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.

Ninjas!

I woke up after collapsing in my bed and my wrist hurts too bad to pick up a pen so I'll just post some of my old work for now. I did this in my perspective class I took with Leandro Ng (great teacher I learned a lot from his class). It's the first piece I did for his class. Looking at it now I say it's a bit pretentious and suffers from the pen strokes of a newbie. The thing has been cropped and re-cropped so some of the elements around the edges have eroded away.

Yesterday was a mess, I slept only like 2 hours and had to get up and completely finish UVing a model in three hours. It was insane, but with the right program and some elbow grease, I was able to do it.

Today, I'll explain level of detail. In particular, the level of detail of lines as they recede into space. The farther an object or detail is to the point of view of a scene, the fewer and thinner lines you should use. You can't see too much of this from the example (I was too green when I did this to understand this concept fully), but you can sort of see what I'm talking about if you compare the level of detail the ninja has compared to the altar at the back of the cathedral.

Ship Shape

I won't ramble on too much today. It's quite late and I'm quite tired.

I did this drawing today inspired by a homework assignment I did for my online business class. It's hard to "get" if you hadn't taken the class. Here's a hint though, it's about contracts. It includes a male figure (although I cheated and this is not an antomical study like I normally do, I'll make up for it another day) so I'm gonna count my promise fullfilled for now.
More male figure studies on the way.

Today's technique to discuss is powerful contour lines. Notice how the female figure's contour lines (the lines that make up her outter rim) clearly show her pose, attitude, even denote what kind of clothes and hair she's sporting. If you turned her into a siloutte, she would retain much of her expression and lose little in what makes her look perplexed.

Techniques with Line

It's time I pick a new theme for the week. This week, I will be focusing on techiques on drawing that involve line work. To the right is an example that uses line as its primary way to express form. I colorized the work as I usually do, and even went a step farther and added a simple backdrop. The backdrop is busy, but the figure is not and creates a balance in the piece that works nicely.

What I really want to show with this drawing is the strong over-lapping lines I made sure to include in the drawing. By that I mean such the lines that run from her left thigh over the form of her shin. Only by doing so can you achieve a natural look to the foreshorting of the leg (a topic to discuss another time). Even in forms that have little or even no foreshorting like her arms, I made sure I know which form can before another, and overlapped the lines to get the grace of the various froms of the body.

Next time I promise to draw a male figure as I'm aware that I have included nothing but female figures to this date.

Thinking of a Friend

I talked to someone I think is very special today. After talking to him, I reflected for a long time. I'm glad I did, because that's something I had not done in a while. I thought back to my high school days. This was a time when I had a great awakening. It was when I realized that I was gay. A torrent of emotions washed over me when it happened, and a series of events occurred that's been clouded by the sands of time.

What I focused upon though, was the crippling depression that I suffered. It drove me to the point of suicide more than once (good thing I was afraid to die.) Looking back, I realize it was because I confused. I knew I was different, but I couldn't understand why. I was alone. There was no one to show me the light. All I did was sink into myself and fortify the idea I was unworthy. My heart, full of love, but few vessels to pour it to. Without the friends I had at the time I don't think I would be here today. They have my unending gratitude. With their help, I was reborn.

I no longer fear the world nor do I care what it thinks of me. I know my worth and no one can take that away. To anyone reading this: If ever you feel your heart not big enough. Remember that you're bigger than the world and not the other way around.

Truth in Ashes, by Raymond Liang

Cry not, for our souls are eternal
No matter how they burn
In ash and inferno
We wait to rise,
Like the Phoenix

Love stings, charring away our sins
Flames of our past
Smolder as they begin
We dream to rise,
Like the Phoenix

Fear not, for fear is the enemy
We cower in our haven
Searching for a remedy
We yearn to rise,
Like the Phoenix

Tomorrow's lost, before it's here
Racing pass
Like a chestnut mare
We prepare to rise,
Like the Phoenix

The world is small, when our hearts are big
We try the shovel
But it's hard to dig
When we rise,
We become the Phoenix

AC Emo

I decided to do a few expressions of AC for this post. They turned out pretty good, especially the second one from the bottom (the only one where I started drawing more of her body but had to stop myself). The emotions range from "I'm sorry your puppy died" to "I know you didn't just call me a hoe." Doing drawings of a character's emotions really help me to get into who a character is.

AC has a big heart, but her temper can get her into a lot of trouble sometimes. She works as a bounty hunter in the not so distant future. She doesn't have any children but she always thought she would be a good mother. If she were to have children she would like a son and a daughter. Reading, dancing, and practicing martial arts are a few of her pass times. She gets her ice powers from an alien creature that lives in her body. When her life is in mortal danger AC blacks out and her alien host takes over. During these times, her powers are magnified many folds and she becomes a living manifestation of ice.

Yesterday I went to the dentist, I didn't know what to expect, except that I was going to get my crown removed. Before I knew it, my dentist was numbing up my gums (something I did not expect) and putting a drill to my metal coated tooth. I didn't feel much other than dry mouth from the sucky thing until she got close to breaking the crown. After that, it was fairly painful even with the anesthesia. Long story short, now I sport a temporary crown for two weeks and after that I get a realistic looking permanent crown (yay).

High Kickin' It

I tried a softer look with AC this time and I think I like it better. The swirly ice waves where fun to do and suits her nicely. This really is only of the very few action poses I have ever done and it turned out to be an eye opener (her breasts look natural, unlike most times where she looks like she got breast implants).

I slept a lot yesterday and woke up quite late. Today was uneventful for the most part. Sometimes I wish my life had a bit more excitement. I miss having a boyfriend and I've kind of been looking for a new one. But it's an up-hill battle. Considering my taste in men are not at all diverse (I prefer white guys). Being Asian doesn't help either as there seems to be a distaste for Asians in the gay community. For now I'll play my cards and hope that someone comes along that knows how to strum my heartstrings.

Sketching on the Train

It's an odd feeling successfully sketching on the BART. On the one hand, I'm proud that I could do it. On the other, the drawings never turn out very good, probably because the train is always moving around a little bit.

Tomorrow's a day off, it'll be a good opportunity to veg a bit or reconnect with an old friend.

It looks like I have been keeping pretty good with my sketch a day, maybe after a while I'll make a gallery to show some of my work. I can already feel the effects of sketching at least moderately everyday. I have to learn how to be more spontaneous with my poses. Instead of a standing pose maybe I'll so a sitting pose or even an action pose next time.

This blog seems to lack a bit of purpose. I've been thinking about more I can do, and I think I've settled on the idea of showing various techniques in drawing or 3D modeling since I know quite a few.

So Hot She's Cool

I did a sketch of AC doing some frost-like powers It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but it's a good start.

Yesterday night was the premier of South Park season 10 and I missed the first episode. Just as well, I spent the time I would have spent watching it drawing and playing WoW (which was what the episode was about).

I'm kinda tired but I'm gonna go stretch and exercise now. Until next time.

Refining AC

Here is a more refined version of AC (done in pen and ink), her costume is more ironed out and I nailed down her proportions. This also serves as the character plane that I imported into Maya so I can work on her character model. I was very careful to be very accurate with my measurements (even being off my a little can be frustrating to work with).

Today was supposed to be my day off, but due to my laziness the week before I had to rush to the computer lab to get my work done for tomorrow. That's a recurring theme I'm trying to remedy. My wrist kinda hurts, but I got an amazing model to show for tomorrow. The face is almost flawless. Maybe I'll upload a few shots of it tomorrow.

I just finished a late dinner and I feel kinda bloated.

A Photo of Me

Here I am screwing around with my webcam.

Thought that everyone would like to know how dorky I am.

AC week

I declare this week AC week. She is a new character I'm working on. So far she's a badass from Oaktown with frost powers like frost breath and what not (plus a ba-donk-a-donk butt). Should be fun to develop her further throughout the week. I've got started modeling her with Maya 7.0, hopefully I can capture some awesome shots of the finished low-poly mesh by the end of the week.

Today I had Ecroche class (studying a flayed figure with oil clay), it was extremely exhausting but good excercise. By the end of class I was struggling to keep my heavy eyelids open. As of late, I have been increasingly interested in excercising again. I'm been sneaking a few crunches when no one's watching :p

Everything Has a Beginning

I've read a few blogs, and I thought I'd get into the business of it while it's still almost in vogue.

Maybe I'll even do what some artists do and post one doodle a day, although I highly doubt it. If anyone even ever reads this, I just have this to say: I pity the foo.

I'll post a pic that I did over the summer for today, and it's not cheating cus I said so!

It's also quite early in the morning, I can't sleep because I'm stressing about tomorrow and Wednesday and the crapload of things I have to get done. I'm sure it will be fine, yet I'm also sure that I will be beat as hell when tomorrow's over with.