gallery. I was pretty bad-ass:



It was really hard not to spend money. I wanted to buy every Evangelion figure I saw.




These were taken from over 5000ft up during our trip to Rim of the World, although the pictures don't do it justice. It was actually a little unnerving driving up it with 1000+ ft clifts beside you. I've always wanted to see mountains like this.



I was able to pick up this really cool James Jean print at Gallery Nucleus (the Blizzard Show) for only 10 bucks!
And now I'm off to NYC tonight! PEaceoUt.

WIP

Deep-sea sub in the oceans of Europa. Meh... I know the perspective on the sub is all screwy, but I blame it on the deep-sea pressure. Yeah, that's it.

Hands

Just some sketching this morning, which will now happen every morning. (haven't I said that before?)

Edit 6:30pm - The children running around my desk at work are driving me insane. I now want to play Duck Hunt. Weird...

Heath is not nearly as good as Skor. If you think otherwise, you are ignorant.

In other news, my concepts are obviously still ahead of my application, which of course will take time to overcome, especially when using a medium that I really suck with. About human-trafficking (unfinished):

At least I'm learnin...

So painting isn't really my forte... yet. Especially when it comes to acrylics. To make matters worse, I decided to use illustration board with no tooth and had to do an image with three hands in it. Hands of course not being the easiest things to paint. (I think Michaelangelo said hands and ears were the most difficult) So yeah, maybe I was a bit too ambitious. And it shows. I've worked on it throughout the weekend, and even if I had an extra day, it would only improve so much. I haven't done enough painting so my knowledge is very limited. Was watching the Marko Djurdjevic DVD the other day and he was definitely right when he said you can't really overwork a painting. It's not that its overworked or that your bored with it, it's just that you don't have the knowledge of how to make it work. Oh well, we all gotta start somewhere.


Yes, it may be my senior year that I'm learning how to paint.
And yes, maybe if I work my ass off and paint and draw every chance I get from here on out, then I may be 26 by the time I'm good enough to get professional jobs. I'm almost 23 now so thats almost 3 years. So what if it takes that long. Like I'm really gonna care that it took that long when I'm however old and am finally getting illustration work. Of course not. If it takes that long then it takes that long. It all depends on how hard I work. I can never stop getting better at art, even if I live 2 lifetimes, and that is an encouraging thought. It all depends on me.

And now, a moment of zen:

Currently working on a painting that is due this Tuesday. Can I get it done? We shall see.... :O
Might post some progress of it later today...

IV

Quicksketch before bed. From a WWI book that has a lot of purty pictures. Been realizing I have a LONG way to go when it comes to understanding color (and everything else for that matter). I really wish I could take a year off school and just get better at drawing. I feel like I could put Sterlings teachings to better use and get more out of my senior year if I was way ahead of where I am now.

III

Not producing much post-worthy stuff lately, just unattractive doodles. Learning some interesting stuff with the Gnomon dvd on Painter tho. Will have something from what I learned soon. Here's a crappy quicksketch

2

Drawing of Larrick Dining Hall that recently won me a VCU USCA contest. Its nice when only 3 people enter these things:

Day 1

I've often wondered why I keep failing at achieving my goals so often. Mainly, it is a problem of consistency. I know all too well how to get better at what I do. I was taught that early on during my junior year of high school. I'll have the clearest vision ever of what I want to achieve and I'll even know how to get there, but I usually end up falling short. The burst of motivation runs thin too quickly. And one of the problems is that that is how I've been looking at it. A lack of motivation or initiative is not something I can keep relying on. Waiting until it comes around so that I'm super comfortable with creating something is a sure way to the path of laziness, which is incredibly easy to fall into. The laziness leads to me getting into a habit of not creating, which soon turns into fear whenever I tell myself I need to create. I feel like committing seppuku when I realize how good I could be right now. But as the saying goes: no matter how far down the wrong road you've gone, turn back!

Got inspired by a friends recent blog so here it goes. I'm writing this at work now, so sometime tonight expect a post. I will do this daily. Daily posts from now on, whatever it is.

random animals

Older stuff

Brothers Quay

Haven't posted anything in a while, but I shall soooon! Scouts honor! I hated cub scouts actually. At least I was never an alter boy, haha. It's amazing how much the internet has done to increase the flow of information in our world. Almost any piece of knowledge you want can be found, or at least you can find out where to get it. You can bit torrent almost any book on any subject written or get any piece of software you want. Just think what it'll be in ten years. You'll be able to illegally download your groceries! (...i thought that was funny at least)

Looked up my favorite short-film/music video ever by the Quay Brothers. First saw this a few years ago and I've always been fascinated by it. Truly the masters of stop-motion avant garde pee in your pants doing acid gothic flimmaking, or whatever you want to call it. I don't care, its amazing. The awesomely emotional music by His Name Is Alive compliments it perfectly. It reminds me a little of something Tim Burton would do, but just a LOT more powerful for some eerie reason. I love these guys. Kind of how I like Ho-Ho's. Here ya go:

They've done a lot of other work that is worth checking out.

Inspiring stuff...

Lately I've been watching a lot of Bobby Chiu's video podcasts up on the youtube, and damn this guy is GREAT to listen to. If you're like me, human, or mostly anyway, and still very amateur, then you're probly frustrated from time to time with art and it can be hard to continue when things aren't going well. Mr. Chiu had some really good insight about how to push past that in this 3-part podcast, specifically in part-2 when he talks about his photos of inspirational figures he had posted around his workspace. Awesome stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfCkJdNiLh8

Some stuff done for Videogaim/movie concept class. Should have gave myself more time to complete the final one... may go back to it.

Assignment from Graphic Essay: We had to write a twist on a fairy tale. I did Law & Order SVU Detectives busting Rumplestiltskin. I wanted to try something different from the usual photoshop under ink drawing like I always do, so i decided to try my hand at a vector illustration. Inspired by a great tutorial from Jeff Miracola. Damn did it take forever... O_0






Doodling our teacher in business class