Movies with Anna

A concept drawing.

Anna came over and watched movies with my other friends Zia and Libby today. We had a grand o' time watching Little Miss Sunshine and The Last Kiss. Little Miss Sunshine was a surprisingly good movie with a kind of humor that is hard not to like. Anna is a great high school buddy of mines, known her since sophomore year. She is a great gal with a kind heart.

I bought Making Comics by Scott McCloud yesterday in anticipation of me starting production on my comic (which will still remain nameless). I thumbed through it for a long time in the bookstore and decided that it was worth the $25 ($22.95 but 25 after taxes). It's a great read and I love how the book is like a comic in and of itself. Highly recommended.

Turnaround

Here are the 3 turnarounds and the environment I did for Finals recently. I'll have to refine this more with music and fixing various issues, this will have to do for now.

Games Modeling

These are shots of the final models I did for games modeling class. Red Dust is actually supposed to have a transparency on the strappy part of his mask but it freaked out on me when I was taking these shots. I gotta go back and fix that later.

Finals Over

Well my Finals are over (it was actually over last Thrusday but I've just been lazy). I think I'm ready to resume posting now. In that air, here is yet another sketch from my sketchbook. I will be doing another comic seeing as my last one got an honorable mention! Woot! I got a nice comment from a reader too (the honorable mention did more than stroke my ego I guess). I will be posting pics of my final models from modeling class too.

Absence

I know there there has been a *tiny* break in my posting routine but since it's finals season and I'm woefully behind on my work I have to say that it's to be expected. Here is some work from my old sketchbook. A concept of a twisted kind of tinman I guess. I hope to keep posting and remain on top of things after finals is over.

Stabbin' Spyware

There's been some trouble with my computer. Curse you viruses and spyware, may you all die in a fire! So there is a chance that I will have to take my computer to come professionals to get it fixed, which means I won't be posting for a while.

Today I bring you a bald girl with some daggers from my sketchbook.

Wolf, by Raymond Liang

The far reaches of snow ladden paths dare not breath
If they would, surely the mountains would shed their tears
In the dark caves of these great mounds bear much burden
A wolf
Alone but unafraid

He is an outcast
Forsaken and forgotten
When the Sun reigns, he sleeps and dreams of red and violet
Bathed in moonlight, he hunts and devours nightmares
Howling he shakes the foundation of the world

As one looks upon his form
One dares not look away
A white coat of silk decorate his hide
Blink
And he is gone, lost to time

Sleepless

My shoulder was hurting during the holiday weekend so I wasn't able to post much, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm not really able to sleep tonight so I thought I would post something. I took the time to scan in over half a dozen old and new drawings including new concept art for my comic. Really it's a lot more fun to scan in a ton of stuff a once than it is to just do one or two.

The shoulder pain continued during yesterday's class. So much so, it turned an otherwise enjoyable class into an agonizing experience. I really like the teacher of that class as most of the student body tend to agree that he is an excellent teacher. Stephen Perkins is teaching ecroche to the fledgling artists and I happen to be one of them. However, I find him to be a bit hard to approach. He is, for some reason, intimidating to me. In any case I think I am doing well in the class and have no other complaints thus far.

-Ray

The Emerald, by Raymond Liang

I was dreaming an impossible lullaby
In it I swam
Across a stream of a distant delta
An eternal green brushes away
My sorrow

The Earth wraps me in its fury
Wind whips my hair
Water spills from the sky to raze my soul
Fire cooled
By The Emerald

Thanks (the kind you give)

I know my posts have been infrequent. I have had some things to mull over. In any rate, I'll redouble my efforts to post.

In the meantime here is more prespective work to look at.

-Ray

Stuck in a Dream

Here is a sketch from my book, I didn't use a ref and the handlebars look like crap.

I feel like I'm not going anywhere. I have to become more active in my life and seize what I want. Too often am I afraid to do something because I fear the outcome will not live up to my expectations.

AC Unleashed

This is the final assignment associated with AC , a texture swap. I chose something fun: AC's powered form when her symbiote takes control of her body. She's transformed in to a living frost entity, complete with snow fro!

I'm sketching more on the comic I'm working. I've actually got a name for it, but I think I'll keep it on the hush hush for now. Until next time.

Samuel

This is the first sketch that I liked of Sam, the main character of the webcomic I'm developing. I've been inspired by many sources, including but not limited to Flo and D!o.

I'm suffering from insomina again, it comes and goes. At least I'm feeling better about my position in the grand scheme of things. This comic will be good for me. I have a few storylines jotted down in my pad. I'm gonna first create the setting and most of the charaters, then I'll make a buffer of comics that way I can take a break from making them if I want without relying on guess comics (not that I have any friends in the comic making biz to ask to make a comic).

Sunday Blues

Just another day of sleeping in and doing absolutely nothing for me. I planned to go see my ex, but that fell through. Feel like screaming in pain, but before I can turn around the pain is gone, replaced by emptiness. Here is a picture of a head study from my sketchbook.

I got started with a some concept sketches for my comic I'm working on. Maybe I'll post that tomorrow.

Penny Arcade Scholorship

Blah old perspective work I'm whoring out.

I was gonna post something yesterday, but got tangled up in switching to blogger beta. I woke up real late today (4:00 pm, a travesty I know) and ate a bunch of candy cus I didn't feel like making anything. I've been a bad boy. There is a definite reason for my behavior, but I don't want to get into it. It's the same feeling that makes me not want to go to school today.

I saw that Penny Arcade is accepting applications for a scholarship they are sponsoring. It's for $10,000 and I want to apply for it, however I barely meet the minimum requirements (3.3 - 4.0 GPA is the requirement and I have a 3.33 GPA) I gotta check to see if my GPA is still ok to apply and I think that I will do it. By the way, I have to say that for a professional artist working in the industry of comic making, every one of Gabe's work I've seen where he used reflections he has done it wrong.

Edit: I've updated the ninja perspective drawing I posted in October.

A Promise Delivered

I promised something special this month in October and here it is! My submission for November for the WoW comic contest. Everyone tell me that you think of it :D

I tried a different style than October's submission. If you haven't seen that one it's right here. I hope this one pans out better.

Everybody Loves Mickey

So I did a drawing for this funky Mickey website. Stumbled upon it while reading about Flo. I love that guy's work. The style is refreshing, I might just do a webcomic on my own. I even have a concept ready too.

Speaking of stuff I stumbled upon, I had the fortune to step into this while playing blogger russian rollet. Very hot emo guys indeed. I have to check back on that site, for emm... the shits and giggles of course. I'll post my entry to the WoW comic contest soon seeing as I didn't win last month.

-Ray

Textures on AC

I meant to post these sooner, but got all caught up playing WoW. I almost finished texturing AC. She's looking pretty hot. My organic modeling teacher says it looks like I've been modeling for a while, but this is only my 3rd humaniod model. I pick things up pretty quick.

Dreary Thrusday

If it's not perfectly evident by now, I'm whoring out my sketchbook to get through the week.

I played this game called Silkroad today. It's not the most exciting thing in the world. The framerates in the cities was absolutely crapshit for me and the controls are clunky for an ex-WoW addict like me.

Gonna go get ready for my night class. Hope the rest of my week doesn't suck. Tomorrow I go to the movies with my friends, yay finally get to see Saw III. I'll tell you how it goes.

-Ray

The Way Things Are

Here's another sketch from my book in indigo blue

Sometimes I don't know what it are people are thinking and it bothers me. Normally, I'm unswayed by the opinions of others. It's when I let my defenses down when the unbareable loneliness kicks in. A particular subject surrounds how I feel today, but I'll steer away from the specifics. I'll just say I feel a little more sick to my stomache everyday. Take one day at a time and accept things to be what they are, those are the only things I can do.

-Ray

Indigo Blue

Today I share something I did in my sketchbook. It's done in indigo blue color pencil on white paper, I extracted the white of the paper digitally and replaced it with an off white and find it works better like this. Indigo blue is the my favorite color pencil to sketch with, it's easy to place tone as well as being a medium value still does line well. If I need a black I can always add tuskan red to it and get a very dark mixed black.

My date went well, I won't go into any details. I'll just conclude by saying I had a lot of fun.

-Ray

A Breather

Well, I'm taking a short break from working before my last midterm and I thought I'd post for today. As I near the end of midterms I can breath a false sense of security. I know that finals is just around the corner and I must begin preperations immediately as well as sign up for classes for next semester.

I try not to post too much about my personal life here, mostly a journal to encourage my work and my general state of mind. However, I have to say that I'm looking forward to this weekend with a kind of getty glee I have not experienced in sometime. Why you ask? Because I have a date. That is all.

Midterm Madness

I forgot to mention that my dentist put in my permanent crown last time I posted. All my teeth look normal now, wooo.

This drawing of Red Dust turned out surprisingly good dispite my best effort to make it hard on myself. It's a very complex action pose, much more so than I'm used to, I think this one is worthy of being inked and turned into a really ripping comp. Even the little cityscape I threw in there looks nice.

I haven't gotten any sleep, but that's ok because I was very productive while I was awake. Got the character planes done for Red Dust so I can start modeling him (post that tomorrow). I also finished texturing AC for the most part, I'll take some pics and post them to show off my handywork.

Things have actually been looking up for me, and my art has improved immensely. I'll try and keep it up.

Expansion

I'm expanding Red Dust week generally into this week because I didn't get nearly enough development that I wanted. I was gonna do a drawing today but it's midterms and I'm tired from Monday class, and some... unforeseen circumstances. So today I opted to post some more old perspective work. Enjoy!

Blood Angel

I've thought of a nickname for Red Dust, Blood Angel. It fits nicely. However, I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes with that name.

Red Dust is the last of his kind, an elite group of soldiers used by the governement, The Blood Angels, to supress the people of the land. He is hated by what has survived of society in the future. He now aids the rebels who continue to fight what remains of the government. He wears a mask to hide is face, he has vowed not to show his face until he has atoned for the sins he has committed as a Blood Angel. No matter how much good he does, he is never satisfied, but he aims to people's minds about himself one person at a time.

Blood Angels are unlike humans, they have a very slow heart rate because their blood is very thick. This is due to a compound in their blood that grants them an unqiue ability. They can crystalize their blood and use it to form weapons of any shape and size. In addition to that, they are equiped with bloodfuses. The bloodfuse is a chest armor that has healing properties and can even repair severed limbs. Secretly, Red lives for a fight. When he fights he feels alive, even though he knows that as a Blood Angel he is not truly alive.

A Surprise Later

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I have a good excuse. I have been working on something that's so awesome I can't share it until November.

Another reason for my lack of posts is the fact that I haven't been having the best weeks creatively. After half a dozen trys at drawing Red Dust I've only been able to produce today's drawing and even then I don't quite like it.

Maybe the fact that I have been feeling increasingly let down in the romantic department. No one seems to even feigh interest anymore. Perhaps it's just not the right time. Even so, I do hate being alone. I've kind of beening avoiding my friends, and slacked a bit on regular excercise. The days string together and it's hard for me to distinguish where one starts and another ends. Next week will be better... oh wait next week will be midterms, crap.

Late is Better Than Never

I promised some kickass AC screens a while back and never delievered, well here they are!

Red Dust Week

This week is Red Dust Week, I'll be working on this character so he can be ready to present for my midterm next week.

I had the most horrible experience in WoW tonight. A rogue decked in epics joined our HU Strat group, which is fine and usually a good thing. However, this rogue proceeds to roll on a pair of shoulders with + healing that he had no business rolling on (it was BoP). I let that one slide because it was cloth and I was playing my druid. But later, when I charged a mob and accidently pulled a few more he finds the gull to tell me how I should tank. I tell him if he's afraid of repair costs he can always use his vanish skill to avoid dying. After that, he proceeds to pull an extra group on us and not help us kill them, I gave my life defending the group and when I died he has the nerve to tell me to vanish next time. Clearly he was mocking me and it was the last straw. I left the group and promptly put him on ignore and annouced him to be a big douche to the good people of Ironforge.

The River, by Raymond Liang

Morning shatters like sundered glass.
Noon rides on as daylight pass.
Night sets in, a dreamer's mask.

The River weeps, I follow.
Many paths, few hollow.
When it floods, I drown.
Try to scream, no sound.

Morning shatters like sundered glass.
Noon rides on as daylight pass.
Night sets in, a dreamer's mask.

Comic Contest

Today, I grace you with the kickassness of the comic I've been working on for the World of Warcraft comic contest. It's already been submitted and I hope for the best. Although I have plan B if this one should fail, I think this comic is the better one. I came up with the idea two days ago and work for a full day on it. Very rarely do I do things in full color, use screenshots, and top it off with complete shading (highlight, shadow, and coreshadow), but this was a special occasion. It turned out very nice, one of the better exmple of my illustration muscle flexing. Beefcake!

It has been bit since my last post, but I have a perfectly good excuse. I've been a bit under the weather lately. Today, I suffered through a stomache that left me fatigued, that being a recurring theme these past few days. I still have my online class to catch up on.

Line quality is my point of discussion today. Line quality is key in conveying depth, level of detail, and even lighting in a drawing. A vaired line quality can do much for a drawing and how effectively you can pull the elements from the page. In the shadow, lines are thicker and in the light they are thinner. Also, as I've discussed before things that are farther and more detailed deserve a thinner line.