Taking back Gouache

          A weight finally lifted itself off my shoulders after midterms has kind of passed, now I have an essay to finish and presentation on C. Taxifolia to create. It makes a little difficult to do my own personal work beside assignments but I hoping the spring break will allow me that.
         So, here are more life drawing portraits and figure drawing for today. I'm make a few more improvements with the pastels medium, breaking down the composition in planes and forms, ever bringing back my original scribble technique in the form.  

Currently, in Illustration 2, been working with painting with gouache (so excited!!). Our first assignment was to illustrate turbulence, which I thought a white water rapids. As much as I enjoyed using the dry brush affect, I need to wet the gouache much more to create smoother for particular figures.  

Now our next project is the paint three vignette illustrations of a particular culture. I decide to the culture of women in Afghanistan. I been waiting a lot of documents and researching about their current situation, which is upsetting see how their religion and dominance group is ruining them. From arrange marriages, child brides, abuse, social reputation to not having the opportunity for education. It was very touchy but it was something I was interested and an issue to should be bought up. Using their vivid bright colors and contrast of design can illustrated their culture and the darken mood of the situation.

   

                          

               

             

Digital Homework

It's Sunny!!! But I stuck in front of the computer so I need to take a break just so I can take a walk away there aren't any snowy walls. Pretty much this week has been doing more digital and paint medium, mainly with gouache and watercolor. My Favorite <3

For the Studio XL course, my classmates and I have been putting together a flash animation video that exposes the safely measures of the red bins. I been learning flash animation from my dear amazing friend while creating the storyboards for the video. Here is a preview of what I have done, and if you want to see our process, check out our blog in the link below:

http://dangerredbin.blogspot.com/

As for digital illustration, I have been working on illustrating a particular recipe; "Thai-style Tuna Burger", one of my favorite college recipes. Originally, it was suppose to be vertical, as a scolling down version but it had to be horizontal layout. What I was think of having a school of tuna swim around the direction, maybe thinking of adding the mermaid from the Tails' comic. However, i twas really fun to do and might create more over the summer or break.

The Load before Spring Break

                 About two more weeks left before spring break comes around, which makes this week good or bad. Mainly, homework load had increased at a much large load as assignments are due at a short period of time. For instance, I had to create three self- portraits for life drawing II, to illustrated the term Turbulence as well as find a culture to sketch for illustration, Creating a flash animation about safety uses of the red bins, finish illustrating a recipe to sketching a book festival poster and come up with a powerpoint, a philosophy essay and a midterm to get ready for. So yes, with all the snow days and altered schedules had made teacher rush in their assignments that they originally schedule just so they have it done. I just couldn't imagine how much time consumption it takes up when working digital and hand drawn.

               Quick update, I actually entered a piece one of my film pieces in an school event, The Improbable Places Poetry Tour. It is a communities of local artist and student displaying poetry into their artwork, and my film teacher thought that my last year project would be accepted in it. This was the video where I interpreted one my creative writing stories and turned it into a visual trailer of the story, having narration from the actually story being told. I was so upset that I wasn't able to attend the reception because of a class but I got a lot of comments about it, mainly positive ones. It must have looked amazing being shown on the big movie screen that I missed out but I'm glad others got to see it. 
               Also I was asked again to do the Artrageous!29 again so that will be upcoming later on.

14 February 2015

Happy Valentine's Day and very special remembrance to Owen

Color against the Snow

                I want to say that I am enjoying this. My childhood self would just find plenty of time to make snow angels, snow man and perhaps a fortress, but in this snow it might have well been difficult. Already the snow been stable up to my waist, while hopping over its trenches to search for the previous paths shoveled weeks ago now fill up. Not to mention we have some lovely decorative icicles hanging over the entrances like christmas lights. Currently the ones by my back door are as long as apartment window, making you wish you have a hard helmet or something. I have no idea know if the snow will let up, for all we know another blizzard will return over the weekend then on tuesday and wednesday. All we hope that this will be its last blow so workers can clean up the road ways.

Here are a few illustration updates I done over this week. The watercolor sample below is a practice or color theory for my Mother Goose illustration. I decided on illustrating the "Ba Ba Black Sheep" poem, by enjoying painting sheep and displaying intention of the rhythm. If I would, this could have been part of the final but its too small.   

These are the familiar thumbnail sketches that I displayed awhile ago. Because of the snow days and I was having fun with them, I decide to do two illustration and figure out the color sketches for each. I think I know what the final will be but you'll just have to wait

More Snow

MORE SNOW MEANS MORE SNOW DAYS, MEANING MORE STUDIO TIME TO DO HOMEWORK, PERSONAL WORK OR NOTHING. ALL I HOPE THAT THE SIDEWALKS DON'T TURN INTO THE SINKHOLES TO GET STUCK IN. BY THE WAY, MORE ART

Illustration Theme Gallery 2015

         
                  It has finally come to be, after all the snow days that made scheduling for the Montserrat college, this year's illustration theme of 2015 had its opening last night. This year's theme was the literature themes of William Shakespeare, which was the largest submission of artwork from this year, featuring the variety to his memorable plays (featuring Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, Midsummer Night Dream, Twelfth Night, etc) or the man himself that the artist visualizes him as. Honestly, Shakespeare itself seems to open a ton of opportunities to illustrating a narrative into its fantasy environment or a modern adaptation. One of the reason why I love to illustrate literature because it is an individual's perception and imagery that was created off the author's one imagery, alternating the original intend to being more memorable to the growing audience.
             Again, these are all submitted and hand crafted over the winter break by Montserrat Students, the Teachers and returning Alumni's to participate, bringing together the illustration, fine arts, digital design community with this challenge.    

                           

             

                This year, these are the two pieces I submitted into the show. The one on the left, a typography illustration of Macbeth's castle. From my evaluation, I was suggested that I use the learning from typography and try to have the use of design integrate with my illustration work. The idea was to use a specific quote from Macbeth: "Stars, hid your fire. Let not your light see with my black deep desires". The inspiration came from sample of graphic designers or illustrators use of particular typeface, letters and word to create the negative or positive spaces of cityscape. Original the first idea was the scene from Tempest when the ships sails into a whirlpool or a storm, the passage was going to be illustration the white caps or stream currents around the water sensation. However, I went with Macbeth castle since I felt there was more use of the letters shapes out of the building.

              The one on the right is a small humor interpretation of the three witches of Macbeth, painted in watercolor and gouache medium. The story behind here was when discussions shakespeare's ideas, my sister was mentioning (from what I kind of remember) is how specific lyrics or words can be misinterpreted overtime, creating new words based on the origin sounding script. And it was then when saying "double, double, toil and trouble" into "bubble, bubble, toilet trouble". It was a nice relief to be working in watercolor and gouache again, looking much like a Mother  goose illustration than an actually painting but it was really meant as comic relief again all the serious imagery of death and gothic themes.    




Also we had a guest artist come to the reception to judge of the pieces, known as Nicholas Kole. He is very talented with the digital medium and watercolor, as well as beautiful uses of color theory. He recently released the disney concept book of "The Curse of Maleficent". Check out his blogspot and website in the link below if you are interested, but I do recommend it.
http://nicholaskole.blogspot.com/