Aftermath of house fire across the alleyway

Several months ago, a house across the alley from the apartment building I live in caught fire. The fire started in the attached garage, and quickly went into the house; the building hadn't been lived in for some time, and was only used as a shop to work on race cars at the local track... as such, no one was hurt, but the paint and fuel throughout the building made the fire spread very quickly. Fire shot out the windows in a manner similar to a flamethrower; and it took a while for the firefighters to contain the blaze.

Here are some pictures my aunt took the morning after with her camera phone:



This last picture shows the damage to the neighbor's house caused by the flames... the houses are roughly 12 feet apart! Fortunately, the damage was only cosmetic; the damaged siding has since been replaced.


About a week ago, a crew from the city finally came by to demolish what was left of the house. They used a huge backhoe (the type that's normally used for large-scale demolition projects) to literally "punch" what was left of the building from above! As it was raining during the demolition, I couldn't get closer to take better shots of it, but you can get the idea from this picture:


Here are some pictures of the aftermath:


Now, you can barely tell that there was ever a house there... I wonder what they'll do with the lot now.


This was certainly one of the more interesting things to happen in this neighborhood in a long time. From the scare of the fire, to the relief the next day that no one was hurt, and then finally to the fascinating process of the demolition; it was an interesting experience to have a "front-row seat" to the story unfolding just behind my home.

Keep in mind, my awe over the events would not be such if someone had been hurt.

Queen of Chaos

A new illustration of Enyo I just finished last night:

For this illustration, I wanted to go with a slightly more "artsy" approach. Since I didn't like the angle her left leg was in in the original sketch, I decided to draw her whip in her hand, and use said whip to make a border for the image. I worked out well, I think. The entire illustration, like my previous piece "Fabulous Night," uses my method of doing all of the colors with watercolor paint and then going over everything with colored pencil.

The part that took the longest amount of time was designing her card. orz

"Fabulous Night"

During the time I had off from work, I was able to get this painting done:

This piece showcases a LOT of new techniques that I've picked up through my recent lessons... as a result, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Also, for my first time trying to draw the Moon, I think that turned out well too. It seems that I'm getting the hang of fashion, as well.

Materials used (and in order, too!) :
Bristol board
watercolor paints
markers (Prismacolor and Sharpie)
colored pencils (Prismacolor, and a couple of Rose-Art)
oil pastels

I don't know quite how Blogger will go about resizing the image, but on my DA account, I've added the option of downloading this in wallpaper size: This picture on DA

The painting was inspired by the song "Masquerade" by Kaya... the title of the painting actually refers to the secondary title of the song.

Winning hard enough to fail

LOL Spider Solitaire.

It took me over 50 games just to get it set up for this type of endgame... orz

More work on the MG-styled F90

I've finally resumed work on the MG-style Gundam F90 that I started last October.

I had it put away for a while, since I had cut one of my fingers pretty badly while modifying the original feet of the HG F90 kit... but decided I had better get back to work on it.

Over the past couple of days, I've done some fairly extensive modifications to the legs. Here's an overview of what I've done in recent work:

1- I separated the knee area from the original HG F90 leg; since the MG F9a kit has a double-jointed knee but no separately movable kneecap, I decided it would be cool to attach this piece to the joint section of the knee so it can be movable as well.
2- I removed the accessory hardpoint from the leg pieces in order to glue it together as one piece; I'll soon do a lot of putty and sanding work to bring the halves of this piece together.
3- Since the F90 has a recessed area on the inner calf that corresponds with the intake vents on the F91 frame, I cut out the recessed area to expose the vents. I also made the inner calf its own separate piece just like the hardpoint, for the same reasons.
4- The finished inner calf (for the left leg), with the part with the vent on it glued in place. I'll fill the space between the part and the armor with putty once I get some more.
5- The original front lower leg from the old F90 kit. Not much to look at, and not very poseable either...
6- I cut up and trimmed down the inner part of the F91's rear skirt armor in order to attach it to the skirt armor of the F90. It took a lot of effort, but this is one of the parts I'm proudest of.


Here you can see the left inner calf and the rear skirt armor in action. Perfect!

Next, I plan to cut off the back half of each of the lower shin armor parts that came with the F91, in order to make the "exposed ankle" look of the F90. As for how I'll create the exposed components, I haven't figured that part out yet...

Here's a test-fitting of the parts for the torso and the arm. I'll also be using the F91's face in this build, as well. Also, note the section I cut out of the F91's abdomen; this will be to accommodate the F90 cockpit, which I will be extending to the interior of the torso just slightly.

DevilSaint parody comic #1: Sexy Beach

Meet Steve

Click to see his actual size! :D

This little fella has been hanging out around my office lately... he's already caught himself several flies, as well as keeping the ant invasion in check. To think, I used to be scared of these guys until I did some research on them, and discovered that they are more or less designed to peacefully co-exist with humans. For example:
- Humans are completely immune to the venom of the common centipede.
- Centipedes actively hunt common pests and other threats to our health and hygiene. Their favorite foods, believe it or not, are roaches and mice!
- They tend to avoid direct contact with us, and they keep their waste and their dead in places where they will be harmless.

I've noticed that ever since I started letting these guys live about a year or so ago, I've had no problems with any pests here other than the ants... but we're working on that. >:D

Terror of the Deep

Here is a new painting I just completed, entitled "Terror of the Deep," of my character Galatea engaged in battle with some fishmen.

Of course, the "terror" to which the title refers is actually Galatea herself, rather than the monsters she's fighting... :D

O HAI THAR

I was bored.... and decided to take it out on an old photo of myself...

An excellent quote

"To err is human, but if you want to really screw up, use a computer."
- one of my clients from work yesterday

New model store I heard about on the hobby forums!

Just recently on the HobbyFanatics forum, a store was brought to my attention as a new, reliable source for importing model kits. This store, Toyking / Leo Toys, has a great selection of Gundam model kits to choose from; lots of older models that are hard to find nowadays. Also, as a wholesaler from Taiwan, they are able to sell the kits for a hell of a lot cheaper than anywhere else I've seen, and their shipping prices are fair, too. I was a little skeptical at first, since the prices seemed almost too good... but after plenty of reassurance from fellow forumers I decided to go ahead and place a pretty big order (including several kits that I still owed Zig to repay him for some money I borrowed from him several months ago).

So, my order consists of:
1/100 G-Cannon
1/100 G-Cannon Magna
1/100 Guntank R-44
MG Strike Noir
1/100 Overflag
HGUC Gaplant TR-5 "Hrairoo"
HGUC Gundam Hazel II
(only the last three are mine; I was going to get the F90 with the Type A,D,S equipment packs too, but I ended up falling just short of having enough disposable money to spare for it...)

A pretty big list of kits, but the whole order ended up being very cheap; around $150 even including shipping from Taiwan for a 12-lb large package!

After placing my order, I was a bit concerned as I did not hear back from them for about 3 days; but I E-mailed the store and we were able to complete the order within less than an hour! The exchange was polite, and well carried-out. That's pretty good customer service, I think!

And so, I eagerly anticipate my new batch of model kits!

The cat's out of the bag... Washington press release about my job

Hello! As some of you who know me in real life or from various other corners of the interwebz may know, I currently work for the government... but I've never been very specific as to what my current role is, as the information on the program had only so far been released to a few "pilot groups" on the outside.

Well, as of this morning a press release was issued to various newspapers throughout the United States about this project, the Direct Express social security benefits card.

The official release can be found here: Official Washington Press Release


Now that the information has been made public, our office can expect to become much busier. We had just been releasing the information packets to 2 or 3 states per month in order to "control" the influx of new applications for the card, but now that Washington has issued a press release about the program... I just hope our small office can handle the call volume! Fortunately, the article already answers many of the questions asked by recipients calling to sign up to receive the card... so that should at least make things somewhat easier for us on this end.

Burger King had it HIS way

Huuurgh.... I'm beginning to remember why I don't go to Burger King anymore...


I was hanging out with some friends yesterday after work, and one of them suggested that we go to Burger King to try out their new "Steakhouse Burger." Well, the meat seemed underdone, the "fried onions piled high" was but a smattering of French's onion stick crumbs, and the barbecue sauce was of the watery, overly tangy and sweet variety... just the kind I hate. Cast-iron gut though I may have, but this sandwich actually managed to make my stomach hurt.

Well, it is now the next day after choking down what little of that sandwich I could stand,
and I now have food poisoning. I know that the burger is the culprit too, because despite having eaten other things and brushed my teeth a few times since then, the burger is the only thing I taste when dry-heaving.

Damn it, today's going to be fun. >:(

Some newer sketches

Hello!

I've got some newer sketches done recently, to try out a slightly more realistic and detailed style than what I'm accustomed to doing. The thing I had begun to realize about my art is that, while the coloring and finish are generally good, the underlying drawings sometimes tend to be somewhat lacking. And so, I practice. With the larger sketchbook I had gotten for this purpose, it tends to be somewhat difficult to get the entire picture onto the scanner; and so there are parts which had to be left out... and there are also the occasional shadows caused by the paper being pulled away from the scanner's surface.



The first picture is of the first main character of my DevilSaint series, Richter Mitchell. I really wanted to show the details of his mechanical arm, as well as the type of expression he should be making as a somewhat serious, but well-humoured character.



The second one is of the co-star of the series, Heather Dawes. In this one, I wanted to experiment with expressing varying levels of "softness" as well as practicing curves a bit. I also detailed up the armor on her left arm and made some minor adjustments to things which were bothering me.



Finally, the last one is of Adrian Kadmon, the series's titular character. The effect I was going for here was that of a tremendously powerful, sweeping slash; portraying him as using his body weight to counter-balance the sword. There are a few directional movements which still look a bit odd, but overall I feel pretty good about this one.

The Drunken Philosopher #1: The definition of being an adult

As an artist I would define being an adult as "the point in one's life at which one's life's work is relegated to a being mere hobby."

I suppose this may explain why the most successful artists, those who can do this for a living, tend to have a more childish personality than most of us working stiffs who have to make a living through other means.

This thought popped into my head as I sit here enjoying a mango. It is of a most enjoyable state of ripeness, just as it begins to become quite soft. Yum!

I begin to ponder the extent of the human experience. It would appear as though today's world has forgotten the significance of such things as the beauty of life, creativity, inspiration, and the simple pleasures of the natural world. In modern society, there is far too much emphasis placed on earning enough money to survive, the politics which govern our world, the institution of organized religion, and the drive to conquer, even at the expense of our own species (this part, of course, is the ultimate desire of all forms of leadersip, regardless of how altruistic their intentions may seem... so please refrain from any anti-US sentiment). While the desire to conquer may seem an extension of the natural territorial instinct, no other species has expressed it to such an extent. If the cows and pigs had opposable thumbs and could speak, would they not attempt the same, I wonder? While the presence of religion in and of itself is not inherently bad, as we all seek to interact with a power of a higher state of being which has allowed us to be self-aware and exist as individuals of free will... one cannot help but question the morality of institutions which are run by those who would use religion as a means of discrimination or control, to deny the freedom of its own members and all others who do not share its specific beliefs. And, it is not even necessary for me to point out that money and politics are entirely human creations as well.

To be sure, it is these human-created elements which are the source of progress within this world, and there is no denying that many of the technologies which have been able to come about as a result have made many aspects of our lives easier.

However, has the modern state of society really made life better for us all? In particular, those of us who wish to be able to live an expressive life of thinking freely and sharing our love of beauty with the world? Would most artists even exist if there was no monetary reward to be had from it? Would the lack of pressure from trying to keep up with the world allow more art to be created?


In other words, is it possible that this world demands that one's individuality and creativity be stripped away in order to survive as an adult?

My goals as an artist

There are two main goals which I have been striving for; the first is to be involved in the comics industry, the second to be a concept designer for video games.

I have produced a few issues of an older comic of mine, Trooper Blaze, which were overly time-consuming, and I also was not able to afford to produce the books in sufficient numbers as to sell beyond the convention I brought them to. The lack of profit compared to the time spent on the project, my lack of knowledge of good page layout / composition, and also my inability to quickly produce art which not only looked good but was also consistent, all led me to give up on comics for a while. I need to find better ways of producing interesting scenes, and more efficient methods for getting the work done before I will be able to give it another attempt. Even a couple of years later, I'm still frustrated by how the old comics turned out, and by the negative responses they received. Now I'm too stubborn to even attempt another actual comic until I know I can do it properly and be proud of it... but I'll probably need more training first.

As for the concept design job for videogames, I feel that such a job would be perhaps the best way to get my work out to the largest audience possible. In this day and age, the more immersive the experience a certain piece of media gives, the more memorable the characters and events contained therein will be, and the large the audience which will be exposed to it... which puts comics fairly low on the modern entertainment consumer's priority, and videogames and movies at the top. Also, as many may have noticed, most of my character designs are of the type which make more sense when seen in action; what better way to portray them than the environment of a game? I've applied with, been interviewed and had my portfolio reviewed by a number of game companies here in the U.S., but the most common response I get is that my style is "too original" and that they want to see more flexibility, ie fanart and such in which I copy the style of another artist. :| Pretty much the only feasible way for a relative unknown in the industry such as myself to have a game produced with my original designs (not necessarily my own stories, but just my visual designs based off of the new concepts of a creator who actually has the balls to make an original, non-derivative game) would be to start my own company.

TL;DR: I would like to become big in the aforementioned fields, but currently lack the skill sets which the companies and possibly the consumers are looking for. :(

Another grail kit obtained!

A couple of days ago, I received the 1/100 scale Nobel Gundam kit from Mobile Fighter G Gundam in the mail!


As many of you may well know, two of the things I like most are women in armor and unique mecha designs which stand out from the rest, and this one fits both criteria (well, technically, it's not a "woman in armor" so much as an "armored robot that is woman-shaped," but it applies just the same in my mind). The reason I had been wanting this kit in particular for so long, was because it is in such a dynamic pose. And then when Wijaya informed me that he happened to have an original that he'd be willing to part with, I wasted no time in taking the opportunity to get it from him.

After some test-fitting of the parts, the only possible issue that I might have during the assembly of the kit is the weight of the "hair" since it only has the head to attach to, and the neck may be a bit thin to support the weight. But, it's nothing some pins and CA can't fix! :D

As some may say, the levels of dorkdom go as follows:
The person builds model kits = Moderate Dork, maybe just average Joe with a hobby
The models in question are giant robots = Severe Dork, perhaps of the variety who listens to Japanese music all the time and shuts himself in for marathon anime sessions
The giant robot model is in the form of a Japanese schoolgirl = King Dork; one who is beyond the point of ever being considered normal. LOL

Nemesis in berserker devil form

Want to see a spoiler for the later parts of the Anubis arc of my series, DevilSaint?

Yes, that is a devil form Amanda Owens, also merged with her Nemesis Deity. Anyone who knows the connection between her and Justin, Justin and Adrian, and Nepeta's backstory should be able to figure out what triggered this. :D

On a sidenote, painting is fun.

SUCCESS! A good drawing!

Here is what I've accomplished as the result of my new outlook on drawing:

It is a new picture of Ares; I figured I'd draw him since he's one of the major characters in DevilSaint and I haven't drawn him in a while...

I think this one turned out pretty well. I was able to properly portray a sense of "mass" on him, which had always been difficult for me to do.

Must get back to basics art-wise

I've just realized while looking through my sketchbooks that the poses in many of my recent drawings have been somewhat uninspired as compared to some of the stuff I was doing while I was doing the Trooper Blaze comic series.

Granted, the stuff that I show to everyone here may be okay in terms of the poses, proportions and such, but to be completely honest I only post on here maybe 1/3 of the finished pictures I produce, and for every picture I finish there are at least 10-20 that never get past the sketch phase.

Truth is, I'm too much of a perfectionist to really enjoy my own work that much anymore. Trooper Blaze was a comic I never really cared that much about since it was such a short story (spanning only a few weeks rather than years like DevilSaint). However, the lack of concern for how it turned out meant that I was also more willing to be "looser" with the way I drew everything in that one. The less I stressed over the end result of each drawing, the better it would turn out. I was experimenting a lot more, and this often led to unexpectedly good results.

I suppose the fact that I was allowing myself the luxury of enjoying the artistic process ultimately showed through in the finished pictures.

My current way of thinking as an illustrator is that I'm trying to create drawings which would look best as covers, profiles, or standalone images; rather than the really dynamic stuff which really pops on a comic page. If I could figure out a healthy balance of loose planning and sketching, with precise detailing and finishing, then I have the potential to consistently create truly good art.

I suspect that my current mental inflexibility may in fact be due to the nature of the jobs I've held over the past few years, and the loss of one of the most supportive artistic influences in my life... though it seems selfish of me to put such blame on events in the world around me, it is rather the impact they have had on me which I am pointing to as merely a factor, not the entire cause. I'm not quite that selfish...


I believe that I must rediscover the fun of drawing again... but this would probably benefit from being more inspired in real life as well. Working in an office for so long has really killed my creativity.