Monday, November 3, 2014

Google Photos = Blogspot photos

So I went through the photos on my Google account to organize them and delete stuff. Unbeknownst to me, it completely affected my blog, and all the images got jacked up. And then I deleted a bunch of really old stuff so those photos are not recoverable, unless I want to go and upload them again, which I will not do because they are bad and embarrassing anyway.

As a result, I just deleted a bunch of posts from 2012 and after. Yay.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

bidding now open

So I recently took part in a gallery show for charity. The auction is now open! This original painting of Batman could be yours! Bid now!



This is a charity auction for alumni of San Jose State University called the Jules Jammal Superhero Auction. Check out the rest of the work. If this awesome Batman painting by yours truly doesn't suit your fancy, maybe something else will! It's all going toward a good cause. 



You could also purchase a printed book that features all the artwork from the gallery.


A gallery show for all the work will be held on Saturday, September 6th. 

We will have a live auction of five select pieces on September 6th from 6:00pm to 10:00pm at the San Jose State University Student Union Ballroom.

One Washington Square
San Jose CA 95112

Hope to see you there. :)

Friday, August 15, 2014

Deco Disney: Anna and Elsa

It's been a while since I last posted, but I have some goodies to show you! Here are the two latest princesses to the Deco Disney series.



I really enjoyed working on these two. I didn't do much to Elsa's silhouette because her gown was already so gown-y, but I gave her some Deco style details. 

Monday, May 5, 2014

Deco Disney: Rapunzel

The last Deco Disney princess for now: Rapunzel.



It was difficult to get her face right. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but the show must go on. I couldn't stand it, so I went back in and fixed the face. LOADS happier with this face. These will be put on hold for a bit while I get ready for the convention.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Deco Disney: Belle

Another Deco Disney Princess: Belle.


Had a harder time coming up with a border design for this one. And the dress turned out a little more Nouveau rather than Deco. But Belle seems more like a Nouveau kind of gal to me anyway. :)

Friday, May 2, 2014

exhibiting at BigWow!

Hey, everyone. I thought I'd post this before I forget. I'll be exhibiting at BigWow this year, coming up on May 17th-18th. Come and say "hi"! I'll be at booth 1301K.



And here's a little art update. I sketched these mermaids a while back and stylishly colored them. It will be available as a print and a totebag at the upcoming con. :)




Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Deco Disney: Cinderella

Deco Disney's next princess, Cinderella.



I was also really unhappy with the faces for all the princesses before this one, so I went back and redid them. Now when I look at them, I don't feel like, "Ew, that face (especially Aurora)." Here's a comparison image and then individual images of all the updated versions. :)







Thursday, April 24, 2014

teacups of cuteness

I started this idea a while back and finally got around to adding more Pokemon to the list. I've always wanted to do the Eevees in teacups. And what better time than to welcome Sylveon to the family.


Here's a refresher image of the Pokemon starters that I had done in the past. I'm hoping to get the 6th generation Kalos starters done before Fanime. :)



Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Legend of Korra


Some Legend of Korra fanart because I really love LoK..... >__>



I might tone down that fire and then add the nation symbols in the background.... I'm not sure yet. I was just too excited to to not post it. :)

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Miki and Friends

I've been working on some stuff for upcoming conventions I'll be exhibiting at. Here's a totebag design. :) The actual bag will not have words though.



It's my black/tan wiener dog Miki and some of his dog pals. :)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Garden

So I'd like to think that this project is finally done. Here are some story moments and some viz dev-y stuff. :)

The girl from the butterfly country made her journey to the forest below. The boy descendant of trees and his fox welcomed her to their home. He showed her the plants of the earth while she showed him the plants from the clouds. "Butterfly country plants are sustained by clouds instead of soil," she explained. One night, the boy heard a sobbing sound coming from her room. Concerned for her, he went to see if she was all right but discovered something strange. He saw her crying into her trunk of plants from butterfly country. She sobbed and sobbed, for that was the only way she could properly water her magical plants.






Story adapted from Barry Yourgrau's short story, "The Garden". Because the story was very vague, I added my own details like the butterfly country and the forest. In the original story, the girl does cry into her trunk to water them. It's very eerie and strange which is what drew me to the story in the first place. 

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Deco Disney: Jasmine

How many princesses are there??? Here's the fourth in the series, Jasmine.



I remember when Aladdin came out, I wanted to be Princess Jasmine for Halloween, but I didn't like green, so my mom made me a purple version of her costume. I remember it being the greatest thing ever. 

Related posts:

Friday, February 28, 2014

Deco Disney: Aurora

Here's more Deco Disney; the third princess, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.



As a kid, I really liked her pink dress, but I think now I like the blue one better. But since I just did a blue dress for Snow White... I decided to do the pink dress with some magical blue bounced light.


Related posts:

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Deco Disney: Snow White

The second princess of the Art Deco gown series: Snow White.



I'm not doing these in any particular order.... It's just if I have some inspiration for that particular princess, then I'll just draw her.


Related post: Ariel

Monday, February 24, 2014

Deco Disney: Ariel

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Art Deco? This concept has been on my mind for a while, and I finally just did it: Deco Disney Princesses! In case this wasn't obvious, it's Ariel. 








This was kind of a style and process test. I think it was rather successful for the look I wanted, so I'm going to keep with it. Pretty excited to do the other princesses..... 8)

Saturday, February 22, 2014

something Chanel-ish?

Sometimes this store I like, called Modcloth, has $15 grab bags to get rid of out of season stuff. Well, Liana and I tried our chance at these a few times, and there was one time I got a bunch of stuff I just didn't want at all. I traded her a top for a beautiful strapless black and white dress. It's a bit big on me, but I'm planning to add some wide straps to it.

The dress reminded of Chanel stuff and inspired this little drawing. 



Friday, February 21, 2014

the boy and his fox

So this is what I've been working on for the past few days.




A moment piece for my tree boy character. Wouldn't it be cool to play fetch with your pet fox in some forest?

I'm really loving this Cintiq, btw. If you were ever thinking about getting one but felt like it just costs too much, the investment is worth it. 

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Princess Celestia

So I watched all of the new "My Little Pony" series recently and completely fell in love with it. It's incredibly well-animated, the script is written with language relevant to our time, and it's just such a simple concept and story for a show, but somehow continues to capture interest with cute songs and quirky problems. The songs are too catchy btw....

I made this Alphonse Mucha inspired Celestia fanart. I hope to do more of these for Luna and maybe Cadence. Something about Celestia's design really calls to me. I think it's that magic four-color hair and how it's animated. HOW IS IT ANIMATED???



print available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/178780664/my-little-pony-princess-celestia-mucha

I ended up doing all the decorative elements in Illustrator because I couldn't get clean enough lines in Photoshop. Also, it was just so much quicker in Illustrator.... That pen tool in Photoshop is useful, but I feel like it's not as easily manipulable.

PS: I chose morning glories as the flowers because Celestia raises the sun and is princess of the morning. :)

MY LITTLE PONY, FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

from the land of the trees

More work based off the short story by Barry Yourgrau, "Garden". This is the boy from the family my butterfly girl visits in the land of the trees. The original story is very vague and doesn't mention anything about what the girl or the boy look like or even where they are from. I just wanted to make something magical.

This is my interpretation:
A boy from a lineage of trees - he is one with nature and is very carefree. He lives with his parents in a house embedded in a large tree. He has no idea who is visiting, but even if he did, he wouldn't change anything he does in his day to day life. 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Year of the Horse

Happy Chinese New Year! 

I say "Chinese" instead of "Lunar" because I am Chinese..... Though we really just say "Happy New Year".




Happy New Year

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

sewing projects

Made some stuff with fabric I had lying around for forever. So happy to finally get rid of this stuff. :) Please excuse awkward face.

PS: I used patterns for these, but improvised a bit for the blue dress. I just measured out the pleats myself and borrowed some sleeves from another pattern.



http://instagram.com/p/iqKqXIlQ3k/
- A simple cherry blossom print sheath dress with sheer black sleeves and exposed gold zipper in the back. I didn't have enough of that cherry blossom fabric, so it took me forever to figure out what to do with it. Then I finally realized that the back of the dress could just be a black fabric that's a similar weight to the printed fabric. So happy I didn't have to just throw out this beautiful large scrap!!!


http://instagram.com/p/i7f-wEFQ7j/
- Powder blue empire waist dress with box pleated skirt and gold star printed trim. I made a screen printing stencil to paint the gold stars on myself. Again, I've had this gorgeous blue fabric for so long and just never really knew what to do with it until this year. I even concepted a few other dress designs before settling for this one. 



http://instagram.com/p/gmxKyKlQwq/
- Plaid circle skirt with lining and zipper/hook enclosure. This project isn't as exciting or technical as the other two, but was still glad to use this fabric. I got this large cut of plaid fabric from a yard sale a few years ago. It was such good quality and there was a lot of it. I'm planning to do another project with what's left.