Dawn of Twilight

World War 2 All Over Again

2010-05-07T16:08:00.000+08:00

i'm posting this to keep my thoughts pinned. this is probably the first time in a really long while the stock market has me worried. today felt like standing on the edge of a cliff and asking yourself jump or don't jump... while wearing a blindfold...

the dow looks almost as if the computers tested that 200 ema and saw it as a resistance so it reversed that algorithm execution and stopped machine gun sell orders. :lol:

i am on the fence about this market. it's hard to figure out. major up one day then major down the next. it's like 2008's 4th quarter. volatility spikes enough to make your head spin. a market for gamblers. which i am not. never was. i make calculated risks and enter when my downside risk isn't so bad.

anyways i released 30% of my holdings with about 1k php total loss(yes this was an incredibly good exit on a day when hell is supposedly breaking loose). these were mainly stuff i bought yesterday thinking reversal would happen today. :roll: which has me scratching my head all the more. local market nearly ignored what went on in the world last night. it's like we're being oblivious in our own little world where nothing can touch us and only those who are truly "aware" got burned when they sold off early in the morning(which i was trying to do. thank goodness my orders weren't hit during pre open). which leads me to ask... what happens when we all wake up at the same time and realize that the PIIGS contingent are all truly in trouble and will end up defaulting? i'm not very familiar with how the euro block runs the show with financial markets. all i remember is they have a penchant for doing nothing in the face of looming disaster. kinda why hitler and his nazi party marched around europe for 6 long years in the first place. everyone pretended hitler didn't exist until his panzers were making loud noises infront of their doorsteps(yeah yeah except for england you history buffs!).

just holding on to long positions now. i'm gonna kick myself if they get hit next week when i could've cashed in on them today. lol

He comes and goes...

2009-09-15T12:20:00.003+08:00

Money Matters

What a day. Stock market gave up a few points today. I got hit several times. I don't want to look at my portfolio so I don't get emotional. lol September is proving to be the bloodiest month for me. Though nothing like last June when everyone was screaming it was the end of the world after seeing the DOW drop 200 pts over two days. Turned out to be a false alarm. Will the markets crash now after the barrage of good news going on in the world saying the economies are getting better? Now when we all talk about the credit crisis like it was a thing of the past and a distant memory? I don't think so. I'm not liquidating my positions because I think it's just buying pressure from people who want to get a piece of the pie before the next run up. Am I a fool or am I a genius? We'll find out tomorrow and in the coming days...

Then again if an actual trade war occurs between China and America... hello Great Depression par deux!

If I owed another country gajillions of dollars I wouldn't go pissing them off by imposing sanctions on their trade goods... that's just fucked up and proud. Especially when that same country is where I dump all my agricultural products.

Kanye West

What the fuck is wrong with the guy? A seventeen year old girl got an award. It was her moment and he goes stealing the scene and robbing her of her triumph. You don't always get awards for your career and when you do it's the sweetest thing. Then someone has to ruin your night? Forget that she was white and that he was black. Forget that you don't like her music. It's basic humanity to let other people experience joy and fulfillment in their lives. pfuh! I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift and I don't like her music but if she won then huraah for her! I won't jump on a stage to tell her she deserves it less than someone else. By the way... Beyonce won after all. Talk about jumping the gun. lol

Musical Keypressing

I'm still on that cheap 1.5k piano. lol I gave up studying note reading and my methodical piano lessons. I'm too impatient to keep going but maybe I'll pick up where I left off... maybe when I try study classical stuff. For now I just want to play the popular songs I like. So far I'm studying Apologize and a piano solo of Only Hope. No recordings yet... mainly coz I sing with the playing now. Who'd want to listen to that! :P

Painting

Dead. D-E-D... DED! No seriously... no works whatsoever. The ideas never left my head though... they're all still there rocking around along with a thousand different things. Somehow I can't sit down and get to work on them. I hope this plan I have to make a graphic novel comes to fruition. I got bits and pieces of the story (in my head) and ideas for the characters (also in my head) but so far chalk it up to no time/ not inspired/ too lazy or whatever reason. Maybe on a long weekend. We seem to loving holidays anyways. I think we've already spent about 1/4th of the year on holidays.

More Piano Playing

2009-04-02T14:57:00.002+08:00

The complete version with errors.

A thousand miles by Vanessa Carlton (but not as great as her playing!)

The thousand mile journey

2009-03-28T09:22:00.002+08:00

Me on the piano *trying* to play a thousand miles

Well that's as far as I managed to get anyways. I had a better one but it had 3 things in it I did not intend to include. A dog barking, the sound of our servant sweeping in the yard and a Jeepney tooting the horn. lol

I haven't abandoned my artsy fartsy side yet. Just working out the story for the comic. Soon as I finish it I'll get on the panels and you'll start seeing some art in here just like before. Except maybe this time it'll come with some music. :P

Haberday Pardner (12-3-08)

2008-11-24T09:00:00.005+08:00

Friend, Lover, Partner and Companion

Puppet Master

2008-11-10T13:04:00.004+08:00

"Liberty", Issue 1- part 2

Dr. Miranda Grey felt the icy gaze of the man in the grey coat. He was very obviously irate. She didn't like that this man had enough clearance to go traipsing in her lab. She liked it less that this hooligan who obviously had no appreciation of their important scientific work... was now her boss. Up until now her science team possessed complete autonomy. Now everything goes thru the man in the grey coat.

Let me get this right doctor. You have some of the best minds working on this corpse and so far you can't even wake him up?

<...god how I hate this man!>

Mr. Zimmerman. I told you...

You expect me to believe that this *thing* functions like some kind of marionet!?! Doctor you and your team cost this company millions of dollars each year. I suggest you make yourself worth it!

The man shot one more piercing gaze towards Dr. Grey before turning to leave. The door banged loudly behind him leaving the doctor at a loss for words. She moved a little closer to the bed and the body of a man that laid motionless on it. He seemed so at peace... so free of burden. The monitoring equipment they hooked up to him still display the same readings. Everything was completely normal. He was completely healthy. He was also very much comatose.

Security caught him running from the scene 7 months ago. They say he planted the c4 explosives that blew up their processing plant. The report mentioned that as soon as he was cornered he simply... fell to the ground... senseless. The company brought him here for the doctor to study. She didn't bother asking questions. They obviously wanted to keep it under wraps or they would've brought him to a real hospital. Not that they don't have the proper equipment to take care of him. G-NOME is years ahead in medical science than what's available to the public.

For 7 months they ran scans on his brain and monitored his body functions. Jansen in neurolgy put forth his theory that had all of them taken aback. His arguments were convincing and Jan is no run of the mill doctor. He's considered by some as the "wunderkind" of neurology. The man... if one can truly call him that was built to function as a reciever... Oh the body could function independently but only enough to keep itself alive. Outside of the influence of the transmitter... the man was built to go into automatic hybernation. A biological marionet of sorts... his brain was wired like a client computer on a network.

<...but where is the server? or what is the server?>

Miranda found herself disbelieving... the idea was crazy... only Jan isn't a crazy man. He's as genius as genius comes. She remembered what her father used to say: "When all other explanations fail. Go with the simplest one."

And the simplest explanation was...

Years of working on this secret project in this secret underground facility has turned us all into lunatics.

It was all she could do not to laugh out loud.

Watching from above

2008-11-08T10:35:00.005+08:00

"Liberty" Issue 1 - Part 1

Ryan sat on one of the railings as he looked down the street. He motioned as if to pinch one of the pedestrians...

They all look like tiny ants from up here. Just milling around doing their own thing. None of them even bothers to look up anymore. If one did they'd spot me in an instant. They never do. They're all trapped in their own lives. Just walking like everyone else. Talking like everyone else... like lemmings... you can hardly tell them from each other. At least from up here.

He stared down into the street and wondered if it was a mile long drop or if it was just yards. He was never good at distances and he never could tell the difference between the english and the metric system. He wondered why for some reason he lost that familiar sinking feeling in his gut whenever he looked down. Like somehow he wasn't afraid anymore.

In my mind I've always known I was different. My sister used to tease me when we were kids... she used to say that I was adopted. I have to say at some point I argued the matter inside my head. It wasn't true of course... the moment I started growing up, me and my sister started looking more and more alike. If I were adopted then so was she. Hehe... except we are the reflections of our parents...

He stared blankly at the busy streets and the dancing lights, his mind busy with what it was that made him the way he is... why his sister didn't seem to have it.

Or does she?

The ground beneath him began to pull away. The people in the streets became even smaller as he moved upwards. He took in the full size of the Makati Business district and how busy it was during the holidays.

Not one looks up anymore. Not even one.

He paused to ponder the uniqueness of his situation or...

Am I truly the only one? Am I that unique? Or is this some kind of abnormality and I'm nothing more than a freak of nature.

For a moment he stood there, suspended far above ground. Alone. Then he pictured himself moving thru the air, a particular location in his mind and as if slave to his will... the unseen force that has been his new found ally and constant companion pushed him forward slowly, gracefully.

Am I truly the only one here who can fly?

... and off into the horrizon he went.

...
...
...

Most people seem to notice the pretty girl by the door of every Starbucks coffee shop. Anezka Petrovsky was very hard to miss. Even in Makati City which is where most foreigners tend to stay... she was an eye catcher. But while every male eye in the room was glued to her alabaster white skin and deep red hair, she was so intent on looking up at the man who not a few moments ago sat atop Ayala Tower 1. She picked up her phone as soon as he left. She pressed on the speed dial and a female voice answered.

He's gone. It's like you said. How long was the file?

(Several pages long. It's a thick folder. I swiped it on my way out. I also managed to delete him from their servers.)

What do you want me to do? Should I follow him?

(No need. I know where he's going)

(Ana... be careful. What this guy can do... it's dangerous. Even for someone like you.)

Dear sister, I haven't met a man I can't handle.

... and Anezka Petrovsky got up with a smile on her face reminiscient of the first day she got her two Siberian Huskies. The door closing behind her signaled the death of the dreams of every man in the room.

The Diary of Jean Pierre Piraneau, Gun Mage Captain of Cygnar

2007-10-04T13:47:00.000+08:00

I know what I'm doing is wrong. I can't help it. I've got my eye on the prize and I'm not coming back without it. May the commander forgive me...

I've been separated from the main battlegroup for days. They're probably thinking that I'm lying in a ditch somewhere. I'm just hoping they won't get the chance to be right. The doe I've been hunting is much better at this than the last one. She knows the woods like no one else I've seen and she covers her tracks like a ghost. To make matters worse... this damned rain isn't helping!

Movement! Just at the edge of vision. She's curious. She stays just out of sight enough to watch but not be seen. If that weren't true I'd be dead already. Maybe.

I load my pistol. She sees me and she's winding her crossbow. I'm only going to have one chance at this. She doesn't seem like the type to miss. My vision blurs as I call on a different kind of sense... I can see her form, see her move with a cat like grace... aiming at me with steady hands. I face the other direction. Make her think I can't see her. Just one shot...

The bullet speeds past the trees, dodges around trees and cuts through corners. It finds it's mark and punches thru flesh with a muffled sound... like a pebble thrown in a pond.

I open my eyes and notice the bolt in the trunk beside me. The skill of it's maker would be an envy of cygnaran smiths. It looks sleek... well balanced but sharp enough that it can punch thru steel. If my shot came in a heart beat later that bolt would have gone thru my skull cleanly. Time to see the doe. Bring home the prize.

I walked over to where she was. The woman was lying on the ground face up... her eyes wide open in disbelief. Her chest was laboring heavily as blood went out of the entry wound. Her hand shook as she tried to cover the wound. She knows death comes for her but she can't accept it. I kneel beside her and I held her hand to steady it. I can see disgust in her eyes. Perhaps for me. Perhaps for her own failure. Or perhaps for both. She tries to say something but only a gurgling sound comes out. She's bleeding everywhere now. Inside and out.

I put my hand on her forehead. Tell her to keep still. Tell her that we're just soldiers fighting for our freedom. I tell her I know of the pouch she keeps on her right side. That she keeps a collection of tokens taken from our warcasters who never saw her coming. I tell her I understand. I tell her I don't hate her and in turn that she shouldn't hate me. This is what we do.

Tears well out of her eyes. Her chest heaves and she convulses. She lies in a pool of her own blood... looking at me with disbelief...

Painted Stuff

2007-09-05T10:04:00.000+08:00

What can I say? I'm a fan of these dudes. Not only are they easy to paint but their abilities make them very flexible. They can take on both infantry and jacks/beasts. I'd consider these guys my staple grunts.

Managed to paint the Centurion last Sunday. I did a few sculpts. Not very cool but it works. Now if only I can keep these guys from chipping while playing. :(

I've been on a warmachine gaming mode lately. The guys at Fortress have been showing me the ropes. I'm learning the nasty stuff that other factions can do. Hopefully with enough experience I can formulate some strategies to counter the other factions. It's been a bit crazy at work. I've been running from building to building. lolz Fortunately the conference is ending this friday so I can resume my normal work. Lot's of things are starting to line up for me to do. gaah. Still, it's not so bad. Art life temporarily on hold. :)

Centurion, Power Extreme!!!

2007-08-25T10:02:00.001+08:00

Just some quick pics of the newly acquired Centurion. I'm getting a nervous breakdown everytime I see the pinning job on the leg extensions. I hope they hold. :S

UFC with steam powered Robots!

2007-08-08T11:41:00.003+08:00

The following pictures should all be clickable. Click em' an seem em' grow! :P

Meet Nemo. My favorite warcaster. lol He doesn't do much really, just a bunch of lightning tricks. I guess I like him more because he looks like a cute knock off of Albert Einstein. Who by the way was a Theist. His famous "God does not play dice!" quote says it all. OT: Sir Isaac Newton was also a firm believer in God. Just a lil trivia there. ;)

Extra spell caster and Jack handler. I like him more for the way he looks rather than what he does. Though he's pretty nifty as well. Reminds me of Galford!

Yet another fig bought for the looks. lol Yup I'm very consistent in that respect. Style before substance! It just so happened that after playing him the first time I realised how nice this solo is. hehe.

One of my fave warjacks. The armor piercing Gun he carries is very useful for taking out pesky mid sized models and ruining the day for Large based ones. Someone... *ahem* made a mistake of turning his back on the little geezer and tried to run away from combat. Mr. Hunter here whacked his predator knockoff in pieces. He maybe small but he carries a BIG gun... and an Axe! :P

I've yet to find good uses for this one. Right now he's there for the Arc Node. Didn't really get to bash someone's cortex with his shock shield thingamajig last time i played but it did a decent job of holding off a few units. My sacrificial model. *sigh*

Had the centurion been here this space would belong to him. Alas I have the unfortunate luck of having to wait for my order's arrival. Excited na ako!!! I wanna cut him up into itty bitty litew pwieces and put him back together again... like a surgeon. lol Oooh and Stormguards are a'comin. I love Cygnar. They're the only faction I can truly say is quite... Electric! ;)

Thought that was over huh? But wait! There's more! I have to tells you about the paintin! :P I decided to keep it blue but not so dark as the real Cygnaran colors. So I decided, Hey! let's neuter these overly saturated blues and so I got me some regal blue from GW and built it up to shadow grey (el progressibo le blending?) The result is what you see there. No the drab colors are not the result of photomanipulation (though I did fix this image and downed the contrasts to compensate for camera's value range). Everything else is pretty basic. Golds and stuff. As soon as I finish that Gunmage Cappy I'll proceed with the stormguard. Lastly I'm really torn on whether I should go do real OSL/NMM with the glows from the electric thingies. I'm afraid of ruining the paintjob. lol I guess we'll see in the coming days. :P

Shades of Gray

2007-07-24T09:15:00.000+08:00

Finished the line drawing. Started doing the greyscale. I'm kinda experimenting with methods of coloring. Okay that's it for now. My eyeses hurts. X(

A librarian you say?

2007-07-20T08:39:00.000+08:00

I finally got to do some work on this piece. You can see I cheated a little with the staff's pole. hehe. I just don't know how to do it otherwise. Though I've seen other artists who are far more talented draw a straight pole from their tablets... I'm not that kind of artist! :P Shoot... I can make a acceptable straight line with pencil and paper... but doing that on a wacom is a little hard.

I changed the position of the right hand so that the staff would slant a little. I thought making it straight would kill the pic. I might modify the left hand a bit. Make the fingers look more natural.

I'm still having problems with the robes... particularly in the creases and folds... so far I haven't had any references for this drawing other than the ram's skull of which I had no idea since I don't remember drawing one before. I'll definitely be using references once the background starts. There will be smoke, some fires and I have no idea how to do the ground. lol

-------------------Updated 7-21-07-------------------

Sketched in the Force Staff. Not much to say really. That's all I did. :)

Happy weekend everyone! ;)

The making of Chronos

2007-07-07T09:00:00.000+08:00

Adding in some more details. Managed to find the shape of right shoulder pad, though I'm still not sure about the position. Changed the belt to resemble the miniature more. Which I find funny because this IS supposed to be the concept art! lol

I'm not too satisfied with the left chest cable. I'll try changing that this weekend. Maybe make it hug the shape of the chest more. I'm still torn on whether to correct the details so it sends the message that its moving along the planes but it's a minor thing so I might let it go altogether. I'm still blank about what to put on the stomach part. perhaps some cabling/actuators thingamajig.

Okay this is just a minor update before going into the weekend. I'm still a bit groggy from last night's gimick.

----------Updated 07-16-07----------

It's still pretty messy. I'm just cleaning it up as I go. This is basically how I work in the details. Mostly I just sketch things on top of another layer and clean it up if it looks good. This way if it doesn't suit the subject then I just erase it and sketch in a new one.

For the details I thought of putting some battle honors on him. You can see the typical deathwing feathers here and there plus librarian iconography. Some, like the medals on his waist and scrolls dangling at his side still have to be finalized. The ram skull sketches on the shoulders and chest plate I'll probably do later today. I didn't really get to work on it last weekend coz I had my brainz dripping thru my nose. :D I'm still stumped about how to do the folds on his robes. harumph!

The runes on the trim of his chest plate are readable. If it's hard to read ask me to post the close up. It should be easy enough to guess if you're a loyalist space marine. ;) (click the picture to enlarge)

For the Nth Time

2007-07-06T09:27:00.000+08:00

Some People just don't know when to give up eh? lol

This is the concept art (which interestingly came after the miniature and not before. lol) for Chronos. (see Deathwing Chronicles Chapter 0 at the 101st galleria regulars blog)

Still using that first pose from the crappy sketch. No he won't be holding a matchstick on the finished product. that'll turn into a force staff. His face is supposed to be a bit old... maybe 40-60 ish... Chronos isn't really a combat oriented character. He's more of a seer/ advisor to Belial and the rest of the Deathwing. His main stregnth is his psyker abilities. Chronos was born blind but he percieves the world thru the warp. In Ryan's Deathwing Chronicles ( ;) ) he is a very powerful psyker. Hence the Choice to depict him igniting a small hellfire-ish thing.

I'm currently working on putting on the details. Don't try to make sense of his anatomy. It won't. lol Make sense that is. However I'm pleased with the overall bulk of the armor. That's the iconic appeal I was aiming for. Makes you feel the terminator armor is huge and heavy.

I'm off to work. Updates later. :D

------------------------------------

Here's a little write up. Maybe it'll give you an idea of what Chronos is like:

The lights flickered and for a few moments the room was lit by the bluish glow emanating from the staff and the sword. When the lights came back the young warrior was stooping, sweat trickled from his forehead. His face was to the floor and both his arms strained heavily on the hilt of the sword that kept him upright.

“Again!” Boomed the voice of the more senior Librarian.

“I can’t breathe.” The younger one muttered under his breath.

Chronos was a picture of disapproval. He knew he was pushing the young man very hard but that did not grant him the right to feel tired. They were nearing their destination and the time for training is drawing to a close. He saw how the young man held on to the sword and relaxed his own stance. He was the kindly teacher once again.

“Very well… you may rest. Return here to the training room after 2 hours. We will begin again.” He hated having to do that but the young man needed rest.

When Chronos was alone in the training room he proceeded to the center and sat facing towards Holy Terra. He didn’t need the starmap, nor did he need to touch the power of the warp to do that. It was just something he knew by instinct.

He could sense the flow and ebb of life onboard the Defiance. He could see the servitors as they mindlessly moved to perform their tasks and he could hear the crew in his mind. The air was rife with anticipation as the ship drew closer to its target star system. Even with all these distractions the meditative trance came effortless. The training room vanished before him and in place of it were the familiar dark room and the throne.

“I have to thank you for this company Chronos. It is not a comfortable one, this throne of mine.” Came the rickety voice of a compassionate man in his twilight years.

“I am your servant my lord. It is a privilege of mine to keep you company.” Said Chronos in a subservient tone.

“You found him correct?” the voice was coming from a figure that sat on the throne.

“Yes my lord. Ichor IV. He… has led the people there into rebellion.” Chronos could not bring himself to state the casualties.

“I weep for my people Chronos. Chained as I am to this eternal prison of mine, you and your brothers are my only arm in these trying times. With you I can reach them. With you I can purge their malignant influence. My people suffer and your strength is what gives them hope.” The voice was pained and heavy with remorse.

“We are en route my lord. Rest assured he will get his due and the people will be restored.” Chronos answered with conviction.

“Good. Good my son. Tell me… tell me of your apprentice. Will he be… ready?” The figure on the throne inquired with keen interest.

“I will see to it that he is my lord.” Chronos looked up and even in the dark he could almost see the smile on the figure’s lips.

A sound came at the edge of hearing… as though near yet distant and in an moment the dark room and the man on the throne fled farther and farther until they were once again separated from him by the great sea of stars.

The doors to the training room parted to reveal the young apprentice.

“I am ready, brother.” Said the young man and in Chronos’ mind was a single thought.

You have to be…

Gilding a turd

2007-06-23T08:32:00.000+08:00

I was working on making concept art for my Dark Angel Librarian. The plan was to make a more anatomically viable terminator armor. As soon as i finished the armor however, I quickly realized that it lacks that "Terminator Iconic Look". I just opted to make it a little presentable and move on. You can't polish a turd afterall. :P

Apparently the appeal to terminator and space marine art comes from the overly exagerated mesomorph. Hence I have to work with the armor itself rather than make sense of the human inside. lol

Oh well it was an interesting excercise. I feel like I haven't painted in ages.

*I hardly use any reference for these pieces.

Fun in the sun!

2007-05-31T11:05:00.000+08:00

I recently went on a team building session with the staff of Ateneo's School of Science and Engineering. We went on a 4 hour drive and settled in Coral View Resort for 1 and 1/2 days. It was refreshing to be able to get away from work, do a little bonding with the other staff members and enjoy the water! I won't be boring you with pictures of me and my herculean physique in swimming trunks though... These are what I have to show: :P

No pictures for the first day coz we mostly did the team building session but on the morning of the second day I woke up early and was treated to a view of the distant part of the coast covered in mist and the mountains on the horrizon was cool blue with the base ending in mist. So I grabbed my handy dandy sketch pad, sat in on of the cabanas and sketched on while drinking coffee... ah... my idea of a great morning. :D

Those were taken when we were preparing to leave the beach. Goodbye to the tiny crabs and sea urchins that made our stay so memorable. lolz Oh and let's not forget to mention the frogs that only came out at night and went diving into the pool where the crabs joined them afterwards. :D And Meann too who captured the heart of the guys who went on the trip. Sadly nobody wanted to go to prison so no one took pictures of her. hehe...

Office mate: "Ilang taon ka na ba?"
Answer: "17 po"
Office mate: "Anong trabaho nang tatay mo?"
Answer: "Pulis po"

Nuff said. lolz

After reaching home in semi conscious semi drunk on caffeine state I took one look at the Librarian in progress and well... 2 hours later this was what I had sitting on my desk:

I guess that's all for now folks. I've been getting enough inspiration lately that I think I'll be posting some more digital artworks pretty soon. ;)

Fan Art?

2007-05-28T09:39:00.000+08:00

Dark Angels Librarian on teenie winie sketchpad.
Done with super cool rotring mechanical pencil contraption!

The last time I made fan art was in highschool, but I suppose this one falls in that category. I keep a handy dandy mini sketch pad in my bag and while waiting for La leona de los Velazcos last saturday, I decided to doodle an idea I had for a miniature. Its based on art from Codex: Dark Angels. I spotted a teenie tiny terminator standing in line behind Azrael and I thought: "What if I made my librarian look like that?" So it was that while I enjoyed a Latte at Coffee Bean Gateway last saturday that I began doodling my idea. No reference except what I remember of terminators (and I've done lots that I think if I suffered amnesia it's the last memory to go).

A funny thing happened once I reached makati(I stayed at coffee bean for 20 or so minutes). When I got tired of roaming around the mall I decided to sit down in one of those comfy benches and continued doodling. Before I knew it there were kids flocking behind me and some were calling their mom's to show my drawing. lol Prior to that some girl from across the bench was eyeing me with a wicked grin on her face. No I wasn't dreaming... that was my spidey senses warning me. Four years earlier I would have gotten off my seat, sat beside her and started making conversation but that day I was waiting for the woman who captured my heart, with a wicked cool gift in tow. It was a our 3rd year anniversary. :)

p.s. will post the miniature sculpt soon. it has a slight variation with the drawing. particularly the torso.

A second wind perhaps...

2007-05-09T10:31:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since my last post here. That's the newest fig I painted. I definitely have no future in photography. lol and apparently my future in miniature painting is becoming bleak as well. haha!

Anyway blame it all on the fantastic(i hear people gasping...) Dark Angels codex and the proposed system of codices coming out from GW. I'm in high spirits again about 40k. Local prices going down also helps. ;) I think GW is doing a good job of bringing the sales and the rules in line with each other. Not to mention the nice rumors I've been reading in forums lately about the cuts on chaos supposedly to make it more balanced and the upcoming rules patch for Blood Angels. There's definitely a lot of good stuff in the near future.

For the meantime I'm hitting the painting table again. I figure it's time to get some work done on the Deathwing and Ravenwing... not to mention my painting commission backlog. In the middle of all these though... I've been missing the wacom... I'll get to see about posting some new works soon and maybe finish some old ones.

Summer is almost over... I'm coming out of hiatus. :D

la leona de los velazcos

2007-03-31T08:31:00.000+08:00

I stood in the middle of a busy alley, a corner of the mall lined with home made soaps, expensive jewelry and signature clothing. I looked left and right for a certain someone, worried that she could be bored waiting. A woman in the crowd caught my eye. Tall and slender, fair and graceful. She saw me and she waved with familiarity. I froze where I stood. My heart skipped a beat from time to time. When she stood inches from me, I knew then. She's the one. The one I've been looking for. The woman I love who loves me back. I must've done something good in the past to deserve someone like her.

Signs of Life

2007-02-15T14:29:00.000+08:00

It's been about a year since I've gone back to painting after a really long hiatus. For the greater part of the previous months I've been considering carefuly if I should finally switch carreers to start doing something I truly loved doing. It wasn't until I spoke to an old friend that my decision was finalized. I will no longer be going to Art School to study Fine Arts. I think that I've spent the greater part of my years after college in Systems and Network Administration that it would be a waste of time and resources to switch carreers at this point. So instead of going full on FA I will instead reinforce my I.T. knowledge to hopefully fetch a better wage... and with that decision I finally put the final nail to my romantic self and embrace the pragmatic. A soldier of life can not, afterall, win his battles if all he has is heart and passion. What good is the brain in your head if you ain't gonna use it eh? hehe... This of course does not mean that I will abandon art and painting. No sirreee... not to be arrogant but I think I can learn what I need to learn without having to go to school. So with that said here's a quick update on the current piece:

Very messy. This is as close as it's going to get in terms of the likeness. I've yet to work on the hair. I'll definitely make it and the skin a little darker. The good news is she already likes it and it definitely looks like one of her one hundred faces. :P

On another note, I've been a little preoccupied playing Super Powers 2. It's nice to see your country get out of foreign debt even if it's just a game. Being able to modernize the AFP and create a few nuclear ICBMs (for protection!) was definitely a plus too! ;)

I also made a few updates on the links section. Check it out sometime.

Hello Mr. Tree. Will you pose for me?

2007-02-02T08:52:00.000+08:00

I've been working on the background of this piece. I've left the girl untouched so she's pretty messy. I've also painted and repainted the tree leaves about a hundred times and took several reference pictures while walking around ateneo. lol it's a nice place for doing tree studies. :D

I'm seeing anatomy issues. grr...

click the picture to enlarge

************updated February 6, 2007************

Dump and Run!

here's some progress on the current piece...

here's a lil speed paint. forgot to put in a few things. maybe no one will notice. :D all in all it's about 30-45 minutes :

Wacom in Sick Bay

2007-01-17T10:21:00.000+08:00

I've been in sick bay for 2 days. I had a serious case of the shakes last monday morning so I went on leave. lolz

I managed to get some painting done but not much progress. I know I shouldn't be going down into the details yet but I wanted to get the face presentable before I proceed with everything else. I'm working on getting the likeness back as I think I'm losing it a bit. The painting needs more contrasts too.

++++++Updated January 18, 2007++++++

Quickie updated. I'm trying to get the likeness more. Still have to stregnthen the colors. Someone noted that it's becoming abit classical in approach. Maybe I should nudge it in that direction... hmm...

++++++updated january 19, 2007++++++

Fixed a ton of things. I am now getting complaints that she's too beautiful. Can I help it if I see what they can't see when I look at that young woman who calls herself my "girlfriend"? Is it my malfunction if I see beauty wherever I look? :P I did a portrait of my father when i was 14 and everyone said he was too handsome in the painting. I kept thinking to myself... "Have you people seen my father?" lol

Yes. My eyes were made for beauty...

------Updated January 24, 2007------

I'm such a loser. lolz

hmm... gawa kaya ako nang isa pang portrait... kaso wala namang picture na maganda na nasakin... hmm...

Okay so it really doesn't look like her. What the hell... I'll finish it anyways. Hmm... I'm renaming this piece "The Nobleman's Daughter". There! That seems appropriate. :D

Sunday Shmunday

2007-01-08T08:31:00.000+08:00

I woke up unusually early on a sunday. I got to do my laundry, had breakfast then cleaned my room. By the time I got to work on this my hands were hurting a bit from the laundry ->

Still some minor issue with the arms and hands... also quite possibly the legs. I'm learning new stuff as I go and the humongous collection of reference photos I've acquired last year are proving useful. They will be my crotch till I learn to do figure drawing with my eyes closed. Figuratively speaking :P. I'm still thinking if the pose is enough or if I need to fix it some more. I had to stop before detailing the hands last night coz my right arm was hurting so bad. I won't be posting this piece on cgtalk till I'm done and it's printed. Yeah! No criticism on this one. Atleast not before I'm done. ;) I want to do this on my own to see where my skills are and what needs more practice.

So all that's left is to check the arms, hands and legs plus see if the pose evokes what I want it to evoke then see if the anatomy works. When all that's done I can get to the painting part. I think I'll skip turning this into a grey scale work and get right to painting. Maybe I'll just do a tiny tonal study.

********************Updated January 11, 2007********************

Okay here is where I'm at right now. I am the embodiment of "slow". :P I've put in the background though that might change later. I've half a mind to let go of the hands and run with what's here... unless I find a way to correct her left arm and hand. Other than that it's mostly just the creases on the dress ... and the dress itself.

Dropped by Fully Booked yesterday looking for a good book on figure drawing. I ended up examining two books. The first one had a more illustrationish appeal. His figures were loose and his lines were really flowing beautifully. The second one centered more on drawing live and extreme realism. I ended up buying a TV tuner for my personal computer instead. lol

I don't know... I just couldn't find what I was looking for. I just want to achieve a good balance between painterish and realistic appearance in my paintings. I guess developing your own style is something you come across on your own.

That's it for now. Next post will be in colors! :D

Greeting the Year with a Complete Set of Fingers!

2007-01-04T09:30:00.000+08:00

I had a close call this new year. Fearing for the safety of our hands and everything else my family including myself refrained from purchasing fireworks. So we spent new year watching everyone else waste their money on flashing lights that last for a few seconds. At some point during new year's eve one of the neighbors' fireworks went flying in the wrong direction. It zoomed past my dad's shoulder,grazed our servant's knee and whized past my shoulder to explode about 5 ft away from me. whew! Next year I'll watch the fireworks from my bedroom window. lol

So this year's Christmas break turned into a real vacation. I ended up sleeping, resting, eating, playing on the computer, reading books and somewhere in between I got to work on a little something I promised I would give to this nice lovely lady who calls herself my girlfriend. :D

There she is. After working on and off for the whole vacation apparently I did catch her likeness. It was pretty frustrating at times since I have to work from several references which didn't really do well as reference. Most of them were too small. Also none of the pictures had this pose. Anyways I sent it to her yesterday to have the likeness approved before continuing and she was pretty pleased with it. This morning she asked if she could have this picture here so she could place it in their living room. :D So now I'm giving her this and the finished painting too.

The portrait I'm making is somewhat based on William Bougereau's "Reflexion". I'll just try and make things look more up to date if not modern. Below is a picture of the dress I'm planning to use for this piece.

Yes I'm straight! Straight! Straight! Straight! And No I'm not a fashion designer obviously! :P I'm leaning towards a dark blue for the bottom and a light blue-grey for the top... maybe the belt should be some complementary of the main colors. That's not fur you see on the top of it. It's this transparent material I saw Karel Marquez wearing in her FHM spread. I hope I pull it off coz that fabric looks really cool. :P The dress is still on the drawing board and may change... I'm partial to ancient greek designs. hmm...

Okay. Enough for now. I'm hungry. XD

A reason to be jolly

2006-12-15T09:13:00.000+08:00

Another year came and is nearly going and we're all wiser from a year's worth of experience. It's drawing to a close, this page of in the book that is our lives. Everyone's so busy getting ready to write the final paragraphs, dotting every i's and crossing every t's.

For that matter so am I. This christmas vacation will be a time for work. A time when I can finally sit long enough to finish paintings in a day and revisit some old ones that need completion. Hopefully I will have a bigger volume of work to show by the start of the following year. May you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoy making them. It is with this in mind that I must now turn the lights off on this little corner of the net that I call mine. Only for a little while of course. Every artist needs to sign off from the world for a bit or we will never get things done.

So this is me thanking you all for a year of good companionship and pleasant surprises. A year of firsts. A year of good experiences, of bad ones, and the lessons we've learned from them. A year of love and a year of loss. A year full of life.

Merry Christmas and tune in again next year. ;)

Church Bells and Wedding Vows

2006-11-27T15:53:00.000+08:00

Thankfully not mine. :D I have, however been commissioned to do the background for a wedding invitation. This ugly sketch here is the basic idea for it. I just did this in the office with a mouse(booo!).

The scene is supposed to be the silhoutte of two lovers in an intimate pose with a lovely sunset in the background. This is a sketch of a poster in my parent's room. Just trying to get a feel for the work.

On another note I had my niece come over this weekend and I finally got to make her do some excercises that were aimed on being able to see her skills. I made her do a landscape, a figure and still life, which I setup hastily using some old vases and some fruits from a local store(which includes a yummy melon that i feel like turning into a shake sometimes soon). She's a 2nd grader and I think her drawing is much better than most people in their late twenties. lol. So I opted to take her on as my student. She can visualize shadows but not subtle values and she still suffers from typical childish impatience. Still there is much promise in her. Trained early and with a watchful eye she could turn out to be a great artist someday. So the only thing that really bothers me is if I can live up to the task of being her mentor... atleast until she learns all she can from me. Anyways... no better way to do it than to break one's teeth on the wall, to quote miss Serena De Biasi.

******Updated Nov 28, 2006******

So here's a juggled concept of both the picture that the client had and my fumblings at making it more simple. There will be two lovers kissing (or almost) on right side of the beach beneath the setting sun. Still lots to do with this one. I'm kinda struggling with the color consistency a bit. The full size is 5r (7.5" x 5" if we have it right).

******Updated Nov 29, 2006******

Alas the commission was dropped. Anyways far be it for me to not finish what I've started so here it is.

"Lover's Sunset"
7.5" x 5"

Digital Media

Make it stop!!!

2006-10-02T08:54:00.000+08:00

Digital Pencils, 22" x 31"

It looks nothing like the reference I used. This is the one I've been working on and off for the past few weeks. It's got lots of issues but I'm stopping this right here... or atleast I'm trying to stop. lolz

Everytime I see the issues I end up working at it and can't put the pen down... I'm likely to super work on this before I have the full size printed. It'll be a custom print because of the unusual size. Kodak actually prints custom sizes but they say it'll take 2 weeks since they have to send it somewhere and pick it up afterwards. The original plan was to do it in color and not in greyscale but I'm having trouble seeing the details of the miniscule ref. For the time being this will remain in black and white.

So I've done portraits and I've done a bit of figure... I think it's high time I get to work on real pieces so I have something original to submit. Jay's suggestion of doing a series sounded good to me so that's what I'll do next...

p.s. she looks like someone my friends know but at the same time tend to not like... XD

-----0-----

friday, October 6, 2006. -- *update*

As we say in my country. Kamote! I can't stop working on this thing. We're having a love hate relationship this girl and me. lolz After getting some good feedback from a friend and CGtalkers I decided to take it up again and keep fixing the issues... also having it printed made me realise it could be a potentially good piece (in an amateurish sort of way). So now I find myself sleeping late and waking up early in an effort to push this piece further in the right direction. Oh and help me but I can already tell I'm going to end up coloring this after the grey scale is finished. Waaaah...

Very messy. Added legnth and girth to some stuff. I think I'll end up rendering as much of the muscle groups as I can so the next print out will look even better... maybe have it mounted. :D

-----0-----

Updated October 10, 2006

Not much to say. Just an update. I have yet to work on both hands and the right leg. Hopefully the remaining issues will be easier to fix.

Rainy Days and Mondays

2006-09-25T11:10:00.000+08:00

I haven't posted any miniatures around here for awhile. Maybe coz I haven't been doing them in the first place. :D At any rate, I'm posting this for the meantime while I'm working on another painting. I'll eventually show it when I've got the bloody thing done.

Here's a not so good picture of the details:

Bleugh!

2006-09-16T08:49:00.000+08:00

It looks nothing like the reference picture. Not to mention the obvious mistakes I made while working this piece. In hindsight I shouldn't have add the yellows as it only made an already bad work even worse. I am going to give it another try this weekend.

I actually started out fine laying in the initial washes of yellows, blues and reds. It was when I painted in the violet clouds that things got out of hand. Dealing with a very cloudy sky is still difficult for me. The timing required to do wet in wet painting is a little stiff. Work too fast and the colors just end up dripping, work too slow and they end up drying with hard edges. At any rate... like that old proverb says: "before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water."

with watercolors... you need lots of patience
with watercolors... timing is critical
with watercolors... you need to buy napkins once a month
with watercolors... the colors are never what they seem
with watercolors... it's not the legnth of your brush but how you use it
and most of all...
with watercolors... you get the best results if you work wet

ahehe...

Back in the day...

2006-09-04T08:58:00.000+08:00

So after doing the initial sketch for my original idea on that bather piece I realize the pose looked absolutely uninteresting. I then opted to forego this piece for now and work on something else. After a few minutes of rummaging thru my reference pictures I found an old old image of a nude girl in seated position. I remember asking the photographer Mr. Dan Cardish for this pic. I emailed him after seeing a small thumbnail on it in his website. I told him that I'd like to use it for the painting and he obliged by sending me a larger image of the file. It's still in low res as he took the picture back in mid to late 90's. It was also around that time that I asked him for this picture.

I told myself someday I'd do this painting. Those were the days of my burnout... too many things were happening in my life and I was too distraught to pickup a brush and paint. In my heart though I knew I would always come back to this. One of the three things in life that move me. Now that, to quote a good friend "happy days are here again!" it's time I finally do this and get around to finishing it. ;)

So where's the picture? hehe... that will come in time. I only just began the initial sketch yesterday and there's nothing concrete enough to post. In the meantime I leave you with these horrid looking *things*:

They were all painted with a tiny and ugly genius tablet when 'pen pressure' was a futuristic concept (i think). All done in 99' when I had no knowledge of photoshop(I still can't use it to paint effectively today. :D). The first one was a paintover of an image from, once again, Druuna ;) , the other two are doodles. I used to like comic book and anime styles. I like keeping these things. I can always look back to them and see where I began. Keep my feet grounded. :D

How's my hair?

2006-08-29T10:23:00.001+08:00

No Title
8" x 8" (ish. :D)
Digital Media

It still has plenty of issues but I'm so over this. lolz. Nah... I'll likely fix it some other time. What started out as a pratice piece turned into a casualty of OCD.

I have to remember to avoid the pitfalls of painting from a photograph in the future. Much lessons learned from this one. I bought a book on anatomy(and on on perspective) to cover my weaknesses. (clavicle vs ryan: clavicle = 1, ryan = 0. lolz) More reading and practice for me. Come to think of it my library is nearly good to go. I just need 3 more books perhaps.

Now I'm gonna get onto that bather... as soon as I can pry my hands off final fantasy tactics...

Starting Fresh

2006-08-15T12:05:00.000+08:00

I officially ended my vacation last sunday with this image:

I'm still thinking on whether the features line up correctly. I think I've spent around 8 hours just obsessing over the sketch. lolz. Since this is a practice piece before I work on the planned bather for my portfolio, I decided to go ahead with it. I set aside the thinking pose for now. That one ended up looking like an Egyptian catamite. lolz.

This is where I'm currently at. Just managed to pick the palette and lay in the basic light and dark areas last night. I'm thinking of changing some of the colors... particularly the cool shadow which seems more gray than I'm going for. Hope I get far enough tonight so I can keep the time frame for this at 1 week only... I can hardly find time to do these paintings. I definitely have to learn how to paint faster.

Don't grow too attached to the line art. They will all disappear in the later stages. ;)

**********************************Updated 8-16-06 **********************************

Worked more on this last night. This is basically the application of the warm shadow and the cool lights. I think I made a mistake with the process... not so sure if its cool shadows first or warm shadows. Anyway I'll just wing it. The cheeks look really flat right now. Haven't gone into those yet. Maybe tonight or tomorrow night. It is a different band of orange.

This is the first time I've used such bold colors. Usually I keep them somewhat tempered... but I guess I just felt brave. :D Hopefully the image will be more formed when the warm lights have been applied. If it's not then I've done this all wrong and I'd have to go back 3 layers...

--------------------------------------Updated 8-17-06---------------------------------------

Added the warm lights last night. It is starting to take shape. I also clipped the legnth of the nose and cheeks a bit. It's kinda looking like the ref a bit except my work is a little more saturated. I was supposed to block in the rest of the features and the background but I was too sleepy.

Thanks to Kelandra this image will be saved. She kindly pointed out the poor girl's missing clavicles. Lolz. This is what I get for painting half asleep. lolz.

Now If I can only remember how to define brushes in painter I can actually go ahead with the background...

--------------------------------------Updated 8-18-06---------------------------------------

Just managed to do preliminary work on the background and blocked in the colors to be used for the hair. Still no clavicle but hopefully when I come back on tuesday this will not only be finished but also anatomicaly correct. ;)

hmm... blue and orange color scheme. That reminds me something. haha...

--------------------------------------Updated 8-18-06---------------------------------------

Weekends never turnout to be the way you expect them. :D I wasn't able to finish but atleast I got to push it further. I worked in the facial features. Also fixed the eyes a bit. The following the first sketch made her right eye wander around. The distance between the two eyes too were off so I had to adjust that. Pushed the skin tones further as well.

Issues issues. Why are there always issues... with my painting that is! I see countless things that need fixing and there's nothing worse than remembering a lesson or a rule of thumb more than halfay thru your painting. Too late to go back and fix some of the issues. I'll just apply them next time. Here's some of what I missed:

shadows are supposed to be less saturated than the tones in light.
shadows are supposed to be the complementary of both the local color and the color of the light.
well it's no secret. she still has no clavicle. :P

I'm liking how this is turning out afterall. (here's where the fulfillment comes. lolz) Maybe she'll go into my portfolio after all. hmm...
--------------------------------------Updated 8-25-06---------------------------------------

I just worked on the hair. I'm finding it difficult and right now I have mixed feelings with the result. This is how it looks without the sketch lines by the way. I figure I need to define the image more. Also spent some time last night looking at the issues that other artists pointed out. I think I got it. I'll spend the weekend finishing up and hopefully start the bather series. :D

Come Away With Me

2006-06-13T11:22:00.000+08:00

6" x 9" Digital Media

So here's the finished piece. I actually did a version of it with a girl in a red cloak walking in the path but I felt it kinda ruined the scale of the trees. The thing that intrigued me enough about this scene that I went ahead and painted it was the somewhat mysterious if not eerie lighting. Someone commented that he actually found the forest inviting... I guess that's due to the mystery that surrounds it and our natural curiousity to brave the unknown.

I was able to get some rest yesterday as it was a holiday in my country. Independence day to be
exact. I didn't slack off completely though since I also did some practice drawings of hands. I've been putting it off for the longest time but one of my goals is to improve my drawing skills so I gave it a whirl.

I think I sketch better with traditional media than on the computer. Maybe I'm having a hard time looking at my work and the picture when it's on the monitor. I can't explain it.

I decided to copy these from Clem Robin's book as a sort of excercise. I won't be painting skeletons but I still recognize the value of doing them... if only to know what lies underneath the skin and why the surface looks the way it does. I think it's more important for hands though as it's probably one of the parts of the body where the surface appearance is heavily influenced by the inner structure.

I copied poses with the skeleton and muscles exposed and then also did the versions with only the surface visible. I have to say that aside from the face (gah!) the hands and feet are probably the ones I find so much difficulty with. Such complex plains...

I finished off the day with another portrait excercise though it's only supposed to be minimal work. Something I'd like to incorporate into my website's interface when I finally get around to doing it. I only got as far as the sketch though.

<- Que Horror!!! Good thing it's only the rough sketch. lolz.

Caffeine Induced Painting

2006-06-05T09:15:00.000+08:00

I've been staring at the reference pic for days. This weekend I finally got around to working on it. Too bad I wasn't able to finish. Anyways as I was feeling so sleepy last night I had to end with trying out the leaves. I'm definitely not going to stick with the leaves as it is here. It doesn't show the form clearly and the colors are too saturated. I think I may also have to fix that path as the ground seems to slope downwards where it shouldn't.

I noticed I could start a landscape (or any painting for that matter) by blocking in the colors but somehow I can't work the same way with figures. I really have to start with a skeleton on that one. :D

There's still lots of work to be done before I set this aside. I'm also thinking of putting a traveler on that path... something that could work as a focal point. I am satisfied with the established mood though (okay maybe just a little more contrast) .

-----------------------Update June 7, '06-----------------------

Eep! Now I'm not so sure if the leaves look better or worse...

Okay I'm thinking the trees in the foreground, their leaves don't work... it must be either too saturated or something with the shape? It's still in the wip stage but I'm thiking that needs changing.

Maybe the tree in the middle looks bad too. I may need to work the color a little more.

I tripped on a pebble

2006-05-29T13:54:00.000+08:00

I very rarely post anything here that does not include one of my works but since coming across this quote I feel that it is only fair to post this.

A very important quote from Pablo Picasso:

"From the moment that art ceases to be food that feeds the best minds, the artist can use his talents to perform all the tricks of the intellectual charlatan. Most people can today no longer expect to receive consolation and exaltation from art. The 'refined,' the rich, the professional 'do-nothings', the distillers of quintessence desire only the peculiar, the sensational, the eccentric, the scandalous in today's art. I myself, since the advent of Cubism, have fed these fellows what they wanted and satisfied these critics with all the ridiculous ideas that have passed through my mind. The less they understood them, the more they admired me. Through amusing myself with all these absurd farces, I became celebrated, and very rapidly. For a painter, celebrity means sales and consequent affluence. Today, as you know, I am celebrated, I am rich. But when I am alone, I do not have the effrontery to consider myself an artist at all, not in the grand old meaning of the word: Giotto, Titian, Rembrandt, Goya were great painters. I am only a public clown--a mountebank. I have understood my time and have exploited the imbecility, the vanity, the greed of my contemporaries. It is a bitter confession, this confession of mine, more painful than it may seem. But at least and at last it does have the merit of being honest."

I think that I am definitely not your ordinary guy. This damn quote moves me to tears. :(

I think that I will never again lambast modern art.

Or atleast I'll try not to. :P

Speed Paints

2006-05-27T09:04:00.000+08:00

These are two speedpaints I did for a friend. I certainly hope he can use them. They look like shit. lolz.

Concepts were made by my friend and I just tried to flesh them out as much as my meager skills can allow. I didn't go into details since this is going to be shrunk to fit into a word document.

The first one is supposed to be a knight travelling or entering a dark catacomb.

The second image is that of a necromancer casting a spell on enemy spear men while his undead approaches from the forest. It's hard to understand I guess. lolz.

If I could have 1/20th of Craig Mullin's sketching ability I'd be an impressionist master. lolz. For now though, this will have to do.

Little Red Ribbon

2006-05-26T12:25:00.000+08:00

Well there she is. Weird hair, little ribbon and earless. lolz.

What was supposed to be no more than an excercise in painting a face and getting construction right turned into a whole portrait.

I have yet to work on the ears and I might give her earings too. Maybe a few more refinements here and there to make her look more alive and to fix some of the flaws.

I'm still somewhat ashamed of posting my works on cgtalk though that doesn't really stop me. So many great artists there who are always ready to offer advice and help.

This is a face study that should go into a painting in the future. It is of a greek woman. I like ancient greek clothing. It's so simple but I find it so attractive on a lady.

This padawan has much to learn and re-learn and the year is closing on me fast. I have to make more time for my painting and get a lot of practice in before next year. Hopefully plans come into fruition.

The uninspired

2006-05-22T09:17:00.000+08:00

I've been feeling quite a bit drained these past few days. I've been feeling like my creativity is chained to the wall... along with the rest of me. Anyhow the above two are just quick sketches... i did them in tada!!! 5 minutes. :P Yeah yeah they look like shit. I know. Kinda like my emotional state right now. The bottom pic is an impression of a memory I have from a visit to zamboanga. I remember walking around at the shore during 1 a.m. in the morning as I was having trouble getting some sleep. The fishermen were out at sea and they looked like fireflies in the horizon. There were hoards of them lining the water. I felt like sitting and staring for hours ... until I realized I was alone... on a beach that had absolutely no lights. lolz.

Did some work on the portrait. Mostly just minor touches. I'm kinda happy with how adding the lashes and making them stronger breathed new life into her. I made a lot of mistakes with this one and my shadows were incorrect. I'm too far along to fix it now though so I'll go ahead with this and save the lessons learned for the next project. I have to remember not to give into my smudgeaholic urges as it results in some colors dissappearing. lolz. In this one my midtone became a casualty. I kinda lost the transperency too... she orgininally had that angellic glow present in most pale skinned women. Now it's gone gone gone. All because I go crazy with blending. :D

Rainy Days and Mondays

2006-05-16T09:34:00.000+08:00

So I was left at home, feeling sick and nothing to do. After staring at Mr. Bouguereu's insane paintings I had an epiphany with the colors(which is very likely to be wrong.lolz.). Anyway I thought I'd try it and this was the result... well as far as I had gone anyway.

So I'm applying some of the stuff I've learned from observing Mr. Bouguereu's works, Mr. Loomis' tutorials and one other Portrait Artist who's name I can't recall now... it's a hodge podge of lessons. lolz. At any rate I figure the coloring probably has these elements: midtone, cool shadows(i just call them that. i don't know if the term is right), warm shadows(or stronger shadows), warming color, lighter tones and then highlights which were used sparingly. There's lots to do with this one coz the face still looks flat... I'm kinda struggling with the lip color as it looks like lipstick... I was gunning for something more natural.

I learned something precious yesterday... I remembered how Linda keeps saying flip your work from time to time to get a fresh look and so I tried to do it. To my horror the portrait I've been painting for nearly 8 hours (ahem... I wasn't feeling well and kept dozing off from time to time. lolz.) was crooked as the road to Baguio. lolz. Well I fixed that one and ended up with an almost symetrical face... which might not be a good thing. :P

-----------------------------------------------------

update: May 18, 2006

I have never done a face in color until today. I have to say that this is all so very difficult for me. Not only do I have to think about the mathematics of color but I also have to know exactly the kinds of planes present on the face in order to shade it properly. She's looking kinda strange right now. Anyway here's the to do list:

The right side of the face is too wide... need to chop off some excess there.
The eyes look weird, pasted and highly unrealistic.
Haven't completed painting the lashes.
Make the lips look more natural.
Make the eyebrows appear more natural?
Complete rendering of the nose.

I'm hoping I can finish it this weekend. I also figure I should do more speedpaints so as to buff up my efficiency. Right now I work too long to get only few results.

Loomis

2006-05-10T08:46:00.000+08:00

Here's something I did for practice. It was supposed to be a quick sketch but I ended up doing it for 3-4 hours. In between eating, reading and the gilmore girls. lolz.

I love her hair. I did that in less than a minute. lolz. I like this kind of carefree look in hair. :D

I still have a long way to go to perfect the construction. These practice sketches are pretty useful. I get to learn quite a bit everytime I do them. Hopefully It'll help me improve in my problem areas.

I only used the reference I had for the rendering and for correction when I felt like I was "lost".

Know Yourself

2006-05-09T08:34:00.000+08:00

So I've been trying to do someone's portrait over the weekend but I guess it was one of those days where the Artsy Bug decided to take a break and fly off somewhere. I just couldn't draw or paint decently even if my life depended on it. :(

Anyway I figured the best way to aproach that situation was to fall back, regroup and try again. I bought another mini-book(I'm turning into a bookworm), a sort of trouble shooter for painting. I found some stuff that would be useful and I think I'll try again either tonight or tomorrow night.

The recent fiasco left me pondering upon my own skills and I came upon the following conclusions:

My drawing skills suck.
I am too shy around color. Must be my penchant for less saturated colors...
I have not done a whole piece and so I'm not so good with making the subject "blend into the background".
I need to work on hands, feet and faces.
I take too long to finish.
I need to do more perspective and foreshortening.
Composition is my weakest spot.
I don't think I have a problem with concept art... I just have a problem with transfering my concepts to canvas. Must be my lacking skills...

So I'm going to work on each of these weak spots over the next few months. Practice practice practice... I think I will have very little time for anything else. Art truly is a cruel mistress. lolz.

I've been looking at works by Craig Mullins and some impressionst works... I think I'm starting to like them and I see their values specially when creating quick sketches and snippet arts. I'm not denigrating them(I obviously see the skill required to do a full size impressionist work), it's just this is how I view it because I would rather develop those into fully detailed paintings. :D heck! I'm a realist, what do you expect?

Julie Julie Julie

2006-05-02T08:42:00.000+08:00

Here's the progress on that portrait so far. It just needs a little more tidying up. I think I'll leave it as is... for now. A guy has to realize when something is beyond repairing. lolz. I'll do another one of julie again soon. She's my fave. ;) Like you can't tell. lolz.

I recently started work on an original composition. I hope it turns out okay. I'll post when the sketch is done... I figure I'll have to stop in the middle anyways since I have to do someone's portrait real soon. :D

Fan the flames

2006-04-24T08:32:00.000+08:00

I'm still thinking about what it is exactly that I missed. I know I made the face a little too long where the reference is shorter and a little more plump. I have to say that I've always been strangely attracted to her eyes. Unfortunately catching it in a painting really is quite hard. I think that when this is done I'll do another one of her with a different photo. Hopefully something clearer.

I plan on doing this first in black and white, then in color.

Keep The Fire Burning

2006-04-21T08:49:00.000+08:00

So I continued working on it last night. I thought I'd add a background. Now I'm realizing I should have followed proper workflow and made the background first. The figure looks odd and so detached from her surroundings. lolz. I hope I can do something about that.

Here's the finished quick work. I think using a large brush for the foreground details turned out to be it's undoing. I wasn't thinking at all. lolz.

Fire Neuron No 1,934,568!

2006-04-20T08:33:00.000+08:00

Here's an updated version of the nude figure I started a couple of months back. At the time I stopped working on it the hair, hands and feet weren't done. It isn't what I hoped it would be but i can stop here for now. I think I'll always come back to this figure though to try out new things... since it's in digital media, I can easily change existing colors and apply new ones. I think I need to study how to do proper backgrounds for figure drawings... It looks so boring on white paper. :) I need a lot of improvement on drawing hands and feet too.

I dropped the color information here so I can do tonal analysis. It looks boring... hence my tonal values need work. Had I done the tonal values correctly, this should be a little more visually exciting than it is now. This Padawan has much to learn. lolz.

Here's a WIP I started last night. It's from an excercise in one of my art books. I found his color pallete and usage a little too vibrant for my taste though so I sort of neutered it a bit. Trees will be going into the foreground. Maybe I'll get to finish this later this evening. It's supposed to be a quick excercise but if my OC'ness kicks in... lolz.

I have to guard against my insane compulsion to smudge paint all around my projects. I think I keep overdoing it and they end up looking chalky and dreamy. I guess this guy isn't over those fingerpainting sessions in gradeschool. lolz. There's this part of me that giggles like a child every time I smudge, push, lift, physically(or in this case virtually) blend colors on the canvas(yep digital media has canvases too. :P).

I just have to say this. I love my wacom graphire. It's a good investment. :D

Roller Coaster

2006-04-19T14:40:00.000+08:00

I've been pretty unproductive these past few weeks. Life has once again been yanking my chain and I've been quite exhausted from recent events. I'm slowly getting my groove back though and largely due to this:

William Bouguereau (1825-1905)

"Each day I go to my studio full of joy; in the evening when obliged to stop because of darkness I can scarcely wait for the morning to come...My work is not only a pleasure, it has become a necessity. No matter how many other things I have in my life, ifI cannot give myself to my dear painting I am miserable."

"One has to seek Beauty and Truth, Sir! As I always say to my pupils, you have to work to the finish. There's only one kind of painting. It is the painting that presents the eye with perfection, the kind of beautiful and impeccable enamel you find in Veronese and Titian."

Among the great masters William Bouguereau is probably the one that I like the most. Even the story of his life is something I find highly inspirational. To date so many modern artists have tried to copy his work but so few can even come close.

Anyway, I'm now back on track and have resumed work on some of the things I've left undone. I promised myself that I will atleast have a portfolio ready by the end of the year. If my plans push thru then maybe I'll be taking up either an undergraduate degree in FA or if it's possible then perhaps a master's degree. lolz. I can dream can't I? :)

Abstract Art is Not Abstract and Definitely Not Art, by Fred Ross (edited by Iian Neill)

2006-04-17T11:40:00.000+08:00

The following was taken from Art Renewal Center ->

Just because something causes you to have a feeling of aesthetic beauty does not make it a work of art.A work of art is the selective recreation of reality for the purpose of communicating some aspect of what it means to be human or how we perceive the world.

The greatest works explore beauty or tragedy in life. The most profound and universal of human emotions that are timeless, and could have occurred in the ancient past and will be experienced again in the distant future. The same kind of subject matter is explored by the greatest poetry, novels, and plays. Our hopes, our dreams, our fears. Jealousy, greed, lust, ambition, traumas from prejudice, war and even just growing up. The cruelty possible to humanity - as well as its compassion and idealism.

Then take any one or more of these themes, give it expression by masterful skills forged by the finest training available, from centuries of codified knowledge of the craft. And all unified by the perfection of composition, of design, drawing, modeling, perspective, tone, color, light, atmosphere, and paint handling.

That is the description of works of art.

Read on->

Photoshop WIPs

2006-02-22T08:31:00.000+08:00

figure 1.1 - Sketchlines Showing

figure 1.2 - Sketchlines removed on the somewhat finished parts.

It looks almost as if it was done with chalks...

figure 1.3 - Added hair last night. Wasn't able to finish though.

I also thought of adjusting the colors to something warmer and stronger.

Made some changes to the shadows... I think I like it better now.

After several days of searching thru the net for my tablet drivers I finally brought home one that worked. Obviously I was so excited that I jumped right in. The above is the product of last night's burst of excitement(no not that kind! :P).

The pose is from a black and white photo that I traced in the computer. Admittedly my drawing skills has suffered the most after my extended break(12 years?) from traditional painting. Since the point of the excercise is to get a feel of the digital painting media I just opted to do a quick trace using Photoshop's layers(kinda like tracing paper technique. ;)). I then proceeded to paint in.

By 12:14 a.m. I was too tired to continue work on this and decided to just set it aside for another day. Looking at my unfinished work, I realised the following:

My brush style needs work. It comes out too gritty than I'd prefer.
I can paint and sketch more steadily if I keep the button assignment on the pen tip as "left click". Switching it to the 2nd button makes painting unsteady...
I need to get used to the weight at the top of the pen. (the wire connecting the pen to the tablet adds weight and has a certain pull which interferes with my strokes... hoping for wireless just about now...)
I need to learn how to blend colors seamlessly...
The smudge tool is really evil...
I need to learn when to use the blur tool and how to use it correctly.
I may have used the wrong color for the shadows. it didn't come out the way it should.
That I truly needed to sleep...

Linda Bergkvits' tutorials are great help.

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Thursday, Feb 23, 2006

I tried doing hair as it is described in Linda's tutorial. I wasn't able to get into the greater part of the detailing. It involves making lots of tiny strands that follow the flow of the hair... It's gruelling but I have to say that I've never had so much fun painting hair before.

I also decided to test color adjustment. I tested it out on figure 1.3 and the colors came out okay but I don't know if I'll keep it.

One Sunday Afternoon

2006-02-20T08:40:00.000+08:00

Nope. That's not the painting. :P You are looking at my look before you leap tool. I use this tiny piece of water color paper to test out my chosen colors. When this piece of paper starts to look harmonized then you'll know you picked the right colors. ;)

I think this piece of paper is proof that I'm still lacking in confidence and mastery of watercolors... I keep having to test out my brush load here before applying it on the paper.

Anyways on to the point of this post. I bought two books around late december to early january last year. It was Winsor & Newton's published books on watercolor landscapes and it's pretty helpful. It offered much insight into specific techniques or howto's on topics such as rocks, skies, mountains, water etc... I promised myself that I would test it out but I had to put that on hold as I've been otherwise preoccupied with... uhm... err... conquering the world. :D What can I say... watching 10,000 legionaires hack away at another 10,000 barbarians... it just brings tears to my eyes. (it saves me money too since I haven't been going out. :D)

Fortunately I realized that this was taking me away from my... ahem... artistic retraining so yesterday I picked up a piece of watercolor paper dipped it in warm water for a minute or so, hung it to dry and when it was stretched I went on to make this:

Lake Scene No. 1

10.7" x 7.2"

watercolors on watercolor paper(340 gsm)

So there's my somewhat successful painting. lolz. I did the excercise advised in the book. Followed his chosen palette and found that for the first time it actually matches the colors that I have in my box. :D

Here are a few things I learned in this excercise:

Never wear white shirt and shorts when you paint. One way or another the paint ends up on it. :P
It's possible to finish the painting in around 30 mins to an hour. I just spend so much time walking around, watching TV, eating, doodling and day dreaming in between sections that I end up finishing it in 4 hours. lolz. yep I take the term Leisure Painting to a whole new level.
Slow moving persons like me have 1 in a million chance in becoming a watercolor master if I don't change... atleast when I'm doing watercolors(hehe...). The timing is critical and my sky is clear evidence. I realise that preparing the colors you will need to paint a section (ex: sky) should be prepared in advance when you're painting wet-in-wet(watercolors... duh!). This becomes even more important if it will be necessary to lift colors at the end.
I have to remember to fade the colors as it goes farther so that depth is simulated.
I should use more water when I'm doing a section in which color lifting will be necessary.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. I must face my fear, I must let it pass thru me. When my fear is gone only I shall remain. Oops... got carried away there. :P

That's all folks. Till next painting session. ;)

p.s. first one to find the house gets a kiss from me... you know tiny chocolates from hershey's? yep... just one. :P

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5:14 p.m. - Here's a little something I doodled in Photoshop while waiting for my off. :D

Painted with a mouse... I think I'll have to rest my arm for 7 years. lolz

It looks like crap but atleast I'm discovering new things. I made custom brushes on the fly and used and abused the dodge and burn tools. I think that mountain looks silly... don't get me started on the rest. lolz.

Would it be too much to ask if someone gave me a gift one of these days and when I open the box it turns out to be Corel Painter? Yeah... that would be too much...

Photoshop Test Run

2006-02-17T12:32:00.000+08:00

Digital painting world here I come...

This is a test image I did on photoshop. I'm getting interested in going digital. I won't drop my traditional art of course. What I learn in both mediums turn out to be interchangeable.

I think I spent more time trying to find out how to achieve neutralizing the colors than I did painting the damn thing. lolz. The workflow is pretty much the same as dealing with acrylics. You just start with the base colors and work from there.

I miss my ancient tablet. Painting with the mouse sucks like hell...

Autumn Attempts

2006-01-04T09:00:00.000+08:00

Watercolors on Watercolor paper (340, rough).

9.5" x 6.9"

My first attempt at painting an autumn scene. I wonder if I'd do better if I've actually seen what autumn is like. My country is in the temperate zone. We don't get different seasons here... not that it's bad mind you... I would really hate to have to get up on the roof to shovel snow. lolz.

I am such an amatuer... my color selection looks only slightly better than kindergarden palletes. :D. I have one major regret with this painting... I should've detailed the fallen leaves instead of doing my usual impressionist style(coz that as you know is much easier. ;) ). Oh and that I wish I had more time to work on it... unfortunately I was racing against the setting of the sun for the obvious reasons. Recognizing color at night is much more difficult.

There my queen. I hope you like it. Do note that it looks much better here than it does in the real world. :D you'll just have to squint your eyes a bit every time you look at the real painting. lolz. I promise you that when I get better(which is real soon. ;) ) the very first masterpiece I make will go to you. :D

Speed Paint Section

2005-12-12T12:16:00.000+08:00

Dark Catacombs. One of the speedpaints I did for a friend.

The Necromancer. One of the two speedpaints I did for a friend.

Winter in the City. It was based of a reference pic.

Zamboanga fishermen at 1:00 a.m. in the morning. This was from an R&R trip.

Quick Sketch of a face. No references.

Finished Works

2005-12-12T11:56:00.000+08:00

A portrait of Julie Delphy. Based on a reference pic.
Digital Media (Painter)

A lake Scene (from a book excercise)
Water Color on Water Color paper. (10.7" x 7.2"/340 gsm)

An Autumn Scene based of a reference pic
Water Color on Water Color paper

Another Exercise From a Book
Digital Media

Here's a face I did. No reference pic
Digital Media

Quickie Update

2005-12-12T10:49:00.000+08:00

There he is. It's about 95% done. I just need to do his chapter symbol on the left shoulder pad and some more highlights here and there. The thing with metallics is that it looks gritty no matter how clean you paint them. Perfect for the drab and dreary world of 40k though.

I'm not so satisfied with the free hand. I should have used a fine detail brush but opted to settle with the triple 0. Metallics tend to ruin brushes faster than normal paint and I'm not dipping my 200 Php brush in those things. :P

Above: I thought I'd show the cape with the gold linings. I did that in metallics. I think It looks quite nice... just not up close. :D

Below: More shots on the free hand. I worked Captain Sicarius' insignia into the left shoulder pad. I should have chosen a yellow that leans more toward orange. I may redo that part in the future.

Doon Sa Likod nang Ilaw, Paspasan ang Galaw.

2005-12-10T09:53:00.000+08:00

Here's a few of what I've been working on. I've definitely set aside my knightly procession in favor of cracking up on my 40k backlog. Most of these are my playing pieces though. I usually don't go fancy over them. Someday when all my playing pieces are fully painted (and there's boxes of them mind you. :P) I'll be able to paint worthy display figs. For now you guys will just have to settle for these...

Exhibit A. The beginings of what will be Captain Sicarius of the 2nd Company. This is actually the first time I tried painting major shades into any of my Ultramarine figs. Since these are my playing pieces I don't really go to town with the painting. Until recently that is... I figured what the heck... Perhaps the characters should get some special attention. Yep... even if all he is armed during my games is a trusty bolt pistol and a close combat weapon. xP

The lower part of the body used to belong to my librarian which is now mounted on a bike. The head I took from a berzerker trooper and sculpted on the headress... a tribute to my current favorite game, "Rome Total War". He has a cape that I have yet to paint as is some of the other details present here. The original plan was to give him a tower shield to make the Centurion look more authentic but after sculpting on a few details it seems like the shield would cover most of the details I did... that idea is on hold for now. :D

Exhibit B. Here's my 2nd Assault Squad(and there's a 3rd on the way. ;) it's nice when you can drive the point of the lesson up close and personal. :P. I've always liked jump troops. From Mechwarrior elementals to Warhammer Assault Squads. I can almost see them jumping up and down the battle field and doing what they do best. Pester your opponent. >:D

These are mostly straight from the box. I just sculpted the tabard with greenstuff. I used an old terminator's storm shield as a combat shield. The hand flamers I made out of a cut up plasma pistol and some cadian flamers I traded from a local imperial guard player.

I've been working on a few others but I didn't bring them with me today. I'll put up a few images as I finish them. Those works include my new Tyranic War Veterans(surprisingly useful in battle), a revamped librarian on a bike, an attack bike and two speeders.

twiddle me this

2005-12-05T09:25:00.000+08:00

after some time twiddling with the code of my template i finally found a way to post my email address both on the sidebar and the footer. check it out. you may email me your comments on the address indicated.

will post pics of my latest projects as soon as i get to take them.

overdue

2005-12-02T11:21:00.000+08:00

apologies for the long absence. been working on some projects. i'll post when i get the time to take pics.

i've disabled the comments on this blog so as to keep it on it's purpose and that is to be a gallery of my works. i'll add my new email address to the side bar when it becomes available.

Blast from the past

2005-10-18T10:38:00.000+08:00

Warning: This post has some nudity in it. I hope Blogger doesn't shut me down because of it. lolz.

I rummaged thru my old stuff and managed to find some drawings that survived from my younger days. I thought it would be nice to post these in the meantime. These were probably the first two drawings I made in full color. I copied them off the marvel cards that used to circulate before. I made these two with watercolors back in 6th grade. The paper I used then was oslo paper... it feels like tissue now. :D Oh yeah... in those days I didn't know how to draw very well so I did these with the scaling technique(it involves drawing crosshatches on the original and then drawing each part on a per square basis). The cards were tiny and this drawing fill a whole paper. Imagine my shock when I saw someone doing portraits in Robinson's Galleria and he was doing scaling on the pictures...

The rats managed to get to these two... sides of the paper were already eaten away. :( atleast the subject is still intact. Cammy and Chun Li from street fighter. It was done in mixed mediums... water colors, colored pencisl and some parts in oil pastels. Now those were my creative days. lolz. These two were done in highschool freshman. That reminds me of Heidi... where in the blazes is that girl. My first muse... we used to hang out together and she was always very timid. lolz.

Done during Freshman in highschool too. It was when the Dragon Ball Z craze began. Left to right: Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks and Broli in his weakest form. Dragon Ball was nice for awhile until they started being too powerful and the plots became too redundant... I remember watching three episodes of the Perfect Cell charging up energy and telling his life story at the same time while our beloved Dragon Ball heroes watched and listened. lolz. Mixed media.

These were from the appearance of the Druuna series on the Heavy Metal comics. The originals were done by Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. He's an italian(?) erotic artist. The comic series itself was extremely pornographic though... I did these in watercolors. I was in 2nd year highschool then... I remember coz that was also the first time I recieved love letters from a girl. Yup... imagine my shock. lolz.

These two I made in Sophomore Highschool. They were the last drawings I made in highschool before I stopped drawing. They were also the best ones in my opinion. The last 2 were copied from Image Comic's swimsuit edition. The one of Psylocke was from one of X-men Comic's R&R issues. I did these in watercolors. I had the last two laminated. This funny incident happened at school... I was in Home Economics class when I brought it out and all my classmates flocked to my seat and everyone was giving the Ooh's and Aah's when the teacher came in to ask what the commotion was about. She saw my drawings and looked at me with disdain as she was telling me that i should not bring "Pornographic Materials" in school. She confiscated them and I had to beg her in order to get them back. After two days she was convinced that they were my drawings and she gave it back to me... After that day, I had to hide in the CR everytime there was an art contest and the teachers would look everywhere for me. lolz. I hated competing. :D It added so much pressure on drawing and I always ended up staring blankly at my paper. Add to that the winners were always abstract works of art... far from my line coz i've always been strongest on the impressionist and realism techniques... I never liked abstracts... not that I can't appreciate it. :P

These were the only two paintings I made in College... somewhere around 4th year I think. The first pic was from an Ad for a bank... I just liked the colors. I did that one in water colors, on a now extinct paper. lolz. The second one was also from the Druuna collection by Seripieri. It was done on the same extinct paper... I wonder what happened to the manufacturer... You could use that paper on anything... Watercolors, Pastels, Charcoal... anything... it even gave a canvas like finish.

This I did about a few days ago. I made the stupid mistake of using a black paper for a snow scene. lolz. Nothing fancy... I did this doodle in less than 30 minutes. lolz.

Return to Innocence

2005-10-17T09:52:00.000+08:00

With brush in hand, I stared at the paper

Fear was rising

But it is winter no longer

The colours I have chosen

I am born anew

Spring has come

It is time to paint...

I have taken my first step and though it is an unsteady one I am more determined to learn and master this art. I'm begining to find watercolours strangely appealing... I've never worked with a medium that has a life of it's own. It can be sublte one moment and strong the next... therein lies the challenge. One must learn to tame his medium in order to produce works of art and this is so true for watercolours.

This is the first "Real Painting" I made in nearly seven years. When I stopped painting I first thought of giving away my materials but some part of me held back. Instead I had kept most of it in a small box. Seven years later and my paints were still intact. I guess subconsciously I have always known that I will return to this... perhaps I just needed time to heal. This is definitely a number of firsts for me since not only is it my very first "true" work in water colours but it is also the first one I did with a limited palette. I used 8 colours starting with my base primaries and their complimentaries and an few other additions to darken the colours I chose.

There is plenty of room for improvement though as the colours are too luminous than what I was aiming for. I need to train my eye to pick out the right colour mixes. So guess my journey begins...

Look To The French

2005-10-14T13:05:00.000+08:00

Watercolour Painting
by Jean-Louis Morelle
Published by New Holland Publishers

Perhaps it's their school curriculum or the land itself that breeds painters. For whatever reason France just seems to give birth to good if not great painters. This is perhaps the 2nd book I found that gives great instruction on the subject of watercolor.

I've only just begun to read it myself and I can't help but recommend it to watercolor enthusiasts. It starts off with a precious topic that most art books tend to overlook. An in-depth instruction and explanation of color theory in pigments and light waves. Which then proceeds to color mixing. Don't know much about water color papers? The author sites examples of them and even gives the properties of some. Two of the papers present in this book can be found in National Bookstore Outlets (I'm a Filipino and this is our ... well... national bookstore. :P). One is made by Montval and the other by Arches (140 Php? will post weight later). The middle of the book deals with detailed techniques in both wet and dry methods.

The most interesting part and perhaps the one that I liked best would have to be the step-by-step pages where the artists (this part of the book seems to be a collaborative work) show their works and then a step-by-step, complete with commentary on how they did it.

This is a very helpful book on watercolor but like all things in the art of painting... the only way you truly learn and improve is thru practice.

The Red Dragon of Mousillon

2005-10-05T11:51:00.000+08:00

In all his glorious unpaintedness :P. I've always liked this model. With the exception of the tip of his lance which isn't very convincing and neither is it impressive. The very curve of the tip suggest that the strain upon impact will be on the middle of the lance's pole which might actually cause it to break. Of course that's just me being overly analytical. Perhaps I truly am anal. :D

I also considered putting this pic here so as to show the size of the figures that I paint. So yes that's how small they are... and yes I can never be a hand model. :P

So what's the master plan with this guy? He is the Grail Knight on a Pegasus that I keep using during my games. I liked this figure ever since I saw the one that won a golden daemon award during games day some years back. I like his helm and the tabard which is actually adorned with dragon scales. I'm thinking I'll paint him with red, black and some leather colors for earthtones. The pegasus will likely be a creamy brown. Then I will also do my first OSL with him, I'll do it on his eyes and reflect it from out of his helm... to sort of signify the the eyes inside are glowing with a green light. Goodluck to me. lolz.

"The Red Dragon as he is known for no one has seen his face, is a grail guardian within the corrupted land of Mousillon. Many a time have travelers been endangered within the forsaken lands and saved by The Red Dragon. He appears out of nowhere to assist those that are in dire need, striding upon his great pegasus mount, eyes gleaming and lance ready. His name has become legend to the commoners in the villages surrounding the duchy of Mousillon. Rumor has it that weapons used by evil men have been stopped short before reaching him. Truly he must be protected by The Lady. He has also been known to aid bretonian armies fighting for a just cause when the battles occur close to the lands of Mousillon."

Feeling Blue?

2005-10-03T10:17:00.000+08:00

I finally made my first work in water color yesterday. I think I finished it in around 2 hours. Nothing fancy really... I just worked on the tonal sketch for the real painting that I'm planning on making.

It's a good feeling when you pick up something you haven't done in ages and start going thru it all over again. The last time I made a real painting was after I broke up with my first girlfriend and that was nearly 8 years ago. I made it in anger coz she burned my figure drawing book after we broke up. I would liken myself then, to a firefly with anger, hatred and hurt as my fuel... when the painting was done... I felt burned out. It was the last time I picked up a brush and sat infront of my easel. Oddly enough it was the only painting I had framed and the only paintng that hangs on my room's wall. It's still there as a reminder of who and how I was those days. Conflicting reminders... that I could do anything if I set my mind to it... that anger and hate are negative feelings that one should never dwell upon...

Those days have long gone and my ex and I have reconciled and moved on with our lives. Now it's time for me to go back to what makes me happy... painting. I picked watercolors this time around because I've never been good at it. In part I owe my renewed motivation and confidence to the Warhammer Hobby. Painting those miniatures have been both a learning experience and "a journey into the self" for me. I look at my very first figure and compare it with my present works and I can see clearly how far I've come. It's true that with determination and perseverance one will eventually achieve one's goals... no matter how many times you may fail and get frustrated. :D So now I choose watercolors because it's the medium in which I am weakest and if I can get better at it then I can easily improve on the rest.

I tried making the real painting but decided to redo it. Apparently making the tonal sketch is easier than doing it in full color. :D Still have to learn a lot about color theory I guess...

Lively Liveries and the King's Men

2005-09-30T09:43:00.000+08:00

...'When the clarion call is sounded
I will ride out and fight in the name of Liege and Lady
Whilst I draw breath the lands bequeathed
unto me will remain untainted by evil
Honor is all, Chivalry is all.'

Painting the knights of Bretonia is proving to be a huge task. Doing it in *NMM is adding to the difficulty but ultimately the result is much better. These figures are still works in progress however, there are a good deal of tiny details that have yet to be touched by my brush. :D

NMM- short for non metallic metal, a technique used in miniature painting that simulates metals on a miniature with the use of oridnary paints instead of metallic paints.
Among the knights of the realm, this is the first figure I did and the third which I is in NMM. You can tell by the way I obviously struggled with the colors. I was having difficulty finding the right color to shade yellow and the highlights on the red appear pinkish. I opted to leave it as is though since when grouped together with the other knights, the mistakes I made with this one gives it a character of it's own. Serendipity. ;)

Those of you familiar with the Warhammer 40,000 game will probably recognize the color scheme as that of the Howling Griffons chapter that appeared in the white dwarf magazine a few years back. The animal charge on his herald is a boar, for those who may not see it clearly. I painted it in blue so as to make it stand out.

In my opinon, the better yellow. :D This is the standard bearer for the unit. I have yet to paint that standard though. before I'm done with this I will likely have my first bout with Lighting Effects as that icon of the lady has two candles in there which i will attempt to simulate with paint. Good luck to me. ;)

I'm very satisfied with the NMM that i was able to do with this fig. The yellow is okay in my opinon but needs a little tidying up. I also learned that rushing freehand heraldry is not such a great idea. lolz. I still basically have no clue as to what to paint on that banner.

This is my designated unit champion. He is identified by thee white stripes on his lance. In the future I will adpot this style for all the unit champions, either their lances will be striped or it will be carrying a token of some sort from a damsel.

It's so blue it almost reminds me of my ultramarines. :D Well... either I paint it blue or it becomes mostly white... so obviously I chose not to slave over painting white and dying of old age. lolz.I'm beginning to find the tiny fleur de' lyses on the lances or armor to be both interesting and challenging to paint.

The unit musician. I opted to use a different shade of blue for this one. I wanted to stay within the confines of the rules on heraldry but deviate from the normal bold colors as well.

So how many times have you won in combat resolution just because your musician happened to raise his trumphet at the right moment? lolz. His charge is a Lion, though in some angles it tends to appear like a dragon without wings. :P. I personally like this head that Games Workshop did. The haircut looks so historically authentic. ;)

This is my favorite knight among the bunch. I don't know why... maybe it's the green and white or just the fig itself. I decided to add reds for accents. I'll eventually pick out the tiny details using red.

The Unicorn icon on his head was done in a complex gem pattern. it might not be obvious from the picture here. I'll add some detail on the tiny flag on his helm eventually.

Into The Colorful World of Greys

2005-09-22T09:08:00.000+08:00

...I set down my lance, symbol of duty. I spurn those whom i love.I relinquish all and take up the tools of my quest. No obstacle will stand before me. No plea for help shall find me wanting.No moon will look uppon me twice lest i be judged idle. I give my body, heart and soul to the Lady whom i seek...

So after months of working at it all i have to show is an unfinished model. The lance at the base of it remains unpainted and the flags need more embelishments as it looks so simple this way.

I'm begining to regret having painted the lord first. The things I've learned painting the five man knight of the realm unit (will post pics soon) would surely have made a lot of difference applied to this figure. Still... I am quite satisfied with the result, especially since the plan was to keep it simple with this one.

What is it about armored knights that I find so fascinating? I remember reading thru the Arthurian Legends since childhood. Perhaps it's not the way they look... perhaps its the ideals that they embodied. Sadly, the knights of literature are very different from their historical counterparts. Very different.

Can I Take a Peek?

2005-09-21T09:12:00.000+08:00

I'm looking in the mirror and all i see is a child of 10, smiling back at me with crooked lips and eyes feigning innocence.