Aeroman

I was watching the Rocketeer the other day and it got me pumped up about guys flying around with jet packs. This is my "aeroman" shooting down some nazi planes, because that's what all hero's from the 30's and 40's seem to do, and it's never uncool to blast on some nazis. I added some rough color and messed around with the filters in photoshop to make it look like some old film/newsreel.

I thought this photo taken my dad at the beach is a good image for "Flight" may it inspire your drawings.

Exercise 06: Design a Weapon & "Flight"

Hope you guys and gals had a great labor day weekend. Hopefully you had enough BBQ to refuel your creation engines.

The topics for the following weeks are as follows:

Ends 9/21/2007

Topic 1

Design a weapon for an original character. Focus on the weapon but also keep in mind the character and how it fits him/her/creature. Any type of weapon, any time period, any genre. You can also design the character as well or just describe the character that fits the weapon.

Topic 2

Word: "Flight"

Who hasn't dreamed about soaring above the clouds or taking off into the sky. We have all had a dream about flying whether it was a great experience or a fearful one. Depict what the word "Flight" means to you. Depict "Flight" in any incarnation that you wish. The skies the limit.

Have fun and take care.

Alien Paints

Now in RGB! I was watching Blue Planet and I got stoked on the deep sea. This is what happened.

"DID I DO THAT!?!?"

From the Depths of the Void

Here is my alien. I am going to paint it up too, so hopefully that will be done before the deadline is up.

Is there more to life than being, really really, ridiculously good looking?

Exercise 05: Deadline Extension (1 week)

Hey folks its that time again. Yes, time to extend the deadline for this exercise for one more week. The NEW deadline will be on August 31, 2007. Also, all future blog exercises will last 3 weeks to give everyone time to post a sketch or two. Thanks to everyone who posted so far and looking forward to seeing more. :)

New Deadline: August 31, 2007

Elvis Presley

This past August 16th marked the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. Im a big fan of Elvis Presley so I did some quick sketches. I did two caricatures and one of him singing. I plan on digitally painting them in the near future but wanted to post what I had for now.

Late through the Gate

Here is a piece sort of based on Dave Grohl. He rocks. Period.

Line quality...

ufo/spaceship

This is the ship that my alien army comes in. Matching paint to the alien armor, because they're stylish :)

Alien Aftermath 2

Alien Aftermath

I wanted to do a strange design and break away from "Grey" alien design. I went ahead and did a color version of him walking away injured from the crash.

Alien dude

Here's an alien sketch, inspired by Halo and Starship troopers-type armor/suit.

Jonathan Crane Tribute

My tribute is to my favorite professor of all time, Jonathan Crane. He is an expert in the psychology of fear. I was fortunate to have him fire a gun in a classroom full of students to illustrate a point. He was a weird guy because he wore a mask, seemingly a poorly stitched burlap sack with a hangman's noose dangling around the neck. The only thing that he revealed about his early life is that, as a child, he had liked to frighten birds.

Late Castle

Yeah. Yeah. Late, I know. My power adapter broke last week and I just got a new one last Saturday. The painting took Sunday and Monday to paint. But on Sunday, I broke my Wacom and had to paint with my mouse. On Monday, my friend let me borrow her Wacom.

Why is everything in my life falling apart?

Oh yeah. I could write a back story. Probably a back story that would make you shed a tear with my amazing words. But wouldn't it be cooler if you just used your imagination?!

Rest in Peace MIKE WIERINGO.

HI guys,

Hope you all don't mind this post, but I wanted to use this space to pass along the word that Mike Wieringo, comic-book artist, passed away this weekend. As some of you guys know, I'm a huge comic-book fan and I was a big fan of Mike W's. He was only 44, and died of a heart attack. Wieringo or 'Ringo' had a really nice clean style and had a brief (imo) but prolific career doing comics for DC, Marvel, and his own book Tellos. Check out his work from his site:

http://www.mikewieringo.com/
newsstory:
http://www.newsarama.com/Chicago_07/Ringo.html

That's it. Rest in peace Mike.

Exercise 05: Aliens & A Tribute to your Favorite...

Hello everybody, hope you are all doing well. The blog hasn't been very active lately and that is OK. Hope you are all enjoying your summer. I understand that we are all busy with work, trying to find work, enjoying summer, life, etc. but just a reminder that these drawings exercises are for fun, they can be any style or level of finish. I encourage everyone to at least post to one of the exercises. Hope you guys enjoy the next exercises and get inspired. Also if you have any ideas for future exercises feel free to email Nelson or Jaime. Also thanks to the blog visitors who have stopped by and left their kind and encouraging words. :)

Here are the Exercises for the next two weeks. (Ends 8/24/2007)

It has been 60 years since the U.F.O crash incident near Roswell, New Mexico. Imagine yourself being there and witnessing the event before your very eyes. You have seen the crash in the desert and you have also made an encounter with actual Alien life forms. What did the crash site, the U.F.O, and the aliens all look like?

1.) Aliens: Design what you think an alien life form looks like. This can be a redesign of the cliché "Grey" alien or something completely new. What was the alien’s personality? Were they mean, friendly, etc.? What did the U.F.O and the crash site look like? When did the crash occur? Was it during the day, night, afternoon? (Can be character design, U.F.O design, a story beat, visual development, and anything else you wish.)

Growing up we have all at some point or another been inspired by our favorite athletes, sports team, singers, artists, actors and actresses, or anyone else living or dead. This is your chance to make a tribute to that person or persons that have inspired you or influenced you in some way. (Thanks to Nigel for the exercise idea of having a favorite athlete and sports team.)

2.) Tribute: Make a tribute to your favorite athlete, singer, artist, actor/actress or anyone else living or dead. (Can be a portrait, a painting, a collage, and anything else you wish)

Have fun everyone :)

Castle Kronog

Many have tried and many have failed in their attempt to enter Castle Kronog. It is said that the owner of the castle still lives there but nobody has ever seen him. Nobody knows when the castle was built but stories of riches beyond anyones wildest dreams is said to be located deep within the castle. The few who have reached the outer edge have felt great fear/sickness and either returned home to die slowly or have fallen to their deaths. The castle was built on top of a mountain top and the foundation below has been weakened by the weather and by the ocean below. Some hike up near the mountain and imagine the treasure close within their grasp but are brought back to reality when they look down to see the countles bones scattered below.

Screw bandwagons, I jump off TRAINWRECKS!

Akira redesign.

Ok, so I'm going to attempt to put a little spin on "AKIRA". designing some of the characters that i want to incorporate into a new movie poster. Not sure if I'm going to have enough time to finish this though.

castles made of sand

I went to the beach last weekend a saw a very large man with his kids making sand castles. I ended up sketching the large man while I was there, but afterwards, this came out.

Coming soon to Camera 12

JP, Jehan, and I got some free posters at Comicon of the next big blockbusters. Hollywood is all about the remakes this year I heard.

Credit to the 1st and 2nd posters go to jp and jehan.

Haitian Citadel

On the Highest Mountain in Haiti, King Christophe led his troops from an impenetrable Citadel against European Slavers and settlers defeating them and creating the first ever black republic.

Exercise 04: Castles, Movie Posters... ends 08/10

And now, for something completely different...

How can you top the Transformers from the last exercise... You can't. So lets go in another direction: Design a G.I. Joe character... just kidding. Anyhow, these are the ideas for the next two weeks. Just wanted to try something to mix/shake things up. So for the next THREE weeks (ends August 10 [Comic-Con is this week]):

1) Design a Castle: From Ancient Times to Future Tech, A Deep underwater Kingdom to a Castle on the Sun, create an awesome Castle.

2) Movie Posters: If there's a Story/Property that you like and always wanted to see a movie made of it, design a Movie Poster for it. Or, take an existing movie/property and make a new version of the poster.

Hope these sound fun, and we're looking forward to getting started and seeing what develops...

Transformer chase

I wanted to do a chase with the transformer I did, so here he is chasing some GI's through a European town during WW2. I won't have time to finish this up but I think the loose look is good enough for now, sorta like a color key type of thing.

SETA

Hey y'al, sorry it's been awhile and I haven't been posting. This is 'Seta', he transforms into the BMW Isetta vehicle (see photo). He's not very large of course, but he's very quick and and tends to be rather reckless. I don't know about the yellow, but it is a 'friendly' color and he's definitely an autobot.

Transformers, Chase Scene: Ends Friday 07/20

Perfect opportunity & time to have Januel draw all our Autobots CHASING all our Decepticons.

Camry-ific

Sketch before bed last night. I own a white '97 Camry. He could never be a robot. Well, maybe so, but his air conditioning system, cd player, and sun visor would be broken. Oh, and his robotic brakes would squeal all day long.

I thought the movie was a blast and I will hopefully see it again soon.

Drifter (Autobot): In Progress

Hey Guys. Finally I was able to get this bad boy knocked out yesterday. It's still a work in progress because I have to render him out and maybe make a few miner tweeks but I'm pretty happy with the line drawing. So anyways. I like to call my car the drift machine so Drifter jes popped in my mind. The older 1980's transformers were awesome but I wanted to have a little modern and 80's fusion feel. After countless hours of pulling the transformers out of the box and playin with them (supposedly to understand how they transform hehe), Drifter came out drifting his way to our hearts. Hopefully he will be painted to be ready to "Tear some Decepticons a new trash disposal unit"

Transformer color

Here's the color version of the transformer I had posted earlier. I think I'll call him Panzer for now (tank in German) since he's a ww2 german tank. Not very original name, but what the heck. Here's a cool link to a page with tons of Transformers movie images including a bunch of concept art, check it out :
http://www.tfw2005.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1404

Autobot: BackUp (1991 Toyota Pickup)

Here is my "ride" as a Transformer. 1991 Toyota Pickup: so Fresh... Done, as finished as he gets.

I've named this guy BackUp for his reliability over the years. As an older 'Bot, he is not the quickest or in the first line of defense, but he's there in a pinch. He definetely pulls his weight, even when components of him are damaged and not replaced with the finest of materials. Though sometimes mistaken for a Go-Bot, BackUp is a definete contender and uses a powerful energy rod converted from his muffler. He's definetely got a few good years left in him, but his trustworthiness will never fade.

Accordatron

From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of Milpitas, comes a legend. The legend of Accordatron, Defender of my Heart. A mighty robot, loved by good, feared by evil. As Accordatron's legend grew, peace settled across the county of Santa Clara. In my room, a galaxy alliance was formed. Together with the good planets of the solar system, they maintained peace throughout the universe.

Until a new horrible menace threatened the galaxy. Accordatron was needed once more.



Dang you NELSON! The day I decide to finish my Autobot is the day you extended the deadline...shucks.

Anyways, here is Accordatron based of one of the hottest and underrated rides of the summer of 2007, the 2000 Honda Accord. Probably, the only Transformer that can stand a chance against the Accordatrons awesome fighting style is probably the Bigwheelatron.

We're Not in School: EXTENSION (1 week)...

With 4th of July, TRANSFORMERS:the movie, HARRY POTTER, and all complexity that is involved with designing these robots, (not to mention the Chase Scene), the end of this exercise is extended till next Friday July 19. Got wind that these guys need a little more time. Hey, we're not in school right now, and these robots/chase scenes need a little time in order to make them Bad-Ass (to quote janurule)... so extended deadline till next friday.

the moderators...

In progress: Batblade (tentative but obviously irresistable title)

First pass and ideations:



This autobot is based on my beloved 2001 Toyota Celica, which I nicknamed the Batmobile because Batman rocks and the car has been my trusty ride through all the girls I have never been with. I have been working on this idea for awhile and have not had time to finish it yet but I figured I'd post what I have and post the finished drawings later despite the due date of this exercise. This is my progress so far:

The concept I have for this particular autobot is that he is more of a stealth attack robot, a ninja. He is slightly smaller than other transformers, more aero-dynamically designed and is therefore quicker and quieter (for a big ass clunky transformer). I gave him a slight indication of bat ears as an homage to the Dark Knight and also thought it be ass kicking to weaponize the windshield wipers in the form of slicing blades when he is in robot mode. Also in robot mode, the windows serve as arm guards. I also imagined him having the ability to glide via the wheels intergrated into the design of his feet (which have a ninja-influenced design as well).

Second version:



This version is is designed with more influence from the '80s transformers cartoon, but still contemporized. I like it better in that it is sleeker, but I kinda miss the clunky transformer legs from the first pass, because transformers are rather boxy or bulky. I hope to clean up this drawing and perhaps color it soon.

Warship Bot

A rip of JP's Idea. The Ancient transformer.

BIGWHEELATRON

inspired by NINE-IRON

More than Meets the Aye

Here is my Ancient transformer. It was created by monks for a holy war in the dark ages.

Life beyond the Battlefield….

While a lot of Autobots can boast of such admiral achievements like saving Earth and defeating Megatron and the Decepticons on the battlefield, sooner or later, one has to realize that the rust-less, youthful life of a robot warrior is doomed to come to an end. Sadly, most Transformers don’t make this connection, and consequently don’t plan their lives past 300,000 miles (I saw Optimus Prime on the street the other day, trying to sell used car parts, brought a tear to my eyes.)

Not the Autobot named Nine-Iron! Golf was his answer from Cybertron. Practicing his swing on unlucky Decepticons, Nine-Iron is a force to be reckoned with in and outside the PGA tour. Look out, Tiger Woods!

I drew out the golf cart since I used parts from 2 different golf carts. Next step, coloring. Also, can we do an animation test of our transformer and post it on here? And come on everybody, we need like a ton more Transformer designs, so Januel can do another “Find your character piece”!(In color, Jan and if it's not too much trouble in the scanning phase, which of course it won't be, life-size, this time. I'll need the original mailed to my house.)

waka waka waka....

The Great Chase!

Alright, get ready folks!

you're eyes are about to witness the most dynamic, exciting and epic chase scene ever! Forget all those movies with those boring dime-a-dozen chase scenes with guns and cars; this one will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final second, guaranteed!

Behold!

Apparently the slug never forgave the the snail for getting the shell...at least that's the story I'm sticking with...

C/C welcome,

Benjamin

WW2 decepticon

I found a cool looking German tank from WW2 called a "jagdpanther" and figured this could be a Decepticon from the 1940's. I have no idea on the name, and I'd like to give it some color if I have time later on. There's an awesome transformers comic drawn by Jae Lee that's about transformers during WW2 and that inspired me to sketch this guy.