Ninja June 17th, 2009
Here’s the ballpoint pen sketch that I completed last night. I hope this better illustrates the placement of the hole (over the heart). My previous sketch had some drawing flaws, especially in the face.
I’m still using this pen that I stole from my hotel room while staying in Australia. It’s my favorite ballpoint pen. It has really even ink flow and produces delicate, thin lines. I’m going to miss it when it finally runs out of ink.
Ninja June 2nd, 2009
Vancouver-based illustrator/character designer, Edward Kwong, knocks my socks off! His sketch books are spectacular, and I’m really enjoying the diversity of his illustration styles that reference Art Deco, Noir, 50s print ad, and old comic books sources. Edward studied illustration at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary.
Related links
+ Edward Kwong’s official website
+ Browse through Edward Kwong’s sketchbook on his illustration blog
Ninja May 18th, 2009
When I get put on hold, I doodle. I had Guitar Hero stuck in my head, so I doodled Amanda Palmer.
Detail of afp in her eyebrow.
Related postsNinja May 14th, 2009
When asked to do a custom tattoo design, I usually politely decline (due to time constraints and slight fear of seeing my art haunt me on someone’s body). But how could I say “no” to my favorite Suicide Girl? ~__^
Tanya sent over this photo of her current back tattoo. A blank slate can be daunting, but working around someone else’s design? I think I’m up for the challenge. The only direction she gave was that I could work up to the shoulder blade area and that she would like cherry blossoms.
I started by sketching the muscle structure of her back. I wanted the branches of the tree to follow the natural contours of her back.
Rough sketch with a red pencil.
More doodling.
Pen sketches on marker paper.
Trial inks: wispy and light vs dark and dramatic. My hands were extremely unsteady and I wasn’t satisfied with the brush work.
Now we’re on track: nothing quite like a mechanical pencil! I’m going to beef up the contrast and levels in Photoshop later.
Now all that’s left is adding the cherry blossoms.
Here’s the final. I stayed up until 5:30 AM drawing cherry blossoms, whew. There were a lot of rejected drawings in between, but I was too tired to take photos. Enjoy!
Happy drawing,
Ninja
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UPDATE:
In the end, Tanya opted for a different design by the amazing tattoo artist Tim Kern (what a cool last name). He’s a world famous tattoo artist whose work can be seen in Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York and on the bodies of 27 other lovely Suicide Girls. He’s a pro, so I knew she would be in good hands. ^__^ Tim does such a wonderful job rendering bark! I can’t wait to see what it looks like when the inks are finished next month.
Related postsNinja April 21st, 2009
Michel Gondry will personally sketch and sign your portrait based off of the photo that you submit via email. You can commission your’s here.
Related postsNinja March 25th, 2009
This is just a working title—I had the song, Sur Le Pont D’Avignon, stuck in my head this morning. Now I have The more you ignore me, the closer I get by the great Morrissey looping in my mind.
I promised that I would create more personal work in 2009, so in keeping my word, here’s my latest—a set of triplets with triplet rabbits. I’m hoping to finish the pencils before 3 AM, so I can put some gesso on it and let it dry overnight.
6B graphite pencil on Birch panel
This is where I’m at now.
detail
The patterns are killing my wrists! But it’s so worth it.
Happy drawing,
Ninja
Ninja February 25th, 2009
MoCCA’s The Art of Watchmen exhibition shows the character evolution from artist Dave Gibbons’ original concept sketches to their depiction in the comics culminating in their screen incarnations on in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Watchmen film.
When
Exhibition dates: March 6– May 2, 2009
Open Tuesday to Saturday 12:00 PM 5:00 PM
Closed Sunday & Monday
Where
Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
594 Broadway, suite 401
New York, NY 10012
Admission
Suggested Donation: $5.00
Members & Children under 12: free
Purchasing links
+ MoCCA special advanced benefit screening of the Watchmen movie & book signing on March 5 2009, $100.00
+ Watchmen graphic novel
+ Watchmen: The Art of the Film
Ninja January 23rd, 2009
Last night, I finally started to tighten up my Swan Lake sketch of Tanya Dakin. I was going to pick up where I left off, but I left my favorite pencils
So tonight, I made some sumi silhouettes.
Tanya Dakin
Stacey & Kevin
Cheers,
Ninja
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
Ninja April 3rd, 2008
When I sit down to ink a portrait, it takes me hours because I have the tendency to obsess over the details. In my figure drawing class, I don’t have that luxury. I need to get down the model’s pose and expression in minutes. This forces me to do quick washes and fast brush strokes. It’s a nice change of pace, and inking from life is a real treat. Too bad, my class is ending soon.
The model had a delightful accent and was full of life when she spoke. She also was a lot better looking that this.
I have the bad habit of overworking an image. I went too heavy with the shadows on her upper chest.
But I really like the bleeding edges that happened in the mid chest area.
Not my best work, but my bigger sketch book is tucked away in a locker. I figured I’d photograph my smaller sketch book since I had it handy. And experimenting and new things are fun, so I thought I’d share!
Happy inking,
Ninja
Limited edition lithograph prints. Signed + numbered.
