Howl's Moving Castle Tribute

After 4 days of staying up and painting, I finished my piece in time for the Ghibli Jam 2014 on tumblr. It was difficult to pick a favorite film, but I decided to go with Howl's Moving Castle. One of my favorite scenes is when Sophie wakes up in the middle of the night and walks through a dark, toy filled tunnel to find Howl. It shows what a selfless person Sophie is when she shows her concern for Howl despite his complicated personality and transformation. She was more determined to help Howl break his curse without thinking of her own curse.

Dream Tunnel (2014)

-17 in x 11in

-watercolor, acrylic, chalk pastel

WIP Photos

Sketchbook

Just breaking in a new sketchbook and doodling around for ideas to make a business card… I included some neat facts, too! Who knew that cute candy could be used in emergency situations? I used to eat a lot of rock candy and konpeito growing up, but I can’t seem to eat sweets like I used to anymore. 

I redrew the konpeito-filled ink bottle in photoshop and played around with different patterns and layouts. I managed to make an icon for my portfolio site.

I'll be using it for when I print my own business cards, too. It's simple, cute, and maybe a little unusual.

Unbelonging

Post-grad life is really strange. Suddenly, I have no critiques, no deadlines, no professors waiting on thumbnails and progress work. It seems like just as I started developing an understanding of myself, my work, and my potential, I have to leave the one place where I could really thrive and talk to professionals who I have so much admiration for. If I started art school again in 2009 with what I know now, I could've done so much better.

Still, I'm really trying to create work on my own. This is the first piece I tried to really sit down and work on since I finished school.

Unbelonging (2014)

-watercolor, acrylic, chalk

WIP Photos

Masking fluid is really useful since watercolor's a transparent medium, but it's a bit fickle and really smelly. I bought the colorless kind, so it's really hard to see what I painted over and what I didn't. I guess that my fault. Masking fluid also is notorious for gumming up and ruining brushes because it contains rubber latex. 

I found it really useful to use warm water and frequently rinse my brush when painting the masking fluid on. Cold water makes the fluid harden quickly and stick to paintbrush bristles.

 It still does its job well. Plus, it's really fun peeling it off and seeing the crisp contrast it leaves.

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Tribute

     Several days ago, I beat A Link Between Worlds (my first LoZ game since Link to the Past… which I never beat). I loved it so much because it was really fun and nostalgically sweet. For me, it was like that one old acquaintance that you didn’t get to know better until now, and you wonder why it took you so long to do so. I burned through it like an upgraded Fire Wand, and didn’t even get to use all of my stuff! It’s too bad there’s no post-game stuff to do, but I guess it wouldn’t make sense since peace is restored and the Master Sword has to be returned to its resting place. I've unlocked Hero Mode, which is supposed to be more difficult. After struggling through regular mode, I'm not sure if I want to dive into it again hardcore.

                                                          -Photoshop CS5, 4+ hrs  

                                                          

    Pencil sketch

2014 Work

     Despite having other sites to show my portfolio, I thought it would be a good idea to create a new space for my work. It's refreshing to start in a more lax place where I feel more comfortable speaking/sharing things more freely. I'll see how Blogger works out for me. If you're interested, you can view my other work on my website!

After graduating last December, I fell in an art-slump and couldn't bring myself to do much. Maybe my body just gave up after getting academically roughhoused for 4 and a half years straight. Regardless, I'm really trying to step it up this year with staying productive and trying new things, even with little projects.

I tried to play around with the idea of cute mixed with a "Ride or Die" attitude just for fun. Collage with watercolor, acrylic, and newspaper.