Kim Herbst - Illustration

Drawing Day 28 - Anything You'd Like

2012-02-28T22:03:00.002-08:00

uh... Gas-Mask-Girl.

....I decided to draw the most illogical female vigilante costume. Upon finishing it, I thought, argh, she looks extremely similar to Aeon Flux.

Drawing Day 27 - Someone You Love

2012-02-27T21:53:00.004-08:00

Like I said earlier, I've been in love with the guy for 7 years.

He really is that tall in comparison to me!

Drawing Day 26 - Something You Don't Like

2012-02-26T17:17:00.002-08:00

The moment you remember every embarrassing, stupid, horrible, regrettable thing you've ever done in your entire life, ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

And it always occurs when you're out in public, so the whole freakin' world can see your face when this moment hits.

Drawing Day 25 - Scenery

2012-02-25T19:41:00.005-08:00

San Francisco hills.

This will actually be a background for another illustration I'm working on!

Day 24 - A Couple

2012-02-24T21:02:00.003-08:00

Thee greatest Lesbian-Heroine-Couple-of-All-Time: Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from Sailor Moon (also known as shameless fan-service).

I'm on a massive Sailor Moon nostalgia kick (and apparently it's old/retro enough now to be made into t-shirts at places like... Hot Topic? man...I'm old). DEAL WITH IT.

So if you've never seen the show, hey, that's okay: These two were a fairly obvious lesbian couple (90% of their dialogue contained sexual innuendos towards each other AND IT WAS AMAZING). Other than that they were just perfect together in everything they did.

Thing is, when the season containing these two characters was brought over and aired for American Television, they dubbed them in as COUSINS.

...How awkward. Good job, America.

Drawing Day 23 - Something You Need

2012-02-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

Wine. Usually with dinner!

When I first got to Brooklyn, my old room mate and I wanted to pretend we were European, so we stocked up on 2-buck Chuck from Trader Joe's and had a glass with dinner every night. It made tough times more majestic.

Drawing Day 22 - Something You Miss

2012-02-22T22:03:00.001-08:00

Brooklyn.

Whenever someone in San Francisco finds out I came over from Brooklyn, they immediately ask, "Which do you like better? San Francisco, or New York?" I always say both have their pros and cons. But I seem to be really wistful about things back East now that I've been out here for over two years. Changing seasons (not so much summer humidity!), awesome subway/public transit, Dunkin' Donuts, most-up-to-date-fashion, and great corner-store sandwich shops, just to name a few!

Drawing Day 21 - Something You Want

2012-02-21T12:01:00.004-08:00

I guess I'd love to have a dog sometime in my future? Someday, when I'm not living in an apartment in a city.

This is a keeshond; the kind my boyfriend had when growing up. They're extra, extra fluffy!

Drawing Day 20 - Something Orange

2012-02-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

...Can you tell I miss snow now that I live in San Francisco?

Day 19 - Something New

2012-02-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

New? Who made this list?

Here's some rough pages from a new comic I've been working on, just for fun (don't even bother trying to decipher my handwriting...). It's about zombies, like I mentioned in a previous post.

Drawing Day 18 - Just a Doodle

2012-02-18T18:04:00.001-08:00

When I was younger, I used to draw a crap-ton more sci-fi stuff. And then I looked at everything on CG Society, cowered, and felt like anything I'd sketched was trite, over-done, cliche, not done well enough, list goes on.

I miss drawing sci-fi things, so here's a doodle of a sci-fi chick.

Drawing Day 17 - Favorite Plant

2012-02-17T18:33:00.001-08:00

Irises.

I'll admit I have lots of favorite plants, from orchids, pitcher plants, roses, etc etc. Irises look so alien and majestic! My grandmother had them in her yard, my mother has them around her home, and if I ever have a garden (and not just a windowsill) I too, would love them in my own.

Drawing Day 16 - Inspiration

2012-02-16T15:19:00.001-08:00

Amelie.

This film provided an astronomical amount of inspiration to me, not just for creating art, but for living life in general. I remember sitting down and seeing this film with two friends in High School, and was blown away because I'd never seen anything like it in my life. It set the bar pretty high for watching movies afterwards, and I've been a much happier person since!

Drawing Day 15 - Family Picture

2012-02-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hear ye, hear ye, I cannot draw portraits for the life of me! And good Typography? What's that?!

My family is scattered across the world these days. My older brother and his new wife are in Singapore, my parents recently retired to Virginia back on the East coast, and my older sister and I both live in San Francisco (well, she's a little north of SF, but still!).

Drawing Day 14 - Favorite Fairytale

2012-02-14T00:09:00.000-08:00

The Last Unicorn.

I. Love. This. Story! Loved it as a kid, still love it as an adult. I was OBSESSED with it.

Loved the animation, the designs, everything. What's there not to like?! It's got a unicorn, and a magician, and a witch, and a creepy king, and a brave prince, and a Molly, and a GIANT RED BULL THAT'S ON FIRE.

Also, I was totally inspired by recently seeing these gorgeous Last Unicorn Comic Covers.

Drawing Day 13 - Comic

2012-02-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

Quick sketch-up of a comic.
This was a conversation between my older sister and myself, just a few years ago. We used to fight horrifically as kids, but ended up getting along much better as we got older, so lots of moments like this occur now. Hopefully she doesn't find this embarrassing?

Day 12 - Most Recent Accomplishment

2012-02-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

I recently celebrated 7 years together with my boyfriend, Randy ~~putting up with me~~.

He was currently napping when I decided to start sketching.

Day 11 - Turning Point In Your Life

2012-02-11T16:36:00.000-08:00

Quitting my job in 2007.

I quit my job as a production artist from a t-shirt screen printing factory back home in Dayton, NJ. I put in my two-weeks notice after I took an internship in NYC for a small Flash-games company. Upon telling my art director where I was going, and that I was quitting, she looked me in the eye, dead serious and said, "That's crazy. You won't make it. You're just going to struggle. There's no way you can make it in New York City." That internship led to me learning Flash animation, which got me hired full-time, and then I was flown out to San Francisco for an even better games job.

I haven't regretted my decision since.

Day 10 - Favorite Candy

2012-02-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

Flower's Kiss Candy.

There's nothing truly exceptional about these aside from the fact that they're nice and sugary-sweet, but my grandmother always had them on her coffee table whenever we visited. I'd eat dozens of them and swore that the different flowers on each of the individually-wrapped candies made them taste slightly different from one another.

It reminds me of when my sister and I, far too hyper-active for my grandparents, would be forced outside into the small garden behind their house in Queens, NY, to pick all the green beans that grew up their chain-linked fence.

Facial Expressions

2012-02-09T22:29:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I spent some time in Japan, because the Boyfriend was working over there. We had a discussion about what we'd do if/when there is a Zombie Apocalypse. Come on. You've all had that discussion, I know you have.

Well. I decided, surely, SURELY, this could make a nice comic-short. And maybe, I'd actually start and finish it. So to start off with the characters and what they'll look like, I ended up sketching out comic versions of Randy and myself. Just practicing facial expressions!

Day 9 - Favorite TV Show

2012-02-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

I've got too many I love, and I don't even have cable.

This one's still somewhere at the top of the list though, keepin' it sketchy -

I imagine Hank is telling Dean some facts about life that aren't facts at all.

Day 8 - Favorite Animated Character

2012-02-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

Avatar: The Last Airbender's Zuko.

Never has such a serious character/villain made me laugh (and cry!) so much. Anyone that's gone through adolescence can relate to this guy. Aaaaand he's voiced by Ruffio's Dante Basco. BANGARANG.

If you haven't seen the animated series yet, I highly recommend it; it's won a bunch of awards for a reason. I actually refused to watch it for years, and then I had to create a game for it at an old company, so I had to watch the series for reference. The series was great, the game? Not so much hehe

EDIT: Quickie sketches for Runner Ups.
I wanna include Terry McGinnis from Batman Beyond, because, well, he's Batman. In the Future. And he gets yelled at by Bruce Wayne all the time.

Also Sailor Moon. When I was 11 years old, I woke up early, turned on the TV one day and found out there was a female super-hero that wasn't overly heroic (sorry, Wonder Woman and She-Ra). She was more realistic. She was awful at homework, and clumsy as hell, and cried all the time. But she still saved the world, and as a child (who am I kidding, as an adult too) that's still an awesome character.

I used to draw her all of the time as a kid. Hilariously, I hadn't drawn this in about 15 years, but I still knew her costume by heart!

Day 7 - Favorite Word

2012-02-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

There's something ticklishly funny about a small, fat bird saying the old English word for a female whore or prostitute.

I declare all profanity should be said by tiny fluff-balls of feather.

Day 6 - Favorite Book Character

2012-02-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

...And it can't be a movie.

I kind of think this particular drawing-day subject is full of crap. Because every one of my favorite books has been developed into a film. From Lord of the Rings, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Bladerunner), Harry Potter, to even children's books, like Roald Dahl stories, or one of my faves - Bridge to Terabithia. I went through most of my bookshelf with much frustration.

I chose Socrates In Love(spoiler), which my boyfriend gave to me a few years ago when he was abroad in Japan. It's an incredibly sad but honest story about a high school boy and girl named 'Saku' and 'Aki' respectively. This has been adapted into a movie as well as television drama and a freakin' comic. BUT HEY I NEVER SAW ANY OF THOSE, SO SCREW YOU 30-DAY DRAWING CHALLENGE.

Day 5 - Best Friend

2012-02-05T13:09:00.001-08:00

This was a tough one. Funny enough, I've recently heard relationships between men and women described best as this: Friendship between women is like a garden that constantly needs tending. If you don't tend it enough though, it ends up withering up and you have to start all over. But when tended properly, the blooms are absolutely gorgeous and wonderful. Friendship between men is like a giant tree. You can ignore it forever, but it grows on its own and it's always there and doesn't resent you for not tending it.

I've had issues with deeming someone that 'tip-top' placement as a best friend these days. Having a best friend should be something natural, it should be someone you admire, look to, and have a great time with no matter the situation. Someone you trust, and someone you will always be there for.

The last person I called my best friend was my room mate from college, Alicia. She dropped out when she realized there were greater and bigger things calling to her in the world, and it wasn't artwork. I can only hope the best for her, and while we have lost touch over the years (my losing her phone number and her not using any social networks doesn't help), I want to treat this friendship like a tree. It doesn't need much tending, it keeps growing, and it's always there, no matter how much time has passed. Here's to you, Alicia, where ever you are, and whatever you are doing.

Day 4 - Favorite Place

2012-02-04T17:41:00.001-08:00

My bed! That is all.

Day 3 - Favorite Food

2012-02-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

I couldn't really decide on one, so I put a few of my favorite items from Dim Sum in general. Egg custards get three because those are my favorite for dessert!

Day 2 - Favorite Animal

2012-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of the 30-day drawing challenge!

My boyfriend had the cutest chinchilla as a pet, named Milo. He unfortunately passed away about 6 years ago, so here's to best fuzzy creature!

Day 1 - Draw Yourself

2012-02-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Decided to try the 30 Day Drawing Challenge. So here's two versions of me:

Me at work where I do Flash and Mobile games and draw a lot in Flash. ...Which has unfortunate consequences.

And then I calmed down a bit after my outburst.

Eat Your Art Out V

2012-01-26T22:58:00.001-08:00

New piece for an upcoming silent art auction: Eat Your Art Out V, for the Angel City Roller Girls, a roller derby group from LA. The event will be hosted by Titmouse Inc, and the Opening/Auction will take place February 25th!

The theme is 'Carnival After Dark,' where the gallery will be transformed into a bustling, traveling carnival from the early 1900s. After scouring through tons of photos from late 1800s to early 1900s of carnival performers (and circus performers) I was awed by a few images that depicted women with lions. These women looked so incredibly young, child-like even. It really blew me away that large, genuinely ferocious animals, were hanging around with young women (girls, really) and their cherubic faces.

Decisions, Decisions

2011-12-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

AHHHH! Color choices on my sketch, I'm always awful at feeling comfortable getting this part down. I'm pretty sure I know which I'll go with, but still, I like to try and test all the spectrums, it seems...

Upcoming piece for a show with a bunch of artists from work; we're recreating Tarot cards in our own definitive styles!

The Black Hearts Need YOU!

2011-12-26T21:49:00.000-08:00

- ADULT SWIM SHOW -

Opening Reception Friday January 13th

art up until February 4th

Gallery 1988

Melrose, CA

New piece for the upcoming Adult Swim show at Gallery 1988! We were limited to Adult Swim's Original shows so I chose one of my absolute favorites: The Venture Brothers. I spent the majority of my time trying to think of what could possibly make a good tribute piece for this series and kept coming up short. I wanted to include every character and every great situation that's occurred, and there just was no way I could achieve that. So I really thought about it, and I wished there were even more episodes that featured Molotov Cocktease and the lesser seen Hunter Gathers. I've included them both in this War Recruitment-style poster for the Black Hearts Elimination Agency. I had way too much fun creating this one! I love, love, love Hunter Gathers in the black/red catsuit.

Dickens Fair

2011-12-19T22:04:00.000-08:00

Every year there's apparently an enormous Charles Dickens Fair in San Francisco during the holidays. People dress up in the clothing from the author's era and speak with old English accents, and so on. The Boyfriend and I went for the first time ever this year! One great plus was there was a 'Pre-Raphaelite Life Drawing' session that took place in a room entitled, "The Adventurers Club." The theme was primavera, so tons of fake flora were around, and the model adorned herself with a wreath-crown. They supplied us with some pads of paper and pencils (though no erasers, aiya, don't make any mistakes!!) and we got to work on two different poses that were about 10-15 minuets each. Lots of fun!

Nostalgia sketch - mugs and wooden spoons

2011-12-09T00:23:00.001-08:00

Back story: I had a room mate in college who actually dropped out after finishing our Sophomore year. She was a very close friend to me, even though we only knew each other about three years or so. During this time was right before every person and their mom owned a digital camera as a staple-electronic; we still bought film and had it developed at a Rite Aid whenever we needed to take photos. Turns out I didn't have many photos of my room mate (and any photos that I did have of her, might have been lost when I moved over 7 different times, the last being across the whole country). It's a strange feeling not to have a picture of someone you remember so many things about. The way their voice sounds, the way they walk, their gestures, and so on.
I felt nostalgic today, reminiscing about our last day as Freshmen. We'd trashed a ton of godawful art projects (because it was Foundation Year and what the heck will you do with the rest of that Color Aid?). We had just packed up all of our belongings, and cleaned the entire apartment when I discovered an entire box of instant oatmeal packets my mother had sent me many months prior. Please realize we were starving (and not just that precise moment, either - art students), but had packed up every dish and utensil in our boxes and which were now far from easy reach. The only things we were able to retrieve were giant wooden cooking spoons and mugs that our other room mate had made for us.
We sat out in the Freshmen Commons grounds, on a picnic table that someone had pulled onto the grass and ate our oatmeal while reflecting on the entire year. I distinctly remember I couldn't stop laughing. It was a really wonderful time!

Underworld

2011-11-28T21:04:00.001-08:00

Another quickie illustration for SciFiNow Magazine; deadline was pretty fast as I'm going away this week. This one was for the new Underworld: Awakening film that's coming out, so it depicts Kate Beckinsale!

I'll be honest, this was frustrating as hell because Kate Beckinsale appears to look somewhat different in nearly every scene or photo of the Underworld movies. Seriously. Super challenging; I sketched her face out about 6 times until remotely coming close to a likeness. Half the time her eyes are an icy blue when she goes all-Vampire-crazy, the other half is her natural eye color, so it really changed her face for me!!

Moving On

2011-11-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

New illustration done for the next issue of SciFi Now Magazine. The article talks about actor Daniel Radcliffe finally leaving behind his long-running role of Harry Potter, and moving on to new, exciting films and plays like How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Equus, of course. This was a really fun job, I'm a huge Daniel Radcliffe fan!

Airplane-Sketches

2011-11-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

I recently went on a trip to China and always take a sketchbook for the plane-rides. I apologize for the awful photo-quality. My scanner's been broken for forever and I haven't gotten around to buying a new one, so it's point 'n shoot for now!

I watched a ton of Mad Men before leaving for the trip. I was never good at caricatures so I figured I'd get some practice in. Growing up, people that found out I liked to draw usually asked me to draw them and then the pressure was on. I guess this is just my rendition of Peggy Olsen, Donald Draper, Betty Draper and... Pete Campbell? (And hey, Batman Beyond's Terry McGinnis snuck in there again)

Ghosts & Plane Wrecks

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

New illustration for Rhode Island Monthly Magazine.

The article was about a man who collected parts from planes that crashed locally, starting in 1944, and the ghostly experiences that occurred after he'd begun to rebuild the vintage planes.

Sketches:

Friendly Doodles

2011-09-05T16:45:00.001-07:00

I think over 10 years ago, I did a sketch for a friend of a character he made up, I then sent the sketch to him via snail-mail and he recently informed me he's held on to it ever since. That really touched me! I decided to give his character a bit of a re-vamp (I have an extremely vague idea of what the original sketch looks like as I was what, 15 years old?), and tried to do some action poses. I-am-super-rusty.

Fairy Eater

2011-08-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

New Legend of Zelda piece to commemorate the 25th year anniversary this year! FINALLY got it done before the year's end too!

The first few Legend of Zelda games didn't have the whole spiritual 'fairy flies around Link, sparkle sparkle' animations. I used to wonder what the heck he did with those fairies to restore his health since he'd touch them and they'd just... disappear. (Legend of Neil depicts Link-Neil having sex with the fairies, but I didn't agree as it wasn't an instantaneous disappearance). But this is what my innocent-child-mind thought:

"Full Health Restore"
13" x 19"

This will be featured in Gallery1988's Video Game Show - invite below:

Do it, Samus!

2011-08-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

New Metroid piece for the Geekart.net show called "8-Bit Champions" which will be in Paris, France:

September 15th
LA FLAQ GALLERY
36 rue Quincampoix
75005 Paris

Metroid holds a bit of a special place for me. I distinctly remember sitting in my basement as a kid, and watching my older brother play it (majority of original NES games are memories of watching him play it before I actually got my hands on experiencing the game for myself). Right after he'd just beaten the last level, Metroid reveals in the ending that --(ZOMG SPOILER?!?) Samus is actually a female under all that androgynous space-suit looking armor. That really got me, mainly because all of the games I'd been playing up until that point always starred a male character (Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Mega Man etc.). And this female heroine was extremely awesome!

I tweaked Samus's armor some because it was looking a bit outdated (according to the original NES covers and manual booklets that came with the game).

Stay

2011-07-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

My submission for last Friday's IllustrationFriday! topic - stay ...That is too late because they've moved onto a new topic. Darn. Oh well. Here it is and maybe I'll create/update more work more frequently:

Rut!

2011-07-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

I've been in a real rut lately for personal illustrations. I want to blame the full-time job on sucking the life out of me these past few weeks. Whenever I get into these moods, I really should head over to Illustration Friday! and take a peek at their great topics.

Here's some filler - old quickie-sketches from work.

Technology meets Fantasy:

Discovery:
Awkward Moment:

Vengeance:
And the good 'old Zombie Apocalypse:

Hopefully more updates sooner!

Poison Ivy

2011-06-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Batman villains of all time is Poison Ivy; especially from the 90s Batman: The Animated Series cartoon. This was a request from a friend, "Just draw Batman." So... this is what I came up with.

Wowee, two posts in one week, this is INSANE.

Warriors, Come Out To Play-ay!

2011-06-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Warriors. A cult film from the late 1970s.

ALSO an illustration I've created for the Crazy 4 Cult 5 Show that will be in Gallery1988 in July!

WIP - Poison Ivy

2011-05-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Commission for a friend - about 50% done on this one. Figured I'd show a work-in-progress shot in an attempt to post more often!

Choices in Video Games

2011-05-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

I did some illustrations for GamesTM Magazine in the UK. These focused on the choices a player can make for video game characters. Whether your character have good or bad morals upon your decisions, the places you go, etc. They were extremely fun! Here's how they'll appear in the spreads for this month's issue:

'Til next time!

Gallery Show: Prints 2.0 Analog<>Digital

2011-04-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

If you live in the San Francisco, CA area, or might be visiting soon, you can view my Black Swan illustration at the Meridian Gallery! The opening reception is May 13th.

More information is here.

Little Red Riding Hood v2

2011-04-18T00:00:00.001-07:00

I did a Little Red Riding Hood illustration a long, long time ago. This time there was an extended time-limit for our daily sketch-jam at work. My interpretation:

You honestly didn't think she survived the attack, did you? They just made up the rest of the story so children could sleep better at night.

Dreamworks Fine Art Prints

2011-04-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Still super busy (when am I not?), but here's a new piece that will be printed for Dreamworks Fine Arts Prints and sold where ever Dreamworks prints are... sold. The original choices for films to illustrate were: Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon. I'll be honest, I loved HTTYD far more than the other two (Not counting that the first two have/will have multiple sequels). I felt like Dreamworks finally got it right for once; they didn't need to resort to using animals to simply replace people to make an animated film. That's just my opinion though!

Orange and Mechanical

2011-03-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

New quickie from my work's sketch-jam. The topic was 'Orange & Mechanical.' Just off 'n on over the course of an hour. Sorry for not having anything more complete these days; been a bit busy, but hopefully I can get myself together for some new inspiration with these sketch-exercises!

Sketch Jam - Battle Arena

2011-03-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

I joined a sketch-blog at work. This is my entry for the theme, 'Battle Arena.' ...somehow my first thought was the battle arena should take place in the bedroom.... ah well.

Photoshop, done in in about 1-2 hours on/off.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

I somehow managed to crank this out over the weekend. Here's to Valentine's Day (Happy Singles Awareness Day for the cynical?).

If you're looking for love, may it strike you when you least expect it (as it should)!

The Cranes are Coming

2011-01-05T21:07:00.001-08:00

Commission for a co-worker/friend, he just gave it to his wife for her birthday!

The story is very adorable: They knew one another in High School and in their Sophomore year, the bride folded a paper crane for the groom in one of their shared classes. He kept the crane as a memento (he had a crush on her). They ended up getting into a relationship after high school, then married. They used paper cranes as the theme of their wedding, and the groom used the very same paper crane the bride had folded him on their table at the reception. This was based off of the bride's favorite photo from the wedding; with a touch of my obsession for paper cranes included. Enjoy!

Is This Thing On?

2011-01-04T14:16:00.001-08:00

If you live in the Los Angeles area (or will be visiting this week), I'll be in a show at Gallery 1988 that has partnered with Funny or Die. The show consists of 100 illustrators taking a crack at comedians. Each artist was assigned a comedian to depict - Opening reception is on January 7th! Here was mine:

I'm super excited to be amongst some of my long-time illustration idols like Jim Mahfood, Tom Whalen, and Tara McPherson, just to name a few!

The Black Swan

2010-12-12T21:53:00.001-08:00

I wish I could have gotten this piece done before the film premiered, but it just wasn't possible. I actually HAVE YET to see this film, but I was so intrigued and mesmerized by the trailer, I had to do an illustration. I mainly wanted to base the imagery on the idea of professions that push human beings beyond their own capacity.

The whole idea of the Black/White swan being played by the same ballerina, having dual personalities, is such a beautiful concept!

Halloween Animation

2010-12-10T10:21:00.001-08:00

I apologize for the lack of illustration updates here! Holiday season means I get bogged down with a bunch of stuff at the 'ole job on top of finding gifts for family/friends. I also have a new holiday postcard being printed as we speak.

Here's a lil animation I did a few months ago for Halloween. Back-story: I work full-time creating art assets and Flash animations for a game on Facebook. This was a wraith/banshee art asset that you can obtain for yourself in the game during October. This is what eats up most of my time but I still somehow manage to go home every night and draw. I think animation has definitely opened up a bunch of new ways of thinking for me!

Dr. Sketchy's

2010-11-16T23:41:00.001-08:00

I attended a Dr. Sketchy's drawing session earlier today. Our model, Talia, is usually an aerial artist (think Cirque du Soleil) but was dressed up similar to a Victorian Harlequin tonight. Unfortunately it was incredibly crowded and my standing position (with a bar stool to lean against no less) meant I didn't get a very good view of her feet at times. Here's a few of the sketches that came out of it anyhow. I apologize for the quality; they were done on newsprint paper and I just sorta leaned over 'em with a camera. Enjoy!

Work Shirt

2010-11-15T14:36:00.001-08:00

Super quick design I came up with for my company. Sadly, it didn't win the competition, so it'll just find a home as an unused design here. Enjoy!

Digital Artist Magazine

2010-11-04T22:59:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago (maybe it's months?) I was asked to show a Photoshop tutorial for Imagine Publishing's Digital Artist Magazine. They requested an image with a boy, attempting to fly a kite, or with a strange contraption (the magazine said it was housing too many pieces with a female as the main component). The task was to explain what "makes successful concept art" without going into the physical step-by-step process of Photoshop tips. It was more about good composition, lighting, researching clothing, etc. Anyhoo, if you purchase the magazine, you can see the step-by-step process through screen shots. But you can view the final product here:

Enjoy!

EXPOSÉ 8

2010-11-02T22:32:00.001-07:00

I was contacted a few months ago to be informed that my illustration, Duck 'n Cover would be included in the very awesome EXPOSÉ 8 put out by Ballistic Publishing. SUPER EXCITING! I'm still baffled as to how it got in there, I figure they like choosing more...rendered images over the flat-color look, but HEY. I'm not complainin'!! Here's how it appears in the book:

They asked that I take a photo with it for the site and to shed light on what the artists look like. They requested that each artist go somewhere famous, and important to them. SO. Here's me, with the great view from the roof of my apartment, overlooking the side of San Francisco that generally gets neglected (because it doesn't include the Bay).

Enjoy!

Chicks In Crisis

2010-10-16T16:03:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by Alison Leaf from Pixar to contribute to her Mother Hen Project which will have a charity art auction for Chicks in Crisis. This is my contribution piece! It focuses on the notion that both children and adults do things together that can take us by unexpected surprise.

If you live in the San Francisco/Novato area, the auction will take place:

November 20th
The Galleria

135 Tunstead Avenue
San Anselmo, CA
4-8pm

Come out and help raise funds for Chicks In Crisis who helps facilitate the placement of an average of 30 babies per year in open adoptions!

Alabama Social Studies

2010-10-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

Two illustrations I've done for Pearson Publishing, out of a set of six. These will be used in 4th and 5th grade Social studies books; these illustrating the Creek War of the early 1800s (also known as the Red Stick War). Apparently they'll also end up being animated some when they're viewed on a website. Kids these days don't just get illustrated text-books, but they're animated to boot! We really live in the future.

Apologies for the lack of updates, more to come soon!

MCGINNIS! - sketch

2010-09-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

...Did I seriously just sit down and sketch...Terry... McGinnis real fast?

From Batman Beyond? Okay. So... there's a story that comes behind this. It wasn't just, 'oh I'll scribble Terry from Batman Beyond randomly." No no. A friend of mine commissioned me for a Batman illustration (which I still intend to do) and his rule was it could be anything 'from the Batman comic time-line.'

Understand that the majority of my knowledge for Batman comes from the awesome Batman: The Animated Series from the early 90s (where they didn't even NEED to put the title of the show in the intro, it was THAT good of an opening sequence animation). I did dabble in a bit of the comics but found I couldn't handle the hilarity of them from the 1960s and 70s (like the Batman papa-spank thing). Or his strange relationships with all of his Robins. I do still love Batman though. Which is why I read up on the current DC timeline (I am majorly geeking out here). And that led into a co-worker asking me, 'HEY, remember the Batman Beyond opening? That was the best ever!' and suddenly I was immersed in Wikipedia and found all these crazy cross-overs and things and discovered every Robin (all...3? No wait, now there's 4) has basically gone insane at one point. But now I'm all caught up in the Batman world up to 2010 within the span of two days...aiya.

However, today I found myself looking up an episode of the Justice League cartoon because Terry McGinnis appears in it as an older adult and I cringed at his facial design. I finally settled: lets give a small nod of the head to the younger Terry because he looked great and why oh why did they have to mess with his face...

...Or because I think I secretly had a crush on him. And I really should have no excuse as Batman Beyond came out when I was well into the midst of High School...

WIP - Drain

2010-09-20T22:06:00.001-07:00

Just a piece I'm in the middle of. I have a ton of work I'm doing, I swear! I'm just not able to post any of it until it gets published, probably in October and then further on. 'Til then, enjoy this sketch.

I like the idea that someone can become so despondent, their very skin turns on them.

3G SHOW PRINTS!

2010-09-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

AVAILABLE AT GALLERY 1988!!!

These are super, super high quality Giclee prints, a limited edition of 10 prints, for Ghostbusters, Goonies, and Gremlins.

Also, huge thanks to Regretsy for featuring my Darth Vader BBQ print on their facebook page. There were at least a ton of people clicking the 'Like' button to make me feel not-so-awful for creating such a fun/absurd image!

Girls on Film

2010-08-20T20:32:00.001-07:00

FINALLY. FINISHED. A PERSONAL. ILLUSTRATION. This took how long?! Aiya! 'Girls on Film' for those who love taking photos. ...Or Duran Duran.

Many things are happening. I'll be in a show with the Autumn Society as I mentioned. If you're in the LA area September 3rd, head over to Gallery 1988 from 7-10pm for the amazing 3G show premiere! I will hopefully have prints available for sale there as well.

Thanks goes out to Chris Ellis from the SF Station. He hooked me up with a promo job - a super-quick design I did for Chrome Bags. One lucky subscriber will get this image sewn as the panel of their Chrome Messenger Bag. I originally had the talented Rick Kitagawa try and screen print a design I had done onto the bag. We quickly discovered that water-based inks + water-resistant bag material = not gonna happen. Soooo, I ended up going over the panel one night with acrylics and sharpies to come up with this:

A bit different than I'd intended, but really, nothing wanted to stick to that panel. Chrome makes some mean bags and I didn't have any vinyl paints on hand. Ahh!!

In other news: I may be doing some album artwork for the very talented group Tangents in the near future. They're currently talking to Sony. Fingers crossed!

Sorry about the lack of updates. Silent nod of the head/thanks to stumbleupon and a slew of other sites that are posting me, including geek-art. More posts to come soon!

"...We'll All B Flat."

2010-08-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

PHEW. Last piece for the Autumn Society's 3G show! Goonies finally make their appearance on my blog. Out of the three films for this show: The Goonies is by far my *favorite* of all time. I still find it hilarious, and I still want to go underground, travel through caves, dodge 'booty traps' and save my skin by ridiculously awesome inventions even in my late-20s. Needless to say, Data is my favorite and gets to be in the foreground of this image ("Guys, they are coming, they're coming and they look really, really pissed off!")

While I had originally wanted to come up with witty images for this show, I couldn't help but feel there should be a feeling of evoking memory. There's got to be reason why we can keep watching these films over and over into adulthood. I took scenes that really let me think about the film's characters, that grabbed hold of me and shoved me into the character's point-of-view. But zooms my consciousness back in time, planting me down with my memories to when I first saw them. Probably with my brother and sister, actions and things we said when we were really little. Maybe jokes and quotes my parents passed back and forth that went waaaay over our heads because we just didn't understand any of them yet. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

If you happen to be in the LA area on September 3rd, get yer butt to Gallery 1988 and check it out! Here's the poster by the freakin' awesome and all powerful Tom Whalen:

Light Bright, Light Bright

2010-07-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

Next piece in line for the Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Goonies show that'll be in LA next month. Here's my submission for Gremlins.

I re-watched this recently with the Boyfriend for reference. I could have picked so many different scenes, but I found myself laughing hysterically when Billy is running after 'Stripe' into the YMCA (right before the gremlin cannonballs into the pool). I found so much delight in this scene because he has his house's sword strapped to his backpack when he runs up to the building. I don't know why, but a backpack filled with an electronic-puppet/Mogwai, and a sword strapped to it just seems far too entertaining... Enjoy!

Ray, When Some Asks If You are A God....

2010-07-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

...You say... 'YES!'

This is for a gallery show in August that focuses on three particular films from the 80s. This one being Ghostbusters. Everyone kept telling me to do the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but frankly I was way more interested in Gozer (Stay Puft is still ridiculously awesome though!).

They show Gozer for what, less than two minutes?! As a kid, I was extremely puzzled by her/him/it. Mainly for the fact that it looked like the costume was constructed out of clear Christmas ornaments, hot-glue gun sticks, and spider-webs. Also, I couldn't figure out of it was Gozer's skin considering there were claws on her/his/its hands along with high-heels attached to the feet. ...Were those heels shoes or was that part of Gozer's body? ...I'll never know.

Yeesh. This one took me forever to crank out because so much stuff was going on. Thanks goes out to everyone who came to the Alien/ation show at Space Gallery last weekend! Also, much thanks to Rob Greenleaf for interviewing me on the artprojekt!

ALIEN/ATION

2010-07-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

This is a bit last minute but hey, I'm in a show! There are nine illustrators total, and it will be at the Space Gallery in San Francisco, this Saturday July 10th.

I'm super-stoked! I have 6 illustrations framed and hung up by the great Rick Kitagawa and Eve Skylar from Paper Hat Productions. The reception starts at 5pm. Hope people can make it!

Huntington's Chorea

2010-06-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been swamped with the full-time job.

This illustration took me weeks to produce because it strikes such a personal chord and I found I couldn't stare at it for long periods while working. One side of my family had a history of Huntington's Disease, which sadly is a neuro-degenerative disorder with no cure. However, I discovered my company donated about $130,000 to Huntington's research, so I was quite touched to hear this.

Some history: With Huntington's Chorea, the body begins to lose control of the nervous system first. 'Chorea' is based off a word for a type of dance in Greek. It refers to abnormal, involuntary movements, so patients can't control their limbs or muscles. It's common for someone with Huntington's to lose the ability to eat solid foods, or drink a glass of water, and be unable to speak, amongst many other things.

Star Wars Barbeque

2010-06-14T17:05:00.001-07:00

I was recently contacted for the use of my Star Wars Sith BBQ illustration. I'll be honest, aside from Josh Frost's book that it's used in, I never thought in a million years that this illustration would see the light of day to be used for anything else. But I've been proven wrong. Sergej Grigojrev emailed me with the request of using the illustration for none other than his Star Wars Barbeque in the festival named "Let There Be Night." All six films will be screened with him and his friends cooking up some delicious foods. How fitting is that!

He quickly sent over the final poster and it came out thus so:

Super awesome, I'm glad to be a part of it!

Graphic design Sergej Grigojrev

WIP - Girls on Film

2010-06-05T18:19:00.001-07:00

Just some in-progress stuff. I've got a gallery show coming up in July that I'm spending some time on. I apologize for the lack of updates!

Fearless - Colored

2010-05-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Granted Illustration Friday! has moved onto a new topic, I got 'Fearless' done nonetheless!

Enjoy!

Fearless - WIP

2010-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Saw this week's Illustration Friday! topic was 'Fearless' and is it strange that this was the first thing that popped into my head?

This is obviously in progress (I only saw the topic yesterday... a bit of a late start!). The finished product will be posted here later this week. And if anyone asks, I've said this before: during the zombie invasion, my weapon of choice will always be a sword. Can't run out of bullets that way!

Childhood

2010-05-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

Where did it go?

This was actually inspired by a conversation I had with some co-workers last Friday on how "youth is wasted on the young." Two individuals who have far more experience in life than myself felt they would have lived their lives differently if only they had the knowledge they have now. Saved more money, made less foolish decisions, and so on.

Makes me wonder, all the choices I made in childhood and how I've shaped myself into who I am today: will it end up coming back to bite me?

- After creating the initial sketch 'n inks for this, Randy asked if I was inspired by Andrew Wyeth's very famous painting since we were just talking about him earlier that day. It definitely came out unconsciously!

Over-Confident

2010-05-02T22:49:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about how people will generally choose beauty over practicality.

Just a personal piece on feeling a bit too confident and falling great, great distances... into failure.

Comic Stuffs

2010-04-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

No new artwork in awhile?! I'm rapidly realizing how draining having a full-time job is once again. Sorry for not posting more often! I'll probably put together a bunch of the work I've been doing at the full-time thing; I've created artwork and animations used in a game on Facebook titled, Treasure Isle. With over 7 million users, it's pretty exciting knowing my work is being seen. ...Wish we could have updated the look of the avatar though.

Anyhoo. Here's the cover to my neglected (this week anyhow) comic, Plastelyzed for issue #2 that I'll have to pencil and color sometime. Once I summon up the energy to create more work, it'll be done, I swear. Looking after my health and my sanity comes first though!

You've Out-lived your Use

2010-04-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

Really. When all is said and done, at the end of the day, what else can Mega Man do after defeating all the master robots? It's not like he can go home and clean the house/laboratory... that's Roll's job. It's actually quite a sad thing, when a machine outlives it's usefulness. To be replaced by something newer, grander... .......harder, better, faster, stronger.

I wanted to edit Mega Man's costume a lot because it's just so darn simple in the 8-bit version. But it seems to become ridiculous in the later versions, as if Capcom was compensating for this fact. I tweaked his knees and maybe his shoulders and that was about it. Enjoy!

Photoshop Creative Magazine

2010-03-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, when I was still in the midst of moving to San Francisco, I was contacted by Photoshop Creative Magazine to do an interview. The goal of the discussion was to go over my process of using Photoshop, as well as providing basic tips and tricks for anyone interested in using the program. Obviously I don't create extremely intense/advanced concept art in the program, but I've been questioned numerous times on my process.
A shot of the current issue of Photoshop Creative with my interview inside:

The actual interview is also available on podcast here: http://photoshopcreative.co.uk /podcasts.php

I'll be honest, it took place at roughly 7 or 8 in the morning (as Simon Skellon, my interviewer, was located in the UK). I apologize if I sound completely incoherent while talking. To paint a picture: I had been sleeping on an air mattress in the middle of an apartment with absolutely no furniture in it. The echo was so terrible, I sat on the floor of my bathroom as it was the only place that I was able to be heard. Pretty crazy, no?

Springtime

2010-03-20T22:45:00.001-07:00

It's Spring. Time for the token-seasonal-illustration for this... seasonal-time of flora 'n fauna and all that.

Enjoy!

FIGHT!

2010-03-13T15:01:00.006-08:00

I'll be honest. I secretly love the idea of office-brawls. There's something extremely exciting about seeing everyday people, in business attire, just taking out their aggression on one another, down 'n dirty. It's just so much fun.

This image was actually inspired by a pretty harsh memory of mine. Way, way back in the day (er...of 2007), I once had an Art Director who gave me the 'You'll Never Make It, Kid' speech when I said I was thinking of leaving my job to pursue my career/dreams in the Gaming industry, which would be located in NYC.

Her actual words were, "Why would you do that? You'll never make it. NYC's so expensive, you'll just struggle." I'm not sure why anyone would tell a young, barely-out-of-college person these words. She might have been projecting her own life onto mine most days. Needless to say, that speech fueled me to prove her wrong, and drove me to work as hard as possible. I quit days later, interned, learned Flash Animation from a ridiculously awesome Lead Artist , and created artwork for games. I then moved to San Francisco to further this dream, creating artwork for Facebook applications. In a twisted way, I suppose I should thank her?

....At the time, I secretly wanted to do what's pictured in that illustration to my old Art Director. Just about everyday. We didn't have cubicles, and I don't think she ever wore business attire. But hey, who hasn't pictured doing something like that?

Hotel des Arts

2010-03-12T21:54:00.003-08:00

If anyone is in the San Francisco area for the GDC, you can view my illustration of the Legend of Zelda's Link (We're Gonna Need a Bigger Rucksack), framed and mounted on the wall of their Into the Pixel show (all thanks goes to Gallery 1988!). I've been getting emails about today from people, and finally tracked down a quick snapshot of it via Gamer Syndrome (as well as Joystiq) here.

New illustrations are in progress(too many sketches to complete this week..)

I leave you with a sketch of the Violinist. Does he really think he'll soothe the savage beast with that??

Umbrella Sailing

2010-02-28T11:01:00.004-08:00

When I was a kid, I always imagined I could turn an umbrella upside-down and sail on the ocean inside it as a boat. I logically thought, if I'm a really small child, the umbrella would be able to hold my weight and not sink or capsize.

Just a personal illustration so I don't go crazy that the only time I'm really drawing is at work. Always make artwork for yourself from time-to-time to keep you satisfied, I always say!

Enjoy!

Status Foe

2010-02-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

Back in December, while moving, I did an illustration for Bitch Magazine, regarding an article about people who lurk on Facebook. There's a study out that says people who tend to post less information about their own lives on Facebook will secretly look at other peoples' profiles a lot more. They feel embarrassed about their own shortcomings, or feel that they haven't gotten where they want in life versus their friends who have graduated, gotten married, are having children, visiting amazing vacation spots, and so on (which is all constantly being posted on Facebook's Feed). Pretty interesting stuff!

Enjoy!

Tweet tweet

2010-02-16T22:22:00.004-08:00

Long time since I posted! There's good reason for that: I finally got my belongings (after a 2 week delay) and set up my studio in my new apartment. For the last 2.5 months, I was working full-time for Serious Business (most famous for 'Friends for Sale' on Facebook). Within that short time, I was incredibly happy to work with extremely talented, fun-loving individuals. Never have I literally jumped out of bed, EXCITED to begin a work day before that company.

Needless to say, we've all been acquired by a gi-normous company of which you will instantly recognize and can read up on the result here.

...Not sure how I feel about working for such a large corporate company but lets give it time, shall we?

In the meantime, here's to Twitter. I don't post with it nor do I follow anyone's tweets but it was a fun image in my mind. My buddy Ra is depicted as he was one of the first people I knew to actively use it. It's pretty incredible how social applications have dominated the world. You see a tiny blue bird or an 'f' for facebook on nearly every advertisement, the news, anywhere. Enjoy!

Giz Mag

2010-01-19T10:08:00.002-08:00

Thanks to Giz Mag for featuring my work!

FINALLY, I have found an apartment in San Francisco. However, none of my belongings will be out here until February 1st. Aaaagh. ...Thus is the way of life.

Hopefully you'll start to see new illustrations posted here mid-February!

Geek Out

2010-01-13T09:54:00.002-08:00

My co-worker, Frank Harmon, pointed out that my Zelda piece was on Geekologie a few days ago. Where everyone can comment on whether they like it or not!

Needless to say, it's always exciting to find my work is still making its way across the internet, even if the show was back in August!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-12T13:59:00.004-08:00

I apologize for the lack of updates. I'm currently living out of a suitcase on a couch all the way on the west coast!

It's that time a year. I send out 50-100 holiday postcards I've created for my family/friends and here's this year's design for all you!

Hope everyone has a great end of the year!

BREATHE!

2009-11-23T17:40:00.004-08:00

This is either a man that's drowning, or a man that's juuuust reached the surface and taken that great big breath of fresh oxygen. I'm in that very position right now; I can't tell which of these actions I'm experiencing.

I'll be in San Francisco until around the New Year for a contract position that will hopefully turn into a permanent full-time job. This means: Kim can't update her blog as often over the next month. This also means: Kim will most probably relocate from the East Coast in Brooklyn, NY, to the West Coast in San Francisco, CA.

NYC, it's been awesome/crazy these past two years, but you sadly didn't show me enough love when I needed it most! Cheers!

Long Distance Relationships

2009-11-17T17:51:00.003-08:00

...are really hard. The other day I was commended by a friend, as she was impressed I've been in such a relationship for the past year and a half. It's not what either of us would want, mind you, but life happens and the circumstances will change in the coming weeks.

Needless to say, this personal illustration is generally what I feel if I dwell on the subject a bit too long. ...Or if a friend keeps asking when he's coming back. Or when someone looks at me incredulously when they're informed he's been abroad for over a year. ...Or if I see other couples holding hands and embracing one another. ...List can go on 'n on...

Goin' Ape!

2009-11-13T19:31:00.003-08:00

Much thanks to Alex Mathers for featuring me on Ape on the Moon! It's super exciting and super appreciated. Check it out, there's tons of other great illustrators and artists on there!!

Duck 'n Cover

2009-11-06T21:09:00.003-08:00

I've had numerous dreams where I'm in an apartment building, I look out the window, and Godzilla is rampaging across the city. I kid you not. Numerous times. I tell myself to just 'stay still and be quiet' when I see him. I mean, he's so freakin' big and I'm so freakin' tiny, it's not like he'll see me. And as soon as I think this, he looks over with his huge menacing yellow eyes, does that high-pitched metal-bending roar of his, and then proceeds to smash apart the building where I'm cowering inside.

It's kind of funny because Godzilla in films isn't terrifying whatsoever. Yet, the very IDEA of something gallavanting across a city, destroying everything in its path (a la Cloverfield), with you, so insignicantly small, unable to do anything about it, is a really frightening notion. Think about it!

This piece was worked on over the course of the later part of this week. ...It ended up being like three illustrations in one; the monster outside the window, the girl inside the apartment, and then that lil vintage 'gojira!' poster on the wall. Phew!

Dig It

2009-11-04T11:24:00.003-08:00

Tak Toyoshima contacted me if my German For Autumn illustration could be used on this week's issue of Boston's Weekly Dig. And 'lo 'n behold, I said yes and now it's on the cover! If you live in the Boston area, pick up a copy; if not, you can download a PDF of the current issue online. Funny they put 'I guess she's a PC' overtop the illustration... I do use a PC!! I really have nothing against apples!!

Hydro-Fracking

2009-11-01T20:42:00.005-08:00

If you live in NYC, you can pick up a copy of The Indypendent, the 'free paper for free people!' I had the chance to create a piece for the cover, an article that deals with the procedure of 'hydro-fracking' and how it might be polluting NYC's drinking water.
Here's the illustration as it appears on the cover, and then the original below it:

Poor Circulation

2009-10-26T10:04:00.002-07:00

A creepy illustration just for this creepy time of year. I could have done more leaves and Autumn-related colors, but there's something I find extremely eerie about how quiet everything gets when it snows.

Those feet can belong to something mortal, or not, either way, she has very poor blood circulation...

Flying

2009-10-14T22:06:00.004-07:00

Wow, I have to say I'm pretty darn proud of this one. This is for Illustration Friday! with the theme of the week, 'Flying.' Of course I immediately thought of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, but it was his quote that really got to me: "All limits are self imposed."

My limits are as far as I make them, so I think I went nuts with this one, working for most of the entire day on this as well as yesterday. As a bonus, here's a few work-in-progress images so you can see my process (at least... the process for this particular illustration).

First I start with solid lines, I just refer to them as 'inks.' The flames are there to give me an idea of what style I may do them in, either stylized in the same fashion as the smoke, or something else.
Next comes the background and I place flats on the front elements. The smoke I tinge with a bit of color to remind myself that Hey, I'm putting fire in there somewhere....And then I accidentally shut that red-tinge layer off. BUT. Now we have more background elements such as clouds, the shadows under them etc. I've also started placing a shadow on the man and his broken wings, with slight color tweaks here and there.

Aaaaand here's the final! Textures are brought in, the flames are painted in, embers are a-flyin' and he's most assuredly falling.
Enjoy!

Pop!

2009-10-13T11:13:00.002-07:00

Much thanks goes out to Popwhore for mentioning me on his blog! Check it out, there's a slew of great people on there!

Also, a sneak peek at my current illustration, for Illustration Friday!'s topic 'Flying.' Enjoy!