Boom Bap

So in the midst of finals, I decided to start a new hobby by creating finely-tuned iTunes playlists. I've always used playlists in iTunes, but they've always been pretty generic. They either consist of a whole artist's body of work, a whole record label or poses. But this new playlist that I've created is focused on the heavy hip-hop influence kick snare sound. I tried to give myself some limitations in creating it. I didn't want to have any one artist over powering the list, so i tried to keep each artist to about 7 or 8 songs each. Also, no words. This playlist is focus strictly on beats. I cheated this rule once just because I loved a song so much! I'll post up a screen shot. Tell me what you guys think, who I should add and who I should take out. Here we gooo.

Boom Bap

Self Portrait

I dislike drawing self-portraits immensely. This is the final for my figure drawing class. Squeezed out the beginning portion in 2 hours in between comic work sessions. I've been listening to Madlib a lot lately. Props to him.

Blurb

Comic is on schedule. The Alpha edition of Omega-9 will be ready next Friday as planned. The Alpha edition will be a preview of the first 14 pages. If anyone would like to be mailed a copy, just contact me (protomd@gmail.com), and I'll put one in the mail for you. I'll probably print about 50-60 copies. Hope all is well for everyone.

Omega-9 Cover Art Preview

This is a poorly taken photo of the pencil work that will be the cover art to my new comic book Omega-9. The draft of the first 12-15 pages will be out next Friday. I'm playing this one pretty close to the chest so don't expect to see too many pics from the comic here. You'll have to manage to get your hands on an actually copy for that.

FINALLY

Not only has this been one of the busiest weeks in my life, but it will also be one of the most memorable. This Friday, December 3rd, I picked up my ordered issue of a comic that I have been drooling over since childhood. Amazing Spider-Man #300! This comic Isn't worth 5,000 dollars or even 500 or anything insane like that. However, this comic houses the first appearance of Venom, who just happens to be my favorite character from any fiction media, thus making it priceless in my eyes. As silly as it sounds, owning this comic obviously means a whole lot to me.

I remember reading Spider-Man comics as a kid and always wondering which issue had the very first appearance of Venom. For any comic nerd, it's obvious that it didn't take very long at all to find out which book it actually was. Once I learned of its existence, I became fascinated with owning it. Over time my obsession with the character moved from one focused on his physical appearance and his representation by artists to a fascination with the dynamic of his character, a sick man bearing dual personalities being fueled by envy. Perfect! This is definitely one thing checked off my "Things To Do Before Dying" list. I know this all sounds super silly and nerdy, but what can I say. I love comics and I couldn't be happier.

New Logo

Well the logo itself isn't new, but this is a newer version. I rendered this out before I went to bed last night. I just wanted to take some of the new lighting/rendering tricks, that I've taught myself in my free time, and apply them to something semi-useful. The new shader I've been building is for the buttons that will be on my site (which will be constructed this winter ^_^) But for those 3D folk out there reading this, I advise you to always reuse your shaders and update them. There's no point in rebuilding a material without a purpose. You'd be surprised what materials you can make out of the ones you've already built. And remember above all else, click as many random buttons as you possibly can! This is the pathway to true knowledge.

New Figures

These are some recent figure drawings that I've been meaning to upload. This first one of the two figures ripped about 30 seconds after I took the pic. So I guess I'll redo it this evening on some nicer paper.

This drawing is done on the nice paper that I was talking about redoing the first drawing on. It's basically a giant sheet of sand paper! This stuff is righteous!

Slick With the Slime

Just a watercolor update. This one is about 85% done, I guess. Just have to finish up the body near the top. From now on, I'm just going to use numbers. I like numbers.

Final Pieces

I've got 9,237,462 other things I should be doing. This was fun though.

Chess Boxin'

As if I didn't have enough projects occupying my plate right now, for some reason, I decided to start designing a chess set. This is a render of the king. I've still got the queen, knight and 1/3 of the bishop to finish up. I suppose I need a small project to call my own that is beyond the jurisdiction of due dates.

Color Me Timbers

Color Me Timbers is a show put on by my two boys Stan Chisholm and The Great Mundane.
If you are in the Portland area and like coloring (if you had a childhood) then you should most definitely go check it out. There will be Drawings up all over for you and your friends to color. Drawings done by yours truly and some of my close friends as well as many others. Most definitely go check it out this weekend. These boys know how to have a good time!

New Painting

Been gone for a bit. Here's a new one. Still working..

More Watercolor Updates

A Quote

"A master is one whose shadow is so eclipsing that it's edges are not known."

First Painting

This image is a digital mockup of what will be my first painting. The demands of my comic, school classes, and my illustration work leaves me very little time for my own independent art investigation. I think as a result of so much art oriented responsibility, I've somehow developed the need to manifest my ideas elsewhere. . .maybe? Yeah. So this is just a quickly-thrown-together image of a painting I will be slowly cultivating over the coming months. Potential is a theme that I've been thinking about quite a lot lately. This piece, I'm hoping, will illustrate a sense of potential as subject/landscape, whatever. It's dependent on process. It's dependent on mark-making. It's space. It's detached. It's mine.

More From the Field

This is the only thing that I have been able to draw semi correctly this entire week. Frustrated isn't even the right word.

Dirty Jobs

I've never really gotten many chances to watch Dirty Jobs, because I don't have a TV; but every time I've had the opportunity to hear Mike Rowe speak, I have been amazed at how awesome he is. Check out this brief interview.

FIgure Drawing Update

Character Profile: Ogin

Physical Description:

Name- Ogin

Age- 60ish

Gender- Male

Ethnicity- Foreign everywhere he goes

Features/Mannerisms:

Ogin is a tired, angry, homeless drunkard. Frail and weak. Carries with him at all times a paintbrush that is the size that he is. He seems to have endured much hardship during the course of his life. He spends much of his time sitting on the ground surrounded by his art in a drunken haze.

History:

He is not from the village, and those that live there don’t let him forget it. The villagers see him as a dirty old man, which he is, and he does not take kindly to that. He knows as much about his origin as the villagers that pester him.
He has lost much of his memory to booze and “rotten luck * BURP *” He knows that he traveled from whereever he was to Fala’s village because of some bad happenings, but the specifics are lost to the sands of time and alcohol.
When sober, Ogin displays a surprising degree of awareness; however, this is seldom the case.

Personality:

Ogin is not a happy man. His art, that no one hardly ever buys, is the only decent thing in the world to him. He despises those who do not appreciate his art. He views the world as a very cruel place full of uncultured, uncouth swine.
Having dealt with so much hardship already, Ogin is very prone to give up on his short-term goals and is often halted by the slightest sign of difficulty.

He is not violent or harmful to others physically, but his mouth has gotten him into trouble quite a few times. He’s just living out the rest of his days in a drunken stupor painting when he feels inspired.

Driving Motivations/Goals:

Ogin used to want to be a world-famous artist, but this dream has been glazed over, over the years. He believes in the chaos of the world and alcohol is his Sheppard in the darkness. He’s surprisingly relatively decent for being a homeless person.

Under the Surface:

Ogin really misses home-cooked meals!
He thoroughly enjoys the brief visits from Fala. Given his situation, he doesn't have very many people to talk to besides the ones he imagines when he’s drunk.
Having been dooped by a woman at some previous point in his life, he now believes that women are the root of all evil!

Quite fond of the sound of water.

Ogin feels that he is somehow a being of higher tastes. Because of his self-proclaimed profession as an artist, he sees himself as having a taste for the finer things in life.
He is in debt with so many people in other towns that he can’t even remember how much he owes anymore, or for what.

Likes:

Rum. Painting. Sleeping. Rum. Hangovers. The sound of water. Fala’s questions. Well-cooked food.

Dislikes:

Hangovers. Most people. Being told that he is a good-for-nothing. Women. Bad taste. Loud Noises.

Dino Day

Today is just jam packed with dinosaurs! My inner 5 year old is doing backflips.

Finally

So, today at the Field Museum I started the drawing I've been wanting to make since I was about 5 years old. I only had about 1.5 hours to get the basics laid down today (due to my other ongoing field studies), but next week, this one will be my main focus. And hopefully by then, both the deer and tiger will be done. This is too much fun.

Drawings of the Figure

Just some more figure drawings. Using pastel on the last ones. I'm editing this post to include two recent drawings the latter of which is the barebones layout for a self-portrait.

This woman was the most awkward figure drawing model I've ever had. She kept looking at me smiling, so I drew her looking mad to compensate.

This project is not only going to be my first real drawing of myself but my first project in which I'm using custom-mixed inks. The general inks you get at the store just don't cut it anymore. I've painted out the basics and will be attacking the rest with my dip pen.

A Study of The Hand

Having been detached from drawing for so long as definitely taken its toll on my work and I think its most evident in my hatching so I'm just trying to build things back up to nominal levels again. I've been studying a lot of Michelangelo lately, and (as always) he's helping to point me right where I need to be. These are just some studies I did of my left hand. Once my skills are where they need to be, the real onslaught will begin.

A Promise I'll Break Later

I've been pretty lazy on updating the blog with my new drawings, but I'll put some up tomorrow when I'm not dead tired. This Saturday has been a day I've been looking forward to for quite sometime. Nonstop drawing from morning till the next morning! I've been doing more drawing than writing, however, and I really should be getting this comic draft done sooner than later. But that is what Sundays are for. I'll probably upload some assignments from my Narrative Ink Class. I don't think I've posted any of the work from that class yet, and I've done some pretty new things. Currently my projects at hand are:

- Self Portrait
- Comic Script Completion
- 2 Field Museum Watercolors
- Comic Character Designs
- Comic Landscape/Setting Designs
- Hatching studies

Hopefully by next Sunday something on the list will actually be completed. Maybe even two or three things. Four would be awesome. The sandman's callin.

Updates From the Field Museum

Just two updates on my watercolors from the Field. They are both still ongoing works in progress and will probably require one or two more visits. Watercolor is so tedious!

Concept Sketch

The first concept sketch from my solo comic project.

First Character Profile

So, here it is. This is the first character profile for my new comic in development. I won't spoil anything about his role in the story, so this is all you get for now! I'll upload sketches soon!

Physical Description:

Name- Fala

Age- 6

Gender- Male

Features/Mannerisms:

A typical six year old in his village. Fun-loving, typical kid. Asks lots of questions. Loves animals. Keeps hair cut short and favors cleanliness. Dislikes arguments and making others upset. A young people-pleaser. Often blames himself for the misfortune of those around him.

History:

His mother died in childbirth. Raised by his tough-love father. He is somewhat afraid of his father despite his father having never laid a hand on him. His father is a warrior of a man in body and mind.

He is friends with many of the children in his village. His family is relatively wealthy, and his friends don’t let him forget it. He is not necessarily fond of his family’s wealth and has more interest in the natural world around him than the things money can buy.

He lives in a time before refined, organized schooling, but the town he lives in leaves the education of children in the hands of the elders. He is extremely bright for his age. This is mainly to do with his fondness of asking questions. He listens more than he talks.

Personality:

Fala is an adventure-seeking child fueled by a bottomless pit of energy. Despite his energy he is extremely attentive. He thinks and dwells within quite often for a boy his age. He loves hearing stories and learning from them but is sad that he cannot tell his own stories. Fala often dreams of traveling to far away lands and escaping the borders of his small town one day.

His favorite food is fish. He enjoys traveling down to the harbor with his father. His favorite part of traveling to the harbor is visiting the old homeless man who resides there by selling his art. Fala is fascinated by his strange paintings and loves to question the old man but is always scolded by his father and dragged away.

In his never-ending quest for knowledge Fala has a tendency to annoy adults around him. There are many more adults than children in his village, so the adults often fall prey to his ever-increasing thirst for knowledge



Driving Motivations/Goals:

While his father is home, he spends much of his time helping him with chores and such. He relishes his time to play outside. Much of his ideals and influences reflect those of his father. He feels that there is a worth in all people, however, this feeling is being drown out by his increasing age and his father.

Fala intends on making his dreams of traveling the world a reality. He enjoys the outdoors and plans to spend as much time there as possible when older. He thinks being a famous fisherman would be the most luxurious occupation in the world. Traveling the world catching the biggest fish imaginable.

Fala is amazing with his hands and is an all-around outdoorsmen. He enjoys knot tying, chopping wood, hunting, and especially fishing.

Under the Surface:
Fala has a crush on one of the girls on the other side of town but is too embarrassed to say anything about it. He is also teased by his friends for this as well. He has no mother and is uncomfortable around females. The story of the comic is the turning point in his life, or the beginning of it.

Likes:

Exploring. Being outdoors. Learning. Stories. Fishing. Running. Cleaning his hair. Waiting for his beard to grow.

Dislikes:

Being yelled at and scolded. Having to be indoors. His father's glare. Not being able to bathe. Not having a beard yet.

Comic Details

So, as a lot of you know, I have been in the process of writing a comic that I will be producing myself. And FINALLY, it is starting to take shape. I'm now finalizing the draft of the story and early concept sketches. So, stay tuned for new posts about this up-and-coming work!

Works in Progress

DRAW DRAW DRAW

All the following drawings are incomplete works-in-progress and are relatively new (last 2 weeks). I've been drawing at the Field Museum here in Chicago, and I find it infinitely more inspiring than the Art Institute. I'd appreciate any feedback if you'd be so kind and willing.

Early sketch of a soon-to-be chicken fight. Soon-to-be watercolored

Going old school on this one. My favorite of the lot.

A meager attempt at watercoloring. One of my main focuses for this semester.

Another watercolor. Started this one yesterday and it is moving SO slowly. Patience truly is a virtue.

It's 9:00 PM. Do You Know Where Your Autotune Is?

Autotune is taking over the world! I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard!

Drawing Drawings Drawings

A week-old figure drawing. I'm trying to get good with charcoal.

A collection of 60-second sketches.

An old watercolor done at the Field Museum. Never got around to finishing it and probably never will. . .story of my life.

Genius

Just stumbled across this on the Inter-Web. Just thought I would share it with everyone. I found this to be hilarious.

I Like This Game Too Much

Yessss!

CNN I HATE YOU!

I have always thought of CNN as a pretty informative source of information throughout my 21 years. That little headline tab is often my only connection to what's going on in the world. However, today I went to get my daily dose of actual useful information only to read in the top headlines

Jessica Simpson's dog snatched by coyote

Why in the world is this on CNN? This was a top headline. So, that means that someone somewhere on God's green Earth thought that this news story was more relevant than all of the other things happening in the world. Maybe I just read this while in a bad mood, but this is utterly stupid. However, I am sorry Jessica's dog was eaten. Too bad she wasn't instead.

See this LINK to read the full waste of time.

Some New Work

Just some figure drawings.


. . and something stupid :}

Olafur Eliasson is a Bad Ass

Great White Sharks Turf War Continues

(CNN) -- The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has tagged two great white sharks off Cape Cod in an area where shark sightings have been reported, state officials said Sunday.

A great white shark is tagged Saturday off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Shark sightings closed nearby beaches.

The first tagging Saturday marked the first time a great white shark had been successfully tagged in the Atlantic Ocean, the division said in a statement. A second shark was tagged Saturday afternoon, officials said.

The taggings took place in the waters near Chatham, Massachusetts, two days after Greg Skomal, shark expert for the Division of Marine Fisheries, reported as many as five large sharks were seen near Monomoy Island, a National Wildlife Refuge off the southern elbow of Cape Cod. The island is about a mile away from Chatham's Lighthouse Beach, a public swimming area.

Chatham's beaches were closed to swimmers after the sightings, Skomal said. CNN affiliate WCVB reported that all of Chatham's east-facing beaches were closed after three sharks came within 75 yards of the coastline.

The beaches will be off-limits to swimmers until the middle of the week, officials told WCVB.

Don't Miss

• Cape Cod beach town vexed by shark sightings

After the sightings, Skomal and other biologists set out to identify the species, the division statement said. Skomal identified a great white shark on Friday, and then the two were tagged Saturday.

"The tags, which use satellite-based technology to record where a shark travels, allow scientists to better understand migratory patterns," the division statement said.

Great white sharks are relatively rare in New England, the division statement said, but have been seen feeding near seal colonies.

Massachusetts has recorded only four shark attacks since 1670, two of which were fatal. The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts happened in 1936.

Disney Bought Marvel

I'm too mad to write!

Why Not?

An old drawing from last year. Still not done with it, but I haven't posted anything in ages.

My Display Case and New Room!

So, I'm living in a new apartment this school year; and I love it! I decided that I should put my head to good use and design my room, so I did what any great artist would do. I called my mom! She visited with my aunt and together they helped me transform my room. The results came out way better than I could have ever imagined! Also, I finally, finally, finally got to install the display case that I've been dreaming of having for about the last 5 years. It's becoming distracting now because I can't stop looking at it.

The photos above my bed are three pics I snapped in Japan.


Display case for my babies!


Da work zone!

Legend of the Forrest

This is an animation by Osamu Tezuka called Legend of the Forrest. I saw this at Tezuka's museum while I was in Japan. Honestly, I really don't like the bulk of Tezuka's work. I respect what he did, but I just don't care for it. However, this animation is a stroke of pure genius. I'm posting my two favorite parts. The last act is not so genius. Enjoy!

Custom PS3 Theme

I've been searching for a nice, subtle theme for my PS3 that suited my tastes, and for the longest time I couldn't find anything. Then it hit me. Just make my own. And I did. Just like any self-promoting, egotistical artist, I themed it around non other than myself. Feel free to save it, and use it on your own PS3 if you'd like. Hahaha!

98.9% Complete Gundam 00

He's alllll most done! There are still some finishing touches to be added though.


He even gets a wrinkly background! (I'll iron it next time.)

Side shot. His shields are dope.

Epic. Ness.