I used to hesitate about putting certain pieces of art into the world. I’ve put off comics projects because I didn’t want people to pigeonhole me. I didn’t want to do this genre or that, or this style or that, lest people thought I was a writer or artist of that one thing. I’ve hesitated to use color more often because my ego wants me to be known as a pen-and-ink, black-and-white guy. It’s all stupid. … Read More
AKA: Be Smarter I just completed a fairly small but substantial project. It was for a book illustration contest held by The House Of Illustration and The Folio Society, both in England, which I found out about at the beginning of October 2017. This year’s contest involved three different Sherlock Holmes stories. Entrants were to draw a single illustration for each story, plus design a book binding. The contest deadline was Wednesday, January 17, 2018. October … Read More
There’s a good article in The Atlantic that delves into why Marvel, and similarly, DC Comics have had trouble making money publishing their comics. It’s a good read for anyone that cares about popular comics. I have several criticisms that are both touched on and not presented in the article. If you don’t want to read my word-vomiting, at least read the article for an actual journalist’s insight into the world of Marvel (and DC’s) publishing … Read More
I’ve been thinking about a few tweets I read a couple days ago that politely detracted Inktober, and why I think Inktober is a good idea. Inktober 2014: I spent 31 days reacquainting myself with my pen nibs and getting back into the habit of drawing regularly again. Inktober 2015: I decided to do 31 finished, simple illustrations and use the best ones in my portfolio. This year, Inktober 2016: I decided to improve my familiarity … Read More
This comes from a comment I left on a friend’s post about Corey Feldman’s performance of his song, Go 4 It, on The Today Show. Let’s just say… the public, on the whole, didn’t like it, and Feldman knows it. As an artist, myself, that risks negative and positive reaction (or, no reaction) by releasing stuff online, I have a lot to say about this. This is the comment as I posted it, warts and all, … Read More
I try to draw something, anything, every day. Unfortunately, there are times when I just don’t get to. Everyone has things get in the way. Even if they’re minor. Maybe it’s hobby, a class you’re taking, a meeting, or a friend’s birthday. Sometimes you’ve got a bunch of errands and chores to do. Family obligations. Other times, you’re just way, way, way too tired to physically do anything. I mean, you could make yourself get up … Read More
A good representational artist (one who illustrations something that represents something in real life, despite whatever style it is drawn in) is always looking to improve their craft, whether by improving their fundamentals, studying new techniques, exploring different mediums, etc. Figure drawing is a basic fundamental that illustrators are always trying to improve upon. We study proportion, structure of the form, and anatomy. But ultimately, drawing a live, human body posing right in front of us … Read More
Finally, after many years of wanting to, I attended a comic convention not as an attendee, but as a guest and vendor. Andrew Leung, owner of Toy Fusion and ToyWorth was nice enough to have me as a guest artist at his booth at Sac-Con on the weekend of March 12th and 13th, 2016. I wasn’t expecting to do much really, other than draw, pass out business cards and postcard samples, and see if anyone would … Read More
On 2-26-2016, I took a last-minute trip to Yosemite National Park with a couple of friends. I took some pens, a sketchbook, and my iPhone. Yosemite. I had never been there before. And it was great. I love cliffs, and I love trees. The only thing missing was the ocean, cliff-side, but that’s okay: there were plenty of rivers, creeks, and waterfalls. I was sketching with my new Pentel Pocketbrush brushpen. It’s pretty nice, but it … Read More
Just a short one today. I missed last Friday’s blog post because I took a day trip to Yosemite (which I’ll write about later, complete with sketches!), and I just didn’t finish the post earlier in the week. Since then, I’ve wanted to write about a number of things. I love black and white illustration. To me, it’s powerful, raw, and visceral, even when the content is “even” or serene. Despite however complex the illustration might … Read More
This past Monday night (the 15th), I had a portfolio consultation with Penguin Books Art Director, Giuseppe Castellano, via his online school, The Illustration Department. I’ve learned there are other art education sites that offer similar consultations, such as Society Of Visual Storytelling (group setting) and Schoolism (one-on-one, limited spots). I went with Mr. Castellano for a few different reasons: 1) the consultation was very affordable; 2) it’s a one-on-one consultation, so it was going to … Read More
Know what I like about the Internet? Access. Having access to a ton of information may seem like such an obvious answer, but, as an artist, there’s one thing in particular that I very much enjoy: Access to other artists. And I’m not talking, necessarily, about Twitter and Facebook. Of course, those platforms are nice, too. Twitter and Facebook can be fun ways to waste time. And, yes, they’re a means interact with others, but they’re … Read More
I recently needed to put together a double-page spread advertisement for a local film festival I volunteer for, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Film Festival. Since I was doing this for a group, and other people needed to approve the design, I did thumbnails. For myself, I only do thumbnails when I need to solve problems. Usually I know what I want. This time, I needed everyone who had a say in the final messaging to approve … Read More
What I thought I was going to write about for today’s post got pre-empted by another subject. Thanks to Twitter. I went to high school with a few guys that liked to draw. A couple of them, one or two years younger than me, were obviously very, very good. You could see they had talent, and these were the guys I “competed” with, making sure my stuff was better than theirs. Looking back with an objective … Read More
Just a short post today. For the past two years, I’ve been training in Wing Chun kung fu. I really love it because it fulfills different needs: I’m doing something that connects me to my Chinese heritage; it fulfills the analytical part of my brain; there are many lessons that can be applied to everyday life; I’m learning how to defend myself; I’m learning to relax and go with the flow – this last bit is … Read More
I was commissioned during the 2015 Christmas season to do a portrait of someone’s former dance troupe leader and his partner. After sending me photos of the couple, one of the first things I said was, “Damn, those dudes are dapper!” So, I knew right away the piece had to look stylish. But I didn’t want it to look too slick, like some other portraits I’ve done. I wanted something loose, a little “artsy” (whatever that … Read More
Happy New Year everyone. 2016 will see more regular blogging from me, with new art-related (probably) posts at least every Friday. And I’m kicking it off with a review about a new accessory I picked up late last year: Ralph Thomas’ Sketch Wallet. On July 7, 2015, Ralph Thomas launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his Sketch Wallet – a wallet designed to carry your cash, cards, and a refillable sketchbook. Suitable for artists on the … Read More
…Much like how the Dark Side clouds the mind. So technically, this is a bit of a review, but also a bit of an examination. A couple people asked me what I thought of the new Star Wars movie, Ep. VII: The Force Awakens. So, this is me, letting them know. Oh, also: SPOILERS. I’ll let you know when they’re coming. Before I get into it, I should tell you that I have this uncanny ability … Read More
It’s really easy to get distracted. I’m not talking about letting video games, girls, booze, and unwatched episodes of The West Wing lure you away from doing art (yes, I have yet to get through The West Wing Give me a break. I’ve been busy for the past 15+ years). Those things are all minor distractions that are essentially entertainment and a break away from work. No, I’m talking about the temptation to take an entirely … Read More
Blade Of The Immortal is an extremely important comic to me. I finally got to watch the first couple episodes of the anime adaptation. It is not good. There are so many things wrong with it. The writing is bad. The music doesn’t fit. It’s trying to do too much and be too much while accomplishing little. The story of the original manga is there but the spirit and tone isn’t there at all.
