An Intro to Robutics

2012-01-30T04:57:00.001-08:00

I was gonna sleep... but i painted this instead!

some nerdy warmachine fan art.. heh heh

2012-01-24T22:35:00.001-08:00

Random doodle at work....

2011-11-14T04:09:00.000-08:00

late night random

landscape

2011-09-26T01:03:00.000-07:00

Got out with a cool landscape painting group today. Painted/hiked at eaton canyon.

and here are two older ones

late night/early morning doodling

2011-09-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

You look more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!

2011-08-31T01:35:00.001-07:00

the x-men animated series is on netflix...
reliving my childhood!

leapin' lizards!

2011-08-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

used to go out into the yard and catch lizards when I was younger. I still get that urge when i see them... gotta catch em all!

blah!

2011-08-18T20:28:00.001-07:00

doodledoodle doo

2011-07-22T01:46:00.000-07:00

Doodle!

2011-06-24T07:09:00.001-07:00

Crash

2011-06-21T04:50:00.001-07:00

Hot from the forge...

2011-06-20T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here is some fan art for Hunted: The Demon's forge

Never played the game but worked on some things for it that never saw the light of day! oh well

doodle

2011-06-15T05:14:00.001-07:00

Dump of Figures

2011-06-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

e-lips-es

2011-06-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

some lips from imagination. randomly just started drawing lips!

2011-05-22T02:48:00.000-07:00

Study for a personal project.

Scanned the original drawing and printed it out larger on some heavy paper. Then I just painted right on top of the print with gouache.

2011-05-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

2011-04-26T03:12:00.000-07:00

Castlevania on my mind... !

The secret to drawing

2011-04-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

The worst part about having tons of papers and books is having to move those tons of papers and books. I just recently moved into a new place and along with me came a giant stack of figure drawings that I've kept in my closet since I started Art Center back in 2005.

(this photo is a little older, so it is actually about a foot taller now!)

Seeing my drawings from first term was nostalgic, terrifying, and encouraging all at the same time!

I've had many discussions with people about whether or not they are improving or what they should do to get better and really there is no secret to it. It just takes time, focus, and lots of paper! I see too many people get discouraged because they are not improving fast enough or they get drawn into shortcuts while losing track of the fundamentals. And fundamentals, as simple as they seem, really do take the longest to internalize and master. The rest is just fluff. A box by any other name is still a box!

I thought I would share some things to think about that really helped me improve. They may sound a bit corny but they work! they really do work!:

shoot for the moon!

I still remember those inspirational posters that hung above the chalk board in middle school and one in particular still stands out. It read: "shoot for the moon and if you miss you'll land amongst the stars." (hahaha)

At school everyone seemed to be looking over everyone else's shoulder to see who the biggest threat was. I think some friendly competition is good, but if your only goal is to be better than the person next to you then you will only end up being better than the person next to you. I realized at one point that my only real competition was myself. I didn't need anyone to tell me when my drawing was bad because I could see that for myself. I stopped comparing my drawings to my peers and started comparing them to the artists that I really looked up to like the old masters: Michelango, Pontormo, Rubens. If you have a lofty goal in mind you will never be satisfied with where you are and in turn you will never stop improving.

be honest with yourself!

A big thing that stops improvement is plateauing. I think a lot of times this happens because we start to get comfortable with where we are at. It feels good to draw things that we are used to or that are easy, and it's good to indulge once in a while, but if you do the exact same thing over and over you will not improve. One of my teachers emphasized drawing the whole figure and to treat it as a complete statement or idea. I didn't quite understand why at first, but as I looked around at workshops, everyone was just drawing torsos! torsos upon torsos! They were well drawn torsos, but when it came to drawing hands and feet or finishing a drawing they couldn't do it. And I was one of them! I then made an effort to draw out the whole figure (even in the two minute poses!) and it forced me to deal with those areas that I was uncomfortable drawing- like the hands and feet. You are also forced to respond to the model and compose your drawing rather than mindlessly going through the motions. The only way to get over areas you have trouble with is to slow down and deal with them rather than glossing over them.

draw/study with a purpose!

It is important to have some sort of goal or idea in mind before you start drawing. And it could really be anything. I would often spend an hour or so before going into workshops doing master copies and then spend the session trying to emulate whoever I was copying. Or on shorter poses I would focus solely on getting the gesture down without worrying about structure. As the poses got longer and I had more time I would incorporate more structure. Also doing master copies sometimes I would try to break their drawings down through a more constructive approach, and other times I would focus more on the techniques they used. If you can identify areas you are having trouble with, then you can spend time focusing on those areas. It doesn't matter what your goal is as long as you have one in mind you won't drift around aimlessly when you start drawing. Just like everything else in life!

fear is the mind killer!

Learning to draw takes time. People are impatient. Don't be impatient! I've seen a lot of people stop trying because they weren't seeing results fast enough. Or people worry so much about improving that they just freeze up and don't do anything. Don't worry so much about where your drawing level is. Worry about where that invisible box that everyone talks about is. Or where that crazy sartorius goes. Focus on the task at hand.

buy/borrow some books and research!

Another thing I started doing when I started learning was buying books--lots of books! I tried to surround myself with artists and things that I found inspirational. I would go down to the used book store once a week to see if they had anything new. I also scoured the net for artists and images that I liked. Learning to draw is like learning a new language and the best way to learn a new language is to constantly be surrounded by it and the culture it comes from. Learning about other artists also helps you to identify what you like and what you don't like aesthetically and it ensures that you will always have new ideas to draw from.

always be cobbling (drawing)!

The only way to get better at drawing is to draw! At one point in school I decided that I wasn't satisfied with how I was progressing so I decided that I would make time to figure out what this "drawing" business was all about. I moved all my classes to the morning so I could make it to the workshops at night and I even skipped a few classes to go draw. I went so much that it became a habit. I missed many dinners and parties while I was in school. If you really want to get better you have to make time to draw. Carry a sketchbook wherever you go and take every opportunity you can to draw. It will become a habit and then the progress never stops.

...

I didn't mean to write all that initially! I really just wanted to share some of my old drawings to have a good laugh and say that there is no magic secret to drawing. To quote Ivor Hele, "Only your own hard work teaches you anything of value in the end."

I see in these drawings the same mistakes that everyone makes but I stuck with it every day and eventually things started to make sense...

Box? what box?

2006!

I remember our first assignment in this class was to do 300 lay-ins by week 3! Seemed like a lot at the time...

Partners in Paint

2011-04-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Some very talented friends of mine are trying to raise some funds in order to go study drawing and painting in Virginia with Robert Liberace.

They are offering a nice e-book of drawings (among other cool things) in exchange for support!

You can check out their campaign site here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/Help-Lamb-and-Ramon-become-painters

and a blog of their work here:
http://partnersinpaint.blogspot.com/

...

and here is some random doodle

2011-03-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Break! ... Don't smoke... so painted this instead!

2011-03-14T06:03:00.001-07:00

Figures and some marker fun!

2011-03-09T02:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some figures and some dabblings with markers. I'm learning more and more that it is not what you see, but what you want to see that is ultimately more important. It's also the hardest thing to figure out.

Also, I will be teaching two classes this coming semester at the LA Academy of Figurative Art (LAAFA).

One will be head drawing Thursday nights 7-10pm and the other will be figure drawing Saturdays 10-1pm. Click the links for more info or you can visit the LAAFA website

Warm Ups

2011-03-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

A good exercise I like to do is trying to draw figures from memory. If i see a cool pose or something while drawing from life I'll try to hold it in my head and draw it again later. The key is to identify something that makes the pose interesting. It could be the way a hand twists, the way a head tilts, or just an interesting shape you see. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it gives your mind something to hold on to. Focus on getting that one thing down and the rest will fall in to place.

Here are some of my rememberings from a drawing workshop last night.

2011-02-27T03:18:00.001-08:00

more warm ups!

2011-02-25T04:09:00.001-08:00

warm up

Monster Hunter!

2011-02-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

2011-01-20T11:01:00.001-08:00

2011-01-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

painted at the tank museum this morning:

2011-01-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

personal project:

2011-01-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

Thought I would share some sketchbook drawings... It's fun looking back at these and remembering the the time and place they were drawn:

Here are some quick gestures from workshop...

..and here is Khang enjoying himself... haha

These are from In-N-Out. This lady was enjoying her food and the conversation.

"...draw the box...!"

I think this girl and her friend were on some sort of blind date with those two guys

Waiting on line for Korean BBQ

these boots are made for walking

2010-12-25T06:43:00.001-08:00

2010-11-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

Found some new "acrylic gouache" paints and decided to test them out on a still life some friends and I set up. They seem to handle pretty much like a hybrid of acrylic and gouache with very vibrant pigment. Also liked that there was very little value difference between the wet and dry paint.

Haven't done much traditional painting lately... forgot what I was missing!

2010-10-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

Stopped by an arcade the other night with some friends. There was a crowd around the street fighter machine...

2010-10-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Went to a costumed workshop last night with the theme being "the road warrior."

Had a lot of fun and decided to paint one of the sketches:

And here is the original sketch:

2010-09-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

Here's another one. Trying to get reacquainted with photoshop.

This one is reference from the fruits book.

And another random doodle because it's too much fun!

2010-09-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

2010-09-25T03:59:00.001-07:00

2010-09-22T08:29:00.001-07:00

more cartoonz!

2010-09-20T05:10:00.001-07:00

2010-09-17T05:27:00.001-07:00

Hu-Ri-Cane! POLYMAR!

2010-09-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

Ran a costume workshop today but no one showed up!

Regardless it was a blast!

These are done with brush pen, tombo markers, and a black colored pencil.

2010-09-06T23:27:00.001-07:00

2010-09-06T01:38:00.001-07:00

2010-08-26T08:48:00.001-07:00

Come and cool off...

Rock and Roll Crazy Night

2010-08-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

Went out to eat last night at 9:30pm and came home at 9:30 am! We were drawing all night at this 24/7 pho place in Burbank. Haven't had that much fun drawing in a while!

2010-08-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

2010-08-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

Book Binding

2010-07-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

If anyone is interested I will be having a book binding demo at my place in Montrose on Sunday (aug 8) from 12-4pm. I will talk about materials and go through three different types of binds: saddle stitch, Japanese stab stitch, and perfect bind. The cost is $25.
If you have questions or anything you can email me at: dangerousllama@gmail.com.

For a while now I've been binding my own sketchbooks mainly because I get to choose the and experiment with different types of paper, and also because it is way cheaper than buying it from the store. There is also a satisfaction in designing the book itself. My favorite combo so far has been a dual tone sketchbook with half of it being toned paper and the other half being white. Sometimes you get tired of drawing on one or the other so you can just switch at any time!
.

2010-07-17T02:48:00.001-07:00

Had a blast at workshop tonight!

2010-07-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

Long time no post! Here are some drawings from the board:

2010-03-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

"It's artificial?"

"Of course it is..."

"Must be expensive."

"Very."

2010-03-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

I will be teaching three classes this coming semester at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative art:

Analytical Figure Drawing - Saturdays 10-4 pm

Analytical Head Drawing - Thursdays 7-10 pm

Sketchbook binding and sketching on location - Sundays 1-4 pm

The next semester there starts April 5th. www.laafa.org

2010-01-25T03:20:00.001-08:00

Some pages off the drawing board:

2009-11-09T00:58:00.000-08:00

My friend Jadyn was the model this time at the kirkshop.

2009-11-04T04:52:00.000-08:00

2009-11-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

painting of my friend Gabe
sorry about the horrible photos! looking in to getting a better camera...

2009-10-18T04:11:00.000-07:00

Some recent drawings:

2009-10-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

Oil of my friend Connie who was nice enough to pose for the first official kirkshop! (workshop + my garage = kirkshop) trying to get more weekly drawing or painting workshops going in the near future.

I made a blog where I will post more info for those of you interested: http://thekirkshop.blogspot.com.

...

and a little doodle before sleep!

2009-08-05T00:28:00.000-07:00

2009-07-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

went through one of my old sketchbooks and found some good advice for figure drawing

thought I would save for later use..

haha

2009-07-10T03:19:00.000-07:00

been slacking off in my classes to go draw and paint!

ha

2009-06-30T04:22:00.001-07:00

2009-06-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

I sat in the prop room for a few hours the other day doing these two pelvis studies. for some reason drawing all the subtle twists, turns, valleys, and hills really tickled me in a place where I haven't been tickled for a while.. haha I feel like i did when I was struggling to draw box people in class... everything seems new and fresh again. I hope it lasts. I'll have to go to the prop room more often.

and here are some 5 minutes and pastel foolings around:

2009-06-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Some of the usual... and then some experiments... !

2009-05-21T02:14:00.001-07:00

miss the days of endless workshops....

2009-05-15T04:57:00.000-07:00

break time

2009-05-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

can't sleep!

2009-05-05T16:07:00.001-07:00

some figures from the end of the term

2009-04-17T10:53:00.001-07:00

Another term over!
Here are some pages from dynamic Sketching:

2009-04-14T04:17:00.001-07:00

doodles!
back to finals! :( :) :/

2009-03-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

2009-02-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

some 3 minute figures

2009-02-11T03:42:00.001-08:00

and now for something completely different... !

inspired by all the cartooning going on in Will Weston's class...

went through the process of drawing it out, scanning, clean up, and then color.

some awkward moments but I guess it came out alright. haha

probably more of the Science Ninja Team to come!

2008-11-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

You will discover the most interesting things if you just follow your muse...

2008-11-25T05:42:00.000-08:00

2008-10-25T04:30:00.001-07:00

2008-07-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

three colors on toned paper

2008-06-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

2008-06-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

Finished another sketchbook (finally)!
so here are some sketches from it:

I also drew a giraffe...

2008-06-03T22:56:00.001-07:00

2008-04-23T02:38:00.000-07:00

random doodling! some crazy bird-type creature...

was also thinking of those crazy goldfish you see in chinese restaurants.

2008-03-21T12:51:00.001-07:00

some recent oil paintings:

used to leave my paintings in the drying room at school... until someone stole them... now I let them dry in my car and die a little each time i go for a drive! lol

...

In other news: I will be teaching a figure drawing "quick sketch" class at the los angeles academy of figurative art (www.laafa.org). The class will run every wednesday (7-10 pm) for 10 weeks starting may 7th. I think it will cost $420.

2008-03-15T23:37:00.001-07:00

just finished printing and binding 36 copies of this (ouch!) for sale at the pasadena open market tomorrow (sunday)!

back

2008-03-09T21:21:00.001-07:00

ok, I've been doing a lot of work lately (mostly traditional) and i figure i should keep this thing up-to-date and get involved and stuff like that. (hurrah)

so anyway, to get things started (again) here are some semi-recent and semi-random photoshop paintings and some studies from the library of congress photo archive stuff/thing (which you can find here). enjoy:

(more to come... very soon!)

2007-05-18T05:41:00.001-07:00

yeesh

i

will

update this

(more often)

2007-03-29T00:20:00.000-07:00

hello

everyones doing it

so

I thought I ought to make a blog

so

here are a few doodles to get this thing started