Between Frames

Flail Dragon

2012-01-14T23:19:00.000-05:00

Flail dragon, from concept sketches, to color studies, to sampled colors from photos, to vector.Pixel art next?

This past week has been painful. I had full intentions of leaving Saturday, the 7th, and reserved a car, thinking everything will go nice and dandy like it did when I rented in Columbus.At the rental office I found myself failing the credit check and denied a car, losing $50 in the process since I counted as a "no show."My dad mailed me a newly activated credit card to replace the expired one still in my wallet, which should have arrived by Saturday, but is now waiting to clear through US customs, and I have no idea how long that will take.

1911.2.M Tail number 513

2012-01-09T23:32:00.000-05:00

The Marine variant, complete with arresting hook for carrier operations, delivered July 3rd 1913.

This is the last version of these planes.Learned how difficult it can be to make these orthographic views, finding myself returning to what I thought I had done right to correct things.

1911.2.D Tail no. 223

2012-01-05T03:15:00.000-05:00

Delivered April 26th 1913 to the Kholodnia Army Air Defence Branch for zeppelin based operations.

Progress on my heron, too. I'm at the minor tweaks phase.

Moving on Saturday morning. It was fun, Austin. Maybe we'll meet again someday.

1911.2.O Tail no. 104

2011-12-30T02:22:00.000-05:00

1911.2.O Tail no. 104, as delivered in April 10th 1913, to FAOO Vasilyevna, the first to engage in aerial combat in the Great War.

Aside from changes I made to reflect going from prototype to production model, there are a few mistakes I caught which I'll have to go fix on the prototype.Going to Ikkicon for NYE's weekend, should be fun. Last week in Austin, still working on the Heron. Hope 2012 will be great, and not the end of the world. ;)

Heron WIP

2011-12-29T01:51:00.000-05:00

This project has me shifting my hours to something more inline with how "normal people" live their lives - regular business hours.I can still go home whenever I want, and catch a nap if I don't have any other plans, so I'm not quite there.Anyways, just WIP on the APRD heron, showing my model, hand painted texture and rig.There's plenty of work left, but I think I just might be happy with where I'm at before I pack up and leave for Berkeley, hoping the weather favors me as I plan to take my time and see the sights. :)

1911.2.1 No. 002

2011-12-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

The first flying prototype, loaned to the to Army Air Observation Branch on September 23rd 1911, for operational evaluations.

1911.2.1 Top View

2011-12-24T00:55:00.000-05:00

Finally, the last orthographic view for the 1911.2.1 Prototype.Well, sort of.For one thing, those wings came out really fat. Since I've been tweaking the other views as I went along, I may go back to this one as well and address that.

1911.2.1 Front View

2011-12-23T01:39:00.000-05:00

Front view of my jet powered biplane prototype.These take so long, especially now that I have to make sure everything aligns with what I have already established. Taking that into account, I think it'll end up in my portfolio, even thought I'm not quite sure it fits.After I'm done with the top view, then the fun really starts - production models with appropriate modifications and camouflage and markings all around. :)

1911.2.1 Side View

2011-12-21T05:47:00.000-05:00

I'm deviating from the path I planned to take with my personal projects, the hazard of not having a boss hovering over my shoulder. At least I'm having fun, right.It'll be good to have more illustrator work in my portfolio, and what first started as a pain in the ass turned into a blast (what a difference a day makes.)I made some changes to the earlier illustration to make it more plausible and give me some room for future growth.Poor tail wheel will get burned off, but at least the engine won't scrape on the tarmac as bad. That's why you need prototypes ;D

Zeppelins and 3D

2011-12-17T21:26:00.001-05:00

We have a winner for the Austin Parks and Recreation. I'm a little surprised they chose the heron. Fun shape through. :)

Before I started working on the bird, I practiced with this case fan. Blender still feels awkward, and I haven't even touched anything outside modeling. I'll have to figure out lighting, textures and cameras at the very least, with things like rigging, animation and particles bonuses if I have the time.

On the personal side, I've been having fun with zeppelins/blimps for the past couple of sketch nights, and thought I would do a few more digitally.

As I was working on them, I started thinking I should do something interesting with the planes of this universe, and strapping jet engines on wooden biplanes seemed like it would be fun.This is the 1911.2.1 prototype, seen in pre-war "bean pattern." (Can you tell I have further plans for this? ;) )

ANSC Trade Counter Front Rev. 1

2011-12-09T06:28:00.001-05:00

Finally got critique on these cards, which I kept at the back of my mind, but had to open and take a look to remember what she was commenting on.No.2 one, with 1 at a close second. I agree with the choice, I think the art nouveau style fits well with the concept, and would be a good challenge. I'm already seeing things I want to change, and I will work on the back as well.

I'm also going to sneak into the Susanna Dickinson museum in the mornings. My sketches are still being passed around and reviewed, but I need to familiarize myself with the idiosyncrasies of Blender.

Austin bird sketches

2011-12-07T05:19:00.001-05:00

A few cartoon birds, all Austin area natives (I hope :D )Preliminary sketches for a 3D model I plan to do for Austin Parks & Recreation, to be featured in their publication. I hope I finish it before I leave to Berkeley, CA, as I'm working on their computer. It'll be great to have more published work in my portfolio, and showcase more of my 3D skills.I'll keep you posted.

Song Bird

2011-12-04T05:58:00.001-05:00

Started digging deeper into designing aliens for my game concept, I thought a good first contact would be an alien that could heal, and doing it with sound would be an interesting concept.This reminded me of how barn owl use their face as satellite dishes, and I took it from there.The healing aspect then changed to buff/debuff using songs on one skill branch, while the other will turn these aliens into skilled night fighters.I started sketching adult-sized aliens at sketch night, and took the concept I liked into Photoshop only remember I wanted to go super deformed.I also decided I would call my game "Star Voices" as there will be many playable species, each with their own voice, as well as for the democracy system which will give each played a voice on global game concerns, such as alien diplomacy or research options.

Chibi Vector SMG

2011-11-30T05:37:00.001-05:00

This interesting SMG design by KRISS USA gets the cute treatment. It would be an unlocked weapon, once a soldier specializes.It's an idea I'm still toying around with. I may base it on weapon experience: Use the pistol long enough, and the new class will unlock.Another path would be to lock at a set of requirements a solider would have to perform, such as a certain number of kills, hit percentage, or damage taken.

Chibi M4 Carbine

2011-11-26T04:22:00.001-05:00

Another in the series.This and the Beretta are the weapons you would start with in my game.

2011-11-25T05:46:00.001-05:00

Productively procrastinating.

Social X-Com Sidearms

2011-11-24T06:20:00.001-05:00

It's been way too long since I've last posted.Been to Israel and back, stayed at a motel for 6 nights, did some horse studies.I really want to do the interior forge thing, but I'm hitting such a block with it, so I've been diverting some attention to the social (think facebook) X-Com concept I had.Here are some gun silhouettes, just to generate some ideas. I don't think these quite hit the spot, as I want to make it cute, but they get the juices flowing.I need to name this thing. Don't want to be stepping on any intellectual property toes.

Alien thumbnails

2011-11-01T18:54:00.000-04:00

Jumping ahead of myself and into a new project I've been thinking about (art to which I posted somewhere, possibly on Sketchaton)It's a social version of X-Com, where you can fight TBS battles with your friends, trade soldiers and play mini-games to increase attributes, game cash and collect cool items, all on facebook.I'll get back to the forge thing when I get back to Austin, but in the mean time I'm constructively procrastinating ;)

Room 260

2011-10-26T05:18:00.001-04:00

A slice of the interior of my room in Studio 6 Midtown Austin.It served it's purpose as a place to stay for the past 4 months, but it's time to move on to better things.I'll be flying to Israel in less than 12 hours, leaving my Intuos behind. I'll be back in 2 weeks.

Forge thumbnails

2011-10-22T04:51:00.001-04:00

Moving forward with the forge design, trying to see what sort of cool shapes I can come up with, even though they may not be practical.

I'm flying back to Israel this Wednesday to attend my brother's wedding (and serve as chauffeur, hurray!)Hopefully immigration won't stop me at the airport on my return trip to Austin in 2 weeks.

Forge study

2011-10-21T06:09:00.000-04:00

Realizing interiors are probably my weakest point, I set out to design a medieval forge to fit with the Cingulata Knights universe.Starting has proven difficult, and I believe it is because I simply don't know enough about how this stuff works,Hopefully this study I did of a photo I found on wikipedia will really start the ball rolling and I'll have something portfolio worthy.

Female Cingulata Knight

2011-10-07T06:27:00.000-04:00

Following the advice of my former teacher, Dave Groff, I'm adding a sexy lady to my portfolio :)I also needed to add some fantasy in there.Playing around with the armadillo theme, and adding the UT burnt orange.

I thought I was close to finally finding that job, and flying to my brother's wedding in Israel with a clear conscience, but even though I've got some interested responses, there's nothing solid.GDC is Monday, will it be the solution to my problems? That would be amazing, but not something I can rely on.

Holy warrior silhouettes

2011-10-01T17:50:00.000-04:00

This was a fun sheet, as the typical scepter evolved into a firearm.Giving the clergy a "magical" way of killing is a fun story idea.I also thought it would be fun to use an alternative religious symbol, something inspired by the legend of Austria's flag and by how people attach emotions to the heart.Kidneys seem like a fun shape, but as someone mentioned on facebook, they also look like a set of lungs, or dehydrated testicles XDThat's something I may be able to clarify in future reworks.

Cingulata Knights portrait thumbnails

2011-09-28T17:42:00.000-04:00

Working out some quick head designs for my knights, trying to figure out what would be fun to do.I did some pretty similar heads for Steel Stag, so I tried introducing more varied shapes. Do I think it worked?

I'm still unemployed, but I hope the Door64 Tech Fair I attended on Monday may have opened doors for me. I've had someone refer my resume to an airline in Dallas to do UI work, signed up with the Advisory Board Company, sent Paul McDonald of Build A Sign my resume, and handed out all my business cards (except 1 I found today,)Hell, maybe I'll even have a choice of where I want to go. :)

Swordmen Silhouettes

2011-09-23T06:09:00.001-04:00

More Cingulata Knights: swordsmen.

Went to a Young Adult Division meeting tonight, which may have opened some doors for me to find a job, in California maybe? Despite my emotional investment in Austin, I would accept such an offer.Even after the YAD meeting ended, I hung around 6th street with an Israeli I found at the meeting, watching him try pick up lines on random girls, later joined by 2 more Israeli friends. We may hang out some more, would be fun.

Cingulata Knights - Spearmen

2011-09-21T03:57:00.000-04:00

The first set of silhouettes for my new personal project: "Cingulata Knights"I'm expanding my portfolio to include fantasy, and I think it's going to be fun to create an army based on Armadillos, the small mammal of my new home, Texas. (Hopefully for longer than 4 months.)

Cartoon Armadillo

2011-09-20T04:39:00.000-04:00

Quick cartoony armadillo, an intro study into my new project.

I guess I won't be interning with Origin magazine. Picking up the slack in the job search. I feel really short of time, with my brother's wedding at the end of October. I'm not ready to give up on my American dream.In better news, I have been selected to volunteer for GDC Online, and I'm very excited for the event, coming Oct. 10-13.

Cat Knight

2011-09-18T19:42:00.000-04:00

This is my entry for the "anonymous" Art order challenge.Asked to take a character sketch and try to adapt it to a certain style, samples of which were provided.Original post:Trying Something Out of The Ordinary

Austin Nature & Science Center Trade Counter card sketches

2011-09-06T04:51:00.000-04:00

I volunteer at the ANSC, been watering the trees every Monday morning for the past month or so.
Of course, my main reason for starting was to help out with the art/design/software side of things, but I get distracted when I work from home.
I finally got around to finish the first round of sketched for the redesign of these cards.

The editor of Origin Magazine told me she would love to have me as an intern, but that was a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still not sure how it'll pan out. This job limbo sucks, but I hope something does work out, and I can move into my own apartment.

Anti-Air Battalion

2011-08-17T06:29:00.000-04:00

Hidden from enemy eyes and radar amidst the foliage thick valley of a river, this Anti-Aircraft Battalion (supply carrier out of view) defends a vital location.

Time to call it done, despite some funky perspective.
Going to slap it on the back of my new business card design, and have them delivered before Armadillocon, update the website, open a portfolio on filter foundry, update my paper portfolio... did I forget anything? :D

AA river WIP 2

2011-08-16T08:11:00.001-04:00

More progress, for the curious

Looks like I didn't post my first WIP, so here it is.

Bodyrox - Yeah, Yeah

2011-08-13T19:28:00.000-04:00

This is a study from a screen cap from the music video mentioned in the title.
I think I'll do more. I'll have fun searching through my favorite tunes for interesting frames. :)

I hope I find some employment soon, aside from the unfortunate weather, I really enjoy it here.
I'll also take an unpaid internship, if it guarantees I can return after my brother's wedding.

Stahl März final

2011-08-07T03:58:00.000-04:00

Time to let it go and move on to other things.

Riverbank studies 2

2011-08-06T04:58:00.000-04:00

Playing around with composition.

Riverbank studies

2011-08-04T04:43:00.000-04:00

Grabbed some photos from Google, which I thought could be a good basis for where I wanted to have my Anti-Aircraft group.
Did quick digital studies to learn about composition, colors, and other details that could help me sell the idea.

Missile platform

2011-08-02T06:34:00.000-04:00

The final piece of the AA puzzle.
Next I'll do some landscape studies including these guys.

Supply carrier

2011-08-01T03:36:00.000-04:00

Another part of the AA group.

AA Launch control module

2011-07-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

Anti-Air radar

2011-07-30T08:33:00.000-04:00

Anti-Aircraft radar emplacement silhouette.

Even though I'm still working on my Stähl Marz final, I decided it would be a good idea to explore new ideas for Steel Stag.
If it all goes according to plan, I'll update my paper portfolio as well as the online, and have a new back for my business cards.

Still unemployed, but I feel like I'm inching towards that job, hoping that I'll reach a happy end before I hit my deadlines.
Been to a couple of good events this week, the AAUGA July meeting and Game Dev Beer Night.

Stahl März final rough

2011-07-17T06:02:00.000-04:00

Final decisions time. Roughed out what I want the final to look like, making sure the values and composition work.
Going to build a proper perspective grid, something I don't do often enough, and flesh out the final.

Stahl März thumbs round 5

2011-07-16T06:34:00.000-04:00

Moving on to thumbnails of possible compositions for the final in round 5.
It's interesting to see the different colors "black and white" photos have.

Stahl März thumbs round 4

2011-07-14T02:48:00.001-04:00

Took my favorite design, fixed the legs and some of the other details, and tried some color combinations out.

Stahl März thumbs round 3

2011-07-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

Picked out my 5 favorite silhouettes from round 2, and made a few variations of details for each.
This was the most time consuming phase yet, by far.
I think I know why ANJ changed his technique. ;)

Monday was a good day. I don't like to stick around when housekeeping comes in, so I had to find something to do. Ended up going to AIA Austin to ask for some advice on breaking into the architecture business. I met Kristina, who was super nice and gave me some great advice, totally worth the trip, even though I may be barking up the wrong tree without any Revit knowledge.
I then visited the Austin Capital and Visitor center, learned a few new things about the city I'm in, and took the tour. Coming back to a clean room was also nice.

Unfortunately, waking up from a nap, I found that my weekly wi-fi code had expired, with no way to connect until I woke up and went to the office for a new code. Guess it's going to happen every Monday while I'm here.

Stahl März thumbs round 2

2011-07-09T01:51:00.000-04:00

Round 2 of thumbs. These reflect my decision to go with a six-legged hexapod design, and using what I saw on the armored cars which started appearing at the time.

Stahl März thumbs

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Thumbnails for Ianfodder's Stahl März WWI walker "commission" (I just don't think it's the right word, since there's no exchange of currency.)

WWI tanks

2011-07-07T02:34:00.000-04:00

A couple of studies of WWI tanks, a British Mark IV and a French FT-17.
Getting ready to do a commission thing on deviantArt.

Moved into Studio 6 in Midtown Austin, returned the rented car, going to the Austin IGDA picnic next Saturday, hopefully I will get some good connections with people in the game industry. So far I only know people who know other people, and no Austinites on facebook. What's up with that.
I've also been sending cover letters to architects, hoping they need someone to do some 3D graphics. Would be a great way to get some experience, probably better than working for sign makers or graphic designers.

Marine PIV + bonus

2011-07-04T03:53:00.001-04:00

Marine PIV is inspired by ProgV and that guy who told me high school kids with no schooling have better work than I.

First I felt kind of shitty, cause he hit a sore spot, but I've received enough comments and critique that I have a pretty clear idea of where I stand, and it's not rock bottom.
Then I felt inspired, and I had been meaning to do a study anyway. I should do more, that was kind of fun. Maybe some Star Wars concept art.

As I was looking at the post I made for this image on Sketchaton, I noticed the image I did a couple of days ago, how similar it is in certain aspects, and how I like some of it's quirks, like the weird feet, so here it is, skull helmet.

I like it when men scratch

2011-06-27T02:12:00.000-04:00

Started putting virtual random strokes of paint, this is what came out. Not sure what it says about me, but I'm going to rebuild it in vector form nonetheless.

C8TMA Toad-Flax Tank Killer

2011-06-24T02:07:00.000-04:00

After some minor tweaks, like enlarging the right foot, correcting the angle of the mountain side, and trying to add more texture, I'm ready to call it done.

Tank Killer

2011-06-23T04:31:00.000-04:00

(Almost) Final.

Painter and Photoshop. Already noticed a few things that need to be tweaked. Going to sleep on it, and see what I notice tomorrow.

Tank Killer color studies

2011-06-22T00:50:00.000-04:00

Which one do you like best?

Tank Killer value studies

2011-06-21T05:46:00.000-04:00

Figuring things out and making progress towards the final composition for the Tank Killer concept.

Tank killer thumbs

2011-06-20T03:24:00.000-04:00

Rethinking the tank killer concept for "Steel Stag"

BTR-60

2011-06-19T05:04:00.000-04:00

The last of the series. Next up is to see if I actually learned something doing these as I move on to the sci-fi stuff.

Little steps.

2011-06-18T03:12:00.000-04:00

I was planning on making a big update, showing a few projects I have in the pipelines, sorting through my photos and posting some of those, etc.
I keep putting it off for one reason or the other, whether it's because I like to update several websites at once - this blog, facebook, Flickr, deviantArt and conceptart.org.

The pictures are going to have to wait, because the external HDD that sort of worked no longer does, and the one that did work now sort of works. :(

I've been in Georgetown for the past week and change, and haven't done much of anything. I went to one figure drawing session, which was pretty cool, and talking with the guy who runs the meeting on Sunday really helped in figuring out the best places to go.
I have a pretty bad tendency to get lost, and I manage to do so even with the GPS. I think the signage in the area is at least part of the blame.

Anyways, enough yakking here's some art.

Tunnel Dog head anatomy practice.

Soviet armored vehicles of the Vietnam war. Studies for a future project.

Randomness for Sketchaton

Closing the Ohio Chapter

2011-05-10T04:12:00.001-04:00

This is it. Final work as an undergrad student at CCAD.
4 years ago I barely even knew where Ohio was on the map of the USA, much less place Columbus on it. Didn't know what a Buckeye was, or why wearing blue and yellow was a bad choice in this city.
3 years ago Design Square studios were under construction, the Triad was an official dorm, the AMF was called the B&E, Design Studios on Broad were known as the Broad Street Facilities and the cafeteria was in the basement of Schott. color concepts, painting, 2d design and 3d design were separate classes. Styles and Concepts was taught by 3 different teachers - Tardino, Mahan and Wong. I've had them all. Professional practice was available at different times, and seniors could have taken Entrepreneurial illustration.

I'm going to stick around Columbus until early June, relax, work on personal projects, pack up what I can, sell what I can, toss the rest, clean it up as best as I can, and drive down to Texas (although my mother is trying to convince me to look into taking the bus.)
I might have gone to Austin just because it's a game development mecca, having relatives in the area is icing on the cake. :)
My Optional Practical Training should be coming in soon, and will make June 13th as the first official day I can work. I'm crossing my fingers that I will start working at a game dev ASAP, with late Oct / early Nov serving as the looming deadline. My brother is getting married at that time, and there's no guarantee I'll be allowed back in the country, even thought my OPT doesn't officially end until June 13th 2012.

Alright, on to my final projects as a CCAD undergraduate. (I have no plans to return, but you never know.)

Most of the stuff is under my Operation: Steel Stag umbrella.

Illustration Professional practice:
Officer of the АНЧИ (Army of the New Human Ideal) and a "tunnel dog."
Character and Creaturee design:

(Big thanks to Hannah Rivera for posing for me at Anime Punch :) )

Adv. Painting:
Navy of the Union of Nations (My personal favorite from the show)
a 36"x24" oil painting.

Union of Nations Space Force
36" x 60" painting, the biggest I ever attempted

Sculpture I:
Flight 19
Combining the second project: Hydrocal self portrait and project number 3: Welding into a single piece.
"Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on 5 December 1945 during a United States Navy-authorized overwater navigation training flight from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida." (Wikipedia)

Project number 4 was time based.
I created this domestic fighter for it. I've built one of these when I was 14, and thought it would be fun to do another, something retro futiristic that would fit right in with Crimson Skies.
There was also a time limitation to consider.

Serigraphy:
I silk screened patches for the AUoN, fulfilling my requirment for alternative surface, and having something to wear on my uniform when I set up my table at Directions. I knew not to take it seriously from hearing what former participants had to say about it ;)
I printed on felt and foam sheets with sticky back I bought at wal-mart.

I also combined my final silk screening project with my science project, creating this piece on the short term effects of Dioxin, the nasty stuff in Agent Orange. A toxin we are all exposed to.
I think I like the origin file better.

Last but not least, the free model session
I don't know her name, but I know she's CCAD alum, and studied American sign language.
Colored pencils. Didn't notice the distortion of the lower part until I photomerged today. Done 4.19.11

It is perhaps fitting that Jeremy would be the last nude I draw at CCAD. He is probably the model I drew the most, with Kelly coming in second.
Charcoal. I actually let the distortion happen as they will in this - the face, hands and legs

I should have been painting

2011-04-17T23:57:00.001-04:00

Updating takes a long time. Have to collect my work, scan, photomerge, photograph, resize. Then it's upload, to facebook, deviantArt, Flickr, conceptart.org and this blog.
A short description of what I'm doing, tags, and I'm done, for a week or two.

Someone better be enjoying it. ;)

Our first sculpture project was called Dust and Mass, and taught us how to mold plaster and carve alabaster.
I made 2 pieces.

For our 3rd silkscreen project we had to use drawing fluid, with monoprint being optional.
I chose to do something that mirrored my digital concept art, with some uniform designs.

Free model session: Bob

Mobile Advanced Repair Platform: Vehicle/environment concept design for Pro practice

Part 2 of the ongoing Comp Anim project: lighting

Slow updates

2011-04-07T10:17:00.000-04:00

I think I should update more often, but it's the nature of this semester's classes, and maybe you, my followers, don't really mind.

Anyways, what have I done since my last update? A couple of free model sessions:
Matt, who has been confirmed as creepy by others, in oil pastels. Thank you Mrs. Wang for making me feel like I'm not that great with them whenever I pull them out.

I still don't know this model's name, cartoon duck tattooed on her lower back.
It's been a while since I've stretched my charcoal muscles, felt good.

Painting I finished for adv painting before Spring Break, dealing with Augmented reality.

Silk screening photo stencil project.

It's here!

2011-03-13T07:18:00.000-04:00

The update I have been promising is here.
Most of the work I've done towards mid terms.
I plan to buy a camera over spring break (and get a haircut, clean my room, work on promotional material, and more) and I'll photograph my sculptures.

For our computer animation I class, we were asked to model a room, texture it, light it, and eventually have some animation happen inside.
I chose to model an Autocars Carmel, one of the cars offered by the only Israeli private car manufacturers to ever exist.
The first landmark is to check on modeling and textures. My teacher was quite pleased with my work, but has given me some pointers on improving it, and I have been doing just that. We can resubmit our work on Tuesday for an improved grade, but here's what I turned in.

For my first project for silk screening I went with a cargo plane that fits into my "Steel Stag" universe.
I did a little trickery with the squadron logo, made things a little more challenging, but I got a kick out of it.

In Groff's Pro Practice class we were given prompts such as designing a card game, making an editorial illustration for a mixed drink, or a cereal box for an 80's video game. It was kinda goofy trying to fit something like that into my previous work.
Ended up going with a propaganda like ad for "Hero pops"

In Advanced painting we have been asked to create 4 paintings in a series, further exploring what interests us, and experimenting to try to expand our visual vocabulary.
That meant more mecha for me. Mr. Lee, our teacher, thought it would be a good idea to incorporate what I have been doing with concept design within my paintings, which lead to this, the first in the series. I'm working on the second for Monday's critique.

Mid-terms

2011-03-01T04:40:00.000-05:00

I don't remember mid-terms as being a significant point during the school year, but it seems that there is certainly something going on.
I spend the evening at the sculpture lab carving alabaster, modeling clay or casting plaster. Then I head to the media studies lab to work on my Maya project. Once the lab closes at midnight, I head to the print lab to add another color and reduce my silkscreen.
I'm gonna need to finish a piece for adv. painting homework.
Took an exam in natural science topics today, it was nice having some lunch when I don't usually have time for it on Mondays.

I'm neglecting my pro practice class. It's the only class I have to take, aside from science, and the only illustration class this semester. Funny how that works.

Student assessments next week. Good opportunity to catch up on some sleep on Wednesday. Thursday will be the same.

Went to the Home and Garden show Sunday. I wish I had gone during the past two years. Came home with a supply of tote bags, magnets, pens, 2 yard sticks, a jar opener, an LED flashlight, sanitary wipes, antibacterial roll-ons, pinwheel, candy, flyswatter... :)
This weekend we have the chili cook-off which should be even more fun than last year, and the Arnold sports festival. I might check it out. Could get some good reference, if I feel like coughing up $15 and dragging my ass out of bed.

Not so great - taxes, job seeking, letting the landlord know I won't be leasing next year.

Rant over, sketches from Monday sessions:

Quarter done

2011-02-15T02:16:00.000-05:00

Week 4 out of 16. On one hand we have just started getting into the thick of things - I'm working on the details of my painting.
I finished building my silk screen, and would have prepared my class screen for the first color pass but someone else left his screen to dry on my table.
I'm going to polish my second alabaster sculpture, a mate to my first, while also working on the clay bust which we will make a waste mold of.
Portfolio review in Pro Practice, so the project will be due next week.
Garage is WIP, worked on the Autocars Carmel for 6 hours, and I'm no where near done. :/

Faith (I saw her model card :P ) Modeled for us in the latest free model session, and I used the opportunity to illustrated the first spread in the sketchbook Groff wants us to keep - one in which we focus on visual storytelling.

Not much to show

2011-02-08T17:12:00.001-05:00

Painting is still being worked on, a snow day hit silk screening, planning out a garage for Comp Anim I.
Popsicle ad for pro practice needs to be worked on, self portrait sculpture in preliminary stages.

What I do have is work on Sketchaton blog I recently joined that was Started by Hannah, one of my Sketch Group regulars.

I also have the latest from the free model session. A guy who looks like a lean, mean, one fingered fighting machine. How often do you get to draw something like that from life? :)

Post con impressions

2011-02-01T03:50:00.000-05:00

It took some trial and error, but I figured out exactly how to "attack" the chaos that is Ohayocon. Chances are slim I will return for 2012, but maybe someday in the future I will revisit. I guess I can consider it my home con after all.

I'm far more interested in sitting at a panel and listening to people talk about their favorite things (unless I am completely lost in a sea of fan girls screaming things I do not understand, like the Hetalia panel.)
I also like to collect freebies, but those are in low supply at this particular con. (The Asian Festival and Marcon are far better for that.)

Too bad I didn't have a camera, maybe I could have started posting on my Navel Warfare blog >_>

At least I took my sketchbook.

Did an oil pastel painting of Dayna at the free model session.

Lull before the storm

2011-01-24T23:46:00.000-05:00

If it seems like I slowed down, it's true.

Since returning to Columbus I've had to worry about shopping, cleaning, cooking, filling out graduation forms, having to set the alarm clock so I can wake up in time, sending my laptop to repair, and getting a taste for classes this semester.
With homework looming, but not a direct threat (yet.) I also abandoned my goal of filling a page with sketches a day, a goal easy to follow, due to it's smallness.

As far as my classes go, I think I will enjoy sculpture. The preliminary sketches for silk screening and advanced painting are making me groan, but once I get into it, I think things will go smoother.
Topics in biology should be good, like most of the liberal arts classes I've taken.
Pro Practice will be more of the same.
I'm enjoying Comp Anim I, but I enjoyed modeling when I took a similar course in Tiltan, my old college. It's when we got into texturing and animation that I started to struggle. I hope an older me can manage it better.

Today was the first free model session, with a model I haven't drawn before, which is always nice.
Maybe I'll catch her name later.

Had a hard time with her face, kept redrawing, still wonky when the session ended. :/

Classes start tuesday.

2011-01-13T14:35:00.001-05:00

I'll be taking the 2 am train, arriving at Ben-Gurion airport an hour later, and starting the boarding process for my flight to Warsaw. Hopefully there won't be any delays, and I'll fly out of Warsaw 3 hours later, headed to Chicago's O'hare airport, before my final leg to Columbus.

It's been a short vacation, and as always, I feel as though I could have done more, but knowing myself, I think I've had a bigger output than I usually fall into. It's all about setting small goals, like doing a page of sketches a day, and keeping away from hardcore games.

Mom hung my paintings on the wall, even blew up and framed a sketch I did on a little post-it sized note, when I was bored during a family reunion. :)

Website is still work in progress, but it's close enough to finished that I started sending out emails inquiring about positions in game companies. I've gone through the numbers and "A"s on gamasutra.

Unless there's a snow day, my first class is Silk screening, 12:30 Tuesday.

My younger brother, the second of three is getting married at the end of Oct. twisting my hand to return. I'm hoping that by then I'll be well on my path towards my dream career (with the possibility that reality might roll out differently.)
When I do come back, I think I'll visit the Carmel mountain park, the site of the big fire that happened in Early Dec. and do some more plein air, like the digital work I did over the last two days. I had a blast.

9 more days in Israel

2011-01-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

My website is still a work in progress. I realized that the gallery code doesn't work in IE, and I may have to replace it with something that does (and maybe get more space for explanations in the process.) So I haven't really started the job seeking process.
I also need to design ads for sketch group, and have them approved by our dean of student affairs, something which shouldn't take long, once I get around to it.

I haven't seen/painted the remains of the fire yet. I don't think the mock interviews are going to happen. Haven't done as much digital painting as I planned to. Still haven't gone to Masho Masho, my old workplace, to have a chat with my old boss. Still didn't buy Scott a gift.

At least I have my nightly ID sketch session.

I also did this pirate cocktail party, merging two INTJf topics, Pirate and Cocktails. :)

Happy new year :)

2011-01-01T07:18:00.000-05:00

I ended 2010 attending the annual life drawing marathon at Tiltan, my old college. I talked with Erez and Michal, the couple who founded this small art school, and with Mail, the head of the graphic design course, who taught me back in the day.
I also saw Kobi and Ilan, old professors of mine, but we didn't talk.

On Friday I took the car to IBM in Petach Tikva, for the 2010 Israel game unconference. It was pretty sweet, seeing who makes games in Israel, listening to lectures, and dropping off some of my business cards. Free pastries for breakfast, free pizza for lunch. Can't complain. ;)

Sagi, charcoal, first drawing of the night, warming up.

Sagi and Andre, charcoal, one hour pose (These guys are champs, sitting for an hour straight)

Yael, 6B pencil, 30 minutes? hour?

5 min. gestures of Yael, charcoal

Yulia, 6B

Website is up (mostly)

2010-12-30T06:46:00.000-05:00

While it's technically a work in progress, I've reached a stage in my website's construction if which I feel confident pimping it.
I still need to add content, such as a link to my resume, and I need to iron out bugs, like the errors I get in Internet Explorer, but the main galleries are there.

Go check it out at www.hamsta180.com

I also decided to post a couple of the ID sketches I did, all from photo ref.
Bongs are fun shapes, challenging too, with all those spheres and ellipses.
I don't abuse drugs, and neither should you, especially if you are the kind of guy who traps his cat in his bong, hilarious as that is.

I also liked how these garbage trucks came out. (so did mom :P )

Working in Israel

2010-12-26T23:49:00.000-05:00

I've been a week here in Israel, and I am still flexing my artistic muscles.
I'm working on my website, waiting for the DNS servers to resolve after messing around with the IP address. Once it is up, and I sort out everything I want to put up on it, I'll have to start pimping it out in the hopes of finding a job before I graduate.
I have also been doing some ID type sketches with a ball point pen, nothing terribly exciting.

I still plan to buy some illustration board (how do you say that in Hebrew, and do they have any available?) and do some gouache paintings of what's left of the big fire that raged around here about 3 weeks ago.
I also planned to do try some digital painting tutorials in the hopes that I will find one I will really be able to follow and that will really help me push me to the next level, although these kinds of things have never really worked for me in the past.

I did a digital painting tonight - the Christmasaurus, bring presents to all the good caveboys and girls.
It was inspired by something Cynthia Sheppard posted on facebook :D

The final finals of Fall 2010

2010-12-21T01:04:00.000-05:00

I'm writing this post from Haifa, Israel. The city I was born and raised in, and spent 4/5ths of my life.
While it's nice to be back, with all the little annoyances that make it what it is, I will only come back permanently if my hand is twisted, and there's no other choice.

I'm still waiting for my final grade, for landscape painting, which should bump my average right back to President's list standards, a first for a Fall semester. :P

Once I get around the jet lag, I have plans to keep myself in tip top artistic shape, maybe even form better drawing habits. I know I need them to stay competitive. Or maybe I'll slack off like usual.

The Tiltan nude marathon is on the 30th, an Israeli game developer un-conference on the 31st (groan.) I have some gouache and watercolors I can use to paint what's left of the big fire that went down here a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully my dad can repair my Intuos' cable so I can keep working digitally.

I also did a piece in Children's market I need to retouch and scan, as it's supposed to be for the SOI (not that I think it has a chance, but whatever) and the faux driver's manual I did in web design, which doesn't quite work as expected because Flash Catalyst is a typically buggy version 1 piece of software.

What I do have is the couple of finals I did for landscape painting. Views of Aphelion II, the planet where my game (which I think I will call "Operation Steel Stag") takes place.
These are digital paintings over scanned oil paintings.

I also made a couple of sculpts in dimensional illustration. I call my first Sandy, on account of how much I needed to sand her. :P
My original goal was to make her a resin, but due to time constraints and inexperience, I kept her as a sculpey figure

My second sculpt is a nuclear bug (bugs were the theme for the class) done in the last minute because I had spent so much time on Sandy, but still needed to turn in a second piece. :P

Almost done

2010-12-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Last class is tomorrow, Friday the 17th at 3:30 pm.

There will be one more post following this one with work from Fall semeter 2010. Anything after will be from Israel, (and I'm planning to be productive,) until I return on the 14th.

It wasn't an easy semester, and I have some mixed feelings about how much I learned, and the grades I'm expecting.

Landscape painting was awesome, I enjoyed anthropology. Comic book was pretty good, but a lot of busy work. It was fun to mess around with Sculpey, and I might use it again to make little models as reference, but I don't think I can turn sculpting into a career.
Children's market illustration was ok, but not great, as was illustration methods.
Heard a lot of good information during professional practice, but I'm not super happy with any of the projects I did, even though they were self-assigned.
Web Design II was fun, seems like I put more effort into it than anyone else :)
(reminds me I need to work on the overhaul of my site)

Art!

Caripeta angustiora - Brown Pine Looper:
Gouache painting for illustration methods, done from photo ref

Page 2 for comic book class. We never got to the 3rd planned page.

Mighty mouse cover redesign, done in Painter and Photoshop.
Pro practice class.
Original

Heightened drawing self portrait, charcoal and white pastel.
Photo ref.

2 weeks

2010-12-04T15:05:00.001-05:00

Flying back home on the 18th, arriving early on the 20th or something like that.
Long flight, long layover (13 hours in Warsaw) and time zones will do that.

Maybe I'll finish my website in Warsaw, if I don't manage to get it done before hand.

I didn't have big plans aside from sleeping and getting my dad to fix my Wacom (I hope) but having heard Scott Hull talking about breaking into the illustration world, I think I may try to do some mock interview with Israeli game devs. I know there are a few of them doing casual games, mostly, even if I have to drive an hour and half to meet them.

Another view of downtown Columbus from the AMF building. This setup was a pain, as I was standing on a model stand, and looked through a tiny window, and we had a lot more time on it. My teacher likes it, so maybe it was worth it. ;)

"Architecture" themed drawing for Groff's sketchbook (which is no longer a requirement, but extra credit)
Kelly in the free model session.

Vasselin Behrovich, Combat tracker.

Character design for "Aphelion II" the game concept I came up with to focus my portfolio on.

A portrait of Cody.
Done for illustration methods, using Chris Payne's technique - graphite and colored pencil underpainting, gessoed, oil wash over that, kneaded eraser to take out the highlights, and acrylic and colored pencils to finish it off.

Here are some finals...

2010-11-25T00:52:00.000-05:00

It's Thanksgiving "break."

This is the 3rd time I've been through this so called break, finding myself thankfully that it's here, but realizing that I have a lot of work to do before it ends, as finals are coming.

Fall semester has Thanksgiving. Spring semester has Spring break, student assessments, and a snow day or two to boot. Just one more reason why Springs have turned out better.

I have been planning to get my website overhauled and send out my resume, as it is 6 months before I graduate.

I'm going to get on that soon. After that, I need to work on my Payne's technique portrait, web design mech manual, Struwwelpeter collage, SOI thumbs/line art, comic page no. 2, landscape thumbs, sculpey figure, and enemy recognition manual...

Landscape painting in German Village. I like how the light was broken by the roof of the building, and how ephemeral the mail truck looks, it really was there for only a short time.

Acrylic wash portrait of Hannah, for illustration methods.

"Dira Lehaskir" (Apartment for Rent) digital painting for the "No Place Like Home" CCAD Spotlight competition. I didn't get in.

Final pencils for page 1 of the Comic book illustration class project.

"Nautical Tales" library reading program. Done for Childrens' market illustration. Charcoal drawing colored in illustrator, with a handmade font.

Where are my finals?

2010-11-18T13:27:00.001-05:00

I have a few longer assignments I'm working on, and a few I didn't get back yet.

I guess I'll show some love to my blog with some sketches.

I'm still trying to get my schedule in order after spent the weekend attending Illuxcon as a student. Sleep schedule is all fucked up because I have been trying to keep up with homework.
I think this con is going to be a significant experience in my professional life, passing my business card around, getting feedback on my portfolio, making connections, learning new things.

I'd love to attend again next year, but I just don't know where I'll end up after graduation, maybe even in another country.

And now to the sketches, these all come from the sketchbook I am keeping for Groff's class, in which we are asked to fit certain themes.

"Liquid," a marker drawing of Jeremy, done during the free model session.

"Armored," Graphite sketch of Courtney, done during the Illuxcon award ceremony.

"Toys," graphite sketch done during the Illuxcon model session.

"Organic," Jeremy again, this time in crayon.

November - super month

2010-10-30T04:12:00.001-04:00

November 2010 is going to be epic. A month I will remember until I die, even when I forget the names of my brothers.

Britanee and I will be celebrating our birthday next Saturday. It marks the start of my 3rd decade alive.
Time to start a career and lose my virginity. ;)
I'll also be going to Mid-Ohio-Con on Sunday, portfolio and business cards under my arm. Need to make some opportunities for myself.
The following weekend we are going to Illuxcon. The plan this year is for 10 of us to share a room, boys and girls. It's going to be interesting.
I have a portfolio review with Rob Ruphl, who happens to have been born Nov. 7th. :D

Better get to work on my branding.

Enough words. Pictures say more, right?

Landscape painting at Highbanks Metro park:

Professional practice: Vasselin Behrovitch, combat tracker, character design

Illustration Methods:

Seated figure graphite value study. (Thanks for modeling, Emily :) )

Human animal hybrid, greyscale acrylic. Lizzie with an Inca Tern.

Full color acrylic painting. We needed to come up with 5 nouns and 5 verbs and use them to come up with an interesting idea/composition.
The words I ended up using were lizard, missile, leap and fly.

Free model session:
I killed Audrey for the "Horror" theme required for Groff's sketchbook.

Audrey again. Choose this angle for the challenge.

Côte d’Ivoire?

2010-10-16T00:56:00.001-04:00

Just had a look at the stats of my blog. Why is my biggest audience from the ivory coast? Why is the Ukraine in second place?

Another week, another dump. More finals coming in. Half the semester flew right past me without me noticing, doing ok grade wise, just gotta keep the momentum.
I'm so happy I took leadership of Sketch Group, we are expanding little by little, but still a tight group.

And now to the work.
Childrens' market illustration, character development sketches.

Cricket magazine cover:

Professional practice. We all drew random professions to illustrate.

Landscape painting at the Whetstone Park of Roses and Highbanks Metro park.

Free model session, Jeremy in Sanguine and Black conté and sharpie.

A post with a lot of fiber

2010-10-02T00:04:00.001-04:00

I've been falling behind on the blog updates, so it's a bigger dump than usual.

Mondays are for free model sessions (And the bi-weekly International Student Association meetings that cut the model session to an hour.)

Taking a landscape painting class. It takes me outside my comfort zone, which I really appreciate, it's the best way to learn.
Hauling all my stuff on location, and getting caught during a major storm, complete with tornado sires and water damaged sketchbooks is the downside. We started with monochrome palette knife painting, and graduated to using color with brushes in a similar way.

An establishing shot for comic book class.

Finally, some sketches from Sketch group, which I know head. I really enjoy entertaining the people who have been showing up, almost all new to the group, and I'm getting a better experience than I have in the past from the group. I just wish Kirsten wasn't the only veteran showing up. Maybe I'll have better luck dragging people in if I get approved to move into Circle hall.

Last day of Summer

2010-08-29T23:59:00.000-04:00

Starting classes tomorrow. Illustration methods with Kovach at 8am. Followed by Web Design II with Bennett.
Time to summarize my summer.
Memphis for 11 weeks, for an internship with Resolute Interactive. It was a good experience. I picked up a few new tricks, I felt like I was needed, got some artwork that I can say is out there, made some good connections, ate a ton of pizza. Even get a tablet PC as a gift (still trying to figure out how I can use it.)

You can see what I worked on at garage.appanda.com

On the other hand, I would have liked to work on games, and do more illustration work.
Memphis isn't exactly on my list for places I want to live, considering how it's rich history basically comes from the fact it's such a shit hole, from yellow fever epidemics, Jim Crow laws to it's usual ranking amongst the most dangerous American cities.

Came back to Columbus an a greyhound bus that ran 1.5 hours late. Good thing I didn't have to transfer, or I could have been stuck in some station for 4-5 hours.
I've had a stack of mail waiting in my box, and I knew I had more waiting in the office.
Bad news from the doctor. I thought I was fine when I talked with the nurse in Memphis, but here in Ohio I am told I'm pre-diabetic.
I also have a letter from the IRS saying I owe them money, but I sent a check when I asked for the changes to my forms. I bet that that's going to be a real pleasure.

Tomorrow I need to see if I have a job waiting for me with IT, pay tuition, and see if I can add the internship to my schedule.

Artwork update:
Just a quick digital portrait. Feeling rusty.

Messing with custom brushes.

INTJf: inner beast.

Quick character concept.

Birthday thing for mom.

Mid Summer review

2010-08-04T04:33:00.001-04:00

Been in Memphis for over a month. Back to school at the end of this one.
Turns out being a graphic designer isn't that bad. Maybe it's because it's for interactive media, or maybe it's because I don't have to deal with clients.

I have done a few more concepts for Eightsphere. Could do some more, namely weapons and spell effects. I know Wei wanted it done by now, but the distance poses some problems.

Archer concepts:

Light infantry:

I'm also ready to call Shiverlick Mk. II done

Flicker Street Studio

2010-07-11T21:58:00.000-04:00

I would have liked to have taken some college level art classes this summer as well, but the Memphis College of Art started any class which might have interested me before I moved.
While looking for alternatives, I found Flicker Street Studio, and took the encaustic and wire sculpture workshops.

It's a pain in the ass to get there by bus (What isn't? Memphis Area Transit Authority sucks hardcore) but they are good people, I learned new things, and I had fun.

Here's what I made:

Guess my blog is suffering from the Memphis heat too

2010-07-11T04:21:00.000-04:00

I am staying at Studio 6 Memphis, going to Resolute Tuesday and Thursday nights, currently working on web design for our newest app. Seems that making games doesn't make financial sense, although it's the reason why most of us joined.
Most of us are hoping we could get back on that track, at least part-time.

I have been working on art for Eightsphere, our GCC game, although the distance makes it a little hard to stay involved, and the leader, Wei, is being a little unclear on what to do next.
Here's what I did until now.

Drill worm:

Golem:

Homuncali:

Shiverlick is still alive, albeit as lazy as everything else :P

Won't be slacking over summer break much longer

2010-06-10T05:19:00.000-04:00

I found myself an internship in Memphis, I'll be meeting the CEO of Resolute Interactive to hash out the final details of what I will be doing. I know it won't be full time, but I'll try to get the best out of it.

There have been a few more GCC meetings since I graduated, but not for the last couple of weeks because of finals.

INTJf's:
Eyes:

Meaning of flower (Orange blossom):

Something you don't want to find in your kitchen:

And finally a personal project. Storm clouds for my facebook pet dragon, Shiverlick, to ride on :)

Acronym Soup

2010-05-23T22:56:00.002-04:00

Summer break is officially here. Now that I'm a week in, it's begun to sunk.
There's still the big "if" of the internship at Neopets or elsewhere.
I'm still doing art - DSGs, INTJfs, GCC.

I have been part of Daily Sketch Group for six years now, and 1060 posts later, I'm still doing every single one (though they are no longer daily.)
It has helped me a lot, but looking at the other art posted in the forum, I still have a lot of room for improvement.

Here are some from the past week:

DSG 1559: Creature • IMPRESSIVE ALIEN BEAST BLENDS QUALITIES OF BOTH RHINO & LION

DSG 1558: Sci-Fi • FRIENDS ON GROUND WAVE AS FUTURISTIC FLYING CRAFT KICKS UP DUST

DSG 1557: Fantasy Scene • PRAIRIE GIRL USES STICK TO POKE AT THE THING IN THE PIT

I have also doing the art challenges at the INTJforum. (Do I even do anything for myself anymore?)
Some of the latest work.

Eyes.

Creature from Mount Bosavi: The world's biggest rat (This was my suggestion)

Dogma

Last but not least, we are working on our own game project at the Game Creation Club, for which I am making some of the in-game art.

Engineer, picks up weapons and adds skill points to player.

Carrion worms, eats up bodies and spits out flies.

Heavy infantry (based on another GCC member's concept art) one of the basic units.

Final finals, finally

2010-05-17T16:38:00.001-04:00

From the last days of Fall 2010.
Mr. Kumlien was still pushing the idea of mass tones. (charcoal / Conté)

Mrs. Wong gave me a B on the spot illustration for an article about "winterizing your skin," the highest grade I got in that class. She thought I was avoiding painting. I was just looking for what other techniques I might use. I have been painiting for color concept all year.
A C+ on my sketchbook and final grade.

The final Bunn guns for Advanced Structural. (They don't shoot coffee :P )

I'm still waiting for an answer from Neopets about the internship, or that someone else might pick me up.
CSCC has a pretty cool lineup if I do stick around, I'm not too worried about being sexually assaulted in the toilets. I read about that last week, smells fishy.
I'm also working with the GCC on Project X, and having a blast.

Last week of school

2010-05-08T23:42:00.004-04:00

Should be quite the significant week.

I still have a painting to finish for styles and concepts and I need to tweak John Henry and mount and wrap it along with my box art for Earth Zero, hopefully I'll see one hanging in the show.
I would also like to see something from my figure drawing and electronic illustration classes hanging.

I am also waiting for an answer from Neopets. Hoping I get a yes for the internship.

Found a sheet of acetate, so I figured I would try something I learned back in Israel - covered one side with black acrylic, and scratched it off with screwdrivers. I think it looks like a cell from an old soviet animation. When I felt it was finished, I did a conté piece, and compressed charcoal on the second session.

So what is Earth Zero?
My color concepts final project, a game mock up, including concept art, cover art and in-game mock up.

2010-05-02T01:35:00.000-04:00

Everything is due on Tuesday, more or less.
Electronic illustration is done. Finished it Thursday around 4 am, felt great.
Styles & concepts has a good amount of work completed, and I'll have another work to finish.
Figure drawing is out of the way, Psychology of development exam on Wednesday.
I have been thinking what I should do for copywriting, but nothing written just yet.

The biggest obstacle is color concept. Pixel art mock-up of a video game. Taking forever.

Final for electronic illustration:

Figure drawing. Audrey this week. A couple of charcoal (stick for the first, pencils the second)

And finally, Audrey in Crayon (plain old Crayola)
One of the first media anyone picks up (at least in Western culture) yet so hard to do serious work with it. In that way they are like pencils. I'm pleased with how this turned out. :)

Two working weeks left. Why am I blogging

2010-04-25T01:19:00.000-04:00

It's because there are two weeks left. When it goes down to one, that's when the all nighters come and beating myself over the head over how I should have been working. Or maybe it will be better this semester? Last Spring was alright. It might be a cycle I'm developing.

Inkwash from figure drawing class, after the first session, and the final.

The Keakeumm, an alien species I have developed for Electronic illustration. Still some work needed on it. There's another alien in the works, which I should address in the next few days.

And some Bunn guns for advanced structural. These fire magnetically accelerated nano-ammunition, custom built inside the rifle from atmospheric gasses.
These are connected to the other alien race of my game idea for Electronic illustration :)

Where was I?

2010-04-14T23:16:00.001-04:00

I've got a sinus infection going on. At first I thought it was a toothache, then TMJ, went to the doctor's who thought the headache was the significant thing, and gave me antibiotics.
I hope it clears soon, because I don't have time to be sick.

Got John Henry back, with a 95 attached to it, which makes me very happy, I was getting tired of B's.

Erika, my teacher, told me she would put it in the show if I gave John higher contrast, I'll see what I can do.

I also got the seduction piece back, got a C on it. Apparently no one will buy it because I didn't define the characters or space well enough.

In the future, Bunn will expand it's business from coffee machines into magnetically-accelerated nano-ammunition sniper rifles.
Why Bunn? Not because it rhymes with Gun, that's for sure.
It came out of a suggestion to work using an established visual identity as a guide. The teacher suggested I use Colt. I thought it was a good idea, but gun companies seem pretty bland, as guns are less designed and more engineered towards a practical application.
With that in mind, I searched for something that had an orange handle, because I have a marker in that color ;)

In other news. Work from free model session:

And from figure drawing class:

What now brown cow?

2010-04-03T23:28:00.002-04:00

Has it really only been a week since spring break?

We've had a concept artist presentation with Eric Spray, Brian Matyas and Mark Sullivan this week, it was very inspiring to see what these guys have been doing, and how they do it. A lot more inspiring than Mrs. Wong ;)

Need to write a proposition for color concepts, based on the book Cradle to Cradle. I'm going to gear it towards gaming, with some concept and pixel art.
I also need to write more for Electronic illustration, as I brand and focus my project, again towards gaming.

Did an oil pastel painting in figure drawing class. A natural light study.
I think I'll make it one of my final four, see if it gets into the show. Again, inspired by my dislike to Wong's treatment.
I don't know this model's name. Someone called her "Sumo," I'm so mean for using that...

Spring. Broken for the week.

2010-03-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

It's 9:28 am, I haven't gone to bed yet.
When vacations roll along I turn nocturnal. Snowed last night. Where did that come from? Well, it did snow the morning of Easter last year.
Working on my website (again.) Sent out a bunch of internship requests, covering the San Fransisco area. I plan on expanding my search area and sending more.
Still working on my Styles piece, did some of the advanced structural redraws.
Almost done with Color Concept, just waiting for my "steam" to dry.

Watercolor of Bob, core shadows. I'm very happy with the head, although he has a bigger chin in life.

A series of happy accidents lead to a rather pleasing INTJforum challenge. The idea of having a larger than life animal licking "home sweet home" was always there, but just how big it is was the result of a search for reference. Color picking from a photo taught me a little about what was going on, and the broken vignette came to be once I realized I was zoomed in.

Working on a series of harpies for figure drawing class. At first we chose a background, then we added a background, played around line quality and rhythm, and in this case, we tried to convey a feeling with our value structure.

Oh, Mrs. Wong

2010-03-17T23:03:00.001-04:00

Why must we argue? You think I am the one with the attitude because I don't think the identity of the man matters?
Some of the best motivation I ever had. I'm determined to make this a good piece. If she gives me an F on an A+ piece, I have ways of contesting that. Not so much if I get a C- on a B work.

In other news we are done with the BlackFire project for advanced structural, and are now moving on to personal projects. I'm going to go with alien guns, connecting it with my electronic illustration work.

We are working on coreshadows in figure drawing.

Finally, something from electronic illustration that has been forgotten for a while. Graphite sketch colored in Painter.

Student assessments this week.

2010-03-08T04:03:00.002-05:00

I'm up on Wednesday at 12:30 pm. I hope I'll pass this time.

I'm not sure what I did this past year was really that different from what I did back then.
I'd like to believe I improved over that time period, but am I focused?
I just feel that school is the time to experiment with techniques and approaches,
I know what I want to do after I graduate, and if it goes according to plan, I'll be doing it for years to come.

Tried the technique Tardino taught at the post earlier this year, I think it came out decent.
Maybe I should have used more fixative. Mr. Kumlien, my figure drawing teacher, thought it was getting muddy, and wanted to see what I could do with straight pastel. So I did a quick portrait.

Exploding sinks and hexagonal weather

2010-02-27T22:21:00.003-05:00

It's almost March, and snow is still coming down. I still see new things in the snow. Hexagonal flakes which require specific weather conditions.
Some are thinner and larger, others are more compact. Melting from the outside in as I exhale on them.
Sparkling on the ground.

I haven't seen any ice on the branches this year.

In figure drawing we moved into 2 session drawings. Even when I take more time measuring, I still feel I'm finished well ahead of the end of the 2nd session. Finishing has always been a problem for me, maybe this will help.

Oh, and a sink exploded in Design Square Apartments. Glad I don't live there :P
Someone did complain that their sink would "scream," guess she had a point.
We had a couple of floods back home in Israel. First time it happened I woke up because my sockets were being fried and smoke filled the room. Lack of draining meant we had to soak it all up with rags and buckets.

Razzle Dazzle 'em

2010-02-20T23:16:00.003-05:00

Simultaneous contrast, a color concept project that fell victim to the snow day. My favorite for this class (which includes the fall semester) so far, by far.

We were asked to look at an art movement for inspiration. I choose Futurism (and Vorticism) for mine, because like a typical male, I like war machines :)
I had some reference photos I took over the summer which were appropriate.
We also needed to have a mid-value mid-chroma color flowing throughout the piece, and I thought it would be a good idea to make it the green of the camouflage.

When I researched this project I learned that the dazzle pattern I saw painted on WWI ships was actually created by a Vorticist, how cool is that?

Another victim of the snow was the styles and concepts portrait project. Our good friend Ahmedinejad.

Oil pastel. Hands bother me a little, but I think it's pretty good overall.

The anonymous model on Wednesday (maybe I should ask for her name?)
Dayna on Friday. Both conté.
Next week we're starting 2 week poses. It's not easy to slowing down, or finding what to noodle with for that long.

Chewy snow

2010-02-15T23:55:00.002-05:00

I never thought I would associate snow with "chewy" but that's how it feels today. We just had a snow day a week ago, and here comes another.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring us. I'm ready for it though, finished my color concept piece as well as the portrait, which came out kind of fun, despite my distaste for such things. (I'll scan and upload once they get graded if I have class tomorrow.)

For now, I have work from last week's figure drawing, including gestures, which I don't usually bother scanning, but someone showed interest.
I'm enjoying these 15 second poses, and the challenge they pose as I attempt to capture the essence of the pose, overlay them searching for rhythm, and play with the weight of the lines to create depth.
We finish off a page with slightly longer pose.

Some of my classmates are still trying to build these with spheres and boxes, lining them up in rows.
I don't have time to be stubborn and do things the way I always have. Speaking of which, I should bring a larger piece of paper to class soon.

Procrastinating my ass off.

2010-02-08T01:48:00.000-05:00

I blame color concepts. Which is a pain to set up, and takes the longest. I'm also avoiding the styles and concepts portrait.
My advanced structural is about half done. All due Tuesday.

Campaign for Rag-O-Rama due Wednesday.
Drawing due Friday.

At least I finished the attachment paper.

Why am I doing the Daily Sketch Group, or posting in my blog?
I'm going to to laundry.

DSG 1538: Fantasy • CHILD, ON BUNKBED W/ PETS, FEARS THE GIANT CROCODILE ON FLOOR

A good opportunity to play with the perspective. Kept it almost monochromatic for speed's sake, keeping all the greens limited to the croc.

To pull more attention to the child I upped the contrast, and pulled some highlights to lead the eye.

Neglected

2010-02-07T00:38:00.003-05:00

Dear blog, sorry I haven't gone back to you in a while.
Sorry I haven't given you a custom background image © or custom header image ©

I'll try to include you into more of my daily life.
Don't worry about that other blog name I registered. It's going to be very specific, and I haven't begun collecting material for it.

School has been interesting. My favorite class is figure drawing, with Greg Kumlien, who tells us how we should capture the whites with tone, flat as a cookie. Or how we should look at the whole show and find the darkest spot. :)

I think he needs better connections with models. We have drawn Jeremy or Kelly for 3 weeks now, except for one session with Kate (I think that's her name) who is new to modeling, but not half bad as far as looks ;)

In other news, a self portrait from Electronic illustration, in which I fail to capture likeness.

A Vietnam soldier, for the INTJforum art challenge: draw a chess piece. It's a pawn.
This is not meant to offend, it's just the first thing that popped in my head, so I flowed.

Back in school

2010-01-21T21:31:00.002-05:00

I've been to all the classes I'm going to take this semester.

Styles and Concepts is an unknown, I don't know Mrs. Wong, and the projects aren't really something I feel excited about. She has a horrible reputation, but so does Mr. King. We shall see.

I got Bs last semester in color concept and advanced structural, it would be nice to see better grades but I suspect I will have similar grades this semester.

Not worried about electronic illustration or Psych of development.

A little concerned with all the presentations we'll be doing in copy writing, but I should pull through.

Figure drawing should be good, again in the A or B range.

So far I've done better on Spring semester than I have in Fall. Coincidence?

Finally, Here's a plug to the Brickfish competition, in which my photo was turned without my asking. Since I can't edit the photo, I guess I'm stuck with it rotated counter clock wise ><

My Favorite Photo (I've Ever Taken) 2
Brickfish

Random ideas on the 166T Dumont-New York

2010-01-02T21:09:00.001-05:00

Marine Life: SpongeBob SquarePants and friends as USMC Marines.
Spongebob manning an aircraft carriers anti-aircraft guns, firing at diving kamikaze pilots, while Patrick loads and Mr. Krabs commands.
SpongeBob and pals on a patrol bob in a Vietnamese Jungle.

A whole fucking series.

Ach Shelo: Hebrew for "his brother," a typical way in which one IDF soldier would call another soldier. Another might be "Dod Sheli" or "my uncle."

I wanted to draw Israeli soldiers the way I remember seeing them. Sleeping on a crowded train, or trying to hitch a ride, their shirts pulled out of their pants (both are offenses)

Free state trooper hat - take one

2009-12-25T11:08:00.001-05:00

Written on a box of paper toilet seat covers, Sideling hill, Pennsylvania.
Breezy Valley truck, dirtier than the pigs crammed inside (They are only dirty because they don't have a choice)
Missing the bus while I was on the NJ Transit 166 Express (these buses don't talk, they don't have bike racks, and it's quite possible the driver carries change, how primitive they are, very much like Israeli buses.)

Going to sleep around 9:30 pm, and waking up at 8:30 am. I know I remembered my dream again, and that it was depressing, but by now I forgot the details.

Kosher Dill Pickles are like Reform Jews, an American invention based on knowledge brought over from European Jews.
Is it better to recycle jars or tins. I think tins take less energy to recycle, since they don't have to be seperated from their lids, and have less material, but maybe you end up with more usable material when recycling glass?