Skip to content

Artwork

Dreamlander Interview

  • by

Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Paul Hong, aka Dreamlander, who does these great video interview essays on people and passion. He was able to record some of footage while I was tabling at ECCC as well as provide some sneak peeks into my messy workspace at home. I’d say he did a smashing job, although, the guy in the video could put on a few pounds. Check out the video below:

If you’re wondering why I had a bandage on my left thumb during the interview, I had a little bit of a cutting accident with a paper cutter. Don’t worry, it’s all healed; let’s just say it’s not as big as my right.

During the interview, I also made a sketch which I made into a  timelapse video of the panda pals below. If you want to see more of my timelapse videos, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel.

You can watch more of Paul’s other videos on his YouTube channel, also give him a follow on Instragram.

Lastly, I just received my table assignment for Geek Girl Con! You can find me at Table A103, I’ll make a separate post with a map. It’ll be my first convention after my break, so it’s time to roll up my sleeves and get back to work. Have a great start to your week, everyone!

UPDATE: I just added the piece to my store as an art print. You can check out the link here.

Pedal Head

A while ago, I was introduced to the Character Design Challenge when I restarted my Facebook account. It’s similar to the Sketch Dailies themes that I used to participate in except that it’s a monthly theme and there’s more of a format to the submissions. I tried to submit for some of the previous months’ themes, but I would always end up missing the deadline. There’s even a couple of pieces that were pretty far along, but for some reason, I couldn’t figure out how to finish them. After four months of missing the deadlines, I finally got a jump on this month’s theme of “Robots & Androids.” Below is my final submission titled, “Pedal Head,” the massive rock ‘n’ roll droid.

Like I said in my superhero remix post, I’ve been trying to shake off the cobwebs after taking a break from art. I’ve been getting back into the habit of drawing regularly, but having to do robots ended up being a little tougher than I anticipated. It’s not that robots are hard to draw, it’s drawing robots that are interesting that’s the challenge.

Actually, it was fairly unenjoyable, until the last 10% when it all came together. But it’s satisfying to be able to figure out the design in the end. Below are some of the iterations that I had to go through to arrive at the final piece. By the fifth sketch, I was nearly ready to chuck my Wacom pen at the wall like a dart. Eventually I had to call it quits, better finished than perfect, I suppose.

As a reminder, Geek Girl Con is coming up soon September 30 – October 1. I still haven’t received my table assignment yet, but I will mention in a future post once I get it. I’m looking to see if I can get the “Haiku Pandas” together as a book, but I have a few more drawings that I need to finish in order for it to feel complete enough.

Also, I added my “Stand By Me” piece for the Stephen King tribute show to my shop. If there’s a piece on this blog that you’d like to see as a print, please leave a suggestion in the comments below.

Have a great rest of the week!

PS: There’s a panda in there. ;)

Throwback Thursday

  • by

I was rummaging through my childhood drawings and came across some of my early superhero drawings. I was a big fan of the X-Men TV-series back in the 90’s, and it has always been my favorite Marvel property. Of course I still enjoyed Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man, but X-Men always seemed more interesting to me with the way they tied in unconventional super powers, political drama, and interesting personalities (“Hey, bub!”).

Middle school became my superhero/videogame phase. Although I didn’t have much money to purchase comics or a console, I’d make up for it by drawing my own versions of X-Men and Megaman villains. They weren’t that great, mind you, but it eventually led me towards drawing humans. Anyways, I thought it would be a fun exercise to redraw one of my old characters. I don’t have a name for her, but she was supposed to be a Chun-Li/Psylocke type. I’ve also been going through a drawing funk and have been having trouble finishing some of my personal sketches. Maybe years from now, I’ll cringe at this new drawing and do another remix.

She punches and kicks at the same time!
Superhero remix!

Walt and the Flying Bull Exhibit

  • by

I’ve been enjoying the recent tribute shows that I’ve been a part of, and this next show is a special one. I had the pleasure of working on a piece for the City of Irvine’s art exhibit called, “Walt and the Flying Bull.” It’s an art exhibit that pays tribute to an insignia designed by Walt Disney for the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine, California.

For my submission, I decided to go with an arial shot of the bull in mid-flight. When I was looking for photos of the air station, I came across a lot of photos of old war planes flying over farmland and was inspired to make a simple bull design behind a more graphic background. The main idea was having the farmland and the mountain ridges look like tiles. This piece was an interesting challenge in that it was the largest watercolor piece I’ve made to date. I’ve worked on larger ink pieces before, but having to work on a piece this large required some planning.

In the progress shots below, you’ll notice that I started painting all over the paper instead of starting in one spot. This was to help keep the colors consistent throughout the piece since the watercolors could change as the paints dried out over time. I even recorded a timelapse video which I will include in a new post.

Anyways, if you’re in Orange County, please check out the exhibit! It’s being displayed at the Orange County Great Park Gallery. You can find more details of the exhibit here.

Baby Us

  • by

Recently, I completed a series of pieces in anticipation for… let’s just say a “new arrival.”

I expanded on my original “Baby Me” piece a couple of years ago after receiving some suggestions for a girl version. Each of the boy pieces takes a little inspiration from my childhood while the girl pieces reflects a little about my wife. I re-painted the Toilet Boy and updated it with more design elements which I ended up carrying over to other drawings.

I’ve also added these pieces to my shop as prints and have added them to my Redbubble page under a new collection. I’ve also added them all as prints on my shop. Anyways, I hope you enjoy these as much as I had drawing them.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Stephen King Art Tribute

Another piece for Gallery 1988! On May 5, there is an opening show next week for a tribute show based on works by Stephen King next week from 7-9pm. My piece, titled “There He Is!” is based off of the 1986 movie Stand By Me when the boys finally reach their goal. It will be up on display from May 5th to the 27th. I used hot-press Arches watercolor paper and sumi ink for this piece. I will also have the first 10 prints I made of the print available for sale on Gallery 1988’s website. If you’re able to make the show, please snap a photo for me!

Combo Win

  • by

I recently submitted a piece for Gallery 1988’s Memes show. It’s based off of the Success Kid meme and even includes a cameo by you-know-who. The show will be next Friday, April 14 at their West location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. If you happen to attend the show, snap a photo and send it to me!

Princess Comics

  • by

I’m happy to announce some recent work that I completed for a small-time client. Actually, they’re not that little, but their mascot’s is supposed to be, sort of…

It's weird seeing my name in here.

I just received my copies of Disney’s Princess comics, and whaddyaknow! My name’s in them! Both issues are spotlight editions featuring comics for Rapunzel and Belle. My main contributions have been rough layouts and inks. Fortunately, my messy drawings are cleaned up and colored by the talented Brianna Garcia and Mitch Leeuwe. Go check out their work when you get a chance. Below are a couple of strips that feature my layouts.

Below is an Instagram post by comics artist extraordinaire Amy Mebberson who worked on the previous 8 issues including these spotlights editions.

Thanks to Joe Books for reaching out to me for this project. There are more strips to come, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled at your local comics shop for future issues!

Coastin’

I have a feeling these two will get a long just fine. I added this piece as a print on my shop.

Samezu Panda

  • by

Earlier in the summer, I was introduced to Samezu, a comic by Moha Arimura featuring cute sharks devouring a lovable seal. I know that sounds weird, but trust me, the book is fantastic! I found the comic over at Kinokuniya in Seattle; if you’re in the area, go check it out. And while you’re at it, be on the look out for any Punching Pandas!

Snackin’

I also made another character to the panda world. Introducing Handy the red panda. His name will make sense eventually. For now, he’s the panda’s snacking buddy.