Recent sketches

These are the most recent sketches that I've done for my portfolio. I have been searching for my own art style and what I can draw best. I love woman's figure so I started to draw different female characters. Of course I will need to draw other characters beside fit-looking girls but this is a start. I think the construction and poses are getting a lot better and I am pretty happy with the result so far.

Self cartoon portrait

A very rough sketch

Outlined

Sketch of a recent made-up villain character

Colored test

Those are only sketches, I will have them all cleaned up and updated on this blog later.

A canceled project

I have made a decision that beside character design,which is my main focus, I also want to do storyboarding, so I started coming up with short story ideas for my storyboard. I came up with a bunch of stories and I thought I had already decided on this one as the final.

I thought it was a funny idea, then I found out it would be funnier if I could add more details on how the short guy would convince the big guy clean his teeth, thus, I would have to make the short longer, which would be impossible since I would not have time. So this idea, sadly, was canceled. I did a bunch of concepts for the characters, especially the big one that does not brush his teeth. I had a lot of fun with him.

First concept for the big guy

Full body concept

Different body designs for the big guy

Concept idea for both characters

The Sketches that I've never shown!

These are random sketches I did during last Fall 2011 when I was taking Ernie Gilbert's Animation Drawing class. Ernie told us that in order to draw better characters, we need to doodle a lot, doodle everyone, doodle as much as possible, and while we are doodling people, make them look extreme, meaning cartoon them, push their features further. If this man has a big nose, make his nose bigger etc. Classic lesson~ I'm a doodler (yes please check my blog top banner) but I am not so much of doodling people to the extreme. I can doodle in a top speed but I am not really good at turning them into goofy cartoon characters like in those Hanna Babara animated features. I am still learning though and it is lots of fun.

From top to bottom, left to right: my friend Stephanie, character designer Ernie Gilbert, doodle girl, and another friend Alicia

From top to bottom, left to right: my friends Eric, Liz, and Cameron

Artist Stephen Silver

2nd sketch of Stephen Silver

Top to bottom: my classmates Ryo and Jose

Top - Vietnamese comedian Dai Nghia; Left - my best friend Susan; Right - my friend Naira; Bottom - an old classmate - Thinh

Celebrities sketches, can you guess who?

Celebrities sketches Part 2, can you guess who?

Me when I was a 2 years old and my good friend Erika

My boyfriend and an old friend from high school Jaclyn

Marilee and Lindsey!

Holley, Derek, some guy, and Kristen

Random people

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates is right at the bottom

And a bonus of Lord Voldemort sketches:

Hand study

Expressions

Black Rose Concept

Black Rose is the main character from a story that I have been developing for over 10 years. I have come up with many different versions of her and honestly I was not happy with any of them. After years of improving my own drawing skill and studying from other animated features, this is what I have recently thought of and sketched out that actually satisfies me a little more. It may and may not be the actual final version of Black Rose but this is a real start!

First I came up with this spontaneous sketch of Black Rose in black and white:

  

Then I cleaned it up a little bit and did some color testing:

 

Truth is, I prefer the black and white sketch a lot more, it just looks better. I'm guessing perhaps my coloring was not good enough.