Archive
Sketchbook completed!
I’ve just finished uploading my Pink Metal sketchbook to the Sketchbooks page! Go check it out. Up next will be the Tattoo sketchbook
New sketchbook added!
Happy Wednesday, two people who came across my blog by mistake and might not read past this line!
I’ve added a “full” sketchbook to my sketchbook page. It’s my sketchbook from my Los Angeles study trip with Marwen in 2007. Go check it out! Next up, I plan to finish uploading my Pink Metal sketchbook in the next couple of days.
I’m also currently working on some black and white drawings on brown packaging paper. The set I’m currently working on is going to be a 4-piece polyptych self portrait. I’ll post up a preview later on. That’s all for now!
C2E2 2011, The morning after
So I attended the final day of C2E2 this year. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I would feel going to a comic book convention because, I feel like a tad bit of a noob still, but I had a wonderful time. It may have also been due to the fact that I took a friend of mine who spoke to people constantly, which…is the opposite of what I do.
Anyway, I don’t feel like retelling the whole thing because I’m finishing up my hourly comic for it. I’m way behind on that, it’s gonna be a long one, (plus, I’ll be updating my hourlies with other days as well), so I don’t know when that will actually go up. Hopefully this week. HOPEFULLY.Yikes…
So I’ll just mention the reason I went to C2E2 at all, Ben Templesmith… Let me take a moment to try to remember what the hell I wrote in the entry I wrote last night that got deleted…
Right, so, I was remembering the times I’ve gone to get autographs before, it’s been a hassle. I mean, sure, you get excited that you’re getting an autograph from someone you love; that’s why you’re there! But being in a long line, just to squeeze in a tiny, ‘Hello, thank you,’ just to get shooed away by security can be daunting, irritating, and for me, downright scary. It’s the one moment you can say anything to a star. Getting stuff signed by comic book artists, is just so fucking different, and so much better. I’m sure it’s because of the general culture of it all, it’s all rather underground compared to other pop culture ~fields~ and is much more welcoming for the audience. the setting, I’m sure as well, I think a whole convention is probably different from a singular signing (I’ve never been to a con before). I mean, even if you’re there to see a fairly established artist with a strong body of work, they’re not going to have a massive hulking body guard telling you to hurry up. You can actually talk to the person you’re there to see for more than 15 seconds, and that, I think, is really fucking important for establishing a close connection with your fanbase. Comic book people know what’s up.
Anyway, I really just wanted to extended another Thank you to Mr. Templesmith, for being so cool. I went to get my first issue of Fell signed, because that is the same book that piqued my interest in comic books. The story and artwork just took me away, and I thought, holy shit, if this is comic books, I want more! I’d say it was thanks to Templesmith and Ellis that I got a very good first impression of the wonderful world of comic books. I came into the comic book world pretty late too. I started reading when I was a junior in high school. I didn’t know where to start, I was in the comic book shop and just randomly picked up Fell, took it to the counter and paid. The guy said it was a pretty good story, I took it home and became addicted. Now, I can’t really remember if that was the first comic book I ever read, but it sticks out enough as the one that made me love ‘em.
Since then, I bought every issue that came out, except #9, I don’t know why I don’t have that, and I’m really annoyed that I don’t, I didn’t even realize there was an issue #9 for the longest time… but I’m sidetracking. My point is, it was kind of a big deal for me to meet an artist that I’ve really been inspired by and looked up to since high school. I mean, I can’t do that with a lot of my favorite artists, Dali is dead! He died before I was even born. So being able to meet an artist, not a musical artist, a person whose work and career greatly inspires my own work, because visual art is kind of all I got going for me, is kind of a phenomenal feat.
What’s an even bigger deal, and I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’m kind of used to not being noticed, is that he realized who I was when I told him what my name was. It was a scary moment, but scary in a very good way. Partly in a way that it feels like you just dragged out of a shadow for being doing something you’re not sure if it’s allowed, and partly in that really immature grade school way when you get picked first (or just not last) to be on the cool kid’s dodge ball team. Okay, I think I’m getting lost in my head again.
My point is, it was an awesome and very important experience for me as someone who wants to be an illustrator to be able to shake hands with someone I look up to (not literally, Karen, I can hear your short jokes from across town), and even more, to actually be acknowledged by that person… even if it’s just because of twitter.
Also, I’m totally going back to C2E2 next year. I’m gonna buy toys n shit. Anywho, check out my autograph. And congratulations to you if you made it this far into the entry, because I’m near positive it makes no fucking sense. 
And once again, thank you, Ben Templesmith, for being awesome.
doodles
For the sake of keeping this blog up to date and keeping myself drawing regularly, here is an update. Both bits are bits of fan art. One I drew while I was watching Fringe on Hulu because I love Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham. Anyway, for now the pictures are taken with my web cam because I’m too lazy to go to my desktop computer and scan them. T_T
The other page is different expressions of Seungri. I just feel like Seungri is the easiest to draw as a caricature out of Big Bang, so I will probably use him to practice different expressions. I want to do different expressions with the other members, and just different faces in general. I think Youngbae (Taeyang will be especially challenging because I rarely draw him…) But anyway, here’s our favorite cute and indestructible magnae! ^^ It doesn’t even look like him, but whatever.
Def Poetry Jam
HO-LEE-SHIT!
So here I am sitting my caffeinated ass at the computer going through Youtube videos, and this is one thing I love about the internet, it has probably become the most powerful tool on the planet. We use it to get information, to get satisfaction, to speak our voices whether we have something important to say or whether we just want to troll around and leave dick-headed comments all about the place.
The internet is freedom, it is chaos, it is inspiration, hope, love, hate, evil, and dancing hamsters all in one super intangible entity.
Now on to what this entry is about. I stumbled across this video. It came up in the recommended videos section so I watched it and fell in love. This is Beau Sia’s “Asian Invasion”
after watching a couple more of his videos, I found this, in the related videos,
this is Alvin Lau’s “What Tiger Said”
And I was like man, these guys are awesome! Why have I never watched Def Poetry Jam before??? So I YOUTUBED “Def Poetry Jam” and found a couple more amazing poets.
Frenchie’s “Fucking Ain’t Conscious”
Rives’ “Def Jam”
Basically what I want to say is that watching these poets has been so inspiring. I actually came up with an idea as a first piece for my portfolio. Incidentally, that first piece is also going to be the first special edition set of ATCs I make. And I’ve spent the past like hour and a half working on it.
I feel so inspired right now, and I can’t even express how good it feels to be inspired and actually be productive. The piece I’m working on isn’t directly related to the content of the poets I sampled above. But it’s connected in the way that it’s a solid expression of what I want to do with my art.
I think I’m experiencing a moment of personal growth and profound catharsis. I don’t care how pretentious that sentence makes me sound, because I’m just really fucking feeling it right now.
I’ll post an entry as soon as the ATCs are complete.
For now, stay beautiful, world!
I love you SO GOD DAMN MUCH RIGHT NOW.
ps.
Someone please buy me a box set of all of Def Poetry Jam. <3
Take it while it lasts!
So I’m in a really productive mood today. I made 3 artist trading cards and I plan to make many many more. See what I have so far, view them in the tab titled “atc”. Hopefully I can make at least one more before tonight.
If you go to the sketchbooks section, you’ll see that I finally added more pages to both sketchbooks. I’ll probably start adding a third sketchbook soon! Please look out for those!
So I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it on this blog yet, but I’m currently studying Korean. Obviously because of my current love for Korean pop culture. I really love learning new things so much because I think it’s a good way to find inspiration for art. I even bought a Korean text book. I bought it because I want to use it as a reminder that I want to get serious about learning new languages. I also plan to buy a German text book when I have enough money. Those are the two languages I’ currently trying to learn.
I dunno, I just think when you’re in a field where you do something creative it’s important to keep and open mind, and sort of approach everything like you’re seeing it for the first time, even if you’re really familiar with it. It’s always good to keep a fresh mind.
This reminds me that I need to continue with my physics studies. Since I didn’t study physics in high school because I was pretty sure I would fail, I decided to study it independently especially since I have such a strong interest in Astronomy. I really love astronomy.
I also want to get back into comic books. There’s a really cool comic book shop that my humanities teacher told the class about last semester. He sent us there to get books for class since we had to read a bunch of comic books for class. It was a pretty great class, there were times when it was really boring, but his over all style and method are pretty cool. We got to watch a lot of cartoons as well. hehe.
I’ve been watching YGTV a lot lately. I love it so much. It makes me wish I was friends with Big Bang and 2NE1 haha. They’re such awesome people with such vibrant personalities.
Anyway, I’m going to get to work on some more ATC’s.
Later~
Now I leave you with a picture of 섹시!탑 [sexy!TOP]
