*looks around* sneeze *starts to dust*

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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