"Going Nowhere Fast" - 56

I've seen a number of dogs in this situation, and I don't really know who to blame: the owner, or the dog?

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"Firefly Stars" - 55

Sometimes a few simple strokes in a background evokes the following image:

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"Aslan" - 54

Kittens grow up so fast:

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"D-Day" - 53

In honor of those who fought that day...

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"Red Cloud Over a Wave of Red Stairs" - 52

Abstract, but not abstract art:

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"Low Notes" - 51

Every town...

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"Infinite Raccoon" - 50

It starts with the eyes...

(Digital, Corel Painter with Wacom Cintiq)

"Fatherhood — 2/6" - 49

Fathers going fishing with their sons...

(Digital, Sketchbook with Wacom Cintiq)

"Fatherhood — 1/6" - 48

What started out as a doodle...

(Digital, Sketchbook with Wacom Cintiq)

...ended up as this. And I'm turning it into a mini-series in honor of Father's Day this upcoming weekend. I'm doing six total, and this is the first of them.

You may notice I put "Wacom Cintiq" in the medium description. That's because I recently got my Wacom Cintiq up and running again, and I'd forgotten how nice this piece of hardware is. In many ways, I like drawing digitally over using a real medium because I get such thick, solid lines that really add to the sketch. And the undo button, that's pretty nice, too.

Back on track...

I'm finally back to doing art on a daily basis. Yahoo!

On a side note, in order to "lessen" the load of posting artwork, from now on I'm only going to include a commentary for pieces I feel like writing a commentary for, because frankly...I felt a little bit like a record-player on some of my previous posts.

Thanks for continuing to view and support my art!

"The Yarn of a Mystery" - 47

I don't always have an iPad available...

(Digital, ArtRage for iPad)

But when I do, I like to create pieces like this. I think what really draws this piece together is the texture in the "paint," and the contrast between the background (black) and the rest of the colors.

"The Captain's Tale" - 46

Here's what spending extra time to erase and re-paint on the iPod Touch can do:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

Like I've mentioned before — I don't really prefer working on such a small screen. But it's a challenge. And it's also one of the only ways I can do digital art at the moment without using a mouse.

Personal Results of the SAICFF 2012

So about that film festival in San Antonio...

I'm happy to say my team and I won! I couldn't have achieved what I did without the help of my team, especially my twin brother Seth. I also have to thank two of my other brothers, Jonathan and Daniel, for their contributions, as well as our narrator (whom we'd never met in person previous to the festival), Caleb!

The whole experience was exhilarating to say the least. And I thank God most of all for all of it — for His gift to me in the form of creativity, and for guiding my path to where I am now.

You can check out the trailer now by visiting the "Animation" page!

"The Wordless Question" - 45

In honor of Valentine's Day:

(Digital, vector-based medium)

I enjoyed working on this piece. I'd had the concept in my mind for a week or so leading up to Valentine's Day, but I'll admit what you see here is vastly different from what I'd originally pictured. But the message is essentially there, and hopefully it made you smile (inside or outside).

Gone to the SAICFF 2012!

Where have I been?

The land of busy.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a little behind on my daily artwork — but rest assured, I'll be jumping back into it when I can.

Meanwhile, I'm a semi-finalist for festival trailer at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival 2012. Once everything's said and done, I'm releasing the trailer for your viewing pleasure. Then you can see what I spent a decent chunk of time working on several months ago.

So keep checking back!

"A Steadfast Determination" - 44

It all comes down to action and reaction:

(Pencil on 110-lb paper)

I've noticed poses and figures involving action (and some element of reaction) carry some of the greatest emotion. For example, looking at this sketch, I can feel this boy's determination in his struggle to move the heavy-laden pail. I'm definitely going to try incorporating more "action" and "reaction" into my future art.

"Teeming With Life" - 43

I was going to add an interesting, funny twist to this one:

(Vector-based medium)

Notice the past-tense? That's because I realized, halfway through creating everything, that this image deserved to be clean and serious. And if you want to be picky about the shapes of the continents, it's called "drawing" them out over a few minutes.

"Looking For Company" - 42

Back to some fun stuff:

(Pencil, pen, & marker on 110-lb paper)

Growing up, I had a certain "style" I would use to draw. It wasn't on purpose; it was, like most of us growing up, the best I could do, and therefore realism. Thankfully, I never fully "lost" that style. Another interesting note is I rarely drew "cartoons." I'd get books from the library on "how to draw" cartoons, but they made me repulsed, a little -- and I think that's because I viewed them, at the time, as childish. But it's not, and I know that now.

Art markers are great, by the way; the texture they give, the color selection -- they just make creating artwork that much more fun.

"Portrait of a Stranger" - 41

I've rarely attempted any realistic portraits:

(Pencil on sketchbook paper)

And I can count on one hand how many I've done in the past. As much as realism is a challenge for me, (considering I've never taken any formal instruction), I think this turned out decently. I'll have to do some additional realism portraits in the future.

"Behind You" - 40

This is why you should always look both ways before going into a jungle:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

The beauty of silhouettes is that you just have to get the shape right. While that becomes a greater responsibility because of the lack of detail, it channels a different side of creativity. And it's a challenge I enjoy.

That, and pictures with a humorous twist always catch my attention.

"The Golden Feather" - 39

Not to be mistaken with a piece of grain:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

I started this piece with the background -- red, with a molded-texture of shading. The two colors (gold and red) go quite well together. I don't know where the feather idea came from. Just my random mind, I suppose.

"200 Years of Charles Dickens" - 38

Wow, what a year to live in -- Charles Dickens was born exactly 200 years ago today:

(Vector-based medium)

And the gift of stories he's given us have kept on giving since then. Pretty amazing to think one's work, literary or otherwise, may live on for centuries to come. What will people think? What will people say? Will the stories become "boring" to students, exciting to lovers of classic literature?

"By The Beautiful Sea" - 37

"Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication." ~Leonardo de Vinci

(Vector-based medium)

There's not a whole lot in this scene, and yet it evokes an entire image with just a few simple shapes. I especially like the cloud I created in the background -- the unique edge gives it interest, while being subtle in coloring and shading.

"The Conquering Giants" - 36

Unless you were hiding under a rock tonight -- you probably knew the annual Super Bowl happened tonight:

(Digital, vector-based medium)

And the New York Giants won. I can't say I watched much of the game, but the pieces I caught were pretty exciting. Go Eli Manning!

"The Complacent Bystander" - 35

You might be surprised to know this piece is digital:

(Digital, ArtRage for iPad)

I know I am. And I drew it. But that's the beauty of technology; we're getting closer to the point where it's nearly impossible to tell a physical piece of artwork from a digital one. Pretty cool, huh?

"Beauty In Design" - 34

I haven't used oil pastel in a while:

(Oil pastel on 110-lb paper)

The last (and first time) I used oil pastel was maybe two to three years ago. I liked the medium, but the inconsistent clumps and challenge of detail frustrated me. Using them again, they still frustrate me a little, but...I'm going to force myself to experiment more This particular piece was inspired by a random doodle of circles, when I realized it recognized a hand in the shapes. A few minutes later, I was drawing a hand out with oil pastel. Not too shabby, I think, considering I've rarely drawn or painted realism before.

"The Green-Eyed Monster" - 33

Having cats around for several months now has given me special insight into these creatures:

(Digital, ArtRage for iPad)

For instance, they like to play. With just about everything. Including socks. And when you pick them up and look them in the eyes, they'll give you the widest eyes you've ever seen -- until they look away a moment later. It's fun having cats.

This piece started purely with a black background. I selected a color I liked, (in this case, lime-green), and drew some circles. That's when I realized they could be eyes. Cat's eyes. And the rest went from there.

"Spy." - 32

I don't know what was playing on TV tonight (I only heard parts), but it sounded spy-ish:

(Vector-based medium)

And so I was inspired to do this piece. The varying widths of each line adds to the look, and accentuates certain details. Plus, the messy fills make me think of different 1950's printings I've seen. All in all, I'm pretty happy with this piece. Makes me want to write a story to go with it.

"Life Beyond Living" - 31

Sometimes a leaf on the ground is enough to inspire me:

(Soft pastel on 65-lb black paper)

I've also learned to be less afraid of mixing colors that I don't think will fit the piece I'm working on. The background you see is pretty much the result of me stepping out on a limb and doing just that. I think it turned out rather well.

"Twilit Cityscape" - 30

The origination of the concept for this piece is actually rather funny:

(Soft pastel on 65-lb black paper)

As I looked over the pieces of soft pastel at my disposal (all 24 of them), I realized I hadn't even touched either of the two pink-tinted pieces. Naturally, that's because I don't tend to use pink in my pieces. But then I realized it would be a challenge (in my case) to use them. So I did. And that's the result.

"Ninja Sunset" - 29

Have I mentioned before how much I'm really getting into soft pastel?:

(Pastel on 65-lb black paper)

The texture makes almost anything, including rather dull concepts, into pieces of art that are interesting to view. Although I have to admit, writing my signature is always a challenge with such large, chunky pieces to work with.

"Adventure Ready" - 28

When it comes to character design, I seem to gravitate toward childhood scenes:

(Pencil, pen, & marker on 110-lb. paper)

And I think it's because (beyond obvious reasons) I enjoy illustrating innocence and wonder, when modern trends are mostly absent. I also enjoy not having to portray realistic scenes that are...frankly...quite challenging to illustrate. But the point of this entire year's challenge -- having to create one original piece of art every day -- is to stretch my creative muscles. So I'll be trying to challenge myself further as the year progresses.

"The Choice" - 27

I randomly thought today (as I always do) about the phrase, "when one door closes, another opens":

(Vector-based medium)

This was basically inspired by that. As simple as this piece might appear (and I agree, it is simple), the design process wasn't. There were a few alternate features I tried to make work, but they 1) took away from the original concept, and 2) looked a little too ugly. (Tip: bright, glowing, colored light on black will virtually always look like a lightsaber blade, no matter how you cut it.)

"The Beanstalk" - 26

Simple designs speak volumes:

(Vector-based medium)

For example, I started this piece out with the sole idea of a spiral. Yes, I was planning to develop that idea more as I went -- but I knew I wanted to start with a spiral. And that spiral became a vine. And that vine became a stalk. A beanstalk. And then I added "Jack" for good measure.

"Kindled Love" - 25

I ordered and received my Kindle a couple days ago:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

While time management between work and college has restricted my time for a number of other activities, what I've experienced of my Kindle so far is great. I still prefer physically-printed books in certain cases, but the digital realm has its place. The fact that I can read fiction on a Kindle and get basically the same experience as reading a physical books speaks volumes about its effectiveness.

"Something In The Wind" - 24

Sometimes all an idea needs is some plain white paper and a pencil (and eraser, of course):

(Pencil on sketchbook paper)

For this figure, I started by shaping the head, adding details to the face, and drawing the rest of the body from there. I know this "uncalculated" technique tends to be reminiscent of a comic strip artist, but I think the final product turned out fine.

"Below The Surface" - 23

Have I mentioned I'm really getting into pastels?:

(Pastel on 65-lb black paper)

This picture should inspire a whole story. That's because it's based on one -- a novel, in fact! I'm planning on revising and releasing "Below The Surface" as my debut novel later this year. We'll see how that goes, though; life tends to get in the way of massive time-consuming projects.

"Exploding Star" - 22

I always found spirographs amazing:

(Vector-based medium)

I still do. While this design isn't a "true" spirograph, it's pretty close -- and the small dots making up the lines add a certain interest factor. Only after I completed the design did I realize this is what I imagine an exploding star (in an illustrated world, of course) might look like.

"Simple Observation" - 21

You know, I'm really starting to like pastel:

(Pastel on 65-lb black paper)

Especially when it comes to drawing simple things, like this character. The texture of the medium adds an interest factor, whereas a digital painting/drawing of this same subject would likely not draw more than a quick glance. The imperfection and roughness that wielding large, chunky pieces of pastel provides is quite interesting.

"Glimpses of Early Evening" - 20

Here's my second pastel of the year:

(Pastel on 65-lb black paper)

I'm not generally a fan (and therefore artist) of nature scenes, considering they can be rather common after a while. But if the lighting's right, if the composition beckons me into the scene...then I'll go for it. The thing that really ties this particular piece together -- at least for me -- has to be the dark blue shading on the trees and ground.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" - 19

I watched the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" movie tonight:

(Vector-based medium)

I've seen this film multiple times since its release, and it's on my favorites list. While the movie adaptation doesn't quite match the books, it still captures the essence of the story -- and that's awesome in itself. If you'll notice, this piece is based on the movie more than the book illustrations by Brett Helquist. I also enjoy making shadows and silhouettes, so when I thought of this concept for today's art, I couldn't resist.

"A Fallen Star" - 18

I haven't used pastels since I was 8:

(Pastel on 65-lb black paper)

Tonight I got to change that. Using black cardstock helped to bring out the vibrancy of the pastels, and blending wasn't too painful to accomplish. This turned out a little different than what I originally intended, but hey -- I followed through and I think it's not too shabby for a quick piece of art.

"The Painter" - 17

Making an art photo look old and damaged?:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

It's fun. This was a last, last minute idea, and doing a piece of art every day this year...well, you can't be too choosy about your ideas. I personally like the little white lines that "damage" the "photo." I might do something similar in the future.

"Gone Humanin'" - 16

In case you haven't noticed, I have a quirky mind:

 

(Digital, iPod Touch)

Sometimes I just enjoy thinking about every day subjects in a totally flipped way; for example, fish fishing for...humans. Which becomes "humaning" at that point, I think. Either way, I'm pretty sure these guys won't have much luck catching humans.

"Shades Of Gold" - 15

This is my first piece of the year that's based on a photo:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

Because the photo is not my own, I can't post it here--but hopefully you get the basic idea from this piece. The two oaks frame the sunlight pouring through the foliage, signaling the end of the day. The unique shapes of oaks always make for interesting subjects.

"Ravages Of Winter" - 14

I live in Texas, so I don't really see much snow here:

(Vector-based medium)

However, that doesn't mean I don't see winter. Winter's still cold, and trees still experience everything you see in the northern states, minus the snow. Sometimes I miss the snow I trudged through during my childhood, and sometimes--like today--I'm perfectly fine with a snow-less winter, as I wore shorts in 70-degree weather today.

"The Bananas Orator" - 13

When you have to come up with a new idea for artwork every single day...sometimes you might end up with something like this:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

A bit random, you say? I can't deny it. But it's all there, outlines, fill-ins, shading and all. Touch screens are still amazing.

"Let Go" - 12

Sometimes simple subject matter goes best with simple context, like chalk:

(Vector-based medium)

Over the past couple years I've challenged myself to step out on a limb and draw things I'm kind of...scared to draw, because of their complexity. For example, hands. And while I still tend to whimper a little at the thought of drawing a hand or two, I feel slightly more confident, especially when I'm working with vectors--because I can move lines around with the click of a mouse.

"Curiously Red" - 11

Salamanders--gotta love 'em:

(Digital, iPod Touch)

Working on artwork using an iPod Touch is a bit of a "love/hate" relationship. While the screen allows me to just use my finger(s) (not having to scramble around for the constantly-elusive stylus), the screen is small. And sometimes my fingers are too moist or dry. But for the most part, I appreciate being able to carry around a mini "art station," if you will, virtually wherever I go.

"Somber Storm" - 10

I love artwork that uses one color:

(Vector-based medium)

I also love somber storms. And the best place to experience somber storms is...out in the country. Where it's quiet. I do believe falling rain on a roof may be the most soothing sound in existence.

"Mission: Impossible" - 9

I was inspired to create the following after seeing "Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol" in IMAX this past weekend:

(Vector-based medium)

I especially loved this sequence of the film. The tension created by the circumstances made it fascinating to take in. As a whole, I thought MI:4 was one of the coolest movies I've seen in a while, (especially in IMAX!), and not only that--the storyline and characters seemed the most faithful to the original Mission: Impossible television series from the 1960's, compared to the previous MI films. Go Brad Bird!