Punching Pandas

It’s been a while since I posted any artwork.  I’ve been busy with a couple other side projects that I haven’t been able to post yet.  Once they’re published, I’ll post them on this site.

My sister asked me to do another drawing of her friends.  I guess art majors are hard to come by at a liberal arts college, :P.  (They ‘d probably do a better job too!)  Below is the result of my chicken scratch.  At first I wanted to do a pencil sketch with flat color.  Then I wanted to do a silly sketch with shaded painting.  Then I wanted to do a more shaded painting without lines.  Then I realized that it was 3:00 AM, my wrist was sore, and eyes were feelin’ buggy.

Anyways, this was the reference photo of two brothers…

…and here’s the drawing. 

Hmmm…

I can’t say I’m entirely happy with it since I started out with cartoon lines and tried to jam them back into realism which made this pseudo-caricature that looks awkward: the proportions aren’t crazy way off base like a caricature, nor are they tight and accurate like a Bargue drawing.  It just makes the whole thing look kind of silly.  The colors are ok, but they seem a little on the bland side and should have more red in them.  At least one encouraging thing was that it didn’t take me as long as other drawings: 3 1/2 hours from pencil to final, but the quality still suffered.

Of course, me being a perfectionist, I get super-bugged when I notice stuff like this…

…which probably means I’ve been up too late and need to get to bed.

Way to go, boys!  Giant Killers once again!  GO BEAVS!!!

You may notice some of the entries are looking a little wonky.  I’ll be doing some updates to the site to fix the bugs this weekend.

Is it me, or is this guy crosseyed?

Internet was down last night for some reason.¬† Here’s the drawing from last night…

I didn’t realize it until now, but tonight’s my 100th post. I know it’s been over a year since I switched over to my current domain. As the moment it’s past 2AM, and I’m in a gaming studio finishing some sketches while watching Ratatouille. Since it’s the 100th post, it’s time to write something profound…

Less than a year ago, I didn’t have any idea as to how I was going to break into this industry, and it’s been almost six months since I decided to go part-time at my engineering job to pursue an art career. I reflect on my circumstances, I realize how privileged and blessed I am to be in a position where I have the opportunity to try a new career in an area I really enjoy. Granted, I’m still not at that level professionally yet, there’s still a long ways to go. But, I do find it amazing how, despite not drawing consistently for six years in college or having any contacts with anyone in the gaming/art/animation industry, an internship with a studio falls into my lap. And I can’t help but think there is something divine about this situation.

Despite having an opportunity to work for an entertainment company, I know circumstances can change in a heartbeat. I could break my hand, lose my sight, or have something worse happen to me. In light of any unfortunate events, would I still be able to go on in life? Even if the art gig doesn’t work out, I know that it was a God-send. Last year, I doubted how I was going to be able to stand doing engineering for another year and feared that the my skills were waning away. I envisioned this big plan of saving up money, selling my place, quitting my job, and going on a hiatus to learn animation on my own. Instead, an internship arrives totally unexpected; I was even asking for it. Looking back, the hiatus plan was stupid and foolish, and I’m glad I wasn’t allowed to follow through with it.

Sorry if this is sounding serious, I know people usually come here to see the adventures of Puddles and Terrence or any other random thing that I try to draw. Things have been busy for the last 9 months, and this is one of those rare times where I’m able to stop and think.¬† I finished tonight’s sketch below before I began writing this, sorry if you were expecting a 100th post extravaganza. I just didn’t realize it until now. Anyways, it’s starting to get late and I’m nearing the point where I start to ramble on about nonsense. In the meantime, I’ll continue to update this blog as often as I can. It’ll be a journal on my progress in establishing myself in this industry. Hopefully you all will enjoy the ride as much as me. Cheers…