Eyeless Feesh

Because...

2009-07-09T10:28:00.004-04:00

....sentences must not be left hanging, stories must not be left unfinished, and what has started must continue till it's appointed end. Which I don't think is now.

So to undust this blog and make it seem somewhat active:

Here. Something interesting.

The real-life counterpart to Satine's Elephant hotel - An Actual Elephant Hotel in Coney Island. Although it's gone now.

and.

Lately I've been discovering odd antique stores here in Gotham City:

Obscura Antiques in East Village, a store full of oddiites.. seriously.

There's also another antique store that sells old street signs and subways signs on Houston street between Bowery and Lafayette, but I forgot the name of it. But it is easily found because there are old subway/street signs piled next to the entrance.
I think.

I also has a blog in dire need of updates:
http://blog.ruthkim.com
... In addition to my life, which is in dire need of updates.

RK (formerly known as Azureon) NO THIS IS NOT RAWNBLADE, who needs to start posting at some point. *cough*

Woah. Dusty.

2009-06-12T03:06:00.003-04:00

This ship is in need of repairs, a new mast, new sails, and a good stiff northward wind of Inspiration.
That's all up to ol Cap'n Rawn.
In the meanwhile, I have a new personal blog. Me own little skiff, over at yon CoffeeandCaramels.blogspot.
Come visit, if you evers feel the need. :D

Edit:
Whoops, forgot to sign me name.
Sorry about that, folks.

-Swansong (Thus, not Granville/Rawnblade)

midnight indigestion

2008-10-15T01:06:00.011-04:00

here's a picture of The Fruity Vampire Man, who is extremely displeased with the slanderous representation of his people as tormented, sexually ambiguous people constantly at war with werewolves (and somehow always winning the said battle/lovetriangle/hwatever). He says that in reality, vampires are quite happy with the way they are, thank you very much, they are not sexually ambiguous despite their fruity looks, there are no such things as werewolves, and that werewolves are the most ridiculous things he's heard of since large format printers, social networking and that thing where Americans want universal health care .. yet won't pay for it.*

*I'm a socially awkward freak living in a rather social(?) era of networking websites and blogs (the electronic equivalent of a large convention hall packed with people to a psychologically cloying and claustrophobic extent) and my experience with fedex large format printers has been quite positively wonderful, as in the type of wonderful that tries to amaze you with its cumbersome slowness, ill sensitivity and lack of extra stock! And I'm still getting billed for a hospital visit that occured at the beginning of the year! Preposterous.

Speaking of social networking, there is a prevalence of network portals these days (flicker, twitter, facebook, myspace, etc, etc, etc, ..), which makes me think of a rather ghastly possibility:

Will social networks become the equivalent of electronic surveillance?

And pray, dear stranger, think about it, before you go and slam me on the statement.

After all,

A. The psychological? distance between people have gotten smaller, which is a good thing, but..

B. We now have this tendency to constantly update our FB statuses, not to mention those damn Twitters. Therefore letting whoeveritis know what you are currently doing, and perhaps where you're at.

C. There are people who are idiot enough to post their address and phone number on Facebook and other portals.

D. We post our info there, be it our addresses, musical tastes, whatnot.

E. Therefore, we willingly submitting our data to a giant networking website, I mean DATABASE...

F. ... for potential lovers and employers, yes, AND potential assassins, spam adverts, stalkers, pedophiles to take advantage of. And perhaps the soon-to-come One World Government to spy and watch. Sorta like the online version of China's surveillance cameras, only minus the photos I guess. =P

Just my two cents on this extraordinary phenomena. Which I'm unfortunately forced to make use of, thanks to my choice of career (crap).

- (the antisocial acidic agrravant) Azureon

Photo manipulation

2008-09-18T23:53:00.005-04:00

I've never really dabbled in photomanipulation until now. Here's a couple things that I've come up with recently for a Mario Kart Racing League that we have here in the dorms.

Also, regarding the lack of art updates for the past few months, I've been doing a lot of studies and practice that are just now finally getting positive results. These poster type things are the firstfruits of that labor and hopefully, I'll be churning out some much improved art soon.

The Eyeless Feesh is stirring back to life!

--RWHC

hello...

2008-09-08T01:05:00.008-04:00

HELLO EMPTY BLOG!

(hello empty blog!)
(hello empty blog!)
(hello empty blog!)

(hello empty blog.)

(hello empty blog...)

(hello e m p t y b l o g . . .

(hell o e p y l o .

m t b g

yet another sad observation of life: i guess everyone's rather busy ='(
i also realized that as time goes by, people get busier and busier and busier, and grayer and grayer and grayer, and get further and further and further apart. and somewhere, some psychotic mad scientist will build a device the Ultimate Plan to Stop Time (and therefore, stop aging, people getting further away, and all those ugly bits that come with Change).

and this is where you realize that i need to go to sleep.

- Azureon

Let the Games Begin

2008-08-09T00:45:00.001-04:00

The Olympics kicked off yesterday with a bang, boom, and a bright shiny torch. Not that there weren't many bumps on the way to Beijing.

It has been one of the more turbulent lead-ups to the world's biggest field-day. Politics, grievances, history, and patriotism have all jumbled together and fallen in a large and inglorious puddle in the road.

What of the Olympics?

I'm sure that we have all read and seen far too much regarding the Olympics and China. It's on the news, in the blogs, and plastered across the TV screens.

Some say that the Olympics should be free of all of this political mumbo-jumbo. It's a global celebration and a way to bring a few days of peace to an often violent world. The wars and conflicts continue elsewhere on the planet, but for a week, in this one place, there is supposed to be friendly competition. It is a time to marvel at the magnificence that is the human body and the human will to succeed and to excel.
But at the same time, are we to gloss over the significant grievances of people groups who, for a brief moment, might be able to grab the spotlight and turn it to their condition? Tibetans and Uighers, along with some other minorities living under Chinese rule, want their voice to be heard. For most, this is their only real opportunity to receive world-wide attention. With the powers of Chinese censorship, it is virtually impossible to get a message out to the rest of the world.

The Olympics has often been used as a political platform in the past, to discomfiture of many. African nations once boycotted the Olympics because of New Zealand's seeming support of Apartheid South Africa. The mass boycotts of the 80 and 84 games was brought on by the Cold War. The 88 olympics in South Korea were boycotted by the North and four other nations. Taiwan once boycotted the games because they wouldn't be allowed to compete under the name of Taiwan.
There was the infamous Munich games and the slaughter of the Israeli athletes. There was the bombing at the Atlanta games.
The 1936 games in Germany were used by the Nazis as propaganda for their regime and thus was widely denounced after the fact.

So, where does that leave us, here?
Do the Olympics function, as Pierre de Coubertin wished, as a movement for peace in the world? Or does this make the Olympics a sort of global Disneyworld, disconnected from reality and made up of plastic trees and plastic smiles?

I know that this will probably get me in trouble with my Chinese friends, but the fact of the matter is that abuses have occurred in China. The Tibetans and Uyghers and other minorities have often been pushed down, sometimes with overwhelming and violent force. The desire for independence from China is not an anarchic or pointlessly separatist movement stemming from some petty dispute. These were nations that were conquered, with people and heritages all their own. Their grievances are deep and real.

But then, is dousing the torch the proper way to express these grievances? Can't the Olympics reflect the spirit of sportsmanship and common humanity as expressed on Christmas day, 1914?

Which is more important, to strive for peace despite conflict, or to defend and uphold the weak and weary?
Or perhaps it's not so black and white? Perhaps there is a way to achieve both?

I'm sure this is all moot to most people around the world. The Games are underway. In two weeks time, they will be over and Tibet and the Uighers will fade into the background once again. What of them?

- Swansong

Alloha~

2008-08-09T00:44:00.001-04:00

Greetings and Salutations to the readers of the ole Eyeless!

This is Swansong, hailing you all from afar.
I'm afraid that I am not as artistically inclined as my fellow contributors, Rawn and Azureon. But I hope that perhaps these rambling words of mine might on occasion entertain and perhaps even elucidate.

Stay tuned for rambling writings of ridiculous redundancy r- r... ... (hrm..) really soon!

-Swansong

looks around sneeze starts to dust

2008-07-29T00:06:00.006-04:00

my summer so far summarized....

Interesting wall painting near the place i'm at. yet another interesting discovery.

I've been trying my hand on making copies of master copies; supposedly they're supposed to help.
Sargent copies in progress.

And more awkward sketchbook doodles, and this is where I decide that the method by which I measure my skills is this: the ability to capture the essence of the Joker and Batman. I suppose the day I can draw/paing a kick-ass Batman and Joker is the day I'll know I have finally become a master of my craft.

1. Based on the somewhat-steampunk novel The Diamond Age, which I've been dying to read and finally got to. A somewhat psychedelic read (and yet, I say less weirder than The Golden Compass... which just started getting rather. odd. especially in the end.)

2. Awkwardness Epitomized; first time I've drawn the Joker (and used gouache ever since last year), but worry not, as all the subsequent Jokers and Batmans I draw won't ever see the light of day till they shed this awkwardness. -_-;;

3. random doodle.

And as for what I've accomplished this summer ... nothing, except lots of books being consumed, a half finished website, lots of awkward sketching, .... and the crowning achievement: catching 4 mice.
So I guess I could say that instead of working on my portfolio the way I should have, I've slacked off and all I've got are the four carcasses of mice rotting (far far away from me in a trash can that is now in a landfill dump covered with more trash by now) to show.

Um, someone post something please. I feel like I'm talking to a wall. Maybe I am, and in the end I am insane!!! That all of this is just some silly world I've constructed for myself in my demented brain and the next thing I know, I awake from the haze of my frenzied dreams to find myself in a staitjacket in a disarmingly white padded room with no doors, with only a small square shoulder height window (that is padded) to look out on, looking out on a world that is pefectly concealed by trees, so I can't see them and they can't see me ....

- Azureon

daily sketches

2008-07-15T12:00:00.004-04:00

My current psychological landscape at the moment. This is how I'll say goodbye to you: with a bang and a flash, leaving a ghostly afterimage in your head that never leaves.

I should have been working on some crap thing they're making me do at the internship, but as surveillance is lax and there are better things i could spend my time with... i spent 5 hours working on this in Photoshop CS3 instead. I think I'm starting to get the hang of painting with Photoshop.
Now time to go procrastinate some more~

-- Azureon

textures

2008-07-01T13:04:00.005-04:00

some more of the textures i mentioned last time. have fun ... while i go detangle the tangle that i've tangled myself in. =S

-- Azureon

Daily Sketch -- Prinny, d00d!

2008-06-30T13:59:00.002-04:00

Seems like I've been using conte, artist oils, and palette knives almost exclusively lately so I thought it would be a good time to remember how to use airbrushes with this li'l chap.

--RWHC

RIP Michael Turner

2008-06-29T08:48:00.016-04:00

I just found out on deviantArt that Michael Turner died of cancer on Friday. Michael Turner was a comic book artist who has worked with the big names in Marvel and DC and also founded his own company, Aspen Comics.

Michael Turner was one of my favorite artists and I first found out about him in an issue of Wizard magazine when he was doing a tutorial on how to draw sex appeal properly. Example: smoking doesn't make a woman sexier, but playing with hair and half closed eyes do.

I even learned how to do the cute triangle nose and full lips on gals from him.

I always loved the covers he made......

He drew the feistiest Starfire (Teen Titans) .....

and the skinniest Supergirl I've ever seen,

I have yet to see anyone else draw Wonder Woman like he does.

He wasn't great with just gals, though.

And he definitely knew how to make a bunch of guys standing around look good.

Thank you very much for all the memories, Mr. Turner. We'll miss you!

--RWHC

**All featured art in this post was drawn by Michael Turner and can be found in the Comic Art Community galleries.

(no) daily sketches

2008-06-29T00:41:00.011-04:00

This rather horrible screenshot is the reason for my absence of sketches (the teslas are just fillers; they won't show up in the final layout).
I'm finally finished with a project that I've been putting off for 2 years.. my website! The only thing I'm missing is a domain name that I'm satisfied with and a portfolio....

before i make this blog post anymore useless, here are some custom made textures aforementioned by RWHC:

more to come soon.

- Azureon

Daily Sketch -- Mercedes WIP

2008-06-25T09:59:00.002-04:00

Ok. So I know Daily Sketches aren't supposed to be finished works, but I really liked the way my sketch came out so I just kept on coloring it. Still not finished but here's the sketch:

And here's what I have so far:

Hope to get this done within a day or two!

--RWHC

Quick Hits -- Photoshop Disasters + Understanding Layers

2008-06-25T07:45:00.006-04:00

First off, Photoshop Disasters is a fun little website that points out errors in commercial works. My favorite from the site is the one shown above wherein Batman is staring at a window frame. I've actually seen this poster advertising the Dark Knight on Yahoo!, too, so this one's real.

Secondly, Azureon's comment on Cave Bird reminded me of a very comprehensive tutorial at CG Textures on Layers, their properties, and how they affect the base layers underneath.

Enjoy and hope these prove useful!

--RWHC

Texture Library -- Sheets

2008-06-24T02:53:00.004-04:00

Azureon was showing me a few custom textures she made earlier and when she expressed a desire to share them with as many artists as we can, I thought that this would be a good platform to do so. Of course, I won't be sharing the ones she gave me as I want her to take the credit for those, but here are a few things I've taken from different sheets around the house that might be useful for overlays, patterns, papers, or whatever might be useful for photomanips.

--RWHC

Daily Sketch -- Cave Bird

2008-06-24T02:29:00.002-04:00

Playing around with different layer properties in this one, mainly lineart on Multiply, with a soft light and Overlay layer on top of that. Not exactly the effect that I was looking for (needed it darker) but very useful experiment, nonetheless.

--RWHC

Hidden surprise

2008-06-18T21:23:00.008-04:00

If you wander around long enough, you get unexpected surprises, such as this:

Found this bust of Ol' Tesla in front of a church building at 25th, btw 5th and 6th Avenues. And despite what your idiotic teacher tells you: NIKOLA TESLA INVENTED THE ALTERNATING CURRENT MOTOR AND POLYPHASE SYSTEM.

And the morals of the story? Wander around Gotham, and you find things. Sometimes its pleasant like this, and sometimes ... not too pleasant, like that perpetually mumbling bum or that bugger of a mugger with a gun. If it concerns you, the latter two did not happen, but the first, which came in form of a bust of Nikola Tesla in front of a church, did.

And always, always question your authorities, whether its your teacher, parent, government leader, master chief or poopmaster. Because they're human, and therefore, chances are, they could be wrong. Really erroneously wrong, and sadly yet.... still firmly believing that Edison made AC.*

- Azureon
* but this is advice coming from a random faceless blogger, so why would you even listen to that drivel?

hating on sketchbooks - and yet still trying

2008-06-12T21:27:00.008-04:00

*
**
***
****

* eh doodles.
** A bored attempt to draw Mario in Yoji Shinkawa-esque Metal Gear Cover-esque style.
*** kois.
**** lastly and not leastly, Batman. One of the hardest characters to draw, but one I would like to draw again and again (along with him, The Endless in Sandman, Wolverine and Solid Snake ... never drew the latter two, but for whatever reason I'm itching to draw them, despite never having read Xmen or played any of the MGS games).

After the slew of digital I found myself missing the pencil and paint greatly... so henceforth, I will be working with those as I try to spit my muse back out into this plane of existence. After all, whatever skills I obtain with these traditional tools, will carry over to my digital tools.

And this is where I hope that somehow I can get over my sketchbook hate, the way I got over my watercolor hate... not to mention actually make something that I enjoy without killing myself. And that all this effort (and cash) I'm pouring into art will not come back fruitless.

Kids, knowledge kills. So be careful what you let into your head, as once it enters, it sears you for life.

-- Azureon

Catching up with Daily Sketches -- Nausicaa Edition

2008-06-10T22:07:00.004-04:00

I had finals last week and I also moved apartments so updating here has been scarce. However, I haven't stopped sketching and here are the sketches inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind". I have other sketches that should soon see the light of day once I touch down in Korea and have time to color them. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

--RWHC

Daily Sketch -- Hunter Metroid

2008-06-04T23:43:00.002-04:00

Well, when the well of ideas is running dry, Metroids never fail. This here's a hunter metroid from Metroid Prime. Experimented with layering different textures and papers, as well as revisiting an airbrush technique that I haven't used in a while.

--RWHC

Projects -- WIP

2008-05-31T23:24:00.004-04:00

When I'm not working on daily sketches, I'm usually tied up with school or other projects that I'm currently working on. I mentioned that my Avian Guardian sketch was concept art for a friend of mine and that's what I'm currently tied up doing. The rest of the concept art for that project is probably going to make it up here but for a sneak preview, here are a few of the rough sketches we have so far:

--RWHC

Colors DS

2008-05-31T15:26:00.004-04:00

Finally got Colors DS!!! Now I am invincible!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

An apologetically small (thanks to lack of a secure wireless) and rather awkward copy of John White Alexander's Repose.
*

* They say its a good habit (and also a nice way to learn) by copying master paintings and whatnot.. but for whatever reason I've always been skeptical of that. I guess I'll try it at some point to see if I'm actually getting anything out of it.

-- Azureon

Daily Sketch -- Avian Guardian

2008-05-28T00:17:00.006-04:00

This here's a bit of concept art for a friend of mine. This giant statue, erected by a tribe of Avians, stands at the desert's edge, watching vigilantly for trouble.

My buddy, Azureon, keeps telling me to stop making shadows using black or gray. So this is a study in colors and boy, was Azureon right! This way of doing it is so much better. No blacks in this one! Just a lot of dark reds, purples, and greens.

--RWHC

daily sketches

2008-05-27T14:02:00.004-04:00

stuff i did at the internship, all of which took the entire time i was there thanks to my lack of leet speedpainting skills.
first day:

second day:

Done on Photoshop CS2, using custom brushes by
bluefley's imaginefx tutorial (because i'm too lazy to make my own).

--Azureon

Daily Sketch -- Hand of NOD

2008-05-27T00:36:00.004-04:00

Here's another quick sketch experimenting with tools in Painter. This time, the scratchy palette knife. Click on the picture to view the full effect.

--RWHC

daily sketch

2008-05-24T23:24:00.005-04:00

"wth is that?"
"MEEP."

Butbutbut ... what the hell is a MEEP?

From June and onwards, I have no excuse. Lestthemawsoflazinessconsumeme.

- Azureon

Uncomfortability.

2008-05-24T00:43:00.006-04:00

My oh-so-awkward sketchbook pages. Not as pretty as James Jean's (the SVA Illustration posterboy) or one of the old painting masters, unfortunately. I'm trying to get back into the habit of drawing from life, drawing anything in that damned book, which I used to do alot last last year (and was a whole lot better at, I think).

Unfortunately, because I grew up drawing on stray floating bits of A4 paper (thanks to being underexposed to anything art), I don't sit well with these tightly bound books of doom. They tightly close around me, archiving my every move! (like the camera and the yearbook, other archival daemons I try to duck and hide away from as much as possible). The more enjoyable times I've had drawing were on A4 paper, like the pic below:

Eh, screw the sketchbook. Looks like I'm going to be ditching it altogether and just carry sheafs, no... loafs of A4 paper instead. Even at the cost of me looking like a total idiot. Perhaps someday I can get comfortable with it so that I can actually EFFECTIVELY USE those piles of sketchbooks lying around. Let's hope for that.

-Azureon

Daily Sketch -- Scribbly Spore

2008-05-19T23:16:00.006-04:00

Aaaaah.. now that finals are over, I can get back to tending this li'l aquarium that we've built for ourselves in this corner of the intarwebs...

Over at dA, I found this tutorial by one of my favorite artists, Ursula Vernon. I wanted to try it out because the scribbly method looked really interesting and here's what I came up with:

One of the things I really like about these daily sketches is the fact that you can experiment with new techniques quickly and not worry about it being a finished product. I really like the raw energy that this style brings and I want to be able to refine this technique more so that it doesn't look quite as messy as this one ended up being.

--RWHC

daily sketches

2008-05-19T22:59:00.006-04:00

Felt like painting koi, so koi you get. Or something akin to it.

*If there is at least ONE thing i must achieve this summer, it is color theory and color management. Damn JPEGS for their data loss.

--Azureon

daily sketches

2008-05-18T21:09:00.006-04:00

for now, this is what i am able to spit out for the much delayed daily sketches.

i will try to make it daily.

not feeling very colorful at the moment, but next time, and hereafter, i will stop doing limited color/monochromatic scenes since i'm getting sick of them, not to mention that this became an experiment gone horribly out of proportion;it bleached out this past school year to a grayish darkish shade that is neither color nor uncolor but the gastric discharge of a stubbornly formless beast.

Now time to go sink into that pleasant unconsciousness called Sleep. For some reason, I seem to be getting very little of it, thanks to being nomadic for the last few weeks.

- Azureon

okami contest entry

2008-04-30T04:37:00.006-04:00

Sadly enough, all the video game fanart that I ever drew (with the exception of Mario) are of games I never played. Oddly enough most of them for the PS2, which I've never had, nor played. Hopefully, this should capture um... some elements of the game (or at least the narrative, since I mostly based this picture off the overall synopsis of the game rather than any screenshots -_-;;; )

For a contest entry on deviantart.
I was going to add more fish and work on this a bit more, but I ran out of time, and more importantly ... RAM. I don't care if I don't get anything off this contest, because I AM DONE. I am finished with every single task I needed to do for this month (well... not really. but the major head-nagging ones, I am done with them).

Now to go truly, bluely RIP.

--azureon

[UPDATE]
This entry was featured on deviantArt in a news post showing off "a selection of the best works". Well done, Azureon!

Check out the gallery here: http://news.deviantart.com/article/48297/

Selfish? No. Selective? Yes.

2008-04-30T00:32:00.003-04:00

I consider myself to be quite a selfish person. Maybe it comes with being a true introvert – I guard my time and space (especially space) ... and sleep… ferociously. I think my former housemates have emotional scars from when they have had to wake me up in the morning. I don’t like last minute changes to my routine. I like my things where I’ve left them. I value punctuality above all else – I’ll forgive tardiness once, or twice, but where it’s done repeatedly, shows a thorough disrespect for my time, and devalues me as a person. I like my personal space. I don’t like impromptu ‘drop-ins’, unless it’s to give me cake or chocolate. If I could divide my life into units, like Hugh Grant does in ‘About a Boy’, with 100 units making up a day, only 20 units would be set aside for the wider world.

So yes. I’m a rather selfish person. So when a dear friend from home asked to stay with me for a week, I was rather unsure about it all. I’m a 26 yr old single girl, living in my little bachelorette pad. I haven’t shared my living space with another living thing (apart from a fish) for two years.. much less, a boy! I mean… boys are a whole different species, as far as I’m concerned! Yet, I do adore this particular friend, and while being apprehensive about it all, part of me was just happy that he would be on the same continent for the first time in a long while.

He arrived at night – customs held him up at the airport, and he walked through my doors at 10pm. Now, on a normal night, I’m usually all pyjama’ed up, brushed teeth and ready to snuggle into bed at 10pm, and it was a school night, no less!! Certainly not sitting waiting for houseguests, which was what I was doing on that first night. But never mind, he came, I settled him in, fed him dinner, showed him where things were, and headed into bed. By that time it was 12.30am. On a school night. Not ideal.

That first morning, I stumbled out of bed at 6.30am as usual to get ready for work. Stumbled to the bathroom and groped around for my toothbrush in my sleepy daze. Hang on. There’s another toothbrush in my toothbrush holder. Okay never mind. Moving on. Stumbled into the bathtub, adjusted the water temperature perfectly, and noticed that next to my little pink razor, was a much larger, darker one. Hmmm. Finished showering, reached out for my towel and realized… hmmm.. that’s a different texture from my towel. Nope, not mine. (One of mine, because I gave him a towel to use, but not the one I was using right then).

He left two weeks ago, and I feel curiously… lost. Things are back to normal – a single toothbrush, a single towel, a single razor, all-feminine apparel in the laundry basket – and yet, I feel… uncomfortable. What I had previously guarded with my life didn’t seem quite so precious anymore. As I pondered this development I realized why. For a week, it mattered to someone that I got out of bed in the morning. It mattered that I got dressed and went out. It mattered that I came home at night. It mattered that I eat at least 2 regular meals, that I took my flu medicine when I felt like crap. For a week, I mattered.

I suspect that’s what it comes down to. I’m not selfish, not really… I’m just selective with the people I choose to share my time and space with. And when you feel like you matter to the people you do share your time and space with… your heart expands to enable you to give more than you ever realized you could... or would.

-Incognito

Daily Sketch -- The Hammer Falls

2008-04-30T00:21:00.004-04:00

Wow.. after a great performance by the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight against the New York Rangers, they remain the only unbeaten team left in the NHL playoffs! Couldn't resist doing a quick and dirty sketch to show my excitement, of course.

Let's go Pens! Let the hammer fall this Thursday and sweep the Rangers!

--RWHC

Not a Daily Sketch -- Old Kitty Sketch

2008-04-29T01:33:00.004-04:00

No new daily sketch today because ~~we are currently being invaded by Canada~~ I have papers to write. I do hope to sneak a few sketches in this week, though.

Instead, I offer up this kitty that I drew a while back:Everyone likes kitties :3

--RWHC

Weekend Sketch -- Casey's Birthday

2008-04-28T00:59:00.003-04:00

One of the first things I ever did when I was introduced to digital art and got my paws on a tablet was to draw a birthday card for one of my best friends. Having just touched on artistic benchmarks, I wondered what I would do for this weekend's sketch. Coincidentally, her birthday was this weekend and that's the inspiration for this post.

Here's the card I made her two years ago:

Here's this year's edition:

Happy Birthday, Casey!

--RWHC

Design Diary -- Artistic Benchmarks

2008-04-28T00:17:00.005-04:00

Most people who know me are probably right in accusing me of being a pack rat, keeping old stuff for nostalgia's sake. Unlike my co-blogger Azureon, I like keeping the old art that I've created. For me, it really helps to see how far I've come and encourages me to keep pushing myself to improve.

Nintendo's Metroid series has always been one of my favorite sources of artistic inspiration because of its imaginative setting and immensely likable heroine. I also tend to draw something Metroid related whenever a new Metroid game comes out.

As I was looking through my art folder, I came across these three drawings that have become my very own artistic benchmarks.

Samus Aran (2004)

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2006)

Corruption (2007)

I'm so glad I kept these. I wonder how much will change the next time I update my benchmarks.

--RWHC

not a sketch, but..

2008-04-27T21:03:00.005-04:00

but for filling's sake? i guess.

a experiment with photoshop, oils and photomanips, which i've been dying to try for a long time.

and you want intros? erm, i draw to live. or at least hopefully, i'll be able to draw to live. drawing decent pictures that is.
and what will i post? pictures, i guess.

and what will i not post? whatever that is not art, which is... naps. as that is what i'm going to do as of now .....

- azureon

Can't sketch, but can think!

2008-04-26T23:27:00.004-04:00

I figured it's about time I made my inaugural Feesh post. I can't sketch to save my life, but I do have one hyperactive brain that goes into overdrive oh about.... once a week? So that's what you can expect from this author - a kaleidoscope of thoughts, both poignant and inane, silly and profound - depending on the mood of the day.

This.. is... my.....

- Incognito

Quick Hits: Hockey Ads Are Funny

2008-04-25T23:42:00.006-04:00

In lieu of a daily sketch, here are some of my favorite commercials... It's Stanley Cup Playoff time! Go, Penguins!

Ryan Miller's AMP Energy Winter Classic Commercial:

Swedish Twins:

NHL Road Trip:

Verizon -- Hockey Fans aren't like other fans 1:

Verizon -- Hockey Fans aren't like other fans 2:

Facebook and feed readers can take a look at this post here.

--RWHC

Daily Sketch -- Fiery Pylon

2008-04-23T23:48:00.004-04:00

There is absolutely no excuse for how badly colored this turned out. Originally, the concept was to put a lightning pylon under water but since I just did a fish, I thought I'd place this on land... Oh, how much better that fish was.--RWHC

Daily Sketch - Rabid Feesh

2008-04-23T01:04:00.003-04:00

One of the things that I've been enjoying during these daily sketches is watching the transformation of a sketch like this:

Into something like this:

Click for full size

--RWHC

Daily Sketch - Profile Study

2008-04-21T23:59:00.003-04:00

Drawing human faces has been a particularly weak point of mine and this is hopefully one step in improving that. At least it's better than the duck.
Man... need to work on those shadows and colors.

--RWHC

Daily Sketch -- Quickie Ducky

2008-04-21T01:28:00.009-04:00

After Azureon got things rolling with her amazing quick sketch of Neil Gaiman's Death, it's my turn to put something up. Unfortunately, I'm not quite at that level of goodness yet, so here's my quickie of the day:
What started out as Velvet from Odin Sphere somehow ended up being a duck...

--RWHC

daily sketches

2008-04-20T00:41:00.006-04:00

well, almost daily, if i can get over my fatigue, that is.
anatomically incorrect sketches/speedpaints just for kicks, and to all the more speedily oust my artblock away ... until i can speedpaint and sketch a most epic scene without any troubles and indigestive bubbles.

-azureon

100 Picture Challenge

2008-04-13T21:01:00.005-04:00

Hey folks!

The goal is to create an image representing each description whether it be a sketch, a picture, or a full painting. Great way to kill time, fight artist's block or to hone skills and try out new artistic styles! Also, to keep it in perspective, if you do one a day, you'll be at it for about a third of a year. Sooo.. I think it's best to take yer time with these things.

Another way to tackle this challenge is through writing, so feel free to do it that way, if you so desire.

Azureon and I have thrown our hats into the ring and we hope some of you jump into it, too! If you also want your stuff posted up here, feel free to contact us and we'll definitely feature your art, too.

Here's the list:

1. Introduction
2. Love
3. Light
4. Dark
5. Seeking Solace
6. Break Away
7. Heaven
8. Innocence
9. Drive
10. Breathe Again
11. Memory
12. Insanity
13. Misfortune
14. Smile
15. Silence
16. Questioning
17. Blood
18. Rainbow
19. Gray
20. Fortitude
21. Vacation
22. Mother Nature
23. Cat
24. No Time
25. Trouble Lurking
26. Tears
27. Foreign
28. Sorrow
29. Happiness
30. Under the Rain
31. Flowers
32. Night
33. Expectations
34. Stars
35. Hold My Hand
36. Precious Treasure
37. Eyes
38. Abandoned
39. Dreams
40. Rated
41. Teamwork
42. Standing Still
43. Dying
44. Two Roads
45. Illusion
46. Family
47. Creation
48. Childhood
49. Stripes
50. Breaking the Rules
51. Sport
52. Deep in Thought
53. Keeping a Secret
54. Tower
55. Waiting
56. Danger Ahead
57. Sacrifice
58. Kick in the Head
59. No Way Out
60. Rejection
61. Fairy Tale
62. Magic
63. Do Not Disturb
64. Multitasking
65. Horror
66. Traps
67. Playing the Melody
68. Hero
69. Annoyance
70. 67%
71. Obsession
72. Mischief Managed
73. I Can't
74. Are You Challenging Me?
75. Mirror
76. Broken Pieces
77. Test
78. Drink
79. Starvation
80. Words
81. Pen and Paper
82. Can You Hear Me?
83. Heal
84. Out Cold
85. Spiral
86. Seeing Red
87. Food
88. Pain
89. Through the Fire
90. Triangle
91. Drowning
92. All That I Have
93. Give Up
94. Last Hope
95. Advertisement
96. In the Storm
97. Safety First
98. Puzzle
99. Solitude
100. Relaxation

RWHC's 100: #23 Cat

2008-04-13T20:45:00.003-04:00

Number 23 of the 100 Picture Challenge , is this depiction of a cat. This is actually Eben from the webcomic Two Lumps.

Mostly just wanted to experiment with solid colors and that sorta thing and I think it turned out ok.

As always, comments and critiques are highly encouraged and appreciated.
-----
Art: RWHC
Eben is copyright J. Grant and Mel Hynes

RWHC's 100: #19 Gray

2008-04-13T20:34:00.005-04:00

Number 19 of the 100 Picture Challenge, this one was a bit more challenging because the theme was simply "Gray".

My biggest problem with this was making the foreground pop out from the background so I cheated a little by adding pinks for the land and blues for the sky, as well as painting on top of a rusty brown. Also tried out a new chalky style that I really haven't been exposed to until Azureon pointed it out to me and urged me to try it out last November.

As always, comments and critiques are highly encouraged!

-----
Pen and Paper, Painter IX (Conte)
Art: RWHC

RWHC's 100: #1 Introduction

2008-04-13T20:27:00.003-04:00

Art: RWHC

Azureon's 100: #67 Playing the Melody

2008-04-13T20:08:00.001-04:00

Art by: Azureon

Azureon's 100: #19 Gray

2008-04-13T20:03:00.002-04:00

The clock strikes 6. In the distance, the camp alarm faintly sounds, calling all who sleep within to awake.

Her consciousness comes into focus, and her eyes open. She gets up from the bed. A gray and rather spartan room greets her, with a squarish eye that stares unnervingly, its unblinking gaze leading into a cold and gray world outside. A world that is equally cold and gray as her.

----
Art: Azureon
Written by: Azureon

Azureon's 100: #1 Introduction

2008-04-13T19:58:00.004-04:00

"Hello Scarlett!", greets the tentacled lump of monstrosity.

She looks up from her coffee, to see the source of the voice.
A slimy, giant, tentacled, sharp toothed and smiling, happy, amiable, morning persony .. thing.

Which, unfortunately, was seen only by her and her only.
Which, was the type of creature that did not exist in reality, and was never heard of, and yet, existed.
Which, for some reason, knew her real name and dared to call her by it.

"Well Scarlett ... ", the lumpy thing says after getting her attention,
"I simply must tell you this good news ..."

He jiggles and giggles with glee, eating more of his plastic burger, and declares,
"...Today is the End of Your Life !"

-------
Art: Azureon
Written by: Azureon

Aaaaaand We Have Liftoff!!!

2008-03-29T18:45:00.004-04:00

Here we go!

Ahoooy again, folks!

Eyeless Feesh is back! This time, we've expanded our crew, broadened our horizons, and are casting off to discover strange new worlds (or at least the ones we thought we knew).

--Eyeless Feesh Staff

So Long and Thanks for All the Feesh

2008-02-25T23:53:00.005-05:00

See ya later!

As if Eyeless Feesh wasn't dead already, time to close down for a while, redesign things, and then relaunch!! We're coming back soon, and much improved, to boot! Stay tuned :3

Disk Error

2007-09-22T08:23:00.000-04:00

There are a few things in life that are as singularly frightening, aggravating, and depressing as losing precious information due to an external hard drive dying. >:[

I still have a lot of reference material as well as projects and games on that thing *sob*

Quick Hits - Aug. 17, 2007

2007-08-17T03:38:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, I can't think of anything to write about but I have lots of tiny things scurrying in my head that couldn't make a post by themselves. Mebbe I should just lump it together and put things up. Here are a few things that I've found and have been running through my mind lately:

--Chocolate kills dogs.

--David Beckham finally scores in the MLS in his first game as a starter after weeks of sitting on the bench with an injury. Beautiful goal, too! Watch how he curls the ball from right to left. Good stuff from a guy who's only been to one practice. He also sets up Landon Donovan on a nice pass for a semi-breakaway goal.

Definitely better than the time Becks tried to play American Football.

--Everyone knows I love the Pittsburgh Penguins. After all, what other team can boast of a mascot that stood toe to toe against Jean Claude Van Dam?

--Finally.. a topic that's always bugged me as an athlete: Cheerleaders.

I've always been from the school of thought that cheerleaders are generally useless in the context of the actual sport.

I don't doubt that they're athletes themselves, but their contributions to the actual sport are fairly minimal and they usually just serve as eye candy for the fans.

Leave it up to hockey to make them useful. Ladies and gentlemen, the Ice Girls:

Not only do they meet the prerequisite for being eye candy,

They also have the grace and athleticism of figure skaters.

So what sets them apart from your normal cheerleader?

That's right... they actually clean the ice. If that isn't finding a utilitarian purpose for cheerleaders, I don't know what is.

Thank you, Ice Girls for being the best and most hardworking cheerleaders in sports.

Facebook watchers and feed readers can click here for the original post.

Minesweeper: The Movie

2007-08-07T01:32:00.000-04:00

Minesweeper!!! Looks better than most video game movies, anyway...

Light

2007-08-05T14:46:00.000-04:00

So I finally sat down this afternoon and took good long look at a piece that I stopped working on four months ago because it just wasn't going anywhere. I always felt it was missing an important ingredient to make it work: lighting. I just didn't know how to implement it.

Lighting has always been tricky for me and I've never fully understood it. I've always glossed over it and never really cared much about how much it adds to mood. I think I just might be starting to appreciate the difference after this afternoon, though:

Click to enlarge

Definitely a big improvement in just a few hours of playing around with light. It's still not done and it looks like mud 'cause I've been using only soft brushes so far and haven't begun to define the details, but it's a good step forward. Who knows? Maybe I'll finish this before StarCraft II comes out.

Truth

2007-07-29T08:55:00.000-04:00

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."

--Albert Schweitzer

Thoughts?

For Aggie :)

2007-07-18T05:49:00.001-04:00

Back From Hiatus

2007-07-16T02:18:00.001-04:00

Soooo.. yeah.. This thing was supposed to be more active than the xanga account but unfortunately, my laptop fan broke and it was only recently that I got that fixed. Then, my internet connection got cut, theoretically due to construction work. But I haven't really found out the reason because it just magically reconnected this morning.

In any case, I've got a few things in store for this thing, though it's probably going to be random fanboy rants of what I really enjoy in the creative process of my favorite shows, books, comics, and games. Since.. it's summer and that's pretty much all the material I can think of at the moment :3

A Typical European Joke

2007-06-20T02:33:00.000-04:00

Here's something a Greek guy in my class told me:

A guy walks into the doctor's office for a physical. Learning that he's in fine health, the young man asks, " Doc., what can I do to live longer?"

The doctor replied, "Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Do you drink alcohol?"

"No."

"Do you do drugs?"

"Ummm.. of course not!"

"How often do you have sex?"

"Uhhhh.... never."

After taking some notes, the doctor concluded,"You don't drink, smoke, do drugs, or have sex? Why the heck do you want to live longer?"

Reclaiming ICS history

2007-05-26T18:02:00.000-04:00

Hey there, ICS and YISS alumni!

As most of you are probably aware by now, the big box containing the photos of ICS history has gone missing. Albert Suh has been trying to kickstart the reclamation of our history by gathering photos from alumni and we -need- your help! If you have any pictures lying around from your days at ICS (especially in the different eras when we were in different buildings such as Pogwang-dong, Youido, Haebangchon, and so on...), please send them in to alumni.guardians@gmail.com

We've got our first batch of pics up here: http://picasaweb.google.com/alumni.guardians/UnsortedICS

Eurovision 2007 Winner

2007-05-13T15:18:00.000-04:00

Glad to see a real song win this year. Congrats to Serbia for the song "Molitva"!

Eurovision!

2007-05-12T08:14:00.000-04:00

In seven hours, the Eurovision final goes live.

Eurovision's been around for about 50 years, pitting the countries of Europe against each other in a battle of song and dance.

Looking at how big American Idol was in the US and having seen how seriously folks take it, it's refreshing for me to have seen a competition that doesn't take itself waaay too seriously.

After all... where else could a song like this win?

Eyeless Feesh is now live!

2007-04-30T06:01:00.000-04:00

Moving over to blogspot from Xanga!

I'm making this move since the new site is gonna be able to combine all of my interests in one place and have less of a "social networking" feel to it. I'm still gonna fiddle around with some stuff so changes are definitely coming up, but for now, what better way to enjoy the launch than with Mega Man dancing to Hare Hare Yukai?

Original Haruhi version:

--GKC

Feed watchers and Facebook folks can check it out here.

Eyeless Feesh

Because...

Woah. Dusty.

midnight indigestion

Photo manipulation

hello...

Let the Games Begin

Alloha~

*looks around* sneeze *starts to dust*

daily sketches

textures

Daily Sketch -- Prinny, d00d!

RIP Michael Turner

(no) daily sketches

Daily Sketch -- Mercedes WIP

Quick Hits -- Photoshop Disasters + Understanding Layers

Texture Library -- Sheets

Daily Sketch -- Cave Bird

Hidden surprise

hating on sketchbooks - and yet still trying

Catching up with Daily Sketches -- Nausicaa Edition

Daily Sketch -- Hunter Metroid

Projects -- WIP

Colors DS

Daily Sketch -- Avian Guardian

daily sketches

Daily Sketch -- Hand of NOD

daily sketch

Uncomfortability.

Daily Sketch -- Scribbly Spore

daily sketches

daily sketches

okami contest entry

Selfish? No. Selective? Yes.

Daily Sketch -- The Hammer Falls

Not a Daily Sketch -- Old Kitty Sketch

Weekend Sketch -- Casey's Birthday

Design Diary -- Artistic Benchmarks

not a sketch, but..

Can't sketch, but can think!

Quick Hits: Hockey Ads Are Funny

Daily Sketch -- Fiery Pylon

Daily Sketch - Rabid Feesh

Daily Sketch - Profile Study

Daily Sketch -- Quickie Ducky

daily sketches

100 Picture Challenge

RWHC's 100: #23 Cat

RWHC's 100: #19 Gray

RWHC's 100: #1 Introduction

Azureon's 100: #67 Playing the Melody

Azureon's 100: #19 Gray

Azureon's 100: #1 Introduction

Aaaaaand We Have Liftoff!!!

So Long and Thanks for All the Feesh

Disk Error

Quick Hits - Aug. 17, 2007

Minesweeper: The Movie

Light

Truth

For Aggie :)

Back From Hiatus

A Typical European Joke

Reclaiming ICS history

Eurovision 2007 Winner

Eurovision!

Eyeless Feesh is now live!

looks around sneeze starts to dust