Thursday, February 4, 2016

Archon : Boxing Sketch

Funda-Mental

Hey Ya'll! Whew... So I was going back to some training exercises so I can learn more to improve how I do my art and whatnot. 

I got some sound advice on learning to use more photo references so i get a better sense of proportions and anatomy. It's always been more a challenge for me since I like to create stories in my drawings more and tend to neglect the fundamentals of making it more lifelike. So I tried scouring the image searches for nice poses. I got this nice one with boxing gloves and I thought I could use this pose and apply it on one of my characters. 

I'm also trying to learn more about coloring. I added some cool shadows, which is something I haven't tried much yet. Also some warm highlights. Aside from this I'm trying to put more thought into my composition by adding more quiet areas and giving emphasis to some areas. 




So slowly, really slowly, I'm trying to make sure my art is getting more and more up to the level I want to be. 

Anyone else feel like me, climbing this giant wall of learning the fundamentals? :)

Anarchy Inc: Minox

His Power Sucks...


I owed my friend, Miles, a poster of my OC based on him :) He always wears a hoodie and kinda looks like a panda. 

Minox gained the ability to contain a black hole in his body so he's one of the wanted Metahumans in Bale City. His power allows him to pull in a huge amount of stuff into his mouth and belly. He mostly uses himself as a suitcase for pulling out supplies when he and his crew do a job but when he unleashes his black hole, it's best to start running. 

Minox is mostly docile like a panda but he still has a knack for being useful in his criminal crew led by "The Komodo". 





I'm trying to add this quaint line of action through this sketch... I'm still trying to learn how to do it right :)

Any suggestions on an arc for The Komodo Krew?

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Numbuh 110: Chuck Package

My fan art for Codename: Kids Next Door :D I loved how clever this cartoon was and it was still pretty fun to watch. When a cartoon series has a more interesting world than what most people follow, it's like magic to me :DKND is full of stuff that I would like to refer to when I build up on my cartoon worlds. KND had a ton of fun stuff from, the operatives, the villains, the conspiracy, their technologies, their backstories, their lore, their rules, the fact that they can destroy so much stuff and nobody seems to notice... and the ANAGRAMS... Holy crap those things were so amusing.



Numbuh 110: Chuck Package
Leader of Sector U in Uruguay.

A geeky fanboy that is obsessed with comic books and video games. Outfitted all Sector U operatives with superhero costumes and powers to fight gaming curfews made by adults. Tries to find kids with unique abilities to join Sector U and help them control their amazing talents. :D

Any readers out there want their KND-OC to join Sector U? Share your idea on the comment section :D

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Invader Zim Style Self Portrait



 For the Almighty Tallest!!!


 Hands were itchy after going to the 3DSense workshop... Will make some more fundamental styles soon... For the meantime, paying homage to the inspirations that started it all. Invader Zim Ya'll!!!




 Will talk more about the awesome workshop I went to soon.
 Anyone out there a fan of "Invader Zim"? Let me know in the comment section. Peace out!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Pokemon Y Journey #2

Who's the Champ? :D

 Yeah that's right I'm the Champ. Well at least in the Single Player Campaign. 

(In homage to the best champ of all... Red, not Ash!)

 But before that I had to face off with the 4 remaining gym leaders... which was still kind of underwhelming... None of them went over 3 pokemon and I was around a dozen levels above them. The older gym leaders were the ones you had to prepare for and I mean running around outside in the grass because your flamethrower wasn't killing their pokemon fast enough even though you have the type advantage. 

  So like i said before I wanted to do a short review of each gym leader. So here we go:

1. Viola of Santalune City


 As a character I like Viola which is kind of common with most of the gym leaders. She's an avid or even obsessed photographer. She's always out to get a great picture which I find endearing. She has a hobby aside from being a pokemon trainer. Although her favorite subject matter is pokemon and it all might be a transition to a new version of Pokemon Snap.

 As for her pokemon, Surskit Lv.10 and Vivillon Lv.12, they were pretty good choices for pokemon. I just wished they were stronger. Surskit being a water/bug type was a nice twist. Luckily I had a type advantage since I chose Chespin but its bug moves could still hit me. Surskit would've been more challenging if it had at least Water Gun instead of Bubble and had Infestation as well. Vivillon is pretty enough to be a nice pokemon to fight but the only moves it had was Tackle, Harden and... Infestation. It's not meant to be used more than once since it's a damage per turn move. Bug bite would've been a cool addition to its moveset. 

 So Viola as the first Gym is kind of easy. The gym puzzle is simple and kind of fun and works well with the 3D.  So I give her a Flash Flash Flash could've been a nice strategy for her out of ten.

2. Grant of Cyllage City


 Grant made me confused. He's always doing what appears to be a Freddy Mercury impression pose. Also what are those colored balls in his hair. Are those rocks? or eggs? Grant reminds me of those performance artists that pretend to be objects. He looks like he's wearing a black motion capture leotard. Maybe the balls are for motion capture...

 His gym is pretty cool with a rock climbing element. Maybe they just wanted to get the message through that he was a Rock Type Gym Leader. Is that why he's always reaching up in his pre-fight pose? Oh wait hahaha I just got that. I usually only see the top half of his body so he looks like he's pretending to be a working shower.

 His pokemon are ok, Tyrunt Lv.25 and Amaura Lv.25, but why are they both the same level. We know the pattern of Gym Leaders. They have around a couple of warm up pokemon then they release their signature partners. Brock had Onix, Blaine had Magmar and Whitney had her Miltank. Their last pokemon would be their biggest challenge to beat. Tyrunt and Amaura could've worked if they had another pokemon before them like maybe. Shuckle or Rogenrola and made Tyrunt Lv.27 and Amaura Lv.29.

 So Grant you get a Freddy Mercury Win Pose Reversal Face Palm out of ten.

3. Korrina of Shalour City


 Korinna looks cool just like her roller skating rink gym. She's all hyped up and twirls around on her skates a lot. Which is charming since again a gym leader with a hobby is a nice character. 

 What bothers me a little is that her character doesn't seem to match her Pokemon Type. She's the fighting type gym leader. Yet she doesn't seem to convey any of that message. Not even her gym does. It seems misplaced. If she was an ice type user and she suddenly had an ice rink in the middle of her skate park that would've been awesome.  

 Her pokemon are pretty good for fighting types. Mienfoo Lv.29, Hawlucha Lv.30 and Machoke Lv.28., but they seem to be jumbled in order The last pokemon should be Hawlucha. It has the speed to at least make the roller blades seem relevant. Pump the levels up by 5 and it would be a pretty even challenge for the 3rd gym.

 Korrina gets a How do you even fight with roller skates on out of ten.

 4. Ramos of Courmaline City


 Not much to say about Ramos... He's an old veteran guy that reminds me of Master Roshi from DBZ or Happosai From Ranma 1/2. It's kind of intriguing if he was also part of the Pokemon War with Lt. Surge but I didn't really notice his backstory.

 His gym was simple enough and swinging across the vines looked neat if it had a game mechanic like pressing a button to time your swing right it would've made it more enjoyable.

 His pokemon aren't my cup of tea though, Jumpluff Lv.30, Gogoat Lv.34 and Weepinbell Lv.31. Wait scratch that his pokemon are ok except for Gogoat. I don't like Gogoat. It seemed forced. Jumpluff is great cuz it's grass/flying and has a lot of status effect moves (but Ramos didn't let it have any). Weepinbell is grass/poison and had at least Acid and Gastric Acid but if it were a Victreebell then it would've been done right. Gogoat is just meh (pun). It's plain grass type and had only 1 grass move which was Grass Knot. Grass Knot's damage is according to the target's weight so it's not very reliable. 

 Ramos you get a How did you survive the war seriously? out of ten.

5. Clemont of Lumiose City


 It took a while before I could finally battle Clemont cuz of the whole power plant fiasco. (Thanks a lot Team Flare). But out of all the gym leaders I found Clemont to be my favorite in Pokemon Y. He's an inventor. He has a lil sister that overcompensates for him. He has a Dr. Octopus arm. He also helps out with creating new inventions for pokemon trainers. He's pretty awesome.

 His gym is pretty fun cuz it's a game show type of gym. His lil sister is, ofcourse, the host and quizmaster and you pick the elevator door with the right answer. I just found it to be fun. Yeah you can still fight but the quizzes just make it more enjoyable.

 His pokemon are in a bad need of a power up though. With only 3 pokemon, Emolga Lv.35, Magneton Lv.35 and Heliolisk Lv.37, even Ramos should've had another pokemon to be his main fighter other than Gogoat. Heliolisk however isn't such a bad main fighter. It's an electric/normal type which had Thunderbolt. At least it had a strong damaging move. But again it had Grass Knot... WHYYY??? Clemont badly needed at least another main here. Ampharos comes to mind as well as Galvantula.

 Clemont gets a Dr. Octopus should get you as an assistant out of ten.

6. Valerie of Laverre City



  They just had to put Valerie in. With the new fairy type, it wouldn't be a big deal if none of the Gym Leaders didn't use it. So now we have Valerie who has the personality of a doll... which isn't much. She's pretty to look at with her giant dress but like most dolls that's about it.

 Her gym is a doll house with warp points that was already done by Sabrina... who also liked dolls in the anime. Hmmm... seems like there's a pattern...

 Her pokemon however were a lot more fun, Mawile Lv.38, Mr.Mime Lv.39 and Sylveon Lv42. Don't get me wrong... they're still underwhelming cuz she should have at least 4 by now but i like Mawile and Sylveon. Mr. Mime was ok since he had a psychic type and has some potential to be a problem. I wish Mawile had a stronger moveset and Sylveon was a pretty good main but again felt incomplete.

 Valerie gets a Kristen Stewart acting award out of ten.

7. Olympia of Anistar City



 Olympia appeared around the time where I thought the Gym Leaders were starting to beef up. She seemed pretty strong. Her fortune teller outfit brought it on. I like her design. I wanted her to have a cool quirk though like she can only see doom and gloom in the future like Cassandra from Greek Mythology. But she's a nice lady with psychic powers so i guess that's fine. 

 Her gym is pretty awesome. It takes place in the Astral plane. So you're not sure if you're actually in the gym anymore. You run around trying to get to her platform and then you fight.

 Her pokemon are likeable enough, Sigilyph Lv.44, Slowbro Lv.45 and Meowstic Lv.48, but again why can't you have more than 3? Meowstic doesn't seem to cut it as a main fighter. Mewtwo would've been awesome but I think there's a rule where Gym leaders can't use legendary pokemon. Either way there's a pretty awesome roster of psychic pokemon to choose from. Alakazam for one or maybe even Gothitelle or Reunicluse  if they want to be modern and showcase the new pokemon.

 Olympia gets a was this fight all a dream out of ten.

8. Wulfric of Snowbelle City



 I mentioned that Clemont was my favorite Gym Leader in Gen 6 but Wulfric is a close second. He's actually intimidating to look at with his buffness and Walrus style beard. Also they both have cool names. Also I like that Wulfric is kind of the guardian for Pokemon town in the winding wood area. He's like Santa... if he worked out.

 His gym is fine i guess with rotating cube floors and switches. It provides an ok challege. It's fine and ok... moving on.

 Here's where it gets interesting. I mentioned before that Korrina should've been the Ice type Gym Leader. Wulfric would look amazing as the fighting type right up there with Chuck, Brawlie and Maylene. He's big and tough and apparently has big and tough pokemon. If it wasn't for his color scheme and town location you wouldn't even know he had ice type pokemon.

 His Ice type pokemon though are pretty nice, Abomasnow Lv.56, Cryogonal Lv.55 and Avalugg Lv.59. Like I said big and tough but again... ONLY 3 Pokemon... T_T Where's Frostic or Glaceon

 Wulfric as a the final gym leader you get a Your team do not give your awesomeness justice out of ten.


So there you have it... My review for the 8 gym leaders in Pokemon Y. They seemed more like a side note and would have loved to see them used more in the story. Also it they were a bigger challenge. But it was still fun... and that's we really need right?


... right?

Monday, January 11, 2016

Comic Review Time: Bee and Puppycat

The Temp Job I wish I could do...

 It's time for me to make another comic book review... So I can put down playing Pokemon Y for a few minutes. I chose to do a review of a comic that my girlfriend picked up. It's Bee and Puppycat

(She started squealing when she saw Puppycat. I did too... but internally!)

 We managed to find the first issue along with later issues at the comic book store. They can be hard to find since comic books are mostly confined in specific book stores in the Philippines. But thankfully with more comic book and art conventions springing up all over the year I'm feeling hopeful that there's a new wave of comic book releases up in my neighborhood.

 As for Bee and Puppycat, I think it's a nice gem of a comic. It works the same way Adventure time works. I'm not really a huge fan of Adventure Time. However I do understand it's appeal. It's goofy and silly and full of strange and wonderful things. I actually have 2 box sets of Adventure Time: Card Wars. But I digress...

 The story for Bee and Puppycat centers around a girl named Bee. I don't know why she's called Bee but then again I don't really need to know. What I do know is she's a young adult having difficulty holding on to a job. She then meets Puppycat (A half cat and half puppy character) who becomes her pet/roommate. Puppycat also works odd jobs for what seems to be an interdimensional company and brings Bee along with him to earn extra cash. The comic book is a collection of episodes with Bee and Puppycat going on missions or just chilling. So you don't really know what you'll get into.

  I liked the series very much since it reminded me of my childhood with Archie Comics. It wasn't a long winding tale that I've gotten used to. It's light and funny and it doesn't take itself very seriously. If my dark side of comics were covered in Batman or Sandman, my lighter side of comics would have mostly Invader Zim and Bee and Puppycat. 

 Another thing that might've hit home for me was that I like that Bee is just an awkward person looking for a means of income. I'm in the same boat. I write and draw comics in an attempt to make some money but it's not easy. I wish I had a magical chimera with super powers that can offer me part time gigs for a bunch of cash. :) Also I like Bee's interactions with her neighbor and friend Deckard. They're sweet and goofy.

(Visually fun at the very least)

 Puppycat is also pretty awesome with the ability to shoot explosive hairballs and other insane abilities. He's the calm and collected one of the pair. But what I love about him the most is that he has an unapologetic dark side. I'm not sure if that's how he's supposed to be but he's willing to do things Bee finds a bit or incredibly dark... like eat a dish made from 10,000 innocent souls. I dunno why but that makes me laugh so hard.

 The stories are nice and fun to read but have some things that makes me feel the way I do about Adventure time. Sometimes the characters can be stale. It's like they don't want to do what they're supposed to do. I think it's supposed to add to the silliness but sometimes it's just annoying. Also the short stories can come as a coin toss. Sometimes it's good and sometimes its meh. It's not a huge thing though. Bee is mostly entertaining and Puppycat can bring a lot to the scene as well.

 So overall I give Bee and Puppycat a rating of: 10,000 innocent souls out of ten. Yum Yum!

 P.S. : The Animated Short is also pretty awesome :D

(You took too long... Now your candy's gone!)
,

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Pokemon Y Journey #1

Oh Frabjous Day Kalou Kalay... I'm not sure how that goes...

  But anyway, I finally got my hands on a copy of Pokemon Y for my 3ds. So Merry Christmas to me :) 

(I will catch you soon too. Y shaped bird thingy)

  I've been playing this game for roughly 25 hours already this past week or more... who knows... Holy balls it's almost 2016 already... 

  Suffice to say... I'm loving this game so far. So I started with Chespin cuz I always seem to choose the fire type a lot when I play Pokemon and wanted to give the grass type a fair shake. Also Chespin is cute as balls...

(Look at it... It's so cuuuuute.)

  I still like him as Quiladin but I was kinda turned off with Chesnaught... The whole large head and big eyes thing was working then they shrunk it... :(

  I didn't know until later I could have another pick of starters from generation 1 so I picked my all time fave: Charmander cuz Charizard is pretty cool. 
(And Mega Charizard Y is just soooo badass...)
  I find myself going back and forth a lot from Pokemon centers simply cuz I didn't realize how much I would spend catching more and more pokemon. I have around 110 by now and it's nowhere even close to done. or even half. Just so many... and the masochist in me wants to train them all.

(I wanna be the very best.... Oh dear Arceus have mercy on me)
 
 I think I'm doing the wrong thing here... Maybe I should be catching them all later on... since all that grinding trying to catch all the pokemon in an area has left me with a slight problem... I'm too over leveled for the gym fights.

  The gym leaders are not so intimidating when I get to them. I was hoping for an epic fight when I went up against Viola, Grant, Korrina and Ramos but after catching at least a dozen new pokemon in between each of them... I found them all underwhelming. 

  I think I can battle them again in the Battle Chateau so I'm hoping they'd have a beefier team by then. I mean none of em had more than 3 pokemon and as for most Gym leaders all share a certain weakness.

  I hope the folks at the Pokemon Company adopt a new strategy when it comes to gyms. Pokemon is full of variety so I think gym leaders can have an awesome theme but doesn't have to revolve around a certain type. I liked the gym designs for Pokemon Y. A spider web is pretty cool as well as a rock climbing wall, a skate park and a giant tree you can swing around in. 3 pokemon for the early gym leaders is fine but a twist and or a challenge would be pretty awesome.


(Might do a review on each of these gym leaders cuz I kinda like them as characters...)

  The new features for interacting with your pokemon is also a great plus. I never had the patience to EV train my pokemon so Super Training gives stat boosts a more open experience as well as the Pokemon amie for building bonds with your pokemon...

That's all I have to say for now... cuz I want to get back playing some more... Til Later!