Ninja vs Penguin

Ninja August 13th, 2008

It’s been a while since I’ve done a personal process post, and what better motivation than my very own Penguin! Penguin was having a crummy day, so I thought I’d make him a cheesy painting to cheer him up.

Materials used
+ sheet of letter-sized laser printer paper
+ 9 x 12 inch pine panel
+ HB mechanical pencil, 2B, 6B pencils
+ white gesso
+ Payne’s Grey acrylic paint
+ Raphaël Kolinsky Red Sable Extra Pointed Round, Series 8408, no. 3
+ 150 grit sandpaper

I start off with a very rough sketch on some scrap paper to get the basic form down.

I then flip the sheet of scrap paper over, and rub a 6B pencil on the back.

I place the paper onto my pine panel, sketch side up, and trace the form with my mechanical pencil. This will transfer the sketch onto my wood panel.

It’s pretty faint, but good enough to get started.

With my 2B pencil, I add detail to my little squirrel.

Then I add some gesso to brighten the highlights and give the surface area some tooth.

Another layer of gesso and a little more 2B pencil work.

Repeat. Add more gesso and more 2B pencil.

I got so into it, that I forgot to step back and take a look at it. Bleh, there’s too much grey and the tail looks all muddied and overworked. The texture gets lost. Time to simplify.

Besides adding a great one-off pattern, another nice thing about working with wood is the ability to sand off your mistakes.

I felt that I needed to distance myself from using the pencil for mark-making. It was a little too easy and fast. I didn’t want to overdo it again, so I switched to my brush and did the fur with acrylic paint (Payne’s Grey blends very well with the pencil line work). I also added some fur highlights with the gesso.

I went back with my 6B pencil to add specs of shadow in the fur and write the cheestastic line at the bottom. I know the position of the type is a bit off, but I like the weight and flow of the script as it is. I’m afraid that if I sand it off, I would not be able to duplicate my efforts.

Happy drawing and happy hump day,
Ninja ~__^

• Taiwan-bound. Be back 7-20-2008! (3)
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Tags: Acrylic, Graphite, Pencils, Penguin, Process, Squirrel

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Ninja July 24th, 2008

While I was in Taiwan, it was hard explaing what I do for a living. So my translators made up their own definitions for graphic designer.

Oh, um, she paints on the computer.

Advertising.

This viddy made me crack a smile just now, so I thought I would share it with you.

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Ninja July 3rd, 2008

I’m taking a break from NvP + I’ll be back on the 20th!

Kit Kat Chunky photo from Wikimedia

I’ve been feeling so scatterbrained lately.

I’m going to be traveling to Taiwan to teach English. So in the past couple weeks, I’ve been trying to cram 2.5 weeks worth of work in, in addition to my regular work load. Bleh. I also managed to stuff 2.5 weeks worth of clothes (plus toiletries + 2 spare pairs of shoes) into a 22″ suitcase, so really anything is possible.

Before I say farewell, here’s a sneak peek at a painting I’m working on. It’s a detail of antlers from the underdrawing. Since then, the drawing has grown + has a fresh coat of gesso on it.

See you soon!

Cheers,
Ninja

• The Process (1)
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Ninja June 13th, 2008

Ah, I know it’s Friday, but I don’t dream that often. Instead of posting a dream this week, I thought I’d offer up this portrait that I just finished inking.

Meet Dan. He’s the owner of the barber shop that I frequent. He’s a very sweet guy, but he acts all tough. He’s also a huge NvP fan—he told me that he painted and decorated a whole room to match our First Kiss print (which is proudly displayed in said room). O.o Wow, thanks, Dan!

When I last visited his shop, he joked that I should paint him some time. Why not?
Here’s a bit of my inking process:

I finished most of the line work, but the wash on Dan’s shirt was uneven and boring. It could use some texture and pattern.

I photocopied the drawing and cut out the shirt portion to create a stencil.

I placed the stencil over the drawing and used nail polish bottles to weigh it down to avoid shifting. Then I dipped an old toothbrush in sumi ink and used my thumb to create small splatter marks. The harder I flicked, the larger the marks.

And here is the drawing after the stencil was removed.

Here’s a detail of the splatter pattern. I varied my flicking to create different sized spots.

Here’s one of the wallpaper patterns I made in Illustrator as a background for Dan’s portrait. For this pattern, I drew a pair of hair cutting scissors, rotated, and repeated them. I didn’t like the way it looked with Dan’s portrait, so I nixed it. I may tweak it later, and give it a go again.

Here’s the final. I evened out the wash of the shirt, then added more shading to Dan’s jaw and neck to give him definition.

Happy inking & happy Friday,
Ninja

• Hairy process (5)
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Tags: ink, Patterns, portrait, Process, Wallpaper

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Ninja June 10th, 2008

I’ve been looking to replace my crummy lamp shade with a prettier washi paper one. I found some simple origami lamp shade instructions online, and I bought the washi paper from the Kinokuniya bookstore. The only thing that I can’t seem to find is fire-retardant spray.

Origami lamp shade design by Tomoko Fuse.

Materials
• 1 piece medium to heavyweight paper 14″ x 22″
• Double sided tape
• Bone folder
• Fire-retardant spray
• Lamp or glass candle

Folding instructions

Images and instructions via Yasutomo

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Tags: Crafts, DIY, Kinokuniya, Lamps, Origami, Process, Tomoko Fuse, Washi

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Ninja June 6th, 2008

Right about now, you might be wondering where is this wood nymph that the title suggests. Is she invisible? Is she hiding? Nope, I just didn’t draw her yet (it took a long time to even get this far in my drawing process). But imagine if you will, a small wood nymph sitting on that large mushroom’s edge watering the buttercups.

Oy, this whole drawing one dream a week isn’t really working out. =/ But I’m going to still try to stick it through! In the meantime, enjoy this detail of fungi growing on a tree.

A bit of a let down, I know.

Humble apologies & sweet dreams,
Ninja

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Ninja May 26th, 2008

Amy Sol has started posting process photos on her blog. Here’s a taste of her upcoming show at Thinkspace Gallery on June 3 in LA. This exhibit will feature 13 pieces by Amy.

Keep checking her blog for more photos!

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Tags: Acrylic, Amy Sol, Blogs, Exhibits, Process, Thinkspace Gallery

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Ninja April 25th, 2008

A year ago, I met this girl at a birthday dinner. Her name was Genevieve.

Genevieve’s a photographer’s assistant, so I’ve seen her again at 2 different weddings (and the most recent one I attended on April 5th). After talking to her, I was shocked to find out that she doesn’t realize just how beautiful she is. She’s quite down on herself because her mum is a such stunner, and she feels she takes after her dad. Which is complete rubbish. She’s got these huge eyes framed with thick lashes, but hides them (and her face) behind long strands of hair. All the things she claims are her flaws, I think just make her even more lovely.

With her permission, I painted her portrait. And here are the steps.

Oh, haha, before we start, I should probably note that I only have about 10 acrylic paintings under my belt, and that I really just sort of feel each one out. It’s a learning process for me, and each time, I try something new.

I started with a pencil sketch on pine. Unfortunately, most of the time that I did see Genevieve during the wedding, she was either looking down and changing lenses or hiding behind a camera.

I don’t think I did Genevieve justice with this sketch. You’d have to see her in person. She glows.

Then I added a little bit of white gesso to blend the pencil.

I blocked out the highlights with the white gesso and gave her face a wash of thinned down white gesso. Afterwards, I put down a layer of clear gesso to give the wood some tooth.

The clear gesso smeared some of the pencil, tinting the wood this ugly, murky shade of grey. I had no choice but to sand that section off. After the wood was clean, I applied another layer of clear gesso to the sanded area.

I then blocked in some of the shadows with Payne’s grey.

I built up layers of Payne’s grey and Raw umber to fill out her hair (pure black would have flattened out the image too much).

I used tea for the washes on her face to add warmth and color.

Then I used coffee to deepen the color and add more depth to her face.

Her lips are a blend of Cadmium red, Yellow ochre, Thio violet, and white gesso.

Her hair looked too faded and washed out, so I added more layers of Payne’s grey and Raw umber. I also overlaid washes of a Payne grey/Raw umber mix to the hair’s highlights to tone them down a bit.

Well, there you have it. If you’ve got any painting tips, feel free to share them in the comments.

Happy painting,
Ninja ^___^

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Tags: Acrylic, Genevieve, portrait, Process

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Ninja April 15th, 2008

Falling children. Lonely teens. I get drawn and sucked into the characters, worlds, and narratives that Nate Frizzell’s creates in his paintings.

Via Sketch Theatre

Related links
+ View Nate’s web portfolio
+ Check out Nate’s blog

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Ninja March 29th, 2008

I’m at home sick. It sort of hit out of nowhere. I was fine this morning. Now, I’m feeling awfully tired and weak. I spent most of the day in bed with my stuffed penguin (Christmas gift from Jasmine) and Mr. Pooh doll (birthday from Ophelia). Been eating jook aka congee too, don’t ya know.

Anywho, the point is that I haven’t gotten around to drawing/inking today. Inking is such bliss for me. I get a real kick out of watching others ink, too. Here’s a viddy of Fábio Moon inking a Casanova page.

Related link
+ Check out Fábio Moon/Gabriel Ba’s blog

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Tags: Blogs, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Ba, ink, Process

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