LET'S BLOG!

Champion or Wannabe?, originally uploaded by TEACHER E.

It's been a long time. I've been out and around, seeing new things. Made some great new contacts, new friends on flickr, and learning a lot. It's been quite an experience in just getting used to everything and trying to make sense of the design "climate" here.

I've met some great design minds here, and as much as I'd like to put things together and start something, right now I'm just enjoying life. Drawing and sketching has been great, and I finally have much more of a creative rhythm in me again. It's been something I've been missing for a while since being in the states.

It's my own "offline" activities that have kept me away from blogging(and perhaps the incessant spam comments also), but just want to check in and remind viewers to check in on my flickr from time to time to see where I'm at, what I've been working on, and where I've been.

Ciao!

Panasonic Lumix LX-5

I've been a big fan of the LUMIX series, and I've owned quite a few of them, and I've always been a big fan of the quality. However, I'm not in the market right now for something new but just wanted to blog that a new model is coming out.

Pacquiao VS. Mickey Collector Toy

Popular boxer Manny Pacquiao is immortalized here with his own collectors toy running at a steep 500 bones for the set. Looks good, but I'm sure limited quantities.

via Hypebeast

Break Boy Thriller

Break Boy Thriller, originally uploaded by frc37.

Based off of the main character in M-Flo's PV "Sound Boy Thriller", I drew a young chubby b-boy that had the moves and enerrgy i was looking for. He turned out great, with many hard days of re-doing it and finding out what worked out the best for this colorful character.

What do you think?

Iron Man Exhibition!

Nascar Iron Man, originally uploaded by frc37.

I just happened to stumble upon this while window shopping at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi this weekend.

I thought it was really great to see everyone's different rendition of the Iron Man suit.

If you want to see more, go to the set here. Sorry for the bad quality, I only had my iphone at the time.

日月潭 Cable Cars

日月潭 Cable Cars, originally uploaded by frc37.

It's not exactly design-related, but its designer-related since I'm a designer and I went there. It was raining, so it was definitely not a great weekend to go, but my coworkers and I had some good laughs. It's good to be away from the computer once in a while.

誰も知らない

誰も知らない, originally uploaded by frc37.

Lately, I've been looking for inspirations, iconic characters or people that I know that I could use in my work. I chose Akira, from the movie "Nobody Know" as one of the street urchins that just slips on by, raised up on the streets and has that street mentality and look(see below).

This one has gotten a lot of attention on my FLICKR, celebrating its 50th view rather quickly. My work is somewhat simple, and perhaps not as significant, nor as interesting, as some other FLICKRians, but I'm glad its been on people's eyes and mind.

I've also been trying to keep an eye on "V", a character I developed for the same series but I didn't want him to be predictable. I never noticed how many applications of the letter "V" could I find, but I found plenty to work with and this got some pretty good pickup, so I'm glad.

monozóion

monozóion, originally uploaded by Íon.

MONSTERS! Something my students all know and say at some time in class. Love the simple lines here.

Afro-Couple

Afro-Couple, originally uploaded by Flying Mouse2007.

I love afro's. Great work, reminds me of a coloring book.

bless you!

bless you!, originally uploaded by reclarkgable.

3d graffiti - life 1920x1080

3d graffiti - life 1920x1080, originally uploaded by Graffiti Technica.

3-D graffiti; the future? Who knows, but it looks fantastic.

Poster Core engine Juin 2010

Poster Core engine Juin 2010, originally uploaded by Christophe Wolwowicz.

Simple monotone poster, with a clear message. Jealous of the great shapes created here.

More Hands

More Hands, originally uploaded by Frederik Krogh.

Interesting form of iconic communication here. Nicely drawn; crisp and sharp.

LOST poster

LOST poster, originally uploaded by Sof *.

Wow, great representation. R.I.P. to a monumental series. Thanks for the tribute.

Skull Buddy

Skull Buddy, originally uploaded by Mr MOODOO.

Nice color collage here, layering some interesting elements here. I think that it needs some text, because it seems like its lacking a general direction as to what the piece represents.

A

A, originally uploaded by Themis Chapsis.

Great visual illusion conveyed in this illustration. The text on the top and bottom could use some refinement, as I think they detract for the overall image but kudos on the image itself.

Graphis magazine 163

Graphis magazine 163, originally uploaded by sebhayez (designers-books.com).

I love the paths created by the type. It's fun and communicates in layers. Love it.

Porthole #1

Porthole #1, originally uploaded by Richard Nabarro.

Great soft lighting here. Creates a somber mood of wonderment and tranquility.

Inspiration

Astronaut Wings #3, originally uploaded by Richard Nabarro.

Beautiful, peaceful, somewhat symbolic.

Ashley wood / 3A poster

Ashley wood / 3A poster, originally uploaded by amonstyle.

Reminds me of the Metal Gear Solid style of artwork.

Type Monogram

DL 2 Monogram : (DHL), originally uploaded by Michael Spitz.

Great type interpretation of the DHL logo. It's devilishly good.

Paper cutting

P1020261.JPG, originally uploaded by Kris Trappeniers.

I'm not an expert on paper cutting,but this just looks really cool, and remarkably difficult to achieve.

恶龙斗勇者_不是细节的细节图

恶龙斗勇者_不是细节的细节图, originally uploaded by Joker_L.K(弄臣).

From an artist based in China i met on flickr. He's got some great paintings and interesting subject matter. I picked this one because it reminded me a lot of the robotic monstrosities in those Transformers movies.

cat boy

cat boy, originally uploaded by nacho.prieto.

Great sketch and shading. Wonder when animal hats will become passe?

David Choe 2010

David Choe 2010, originally uploaded by wiley09.

A cap of David Choe's work. His stuff is so surreal and I always love the rad colors he chooses to juxtapose.

Better in Black

Better in Black, originally uploaded by frc37.

Right after "Revolucion", I got to work on another character nicknamed "the champion", a spoof of a kid trying to be a crime fighter out of the comic books, namely batman. I used Paul Pope's BATMAN as an inspiration here, and put together this interesting rendition.

This one got a lot of views, and I followed up with another dynamic shot of the character(below), which took a couple of tries but I managed to get it right.

Revolucion! [ 革命 ]

Revolucion! [ 革命 ], originally uploaded by frc37.

This took three days to do.

Day ONE: Sketch out the identity

I used a photo of a friend(below) with a unique face. I think these types of faces have quite a bit of personality so I find them much more memorable to work with. It was difficult to figure out which is the right fit, and to capture the likeness but retaining the style I've been using as of late.

DAY TWO: POSITIONING

The second day involved perspective, clothing, and the right pose to communicate the best mood and tone. It started off rather rough, almost like playing around with an action figure and figuring out how the character would work and why.

DAY THREE: Shadows, details...

After HOURS of burning the midnight oil, the pose was finished and then came the "finish". Putting in shadows and other things to see what would work best. Trying to figure out something unique per the work, was a bit difficult because I wanted there to be a message that is relate able to the character.

REVOLUTION was appropriate. There needs to be change right?

To-to-toShiOoooOOooOOoOOOoOooooo!

トシオ!, originally uploaded by frc37.

I put this one together, first through a character study from a friend of mine. I sketched him and it proved to be really fun. Then it came time to put the character into a story, so here we have a misguided "master apprentice" monk, wandering the streets with some unknown intentions and some very misunderstood proverbs.

I really like how this one came alive. Once I got the lines down, it took a TON of time for the adjustment period, moving things around and looking for a good "look" that flowed.

I am a busy boy

Scooter Boy RELOADED!, originally uploaded by frc37.

Meet "scooter boy", a child for a penchant for mischief on his scooter. Following in the footsteps of his scooter riding badass father, this character came to me as a little trouble maker I could imagine wandering the streets misguided and stirring up problems wherever he can.

Yes, I've been really busy. Why? The question is rather, where does all the time go? Balancing gym, work, shirt and design ideas, and just pure socializing online, I've become an overworked multi-tasker.

Anyway, back to the drawing, it took about a few glances to really shape this one and move it in the right direction. The energy brought back the text really works well here!

reve•nger

reve•nger, originally uploaded by nehodrawm.

GREAT illustration here. Good lines, proportions, adn the color and the text comes together nicely. I like the rugged feel of it :)

PRO-Keds Highs & Lows

PRO-Keds Highs & Lows, originally uploaded by LikeMindedStudio.com.

Doh I'm behind in ARTSPROJEKT tie ins. Well, as always GO LUCA! Keep at it with keeping the cause alive. Oh and terrific "FONT-ing" as always.

Lego Girlz

lego girls 2, originally uploaded by tentacle soup.

Fun mecha stuff here. Yeah I agree its not quite resembling lego, but its got some wicked shapes and personality.

FRESH!

sashimi_poster, originally uploaded by tentacle soup.

Everyone loves sashimi!(Not really). Great interpretation.

Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull

Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, originally uploaded by Gunnar Gestur.

Wow! Funny how beautiful disasters can be.

Spaceman

Spaceman, originally uploaded by Richard Nabarro.

Great lighting here. Totally pulls off relaying the materials unique quality, lovely wrinkles! If you notice my work involves a lot of this type of dark shading, so I'm totally digging this.

BottleRocket

BottleRocket, originally uploaded by Ibraheem Youssef.

I remember the interpretations of movie posters a class had to do back in college. I've always felt movie posters need more ART and less photoshop cheeziness. Great color choice here.

2010 Year of Tiger

2010 Year of Tiger, originally uploaded by Wonderkitten (lois loo).

A little late, but i think fat kitties are funny. He should "meow" the 2010 i think. Whenever I draw tigers quickly, my students tell me its just a cat with stripes. For some reasons lions are easier to draw to me, than tigers.

Hair is where its at!

, originally uploaded by WorldInMyAndYourEyes.

I love drawing hair. It's so interesting, and carries an image. Totally psychedelic image here, wish it had color!

Dead Idea - After Life - Angelo Cruciani & Robi Chendler

Dead Idea - After Life - Angelo Cruciani & Robi Chendler, originally uploaded by Chendler's™ - Milano.

Love the font and effect here. Totally makes sense.

Yo! We Are Queueing

Yo! We Are Queueing, originally uploaded by 台北眼睛 Taipei Eyes.

Who knows how old these "kids" are. Hard to tell these days. Love the "mob" here. Hip hoppin taiwanese!

A Person Walking (Xi-Men-Din)

A Person Walking (Xi-Men-Din), originally uploaded by 台北眼睛 Taipei Eyes.

Taipei... Taiwan's answer to NYC? Well city of bright lights and cozy alleys. Great capture here.

BIONICO - passo 3 - Revista Época 612

BIONICO - passo 3 - Revista Época 612, originally uploaded by Marco Vergotti.

Robots robots! Who loves robots more than me? Great illustration for the diagram.

Made You Think

Made You Think, originally uploaded by Karoshi!.

Keep lookin up! I've been coming up with a few illustration ideas involving BRAINS since my brand is 'thinkbox'. So this naturally drew my attention. Great organic spillage and nice color application.