Juxtapoz Ad for Canson USA

one of two illustrations commissioned by Canson USA for an advert about their new line of marker paper.  it was featured in the Oct 2010 issue of Juxtapoz magazine, out in newstands and bookstores right now!
since the ad used the b&w lines, i guess i'll post the marker + texture version~

light me up

ink sketch on Canson marker paper + photoshop color overlay (original sketch below)

conceptual sketch for a full-page ad for Canson USA, maker of high-quality fine art papers.  i ended up going in a different direction for the final illustration (which i'll post later), but i wanted to share this anyway~
incidentally, it does fit quite well with the Illustration Friday weekly topic of "old-fashioned."  how convenient! :)

Cretacolor on Canson

i just realized i haven't posted any life drawings in ages!  i still find these studies to be immensely helpful, but they're such a pain to scan... anyway, here are my best sketches from yesterday's session.  same model as the last post, woo~

sketched these with a Cretacolor "Monolith" pencil (6B) in a Canson XL mixed media pad.  this paper has a really great tooth/texture for taking extra-soft lead! i received a sample of it a while ago, now it's my favorite sketchbook~ :)

fall evenings

sorry to go so long without an update, life's been hectic!  here's a brush pen doodle turned lighting test sketched on Canson bristol paper, my preferred surface to ink on ...  i'm having lots of fun testing out new papers and mediums lately~ :)

kudos if you can guess who the characters are...

dreamworks fine art: master & student

here's a print i made for the new release over at Dreamworks Fine Art. the Chinese phrase reads, "as one piece of firewood burns out, the flame transfers to another."  it refers to the skills passed on from master to student!

Po & Shifu eating noodles in a forest... one of the first sketches i sent in

starlight geisha

fun with corel painter and origami textures... also, here's a close-up~

Illustration Friday: Caged

eep, talk about a late submission!  in any case, here's a little illo i made for this week's Illustration Friday topic: caged.  i tried to think outside the box since the topic was my suggestion and i intended for it to have an "emotional" connotation.

the illustration is about shyness, which i believe is best described as a self-imposed "cage" around those who suffer from it.  it is both ubiquitous and all-encompassing; for many people, it underscores every social interaction they take part in.  i think that the best cure for such a condition is to learn to love yourself, and only surround yourself with people who accept you as you are.  don't let it prevent you from being all that you want to be! :>

painter oldies

some ace attorney painter studies from late '09... these served as a fun, no-pressure means of learning corel painter, color theory, and lighting~

and HOLY COW, i got the topic of the week for Illustration Friday!  the topic i suggested was "caged."  it's my hope that people will aim for an emotional interpretation of the word, rather than a literal image of a caged animal or something.  go crazy and be creative!! :)

if you came here via the IF link, i'd like to thank you for visiting my blog! now i want to draw a nice piece for this topic since i'm the one who suggested it! :>

green spirit

just a quick corel painter warm-up... i'll post some better updates after i hit my deadlines this week!

classy lady

been super duper busy with deadlines!  just a small update~

environments

haven't posted environments for a while, so here are some loose color/lighting studies for a personal project

inkity ink ink

threw some photoshop colors over that previous sketch ... also, have some nude ink studies! that left pic is one of my best freehand figures, so i uploaded it in high-res :)

random inks

here's something hot off the scanner!  been testing out all kinds of paper lately... this was sketched on Aquabee hemp sketch paper.  it has a really nice texture and is made from 100% recycled materials~ :)

pocket brush pen

these sketches were done with my trusty pentel pocket brush pen that i carry with me at all times.  this pen really does the trick if you want to loosen up your lines!

click the right image to view an animated gif of the coloring process

character studies from months ago that i never posted here