George Nelson Blog

Beginning of 2012

2012-01-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

My 2011 wrapped up with an excellent holidays. Christmas was full of family, and I enjoyed all the gifts I recieved, with perhaps a sleeping mask being my favorite. New Year's was a quiet one spent with mom, and a busy, loud 2012 is on the horizon for me.

Straight from winter to summer, I write this update from Auckland, New Zealand. This is my first overseas visit! The country has been incredible so far, and work may be here. Definitely a new chapter in my life, and study abroad could be a part of it.

Setting up a visit to University of Auckland next week. Bring a little American art to the kiwis!

View from the farm at Pakari Beach, NZ

Socal Regionals Bound!

2011-12-02T01:39:00.000-08:00

Tournament season is always an invigorating time for folks in the Fighting Game Community. Folks are polishing their skills, there's a collective hype for new technology and high level play that'll be unleashed, and rivalry along with camaraderie is at it highest.

Competitive fighting games may have a fairly niche interest, but it's hard to deny the energy and intensity that builds over the course of a major tournament, that then explodes at the peak of grand finals.

Socal Regionals is one of the majors that take place here in California and is set to take place this month. With many of my peers completing and the venue being UCI, I'm wondering if I'm more excited about this than Christmas. I won't be completing this year, but will be assisting with J&J Mods table, where there'll be custom art and commissions available! Drop by and give me your favorite character that you want to see rendered by me!

Preview detail: Juri, SSFIV

November thoughts. In freestyle.

2011-11-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

Keep makin' that money. Live the American Dream
I make steady flow and get overdrafts every week
It's like playing hide and seek
Was just bout to leave then I got the raise
Now I'm gotta stay through the holidays

Glory

2011-10-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

I had the incredible experience of seeing Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp live at the Cerritos Preforming Arts Center. These two original cast members from one of my favorite shows, Rent
were one of the primary things that pulled me into the musical theatre world, so it was definitely an awesome opportunity to see them. It was years ago that I used to listen to Adam's music; raw, distinctive and versatile, so witnessing his performance and meeting him was more of a 'proud moment for an old friend' than a star-struck experience. A humble guy.
Check out some of current work at www.meandlarry.com.

A Return to Restlessness?

2011-10-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

I've been quite lazy.
Now, that 'lazy' can be relative...I've definitely been working on some interesting projects and collaborating with some great people to get things off the ground, but I've been getting my full 7 + hours of sleep nightly and that's too comfortable. Average amount of sleep I should be getting to stay healthy you say? ...feh.
So here's working towards restlessness. To my own projects that keep me up far too late, but let me rest knowing I've accomplish things I set out to do. Which may include not letting months go by without blog updates.

For now, a trailer for Spectrum, an iOS game that did keep me restless over the summer. I had the privilege of working with students at USC as the game's visual director and artist. One of the most interesting projects I've been apart of, and I hope to be apart of it till the day it hits the market!

You can also check out an article featured on latimes.com site.

Anatomy of Art

2011-02-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

To start, a Happy New Year to those who celebrate the Lunar calendar(aka 'Chinese New Year') I spent most of the day in bed sick, and because of that I felt the need to start today productive. So my first update to this blog for 2011 was a fine place to start.

I was recently fortunate to be selected in PrintZero Studio's first publishing of their annual Print Exchange, 2010 edition.

My print, 'We Lost Ourselves' was one of 35 of nearly 300 submissions to be included in their catalog. I thank all those who sent me congratulations, which made the work even more worth it. Though also, I thank a few who honestly replied with, "Why?" Why did you draw this? Why would they chose it?

Well. Perhaps inspired by my great, wise friend Amy Scheidegger and her Artistic Rebuttal, I'm going to break down my thought process behind this art. Will those be reasons to why it was selected? maybe not. But maybe you'll find it enlightening.

The Concept: My personal work often falls in this category: figurative, theatrical, with narrative elements. In what I do, I'm interested in conveying some story relating to the Human Condition. My starting point for this was saying farewell. To bring a close to a chapter, cutting it from your life, the end. The visual is a woman, perhaps in her home, cutting up the photo of a man. We don't know their relation, but it is unimportant. She looks to be asleep, maybe because it's something she can't bring herself to do coherently.

This piece alludes to a print I did in the past, 'I Take A Little Off the Top' where cutting signifies bringing an end to something for relief.

The Elements: Every visual we see contains some combination of the elements and principles of art, but here, I'll highlight a few of the major details I included.

We're naturally drawn to the human face, so it's important to include details to pull the viewer throughout the picture plane. Here, though it is subtle, the space created by the foreground hand is in close vicinity and mimics the shape and details of the head.

In this same area, though we know the hand created depth of space, the visual repetion pulls and relates pieces together. The woman's arm completes a pattern of fingers.

Among my favorite artists, the late Paul Hartley taught me the appreciation for repeated lines. This repetition is subconscious, but visually holds the picture together.

Again, repleted lines to create repetition in the image. The blue angles serve as arrows which are an advertent choice to keep you within the image though there is a figure who is outwards and cut off. I commonly decide on cropping figures because it's visually interesting to me, so it's important to pull the viewer back into the picture with such elements.

While on the subject of the cut figure, it's safe to assume that the man's face is his, as it visually 'completes' his body. And hey, weren't we pointed directly to it?

The Execution: This is a plate etching done by carbine-tip needle, printed in Daniel Smith Standard Black ink on Rives BFK paper.

So there you have it. The thought process behind one of my pieces of art. Tune in next time!

Thanksgiving update

2010-11-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

This month has been busy and it's always around this time folks final come to be thankful for things. Not I.

Oh, not that I'm an ungrateful person. It's the opposite. I'm seriously one of those sappy, 'I'm so thankful everyday' people. Yeah. It might make some sick if they could hear me. I guess Thanksgiving does give folks that chance to, even if they are thankful people, to just vocalize it. The big glorious dinner is just extra. Ok, I'd be dumb and a liar to not acknowledge it's ALL 'bout that Thanksgiving feast!

I spent mine in shifts waiting in line at Fry's Electronics. It'd been awhile since I'd camped outside in a tent. On concrete. Pretending like you're a hobo can be quite fun.

Earlier this month was the incredibly hype premiere of Socal Regionals held in Los Angeles, CA which had one of the most amazing grand finals I've witnessed in any gaming event. With Norcal Dhalsim player Fillipinochamp convincingly defeating Daigo to claim the champion title in SSFIV, why, I felt proud to be an American!

Comfortable Company

2010-09-26T21:09:00.001-07:00

There's an etching I created a short time back titled 'Comfortable Company'. In it is a portrait of a girl slouching in her couch with a crimping tool to her left. The crimping tool itself serves as a symbol of finishing an end, but also a personal reminder of how I met this person, through Fedex where this tool is used.

Anyway, I though back to that title after a recent afternoon with good folks. Because sometimes, all you need in the hectic world is that comfortable company of a good friend. It's something I never take for granted. One of my good friends who I don't often get to spend the company with these days is Amy, who resides in Philly.. She's started a new blog: http://illustrativehistorians.wordpress.com/ worth checking out for a great read in things of art advocacy.

Now go spend the afternoon with some good folks.

Hmm.

2010-08-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

Definitely past due for a new post.
Sorry about that.

It's summer, and in that season one tends to go into serious chill/kick-back mode, or hop onto things they can't get to the rest of the year. But that could just be me. I'm least art-active in the summer(a by-product of school I assume)and more excited to travel or just get out there with friends who now have more time(a by-product of school). So among the travels I made was the Las Vegas trip for Evo2010. This was fully the most enjoyable one I've attended...you can read a quick write-up on my take of it here.

This summer I managed to feverishly work on and crank out a print for PrintZero Studios. This year it's huge and marks its first juried catalog. I had to participate! I'll keep you updated with a shot my entry soon.

With summer coming to a close I've gotta start getting back into swing of things...with whatever swing that was there to begin with...

The Last Stand.....The New Evo?!

2010-06-28T03:55:00.001-07:00

Though the Farewell Fedex Fight Nights Party concluded a few weeks ago, it's still left me with a high. Organizing an event like that and giving folks in the community a great outlet was something very rewarding. Six months of weekly FFN can take up more time than it seems. And it becomes more of a need than it seems as well. We got opportunity to level up and formed a pretty tight crew. Maybe that's why even with a farewell I pushed for one more 'Last Stand' this coming Thursday... ;)

Evo 2010 is rapidly approaching. I can't believe it. I could go back to last year's post and anticipate the fun, and then see all the things I've done since then. Any annual event such as this can really drive excitement and notalgia. And through it I've come to know incredible people!

It's summer and I'm bound to stay busy but it's off to a good start! I oughta practice up some card counting for Vegas though...

Photos courtesty of JDM714

Prone to do things

2010-05-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

It's 2 in the morning. I could write that anytime I'm in an inspired mode of working. I've wished I could be more productive and engaged to do things at a timely, normal hour, but hey. Best to embace it and so what I do.
I've had the opportunity to get involved with the Fighting Game Community and contributed FNN to the socal area, and it's been growing since late December '09. Next month will mark its final sessions(whether temporarily or indenfinite) and we're wrapping up with a big event! This has been an experience and labor of love. More info and if you'd like to attend, here.

This summer I'm putting my foot down and stepping forward from Goldenwest College, in hopes to begin studies at Cal State Long Beach. GWC has been incredibly rewarding and convenient for about 3 years, and I'm set forth for further artistic challenges. I'm thankful for the art I've been able to work on here as well as a recent Ken Kirslake Student Award from APA by nomination from Professor Conley.

Finally, my company/project thefedups.com has been under dormant stages for a long time but will be official soon, and I'll be pouring myself into that. Five gallon buckets. 2 AM. I'm prone to do things.

Photo from my 27th bday by Jeannie. Like a shot outta film noir ;)

You grew up, roll again!

2010-05-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

I think it's set in that I'm 27 now. Twenty-seven. Mind-blowing to me. People can't even ask the question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" anymore cause I passed that space on the gameboard awhile back.

So then that means the I-want-to-do should be happening now. And it kinda is...or in the process of being just about to. I'm still pouring some time into art, if an eye-dropper squeeze counts as pouring.

May showers

2010-05-06T11:42:00.001-07:00

What's happened in the past month? I gotta get my head on straight...The NC trip? Incredibly fulfilling. Family issues? On an upswing. Fedex Fight Nights? Exploding out the building. Release of SSFIV? Awesome. That's a lot of good stuff in short month. It's throwing the cosmos out of whack. I gotta clean this up.

Back in Touch

2010-03-22T11:00:00.001-07:00

I've been blessed with meeting some of the best people in the world and being able to click with them even if years of time have passed between. It's a great, great thing to have.

The end of this month I'm traveling back to ol' NC to get out of the OC and spend some time with my college crew. And maybe even catch up with one of my favorite professors, Michael Ehlbeck, the printmaker and man of knowledge extrodinaire. Where I picked up most of what I know in Printmaking? Talk to this man.

I'll be able to rumage through a few friends' houses for art they've stored for me for years. I'd better come bearing gifts, eh?

Fight Nights, and Art Shows, and Shirts... oh my!

2010-02-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

The recap of things happening from the 1st of 2010 till now:
One can't deny the commonplace videogaming has in present culture. Where fighting games once appealed to a niche followers, its interest recieved an adrenaline shot with Street Fighter IV. In '09 I dove deeper into the FGC(Fighting Game Community) culture through meeting and learning from such significant figures as Alex Valle. Inspired by the gaming sessions here in socal, I created Fedex Fight Nights. FFN is a contribution back to the community where a few casual and top players could enjoy in the common interest of fighting games, and its location-a Fedex Office conference room- lends to the broader sense that this culture isn't simply for a few fellas playing within their homes, but assembled and accepted in recognized public place. It's thus far been a rewarding weekly endeavor to hold.

Paul Hartley, an incredible influence and one of my painting mentors passed in November '09. As one who has left a impact on my art and so many others', he is honored by a tribute show that's been in Raleigh, NC and has traveled to Greenville, NC. I've been every thankful to be a part of this show, and hope to keep my art growing, if not solely inspired by Paul's prolific career.

There are always plenty of projects I juggle, but at the moment one that has garnered some excitement is that I am currently working on a few Street Fighter themed shirts to go into production next month, celebrating the release of SSFIV.

To be continued!

You been fine, '09!

2009-12-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's Eve!
It's been quite a year, one that I've really gotta run though in my head to see where I've been and what I've done with it. Here's to a big new 2010.

Prints Charming

2009-11-02T01:38:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year I participated in PrintZero Studio's Exchange 6. This group annually collects editions of fine prints, Exhibits them, and distributes them out to artists. My lithograph was on this panel at the bottom, third one over. It was an abstraction of a curtain and telephone. Anyway, you can Check out lots of the other cool entries on their photostream here.

I'm looking forward to the LAPS Exhibit opening reception this Thursday. Was just recently accepted in their society and now I'm allowed to be all in the know of printmaking events going on in CA. It was all just hearty laughs at me before.

The postcard for the show is here, with a little preview of all of the pieces in the show. Come check out the art in person if yer in the area!

All the info on the back:

Everything, just over time.

2009-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been up to much as of late. Or, I've been up TOO much as of late. Which ever it is, here's the quick run down:

Continued ideas in printmaking work. 'Delicate Ladies'? 'Japanese Ericks'? It may not make sense now, but you'll know soon. Picked back up progress with 'The Fedups', though substancial content remains far away. Worked with Darrick Lazo in creating a solid entry for corporate video contest at work(The results have yet to be released). It inspires continued video work.

Submitted lithographs to Los Angeles Printmaking Society’s 20th National Printmaking Exhibition and got two pieces accepted! The show will be opening next month!
Last week the huge japanese gaming news site, Famitsu featured an interview with Ono, who was revealing info on the upcoming Super Street Fighter 4. He sported the 'New Warrior' shirt I gave him at Evo2k. Sick!!!

Details on a next shirt design are underway.. Competing in a SF4 2v2 tourney in Santa Ana in a week. Training underway...

And that brings us up to date. I've been fortunate to have a lot of good stuff going this past month. Things I've aimed for that have accumulated overtime. Now, it's getting late in '09, which means it's time to kick into gear some work for printmaking. Sheesh, that's a lot in such short time.

I'll end with a few collabs I've done with Chris Kato. A little bit of things I hope to continue, unless the art world tells us that's enough.

Relationship, litho/silkscreen on Rives BFK

Bryan the Kid, litho/silkscreen on Rives BFK

Through the Blizzard Again..

2009-08-25T04:17:00.001-07:00

Aug. 20-21: Blizzcon '09. This marks my second attendence and also, recalling the writing about my first Blizzcon reminds me this blog's just about 1 year old.
The Convention in review...fun, engaging, informative, and..well, not as hype as the year's past. Don't get me wrong: The hall was packed full and expanded, energy and excitement from the major fans(and cosplayers),there was PLENTY of hype-worthy info on the next upgrade to WOW, in the form of 'World of Warcraft:Cataclysm'. But...well, it's been a slower(or perhaps much quieter)year of development for Blizzard. But hey, fans were still happy. I was definitely satisfied with minor tweaks and the new class(the Monk) for Diablo III, and meeting Felicia Day of The Guild fame was sweet. And last but not least...seeing Ozzy live!! Prince of Darkness still got some bite in him. Here's to next year...Which definitely promises to bear much more in their developments.

Goin' to War

2009-07-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Evo2k 2009? Plenty of hype, crazy all night. I don't have the words to summarize all of the excellence, so I'll just leave you a shot of me and producer Yoshinori Ono. It was great to meet him again, andI dunno how many guy's chests he's signed, but mine's on the list. The man is happy all the time! He graciously accepted one of my New Warrior tees.

And as if Evo weren't enough, what d'ya know bout this?
http://www.warzonetournament.com A big annual tourney back in Socal? Feels so right. It's a good time for fighting games.. And I'm there, y'all.

Git 'em while they're hot!

2009-07-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

I'm stoked. Evo 2009 is here. I'm competing and witnessing the largest Tournament of its kind, promising countless moments of hype. And on top of that, my SFIV shirtline continues with The New Warrior Red Edition and it's available, right in time for this crazy event. I'm heading there today!

This edition is strictly limited to 25 pieces and available in Black(Small, Medium) and Grey(Large).
Wanna snag one? You can select yours on the menu below. I can be quickly contacted via twitter, by tweeting with @thefedups

Trying to Lose?

2009-06-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple months I was taking on a few artistic projects...Heck, more than a few. I was trying on more than most should aim to, it was like setting myself up for failure. Learned Flash animation(will post the final project sometime), createded on a small line of SF shirts(still in process), continued development on The Fedups project, worked on printmaking.

One of the pieces I spent too much time on is the lithograph below. It started with my wanting to add a piece that would compliment and expand my body of fineprints. When I get around to it I'll try to get you guys some peeks of a few other prints in the portfolio.

Trying Toulouse, lithograph on Rives BFK, edition of 20.

I'm older and wiser now!

2009-05-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

It's May already? Geez. I really need to send out 2008 Christmas presents.
Past few weeks have been filled with Printmakings, misc projects, Street Fighter and sleep. I'm getting spoiled these days with being able to get full nights' sleep.

This past Wednesday I had some printmaking work up for Art Open House at the ol' GWC in Huntington Beach. Working on a sick lithograph I'll have up here for you to check out next week. Definitely. Cause the semester's just about to end.

Also've learned a lot in Flash CS4 in the past months. I'm currently in the middle of an animation short which should win me an academy award. Well, no, but it's going to be pretty awesome. I'll leave ya with some tantilizing still shots. Check back for the eventual finished product!

What's Next?

2009-04-04T05:39:00.000-07:00

Getting shirts in, sketching new ideas... I'm keeping it rolling. The Street Fighting shirts are coming up pretty soon, which is pretty sweet. Check out a finalized design which I'm making available for a lucky few this weekend.

I'm hyped about Street Fighter Bar Fights which is happening April 5th. It's going to be one crazy event, and I've donated a few of these shirts for Gootecks to give out at his own disgression. Check it!

Can't make it to this sick event? Stay tuned.

Select your alternate costume!

2009-03-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

So, just incase this isn't known, I've been getting myself wrapped up in Street Fighter 4. At some point everyday I get cravings to 'focus attack', 'anti-air ex SBK', or 'c.shortx2>ex lightning legs>ultra'.

Er, anyway, it's a good time to be a SF fan. And celebrating that I've got plans to release a small collection of SF-themed shirts through this site. Doing some designs now and looking up some good shirt manufacturers as we speak.

Why the urge to make shirts? For the hell of it? Well, yeah, kinda.
I've got access to silkscreen and heat press and I ought to make use of it. I like creating stuff. And lastly, I want to give the fighting game community something back. Which leads to the notion..

I'm aiming for these guys to be free('cept for S+H) in some form on a donation basis(see donation side bar :) ). Check out a mock-up below. Thoughts? Hype? let me know.

Feed me, Seymour!

2009-02-09T02:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true: If you check out the right side of this page I've added a Donation bar. You can now send me all of your love and support(though it doesn't necessarily involve clicking that bar. Now if you want to send me moneys, then please, use it).

All donations go into keeping me active in artmaking. Papers, inks, or inspiring books, you name it. I need it. I'm going to have to set up some sort of system to send you cool stuff if you're that awesome to send me support..more on that later..

I still write '08.

2009-01-12T02:40:00.000-08:00

It takes me a few weeks before I'm able to consistently make written "09"'s. A new year's here, dear. Ya hear? ..Beer?

One of my resolutions in simplified form is to be more forward and unwaivering. Attaining goals, initiating projects, even ordering in a restaurant. In any case, I tend to brush things off or get side tracked thus leaving a side order of unfulfillment that I've gotta eat. And it's even worse coming back up.

Image (c) Amy Scheidegger 2009

Speaking of things that are yummy, Amy's got a new series of work, My Moral Animals that I'm featured in. You can see the rest of the collection HERE

I've got a lot of big things on my list this year, an looking to let you in on my current major project once I get things in place. Forward and unwaivering. I'm on it.

Printin' portraits

2008-12-28T02:29:00.000-08:00

So I figure it's bout time to show a little bit o' the progress I've made in printmaking with some of the newer etchings I've done this year. Here are two in their completed state. They're part of a four(five?) part series of portraits that's hopefully rounding out my portfolio of fine print work. Then maybe sometime you'll see the dozen or so I've got in unfinished states. Or maybe they'll get finished. Who knows.

Comfortable Company
Day of Departure

Well, Merry Christmas, Happy end to '08, and Healthy prostate to you all. Ah, at least some of you.

Digital Dopplegangers!

2008-12-13T23:23:00.000-08:00

So, Playstation Network's released a beta for Home, a virtual space where users create an avatar to interact with the community.

The premise is interesting, and I check it out. Already, the customization is practically limitless, and I scare myself a bit with my avatar I've created. Literally, my digital doppleganger. Judge for yourself.

Awesome? Kinda. Eerie? Yes. My little brother put it best upon reflection: The fact that people can create themselves and buy things they can't really buy and do things they can already do in real life?

Quarter Crunchers

2008-11-17T02:35:00.000-08:00

Capcom-unity.com recently announced a contest that got me hyped: Design a Street Fighter IV image to appear in the game's interior cover manual. How tight is that? The only problem was I found out about it 2 days before deadline. Eh..How tight is that?

Anyway, rather than probably the typical 'big full cast group shot' I went with a quirky scene featuring new character El Fuerte in his Gourmet Chef alternate costume. Hey, I didn't make this up. And, to satisfy my humorous side, I got E. Honda and Rufus fighting over a turkey. There's nothin' like large men duking it out for grub.

Came out okay considering time constraints. I didn't win.
Oh, but I went to a midnight release for WotLK. Isn't that rewarding?

Costume, Hair in Make-up

2008-11-04T03:38:00.000-08:00

Ah, Halloween. The chance to go live out those fantasies of being the tallest Oompa Loompa in the factory.. or y'know what ever floats your boat. I was an aviator, using only useful every day utencils found at home. In other words, I put a costume together in 15 minutes.

Any way, I wound up making these photo collages that were definitely entertaining to me. In fact, almost inspiring for a photo shoot for The Further Misadventures of a Fighter Pilot. Well, almost.

Loud Liberals?!

2008-10-26T03:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the very distinguished privelage of representing ECU as an alumni for Mater Dei Highschool's College Fair. So, I go over the materials, study the common Q&A's, and do my best to appeal to these youngsters and their folks. You know, like "We have a strong liberal arts program with a student body that consists of about 25,500 students, 18,000 of which are undergraduates. Class room size averages 28 students per class, which the largest classes being approximately 150 in lecture hall for Biology/Psychology." And I can go on and on with these numbers and facts I didn't know a lick about while at the school. But was I prepared for what folks REALLY care about? "What're the sports programs like?" ....er..
Well, let's face it. Shenanigans if I've kept up on that. Let's see. Haven't seen the school competing in any championships on TV. How often do you hear about the ECU Pirates in national sports? Yeah, that's right. You're asking me knowing that we ain't got a shining star of a sports program. Go ahead. Step over to my right, where DUKE is set up. Thaat's right. Dookie. I was in the Liberal Arts Program, okay?
Anyhow, a pretty nice experience I'd repeat. Here's some pics of me being informative and my best Robert Ebendorf pose.

ZOMG

2008-10-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Oct. 10-11. Blizzcon in Anaheim, CA. I was there.
"What? You play WOW?" No. But it is something to be respected. Blizzcon celebrates and gathers the fans of Blizzard's gaming projects which include Starcraft, Diablo, and yes, World of Warcraft. Now, you'd expect to find an overwhelming gathering of geekdom and the likes of gamers donning WOW threads stained with Doritos and Mountain Dew. But you'd be wrong(though these folks might clean up well for events such as this). Blizzard succeeds in creating indepth PC games that cater to hardcore gamers, but, within their consistent system of 'easy to pick up, difficult to master,' there is mass appeal. That's how we have 'Mom won't give me allowance this week' 25 year-olds and well-to-do white collars who can play together. Attendees ranged from all sorts of types of people, but everyone could discuss Death Knight DPS Talent Trees to the point where it no longer sounds like the english language.
Anyhow, I found enough enjoyment in discussion panels, beta testing, aweing at costumes... It's all a little slice of the passion this niche community has. I applaud it. And it looks like it'll be getting me back into Diablo.

Saber Tooth Tiger!

2008-10-06T01:49:00.000-07:00

(Also found on myspace)

Okay. Where exactly this notion stemmed from I don't know, but I've spent an hour on the net rekindling my memories and learning more about....

The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

Yeah. I should be working. And yeah, it's kind of silly. But damn. I mean, hot damn. You've got it all: epic battles, giant mecha, mythology, undertones of deliberate stereotype castings, and..the pink ranger. No wonder it's had such an impact on pop culture.

Anyhow, I discover the tradgedy that Thuy Trang, actress as the first yellow ranger, passed in 2001 due to a car crash. Her ashes are located in Whittier, CA(Thanks, wikipedia). Obviously a point of interest we've gotta take if you visit me. Trang left the show season 2 due to monetary conflicts, and in the character's last episodes, she appears by use of all editted stock footage. Shady. And ever wonder why the yellow ranger didn't don a skirt like the pink ranger? The original alter ego(from Japanese version) WAS A DUDE. Yeah, SHADY x10. It's okay. You can blame those fantasies on teenage hormones.

Well, somebody please hit me up to watch the first movie. Maybe I should host.

Featured!

2008-09-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a good thing I've already said fashion's a point of interest to me. Because this would have come outta left field. (What exactly does that mean?)

One of my illustrated designs was featured on Bravotv.com's site. An online challenge for Project Runway was to "reinvent the business suit" and I had something to submit.

Definitely nice to have a little illustration shown on their site. And hey, I get a Tresemme package? Thanks!

Fashion Week

2008-09-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay. I should come clean.

I've cited that I'm into all things visually/conceptually interesting, and yes, that does include the world of fashion. And why not(Cue: Male defending an interest in fashion discussion). Clothing IS a vehicle to expression. It's a process of choices and assembling to express a style and idea, andso; an art form. There's a concept and there's the skill to materialize it. I think my interest stems from the process of character-designing:Characters on paper need a memorable, iconic look to be distintive. Fashion designers strive to produce the same.

So, a noteworthy showing from NY Fashion Week for me was Christian Siriano. The kid's in his 20's a crazy prodigy.

http://allprojectrunway.blogspot.com/2008/09/christian-siriano-at-fashion-week.html.

Labor(ous) Day

2008-09-02T02:45:00.000-07:00

I fill my days with work. And at the end of the day, I...I'm cramming the last bit of work in. One day, I'm gonna learn better.
It's Labor Day. So today I experience the joy of waking up at 2 in the afternoon. Not a joy I hope to return to frequently, but kinda nice none the less. I've got to close the Fedex Kinkos store at 10 tonight, and miraculously I'm out by 10:28pm. Typically, I'd still be helping that last customer or finishing up that last job....but hey, maybe I am learning.
And then I realize there's work to be done for Home and Body Co. Hmmm. Well, I'd better down this 5-Hour Energy and get to work. Just when the end of the day was so close....

Here Comes A New Challenger!

2008-08-14T02:01:00.000-07:00

So, I've bought the tourney recordings and talked about going for years, and finally- My first year at Evo. A little bg info on Evo; this annual worldwide fighting game tournament formed in 2002 and today gathers the best players of the world to battle in such franchises as Tekken, Super Smash Bros., and Street Fighter.

I was knocked out of the competition early. It's only given me to aspiration to train and make a mark next year. My biggest gain was experiencing the event: Seeing a shared respect among such different people. Race, age, body type--defined no one. It was all about skill and technique.

Celebrating Street Fighter III, a piece of art I've created of Urien:
seen here kidnapping a student of Chun Li, causing her to return to the fighting scene.

SDCC '08

2008-07-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy Comic Con. What I don't really enjoy is backed up traffic due to the explosion of a truck carrying upwards 60,000 lbs. of meat. Seriously? Yeah. What could have been a leisurely hour drive became 4 hours, and the worst part...we never saw the destruction. Not even a ginormous Wolverine meat sculpture waiting at the end of traffic. Just..nothing.

Anyhow, in the minimal hours at convention, I had a good time checking out geek attendees (I use that in the best sense), picking up loot, and meeting artists(Missing plenty of those I really wanted to see along the way).

Anyhow, check out a few of my photos.

I met Ono, director of Street Fighter 4. It was definitely cool to test the game and then give him fan-feedback. He signed and handed out the game's poster as well!

Kaiju Big Battel! Time for epic monsters fighting!

An Alpha Chun Li attempts to take my Comic Con loot. Hey look! You can see Erik Ko(director of Udon and the SF comic) in the background.

Vie Organique!

2008-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

One of the many jobs I run around doing is Art Director at Home and Body Co., and I'm kinda excited that I have a line of body care products that are currently in development. The Vie Organique line was designed by me with assistance by designer Noel Vogt in conjunction with Home and Body Co. for their 2008 products collection.

This line's got 9 products with 5 fragrances(Organic Verbena featured here), and is going to be developed in Huntington Beach in the coming weeks. It'll be available at select retailers across the nation so you just may be able to catch it on a store shelves sometime.

Overture

2008-07-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

I've got theatre ingrained in my flesh. So hopefully the nod to theatric tangents and jargon won't get too irritating, and I'll try to be pretty restraining. Any how, Overture refers to the orchestral music as a prelude to a show, but also simply, an introduction.

So there you are. Here's the opening to my blog, one I hope to update with my up-to-date art-makings and such, flaunt my favorite artists, and keep up with some arts & entertainment happenings.