New Year, New Start

For those who have been waiting for new work, my apologies. There is tons of new material i'd love to show, but unfortunately now is not the time. That time will be saved for 2012. It's going to be a big year for me and I want to share it with everyone in the best possible manner. There will be brand new blog, new material for the blog, guests spots, and plenty more I have cooking in my mind's kitchen.

Hopefully i'll be able to learn about your wonderful life experiences as I showcase mine.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck around. Look forward to a more and improved ME! 

-K

Update September 2011

Soon, there will be more posts with artwork. For now, i'd like to update you on why you don't see any new posts.


- I spent about 3 weeks moving between two places during the end of the summer and beginning of the school semester (Lucky for me, i'm done with school, WINNING...for now). Still taking time to get situated, but it will produce even greater artwork by the time I do. I'm always growing artistically!

- My laptop works again thanks to a good friend. This means more things to post and more things to learn. Took the time to watch "Beats, Rhymes, and Life: Travels of A Tribe Called Quest," which is a documentary about the rise and fall of the hip hop group, A Tribe Called Quest. Being the huge hip hop fan that I am, this movie was brilliant. Just to be able to see the growth of a movement of people spreading love through music, understanding life, and living righteously. It's hard to look at any hip hop artist and think that, but that's one of the core examples emotion expressed through hip hop. Tribe created some of the best music and it's a shame we won't see another album...or will we?

- Speaking of hip hop, The Carter IV sucks. It doesn't necessarily SUCK, it just lacks quality material. When you have punch-line, after punch-line, after punch-line, you start to take away the value from them. In other words I felt the entire album was repetitious. The breath of fresh air came from "Interlude" featuring Tech 9   (who I never thought had a decent flow until now) and Andre 3000 (whose one verse is better than the whole album). Clearly there's people that like the album for what it represents in today's society, then there people who don't like what it represents...people like me. :-)

- Last week I happen to come across this blue van by the Copley Library. This van was actually a grilled cheese vendor called Roxy's (I think). I'll tell ya...that was some damn good grilled cheese.

- I recently watched 127 Hours (with James Franco) and Buried (with Ryan Reynolds). These are two of the best current movies i've seen. So well directed and carefully filmed without dragging past the point, that it's almost an experience watching them multiple times. This must be the age of the comedians. 127 Hours is a brilliant movie about human potential and the will to survive. Buried on the other hand, was a clever thriller with a VERY surprising ending (in my opinion). As for films currently out, Warrior, (Tom Hardy) and The Debt (Helen Mirren) also were two solid movies. Those of you out there expecting The Dark Knight Rises to be incredible, go watch Warrior and see how big of a monster Tom Hardy is. The Debt's main problem is that it dragged for a very long time throughout the movie. With such a good story, it should move at a better pace. Overall it was interesting.

- Finally, I have quite a few new illustrations for my Natural Selection story. Finished doing the Wolf, Eagle, Dolphin, Bat, and Constrictor. These will be posted soon.
I'm always being creative even when i'm not active. Always expect something new and full of life!

-K

Natural Selection Work: The Lion

I've been working on a big personal project called Natural Selection. I won't get into the details yet since I haven't completely finished the story, but it's an animated short video of the world after an apocalypse through the minds of animals. It will feature several specific species of animals that I feel have some sort of extensive knowledge of human lifestyle.

The first character is the Lion. 

Lion - "The keeper of the jungles and the open plains of Africa. Wise in all it sees for all it has seen is life at the top of the food chain, the lion takes pride in its status as "King of the Jungle". The lion survives off pure knowledge and protection of its pride. The lengths the lion is willing to go to do so is what makes this powerful feline predator a prime factor in the extinction of the human race." 


The style of this animation will be in ink and watercolor, which are two of my favorite mediums.
Stay tuned for more work and preliminary sketches towards "Natural Selection".

-K

People are the NEW Dinosaurs

This is a piece i'm designing for a clothing company. The title, "People are the NEW dinosaurs," is supposed to represent the feel of the image; the nature of human distinction from beast and reality. We have become savages on a materialistic manner, but still maintain the strength to develop and strengthen our potential. My goal for this was to create a silhouette/shadow version of a T-Rex that has become modernized. I attempted not to fill in the entire contour of the dinosaur considering it would be common to just draw something that has lost it's popularity over the years. I haven't seen many people who actually care about dinosaurs except for kids, so maybe im just a big-little kid? This design was a challenge and highly entertaining since I used to love these creatures when I first started illustrating. I'm pleased with the end result and am hoping others will be able to see my purpose behind it.

-K

Crackhead for Octopi

For those who regularly follow my designs, you'll see that I have quite an obsession with legs and extra appendages. If I keep this up, I'll start calling myself Doctor Oc....no...that's corny.

Anyway, Enjoy
-K

Old and New

The two images you see here were done about two years apart. The lower drawing was done first while the top was done second. I had NO intention of matching the poses of these two characters. It kind of happened on coincidence. Its interesting when you look back at old work and see the similarities of your new stuff. I might have to consider making a series of characters in this same pose and see what kind of different solutions I come up with. Experimentation with randomization...always fun.

-K

It's Good To See You Too Left-Hand...

So, as you remember from the last post...I had "artist block". Yes, it is real, and it does have effects. For me, it enters my life when I feel something is "missing". The truth is that nothing is really missing at all. I'm just looking for the next best thing for me to experience.

My experience came when I picked up the pencil and did nothing I was supposed to. It was like someone slapped my thoughts in check, which left a bolting bruise where my creativity slithered back in. That caused me to draw this...

Funny thing is...I was attempting to draw a tree. Yeah, a plain ol' Boston Commons tree. So my mind dwindled and did something completely different. As you can see this is also a work in progress. I still have a bunch of segments to finish since I got so caught up on the head of the creature. You can kind of see how I started this just from the contour lines around it. Be on the lookout for more!

-K

The Blind Death

Recently I came across an old notebook that had half a finished story in it. I made a decision to rewrite this idea into a short story. Soon I would like to add to the story or make it into a short film clip or animation. Artist block crept in during the week like it was invited. I swore I locked the door to my creativity so I don't know where it came from. Meanwhile, that's where the inspiration came to write again. I think you'll enjoy this one. Either that or it will make you think...which is what it should. Enjoy!

WARNING: This story contains some graphic descriptions and is quite dark in nature. Be warned if you have a squeamish stomach or a weak heart.

The Blind Death

“You will never see my point of view on an eye to eye level!”

Sam bursts these words as he storms out his summer apartment furious in anger. He and his girlfriend, Sarah, had spent years together in a one-sided affair that only one person seemed to enjoy. Sarah’s constant selfish antics left Sam at a pause in their relationship mentally.  He needed a vacation in his life as well as from hers. She pleaded his presence for an eternity, knowing what she has to offer him is more than eternal. He on the other hand, could only grant her an eternity of disappointment. She chased after his love the further it ran through time. Frequently she would visit a past that was only believable in dreams. His actions suggested total rejection while his heart recommended distant intimacy. Sam began to take his final steps in what otherwise was his never-ending attempt to place his soul in silent purgatory.

                Days present and the rancid scent of shame helped fumigate Sam’s actions. He knew the only method to forget she exists was to erase her from his existence. The excessive vibrations of his phone created additional cracks to his already damaged kitchen counter. He begins to reminisce the moment he gave birth to cracked counter after hitting it with a large frying pan during an argument with his beloved.  The receding response from answering interrupted his sentences to arrange a meeting, but the subliminal undertones were clear enough.

                Sarah meets her questionable lover at a jagged park bench in gloomy weather which predicted thunderstorms. This encounter was not too far-fetched from their first date during a miserable indigo evening of downpour. People currently residing in the park suddenly began to leave as the atmosphere became less pleasant to bear. Though very few words were spoken over the phone, she wasted no time in pleading her devotion, regardless of Sam’s other intentions. She moves her lips towards his face as he moves his eyes towards the hand in his jacket. Her hand rests on his shoulder blade as his palm grips a sturdy handle. She then javelins her arms around his chest in tears as he thrusts his blade into her stomach. A vibrant rose river erupts out of her womb from the retracting dagger as her life-force peered endlessly into his eyes. After realizing what he had accomplished, Sam released his own life-force of leftovers he had previously consumed several hours before. Dark clouds of judgment smothered his mind as his body began to weaken. He collapsed face first in his own pile of filth in sweeping manner, as if he were a broom lost of purpose. He then rose soon after noticing the blackness in the sky being familiar to the clouds seen mentally. As his iris gathered information, he was disturbed by a radiant flash of ghastly light. A figure short in height, ash colored hair with a stench of death, with disintegrating albino skin mysteriously levitating before him.  It’s almost as if she appeared in a photogenic blink, vanishing due to his dilated vision. Soon his attention was attacked as the image reappeared with oval shaped craters where her eyes should be located. Volcanic midnight oil leaked from them as if it was blood vacating a host. His voice box shattered as he yelped and his brain waves had stopped flowing, crushing any hope of elaborating the occurring events. Panicking was only the start of his race to hell.

                Picking up his feet running as if they were hooves, he attempted to dash for an escape. As careless as he was, he stumbles over a stone crashing his elbow into a fellow one. The blood from the scar leaking in color of charred bricks was a splendid feast for maggots. His legs get pulled from beneath as the left side of his face grates across pavement and greenery. Kicking fiercely he is able to resist pressure, but turns around to witness the same illuminating figure standing above him. The image disappears again, but a strong impact makes contact with his ear traveling sharply to the side of his mouth. Once again he feels a strong force pulling behind him as he shifts his body to deserted images of a once populated park. His body is ravaged by being forcibly handled in different directions, straining him each time. It was as if people were grabbing him, but no one was in sight but horrifying flashes what appeared to a spirit. Only whispers were coming from his withered voice. His larynx clogged as if locusts had made their mark. In his last effort to fight this power he grabs his knife and proceeds to access the soft spot between the bloody craters of the figures eyes. Sam retains his grip on the blade cowering on the ground like a kidnapped child. His eyes remained closed in fear of opening them to another nightmarish disturbance from hell. Once his eyes opened his vision was blurred with tears and sweat like a truck through a rainstorm. What he saw was not only a reality, but far from what he expected.

                He remained silent as his head jetted clockwise back and forth at his environment. Two police officers stood over him in bewildered terror, unable to process the current events. A mother and her two children paused no less than 15 feet away, with mouths open as wide the gash on the side of his face. As he peered towards Sarah’s lifeless corpse, he noticed the cake frosting of dry blood covering her eyes matching her previous wound.  His thoughts accumulated what was not only an illusion, but a reality far too realistic for what just happened. He followed the trail of blood stained the length of the Nile down her body. The end of the trail formed a puddle where her purse stations itself soaked in the blood.  Hanging out of the purse was a small white strip with an addition sign, but no numbers. At that moment, Sam realized what he had done and why Sarah tried to reach out to him. In his haunted illusions he had slaughtered her in front of on-lookers that were trying save her…and the life inside her. Unaware of how he brought demise to his own future, Sam looked around at the terrified faces watching in horror as he freely painted the vicinity red. A woman gazes into his eyes frightened while asking in fear, “How could you do this?”  It was then that Sam did the only thing he could do. He reversed the tip of his blade towards his throat. The cops present bolted forward to stop him, but achieved their goal too late. The gash he made already punctured deep enough to end the existence of what was quite visible…eye to eye.

-K

Another Spur Of The Moment

As you will see from the majority of my work, there are many instances where I do things unplanned. I believe it welcomes challenge and adds creativity to my art style. Although it takes me quite some time to complete an illustration, i typically plan how I draw each line. I might have a concept in mind, but the end product sometimes ends up completely different than what i imagined. That...is part of what makes art so fascinating...Spontaneous Creativity.

This is the prime example of that. I don't particularly find this drawing amazing, but i'm more impressed with how I designed it. Believe it or not...I actually designed this WHILE getting a tattoo. The rush of trying to complete the illustration while getting stabbed with ink needles actually provides a creative thrill I didn't know I had.

K-

My apologies for the delay in posting. Laptop has been down as of recent. This image is of a minotaur I designed spur of the moment during a school retreat. If I could pinpoint my inspiration for this I would describe it, but it's difficult to nail it down. I honestly had no type of concept for designing this. I just told myself I wanted to design a minotaur and this is what I came up with. This took me about 5 hours to complete; 1 to do the initial sketches, 2 to outline and fill in, and another 2 of shading. Sometimes being a good distance from home is all you need to be creative.

K-

Shelled Uryrosus

This creature concept was inspired by conceptart's Creature of the Week. This week's challenge is to create a Hissing Shelled-Canopy Crawler. What that is, lies completely in the artists' imagination. So...this was my concept. It scales trees upwards and uses a gel-like antennae to lure prey into its ameoba stinger. I'm not sure what else i'm going to do with this as far as color, but it was a lot of fun getting these creative juices flowing again. There will be more of these concepts I attempt during the summer!

-K

Side B

Here it is, my Degree Project I spent almost a year planning out. This abstract music video, "Side B" is about the sound transgression of hip hop through technology. The sound of the video was inspired by my thoughts on how technology has changed the rhythym of hip hop music. I traveled through different hip hop themes with a different sound and style for each one in the video. From beatboxing to djing, I wanted to show growth and a new direction in the way the music was presented. The music and animations were done by me.
Special thanks to everyone who surrounded me with input during the making of this!

-K

The Dark Knight vs The Invincible Ironman

NOTE: This is purely for speculated fun.There are times when I read about a character and think about how to logically pit that character against someone of equal or greater skill. Similar to sports deciding which team can win based off statistics. Hope you enjoy the first of many. 

Batman(DC) vs Ironman(Marvel)

The World’s Greatest Detective vs The Worlds Greatest Futurist

 

Let’s start with the basics. Batman, is a human with no relative superhuman powers, but has some of the greatest deductive reasoning in the world. He is able to solve almost any problem during any situation. His detective skills and conventional gadgets make him a useful adversary in the art of crime solving. He has dedicated his entire life to fighting crime to gain some sort of satisfaction from the death of his parents. To top it off, he’s labeled as one of the best hand to hand fighters in the DC Universe. Even Superman considers him one of the most dangerous men on Earth, based simply on what he’s capable of.

Ironman, can also be considered a normal human being, but with a gift that turns him into a force of destruction. His suit of armor is almost considered one of the best man-made weapons on earth. It comes with repulsor rays, unibeams, and electrical discharges for defense. It is strong enough to lift several tons as well as passing speeds beyond human capabilities. He suit is also capable of disabling most technological equipment within his vicinity. Not to mention his creative genius in the field of mechanical engineering allows him to constantly upgrade his suit with high tech features.  He is the staple human for the future of robotics.

The real question is what happens when these two meet? If anything, Batman would meet Ironman on unpleasant circumstances like he usually meets people. Ironman would assume Batman has done something wrong, which would put him in the position to defend himself. Both Batman and Ironman are modeled are Sherlock Holmes and Howard Hughes. Holmes being a master world famous detective with Hughes being a inventor with an American idol charm. Batman shares his detective abilities with Holmes, but personality wise they are completely different considering Batman isn’t as verbally outgoing as Holmes. Batman tends to not let personal issues get between his work. Ironman lives the life of a rock star while still being known for making powerful weapons. His brilliant strategies and technological skill seems to be more advanced than Hughes. These details are important due to how they would react in an actual battle and how equal these two men really are.

Obviously Batman is a MUCH better fighter than Ironman, but that does not mean Ironman can’t hold his own. He was in fact trained by Captain America who is considered by many to be one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe. Batman can’t fly like Ironman but he can definitely run and jump. Both of these characters would try their best NOT to fight in harm’s way due to the innocent lives surrounding them. Ironman’s weaponry might not be an issue for Batman considering he is in peak condition to dodge them, but physically he might be outmatched. Ironman’s strength level is MUCH higher than Batman’s but that hasn’t stopped Bats from beating Superman. This fight all depends on Ironman keeping his distance, and Batman catching up with Ironman. Since this battle would be a stale mate in gadgets and weaponry, they would have to resort to the environment as their main weapon. They both probably have the ability to nullify each other’s tools, so a victory could go either way. If Ironman could attack from a distance he has a great chance, but if Batman reaches that distance, he could easily pressure point Ironman into unconsciousness.

Batman-5 Ironman-5

Q Reigns

This illustration is of Q from the video game Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. His back story is somewhat unknown and he rarely utters words during the entire game. His fighting style is very power based and he moves rather sluggish is not tortoise like. My purpose for this picture was representing Q as the silent killer with questionable remorse. The head he is holding is of Akuma's, also from 3rd Strike and other Street Fighter games as well. A rather violent and viscous character with a more versatile abilities and his infamous "Raging Demon. I personally dislike Akuma, because of how overrated he is (Always thought Bison was a better villain). I wanted to challenge myself reversing the popularity roles of the characters by placing them in different roles. I wanted to make Q lifeless as possible while still understanding a killer's remorse.

Mixed Media Scorpion

This is a painting of a scorpion I did for a class experimenting with paint. I used acrylic, black ink, and gauche. My challenge for this image was to make it resemble a scorpion, but with low-key tones. I added light pink highlights in order to give it depth and a sense of minor reflection from the stinger. It is an 18x24 painting. It was also a challenge incorporating my style of penciling to my style of painting. This peice took about 3 hours to pencil and ink, then another 2 for painting and coating. I actually used to own a scorpion as a pet, which is where the inspiration for this came from. Enjoy!

-K

Healthy Introduction

So, as of now I have officially graduated with a Bachelor's in Animation from Massachusetts College of Art and Design! WIN!
During the next few months I will post many of the illustrations I have done during my time there as well as my Degree Project animation that I spendtabout a year working on. Majority of the work that was produced were based off personal concepts rather than school assignments. Be on the look out for new work soon!

-K

Demo Reel

Hello All,

Here is a small collection of my animated work. Majority of this work was mostly produced during the time I attended Mass College of Art and Design. It contains hand drawn inked, penciled, and colored images. Hope you enjoy.

-K