Blood Knight

Blood Knight // 12.03.08

ANIMATION STEALS MY SOUL! AND SO WILL THIS BLOODKNIGHT

WIP...

BAH! FIRE WHEEL!

Fire Wheel // 11.17.08

I haven't posted anything in forever! Hope this works, I've never
posted a movie before...





still chugging away at animation, but I got this done today. I really need to
work on tweaking it, but I think that it'll turn out ok...BAH! 3 WEEKS LEFT!

Oh. Concept wise, this is an idea for my manga, "Queen, Please". I think the
title sums it up. Magical girl series...blah blah blah my needs. It should be fun.
I need to finish the transformation sequence. I'll put it up when I'm done.

Simón Sedillo Revision

Simón Sedillo Revision // 10.06.08


Hopefully they like this one...just had a few more text edits.

Simón Sedillo poster

Simón Sedillo // 10.05.08



Something that's still a work in progress for this film thing at
KU...yeah...



They MADE me add more text! I swear!

America, F*** YEAH!

America, F*** YEAH! // 07.04.08

Why Wonder Woman? Why not.

It's the fourth, and I wanted something patriotic. But, I didn't want to do Captain America, since I like Wonder Woman better. Big surprise, huh?

I really like that this came together how I saw it in my head. I know that a lot of the US doesn't look like this anymore, but just call it a symptom of my growing up in the Midwest and my love of having Hollywood tell me what the Midwest is supposed to look like. This was fun. I wonder what I'm going to do tomorrow.

I promise I'm not being lazy...

I promise I'm not being lazy...I had a sketch explosion yesterday and didn't actually finish the finished one for today...If I can get it done before 2:00am then I'll publish it, but if not I'll just publish two tomorrow.

These were just some quick sketches from yesterday. I have some from my sketchbook too and I might upload those later. The first is Princess Tiana from Disney's upcoming The Princess and the Frog. Just wanted to try my hand at her, although final character art hasn't really come out for her yet.

The second is another story idea I'm working on. This is Guinevere. Just trying some costume things. I think I need a new tip for my tablet because the lines are coming out all wonky.


Lots of princess stuff right now. Yes, I know I'm obsessed and I really do want to move on. When John Hendrix was here a while ago, he said to try and distance myself away from drawing in that obviously recognizable manga/disney style (which then leads to the question, um, then what do I do?) because animation companies aren't interested if you can draw in their style but if you can think and "draw the walls out" or just be pretty damn good.

While I want to push my own visual vocabulary,Tanya, my wonderful painting teacher, says that the only way to get through obsession is to work through it. It works with relationships, it will certainly work for Disney princesses. The big eyes and pinched waists are staying, for now, but I'm really going to try for some inanimate objects and backgrounds. And how bout some male characters huh? (I don't think yesterday's counts).

True(r) Love

True(r) Love // 07.02.08

I just looked at the date...OMFG IT'S JULY!

So, another in this "Love" series thing. Credit to Omer for this idea. It's genius. For those who don't get my vague mythology reference, it's Narcissus and the Tin Man. A little guy-on-guy nymph action. He's so shiny O_O I think that's why I like it hehe. Again, trying to do more with background, so BEHOLD GRASS!

True Love

True Love // 07.01.08

Love is blind.

Also, love is corny. Even if it is true, has love just become cliche, even when its sincere? But, regardless, corny is better than nothing. I was a little stuck on new ideas, but I like this idea of couples that just make it work despite their differences. This was going to be a line drawing, but I do like the colored version. I should play with textures next time.

Falling Princess: Minnie

Falling Princess: Minnie // 06.29.08

By far the hardest one to do.

You think it would be easy, considering her design is so graphic to begin with, but actually I think that was part of the problem. All the princesses so far have been three quarter view, so I tried to mimic that but the angle of her head became an interesting challenge. I had to make sure she conveyed a longing look, and not a demented one.

Also, Minnie may have been an odd choice, but technically since she was the first Disney Princess (or the first chick with princess sleeves...) she deserves some love. And HELLO, she does rule the Magic Kingdom with Mr. Mouse so I think she could elbow her way in.

Minnie was actually a suggestion from Adam. He usually has good ideas, so I decided to take it. He loves the old Disney cartoons (I think anything pre-"The Little Mermaid"...somehow we've made it work) and that's why I've dedicated this to him. Come home already!

Falling Princess: Giselle

Falling Princess: Giselle (Sketch) // 06.28.09

*Update*

"Is this a habit of yours, falling off stuff?"

I couldn't resist. I really did like Giselle from Enchanted. I think we would get along really well, especially if all of her animal friends helped me do my chores.

Speaking of which, in this picture there was supposed to be a bird, but I omitted it. It just wasn't coming out right, and I didn't just want to do a side profile of a bird. I might add it later, but none of the other girls got to bring their animal friends to the shoot, so she's just gonna have to work it.

BTW, and this is obvious, but the dress is heavily Alphonse Mucha
inspired (Except for the way too hight slit...that was all me) since the movie itself just screams Art Nouveau. It was like the marriage of all of my favorite things!

P.S. This one is dedicated to my Mollee, my offical Disney Princess Partner in Crime (or DPPC for short.)

****************************************

I wish I had a better excuse as to why this isn't done, but really there isn't one...

except that I saw WALL*E and it was amazing. It did take up some time though. I had to rework the sketch of Giselle which also took some time. I thought I had liked the pose I had her in, but this one looks like more of a her pose. Plus, if this was an actual photoshoot, the art director would be concerned about showing the dress, and this one actually does show it. A very small detail, I know, but what are you gonna do?

I actually like the line drawings I've been doing in order to prep these pictures. They're done in Photoshop and then brought into Illustrator. I usually just go with what works, either paper or completely digital. Since I am trying to make each girl look like herself, I've been spending more time with the sketch part which helps me to get likeness down faster. I'm done rambling and I'm going to go to bed so I can finish this tomorrow. Goodnight!

Falling Princess: Ariel

Falling Princess: Ariel // 06.27.08

I only have a few more of these planned...but now that I'm sunk in, I have to finish them...and then I can move on.

I had to do Ariel. I just had to. I think it was because she offered the chance to practice rendering glitter (which I think may be a little overworked, but I still think it serves its purpose) and also because the original photoshoot didn't have a "little mermaid" model. She needed a chance. After doing her dress, it looks like it was cut just this side of modesty, but I think it suits her. This one was a little easier to do either a)I had thought about it for so long or b) I'm just doing too many of these. That being said, I do like it. Yeah, Ariel!

Falling Princess: Serenity

Falling Princess: Serenity // 06.26.08

When I said princesses...I never specified just Disney princesses O_o

BWAHAHAHA

Really, no one cares about the distinction but me. Anywho...

When I did Belle, for some reason I got this image of Princess Serenity in my head. She really did seem like a no brainer being one of my favorite princesses of all time, so she gets to be in the photoshoot too.

Yes, her dress kind of looks like an 80's prom dress, but I still like it. It's interesting to see her in all black. To tell the truth, only her gloves were black when I was doing this, but the contrast was just not good at all against those trees so it was back to the black dress which really brought out the form I was looking for. Another thing that has been good about this series has been that I've been trying to concentrate on each princess' face more to make sure that I could retain their character and not just make them look like another me drawing. I really want to retain my style but also make the character recognizable. Her face does look kind of fat though...Bah...oh, and RUFFLES. No more ruffles! Until tomorrow...

So, with Serenity-sama in the picture, there's no telling what the hell is coming up next!

BWAHAHAHA

p.s. This one is dedicated to Sailormoon fans and all those freaks who grew up watching her episodes on VHS and then pausing the tape so you could learn how to draw her bangs.

Falling Princess: Tiger Lily

Falling Princess: Tiger Lily // 06.25.08

Yes I'm still on this...Please don't hurt me.

Due to Erin's (GadieCat on Deviantart) amazing suggestion for the next princess, I present Tiger Lily from Peter Pan. It was genius because of her obscurity but the hard part about her execution was her dress. These black dresses were supposed to be "modern" takes on the Princesses. I wanted to do something traditionally Native American with her costume, but I felt that it would be unfair to just make a general-halloween-like-amalgamation of an "Indian" costume. So, being the QUEEN that I am, I broke her traditional costume down into its most recognizable parts: beads, trim, and feathers. Ergo, instant flapper ( I didn't feel bad generalizing the flapper.)

Overall I like her. It's challenging to make each princess fit in with the background. It's interesting to try and make them all seem like their a part of the picture, but also individual and not just pasted on. I've thought of some fun ones for this, so I hope they turn out nicely too.

P.S. This one, again, is dedicated to Erin for the amazing idea!

Falling Princess: Belle

Falling Princess: Belle // 06.24.08


I need to be stopped....

I'll move on from princesses I SWEAR. Today's picture was going to be totally different, but this was just too good to pass up.

It's Belle again from Beauty and the Beast but this time I'm referencing not just her but the one and only Tyra Banks. In one of the seasons of America's Next Top Model, they have a photoshoot where the girls are princesses from fairy tales and their falling in the shot. I chose Belle because back in Freshman year during Design 1 I remember drawing a picture of belle in this dress but never doing anything with it. (In fact, if you went to my Deviantart account and looked at "Disney Princesses All Dressed Up", that's the extent of what happened with the idea.) I thought the dress was pretty, so I didn't want to waste it. It's supposed to be based off of old Baroque/Roccoco/Marie Antoinette style dresses, since that's when I think Belle's storry would have taken place.

Bah. Ruffles. Though they were a pain, I like the way they look. I also like the Aspen trees in the background. Both were kind of a wiatch to do but they are so important to the feeling of the picture. Plus, I'm glad I finally have more of a definitive background than normal. I was DETERMINED to have something non-figurative in this piece though, arguably, the trees did turn out looking like people. Oh well, better luck next time.

If I decide to do more of these, then I'll probably do more obscure princesses (with the exception of Ariel. She's staying. Cause she's awesome.)

p.s. This one is dedicated to Omer because he'll laugh the hardest, think I'm the craziest and will immediately get the reference.

Princess: Ariel of Atlantica

Princess: Ariel of Atlantica // 06.23.08

Finally!

It took me long enough, but now we have the best for last. It's been a crazy few days (what with Krystina's party and me GETTING TO USE MY TAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME *cough*), hence the no posts...I hope that I have enough time to make up for them. But, at long last, my fave makes it to the blog!

Ariel, in the story, is the leader of this rag tag team of magical school girls. She commands control over the Trident of Atlantica, used by all of its rulers since its inception. Anything that the Trident can do in the movie, Ariel can use it for (it doesn't mean she knows how though...). In her free time, Ariel is an average student (more on the barely passing side...) but also an avid dancer. Aurora is her best friend and together their ready for anything.

I didn't notice how detailed this costume was until I actually did this...Yeah, officially, if this ever got turned into a manga, the costume would have to be simplified some how because it has so many pieces. But, with that being said, I have to say that I could see her kicking ass in this (if kicking ass in frills and a bra is ever allowed.) The blue thingies are supposed to be bubbles...I wanted to make her seem as if she was standing in the middle of moving water...and plus it just looked pretty.

Princess: Mulan of Zhongguo

Princes: Mulan of Zhongguo // 06.18.08

Long time no see blog...

It's been a busy few days, and I think I'm finally trying to get back into the swing of things. But I'm excited because now I have finished...

Princess Mulan

Mulan, I would say, is the tomboy of the group. Think of her almost as Sailor Jupiter, but with a sword that she can use to communicate with/control spirits (that's what all the smoke and the glowy orbs are supposed to be). She's not afraid to get into fights and beat bitches down, but all she really wants is a friend (awwwww...)

If you want to be very technical, Mulan isn't a princess. But, she kicks ass. That's why she's part of the group. Oh, and "Zhongguo" apparently is the old Chinese pronunciation of China. It roughly translates to "middle kingdom" I think. The emperor in the movie refers to his kingdom as the middle kingdom. So...Princess of the Middle Kingdom.

p.s. this one is dedicated to Allison because she likes Mulan and because I'm jealous that she's in New York...

Fiesta: Palm Trees

Fiesta: Palm Trees // 06.13.08

Today's drawing happened by accident. I was sad that I didn't get to do the next Princess in the series, but this one turned out ok.

This was done for Fiesta Filipina 2008 for a handout schedule of the performance times. It really didn't have to be anything elaborate and my first few ideas weren't passing my mom's inspection. Oh, and also another part of this interesting problem was the use of black and white only. I tried to make it interesting and it's nice that I have something non figurative on here finally.

Princess: Belle of Rosaille

Princess: Belle of Rosaille // 06.12.08


Well, that wasn't much of a break, now was it? I think I just got lucky on time today but now I have to high tail it to Lenexa for practice later.

This is Princess Belle
from the Princess concept. Her character is very much like her character in the movie: beautiful but quiet, with an affinity for written words rather than spoken ones. She is actually Aurora's sister in the story and has always been a little jealous of her. The Rose Mirror has become hers and can reveal the truth as well as cast protection circles/shields.

What's been the most fun about these day to day illustrations is that they don't always turn out what you think they will. In this one, for example, the way in which I was rendering the "light/power" coming from her mirror wasn't working at first, but once I started to play with circles and simplified the overall work I feel like something elegant came out. Can't wait to do the next one.

This sounds like a cop out but...

...I don't think I'll be able to post anything new until Monday! It's going to be a crazy next couple of days. I have Fiesta coming up not to mention on the practices that I'm going to have over the next few days (the one tonight ran longer than expected and I haven't even STARTED on the one for tonight...plus I'm exhausted). The soonest I could see would possibly be Sunday if I'm not too tired. But I promise that I'll make up the next four very shortly!

Princess: Aurora of Thorngale

Princess: Aurora of Thorngale // 06.10.08

BAH!

I'm late! But I promise that I was saving the jpeg at exactly 12:00am (lest I turn into a pumpkin!). I kind of blame myself, but hey it's done...

Next in this Princess series is Princess Aurora of Thorngale. Her powers are attached to a set of magical bracelets (with the same name as her kingdom) which the Princess of Thorngale can use to command the winds (weave tornadoes...get it? Forget the fact that spinning wheels have nothing to do with weaving please)and also launch those nifty thorn-like attachments as projectiles.

Aurora in the story may look like a Barbie doll (which makes her easier to draw I guess...) but she doesn't necessarily act like one. She does have a brain in all that hair that I drew. She may not be the smartest (like her sister, who we'll hopefully see tomorrow) but she's honest and loyal. Good qualities I would say.

Princess: Jasmine of Agrabah

Princess: Jasmine of Agrabah // 06.09.08

Is Agrabah a real place or did Disney just make that up?

Once again, this princess idea rears its head. I have been knocking this idea around in my brain since around Freshman year and it's about time I do something about it. I'm going to use this week to do some good drawings of these girls (and also because I want a cute new wallpaper...)

The concept is something like this: Five teenage girls find out they actually possess magical powers attributed to five ancient kingdoms which, throughout history, have battled an entity known as BlackSage who takes on different incarnations in different eras (ex. Ursula, Malifecent, Jafar...you get the picture.) Once again this evil has awakened and blah blah blah. Not the most compelling synopsis, but I think it could make for something fun.

I swear Jasmine was the hardest to come up costume wise. It took about five different redesigns and constant variations until I found something I actually liked. Her character in the story would be very mysterious, the last princess to get her powers back because of something she did in the past concerning her beloved Aladdin and a fight for his life. What happens? Guess we'll never know till I get off my lazy ass!

I do like these colors for the most part. The red is from her slave costume (just in case there's anyone out there who isn't as crazy about Disney details as I am) and the purple cape thing is from one of her only costume changes in the movie (besides the aformentioned slave costume). Her powers are "genie" based so she can not only make matter appear but also change matter and do neat things with smoke signals.

Earth

Earth // 06.08.08

Bah...I'm so sleepy! Dance was long today and it's going to be a long week ahead. As such, this drawing isn't quite from scratch, but I finally got to finish it. Tomorrow, I may finish the companion piece to this.

I was doing a project for Type II for a personal identity. this Earth piece was a part of an idea where I was thinking of the elements of me. Four elements, four process colors (Magenta=fire, Yellow=air, Cyan=water, Black=earth. These elements also had words associated with them. Black/earth was "grounded". I like the way this one turned out. I noticed that after I was done with the piece, it drove me crazy how stoic it looked, so I had to add those falling leaves to help keep my sanity.

Bubble Tea

Bubble Tea // 06.07.08

Bah! This one is getting posted late. This idea I had floating around in my head because I need to get some sketches down for a signage project I'm working one. It has to do with bubble tea so there's this little girl making bubbles out of her tea. It looks like she's having fun.

Transformation

Transformation // 06.06.08

This picture just popped into my head this morning after I drove home from Omer's apartment at 6:00am (and I didn't even get that lost down town!). I've had this idea for a story that's been floating around in my head for the past few days, so I just wanted to get an image down. I don't know where it's going to go, but I like it so far.

This is definitely inspired by my love of "henshin" sequences in my favorite animes. I also wanted to try working with line since I haven't done that in a while. I don't know if I like or don't like this drawing, but I think it's good for just an hour.

Happy Birthday, Omer!

Best Friends Forever Ring! // 06.05.08

It's Omer's Birthday! He's finally turning 21 and we don't have to sneak around and pretend he's Philip Baretta anymore! This is actually the art for his card. I hope he likes it. If anyone doesn't understand this card, then just try having a convo with the both of us at the same time. We know it's hard.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FATASS!

So that's why the weather is so crazy...

So that's why the weather is so crazy // 06.04.08

I know...I couldn't resist. I watched the lightning storm yesterday during our short little goodbye dinner with Allison and it was just so cool. This wasn't actually the drawing I was going to do today, but I do think it offers up a plausible suggestion why our weather has been going batshizz crazy over the past few weeks (this, or that little climate change/global warming/2012/world coming undone thing).

In case you don't know this is Storm from the X-Men in all of her 80's shoulder pad and big haired glory. You know who would have been FANTASTIC in this role? RuPaul.

Bunny Memoriam

In Memoriam // 06.03.08

Well, here it goes. Inspired by the ever great Julia Icenogle, I'm going to attempt to do a drawing/illustration a day for the rest of the Summer. I'm also taking Painting I and Life Drawing II. I'm going to be generating a lot of stuff and out of that stuff I hope to get at least one or two pieces.

First up is this thing I've wanted to do for a few days. I killed a baby bunny a few days ago with a lawn mower. Gruesome, I know, and I don't think that my other animal friends will talk to me until I do something. I hope he/she's floating in bunny heaven and resting in peace.