Art Blog - KC Snipes

Day 12: Super Rowe(na)

2011-11-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

Super Rowe, the super pup with a mischievous nature

I've seen this dog bite my sock with the strength of a dog twice it's size and dont get me started on the face licking~!!

Day 9: DJ Switch Up

2011-11-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

You've never been to a DJ Switch Up party because they have not happened yet.

Day 4: The Girl with the Tattoed Dragon

2011-11-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

It comes from the recent and constant innundation on facebook with different posts from The Rum Diary and American Psycho and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I cant believe how much they post and i'm afraid to like another movie lest i be overwhelmed with post after post.

So the thought was in my head about a Girl with a Tattooed Dragon as a character entry this month. At first it was going to be a bit more, something with a cute little girl holding a dragon on a collar or riding a dragon but it became more intimate this morning when i drawed it.

30 Characters Challenge

2011-11-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

Once again it's November and i've signed up to create some characters.

The Forever Twins

One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small,
and the ones that mother gives you dont do anything at all...
Like with most of the characters i created last year (man, i'm old and i feel it) I do them particularly fast and dont plan on inking or coloring many of them if any at all. It's an exercise in creativity that i enjoy as with last years characters they relate to the day (thanksgiving/blackfriday/cybermonday) or whatever ideas cross my brain at the time. So i expect this year to be a bit of the same.

This idea is somewhat in homage to someone i had the pleasure of meeting a couple saturdays ago and who i've seemed to have lost this past saturday. I whirlwind week that changed my life. She is a poet, Jenna Pagano. She's written a poem called the Forever Kids. Read it. The idea here is a pair of girls so addicted to their pills that they believe they are youthful and ever-living. Not understanding what the drug may be doing to them on the outside.

I couldnt think of any other way to start this challenge and here's to a more upbeat day 2. Cheers.

Drink N Draw Sketched 10-11-11

2011-10-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Battle Against Cancer

2011-10-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is a little poster I made for my upcoming walk against Breast Cancer.

I tried for some kind of throwback boxing poster and originally there was going to be a picture of cancer on the opposing side but being under a time crunch I ditched the idea.

It didnt need to be done in 2 days but i was trying to make something happen, didnt happen, so I find that when i do art for not the best purposes, I do not acheive the best results.

finished pencils beer advert?

2011-08-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well finished pencils for the most part, going to color this and maybe add a slogan or some sort of design to maybe differentiate her a bit

Blog not dead update~!!

2011-08-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

My aunt passed away today~! She was a big inspiration to most people she met and mentioned to me last year how she was keeping up with me by checking out my art. I dont want to disappoint her by not posting and not pursuing my dream and what makes me happy~!! So here's some art:

A preliminary Captain America piece (how ridiculous this sounds to me like it'll be hanging in some gallery, but at the moment i cannot think of a proper term) done completely with photoshop using just the shapes and tools available in the program. I basically spent last friday night and sat morning cranking this out and i'm satisfied with the results. I want to go back and add more detail but I'm proud that i strapped in and this was the end result. =)

Getting back to my roots, I drew a pretty girl. Decided that I was fed up with how my day went so I went back to the nearest bookstore = Barnes & Noble(s) (RIP Borders) and grabbed a tattoo mag, Inkgirls i think. This was on the last page and she happened to be drinking my favorite beer. Currently darkening the lines and thi'll be in my portfolio soon. I'd like to make a print out of it for the upcoming artwalk tho.

The idea I had came from a phrase that bangs around in my brain now and then: 'Draft Beer, Not Me!' I cant remember how or why or when i hear this phrase but i think it's a fun play on words and a nice anti-war sentiment. Ofcourse it didnt fit much on this drawing since she's taking a swig from a bottle.

Bottle Beer Not Me, may just have to be the title?!?!?

Drink & Draw 5/11

2011-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

I did the local May Drink & Draw this past week and it was probably the most social i've been and i think i've drawn my favorite sketch (headshot below)

I think i've mentioned that i'm not upset that these events have mostly famale models. I'd like to have more time to do a partial study of details or shadows (which ive tried more this time) than the normal gestural sketching i've done.

Been busy and neglecting my art lately so it was good to settle back into having time dedicated to drawing.

I suppose the lesson is to set aside time for the things that make you happy.

When will I draw something???

2011-04-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh Burger King, I cant tell you how healthy I feel after eating here. I had a chance last week to try the chicken 'tenders'.

mmmmm look at that...though I'm not sure if it's a new menu item of if it's actual chicken meat?

But it sure is tender, it's like a chicken mash substance and if you've seen Super Size Me you know that whatever this 'chicken mash' it it's not completely chicken. It's better not to ask what it is i suppose? I cannot recommend this over the McDonald white breast meat mash nugget but it closely resembles the Wendy's nugget if you prefer that.

Sigh. One day I will get back to drawing things.

April 2011 drink & draw

2011-04-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

a collection of some of my better images from the April Drink & Draw in Bethlehem (Steelgaarden)

Finished Webcomic warmup

2011-03-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Finally finished this when i was up at 4:30 this morning, so it's fueled by coffee and the desire to get the most out of my shrinking weekend =)

update 2/17 - mini-comic

2011-02-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

So aside from working on a webcomic i've signed up to join"

which is basically the assignment of developing a mini-comic from idea to paper sending them to the other participants, just a big art swap or creativity. I have until June 30 so i'll drag my feet a bit with it but it should be an interesting learning experience. I've taken to learning (or at least reading) the progress of Mark Rudolph as he created his mini-comic.

This is my first foray into this format and am eager to get rolling but still in the planning stages.

Webcomic =)

2011-02-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here's my first attempt at a webcomic, thanks to the gang at Art and Story as well as the inspiring people who organized and participated in Intervention 2010 as well as SPX (Small Press Expo) 2010, they were inspiring events that I happened to attend last year and am looking forward to ths year~!!

Drink & Draw - 2/8/11

2011-02-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

I havent been to one of these in months and they moved to a better location so i'll most likely be attending for the next few months and plan on increasing my mingling and communication and networking instead of just sitting and drawing to my hearts content.

There were mostly younger female models, which i dont mind drawing but the challenge isn't there. I still had a good time sketching and hopefully the practice will help me develop my hand control, drawing speed and accuracy as well as my critical eye.

Blog Resurrection Update

2011-02-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

I havent been here in a while. Mostly because of life getting in the way, but i took some quick pictures of sketches that i've been doing lately:

this isnt a sketch but certainly how i spent this past weekend other than watching the UFC fight, Superbowl and playing COD:BO

a rose i made in my coffee =)

some initial sketches for me, matt & greg for an idea that I may never decide to work on and practicing drawing matt's dogs, an integral part of the same project that i may never produce

head studies for a character named ashish & scott based on my friends named ashish & scott

my first attempt at a webcomic, starring me, scott and ashish, this will hopefully vault me toward producing the previously semi-enthuastically mentioned project

studies for an upcoming personal project involving my cat

wow and one month later - Workout Sketchbook

2011-01-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing weekly updates would be better than monthly?!

Well I hope anyone reading this is having a good New Year and had a nice holiday. One of my art gifts was another 3.5 x 5" sketchbook and I decided to put it to use today, well yesterday as I am up sick writing this, I should be asleep) with an idea that I had thought of months ago:

An illustrated workout sketchbook for when my workouts, which have been very few and far between, become stale and stagnant. I often come across different exercises in magazines when at the bookstore and i need to move away from art inspiration, turning to men's health. Which has a lot of good suggested health ideas that i never incorporate into my daily living.

So as I come across some workout that I would not have thought of or remembered later that day, I'll sketch it in my book.

I'm hoping that this study will also serve the purpose to help me realize and visualize the figure artistically.

I lean towards drawing the female character so drawing some dudes could help me round out my skills as an illustrator. I hope to present more creative ideas to you in the future, thanks for reading~!!

Santa on Holiday

2010-12-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 30

2010-11-30T20:57:00.000-08:00

Day 30; PSH - Personal Space Heaters

I was tasked with creating 'Personal Space Heater' - these things happen when you ask a friend to give you a name for your final character in a create-a-character challenge, eh these things happen and they can't all be home runs

but i'm done~!!

so PSH's are little aliens that help stranded astronauts stay warm in the depths of space, they also double as Personal Space Heaters aka heaters that can be used in space and are personal to you (if you dont get the second usage email me and i'll describe it to you)

Thank you for joining me on this odyssey, who was your fav character??

30 Characters in 30 Days: Day 29

2010-11-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Day 29: Cyber Mundane

BORED - BORED - BORED - TEDIOUS - BORED - SHOP ONLINE - BORED - ENNUI - BORED - BORED - BORED - TEDIOUS - BORED - TEDIOUS - BORED - BORED - BORED - LAZINESS - BORED - ENNUI - BORED - BORED

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 28

2010-11-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

Day 28: Incognito Tony or IncogniTony

Unfortunately I am constantly getting Incognito Tony confused with Incognito Bill and definitely Incognito Steve. This is Incognito Tony.

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 2 (playing catchup)

2010-11-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

Day 2: FUN the MC

"'I cannot let you people know all the kinda drugs i'm on
just listen here to my smooth flow
when u need to keep u warm" - Winter's Chill Aint No Thrill, FUN the MC

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 27

2010-11-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

Day 27: Zombie Bartenderess

"Braaaaains on the brain rocks?"

Zombie Bartenderess only serves one kind of drink, the main ingredient: braaaaaaains

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 26

2010-11-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Day 26: White Friday?!

Ms. Clean, she cleans the dirtiest of jobs and always gets away. Hopefully you are not staying over while she's on the job, if you are you better hope your on her nice list.

Happy Black Friday

2010-11-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

so i found this book while at the bookstore, perfect gift for that child of the 80's, last weekend and would love to post some of the memories it brought back:

ok I had the King of Pop, he was Bada$$ back then

2 awesome scare your sister type toys

oh man I had all of the Barnyard Commandos, loved the cartoon, pigs vs sheep~!!

nuff said

oh C.O.P.S. just awesome, some of the guns they used were cap guns~!! dangerous, awesome cartoon

one year i had almost all of what i wanted, to this day i only have on left and that is a Boomer Esiason from 1994, once found Keith Byers on my parents roof though

C.O.P.S. again, they were that awesome

Silverhawks~!! they had spring action arms and legs

Visionaries, i dont remember cartoons much but they had holigrams in their chests and staffs, remembering animal powers

what's this??

Bionic, Bionic Six, just awesome marvel-style storytelling with robotic ppl

micromachines~!! loved the yellow vette~!!

Battlebeast, probably my fav toys? Just so many with the Rock-Paper Scissors aspect, i would love to get the poster with all the characters on it, gimmie a link pls~!!

Thundercats, natch

M.U.S.C.L.E. Men: little rubber wrestlers that got creepier in appearance as the toys were made

MEGATRON, so awesome a football player is named after him

VOLTRON?!?!!? ok this was my green ranger, my tickleme elmo, my cabbage patch

my really fav. TOY EVER~!!

yup, BADA$$ again, had it

oh the tru pimp of the 80's toys, i had that jacket, but no gadgets in it

unstoppable fun~!!

more unstoppable fun, these last 2 just influenced so much and are produced to this day, 20+ years

MEGATRON again~!!

wrestling was my 3rd parent, JIMMY SUPAFLY SNUKA

who doesn't love a badguy~!!

Honorable Mention: (in the book but i didnt picture)

Centurions

Chuck Norris action figures

StarWars

Alf

Ghostbusters

Rambo

Astronaut Barbie & Jem (GiJoe's gfs)

Pee Wee's Playhouse (creept)

M.A.S.K.

Atari

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 25 ~ Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

Day 25: AHHHHH...it's the Pill-Grims

The Pill-Grims are everyone's favourite dysfunctional family. They love making noise in the neighborhood and they are constantly watching Married with children.

We are serious

we can make you delerious

you should have a healthy fear of us

cause too much of us is dangerous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayd1c0wtOE

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 24

2010-11-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Day 24: good ol' Timmy Gimmie, aka U Better Gimmie That aka annoying brat at the toy store

Yup you've seen him at the store, on the brink of yelling and utter destruction to your ears and concentration.

Watercolor Class take III

2010-11-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

So i've signed up for my 3rd watercolor class this year and I have to thank James Browne, Andrew Kish, Jess M. & my sister for supporting my artistic journey in watercolor with their inspiration, encouragement and supply purchasing ability =)

I wasnt completely prepared for class so I did some fooling around: a thor study and what might possibly be my 30Characters character for day 23: Drinky the Bear

this, Drinky the Bear, was done on a YUPO (translucent synthetic watercolor paper?? 100% recyclable & tree-free) I have never painted on anything so strange: if it's wet it'll wipe away like a dry erase board otherwise it has all the properties of hotpress watercolor paper, except for the insanely smooth sheen it has, water moves fast!~

I noticed that a few spots didnt take to the pain at all, you can see them on the left, what looks like fingerprints left on the back side of the paper, not sure if it was grease or what that stained the spots and all i know is that it would not take any paint as you can see

this translucent variety (they make opaque as well) allows the painting on the back (purple & blue circles) to come through to the front

I'm excited to try more of this paper out, the drying is much like regular paper: if you let it sit you will have hard edges of color.

thor was fun but not nearly as exciting and intimidating as YUPO

30 Characters in 30 Days: Day 22

2010-11-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

Elderleroy

No more transforming for this guy, unless he one day get the urge to sneak into a plane hanger and show the youngsters how it's done. He's seen his fare share and doesnt transform as fast as he used to. Sigh. Everyone knows he just want to sit back and enjoy life watching his kids grow up.

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 21

2010-11-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

Tickle-me Tailback

Not so much that he is a tailback that tickles but he tickles tailbacks, if that makes any sense?

His unorthodox tackling style tends to scare football players, he discovered it one day in a team meeting while taking notes qith his quill pen. He scared his teammates and then incorporated that knowledge into his game. Beware Steelers, Vikings & Rams~!!

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 3 (playing catchup)

2010-11-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

Dinosaur/Dinosore/DinosNore

He doesn't prescribe to the Gym Tan Laundry lifestyle but he is from Jersey. No, his big thing is sleeping!

when he's awake his doing whatever he can to help him sleep, that includes taking Nyquil, working out to exhaustion and eating a Thanksgiving day sized meal whenever he can. Dinos Nore~!!

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 20

2010-11-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Day 20: Moravian Star

He is a man of few words and fewer sentences, the Moravian Star. He is a gentle man despite being one of the world's lesser known wrestlers. He begun to think that hitting other men with folding chairs and trashcan lids with the malleability of aluminum foil is not the way to lead one's life.

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 19

2010-11-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

Day 19: Mom-Bot, the loving robot

inspired by Rosie the maid, Mom from futurama and my mom (her BDay is Nov. 19) - remind me to tell you sometime about how she would frighten me by pretending that she was a robot

Mom-Bot - constructed to protect and serve cookies, mom bot hangs your clothes, flips your eggs, cooks your food, and serves you juice. Shes great~!!

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 18

2010-11-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

The Unknown Hero

He keeps the Zombies at bay and protects the pretty ladies of the city. The Unknown Hero, no one knows that he is a everyday man: dry cleaner - Max Logan ('When in doubt, Logan 'll clean it out!') when he's not saving their candy a$$es.

30 characters & art update

2010-11-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

here are some prelim & planning sketches that I did yesterday for character #17

i plan on putting a book together with my 30 characters when i'm all finished with notes and my process thinking in a sketchbook format =)

ive also been doing some 15 min sketching for the penciljack.com forum

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 17

2010-11-17T05:25:00.000-08:00

Day 17: Spilly Willy O'Leary

the unlucky leprechaun with a heary of gold, he's not the leprechaun guild's favourite person of late due to his inexplicable ability to spill the bejeezus out of the chocolate pot-o gold coins that the guild uses to throw off bandits but the fact that the pot often arrives empty doesnt help out their ruse too well, thanks again Spilly~!!

but his pet pig Patches seems to love the opportunity to get some free chocolate every now and then

30 Characters in 30 Days: Day 16

2010-11-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

Calamity Clia - Roller Derby Superstar from the future

#8 of the Astrocity Aces (Premiere Freespin Rollerball League), star jammer and all around nice girl off the roller rink, but inside the arena she is a force to be reconed with:

#8 Calamity Clia
Blocks: 45
Jams: 92
KO's: 4
Assists: 32

here's some of the concept pen sketches i did

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 15

2010-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

well today I had the pleasure of sketching and interviewing the teen heartthrob: Cody Carlson

me: so Cody, how did you get the nickname 'Colt'? you dont mind if i call you that?
Cody: sure dude, it's cool, I got the nickname one day on the set of 'Rich Kid in London' there was a scene where i had to ride a horse across the beach...and well let's just say i'm not the best being the macho type
me: hahaha that's funny Cody, so how are you dealing with the fame at such a young age?
Cody: It's pretty cool, I basically dont have to eat any tin cans anymore, ya'know what i'm sayin'
me: .....
Cody: .....
me: oh man that's pretty good then?!
Cody: totally good

yeah that Cody 's a class act, join me in wishing him luck in his rising-star career

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 14 & 4

2010-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Ooookay, pasta mmmmmm, right?

no....not right

not when pasta can get you into trouble in the case of Pasta Percy - former uneaten plate of spaghetti headed for notoriety by being eaten by a famous politician that, shall remain nameless, unfortunately for Percy on that fateful day that he had bragged to his pasta friends -Fettuccini Fred & Cavatelli Carol, he wasnt eaten...

infact a bitter argument broke out over the dinner table and poor Percy had to stew in his own pasta sauce as he sat there, never to be eaten

you'd be bitter too!

he now spends his days on children's plates making messes and getting them into trouble

catchup: Day 4 = Hepcat

he's cool & he's a poet

playing to a packed house of none night in and night out, Hepcat lives in his own mind where he's the greatest beatnik poet alive, imagining the applause and the adoration and the creativity to inspire millions

well when you are blind and deaf unfortunately these things happen, but dont be sad for Hepcat, he's living his own dream, what more can one ask for

inspired by: 30Characters.com & laserbeamsgo.com

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 13 & 11

2010-11-14T06:36:00.000-08:00

ok so the weekends are my days to catchup on the characters that i didnt manage to bang out during the week and the first 4 days i've missed, this weekend i'd have to do 13 & 14, plus throw in some of the days i've missed: 1,2,3,4,11

so here we have: KNI-Feman

yup knifeman basically, why would a woman ever be named knifeman?

the design is heavily based on the BioMega manga, futurastic scifi stuff, the name is in reference to Sara Turner (i have to remember to add links to these references)

KNI-Feman is from the future, or better yet lives in the future. Weapon of choice: knives.

Her world is very Madmax/Akira/dystopian future and because she is a woman her designation is 'Feman' or female human - the KNI stands for (thinking...)Kinetic Negation Initiate, because of her ability to overcome any physical energy obstacle by simply being that much faster. She travels her world helping others.

catching up on day 11 gives me the Hypermind:

this is an almost exact scene of what i saw yesterday by sitting at the bookstore, the Hypermind
i could not view the brain energies being absorbes, possibly because mine was being sucked in too
He probably didnt have his villain name on his shirt either

He uses his annoying tendancies to make others around him frustrated, annoyed, distracted and naturally dumber for reacting to his annoyingness, thus making him that much more powerful.

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 12

2010-11-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

well, this idea came from me buying the Goldeneye game for the wii
I've needed distractions lately, to keep my mind from punching itself so i've turned to reading Brett Easton Ellis, drawing 30 characters and getting back into videogames

Goldeneye is this character:

She's a pale-skinned demoness, loves punk music and fashionable forearm warmer things, she isnt really able to tuck her wings away but is able to come out of hiding atleast 4 times a year to attend Dracula's Ball in Philly

Her origin is quite a mystery, but if you manage to see her out one night, offer to buy her a drink and you may find out allllll about her =)

as i sketched this up at borders i had some angel wings pencilled in but when i got home it was too difficult without reference but these demon/bat wings were quite easy to imagine and put to paper

angel wings, add that to the list that i'm skipped and need to come back to

30 Characters in 30 Days: Day 9 & 10

2010-11-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

yup, so i've fallen behind but not really, I missed day 9 and decided to do 9 on day 10, which i did, then my computer took a nap so i had to come into work and post it on day 11, which i have to do a day 11 later tonight

with the recent installation of new soda machines at my day job and with the help of coworkers' ideas i am proud to present Vendy and her bully of a bf Quarter-Pounder Steve

the 2 former vending machines that were located in the lunchroom at my job:

Vendy just came to life on day after being cursed out by an employee for letting a bag of chips hang on the vending shelf. To this day she lets every vending item hang on the edge of her velding shelfes, letting them pile up as she collects the pocket change of every employee with a growling stomach

Steve is just a jerk, see below, he decided to defend Vendy's honor by flattening a company employee that tried to shake his girlfriend to get a bag of sourdough pretzels

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 8

2010-11-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

ahh day 8, i've actually got to make up days 1-4 and i figure to do them during the weekend when i have a bit more free time

Bowlbot, the bowling robot, not much of a background to this image, but one hell of a hook

former military robot created for pure annihilation, Bowlbot has since retired from issuing devastation to join a local bowling league due to his sudden distain of the government's policies on automaton warfare an his love of the film Kingpin; known for destroying tanks he now searches for the ever elusive perfect game~!!

included the post-it note from work that i scribbled him down onto the other week

30 Characters in 30 days: Day 7

2010-11-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am personally surprised that i've kept up for 3 days, so my Day 7, 3rd submission is Duke Tanuk, an awful name as afwul as the idea, a total rip off of the link below as well as superskrull but it's the first thing that came to me this morning as I came across the video again

of course based off of this YouTube sensation

my sister was not impressed by the concept and neither am i
i atleast need to think of some kind of backstory other than the fact that he controls the elements and has a genie like presence

No i think since i have a lot to do today before football i'll just have to phone it in and promise to be more creative tomorrow

30 Characters in 30 Days: Day 6

2010-11-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Day 6, the second sketch i've done as i'm playing catch-up or sketch-up if u will

Broads & Brownies - 2 girl,s with a strange name, brownies who sell brownies, they are quite villainous as i've imagined them being that their brownies contain a chemical, undetectable by taste or smell, that happens to make the person that's ingested it want to buy more brownies

of course the second sketch that i've done with someone waiting at your doorstep? atleast from the angle and the concept.

as i get more time i'd like to put more thought and detail into these as this one came back to something I said last night while at an art exhibition thing, the name basically birthed the idea on this one

By the end of the month I want to have atleast one of these sketches with this kind of thought, comedy and detail in it Kevin Cross

3oChARacTerSdotCOM

30 Characters in 30 days...sort of

2010-11-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

ok as i have only a few minutes i'll be brief
here's my first submission to the 30characters contest/challenge

his name is Nelvin because that's the name that came up at work around the cubicles today as i drew him

as you can tell he likes candy or brains or whatever you may have lying around the house =)

Halloween 11-01-10

2010-11-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

While at the bookstore a week or 2 ago I got an idea for a sketch from the back of a horror magazine. It was previewing some japanese horror flick and this was what came out of my brain to do last night. The image in the hair window was actually taken from the front of the magazine. I needed something scary to put in there and the cover had just the right amount of creepy imagery. I'd love to darken the whole thing one day but what i really dig is that i just flipped open the sketchbook and poured this onto it relatively easily. on the back inside cover which makes it more a part of the actual sketchbook and now everything that fills these pages has to be a bit more interesting.

Recent ATC's

2010-11-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

A few recent ATC's i did for illustratedATCS.com

October swap for grrrdjules, she likes wine, the circus & elephants among other things so the goal here is to incorporate those elements into an intersting composition. I would have likes to have a background and darken up the table and made the bubbles/balloons get bigger as they floated to the top but that's all things to recognize for improvements when i'm planning. Watercolor & ink pen - the colors arent as intense on the card.

like so:

also,

Manga swap sent to Japan. I decided to sign up for a swap taking place in Japan, mostly because i am fascinated with japanese imagery. So I did Chun Li & Honda (prismacolor markers), Ghost in the Shell (watercolor), Rockman & Rush (colored pencil) & Scott Pilgrim (ink). I'm most proud of the colors with the streetfighter card, the rest are blah to me and i've really lost my sense of how to use colored pencils in my opinion.

UP Fair update II

2010-10-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

ok so with some advice from the penciljack forum, i've added some things to the deadspaces here and some shadows and made it a little more interesting if not confusing

i'm always afraid of going too dark and with the Voltron (what?! a Voltron head?? yeah it came to me tonight at borders and i cannot quite remember what made me add it in, i think i saw an image of voltron in a GiG Poster book that i have been using for inspiration lately) in the other room it think it takes away from the rest of everything

there's still a watercolor wash to go over it all maybe that will even it all out a little? hopefully and maybe some better contrast tomorrow

this is very theraputic, drawing and helping me to deal with my problems that i dont want to attend to at the moment, but i've been up a few nights now at 2 am, like a real career artist, but i have to remember that this isnt my day job and i have to get some sleep

I have to commend real artists who make this their living, it's a lot of work but i recognize that i have gotten better at some things and while i look at this and it has very 'young artist' moments i am proud of some of the things here that i had never taken a stab at =)

so i'll keep drawing and i'll get better, still mad that i didnt take a bigger commitment in my youth to getting better, but i'm still dealing with my desire to committ and to allow myself to succeed and deal with failures

ahh life lessons, hopefully my art confidence grows and bleeds over into other aspects of living my life

GO TO UPFAIR

NY Comicon 2010

2010-10-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

If you were at comicon maybe you saw the 'not so incredible, early 20's x-men'...

(less angel, more psylocke)

or maybe you saw the crowds...

or Thor warp time-space around him...

or some mom letting her underage kid steal the Green Hornet's car...

or the 2 ft tall iron man suit...

or some of my favourite artists and Larry Hama...

aaaaannd this...

UP Fair update

2010-10-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

For the last couple days i've been working on this drawing? sketch? for the UP! FAIR, i suppose it's more than a sketch but at this point i just dont feel right calling it an illustration. It's my interpretation of the self-made man or machine. I guess the premise was a robot Tony Stark that used humans as his crime-fighting suit. So I added a few things relevant to robot Stark and the UpFair while trying to get this done in time to mail it and I can tell you that this drawing thing isnt easy.

I want to throw in some more details and clean up the lettering and I wish that i had spent more of my youth leaning towards drawing as a career and was a little more diligent back then. I'm looking for a few more details to add here then some watercolor washes hopefully it'll turn out to be a little less bland and blah~!!

Perspective is a killer and it sucks to try and learn it all so fast. But I'm counting on this being some good practice for future Up Fair donations.

speed sketches

2010-10-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

from the penciljack forum, it's a speed sketching exercise, drawing in under 15 min, i used strictly pens because i do these during work downtime

I really like the detail of the barn. I think that it helps to draw these at a smaller size so that you have more time to get the details in

The UpFair~!!

2010-10-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well I'm trying to keep myself busy and running behind on a little art piece that i will be working on for the UP! Fair in Lexington Ky, Nov. 19-20

I asked for an idea because I was pretty lost eventhough I had some idea about the purpose and goal of the UP!Fair. So where did I turn? Where are all great ideas born...Twitter~!! What shot back at me through the Twitterverse: 'The self-made man or woman' (thank you Jerzy)

My mind immediately went to Tony Stark hard at work, welding mask on as he created the suit that would eventually be his means to living and helping the world.

I always have to put a twist on things and of course I love machines, so what if basically the IronMan suit was creating Tony, more generically a machine creating man but using a man's tools so to speak?!

I'd love to do a bodyshop setting backdrop and am not sure how it will turn out but atleast have something to (quickly) move forward with.

Maybe the words UP!Fair ar on the operating slab and there are robot tonys in the background on display, i dont know it's very early in the process and I am running very late, wish me luck~!!

Update 10-14-10

2010-10-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

some quick ink sketches, 30 min, ballpoint pen

inspired by the penciljack.com weekly sketch group #181

Update 10-02-10

2010-10-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Newish art, well maybe new scans of slightly old art:

First was the sketch, i guess it's a sketch that i've been working on for a little while, i finally managed to finish it, spreyed it with workable fixative. A can i've had since college, does anyone else use this stuff. Normally if i'm spraying it then i dont need to work it again so i need to get a permanent fixative or something. Anywayhere it is, some high contrast piece modeled off of an image from knitting magazine. I'm pleased with it but if anyone knows a way to do a heave black space and make it look smooth then i'm all ears. I managed to lay down a layer of charcoal then go over that with 6B pencil. I suppose i could have taken my time and used all 6B but maybe it was in a bit of a rush to finish.

Then a set of the 3 finished ATCs that i did for a Mythology swap at IllustratedATCs.com. Pandora in ink and Prismacolor markers, Sekhmet in pencil and a watercolor wash and Enchantress & Hela in pencils. Hopefully they have some happy new homes. I'm currently working on manga cards for another swap and eagerly looking forward to finishing and mailing them off. With any luck i'll send it on time and you will see it sooner than later.

Arguments & Sketches - 09/22/10

2010-09-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Some last week sketches from my 3.5x5 Sketchpad

The coworker that challenged me to create some of these sketches without reference, I drew her as an gator, she was getting on my case about my art using too much reference. I tried to explain to her that how can i draw something if i dont have any idea how it looks?!.

Where at first she didnt want me using reference such as poses and backgrounds then it evolved into not using any reference whatsoever. I kind of understand her logic because her big argument was being original. But how can i draw a bunny in a racing car (should have been a carrot car in hindsight) or a cat eating sushi pasta dinner if i've never seen a cat, pasta, a bunny or a carrot.

I guess it's easy to create a scene when you can imagine it's components, but if i were to try a hippo on a unicycle i'd be lost as far as accuracy without reference. So i'll practice more challenging things in order to improve~@!

Intervention & SPX Weekend

2010-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

I am back from Rockville/Bethesda Md where I spend 2 fun-filled days and nights getting away from my life in PA to enjoy some exhibitions of creativity~!!

SPX and the Intervention convention~!!

all the purchased and free items to rummage through and share this week:

Attended Dr. Sketchy's courtesy of Molly Crabapple and Intervention

Got to meet some of the best podcasters in the world: Jerzy, Mark, Krishna & Sara

Talked with some independent artists and attended a couple panels.

I recommend both of these shows next year - Intervention for it's fun interactivity and SPX for the overwhelming amount of positive showcasing and exhibiting.

untitled update 8/31/10

2010-08-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well ArtWalk is over for this year. I had a good time meeting people and taking compliments on my art and i feel it's a big step for me. I'm not one to put myself out there and there are a ton of artists in the area that can do it better then me. It was important to take a step toward becoming an artist. I suppose I was already an artist but these events helped me be more professional and field questions about drawing and painting. Next year i'll hope to be a year better when i step back out onto that sidewalk if i'm asked back.

Went the Borders last night to art a little and wanna give a thank you to the couple that stopped over informed me of the artistic happening of the LValley and commented on this:

been working on her a while now off and on and i'm deciding to finish up this week so please stay tuned.

I've switched to charcoal for the background because it'll be a lot faster than gouging the paper back and forth with a 3B.

Charcoal was sitting in my drawer since my college art class days. I only took that one class in college but it was pretty good with exposing me to different mediums (media).

you may not notice but i fixed the nose a bit since my last scan of her and the eye will be worked a bit in the next one.

Update 8-24-10

2010-08-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

'The reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated' - someone said that and I always liked the quote but unfortunalely I cannot remember whom so i cannot give credit

a month and no update, i've heard missing a month on a blog is practically killing it

so i have to build back up now and make this a place worth visiting

unfortuntely the last month i've had some personal issues and havent gotten back into my artistic groove, i've also been going away on minivacations, so whil i am not back to full strength artistically I should be able to update this atleast weekly, sorry for anyone that was taking the time to check this out
Well i've gotten a little further on this but it's far from complete. I'd like to keep the cloak thing completely page white and tone the background and flesh and hair so maybe in my spare time i'll build this up a bit or it'll stay like this in the portfolio, let me know what you think

I have an artwalk this sat that i'm horrendously unprepared for but expect a couple more updates before sat =)

Update for 7/19

2010-07-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what this is going to turn out being other than cool

That's the best i can describe it?!

Borders, I've missed you.

I've spent much of my time this weekend in the casino, they recently got table games. I've been called names by people for going. You know who you are...and thank you for checking out my art =) Anyway I want to do something casinoey and gambley and maybe present it to the casino. But the odds of that happening are about 2000:1.

What i plan on doing with this is keeping the robe/cloak/hoodie page white and giving a tonal contrast to the background and her face, arms, hand & skin.

Drink -N- Draw 7-08-10

2010-07-09T09:13:00.001-07:00

Drink N Draw was fun last night, a lot of people spoke with me and commented on my art which is always nice and apparently all D-N-D art can be submitted for a show and displayed at an upcoming free event~!!

Watercolor Class (take II) 5 - semifinal

2010-07-07T06:12:00.001-07:00

Over the holiday I painted my sunset landscape, this is what i took to class yesterday:

I think you can see the water taking shape and the variation in the colors of the sky is more defined, i wasnt completely flattered by it, i think when i paint out of class i rush more and think less. So after last night's class it looks like this:

ahhh, with Andrew's help I added a Crimson unifying wash over the sky, lifted some areas in the sky and around the sun, then tackled the waves, much better~!!

Watercolor Class (take II) 4

2010-07-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July, I really dont have anything independency to show you, but i am behind on my soccer picture and it probably wond be done by the finale of the world cup =(

but i've also started a new painting in watercolor class, a sunset on the beach with a bridge

it's my goal to record the process in some fashion on here, I started it in class last week and was instructed to get the under drawing going first, there is basically a bridge and many colors shifting into one another as the sun sets and transforms the sky, bending it to it's will.

this first step is a bunch of washes, changing the colors and trying to let them mix while establishing the background layer that will define it =)

Making Artistic Improvements

2010-07-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

On my half day I stopped into Borders to draw, came across an ad for the movie Bitten and really liked the image of some vampire woman with short heair ready to bite the neck of Jason Mewes (Jay from Kevin's Smith's movies)

I wasnt really happy with the sketch and started drawing all over it, the first thing I noticed was the eye, looked a bit off. a bit discouraged I decided to come back the next day to give it a bit more effort:

The first thing I did was use a bigger paper, then it became apparent that my first try was too childish aka child-like in that the eyes were set too lof on the head? or there wasnt enough hair to lengthen and mature the head, or space between the eyes, the illusion baffles me but something was wrong. The left eyes is positioned a little better but still not perfect and the nose was lengthened. Overall I just was determined to do a little better and i'm happy I gave it another go =)

Now to rent this trashy movie =)

Art update 6/26

2010-06-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

A big Thank you~!! to anyone who took the time to talk with me at the Art Walk in downtown Bethlehem yesterday~! It was nice hearing all the kind words and supportive words. I will continue to pursue art as a creative and relaxative outlet =)

Here's an ink sketch:

Lance Armstrong was what i was going for, i think it comes across a little, in his machinedness

also here's the world cup piece i'm working on, the flags in the outline in watercolor pencils, slow process only because i keep pushing it aside, like now...to watch the Blind Side
updates soon =)

2010-06-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

ever since i went to a wedding earlier this month, i've been tooling around with this sketch, not sure where i want to go with it, the zombie aspect came out of the picture as i was drawing her face and i just let it happen, reference used - the cover of 'the knot' magazine

i should vampire the guy up a little or something?

for now it's my blog banner until i take time out to do a more professional one =)

quick sketch

2010-06-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

went to the bookstore, after a stressful dinner it's nice to relax and sketch, I wanted to get back into using inks and get something quick N new to slap into my portfolio for this weekend's ArtWalk~!!

Watercolor Class (take II) 2 & 3

2010-06-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

ok, long time no update, in my passed 2 watercolor classes i painted still lifes, still lives?

it's looks like i'm actually getting the hang of this? maybe a little? atleast i've worked on my wet-in-wet technique =) really pleasing ~!!

Drink -N- Draw 6-10-10

2010-06-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I attended the Drink and Draw at Hard Bean Cafe in Bethlehem yesterday and I drew this:

I was going to break out the prismacolors but that didnt work out too well, I think I need silence and concentration when using markers, i'm not that good yet, and these drink and draws devolve into a club atmosphere that i'm not used to. Between the people blocking my view and the streaming loud dJ music (which otherwise would be pretty sweet if i wasnt trying to draw) it's gotten to be more annoying than fun.

I'll keep attending but I can basically get the same thing from drawing pepole reading at the bookstore except they dont stay still and are always sitting. I'm beginning to recognize and know people and some greet me so maybe i'll have som new friends but for now it's about the figure drawing, practice, we talkin' bout practice~!!

The Return of Watercolor Class - How bout dem apples

2010-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

It's back, Watercolor Class and i'm back, we did apples again and I see an improvement:

over:

atleast this time i did 2 apples =) looks like i took a hit in the drapery dept though?

eh i'm excited to be back in class =)

next week u might see the return of the pear???

exciting art week

2010-06-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have an exciting art week with watercolor class this tues and a drink N draw this thursday ~!! pictures coming soon~!!

Added a profile picture here yesterday and would love to update my blog banner, but Chloe trying to get out through the mail slot is pretty good~!!

ArtWalk, this sat 5/29/10 in Downtown Bethlehem, Pa

2010-05-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

c u there~!!

ATC update: sci-fi cards for a swap

2010-05-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hey, I signed up for a Sci-Fi card swap and hurried to get these done in i'm not gonna tell you how many days but i like them

remakes with a twist of some old skool 50's & 60's scf-fi movie posters

keeping one for myself ~!!

Done with picma microns and a few shades of water colors =)

Watercolor revisited~!!

2010-05-19T06:37:00.001-07:00

Worked on this last night and decided to stop touching it, so i suppose it's done or maybe i'll put it away for a week or 2:

Drink -N- Draw 5-13-10

2010-05-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

So I attended my second Drink -N- Draw and it was quite the experience, I met some cool people and got to sketch some daring models. I never understand how someone can sit there and be willing to be stared at??

The second thursday every month at the Hard Bean Cafe on 3rd and Webster in Bethlehem, Pa

$10.oo for beer/wine and live entertainment and drawings~!!

Watercolor class - week 6 n Drink -N- Draw

2010-05-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sadly, It was the last class and i learned so much, I plan on taking another class this year, due to my growing appreciation and love of the medium~!!

I did another piece that I didnt finish but am liking where it's going:

My man Thanos~!!

Slowly overcoming my fear of color~!!

Also tonight is the third Drink n Draw (sponsored by the Beedle & the Wrenn) at the Hard Bean Cafe in Bethlehem, Pa~!!

I accidentally forgot my paints (foolishly left them somewhere and hope they arent gone by the time I get back there) so it'll just be pencil and markers for me, but i'm excited~!!

Happy Mother's Day~!!

2010-05-09T16:55:00.001-07:00

A piece i did for a coworker, he suggested the idea to me last year and I held him to it, i hope he likes the outcome, and i hope he doesnt overpay me, was fun, i learned some tips and tricks along the way, a great exercise of trying to be a real artist~@@

Watercolor class 4 & 5

2010-05-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Well there is just one class left, went pretty fast =(

but i do plan on continuing my adventures in Watercolor painting with Andrew's Intermediate class this fall and possibly retaking the Intro class just to set aside time for myself to paint =)

anyway, here's the progress of my work for the last 2 classes i've had:

Andrew let us pretty much work on our own subject and i happened to choose to sketch Megan Fox from a magazine not because of any attraction to the actress but the shot was incredible, you can search for it yourself, but here is my humble attempt so far:

and andrew's template/demo to help me understand an approach to tackling the hair:

My Personal Workspace

2010-04-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

as inspired by: Eric Canateh
most people ask artists about their studio or workspace so i'd like to show off the place that i work, cause i am only pretending to be an artist =)

aaaaaand there you have it, my cubicle and office space, maybe i'll update this with descriptions one day, for now, enjoy~!!

Watercolor Class 2: The Pear

2010-04-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

Last Tues in class i learned how to effectively mix paint and different ways to make/mix black and grey! Our still life was a Pear, on a mirror with a black background:

and i'm enjoying my learning in this class. Brian Stelfreeze, here i come???

and i'm currently working in my watercolor sketchbook and did an Angie sketch from this weeks Entertainment weekly:

Artist Trading Cards - She-Ra

2010-04-11T10:25:00.001-07:00

I did a She-Ra, actually a couple of them for my March swap partner

I trade whenever I have free time at Illustrated ATCs
let me know if you want to trade one sometime =)

Watercolor class

2010-04-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

I suck at color and i'd be the first to admit it =)

But i love the look of watercolors and i've tried the watercolor pencils with ok success but i wanted to paint, after years and years of hating paint

(sidenote: I used to hate pen until i took a drawing in pen class by David B. Sullivan)

so many of my christmas gifts consisted of paints, paper and how to books

but i needed to set aside tome to be consistant - I've decided to take a watercolor class taught by the awesome Andrew Kish ~!!

here's some stuff from my first class =)

learning about washes, wet on wet, wet on dry, brushes, colors, mixing and tools of the trade
excited for this weeks class~!!

I'm no Brian Stelfreeze but that's my goal~!!

photo dump

2010-04-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Library Bindings worked for me =)

2010-04-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Frabjous Day~!! Callooh! Callay!
I got my Bound Thunderstrike comics back from Library Binding.com yesterday and they look great~!!

They make the perfect gift for that comic lover in your life and these babies are on their way to to NC.

LibraryBindings.com

Art

2010-04-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a blog to post the stuff not quite good enough for my Deviant Art page
so i'll probably plug it in here =)