Another WIP fan art print preview

I was trying a new outlining style for this fan art piece for Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, aka Ronin Warriors. The final print will be available for purchase during Kumoricon.

This is Ryo Sanada wearing the Kikoutei, Inferno, Armor:

Again, because this is fan art, the final version will not be posted into this site’s gallery. If you would like to follow my fan art creations, you may watch me on my new deviantart account. Please be aware that some of the fan art is old and not up to my current abilities.

Kumoricon countdown

It’s official: Kumoricon has listed Feathered Robot Productions in their exhibitors list. With a mere three weeks to get ready for the con, I’m rushing to get all my products up to date and in order. I still need to create business cards, print and punch buttons, glue magnets, fold origami, and a whole slew of other things to finish. It’s going to be a busy few weeks, but I think I’ve got most of it under control.

Here are some origami roses I’ve folded:

My camera and the poor lighting don’t do the iridescent paper justice. Currently I only have one of each color, but am contemplating making a run to the paper store to get more. I think if time allows, and the heatwave leaves, then I might.

I’m very rusty at getting ready for conventions, which is all the more reason to do the best that I can, and hopefully memories of artist alley do’s and don’ts will soon come back before it’s too late.

Contest entries are up

Now that voting has finished, Kumoricon has posted the entries for their contests, thus allowing me to now place mine into my portfolio. They may now be viewed in the Design section of my site. I’m pretty sure my mascot design didn’t win, but that just makes me want to try harder and do better for next year. The thing I will keep in mind the most is to not wait until the last minute.

Again, the winning entries will not be visible until later this month and after the convention. My fingers are crossed!

In other arts

Now that the contests are over, I’ve returned my attention to my comic. There are initially three main villains. I’ve taken photos, but will have scans added to my main comic area soon.

This is Dark Energy:

This is Dark Matter:

This is Void:

These characters are very complicated to draw, and by testing out their designs, I can reexamine my art and simplify them for the comic. Right now, drawing these characters requires a lot of hatching, which is too time consuming for the lengthy comic that I have in mind, but the big spots of black will help me go faster.

Contest complete, part 2

The deadline to turn in all entries for the contest was today at 11:59:59 PM PDT, and I managed to finish and submit everything by 9:55 PM PDT. The mascot winner will not be announced until the end of Kumoricon 2010, so I won’t know anything until after the convention is over in September. Regardless, I’m hopeful that my hard work, effort and design will win.

Here is a sneak peak of part of the mascot design:

I feel a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders now.

On a side note, there was a third contest going on to design Anime News Network’s new icons. I teamed up with Zack Corcoran to form: Feathered Robot Productions studio and swiftly created a set of icons for their contest. Supposedly the contest ends tomorrow, and DVD sets are the prize for each icon. They haven’t announced which series they’re offering as rewards, but I’m still hopeful it will go well. Wish us luck!

Contest complete, part 1

After a major overhaul of a design, I’ve finished the program book cover entry for Kumoricon 2010.

Here is a sneak peak of a piece of the cover design:

I had to create and revamp several assets to insert onto the cover, and I hope it is a cohesive enough design that it will win. Once the contest is over and the winners announced, I’ll place the whole image into the Design section of my site.

Now I must rush to get the mascot design going before the deadline hits. My fingers are crossed it all goes well!

Characters and costumes

I have several art projects in the works, and luckily my comic is amongst them. Here are some compiled snapshots of character and costume designs for the comic:

A minion, the main anti-hero, and the main character:

The heroes:

I am constantly reminded of how much skill and knowledge I need to accumulate just so I can create a believable world and unique characters. Comic artists will often need to gain skills in graphic design, fashion design, architecture, and typography, and we also have to dabble in several other professions like biology, geography, and astronomy. For now, I just need to design three more characters and a building, and then I can start drawing the actual comic.

Go back to the source

When I was younger, I would spend some summer days in my grandma’s apartment watching TV while my parents worked. One of my favorite memories is of seeing a strange cartoon, very unlike the standard Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, or any other mindless children’s show of the time. I was only able to catch a glimpse of the second half of the episode, and I wouldn’t see the entire series until I was in high school, but it captured my imagination.

The show was an anime called Ronin Warriors, and I blame it for turning me into a comic artist.

High school and college have come and gone, and Ronin Warriors has vanished from most anime radars, but its influence on me remains. Now that I have the time and creative freedom, I’ve gone back to Ronin Warriors, found my inspiration, and drafted up twenty-seven chapters of my current, and most ambitious, comic project.

At twenty-seven chapters half of the story has been written and sits at a major turning point. While the second “season” stews in my mind, I’m again, reworking costume designs and getting to know my characters. I hope to have material to share soon, as this project is consuming most of my creative output.

Creating a comic is no small feat, and while this project is time-consuming and creatively intensive, I’m feeling artistically fulfilled for the first time. Wish me luck in avoiding writer’s and artist’s block.

WIP fan art print preview

I’m a bit rusty with my inking and have been struggling to get back into it. What better way than to create fan art for practice?

Here’s a sneak peek at half of a Final Fantasy VII piece:

More to come soon.

Sketches and scones

I’ve been wrestling with a comic idea for some time and managed finished up some character sketches and clothing designs. I recently decided to scrap the art and start over.

Here is a picture of those sketches before they’re off to the recycling bin:

While it’s disheartening to have to revise the designs, I have an easy hobby and, consequently, a treat to help cheer myself up: baking chocolate chip scones.

When I was a work-study in college, one of my supervisors would often bring chocolate chip scones from a local bakery, and they were delicious! I found that a very few Starbucks carried a similar concoction, but sadly, none of them are on the West Coast. I scoured the internet and found a really good recipe. I modified it a little and have been baking all winter.

These are great when fresh:

The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients-
2 and a smidge cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening or unsalted butter
1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbs. sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
a few pinches of crystal sugar to top

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl sift together flour and sugar and add in the chocolate chips. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate small bowl combine the milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Combine ingredients into the large bowl and blend together until it forms a soft, crumbly dough.

Turn the dough out onto lightly floured parchment paper and knead gently until it is about 7 or 8 inches in diameter, flipping occasionally. Sprinkle with crystal sugar to cover, then cut into 8 wedges. Pierce the tops a few times with a knife or once with a fork, and then place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes and serve hot.

If you try your hand at this recipe, please let me know how it turned out for you. Enjoy!