Simple Tools, Extraordinary Education

I was playing around with a photo, wondering how it would look if I copied the image on paper. Got me a pencil, a standard letter-sized bond paper and just lightly lined and sketched.

I was enamored by the artists of old where they can capture expressions, emotions with just a few strokes of their pens and brushes. And I can never draw like that. Instead I developed my own, withn a few acquired skills learned along the way, I became a fan of the old Ripley's Believe It Or Not Illustrations and old woodcuts.

While it would be good to really emulate the styles, those artworks were borne out of the era it was made - nibs and ink, offset printing, thick paper and so forth. Our current tools, even the new technology cannot compare with the sheer talent and diligenece of these artists.

I remember staring wide-eyed as another issue of Liwayway was dropped from the deliovery truck to our dooorstep, because my Mother has subscriptions for our town. The works of Javinal are clearly something to behold.

Over the years, I developed my drawing by just that, drawing for whoever or whenever. Having worked in an animation company helped me further look for ways and styles to draaw, which nearly killed the way I illustrate since it was something I was doing day in and day out, 12-16 hours a day.

But I am back on track.

Not because I have new gadgets. far from it. Can't even upgrade to a mobile phone with a better camera option. But that doesn't matter. All I need are simple tools.

Some would say training with imaging software  does not need any skill in drawing. Well, that may be true, but a well trained person may find himself at a loss faced with just  a pencil and paper.  it's like comparing  driver who grew up within a family with a driving culture to another who just passed drving school. There is such a big difference with how they handle a vehicle.

Now I graduated from just typewriting paper to A3 sized velum boards, and started creating with poster sized paper.

Who knows what dastardly devious creations will come out of them.

Character Design/Development - Mammeleu of Day

Mammeleu of Day is a Dragon majora, a legendary dragon sought for its wisdom and cunning, by warriors who want guidance for their battles. Mammeleu has hidden itself from humans and althumans for fear of bringing another war into fruition.

Temporarily Preoccupied . . . .

. . . with something that will fund my venture.

Sketch A Day Dec.23

Merry Creatures 009

Ta-dah!

These happy group of monsters will be up for coloring. Either that or I could purchase a tablet to add the colors in a more organized fashion or just with the mouse and Photoshop.

Looks like it is going to have some colors, after all!

Sketch A Day Dec.22

Merry Creatures 008

Hah! Recalled a creature I thought up when I was in grade school - an owl-like bird, but not really a bird, with spread wings, and a thick mop of hair and beard.

Sketch A Day Dec.21

Merry Creatures 007

Sketch A Day Dec.20

Merry Creatures 006

Getting there. But not just yet. That empty space near long-neck is driving me nuts.

Anyway, illustration is my way of easing down. Something that relaxes me. Doing simulation drawings (the kind that depicts certain incidents not caught on camera that I do for my team at TV5, where reporters rush in and write the news while me and some of my team mates rush to create something, which is often frustrating because there's always not enough time to produce good quality drawings, but it gets done) is very different. The times I do these sketches doesn't limit the canvas, pardon the pun.

And of course, even whimsical in nature, I get to draw stuff not necessarily violent in nature. Being with my badass graphics team, we get to see news reports that are often heart rending.

So I guess that is why I blog my sketches.

Sketch A Day Dec.19

Merry Creatures 005

A bit more depth with the shading and texture. Not quite sure what to do with the big guy at the back, though.

Sketch A Day Dec.18

Merry Creatures 004

This time, the sketch is cleaned up a bit, and some details that fit the eyes for each creature. There's a large space on the right that I am not really sure to leave the way it is or add something that has feathers.

Anyway, the internal debate of finishing this with just shading and thicker lines is tempting. Should I add color at the end? Or add more detail? If this was a larger sheet of paper, say, 11x17 inches or the tabloid size, it would have been more detailed, but this is actually a letter sized document, so better save that for later.

I post the drawings with a layer of old paper texture. A cop out should I decide to leave it as it is. 

Sketch A Day Dec.17

Merry Creatures 003

Because I don't know what to call them. These creatures have been in my mind since my childhood. And it's only now that I want to draw them and see if I can capture the wonder and the delight, the fright and mystery that surrounds these imaginary cryptids of my youth.

Still a work in progress.

Sketch A Day - November 13, 2012

Sketch A Day - November 5, 2012

I was wondering why I keep sketching in a manner most fit for character designers in animation. Truth is, I'm putting on paper my own take on some of our colorful, mysterious cryptids and monsters.

The Tianakk is, by far one of the most feared, most familiar creature of the dark almost every child    whose nanay or yaya uses to frighten with, when the kid becomes unruly. Often times, the Tianakk has varying origins, the most popular is the aborted fetus, thrown away to hide an unwanted pregnancy. 

But I doubt, it's the only story behind this small, dark demon.

Of course I'm getting ahead of myself. All these sketches and drawings have a certain direction, and it won't be too long till all of these come together.

Sketch A day - October 6

Grumpy Dwarf Sketch

I think I'll stop with this and do some more sketching.

One thing about being able to do something with my hands is, it's never too bothersome to get some used typewriting paper, whip a pencil out and just doodle till an idea hits me.

I think a Dragon is a good follow up from this Dwarf-Elf-Wizard thing, don't you think?

Goons

Jus' a coupla goons chillin'.

Between Work and Personal Life

This was  a sketch I did for a game UI that didn't make it to production. Which is fine really, since I can still use this for my own. I'm into mixing some influences from steampunk, industrial machines and the coolness of  every game I have played when I was younger.

Don't worry about stuff we left off before, they will be continued in its own pace. I was busy for a while. But all things considered (referring to my other blog), I am now about to embark on one of my ambitious delusions of creating characters and the environment for a game. Some of the illustrations you've seen here may find it's way into the story.

Cryptids

Been busy. Work. Stuff you do to make a living.

Also, I am trying to scan old character designs and sketches for my story. These dragons are from our own Myth and Mythology. 

Cryptids.

Long lost creatures that should be rediscovered. I have to get back to the National Library to dig up more about these wonderful creatures that time forgot. Or were taken out of the books.

The Roxymorrons Characters

[This is a mobile phone video]

I haven't done anything new with this blog , so far. Work does have a lot to do with it. And I have been wrangling with a big poster for these guys, sort of, and I can't seem to pin down the band riding on a Vespa. So I took some steps back and did the thing over again. Starting with the character design. And it worked.

So I guess before I finish the poster, this would have to come first.The characters cab be in each separate frame, and can change postions. I should color them separately, and maybe the guys can use them as avatars or something.

Anyway, the video is from my MyPhone and added a soundtrack. Too small huh? It'll do for now. it doesn't matter, the completed work will still be posted here so with a little patience, it'll be done soon.

HAve I told you these guys are good? I have some orgiginal music from the band, but I would not want to pre-empt their release, so the generic audio should fill in for a while. The link above should redirect you to their Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-ROXYMORRONS/143122110633

Old Works - Dalaga 000

There are some stuff I need to do for Elemental Babe, so while research is still pending, I still have to find my groove with the brush. So instead of sitting around doing nothing, here's another old illustration. I'm thinking the hair could use a little more work. That goes to the rest of it.

So I just had to use this as another study. Not much to see for now, just brush strokes and a bit more tweaking with the settings.

[ To view the complete post click the title or just click the image for a bigger view ]

For purposes of sharing this with others who might want to know:

PsD is A3 = 27.9cm x 43.2cm [11in x 17in] @ 240dpi

(or you could jack it up to 300dpi for print)

Since uploading for web viewing means you have to shave off some pixels, I usually process by using the Save-For-Web on the tools menu. The image is now @ 72dpi.

From The Vault - A Game

I managed to keep the sketch of a concept packaging art for a game. Yes, I do sketch on paper, something you might want to do from time to time.

A little back story:

There was supposed to be a game in development last time I was with an animation studio, a  mobile app that you could play with other subscribers using contact lists as targets and allies, rather cool if you ask me. But this didn't make it to the development, and the project, don't know how it ended, or if it made the publication (another case of people handling the project with no vision nor the audacity to learn anything about the gaming community and the current trends with it) and I kept the this concept instead. Maybe I'll give this to Rose Tan, if I ever get around to finishing this that would fit her novels. It has a LOVE feel to it, now that I look back.

Tattooed Angel

In the hope of breathing new life on some of my earlier, unpublished (DeviantArt doesn't count, I cancelled my account before everything got too . . . fancy), I tried to process, paint and add some color to an otherwise very flat illustration. The idea then was to get rid of the  embedded "animation" style of drawing. Tough luck, while some of the habits were broken, I still draw on a makeshift lightbox (one of these days, I'll do a step by step so that you who want to make your own lighted drawing surface) and do revisions, several, and finalize a character design.

Black backgrounds are really just the easy way out. But since this is an old ilustration, I could just do that and improve the next one. 

This is 1 of two, with the other is, you might have guessed - a devil - done sometime 2006, I think.