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
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
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
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
