Legend of Zelda Old VS New Fan Art

These drawings were inspired by the game series Legend of Zelda and it's character's Sheikah Eye of Truth that is seen throughout the games. The black colored eye is one from the earlier games, such as The Ocarina of Time and the second, more complicated blue drawing is from the most recent Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.  When drawing I typically stick to colored pencils, but for these drawings, I wanted the coloring to be as bold as they are in the games and on screen. Therefore, I used pens, specifically sharpies in order to get a solid and bold color for these drawings, which I believe I would not have been able to get from the colored pencils that I use. Also, if I had used colored pencils, I believe a texture from the paper would be left within the design, but by using the pens, the images have a similar smooth look as they do on screen.

Feelings of Summer

Sometimes you just want to enjoy the weather by yourself.... no offense or anything.

Waiting for the weather to become warm again like...

When life doesn't go right... Just Keep Swimming

Mixing digital with the physical.  The text was created in Adobe Illustrator and then printed onto the paper that I intended to draw on.  The mermaid tails were then drawn with colored pencil.

Photograph to Digital Panting

Original Photo

This is a digital painting of my dog that I created using Adobe Illustrator and took a few months to actually finish because each strand of fur is an individual stroke.  I began with the basic shapes before filling in the rest, using the original photograph for reference in placement of each stroke as well as for which direction the hair went and coloring in order to distinguish each area.  I had to create my own art brush in order to get the look of hair in which it starts out thicker at one end and thinner at the other.  Certain parts of her facial features were created using the mesh tool and the round brush tool that was then blurred together.  By creating this piece of work, I really learned quite a bit about using illustrator, such as certain tools and keyboard shortcuts, allowing me to get things done and cover a lot of spacial area a lot quicker within this last month of finishing the painting.

Luscious Lips

 

Recently I have been drawing many images of lips with all sorts of colors, shapes, and shading.  Drawing these lips have really helped me learn how to better shade and blend colors using colored pencils. For during school I was only drawing in black and white using different levels of graphite pencils. Colored pencils have proven to be quite different from using a regular graphite pencil that is easy to erase if I make a mistake as well as knowing what colors compliment each other and how to blend them together to create a new color that I don't already have in the form of a pencil.  Because colored pencils also don't come in different shades of a single color, such as a 2H vs a 6B graphite pencil, I have realized how much patience it takes to build up on a certain color and how much pressure should be applied on the pencil to the page.  I have also realized when blending colors, it is much better to start light and gradually make the colors darker by not applying pressure but merely going over the same area over and over until the specific color is desired.

Nintendo Character Digital Paper Crafts

Like many others, I am a big fan of Nintendo's Mario Bros games and after learning how to create the Cat Paper Craft, I decided that I would try to create a mushroom from the games and the character Yoshi's head.  While working with small polygons and shapes to have to cut out and glue together, I really do enjoy creating these paper crafts because they are like a puzzle, and I tend to enjoy a challenge of putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle, and they are of something that is meaningful to me, such as specific characters from one of my favorite video games.  

The mushroom stands at about five inches tall while the Yoshi head is about ten inches and I would have made them bigger if I had more space to store them in but because they were simply created for the purpose of the enjoyment of making them, I opted to make them as small as possibly but big enough to be able to put together well and so that they are recognizable.

Photography 2017

I have some photos posted from March of 2016. These photos are from my recent travels and activities.

Being Connected

Paper on cardboard

3' x 8'

2017

With today’s technology everyone can stay connected with any one person or group around the world.  We can know what is happening on the other side of the world in real time by watching news broadcasting stations on television and then read the full story in the newspaper the next day.  People read newspapers and magazines, and watch the daily news on television in order to stay connected and become aware of what is going on in the world and the society that we live in.  As society becomes more adjusted to the use of technology and things being digitized, more and more newspapers and magazines are being offered online while still being able to receive a physical copy in order to keep up to date on events going on around the world.  However one receives their daily news of events that are happening, we are still able to stay connected as a society with each other around the globe and our advancement in technology allows for this connection to be kept.  Represented here are the two cities Chicago and San Francisco made from newspaper and magazine pages that can be found both online and in the physical format that includes stories and information going on in multiple parts of the world.

This piece was a part of the one night student exhibition, Wall Works Summer Exhibition, that took place in Reno, Nevada on June 8, 2017.

Digital Paper Craft

This Paper craft was made with the use of the 3D application Maya and Pepakura Designer.  This figure stands about 16 inches tall and took a total of about 5-6 hours to put together after being printed and cut.

 

Geographic Location Project

Water and Silence Have a Melody of Their Own

For this project I specifically chose the beach Sand Harbor of Lake Tahoe.  Sand Harbor is a popular location in the Tahoe area for swimming, boating, and other activities. It is the largest alpine lake in North America.  Although I chose this beach specifically, it could really be any beach anywhere.  I love being near and to swim in bodies of water, whether it be a small pool, pond, or a large ocean.  Sitting on a beach next to this body of water is so relaxing and calming that every worry I my have during a point in my life simply washes away as the waves role in and out of the shore.  To be able to swim and simply float in water is also just as relaxing to me than sitting on a beach listening to the waves and any animals nearby.  Being able to feel the breeze that often comes with wide open water and sandy beaches gives me a feeling of comfort by being able to take in my surroundings.   

In addition to this being such a relaxing and calming experience, there are some very healthy benefits to listening to the sound of water and other natural sounds when meditating or relaxing that can lead to some other very healthy benefits in one's life.

"Meditation and water are wedded for ever" 

- Herman Melville

Water is often thought to be a symbol of serenity, purity, and clarity of thought.  This can undoubtedly be experienced simply by listening to water, without having to follow any specific kind of meditation with the sound.  Water meditation can relieve stress, help gain mental control and clarity, connect with true yourself, and many other things that will have a positive effect on you and your body.

link to main map: http://arcg.is/2pxqcqX

An Earful

This ear shaped pillow is meant to show how we take in everything around us, including the current news and other advertisements on the television, radio, etc.  Due to the media constantly telling us stuff such as recent current events, the weather, sports game scores, etc, there are some things that we will listen to and respond to while there are other things that we may be more likely to ignore because we have no need to in a specific moment of our lives.  These things that we choose to not listen to as closely as others simply sounds like background noise, or so much is being said that all you can hear is "Blah Blah Blah" as the media tries to tell you what to think of different things and how they are viewed by society.  Printed onto this pillow are two specific news anchors, Keith Olberman and Bill O’rielly, but the possibilities are endless for who could be printed on it with the speech bubble that says “Blah Blah Blah”  to show how much speech is thrown our way whether we want it or not.