ImagineFX #50

I kind of forgot to mention this..
Back in December 2009, The Brief Glimpse got the back cover for ImagineFX's 50th anniversary issue. It was supposed to be the front cover but Andrew Jones got it instead, damn, how can I fight with that? Lol! I'm still happy to be on the back though.

This is the second session of the tattoo!
Each session needs 2 weeks in between for the skin to heal. I'll keep updating as I get the pictures.. it's really exciting for me to see this come to life on someone's skin. Sarah Miller (the tattoo artist) is incredibly talented!

I've recently started work as a graphic designer+illustrator in Las Vegas!
What a change, what a city. I'm slowly getting used to it, though. My favorite way to unwind after work is several sessions in a sauna. There's nothing like sweating to mellow out.

The Peppertree Press

Anyone in Sarasota, Florida? Pick up a copy of the Peppertree Press Magazine :)
The Brief Glimpse is their front cover for Fall 2009 and there's a little blurb in there about my work, too :) Go check it out!

orange.

A collaboration with Dan Howard.
He was going to scrap this but I rescued and colored it.

Schin is always hungry

I had waaaaay too much fun painting this one.
It was originally a sketch in my sketchbook.
I think I'm gonna make this into a greeting card or something.

The Rose Eater

and

Le Teatub

in

CHEW!

The Forbidden Fruit.
For me, the story of Adam and Eve is more than a religious story.
It is so full of symbolism and hidden meanings that I can't help but be inspired by it everytime.
This is a little picture I made but one day I hope to paint this famous painting in its full glory.

The Brief Glimpse

I call this one The Brief Glimpse.
Many people prefer this version over The Rose Eater.
Personally, I like them both equally :)

The Darkstalkers Tribute book by UDON is out, and I am very very honored to have my work beside such wonderful, kickass works.

Go get it and be inspired by 296 pages of awesome!

Livestream and markers

So I jumped the gun and bought myself a 72 Copic marker set, since my 3 year old 32 set is dying one by one. I'm really excited to receive it tomorrow, and to use it on some commissions.

I've also signed up for a Livestream, go check it out. It's still very new to me though, so I will be painting at random times while getting the hang of it. Once I feel I will start on a worthwhile painting, I will announce the time and date.

The Monstrosities of the Femme Fatale

Jellyfish: "Flesh & Bones"
Spider: "Death & Trust"
Snake: "Love & Lies"
Plant: "Meat & Poison"
Octopus: "Blood & Water"





Artist Statement
The first thing I want to capture is the moment when these monster women grasp their prey through understated violence.
The second thing I want to capture is the contrast of cold silence and gentle movement.
Different moods and themes were used to convey each of the women's personal monstrosity. My intention is to keep the concept subtle with only a few clues dropped in to suggest their animal nature. It is my hope that the viewer shape his or her own story for these women based only on the paintings and their titles.

A cover redesign, I chose to paint 'An Improper Aristocrat' by Deb Marlowe.
I've never read the book, so I had to use my imagination for the cover.

My take on 'Scorpion and Isaki Fish with Root Ginger' by Hiroshige.
You can see the original print by the master here.
Hiroshige was influenced by Western still-life with his fish series, so I thought I'd take it further and make the fishes a little more realistic.

My apologies to whoever who can read Japanese: I know those scribbles make absolutely no sense! I was blindly copying the original calligraphy :D

Tarot card design

For game design, I chose to paint the Death card.
The box mockup was actually very fun to make!

The batter to see you with

A greeting card illustration that I did during the Hallmark Ringling College Workshop. I don't know about you, but I always have the urge to do something silly like use donuts as glasses!

SOI Student Scholarship Competition

"My Mug" "The Four Beauties"

I am happy to say that the two above images were selected for the Society of Illustrators 2009 Student Scholarship Competition.
Of the 5,600 pieces entered, 145 pieces were chosen from schools across the country.
My school, Ringling College managed to snag 34 spots out of the 145.
The show will be in New York on May 8, 2009.

Last year, my Woody Allen caricature was selected for the 2008 competition.

Persephone Destroys the Light

Finally, the painting is done. I'll probably tweak it around for the next few days, but I think I want to get started on a Christmas card or something.

The picture next to it is a beautiful poster for Wong Kar Wai's 2000 movie In The Mood For Love. At first the movie was just normal to me, but I found myself going back to it over and over again. I love the music (the movie soundtrack has inspired many of my recent paintings), colors, story, actors (so classy DX), fashion etc. It's a rather slow movie to digest, but I love painting while watching it <3
The Criterion Collection version has some pretty awesome deleted scenes and alternative endings that can give a wider perspective of the movie.

4 Chinese Beauties design

Well, here are the designs for this image if it's a real book cover. We liked the third one best, and there's a few more changes to be done on the image and the design before it is finalized. Phew!

My next project will be steampunk. I know I know.. done to death.. but I love the designs of it, and it was so fun going around looking at all the steampunk blogs and personalities. Some of these people take their interest really seriously though.. going to great lengths to modify an item, but the computer on the left is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen, ever.