Boards

Done! I think…

Here is a snapshot of the custom deck that I just submitted to be made. I’m pretty surprised at how differently it came out compared to my initial designs a few weeks ago. I think I’m still experimenting a lot, and not really settling on one particular medium or subject for too long.

Quickie Styleframe

This is a quick styleframe for a project that I’m working on for 3D Motion. Basically I want to create a super stylized and fun animation, but which a real skateboarder can enjoy as well. Mike Mo Capaldi’s run in Lakai’s Fully Flared has me wanting to skateboard again! In addition to Mike Mo, I’ve been studying the styles of my favs: Daewon Song, Marc Johnson, and Stevie Williams. 

Drawing time

I don’t know why, but I really like drawing fire. 

Storyboarding

These storyboards I drew up for an assignment that was limited to 15 frames. Within the 15 frames, we were to utilize a three-act structure to create an interesting story. We had the option to use photography, or to draw. Since I’m an illustration major, I naturally chose to draw. There is something extremely liberating about drawing the frames rather than taking pictures. First of all, I think it’s a lot more fun. It’s also easier to quickly execute a scene that you have in your mind by taking it from thumbnail to a more fleshed out frame rather than to physically take the picture and overcome the mechanical issues of the camera, lighting, and focus. 

Skateboard designs

These are some comps that I produced for a skateboard-designing assignment. I tried to combine heraldry with modern-symbols of power, wealth and military. I am definitely interested in learning more about heraldry and how to design good shields. I’m not sure if I’m using my Spyder2Pro calibrator right, because the bottom two print out WAY brighter that what’s showing up on my monitor. The bottom left one prints out a decently saturated deep violet. I guess I have to try the Print calibration software to see if my printer is what’s wrong….

LACMA

This drawing was done on location at Lacma for Illustrative Storytelling. James Jean drew with our class that day, and did some amazing drawings. It was great to be drawing outside in the beautiful weather!

Three Bears

For Color Theory, I chose to adapt “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” into an acrylic ink painting on printmaking paper. I played around with scale and used alternative methods of framing and separating scenes. I also tried to use different color contrasts to bring emphasis to certain areas, and to reinforce the narrative. I’ll try to post a better picture sometime, but it’s hard to scan a 3.5′ x 1′ painting, even in pieces.

Consummatum Est

“Consummatum Est” translates into “It is finished”, and is from John 19:30.  This piece is from a series of journalistic pieces based on the subject of church.

I got the idea for this one when I went to take research pictures at churches around my neighborhood on a late Saturday afternoon. I came across a couple homeless people who were camping out there. One of them was reading a paper, and one of them was taking a nap in the shade. I realized that whether they were Christians or not, the church was their temporary sanctuary. 

This one came from my many experiences at church. The blue person isn’t me, but rather someone who is truly seeking something higher. I’ve gone to church since I was born, and I can honestly say that a lot of times, I simply went for the sake of going. Sometimes I feel that whether you believe in God or not, there is deep value in the fact that people seek faith in order to attain some sort of truth. 

This one is kind of a funny one. During my research process, I visited a few different churches, some more “contemporary” than others. One time I had a feeling that the guitarist forgot that he was there to facilitate the worship and not to give a performance! He even did those rock star jumps with 180s. 

The idea for this one came from my visit to this church called Mosaic in Hollywood, at the Mayan. It was a huge departure from the normal churches that I was used, in that there were massive sculptures inspired by Mayan architecture. Overall, I think this was a pretty fun project to explore, and the possibilities are endless within this topic.