Miroir des Illusions

the cerberus of september

2011-09-11T11:14:00.006-04:00

a screenshot from cerberus, drawn by david zung

hi everyone, if you have a few minutes to spare, please take a look at a very special art project called the cerberus of september, which was created by my mentor david zung over the course of several years. during the past few months, my boyfriend and i have had the immense honor and pleasure of working with david during the final stages of the project and we truly believe that it is an unique piece worth watching.

vimeo link:

http://vimeo.com/27506029

david's art blog:

http://davidzungwargasm.blogspot.com/

thank you so much for your continued support!

what i give

2011-09-06T03:16:00.001-04:00

is yours to keep.

consistently inconsistent

2011-08-25T22:04:00.009-04:00

concept fail

2011-08-25T21:57:00.007-04:00

some character concepts i did for someone @ mass media. i would've done a much better job if i had more time.

2011-06-19T23:21:00.007-04:00

hey, how's it going?
good
and how are you?
good
often do you wonder how much that isn't true?
will you help me out if you can?
i'll take you as you are, please take me as i am

this was my final final project for life drawing.

it's been a really rough senior year... during the few weeks prior to my graduation i:

-paid a visit to the emergency room

-hung out with my best friend one last time before she flew half way across the globe to pursue her dreams

-moved in with my boyfriend

by the end of it all i was just so exhausted both mentally and physically. worst of all, my spirit was completely drained. it's the worst burn out i've experienced in a long, long time and i was in no way prepared for the extent of its backlash.

for the majority of the past month i've been stuck in a depressive rut. my motivation was dwelling in the negatives and i just didn't see any reason for doing what i loved any more. i turned off my phone, quit facebook and didn't check my emails. in my mind i knew very clearly that something was wrong but i just couldn't summon up the strength to confront the fear and guilt. so i kept stalling for time.

last friday my boyfriend left to go on a family vacation overseas. i'm suddenly on my own again for the first time in 8 months. the loneliness is overwhelming sometimes but it also gives me room to reflect. and bit by bit i've learned to shed light on the monster that's been lurking in the dark corners of my mind. i will find a way to tame it.

why

2011-02-22T22:54:00.011-05:00

i know... i haven't updated this thing in eons. lately i've been devoting almost every waking moment to finishing up my thesis film so i have no time to work on anything else -_-

i did, however, sign up for life drawing (yes again) in order to keep my sanity in tact. our instructor is the most cryptic woman ever when she's giving critiques, which is both hilarious and tragic. for the past 2 weeks she's been getting us to focus on the torso section. here's a 5 minuter:

30 min study:

5 min (diff model):

and a bunch of 2 min quickies:

i've been trying really hard to get away from line drawing & incorporate a more dimensional feel in my drawings. let's see how far i get by the semester.

shy

2010-10-28T08:06:00.003-04:00

a quick doodle of shyori from my project stray

just a feeling

2010-10-26T13:28:00.010-04:00

i have no time for fear
or people in my ear
head down and running so fast
try not to dwell on the past

what day is it?

2010-10-22T00:07:00.012-04:00

and in what month?
this clock never seemed so alive
i can't keep up and i can't back down
i've been losing so much time

haley

2010-10-18T22:46:00.009-04:00

let me down easy

2010-10-13T19:47:00.008-04:00

mmmhmmm

2010-10-08T20:53:00.012-04:00

yup, repeating life drawing for a 3rd time this semester. if it were up to me, i would've booked both sessions back to back but my schedule's already pushing the credit limit...

i'm getting so rusty at this. gotta practice more!

nooooooooo

2010-09-23T18:53:00.023-04:00

how is it end of september already?!?

i've been living on 5 hours of sleep/day for the past 2 weeks trying to make various deadlines... i seriously do not recall ever being this stressed out. cries.

(yeah exactly, this kid looks like how i feel lol)

most of the work i've been doing revolve around my thesis film, flora. i don't really wanna go too much into details, but it has to do with a 4-year-old girl and a pot of flower.

i based my preliminary design on the character penny from the rescuers. it was really helpful in getting the feel of the kid's personality but i need to find a way to integrate it into my own style.

i was up at 2AM roughing out concept art for my drawing and design class. sometimes i really wonder if i signed up for the right major because i have a real hard time simplifying my designs. now if i went into illustration/sequential art i would be rocking that shit. however, animation's a totally different ball game and i gotta play by the rules or strike the fuck out.

so basically, this year's gonna be hell for me haha. and i don't think i'll have time to work on anything outside of class. super sadface.

>:|

2010-07-29T18:13:00.016-04:00

here's a new character i've grown rather fond of. i call her ari- short for aria or ariel- i haven't decided which. oh and my scanner still hates me.

this is how she looks normally.

don't be fooled by her candy coated appearance though, she's secretly a BIG troublemaker (mwahaha).

guess who?

2010-07-28T21:57:00.007-04:00

1-hour speed paint of an original character. as to her identity... well, you'll see when i'm done with this ;)

this somehow came out completely differently from what i had in mind, argh. perhaps ditching your original thumbnail at the last second is a bad idea...

honey honey ha!

2010-07-25T13:24:00.014-04:00

i think i have some kind of weird artistic ADD/wanderlust cuz i can't seem to carry any of my paintings to completion D:

why does blending take such an excruciatingly long time to finesse?? i always get mind-numbingly bored halfway through rendering (even with rocket summer blasting through my headphones). also, new ideas/concepts have a way of creeping into my mind whenever i'm working. i know, why am i so weird? i don't know.

...yeah. i'm gonna call it quits for now (sorry steve!!). i'll prolly go back to it sometime after august since i do plan on finishing it.

i need a break....

2010-07-22T21:55:00.006-04:00

but i'd rather have a break through D:

so tired of looking at this, can't wait to wrap it up and move on -_-

things to remember:
1) paint in BANDS (thank you andrew loomis)
2) NEVER forget to backup your files, layers too!
3) do NOT paint before blocking out the masses
4) careful of highlights; less is more

for the remainder of this month, i'm hoping to get a head start on 2 more pieces before switching into pre-production mode for my thesis animation. haha, talk about a screeching 180. weeee'll seeee how it all pans out! :D

baby steps

2010-07-21T19:34:00.003-04:00

duurrr not much to say. just an updated version of the sketch i posted last night. i ditched the paper boats idea and went for rose petals instead... thought it suited the mood more.

paper dreams

2010-07-20T21:36:00.006-04:00

i got tired of sucking @ mass painting so i switched to good ol' line art for a breath of fresh air. god, it is SO much easier drawing with lines than tones -_- i blame my addiction to graphic novels for this asymmetry in perception.

anyway, here's a wip that i hope to finish some day. girl in the pic's supposed to be seated on a ledge with paper boats sailing/floating on the clouds around her. the idea's largely inspired by a conversation i had w/ a friend. i remember that one distinctly because it was the last time we spoke before she went to study abroad.

ref credit: http://valentine-fov-stock.deviantart.com/

lesson #29417

2010-07-19T21:44:00.010-04:00

okay so i know in my last post i said i'd update every other day and completely didn't follow through.
but before you shoot me, just hear me out:
i took a week off from digital painting in order to learn more about the medium i'm working with. in retrospect, it was a reckless move to rush into digital painting with so little prep work done beforehand. if anything, DP has shown me just how little i know about form and rendering. consequently, i found myself trapped in an endless maze of confusion about 90% of the time -_-

so long story short, i decided to hit the books and picked up harold speed's the practice and science of drawing. when i got about 1/5 through the book, my head was already exploding with a long series of HOLY Ffdsakshit.

now i understand why the guy who rec'ed it to me dubbed it as the artist's bible. god, seriously, do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy.

oh yeah, this is some speed paint/doodle/thumbnail i did earlier today (that's a rose tat over her heart btw, in case the quality's too shitty for you to tell). having read TSPD, i realized that in the past, i've been way too focused on technicality and not nearly as much on the emotional quality of my works. so of course i'm gonna make amends from now on!

HOOHAH!

guhhhhhhh

2010-07-08T20:20:00.004-04:00

i know there's like 298289428 mistakes with this pic but i really can't summon up the energy to care (any more).

-____________-

i picked just about the hardest angle to draw the head and i don't know why.

give up?
yes/yes

and so ying's fail saga continues... i'll prolly update every... other day? july's a busy month. yesh.

more fail

2010-07-07T23:48:00.007-04:00

i was too wuss to go into color, so i decided to mess w/ grayscale some more.

change of pace

2010-07-04T00:51:00.011-04:00

i've been working on this on and off for the past two days and it's still unfinished. whatever. i give. for an experiment piece it's served its purpose. i'm running on a tight schedule and it's time to move onto bigger and better things!!

ándale!

sprout

2010-07-02T20:36:00.008-04:00

oh this is the start of something good
don't you agree?
i haven't felt like this in so many moons
you know what I mean?
and we can build through this destruction
as we are standing on our feet

these reeling emotions they just keep me alive
they keep me in tune
oh look what i‘m holding here in my fire
this is for you

devastation and reform

2010-06-10T21:02:00.006-04:00

...guess who's been listening to emo music again?

haven't been very happy with my summer progress lately. it seems like i bit off more than i could chew. worse still i was doing it for the wrong reasons... but that's life. you fail and you learn.

on a brighter note though: KITTY!

aaaand my scanner still sucks.

fairy princesses no more!

2010-05-24T12:57:00.020-04:00

during one of my portfolio review sessions sophomore year, a woman i sat down with pointed out how monotonous my subjects were. in her words, "they all look like fairy princesses".

well, i got news for her.

...in the form of burly, angry dudes *dur hur hur*

just a couple of days ago i finished reading bridgman's complete guide to drawing from life. that's 350 pages in 10 days. talk about information overload. i got very nauseous and borderline suicidal afterwards.

BUT IT WAS WORTH IT.
(yes i am retarded)

^done with ballpoint pen & col-erase pencils

i never expected to delve into anatomy so soon but damn, was it instructive. knowing what's going on beneath the surface just makes your figures THAT much more convincing. i guess that goes on without saying. but when it comes to art, all theories are useless unless they're put to practice. and that's exactly what i've been doing ever since i got home.

^a study after one of the illustrations in the practice and science of drawing by harold speed

^study of various designs; alice & ariel (c) disney

^a speed paint (in photoshop) of one of my original characters, ellaine

right now i've got a fairly good idea about where my weaknesses and strengths lie, so that gives me a decent map to start off with. like richard williams said, "begin with what you know and what you don't know will be revealed to you".

stay tuned cuz there's gonna be some epic heaps of artworks coming up in the next couple of months!

insatiable

2010-05-02T21:23:00.016-04:00

i don't think i've felt a greater sense of urgency as i watch my friends from a year ahead graduate from college. watching them grapple with their hopes and fears is like peering into a mirror.

it's gonna be a bumpy road ahead... but i know i'll get through it because coupled with this formidable anxiety is a even more potent fervor to succeed.

time to break free from all the mental restrictions and follow the needle of my internal compass.

^mythical creature final for life drawing

^close up

obligatory art dump

2010-03-27T08:16:00.016-04:00

spring break came and went far too quickly... time really does fly when you're having fun.

^study of john collier's the priestess of delphi

^study of a bronzino sketch at the MET

^loomis studies from figure drawing for all it's worth

^some 5 min life drawings

drawing from life

2010-02-17T20:54:00.011-05:00

oh god... how long has it been since i last updated?

i haven't been slacking off i swear!! over winter break, i read a couple of really helpful books, including perspective made easy by earnest norling and figure drawing for all it's worth by andrew loomis. very very good reads. i would highly recommend both.

^study of torso from anatomy: a complete guide for artists by
joseph sheppard

over the course of last semester, it has dawned upon me how absolutely vital life drawing is to an aspiring illustrator/animator. and so, staying true to my 'all or nothing' motto, i booked both life drawing sessions offered at NYU. to be sure, it was very intimidating to attempt life drawing for the first time. the 30 sec/1 min. rapid poses were particularly difficult. BUT. challenges are how we learn best. after a full month of training, i am pleasantly surprised by how much i've gained from these life drawing sessions.

^20 min. life drawing

...and things are only gonna get better from here on out :)

when it rains

2009-08-13T19:47:00.019-04:00

time carries us away

from all the places we have come to love
just wishing we could stay

but maybe
maybe that's not the point
maybe what makes this all so god damn beautiful
is knowing that it's bound to fade in time

and so it comes, the heavy rain...
the storm we've all been waiting for
to wet our hearts and make sense of this pain
from standing still
for far too long
just holding on to all the things that
you know will only hold you back in the end

do you remember that rainy afternoon
when we knew we'd found perfection
but somewhere deep inside
we knew it had come too soon for us to hang on
or try to make it last

we can't forget these moments baby
but our lives are now
don't lose yours in the past
one day when we find ourselves i swear i'll find you again

cartharsis

2009-07-29T11:00:00.037-04:00

"i had just learned enough to know that i don't know anything again!"
---richard williams
~
i've been doing a lot of reading since summer started and so far, it's been a wonderfully astonishing journey: i can't count the number of times when i've been utterly awestruck by the ingenious works of my predecessors. meanwhile, it's also been tremendously agitating- even devastating at times- to discern how truly inexperienced i am as an amateur draftsman.

but hey, no pain no gain right?

i'm trudging on.

haha alright this last one's a total cop out. instead of operating outside of my comfort zone, i regressed right back to drawing pretty faces... but really though... i needed a break from doing master studies and anatomy lessons.

HAIR TROUBLE >:(

2009-07-25T16:16:00.037-04:00

sketch dump for laila's hair designs...

^ got axed for obvious reasons. first design: hair= too long and complicated; second design: getting warmer but still needs work.
(and uh... the girl's not actually laila, just some random chick... idk why D:)

^3rd time's the charm right? dimensions for the final design.

"i got a closet filled to the brim...

2009-07-20T18:16:00.027-04:00

...with the ghosts of my past and the skeletons"

it's been 5 years and i still don't know what i'm doing... orz

diamond in the rough

2009-06-17T16:32:00.005-04:00

thought i'd brush up on the fundamentals this past week, thus, i present you with:

studies of FEET!!

AND HANDS!!!

lol i'm too lazy/cheap to get stubs so i just used my fingers to blend XD i was scared that it'd make a mess and ruin my lines but canson's paper actually stood the test :)

new beginnings!

2009-06-09T21:18:00.007-04:00

following the completion of my sophomore year @ NYU, it became painfully clear to me that i needed to drop the slacker attitude and get my shit together over the summer.

so the first thing i decided to tackle was anatomy (my archilles heel!).

after reading willy pogany's the art of drawing and barrington barber's the basics of drawing, i made a couple of homely sketches based on pogany's studies:

my plan is to get a good feel for how figure drawing works before attempting life drawing. after that, i'll hopefully feel confident enough to start working on a sequential art project that i've wanted to do for the past 3 years.

i'm pretty impatient when it comes to making progress so i've vowed to draw every day of the summer to maximize the results.

fingers crossed that it'll pay off!!