The Pencil Drifter

Hiatus

2011-10-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

Hey folks, so as some people may already know, I'll be taking a hiatus from the illustration/art thing. I'm going to be living in West Africa for the next two years! My email will remain the same: david@pencildrifter.com. Unfortunately however, I will be unable to pursue any freelance gigs for quite some time. But fear not, you can life in Africa too, well at least vicariously through me; minus all the sweat and heat, by following my adventures on my new blog: davidgoestoafrica.blogspot.com

The Pencildrifter goes to AFRICA!

Spots

2011-10-09T23:06:00.000-04:00

Here some of the last few spot illos jobs I did before leaving the country. A Shaun White portrait (side note: Shaun White was kind of hard to draw for me, he's was always a few brush strokes away from Carrot Top) and some Po-boy and mac n cheese for the Chow section for next month's Nylon Guy issue. Thanks again to art director Chris Segedy.

Here's a pescado fito I drew too, just cuz I really wanted some.

Duke

2011-08-02T13:30:00.000-04:00

Hey folks, long time no post. Here's some stuff I did for last month's Nylon Guy's summer issue. It was for a review of the new Duke Nukem revamped video game. Guns, girls and explosions, what more can you ask for. Big thanks to Chris Segedy the AD for the fun assignment.

layout / sketch / final (gouache on board)

pizza and nudes II

2011-04-16T18:46:00.000-04:00

selected images from Draw-a-Thon 2011 @ Pratt

Great time had again this year, watched the sunrise over the city on drive back home.

Check out last year's post here.

artists today

2011-04-08T09:09:00.002-04:00

Here's a contribution I made for the Village Voice this week. It's part of their Comix Issue in celebration of the MoCCA festival this weekend in NYC. The assignment was fun, 'artists today' was the brief. Here are some sketches that didn't make it, but I still enjoyed thinking them up:

My Steinberg homage.

'The Spinning Ball of Doom'

'A Typical Day'

We went with the tech joust at artists and illustrators using twitter, myself included.

Read the article here, or pick up an issue in the red boxes all over the city (this issue has 30+ illustrations!)

Thanks to John Dixon the AD.

abe shaves

2011-03-24T13:24:00.000-04:00

the ER

2011-03-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

hiding out

2011-03-17T16:18:00.002-04:00

Something new, something different. Working on a few projects, this is sketch for a private commission for a children's room mural (see it's not all about skeletons around here).
I guess this is my cutesy/children's book style? Don't know, but I enjoyed it and I dusted off the old lead sharpener for these.
Here's another one just cuz I love you guys:

2011-02-07T23:56:00.000-05:00

some assembly required

2011-01-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

Been building mannequins lately, . . . for some reason? there fun to make. This guy, is gonna be a musician, already built his drum . . . or maybe he'll play the accordion? we'll see.

2011-01-09T14:09:00.000-05:00

the view outside

say cheese

2010-12-29T15:46:00.001-05:00

Got new postcards, just in time for the new year!

santa's posse

2010-12-17T14:46:00.001-05:00

2010-12-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

people have feelings

2010-12-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

a visual history

2010-12-04T15:15:00.002-05:00

hen I was seven years old my first pet died, his name was Edwin, he was a hamster. I started collecting things at age eight, I use to trade stamps with our landlord. He lived on the third floor, we would trade his post-WWII European stamps for my Colombian stamps. When I was nine years old, my right eye was hit with a rock and to this day I still have a blind spot because of it. At age eleven I had three teeth pulled out all in one day, my mouth bleed for almost a day. On the way back home we would stop every couple of minutes, so I could spit out the blood drenched cotton swabs onto the side of the road. When I was learning script I always liked words that started with "W" because I could always make them look like boobs.

cutting these strings . . .

2010-12-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

Inspiration

2010-10-29T11:19:00.000-04:00

A huge source of inspiration for me; when it comes to printmaking, has been Antonio Frasconi. He's one of the very few illustrators I know of, that used woodcuts as his primary medium. He turned 91 this year and is an absolute printmaking master:

Another source of inspiration is Sybil Andrews of the Grosvenor School. The school is know for their use of vibrant colors and multi-colored prints, they used different blocks for each color on the print. They would overlap their colors, creating greater depth to their palette on each print. Sybil's work is deceivingly simple, graphic and just beautiful:

D.I.Y.T. Part III of Printing without a Press: Inking & Printing

2010-10-27T20:12:00.003-04:00

This is the third and last part of a series of posts about printing without a press. To view the other post click I, II

Part III - Inking, Registration and Printing

Before I start, just some notes about cutting:

You want the gouge to do most of the work for you, you shouldn't be forcing too much pressure into the lino.
Always turn the matrix (linoleum) around as you cut and ALWAYS CUTTING AWAY from your body.
Keep your free hand behind your cutting hand, never in front of it.
It may also be helpful to make or purchase a cutting bench for added support.

So you've completely cut your image, now we can print. You'll need your inking slab, brayer, paper and inks. I used water based inks for these prints for the sake of convenience and quick drying time, normally I would use oil based inks. I've found that oil based inks give off a richer color, but the clean up is messier/ involves turpentine.

Inking

When printing multicolored prints, just like in silkscreening, you start off by printing you're lighter colors first, and the darkest color last. In my case thats red first then, black. When you roll out your inks on your slap (I use a plate of glass, that I've taped a white matting board underneath) you want the ink to look like velvet and have an even texture that covers the entire brayer. (It also gives off a certain sound when you roll it, which I can't really explain, but you'll know it once you pull a few prints.)

Ink your image by rolling the brayer in one direction over the linoleum.

Make sure each part of the image is completely inked.

Printing

Pick a corner of the paper and line it up with the registration indentation you created and line up one of the edges.

I like to place a separate thin sheet of paper (newsprint works) in-between the back of the paper I'm printing on and the barren/wooden spoon. Sometimes the barren gets dirty and you end up rubbing that dirt onto the back of the paper, so it's just a buffer to keep the prints clean.

Try to always keep one hand holding the print down, to prevent it from shifting while you rub with the wooden spoon. Rub the barren or the back of a wooden spoon on the print, applying equal amounts of pressure.

You can check how the print is doing by lifting the corner opposite the registered corner.

Once you covered the entire surface, you're done lift up to see your print.

Once your print is dry, repeat the same method for the next color, and so on. If you measured properly in the beginning your colors should register perfectly. If not you have three other corners you can use to get that registration right. (I had to shift my marks, hence the additional cuts you see on the block)

If you're using water baed inks, you'll notice that they start to dry up on the slap, and sometimes right on the block itself, to prevent this I'll have a small cosmetic bottle filled with water nearby. Give it a a small mist, so it won't dry up soo fast. I also don't put out a ton of ink from the tube onto the inking slap, in fear of it drying up before I get to the next print. If you use oil based inks, this isn't a problem, the only problem is you'll need a drying rack to hang up your prints, it takes a least 24 hours for the prints to touch dry.

It's all trial and error at this point, some prints need a little more elbow grease than others, and results do vary, but thats kind of the beauty to this method, each print, although the same image, is unique and original in its own way.

I hope this helps, good luck printing!

There are a few prints left in the shop, just in time for Halloween, so head on over to the shop and snatch one up before there all gone.

D.I.Y.T. - Part II of Printing without a Press: Set-Up and Tracing

2010-10-20T12:28:00.002-04:00

This is the second of a series of posts about printing without a press. To view the 1st part click here.
Part 2: Set-Up Registration marks and Transferring your image.

Once you have your materials and your image ready, you'll have to prepare the linoleum. It's very tempting to just start cutting away, but if you take the time to do a little measuring in the beginning, it lends itself for better results in the long run.

Here are a few measurements you should know before you cut anything. You should know:

How big the paper you're printing on is going to be. Keep the paper size consistent for your editions.
Figure out where you want the image to sit in relationship to the paper's edges. (ie. Do you want a big border around the image)

These measurements will help you maintain consistency if you're printing editions, but more importantly they help you register a multi-colored print.

Once I have those measurements, I draw out on the linoleum, two perpendicular edges. These two lines will make up our registration corner, and side tabs. Note: if you're going to print different colors on a different block. The measurements should match for each color/block. So do that first

Now we can cut the registration tabs. I cut a deep score into the corner and then cutting at an angle I cut a piece out, creating a "stopper" or indentation in the linoleum (see picture below). This indentation on the linoleum will keep the paper flush up against the linoleum, so the paper won't move around while your printing.

Then, I measure out, about a hands width away from the corner and cut-out a side registration tab, the same way I cut the corner. Do the same for the other blocks.

Now you're ready to transfer the image onto the linoleum.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must flip the image around horizontally onto the block, if not you will end up with a mirrored image as your final print. This is especially important if you have any sort of typography in the image.

I scanned my drawing in, flipped it so now I have a mirrored image and printed it out.

I also used the measurement from before (artwork to edge of paper) to figure out were I'd like the image to sit. Now I can match up the registration marks with the printout.

The simplest way to transfer if you don't have carbon paper, is by simply rubbing a dark pencil, or charcoal pencil on the back of the print out and tracing on top. You can also, make faux carbon paper using vellum, a charcoal stick and rubbing alcohol(email me if you can't figure it out)

So now I traced my image onto each block. I had already made my color separation decisions before hand:

Straight from the sketchbook. Sloppy I know, but it works for me

Notice I only traced the part of the image I need to cut for each color. If it were a complex image with more than two colors, I would probably figure out the separations using the computer.

black block

red block

Now comes the fun part cutting. Notice I kept my sketch pretty loose, I like to do the actual "drawing" while I'm cutting away into the lino, if not it just feels way too mechanical for me.

about an hour or two later and tada!

That's it for this week, next week we'll wrap it up and print using the registration tabs we made and I'll mention a note about cutting safety, so stay tuned. Also, thanks to everyone that was interested in the print I'll be mailing those out shortly. There are a few left in the shop, get one before its too late!

ohger intro and other things

2010-10-18T21:23:00.001-04:00

Hey all, just wanted to let you guys know, I'm now blogging over on Ohger, Drawger's little sister site. I just wrote an intro post over there, so go on over and chime in. This blog will still be updated, especially D.I.Y.T's, which, by the way is going to be kinda lengthy tomorrow but hopefully a good one, so stay tuned.
Also, in other news I finished a job for The Fiscal Times this weekend (note it's on the 2nd page of the article) The article was about unemployment and people in labor/manual jobs having to learn new skills like tech jobs. Thanks to everyone at the Fiscal Times, especially Blaire and Jackie.

Now the piece is a huge departure from my normal work, but I think it was way more effective as a photo-collage, rather than trying to paint it. Plus it was a lot a fun to do, almost nostalgic of those better days spent building entire cities with every piece of Legos in my red Legos briefcase.

Check out this one were the two are playing tag.

Online Shop Now Open

2010-10-11T21:51:00.001-04:00

Hey all the Skull and Crow print is now available online for purchase via the shop. It's a two color hand printed original artwork, each signed and numbered. Only 30 were printed so pick one up today! (Check me out on Etsy too!)

D.I.Y.T. - Part I of Printing without a Press - Materials

2010-10-05T11:40:00.001-04:00

This is the first of a series of post where I'll show you guys how I print my linocuts without having to use a printing press.

This is what the final image looks like, it's a two color print 8.25"x11.5" printed on Rives RFK 250 gsm printmaking paper.

WANT ONE?!

I'm giving one print away, all you have to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, by the end of the week I'll randomly select someone (if anyone) and send it to you in the mail, it'll be like your birthday! but not really.

Part I of Printing without a Press - Materials

First off you need to have the appropriate tools and supplies.

You'll need some cutting tools, I use a linoleum cutter handle with a variety of gouges, mainly the large #5 gouge, for scraping away large areas and the #1 liner cutter for fine detail. You also need a craving knife, the x-acto #5 handle with #24 blades is perfect for scoring around your image on the linoleum it works great on wood too. I also have a regular x-acto knife on hand, just in case I need to cut away small leftover pieces where the #1 liner cutter might not cut out, it's also good for getting clean tight corners.

You'll also need of course you linoleum block and your image. I use un-mounted linoleum, instead of the mounted lino on a block of wood, it's just easier to store away once your done, and I find it easier to manuer when you're cutting away. The mounted linoleum is just too bulky and clumsy for me. You can also use the easy-cut linoleum which is a grey color, they also make this thing called "wonder cut", but that stuff is too soft, and your image will warp a little under the pressure from the printing.
I like to have my linoleum block a lot larger than the actual image, and I don't cut all the way to the edge of the linoleum. This will be important to create a registration if you're printing more than one color, and even if your not, this will allow you to print the image on the paper on the same exact spot for each print. You'll see how that works as we go along.

And finally, you'll need printing materials to print you're lino-cut. You'll need a brayer (ink rollers), your inks (I'm using speedballs water based inks), and a wooden spoon, the barren is optional. You're also going to need an inking slab, I use a piece of glass, to roll out your inks (not pictured) Plexi glass can work, but it'll get scratched easily in the clean up process, I prefer sticking with the glass if you can, if not you can also use pallette paper just make sure you tape the edges down onto a flat smooth surface. If you don't have any of that, a plastic shopping bag works to, just cut out a square, flatten it out, make sure theres no creases, stretch it out and tape it onto something flat and smooth.(It works fine and is an easy clean up)

If you have any questions about materials, just let me know.

Part 2 next week, Preparing your linoleum and cutting! So stay tuned, and don't forget the giveaway! Just drop me a comment, even if it's a hate comment, for your chance to win a free print, you know you want one.

2010-09-30T20:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a sneak peek into next week's D.I.Y.T. Got the first color printed today, tomorrow I'll get started on the second. Also, if you aren't following me on blogspot, now would be a good time to start. I'm doing a print give at the end of next week, just in time for some spooky-ness and dia de los muertos!

D.I.Y.Tuesdays! - How to keep your paint wet

2010-09-28T19:03:00.002-04:00

In an attempt to keep this blog updated on some sort of consistent basis I know dub tuesdays, D.I.Y. Tuesdays! Ever week (or two) I'll post some sort of tutorial or tip about art-making and my process. This gives me an excuse to do things I haven't done in a while like printmaking, yay! For this week I'll start off with something simple, something I didn't learn this from school, but from a buddy of mine April.

How to keep your acrylic paints wet on your palette:

I use acrylic gouache for my paintings, it's this stuff Holbein makes called Acryla, I love this stuff it dries quickly and feels like gouache and dries matte, which makes things easier when scanning in the artwork. A problem I found when first using this paint though, was that it would dry out on my palette way too quickly. You can buy a Stay-Wet palette that has a sponge underneath, but that costs like 15 bucks and you have to buy their special palette paper-pad every time it runs out. Screw that, you can make one yourself using stuff you probably already have.

This is what you'll need: a butcher's tray, some paper towels, and wax paper.

Fold and place a sheet of paper towel into the tray

Next add water (just enough for the paper to be completely damp, don't over do it)

Cover with a sheet of wax paper. The wax paper acts as a layer between the paint and water, it's poreus enough that is give the paint a continuous supply of moisture, while at the same time not allowing the paint to bleed everywhere.

Add your paints and start painting! As long as the paper towel is moist you can continue to use your perfectly wet paints for as long time, up to a few days (or until the palette gets too muddy from mixing) Cover it with a piece of saran wrap if your'e leaving it out overnight.

This works great for acrylics and gouache. One of my former mentors also gave me this tip: using a cosmetics bottle you can spray the paints with water, to extend the wetness of the paints (you can get one at your local CVS, Duane Reade, Walgreens, etc in the travel section). I also like to reuse the paper towels once they dry; after a while the paints will bleed through the wax paper and onto the paper towel, at which point I use it as a rag to wipe my brushes with.

Sweet, I hope this is useful for someone. Next week, I walk you through how to print without a press, prepare a linoleum cut, and maybe some two color registration? we'll see. I have a bunch of ideas for future posts, but if you guys have any suggestions or questions, just shot me an email or leave it in the comments box. later.

. . . are coming to an end

2010-09-13T13:34:00.000-04:00

I made is animation over the weekend using after effects and a painting I made earlier this summer as a starting point. This is first time I've used after effects since I took the intro class about a year ago. It can get really frustrating really quickly, but in the end it's kind of rewarding. I recorded the crickets outside my window, and made the little ukulele diddle. Hope you guys enjoy.

the commons

2010-09-08T11:11:00.000-04:00

Found on old pad of Yupo paper today, this stuff is sweeeet. Did some quick warm-up painting this morning with it, and used the commons for reference, yay expired copyrights!

summer subway sessions

2010-08-21T21:52:00.001-04:00

Over this summer I've been pretty busy with two internships in the city. On any given day of the week my commute involved a bus ride and two long subway train rides. These long commutes in, out and around the city offered a nice amount of time to just sit and think, and at times to just sit and draw. Usually I would draw during rush hours, I would wait for my train at Union Square, under the spinning fans that proved ineffective in cooling the platform from the sweltering hot air for a summer day in the city. Once my train pulled into the station and the doors opened, I'd have to scavenge for that prized sit, the one with the cold metal bars that you could lean on and provided some mild comfort after a long day. I would inconspicuously draw anyone who wasn't paying attention and devoted a sketchbook to these drawings. Unfortunately, sometime mid summer I lost that sketchbook. I started a new one and scanned them in before I loss this one too. Take a look over on my flickr set.

quick draw!

2010-08-15T17:56:00.000-04:00

Did some work for the Fiscal Times last week for an article about DIY Divorce.
Really tight deadline, quick turnaround time and by tight I mean TIGHT! 2.5 hours for a finish!
It was my first sequencial piece, as well as my first use of a visual cliche, YAY $ signs!
Did this count as a comic? I don't know but it was a challenge and fun to do.

Thanks to Blaire Briody who ADed

check out the article here

2010-07-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

The Last 12

2010-05-23T01:33:00.000-04:00

I managed to get a full day of portrait painting this past wednesday. I'm not sure as to how I'd like to present the whole project yet, I was thinking of just keeping it online, or maybe printing it out as a booklet or poster, any suggestions?

I'll have the all the portraits together to view, later this week.

In the mean time here are the last twelve:

(top: Luis, Pat, Castro, Karen

middle: Danielle R., Carmen, Linda, Janine

bottom: Sara, Andrea, Alex, Caitlyn)

Tara

2010-05-17T00:43:00.000-04:00

Tara aka Ms. Banks, works over at the Society of Illustrators, she's co-curating the Earth: Fragile Planet show June 4th, go check it out.

russki

2010-05-16T13:35:00.000-04:00

Nate can hook you up with the latest Brighton Beach fashion.

Schools over in a week, I haven't gotten to everyone yet, I might not be able to, but I'll try. Expect a flood of portraits this week.

left overs

2010-05-15T02:11:00.001-04:00

Finally got some face time with the scanner today. Here's a few pages from the sketchbook for Donovan's documentary art course. It was one of those classes you didn't want to miss, only because it was so pleasant to go to. Bil also, had some refreshing exercises he would have us do for each class.

Penn Station & the Post Office

Flatiron

Praying @ St. Patrick's & MoMA

Staten Island Ferry on a snowy day

Docks on the Hudson

opening photos

2010-05-14T17:31:00.002-04:00

A week late but, still wanted to share these. Here are some photos from the Student show opening last friday night at the Society of Illustrators:

I got some prime real estate with this one, as soon as you walk in, it was on the left.

This one was next to the bathroom downstairs. Good real estate too? I guess,

check it out before you take a leak.

Much love and respect for this man. George-miester showed up!

Look at that cheese smile.

Here I'm kicking it with the Mak Attack

Alright! Enough of my face. Thanks to all my professors that showed up (thanks to Bil for the snazzy tie) my friends and of course la familia, for all the support. It was cool to meet some the other student artists. Some amazing amount of talent hanging on those walls.

The show is up until the 26th I think go check it out.

In others news I just bought my ticket for ICON 6! who's down?

Frog Guts

2010-05-07T14:24:00.000-04:00

Opening Tonight @ the Society of Illustrators

See you there, I'll be the one handing out frog guts

FIT BFA Exhibition now online!

2010-05-04T09:26:00.000-04:00

Here's another preview of a mini zine I'll be handing out at the openings on Friday and Monday.

If you can't make it I'll forgive you, the entire show is now online!

Some good stuff in there, can't wait to see these in person.

Illustration BFA Exhibition

Openings! save the dates May 7th & 10th

2010-05-04T00:38:00.000-04:00

So I've got two pretty important dates coming up for me that I'd like to share:
First off is the Society of Illustrators Student Competition, opening this Friday, May 7th from 6pm - 9pm where I have two pieces in the show, and my friend Tara will be accepting an award (see flyer below for details)
Then on Monday, May 10th is the Fashion Institute of Technology Illustration Senior Competition where I have three different pieces hanging in the show, and I received the bronze medal. That will be held at the F.I.T. Museum on the corner of W 27th Street and 7th Ave from 5 - 8 pm
Both shows will be up until the end of May, so come check it out and show your support.

If you really love me, you'll show up to both openings, or one of the two would be fine too. Hope to see you there, and don't hesitate to say hello. woot!

I don't wanna grow up

2010-04-27T22:38:00.003-04:00

Went to the Toys'R'Us in Times Square last week for documentary class, drew this little doodle and decided to color it in photoshop real quick.

Turtle power from '89

2010-04-23T22:59:00.000-04:00

My 3 year old self, painting some TMNT awesomeness!

He was into Leonardo though, how lame.

COWABUNGA!

2010-04-23T17:33:00.000-04:00

Here's a preview into a mini zine I'm whipping up.

Ralph was such a badass.

I suddenly have an urge to eat some pizza.

hit or miss

2010-04-17T21:35:00.001-04:00

It's a hit or miss with these gouache studies, sometimes. Here's a few more from last nights session:

Also, in other news, a bunch of my friends are having an exhibition over at Illustration House (which houses some gems in their archives) for the Illustration Futuro Show.

Reception will be held April 22nd 6-9pm (thats this thursday)

The show will be up from April 20 - 30 at:

ILLUSTRATION HOUSE

110 West 25 St.

New York, NY 10001

212.966.9444

come check out the work:

image by: Gabriel Roa

cut ya face

2010-04-15T00:39:00.000-04:00

imagine one of these dudes coming after you

kick the mickey mouse out of your head

2010-04-13T23:21:00.000-04:00

what did people do before, when they couldn't pretend they had something important to do on their gadgets?

today I saw a guy clumsily bumping and stumbling around a crowded subway station, his pearly white headphones dangled daintily from his ears, his attention diverted, eyes fixated on the pixels illuminating his face with flashes of colors, as he watched a movie on his iPad held pressed up to his nose. . . .

. . . I wanted to smack that crap right out of his hands. come on !

your telling me . . .

2010-04-12T12:40:00.001-04:00

. . . said the guy who models for a living

pizza and nudes

2010-04-10T19:51:00.000-04:00

Went to the annual draw-a-thon last night at Pratt, eating pizza with bongos playing in the background all while drawing the model, makes for a good night. The 20 min room was no joke, I only made it to the 4 am mark, couldn't do the whole 12 hour run, but here's some of the results:

half way there

2010-04-09T14:48:00.000-04:00

melissa has some awesome hair.

hope I can get everyone before school ends

go outside

2010-04-08T23:52:00.000-04:00

quick sketch at Sheridan Square today.

soo hot outside, let's go to the beach!

this weather reminds me of this song.

global players

2010-04-03T01:49:00.000-04:00

gouache and ink

more value exercises

politicians in my eyes

2010-03-29T23:30:00.004-04:00

some quick value exercises.
drawing upside down leads to some interesting distortions.

back to basics

2010-03-22T01:19:00.003-04:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working with my mentor on exercises that have helped me really understand some basic principles of picture making. Some of these are really basic art school stuff, some I've done before and others I haven't but felt that I understood the concept well enough that there was no need for me to do it. But, going through these exercises I realized just how little I really was grasping these principles. It's one thing to talk about something and another thing to actually do it, and you won't learn until you actually do.
These are some of the recent exercises I've done:

Like I said basic stuff, like foundational art school stuff, but I've come to these with a different mindset and really appreciate what one learns from them.

Here is a clear example of what I guess I'm trying to say. The first two images below where painted during my 2nd year in college in my color theory class (that was the first time I used gouache and hated it)

laughable to me now (thats suppose to be an apple!) But I wasn't really grasping what I was to learn later on (maybe except that the backgrounds were complementary colors) The images below were created recently, they're not perfect, however they illustrate my learning curve:

When my mentor gave me this assignment, I thought it was going to be easy and I'd be able to bang them out quickly, but they were actually kind of challenging, and because of that I felt like I was learning something while doing them.

Anyway boring post, I just thought I'd share that. the end.

Ms. Ly

2010-03-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

Ms. Ly loves bunnies.
This the first in this series, as a three quarter portrait, instead of a full frontal. She couldn't bare, even glance at me for even a second! just kidding, thats just the way she sat down for the pose, and I just went with it.

He's too straight and you can wait

2010-02-16T17:42:00.015-05:00

Breaking in a new sketchbook I received from a dirty Russian.

Yuko does some awesome fashion illustrations. If we lived in a Southeast Asian island, she would be my mama-san. So i'm resuming the portrait series this semester, this is No. 30 of 68

S.I. Student Competition

2010-02-14T23:04:00.011-05:00

I received some awesome news recently, I got TWO pieces accepted into the Society of Illustrators Student Competition! I feel really honored and humbled to be considered among some amazing young talent. Seriously check out the gallery: crazy amount of talent out there. Can't wait to see some of these in person come May. Congrats to all the winners, especially my F.I.T. classmates: Danielle, Nate, Tara, and Richard. woot!

a surge

2010-02-10T21:05:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow marks the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. I've been following news on Iran for about 2 years now; ever since I gave a presentation about Iranian history in my Comparative Political System class. The opposition leaders are still challenging the government, and are urging people to take to the streets in an antigovernment rally tomorrow . I could rant on about it, because I find it really interesting but I'll spare you. I just really like how Iranian youth are passionate about something and are using the internet as a venue to organize together, while the youth of America are to busy coming up with witty status updates and following Ashton Kutcher's bowel movements.

I drew these upside down from a newspaper (yes I still read newspapers, looking at a screen hurts my eyes) that was sitting on my desk. I kind of like the subtle distortion created from upside down drawing, I think they came out better than if I had drawn them normally.
There was another article in the paper about the Iranian government sending 2 turtles, a rat, and worms into space. SPACE TURTLES!!

falso idols

2010-01-30T13:15:00.007-05:00

Squeezing in some side projects and experimenting right before the semester starts up.

planetary, planetary

2010-01-27T11:24:00.002-05:00

sabotage

2010-01-23T23:17:00.002-05:00

. .

el principo

2010-01-21T13:01:00.000-05:00

christmas came early

2009-12-18T20:01:00.005-05:00

Last of the gouache color studies from the model for this semester, it was quite a challenge to try and do these in under 15 mins. each week, but I had fun with it. A classmate generously gave me some tubes of gouache he never used before, from like 25 years ago and they're still good! So yeah, Christmas came early. Thanks again Richard! and happy holidays everyone.

Guys and Gals

2009-12-16T20:59:00.006-05:00

click for full view

This was a personal project I started about two months ago. They're gouache portraits of every student in my illustration graduating class. I asked each person to pose for me for 15 mins each. This is only about a third of the entire class, so I'll have to catch the other 40 something people next semester.
They were a lot of fun to do, and I think I learned a lot about color in different skin tones and mixing color in general. I tried my best to get everyone's likeness. It was interesting to see how some came out on different days. I guess it depended on mood, some days I felt a little braver with the color, other times I felt like I was being to precious about it. (which reminds me, a little side note here, but does anyone know who did the poster art for Precious the movie? cuz that was pretty cool) Anyway have fun trying to figure out who's who. I think my favorite's are the two, dead center . . . Ryan was making a weird face and Angie wanted to kill me.

Reina

2009-12-15T11:55:00.000-05:00

Chaz

2009-12-15T11:44:00.006-05:00

Darker skin tones are a little harder to paint, but it's cool to see color there that you wouldn't think was there, until you really look.

Cassandra

2009-12-14T01:07:00.003-05:00

I liked painting her coat.

Tee Tee

2009-12-06T22:46:00.002-05:00

Tanesha always smiles. So I found out that there are about 67 give or take, students in my graduating illustration class, which means I have 46 more portraits to go.

wallin

2009-11-23T16:13:00.005-05:00

Dave Wallin looks like Woody Harrelson.

under the bridge

2009-11-21T14:26:00.006-05:00

Some nice weather here in en why cee. Went down under the Manhattan bridge to draw the outdoor market in Chinatown with Hiroko. It was like traveling to a different country. The neighborhood is so lively and the people were so curious to see what we were drawing. This is one of my sketches I scanned and added some color and played with some textures.

Red

2009-11-08T22:10:00.001-05:00

Don't let her fool you. Angie is evil, I tell ya, evil!
. . . not really . . . but maybe.

get out of your comfort zone

2009-11-07T12:17:00.027-05:00

Below are some recent gouache studies from live models (10mins):

(click for larger images)

Lewie

2009-11-07T11:37:00.005-05:00

Lewie has a high tolerance level for annoyance . . . maybe it's cuz he's from the mid-west.

Jampole

2009-11-07T11:13:00.004-05:00

Jampole is a product of the nintendo generation.
His interpretation of some of my favorite comic superheros is pretty kickass.

Chin

2009-11-02T13:41:00.003-05:00

This is Otto Chin . . . . . . . . . . yeah that's all I'll say

Nat

2009-11-01T09:13:00.003-05:00

Nathalie is Ms. Super Latina Americana, she's gonna start
a revolution some day, so get the heck out of her way!

YuQuan

2009-10-30T19:04:00.006-04:00

YuQuan is a Apple fiend . . . and he's always slurping on some iced coffee.

George

2009-10-27T10:02:00.004-04:00

George is by far the most helpful person you can find.
He can draw robots like its no ones business.

jumping on red velvet

2009-10-25T14:18:00.011-04:00

I was invited by the 'Blue Eyed Platelicka' to a drawing salon party the other night.
Fun was had; dead chickens were drawn, lips were stained, and clothes were lost.

(click for larger images)*

Jessica G.

2009-10-24T12:52:00.004-04:00

Jessica really likes puppies . . . .
I mean reeeealllly likes puppies, they make her happy.

ride, drink, skate

2009-10-23T19:10:00.006-04:00

location: Astor Place / St. Marks
(click for larger version)

Manny

2009-10-22T10:35:00.005-04:00

Manny smokes an electronic cigarette, but still goes outside and "smokes".
Does that make sense?
I saw a hobo on the subway, light up a cigarette the other day
and a man told him he couldn't smoke on the train, he was like
"yeah I know" and then he took a puff.

Ed

2009-10-21T00:05:00.003-04:00

Ed. Ed's last name translates to: "to feel angry or be angry" in Spanish.
I've never seen any evidence to support that name though, it's quite
the opposite actually, he's a really calm and chill guy.

Gabriel

2009-10-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

Gabriel is from Chi-town, he likes to stuff his face with tamales and other
Mexican foods. In another world he would be a fat black woman
. . . . cuz he's sassy, snap! snap! (head bobble)

Hiroko

2009-10-19T09:52:00.003-04:00

Hiroko hates Las Vegas and school and people who waste
her time and our photo-retouching class . . . come
to think of it, she hates alot of things. But its all good.

Masks and Faces

2009-10-18T16:25:00.004-04:00

In class exercise for doc illo class, we had to sketch each other in 60 secs or less.
Some people were wearing masks or made silly faces, especially Thatch (top right).

Googly Eyes

2009-10-17T00:45:00.005-04:00

Winston Churchhill once said "the eyes are the window to the face" . . . .
I'll see you next time.

Keep Going

2009-10-12T12:31:00.009-04:00

A week late but . . . I went to the NY Art Book Fair last weekend, bought
some real gems. Picked up copies of Closed Caption Comics from the
Cinders Gallery stand, soo good. I also found Jillian Tamaki's Gilded Lilies
which is a nice addition to the library. Did some life drawing from a model recently,
haven't done that in a while... it was a little rough. This semester's work is starting
to pile up, I'm trying to make everything count but I'm way more intersted
in working on my own work and the assignment I'm work on with my mentor.
I'll post up more info on that as I go along. Now, on an illustration nerd note, I found
a recent interview with Asaf Hanuka; go listen to the podcast here.
Alright, gotta get back to work.

Ellis + Blu = F*in AWESOME

2009-09-26T19:22:00.005-04:00

0:45 - 0:60 jaw dropped. Check out some pics I took of a Blu mural
from my visit in Italy last year. I looked all over Bologna for it;
couldn't stop smiling when I found it.

Cool Shades

2009-09-26T18:18:00.006-04:00

Sketches of people on the Highline on the west side. You get some really
interesting views of the Meat Packing District from up there, I hope they
don't get rid of the awesome graf thats up there by 23rd, there's a nice
REVS piece and a EARSNOT roller.

Just Let Go

2009-09-23T23:23:00.004-04:00

I have a documentary art class this semester, with the always cool Mr. Bil Donovan
These are some recent sketches from an in-class exercise where the models
were constantly moving around the room; it was actually really fun and relieving.
Every week we go out into the city and draw from different locations,
soo I should have stuff to share on a weekly basis.

. . . . we'll see

Squid vs Whale

2009-09-21T14:41:00.006-04:00

Recent drawings from the American Museum of Natural History.

Try going to the American Museum of Natural History and not get scared when
you wall up to the Giant Squid and Sperm whale exhibit. I dare you to! Stand
right in front of it, and then tell me your weren't even the least bit frighten.
Every time I go I try standing in front of it, but I get goose bumps.
There's a reason that exhibit's hidden behind the staircase . . .
. . . maybe I'll draw it next time . . .

She Had Nice Lips . . .

2009-09-20T13:01:00.007-04:00

Recent subway drawings and my American History professor on the left.