Summer Drawing Day #58 & #60

I apologize for not updating yesterday, I just got really sick and spent most of the day sleeping... I did draw one thing, but I'm too happy with the turn out... so it won't be posted.
The day before, I tried taking my bike down to the gas station to fill up the flat tires (don't ask why), unfortunately the front tire was just dead flat, so I had to hike it up back home up a series of hills (true story). On the bright side, I was taught how to make tamago donburi, which turned out pretty good. In matters of drawing, I just did some figure traces... just to try to understand the gesture and structure of the human figure:

For today, I was feeling a little better. Whether I was or not, however, my family and I went to see my aunt and cousins in Berkeley. In between, I got a chance to draw a few people and some drinks in a Thai restaurant:

 I couldn't get the guy in the upper left correctly because he just packed up and left the minute I began drawing him out. The woman the upper right was a little easier, since she seemed too busy texting or playing around on her phone.

Summer Drawing Day #57

Today I decided to be a little productive and visit an old street I used to come by a lot as a middle school student and a high school student... still somewhat the same, though a few stores have been driven out of business (due to the economic crisis we are still in). I also got a chance to go through the park and draw a fountain in front of the Academy of Science:

Not too bad... the circular parts of the fountain were a little trick, based on proportions and whatnot...
Later, I redid the mugshots from yesterday, along with a little profile:

 The guy above is suppose to be an anamorphic polar bear, so I've been trying to work with his head and muzzle (I read somewhere that polar bear's heads are more narrow and cone shaped compared to a regular bear, who has more of a square head).
Honestly, doing these character designs seems wrong to me, yet I can't stop doing it... I guess it's probably because I'm really into kind of drawing.

Summer Drawing Day #55 & #56

Still counting the days as they go by. Yesterday, I wasn't too active... though I did check out Border's status in matters of selling everything at a shopping mall (they still have a long way to go). I just did a few traces of the human figure, along with a little trace of the hand:

Getting back to basics (such as gesture and structure) can help a little for real life figures.
For today, I went to another shopping mall, and managed to get in a few people:

Both of them seemed like they were texting or doing something on their phones (kind of a little symbolism in how the world is becoming obsessive over special cell phones). For both of them I was focusing a little too much on structure and getting their exact posture... which is why the gesture is pretty weak. Like my art professors would say, you have to exaggerate the actual pose in order make it real in a drawing.
Later today, I also did a little character design:

I might work on a little more on this tomorrow (Eclair is just there for comparison). I also might try to do a still life (though I might plan too many things and just do nothing in the end...). I'll let you all know in the next update.

Summer Drawing Day #54

For today, I did quite a bit of quick sketches and life drawings:

Record shows that I still have a lot to work on in matters of drawing people...

This one I had a little fun with, even though it was hard to get the exact folds of the flag which kept changing every few seconds.

The pigeon above was really tricky of course, lot of little kids would keep scaring them away... The lamp post was somewhat manageable, the background was a little difficult to get down in matter of perspective...

Summer Drawing Day #52

I know this is a bit late, but here's something I did yesterday while at a mall:

I personally like how the out line turned out, not the best looking plant, but still okay. The rest of the day I ended playing Guitar Hero and watching a Giants' game (4 to 2, Mets).
For today I've been a little busy, this morning I went to a little reunion with my high school cross country coach and one of my teammates. We had hot chocolate and talked about our personal lives, along with a few other random things. Later on, I went on a long walk with my dad, which kind of wore me out a little... I guess you can call this a mini vacation from drawing, but I will try to come up with something later on tonight and post it tomorrow. With school starting up again soon, I need to give it my all and be ready for new studio classes.

Summer Drawing Day #51

Can anyone believe how fast summer flies? Some may think it will last forever, but it ends right before you know it.
For today, I mostly just worked on couple's designs for a t-shirt design contest one of my friends is hosting. I'm not really expecting to win... I'm just entering for fun. Here's the design I did:

I sketched out first, then went over it in photoshop (I'm still a little newbie at making art with photoshop). It's pretty plain and simple, it's suppose to split right in the middle so the girl and the boy will be on a separate t-shirt.
I also did another couple design, based on old characters I came up with for an Academy of Art Animation class:

That was back when I didn't had any professional lessons on drawing or animation... Anyway, here's what I did with them today:

Maybe someday when I get better, I'll try remaking the animation, though that's still in the "maybe pile."
Tomorrow is going to be a sale in one of the last few Borders in the city... yes they are still alive (barely).

Summer Drawing Day #49 & #50

Yesterday and today I worked a little on character designs:

This character (Jenny) is best described as a "Disney Princess:" the one pretty girl who stands out from all of the other minor girls in the animation. To me, the key is to get the eyes right... plus make the girl somewhat attractive and innocent compared to a girl like this:

The bottom right is suppose to compare the two girls in looks and personality, though I didn't really try to hard... Next time I'll make a bigger drawing with better gesture and detail.
For today, because I had to get out of the house for quite a while, I got to do a little perspective in a mall:

It's suppose to be a ProActive vending machine, not my best perspective, but not too bad (compared to the last perspective I did). I did wanted to add more background and depth, but my pen was low on ink during the time...

Summer Drawing Day #48

Here's something I did yesterday while at a mall:

Now that I look at it, the perspective seems pretty off... I think because some of the measurements went beyond the length of my pen.
For today, I got to see Hayao Miyazaki's newest animation: Karigurashi no Arrietty, based on the fantasy novel called The Borrowers, by Mary Norton. I personally thought it was a really good movie, even though it was all in Japanese and I didn't really understand the dialogue too well, still if you love animation, you'll love this. I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who wants to see it, but the scenery done in the movie was really creative, it's just something you have to see for yourself.
I hate to say this, I haven't actually drawn anything yet... I plan to sometime tonight though, so you all can look forward to something tomorrow.

Summer Drawing Day #46 & #47

Summer is going by really quickly, so one really needs to make the most out of it while it's still here.

Yesterday, my dad and I went for a really long walk, with a lot of hills. I did manage to get in a few people:

There were huge crowds of people during the time, plus I lost them after a minute or two...

At the end of it all, we went to the Top of the Mark, where I had a pina colada, without any alcohol:

It was actually pretty good, plus it looked good so I just had to draw it out.

For today, I did not get too much... I just did traces of a figure,

along with a little sketch of a flower:

I personally think the flower turned out good, I might try again tomorrow.

Plus later on we went to Vietnamese restaurant where I managed to draw the tea pot and tea cup:

 The tea pot's spout was a little tricky, due to the angle and size. 

Summer Drawing Day #45

The mind is complicated.... One minute you can feel really down and out about something, the next (depending on how you're feeling) you may be wondering why you're even wallowing in self pity and just think up of something funny to cheer yourself up. Can anyone relate to this?
For today, I just copied a photo of a sleeping cat from a book about cats in a Japanese home:

It was done in pencil, like practically everything I do. I personally like how the structure turned out, and its face. I still need to learn more about softening the edges so it looks more realistic.

Summer Drawing Day #44

Somehow, doing these blogs makes me feel a little selfish... It's not like a job or an assignment where you have to give it to someone, it's something I post up almost everyday, not knowing whether anyone will look at it or not... But that's just me talking.
For today, I went out for bit and got to draw the outside of a Burger King restaurant;

It was actually really tricky because of the roof angle and the bushes covering up most of the place. The one thing I find hard about mastering perspective (and figure drawing) is that it's something one must try to do EVERYDAY. It requires quite a bit of discipline and time...
And later today, I got to do a little cartooning with my characters. Anyone remember Chris and Eclair? Here's an old cover picture I did of them sometime back in my junior year of high school:

And here's what I did today (in colored pencils):

I originally wanted to them in a different pose, but I had trouble getting it down correctly (may need to look into reference and whatnot). I personally think it's an improvement, still needs some corrections here and there, but way better than the original.

Summer Drawing Day #42 & #43

For those who don't know, there were robbers who used fake ATM cards to rob Citibank Debit Accounts. So those of you with Citibank Debit Accounts, you may want to check to make sure you were not robbed.
Anyway, yesterday I had to work a bit on a sprite comic for a fan site I'm a part of, plus I worked yesterday and today on a fan drawing for a friend. I'd show it to you all, but it's a bit personal... Other than that, I got to practice drawing my own hand today:

Right now, they seem really flat to me. I may need to get to the basics on drawing the human hand... 

I also managed to work on some character designs later today:

In matters of cartooning, this may be a style I'll stick with, unless told otherwise.

Summer Drawing Day #40

Okay, I plan to post this up before I end up snoozing and loosing again.
The trip to Monterey was fun, though my parents weren't too pleased with the little cottage we had to stay at for one night (it's good if you like antics though). We got to see fisherman's wharf and the area around the Monterey Bay Aquarium. So here's somethings I did while down there:

The fan in the upper left was done in a restaurant, it was really tricky because of the angle and the how the edges turned out. The light in the bottom right was done near a coffee shop in Carmel; while I was adding things in, a guy asked me to move in order to put a ladder in the spot I was in, but he didn't want to disrupt my drawing.
Sometime in the evening, we went to see my father's cousins (all women) along with their husbands. While they were conversation, I managed to get this in:

One of my dad's cousin's husband with a wine glass of white wine. I ended up having to show them this drawing, they all said it was good though, which kind of made my day.
For today, we had to drive back home in the morning, though we were all really tired from not getting enough sleep in the cottage (I had to sleep on a small, uncomfortable couch...). Thankfully we didn't get into any accident on the way home. So yeah, that's my lame excuse for not drawing today...
Here's a little advice stated by Jaycee Dugard in last night's interview: "Life your life to the fullest."

Summer Drawing Day #39

I'm sure everyone knows this, that the internet is the number one way to procrastinate.
I'll be honest, I've spent the whole morning uploading a large MKV file to a ftp server to help get it converted properly... took forever and a lifetime. Other times I've been watching videos and reading.
Later on, I got to spend a little father/daughter time with my dad, a nice long walk.
The only drawing I did for today were at a restaurant:

The human figure seemed to turn out okay to me... a little stiff and out of proportion... The sugar shaker (or whatever it's called that holds sugar) was something I did right before the food arrived, so it's a little rushed.
And just a little heads up, tomorrow I'm going to Monterey for a family reunion, so I won't have any access to a scanner. I will be back Monday, so I'll be sure to post something then.
Have a nice night.

Summer Drawing Day #38

My old roommates told me that the day doesn't official start until 3am, so it should still technically be July 8th.
Anyway, all I mainly did was practice more figure drawing. Here are the traces of one of the figures from my text book:

And here's the one I did by copying:

To me, the proportions seem completely off. I need to work on making the legs a little longer compared to the upper body. If there is anything anyone wants to add in matter of making it better, please let me know. Thank you.

Summer Drawing Day #36 & #37

Anyone starting to notice a trend in these updates...
Yesterday, I spent most of the day drawing from a toy boat in my room; done in pencil:

I may work on it a little more value wise, that's also something I need to work on.
For today, I went out and drew a statue, it's Capitan Juan Bautista De Anza, on a horse:

I treated this more like a quick gesture... there is a saying that if you can draw horses, you can draw anything. So far this looks more like a mule with short ears...

Summer Drawing Day #34 & #35

Yesterday I didn't do too much drawing wise, I did see the movie Super 8, which was actually a pretty interesting movie; if you're into mystery and surprise attack movies. Afterwards, I got a little inspired to draw my alien monster, just for kicks. Here's the original:

And here's what I did yesterday:

Honestly I'm not too pleased with how it turned out, he just seems too stiff...

I also got to the see the fireworks yesterday, the main fireworks along with a bunch of private fireworks. I took some videos of it, so if anyone is interested just send a message.

For today, I worked a little bit on character designs for a human character:

One can call these mugshots since they actually look like they've been taken to jail. This is mainly just to get an idea of proportions for an average person compared to Eclair (my other character).

These are practice expressions and different perspectives of Chris' head. The head on the right was a little tricky since his hair is uneven. Hair is also something I may need to look into.

Despite this, I also tried a little gesture at a ramen restaurant:

At first I tried to get just the gesture in, but then I went a little overboard in getting every little detail in...

For tomorrow, I plan to get back into still life and possibly more figure drawing.

Summer Drawing Day #33

I was soo close to not posting due to bad internet connections...
Today I went to the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco, mostly food, merchandise, beer, and plenty of good music to enjoy.
In matter of drawing, I only got to do some more practice figures:

Since I went for dinner, I managed to draw a salt and pepper shaker between ordering and getting my meal:

Service was a little fast, as you can tell, the tops of the shakers had dents so it was pretty hard to get in clearly with a pen.

Summer Drawing Day #32

I know this is late, I just felt extra sleepy yesterday from walking around Golden Gate Park all day taking pictures. I do plan to draw out the scenes I took someday... hopefully soon.
Yesterday I mostly just traced human figures from magazines and drew human figures from one of my text books:

Personally I like how the figure in the upper right turned out, excluding the hands and feet.
So that's it for now, I'll also update later tonight, so be on the look out for that.

Summer Drawing Day #30 & #31

Has anyone seen The Illusionist? It is European animation about an old magician who meets a young girl during one of his travels. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but I really do recommend watching it; it is a beautiful animation with good storytelling and humor.

Moving on, the last few days were not my most productive, I've been meaning to working on my figure drawing skills so I can be prepared for the fall semester figure drawing sessions. Here's what I did yesterday:

They were drawn from a book, just to get an idea of gesture. I do plan to work on construction and form sometime soon, once I get a better understanding of gesture.

Today I worked a little on facial features (though in all honesty, I spent most of the day driving and sleeping).

The head above is a practice human character I have in mind, still working on making my characters less anime-like. For tomorrow, I plan to work more on getting the human figure down, whether it's tracing from text books/magazines or drawing from real life.