Happy holidays 2012!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday this winter! :)

Sorry for my inactivity - will catch up on my posts before the year ends!

the ladies

Scrappy paintings and doodles everywhere! I haven't drawn nearly as many females since the advent of my Tiger & Bunny craze, so I'm trying to fill my quota. :'D

I find I'm a lot less patient than I was a year ago for personal projects. My sketchbook is filled with plans and ideas, but I just don't have the willpower to carry them through right now... :(

jumping on the hunger games bandwagon...

With so much hype surrounding the release of the Hunger Games movie, I grew curious about the story. The result: I finished the three books in five days. Aside from the fact that I have a tendency to marathon things, I think Suzanne Collins created a very intriguing world with underlying issues that are not completely unlike those of our own society. Anyway, this is an art blog so I'll spare you from a book review. ;)

I wanted to get some Hunger Games art out of my system before watching the movie next week and getting influenced by it!

the hunger games

PaintTool SAI 1.01

I started off just doodling headshots, so the lack of planning really shows in the poor composition lol. I seem to have lost the patience/ability to do anything beyond a rough sketch lately... :'D

lazy valentine's

I joined a valentine's art exchange group with my friends. :)

take it off 8D

PaintTool SAI 1.01

This was drawn for ok-yc on DeviantArt. She wanted something steamy! ;)

Characters © ok-yc

BBC Sherlock

I am a very big fan of the BBC Sherlock series! Realism isn't really my thing, but I like Benedict Cumberbatch enough to give it a shot. :)

Reference photo / testing this SAI brush setting / texture 

As always, sorry for the lack of updates! I think I need to give this blog layout a face-lift soon...

Happy holidays!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! :)

It's been a busy time at work, so I don't have too much personal art to show lately! But I am learning a ton about modeling and animation. :)

Convocation!

I'm finally convocating this week! I wanted to give some thank you cards. :)

thank you!

PaintTool SAI + Photoshop CS5

It might sound crazy, but as much as I draw them, I often have a hard time getting chibi proportions right (what "proportions"? lol)...

This is closer to what I really look like. Awww yeaaaaa :'D

Going to print these tomorrow!

TnB: Taiga & Bani

Ahhhh, I can't stop drawing Tiger & Bunny! It's a severe addiction... I wanted to do something more stylized and not painstakingly rendered after doing those portraits. I just wanted to have fun so I didn't get hung up on details or refining for once! I've forgotten the joys of doodling! :)

タイガー＆バニー！

PaintTool SAI 1.01

Eagerly awaiting episode 22 subs!

Random: Wow, I just noticed how the art style is completely different in the last 6 blog entries. I am so bad at drawing consistently - I like changing it up! I never figured out whether this was a good or bad thing... D:

T&B: Kaburagi T. Kotetsu

Finished procrastinating on packing drawing Kotetsu while listening to his dorky character song lol! I'm not really satisfied with it but I think it's time to move on. I've had enough of Tiger & Bunny portraits! I had a pretty difficult time with this drawing - not used to drawing older men with darker skin tones. And that hand! And that watch! And that hat! Ugh! I'm too ashamed to admit how long this took me... Might have to give him plastic surgery later. :P

This one is supposed to match the Barnaby I drew earlier!

Kaburagi T. Kotetsu

PaintTool SAI 1.01 + Photoshop CS4

Although I really enjoy drawing Barnaby, Kotetsu is actually my favourite character from Tiger & Bunny. You just can't help but like the guy. Two days until ep 22! :D

Shark-loving couple!

Finished the new shark card! I must thank the enthusiastic engaged couples who have contacted me about using my shark card for their wedding. This wouldn't exist without their support. :)

I wanted to make it as close to my original shark card as possible (yes, I reused the border and background :'D), but I quickly realized it's hard to draw the same way you did a year ago!

If the text is too small to read in the picture, I am basically allowing couples to use this illustration for free as their wedding card, etc. as long as they show me their commitment to the cause. :)

Terms of use and instructions on how to get the high-res file from me after the jump:

Summer's end

Ahhh drawing always keeps me up late at night! Here is a rather ominous looking summery illustration. :)

summer's end

Sakura microns + Photoshop CS4 + PaintTool SAI 1.01 

Paper texture from CGtextures.com

(I'm totally going to look at this tomorrow and want to tweak it, aren't I? :P)

Anyway, I should get back to the shark card soon. Hope to get it done in a week!

T&B: Barnaby version 3

EDIT: half a year later... I repainted his face again lol. I can't even tell if I'm making it better or worse anymore, but I thought the proportions looked a little better like this. Until next time... :'D

Barnaby Brooks Jr.

PaintTool SAI 1.01

I ended up spending the night giving my Barnaby illustration more plastic surgery and refining the CGing. I think school has caused me to become much more obsessive persistent with reworking my art. Okay, someone take this drawing away from me, I'm probably going to want to tweak it again in a few days... :P

Revised gag version because I just can't take Barnaby all that seriously (especially after episode 19 :'D)!

"Kotetsu-san... Why did you bitch-slap me? *weeps*

It is Saturday, but the subs for episode 20 aren't out yet... Sadness. D:

T&B: ivan

Ahhhh I have neglected this blog for so long! I handed in my final animation for school recently (though there are still some tweaks to do)! So now it is time to draw some animu and dang, am I ever rusty! I gave him plastic surgery a gazillion times but it still doesn't look quite right... Ah well, I've lost patience and copped out with another portrait. :P

ivan 

Photoshop CS4

This was originally supposed to be Barnaby from Tiger & Bunny (the most underrated show of the season!!), but the more I worked up the face, the more it looked like Ivan/Origami Cyclone to me so I just changed it... But I'm not really much of an Origami fan. Must draw Barnaby next! :)

Sharks in our oceans, not in our bow(e)ls!

I have become a bit of a shark conservation activist recently, and I had the pleasure of creating a couple of quick illustrations for Shark Truth, a nonprofit group based in Vancouver, BC, that aims to educate Chinese communities on the environmental issues surrounding shark fin soup, promote awareness, and ultimately, put an end to shark fin consumption in Canada. These illustrations will be printed and used as signs in a photo mob. Credit must be given to my friend who misread "bowls" as "bowels", which led to the creation of the second illustration (Hey look! I sort of used my medical illustrator skillz! lol)

Sharks in our oceans, not in our bow(e)ls!

Photoshop CS4

Recently, California introduced Bill AB376 to ban the sale of sharkfin soup. Some Chinese communities have expressed anger at a proposed ban of shark fin consumption, crying "racism" and touting that shark fin soup is part of the Chinese culture. However, they only represent a part of the Chinese community and many of us support this bill. The team at Shark Truth has been working hard on creating a "mob photo" to submit to the California government in an effort to ban the sale and consumption of shark fin and to demonstrate that the Chinese also support this move.

Here in Canada, a ban on shark fin sales and possession has already been inplemented in Brantford, Ontario. The Scarborough Councillor is now also proposing a city-wide ban. So let's get this show rollin' in Toronto!

For more information on why shark finning needs to stop, visit the website for the Sharkwater documentary.

If you would like to use my illustrations to help stop the soup, please feel free to email me for permission. Please include details on how you plan on using the illustrations, etc. 

Still to come on the shark fin agenda: Wedding card for free use. I haven't forgotten! The sketch is already done (scheduled for August). :)

Bunny!

Sorry, not the cute, fuzzy variety. :'D

I got kicked out of my school building today because the janitors needed to wax our hallway. Perfect excuse to give in to my intense craving for some smurfing animu-drawing!

This is Barnaby (nicknamed "Bunny") from Tiger & Bunny, a surprisingly good anime this season. It's set up as a hero show and the plot is pretty predictable, but the great chemistry between all of the characters keeps me watching!

Barnaby Bunny!

Adobe Photoshop CS4

I tried to CG with the brush I normally sketch with. It was a nice change of pace. :)
EDIT: Did a bit of colour and blur tweaking.

Here are a couple of alternative versions. I ended up inking the original sketch and tried my hand at cel shading! I never really do clean lineart, so this was an interesting route to take!

I think this last one is probably my favourite, which makes me really sad because I spent considerably more time on the rendered version!

Copic multiliners + Adobe Photoshop CS4

Texture from CGtextures.com

Back to Maya tomorrow!

return of Gintama!

I have no idea what possessed me to draw this during deadline week. Actually, staying at school past 1 am regularly and staring at particles might do it... Anyway, here is another fanart of Gintama. After a one year hiatus, the new season of Gintama returns this Monday. I'm actually super excited, so I thought I'd draw something to celebrate! :)

april 4th

PaintTool SAI + Adobe Photoshop CS4

Looks kind of different from my usual stuff. It's oozing animu-ness. Ah well! It's not quite how I'd like it to be and there are a bunch of mistakes, but it is now 5 am and I must get back on track with school stuff tomorrow/today! 8D;;

It all sort of snowballed when I pulled out my tablet to do a quick stress-relief doodle (I was dismayed at how dusty my tablet had become from neglect):

snazzy!

PaintTool SAI 1.01

quadruple dose of animu

I've developed a bad habit of not finishing what I started (when it comes to non-school work anyway)! So here's a batch of not-so-refined works and WIPs:

I generally tend to avoid fanart (unless for anime convention purposes...) but somehow that's all I've been drawing recently! B-but Gintama is just so goooood!

ginpachi-sensei~
PaintTool SAI + adjustments in Adobe Photoshop CS4

WIP: (Does Professor Layton count as animu?) I definitely plan on finishing this...eventually! I can't wait until the next game - Professor Layton and The Lost Future was so incredibly epic! I had the Curious Village in mind when I was drawing this, though. :)

PaintTool SAI 1.01

WIP: I haven't decided whether to fully render this in colour, or go for flat b&w.

PaintTool SAI 1.01

And finally, a quick chibi doodle for a friend! And yes, I enjoy super blinding yellow backgrounds.

Adobe Photoshop CS4

I must admit, I've been running away from reality (read: school) a bit recently. I need to get back on track starting tomorrow! I also need to retroactively add all those projects I finished in February here...

sukonbu princess

I decided I deserved a break after a long week full of deadlines. :)

sukonbu princess
PaintTool SAI 1.01 + adjustments in Adobe Photoshop CS4

This is Kagura, from one of my all-time favourite anime, Gintama (its punchlines come straight out of grade school humour, but I love it...) . I'm trying to use SAI whenever I'm not doing school things. I've gotten so rusty at it! But I find it pretty amazing how we're capable of remembering shortcuts in so many different programs (thank goodness for procedural memory?!).

Will post school things when I can bring myself to open up the files again to save out images!

(PS. Any Gintama fans out there? Waiting for April 2011!!!)

I ♥ red fundoshi!

This drawing is dedicated to the most passionate red fundoshi proponent ever. Check out their fabulous video!

red fundoshi + megane FTW!

PaintTool SAI 1.01

This is what happens when Joyce gets fed up with rendering kidney tubules and staring at dots for her info visualization project (more on those later). 8D;;

Happy holidays!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and best wishes for the new year! :)

yuki

Adobe Photoshop CS4 + texture from CGtextures

I was trying out a different style here. It didn't really turn out how I envisioned - I was too torn between the flat style I was going for and the rendering I'm used to. So it ended up in between (which is almost always the worst place to be)... Will try again later!

I have more Christmas card ideas brewing - we'll see if I get a chance to work them up. :)