Character Designs

Here's a compilation of some of my character designs - some made for specific projects and others just personal work.

Some design work for a project based on the Chinese legend of the Monkey King,

Journey to the West.

These are facial tattoo designs called sefir that I came up with at the last minute for Trion's mmorpg RIFT. The sefir are the signature tattoos of the Bahmi race, which contain magical properties. I worked primarily as a character animator on RIFT, but I lent a hand at doing some concept work when this particular character's final look languished for months, all the way until final art lock.

 

 Some cartoon dinosaur and sea creatures I designed for a Taiwanese client.

Some concepts I did for a Chinese director, who wanted to see how I would design a deranged Lama with tremendous magical powers - I imagine a buddhist monk who dabbled into witchcraft and sorcery.

Some personal work.

Trion Figure Drawing May 2012

It's been forever since I last posted anything on this site. So here's my first offering for 2012.

We basically did a figure drawing workshop every week for the month of May. Finding an art model isn't easy, so we're fortunately these ladies were all available this month.

Diamond

(5-10 minute poses)

Juliet

(5-10 minute pose)

Lauren

(5-10 minute pose)

Latest Trion Figure Drawings

Here are some sketches from Trion's latest figure drawing workshops. Our model for July was Devon Jones, a sexy roller derby performer. The August model was Anastacia Armstrong, fashion designer and artist.

Devon Jones

2 -5 minute poses

Anastacia Armstrong

5 - 10 minute poses

Finding good models is really difficult, so I count myself very fortunate to be able to work with these wonderful ladies.

Trion Figure Drawing - April 2011

2 - 5 minute poses

I've just gotten around to posting this. It was from our April session at Trion, modeling of course is my friend Katherine Burness. For this one, I decided to exaggerate her postures a bit.

Trion Figure Drawing - July 6, 2011

I'm pleased to be putting up some new drawings this month (finally). For this 2 hour session our model was Brooke Milos.

2 minute poses.

5 minute poses.

10 minute pose.

I have taken over organizing our studio's bi-weekly figure drawing sessions. It was a bit nerve wracking at first, since I had no experience organizing any kind of event and have never hired art models before.

It's literally been months and months since I last posted anything. With the release of our game and a bunch of other stuff I got going on outside of work, I just got too overwhelmed with all these things happening at once. I guess I'm not as adept at multi-tasking as I thought. But all in all, this has been a great learning experience.


^_^

Merritt College Drawing Marathon 12.05.2010

Another set of short poses from this past sunday's Bay Area Models Guild drawing marathon, this time held at The Merritt College in Oakland, CA.

Once again, the models they had were top knotch - there were quite a few that were really challenging to draw. Several stages were set up for particular pose lengths; 1-2 minutes, 5-10 minutes, 20 minutes and 25 minutes. I stayed with the short poses. I got me tons of drawings that took several hours to sift through and pick the ones that I'm quite happy with.

1-2 minute poses of Leah

1-2 minute poses of Carrie

1-2 minute poses of various

male and female models

This was the final drawing marathon held by BAMG (Bay Area Models Guild) for 2010 and so far, the largest crowd of artists I've ever drawn with in a single (full day) session. There were artists of all types ranging from simple sketchers like me, to painters and sculptors. Good energy overall and fun environment.

Next one's in February 27th, 2011... See you there!

Palo Alto Drawing Marathon 11.21.2010

5-10 minute poses

I'm finally able to attend the Palo Alto Drawing Marathon. Here's a select few from the session. The poses I have here range between 5-10mins I think... I was moving around a lot. Heck of a time to show up for an all day drawing session after months of no practice though. Ugh... can't believe how rusty I got. Still, it was a lot of fun.
The models are members of the Bay Area Models Guild and they are fantastic. My friend Katherine Burness is a member and was posing in the second half of the session (that's her on the top right and the one directly beneath it). I look forward to more sessions like this.

I believe this guild is having another drawing marathon on December 5th at Merritt College in Oakland. Let's see if I can make this one and end 2010 in a good, artistic note!

It's been a while

 (Random warm-up sketches)

(Various "Soldier" poses from Trion's
figure drawing workshop)



July was the last time I posted anything from figure drawing workshops. There simply isn't enough time in a day to do everything. Between my martial arts training and work schedule, drawing kinda took a back seat for the time being.

Our game "Rift: Planes Of Telara" is due for release sometime next year. So everyone including myself are really hammering down to deliver the most kick-ass and polished assets ever seen in an mmorpg. Since everyone is now busier than usual, Trion's figure drawing sessions have also been put on temporary hold until we ship. The "soldier" was the last model I've drawn and the last session I attended.

I still try to make it out to Dr. Sketchy's each month just to keep my drawing muscles in check and I actually attended last month. I'm just bummed that I wasn't able to draw anything worth putting up from the last workshop.

Dr. Sketchy's 07.20.2010

3-5 minute poses

Another really fun workshop at Dr. Sketchy's at the Minna Gallery. The models were the burlesque trio called Sister Kate. So far, these ladies have the best costumes I think. The sketching part though was rather disappointing... 'cause I was torn between drawing and taking pictures. They just looked so good on stage! The dance routine they did balancing a sword on their heads was tops! Check out the video below.

Trion Figure Drawing 07.14.2010

3-5 minute poses

Select short poses of Katherine from our latest drawing session. Our group's favorite model, she's always a lot of fun and a challenge to draw. I'm lucky to get out a couple of decent sketches of her each time she models for us.

Metamorphica - 02.26.2010

The first Metamorphica figure drawing workshop this year was great! Led by Anastazia Louise, Bad Unkl Sista yet again delivered fantastic performances to the tunes played by Fkir Elderfae and other musicians, not to mention Nadia Mogilev's efforts in organizing such a workshop for us artists, students and professionals alike.

I'd say one of my biggest struggle during these workshops is not so much the drawing part itself... but trying to juggle the damned camera to get a good shot and then switching to drawing the models after they settle down. The length of the poses varies between 3 minutes to 20 minutes, depending on the model. Since they are butoh performers, they do a bit of "dancing" or some kind of expressive movements before posing for the artists.

As far as drawing medium, this time around I opted to use prismacolor fine liners and grey markers. I recall the last metamorphica I attended was quite crowded and I came with an 11x14 newprint pad and some pencils and had to sit on the floor, which made the experience a tad uncomfortable. Expecting the same, I figured I'm gonna have to draw smaller and with something that didn't require constant sharpening.

Ive recently started experimenting with different mediums, first with pastel sticks. But, It yielded rather disappointing results since I didn't really know how to properly draw with them. Gonna have to practice a few times more before I post something decent in that medium. So for this workshop, fineliners and markers it is.

The format of the workshop had changed - instead of a front and center stage, the entire floor of the studio became the stage, so artists had to get up and move around to get the best angle possible for their sketches. It was a lot of fun and allowed for more interaction with other artists. The preformers also got "in your face" and interacted with the artists as they drew. It was such a cool experience.

I am truly humbled and proud to be in the presence of such talented artists. Their commitment to their craft help fuel my drive to become better at figure drawing. Another workshop is being planned for April, so I expect to be posting up more images from that event. I can hardly wait.

Photos from this workshop can be found in my facebook photo album and flickr pages.

Trion Figure Drawing February 2010

Well, the figure drawing sessions at work are certainly off to a good start this year - finally got myself a portable easel, so I'll be drawing upright again. This month we're introduced DeCoy Gallerina, a professional dancer and a fantastic costumed model.

DeCoy Gallerina,3-5 min poses

DeCoy Gallerina, 20 min pose

You can check out DeCoy Gallerina's video on Youtube.

I haz returned... with figger drawings!!

Well, it's been a crazy year 2009. Lots of milestones to hit at Trion (and still no mandatory unpaid overtime, unlike some game development studios). As busy as I was with work, I somehow managed to squeeze in extra curricular activities which include my return to training in martial arts and attending drawing workshops. Tough year, but rewarding.

So, here's a few of those drawings, some from the workshops and others from work. I'll post more later from upcoming drawing workshops.

The Minna Gallery regularly hosts live model drawing workshops once every month. The models range from burlesque dancers, stage performers and in this case, Roller Derby girls. It's a pretty casual setting, with a bar where you can get alcoholic beverages and nice music playing in the background. Though it can be a bit loud with the music and all the chatter going on, it's still a nice venue to mingle with fellow artists and meet new people.

I have to admit, the Roller Derby girls were rather "cute" - they've never posed for a drawing class before and standing still for 3-5 minutes on roller skates is mad hard, but I thought they did a good job in maintaining dynamic poses for us.

Next are from Metamorphica, a drawing workshop hosted by the performance troupe Bad Unkl Sista. These models wear amazing costumes and their movements are pretty out of this world, almost like creatures from another planet. I hope to attend the next one.
These selections are from the after hours drawing class at work. These are drawings from "good" models. This past session,we had a particularly fantastic nude model by the name of Katherine Burness. She became an instant favorite and we hope she'll return for more drawing sessions. Hands down, THE best live model I've gotten to draw since moving out here in the Bay area.But first, we have to try out a few more models and compile a list of favorites, which now includes Katherine and another gentleman we had prior to her.

3-5 minute poses, with Katherin Burness.

3-5 minute poses with various female models.

20 minute pose with Katherine Burness. She really liked this one so I gave her a scanned copy, which she put up on her website.

10 minute pose with a 50 year old male nude.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I hope to post more from upcoming drawing classes in the coming weeks.

- Ciao.

Needlehead

I decided to enter a design contest recently and submitted this ragdoll with a grin painted on its face and a needle pierced thru its head... why this design? I don't really know what possessed me to create this image to be quite honest.

Voting has begun! You can go to www.equnit.com/equilibrium to vote for your favorite design. If you do choose to vote, I hope you choose this guy. It would bring me much gleeful happiness. Thank you!

Warrior Monk Sketch

It's literally been months since I last posted anything on my blog; just been really busy at work and usually too tired to do anything (creative) after I get home.

Still, it's good to be busy with work - with the economy being the way it is, I count myself fortunate to have a cool job and earning steady income.

Recently I've found the need to start drawing again - I began loosely sketching this warrior monk with a wax pencil. I wanted to re-imagine what a warrior monk might be like if he were to exist in a world of fantasy. His design is an amalgam of several influences, which include Thai/Cambodian monk, Shaolin monk, samurai, and the fictional character Aang from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (a cartoon show that I'm a HUGE fan of).

What da dealy yo? - Basically I envisioned a warrior monk that is, for lack of a better word "extreme" in every sense. One who has trained since childhood, in a religion of elightment and meditation (I wouldn't call it buddhism since in this world it'll probably be called something else, but very similar) and martial science.

This particular one is a battle-ready Nomad; a traveling warrior monk. His body is tatooed with incantations and holy spells which glow when he harnesses his qi. He wears little or no armor, except for the leather lamellar skirt. His body would also be painted in a manner that would make him appear ghost-like. It is said that 1 nomad is enough to strike terror within the ranks of an opposing army.

At some point I intend to paint this character. I'll post it here when it's done and add more info about The Nomad.

Old Character Design

I haven't drawn anything new... so here's something I did a long time ago. At the time, I was into cartoony, urban chick designs, that's why I made this one. Was just starting to really get into coloring in photoshop too. I'm thinkin' I might revisit this design... maybe when I finally stop crunching at Midway and have a life again...

Stay tuned!

Life Drawing 04-29-2008

20 minute pose. The only one out of all the drawings from this week's session that I felt turned out ok.

Life Drawing 04-15-2008

These are from this week's life drawing class. The head study is my first, real attempt at portrait drawing from a live model. Both are 25 minute poses.