Merry Late Christmas

Santa and Mrs. Claus having some downtime before he heads out for the night.
I'm trying to get back into the habit of drawing, since the newborn doesn't allow much time to draw lately. It'll get better, though. In the meantime, have a quick sketch (about 30 minutes).

No drawing!

As the title says. I haven't even touched my tablet, or a pencil, for the last couple days.
However, here you can see the latest thing I worked on.

A damn, fine piece of artwork, if I do say so myself.
Evelyn Hope Alvarez, Dec 15th, 8lbs 13oz.

Deathrite Shaman

The Vraska and Jarad commission has been put on the backburner for a bit. In the meantime, here's what I've been working on: another Magic commission, this time featuring a Deathrite Shaman.

 ...alternatively....

Artorias

I'm tired of this one.
Truth is, it was supposed to be just a sketch, but I kept going. I dunno why. Lack of something else to do, I guess.
Oh well. Time for something else!

Artorias sketching

Still working on Artorias. Been playing with the lightsource and whatnot. Also, I switched his head a bit.

Artorias

Been playing Dark Souls for the hundredth time, and I decided to pay homage to my favorite character, Sir Artorias.

The bottom one was the first sketch I did. The top one is me refining the sketch a bit. Keep your eyes open for the finished piece, and probably more updates as I go. :)

Sister Flare

That thou wouldst bring them only death,
That thou shouldst spareth none,
That thou shouldst pardon none,
We beseech thee, Sister, give them death.

Birthday sketch for my Marine sister and buddy, Flare.
 Tried grayscale first, then overlay.
Still suck at overlay.

Also, I've had a busy past week, so I apologize if you've been patiently waiting for some sweet, sweet art from me (I'm still drawing every day, though!). I'll try to be  more diligent. :)

Random

Trying to fight art block?
Why not Zoidberg?

Kevin Chen, again

A quick Chen study for tonight.

...also, these.

Forgot to upload these.
15 second gesture drawings.

Color roughs

Still doing the whole "draw every day" thing. Lately, I've been focusing on that Magic commission. Here's the color roughs for both characters.

I think I like how Vraska looks like more than I like Jarad.

Magic: The Gathering commission, WIP 2

Here's the refining-the-sketch phase for Jarad.

Magic: The Gathering commission, WIP 1

Hey, guys!

Just laying down some ideas for the poses on a commission I'm doing. These are Vraska and Jarad, from Magic: The Gathering. I am not familiar with these characters, or the game that much. I played it a bit with some friends, but these characters are new to me. Still, the Magic series has some badass artwork, so this is new territory for me.

Venom

Have a shitty Venom!
I guess he's trying to lick his own elbow or something.

What does Marcellus Wallace looks like!?

I'm calling it done, Jheri curls be damned!

Almost...

Any advice on how to draw Jheri curls?

Samuel L Jackson, WIP 2

Getting there

Samuel L Jackson [WIP]

This is what I've been working on the last couple days. This is my fifth attempt, I think. I haven't been saving the ones I didn't like.
Still working on it. I don't think it looks much like him at this stage. What do you guys think?
Critique, if it pleases you.

Victorian Plague Doctor

Had this idea the other day at school, so I finished it tonight.
I was actually surprised at not seeing this concept already. I did run a search for Victorian Plague Doctors, but all I got was Steampunk, which is not at all what I was looking for. Steampunk ≠ Victorian era.I purposely stretched him out a bit to give him a more creepy feel.
About 2 hours. PSCS5

Bleh

Can't get into it tonight.

lol originul charactur dont steel plz

Forgot to post this...

Not my work, but it was too amusing to not share.

“lol why didnt u liek skyewrd swrod geraheem was soooo hawt and fi was sexi”

No.

We all know how I feel about Fi already.

Sir Patrick Stewart

What started out as a simple sketch turned into a full-fledged values study, then it turned into a Sir Patrick Stewart portrait.
He's one of my favorite actors, but I can't say which character is my favorite.
Corel Painter IX, PSCS5. About 3.5 hours. Reference used.
Critique the hell out of it.

Laele sketch

Sketch of my wife's character, Laele, complete with her crime-fighting, superhero persona!

Bridgman sketches

Just some Bridgman sketches for today.

Also, I've temporarily disabled the gallery, since it keeps breaking. I'll find a way to fix it and reinstate it. Sorry about that!

Darkmoon Knightess

Just a quick sketch of the Darkmoon Knightess, from Dark Souls

Paying attention in class

No forethought, no guidelines, BAM! Pirate dude's face. Why is it that I can't draw like this when I'm TRYING to draw?
About 5 minutes. Pencil on my desk at school.

Eva sketch 2

I think my problem with drawing females in pratical-and-realistic looking armor is that they come out looking fat or male.

Eva sketch

Still not quite where I wanna be.

Vader helmet quick study

Bah.

Happy birthday, Kelly!

Birthday doodle for Coelasquid, of Manly Guys fame.

More Chen, more gestures

I forgot to post these last night.

These are, again, from Pixelovely.
30 seconds a piece. The one labeled WTF!? was from a break dancer in mid breakdance, and it was HARD!

This is from tonight.

I will surpass you one day, Chen!

Chen and gestures

Today's serving comes to you courtesy of Kevin Chen and Pixelovely, respectively.

 

I spent more than I'm comfortable admitting on this one. I'm still trying to learn how to draw like him. One day, though...

In this one, you can tell I wasn't feeling very confident at first, judging by my light strokes. But, as I went on, I started making more bold, confident strokes. I love gesture drawing. 30 seconds each.

Unfinished - Athos

Don't really feel like working on this one anymore. But, as I promised, here's how far I got.
Maybe some day I'll come back to it.

Landscape practice 3

This is my third and last (for now) attempt at landscape thumbnails. I used Photoshop for this one, instead of Painter, like I usually do.

Note to self: study some damn rocks.

Landscape practice 2

My second attempt at landscape thumbnails. This serves as a great way to highlight how unoriginal and uncreative I really am.

Landscape practice

CtrlPaint is this awesome website that helps out artists of all skill levels. Today, I decided to try my hand at their landscape practice video. Here's the results.

I spent about 5 minutes per thumbnail.

Irving

Today is my cousin's birthday. He would've turned 21. To celebrate his birthday, I drew a portrait of him, which I am giving my aunt.

The quote says, "The greatest treasure in life are the memories." He loved using that quote, and I find it only too fitting.
Feliz cumpleanos, primo.

Castlevania study/practice

I was playing Lords of Shadow, which inspired me to try my hand at some of the game's artwork. Lords of Shadow has amazing artwork, both conceptual and finalized, and I urge everyone who's reading this to check it out.
Creative Uncut: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

About 45 minutes.
I've noticed that whenever I try to freehand something from reference, I end up making the intended drawing wider. Dunno why that is.

The Doctor is in

About 30 minutes.

Dragons, chicks, swords

Done for my sketch challenge at PK Forums. Trying out a new approach.

I challenge you to Mortal Kombat!

I've come to the point where I'm displeased with my art; I've spent too long inside my comfort zone, and it is beginning to stagnate. I've said before that I wouldn't want to be a professional artist because I didn't want to push myself to the point where I would hate drawing. But, if I don't push myself, I'm also never going to get better. So I'm going to start pushing myself.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try to have a finished drawing every week (on Saturdays) to post online. I am also going to try and draw for at least ten minutes every day. In the event I don't have something done by Saturday, I will post what I drew that week (sketches, WIPs).

The way I figure it, even on my busiest days, I know I can spare ten minutes for drawing, and setting a low, easily-attainable goal will be a good way for me to get in the habit of doing it every day, as opposed to attempting a Sistine Chapel every day. I've also noticed that my biggest setback is not lack of desire to draw, but lack of ideas: the desire is there, constantly; I just don't always know what to draw. For this, I figured, I know I need work in a lot of areas (anatomy, perspective, coloring, backgrounds, hands), so, in the initial ten minutes, if I don't have an idea, I will start drawing things that I need to work on. I think ten minutes every day, drawing boxes at different angles is a better teaching tool than not doing anything. And who knows? Maybe when I start drawing hands, an idea will come to me.

So why am I posting this online? Because I would like your help. Anyone who is reading this, I would like for you to help hold me accountable for my progress. I know that no one is going to help me get better but myself, but if I know people are waiting for an update from me, maybe it will help me get a motivated. I am always seeking critique and ways that I could better myself. And, hey, maybe you don't like my art, my technique, or my subject matter. That's fine; but if you can at least tell me why, it will help me look at my work through an unbiased set of eyes.

 If you decide to crack the whip every now and then, thank you. If you decide you don't want part in this gamesomeness, thank you for at least giving this a read.

A'ight? A'ight.

Christina Aguilera

This will be my brother's birthday present. It's a good thing he doesn't know my website, and if he does and is reading this, feliz cumpleanos, vato!

Source.
I've become tired of my usual style (or lack thereof), and I feel the need to reinvent it, or rediscover it, as it were. I feel like mastering realism will allow me to master everything else.
So, sit tight while I rediscover myself, like a hippie.

Hiatus.

If you're one of the 6 people who actively follow this blog, you, no doubt, have noticed that I've been absent for about two and a half weeks.
On July 14th, my cousin, Irving, was shot and killed back near my hometown in Mexico. We practically grew up together, and he was like a brother to me. I left for Mexico that following Monday, and spent the majority of the week down there with my family.
I've been back for two weeks, now, but haven't felt very artistic since then. I'm feeling a lot better, now, so you can expect some art in the near future. It hurts to know that my cousin is gone, but I need to get on with my life. After all, I have a daughter to look forward to come December.
So, thank you for hanging around, I apologize for the lack of updates, and sit tight while I get my shit in order.
In the meantime, have a Ragnarok Online Shadow Chaser I whipped up in ten minutes.

Hunters

Done.

Prelim 2

Settled on the second scene. Here's the rough.