Featured Artists

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I still have some drawings, but I have been very slow about finishing. For some reason, I tend to slack of on drawing during the summer . I still need to finish to finish a request and a contest entry. Apologize for being bad about I checking on deviations and journals. Some of you guys have been very prolific at this time and it's hard to keep up.
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Anyways for a little fun.....

Ask me up to 5 questions and I'll ask you 5 in return. I reserve the right to not answer certain questions, but I'll be as open as possible. Anyways, let the interviews begin!

Asked by

1. where do you live?
I live in Texas.

2. how long have you been drawing (silly t ask, but I mean more toawrds how long have you been perfecting yourself and techinique)
It's not a silly question at all. I have been drawing since I was in pre-school. Somewhere in 5th grade, my mom showed me how to use bubble outlines for drawing. Otherwise, I didn't learn any real technique until junior year in high school. In freshman year in college, I met someone who gave me good critiques, and urged me to work on realistic anatomy. There is no such thing as perfect art and there is always something to learn throughout your life.

3. what particular music do you like?
I don't really have a fixed genre of music. You may think I'm a weirdo, but a good number of them come from film and video game soundtracks. Among my favorites include Joe Hisaishi, who composed music for a couple of Studio Ghibli films such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. [link] [link]
Some random stuff I like
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]6YpYp6XYRI&mode=related&search=

4. what book are you reading right now?
(these are odd to ask but let me get e better grip on
knowing people XP)
I the last thing I read is a trade and generic drug handbook. It's not fun to read, but I need to familiarize with trade and generic drugs as a pharmacy technician. I generally don't have the attention span for reading like I should (I'm more of a visual person), but there some books that I enjoyed reading. I want to finishing reading Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

5. any particular things that inspier you?
I get my inspiration from a variety of sources. This can include films, things I read, people I talk to, looking at other people's artwork, etc.

Asked by

1. Besides drawing, are there any hobbies/interests/sports you do in your spare time??
I like surfing on the internet, playing video games...perhaps too much. I also enjoy spending spending time with the dog and riding my bike. I really like martial arts. I used to train inTae Kwon Do, but I left the dojang because of the practices that I soured on.

2. A lot of people have trouble with drawing anatomy. How long did it take you to get used to the concept? any specific tips you could give to people that want to perfect it? ...(sorry..thats like two ==")?
I myself still have lots of trouble fully grasping anatomy. It's exacting in nature and forces you to observe things in a person that most people tend to overlook. I learned the basic human proportions senior of high school but it wasn't until Freshman year of college did I really worked on anatomy. My tip is to keep practicing and you will eventually develop better manual dexterity and an eye for detail. Don't be afraid to use references such as real people, photos, anatomy illustrations, or even the works of highly skilled artists. Like any form of drawing it helps if you break down each part into smaller structures to familiarize yourself with the details.

3. I remember when i first met you. if i remember correctly you said you were vietnamese...did you grow up in America??
Yep, that's right. I grew up in the United States. I'm pretty fortunate to live in a somewhat diverse community.

4. Why did you start dA? What do you aim to achieve while your here?? I came to dA in hopes of learning and improving. Critiques are hard to come by on dA. I believe a change in the communities attitude is needed to promote more learning, especially those who complain about the quality but do nothing about it.

5. and lastly is there an artist on dA that inspires you? is there a specific deviation??
There really lots of artists that inspire me one way or another.
1) has one of the most bizzare art around that blurs the line between fantasy and surreal.
2) , who is studying as an animator, has tons of life drawings that I can learn from and she is nice enough to answer questions regarding art technique and animation.
3) I enjoy reading her manga and viewing her illustrations, she also set up for those that need help on something specific

Asked by
1. Have you ventured into the world of quill pens yet? (They're really fun and challenging)
No I haven't been exploring new mediums even though I need/want to . The time I did inking was in middle school

2. How old are you?
I'm currently 22....*wishes to stay 18*

3. What kind of things do you do for fun?
I like video games, spending time with the dog, and martial arts.

4. What's your favorite type of paper to work on?
I use good ol' printing paper or whatever surface I can use to draw on .

5. Do you still watch cartoons? Which ones?
I hardly watch TV, but I do like animation in general. Thirty-minute programs that I enjoy would include Family Guy, Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, Peanuts (who doesn't like Snoopy?), Redwall, Lupin III, Hajime No Ippo, and Record of Lodoss War. Full-length films include several Pixar and Studio Ghibli films, Shrek, Castle of Cagliostro, Ghost in the Shell, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Triplets of Belleville.

Asked by
1. Coke or Pepsi?
I like Coke that is made in Mexico. It has a stronger taste compared to the variety we drink in the United States. Older Americans who tried will tell you it tastes like the original Coke before they changed it's formula.

2. Do you desire to take your drawing abilities and use them in the art industry? If so, what would you like to do? Comics, animation, video games
I onced dreamed about going into comics, animation, and video games but I eventually had to focus on health professions because of stability and the fact my family doesn't support me in the arts. The problem with the art profession is there are many talented people yet so few openings available. Unless I improve greatly and circumstances work in work my favor, I may reconsider.

3. Besides your friend's influence, is there another reason why you chose to do anatomy as your recent style?
All styles require knowledge of anatomy to give the characters a convincing prescence. I also became inspired by the illustrations of Burne Hogarth, Ayami Kojima, Tetsua Nomura (his FF8 and FFX character designs) and wanted to draw more realistic human figures than I was able to do at the time.

4. Any other hobbies besides drawing?
Internet, video games, riding bike

5. Do you have any favorite sports that you like to either watch or participate in?
I used to practice Aikido and later Tae Kwon do. I want start practicing again. Occasionally, I play tennis with a friend but I'm terrible. Otherwise I'm not really into sports because of unpleasant experiences I had in the past.

Featured Artists

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It's been a while since I posted a journal. Anyways, here are my goals so far.

Projects

1) I need to finish long overdue coloring for for her request [link] --> Put on hold until I can find original drawing, I'm sorry

2) wanted to see a redone version of this: [link] I was thinking of making a series of drawings or sequential. Any suggestions would be appreciated. --> Working on it

3) has a contest to draw his character in an action pose. [link] He encourages participants to draw in any style and hopefully learn from the entries presented to him. This is my progress so far... [link] If you want to join, feel free to contact him.--> FINISHED

4) This deviation, Guardian of the Sea I submitted was incomplete [link] I was hoping that someone would color it for me, so I kept it in its lineart state. might vector it for me. Eventually, I may just finishing touches with shading. If anybody else wants to color it, let me know.

5) I also want to polish up Stupid Human --> FINISHED [link]


6) Participate in character contest by [link] --> In progress

7) character request for
[link] --> FINISHED

Techniques to Work on and Other Additions

1)) work on more contrast when shading

2) foreshortening and perspective

3) drawing more animals again

4) my gallery is seriously lacking in color so I need to work on that

5) more backgrounds and buildings

6) redraw and update more old concepts from the past




Any suggestions or other feedback?.... Let me know.


BTW look what I found XD

Copied and pasted this from

Taken From $lolly's journal, after it was taken from $Moonbeam13's journal after it was taken from ^y2jenn's Journal


I just got an email from my ma about my home town. About a week ago, at least 13 tornadoes touched down along the NM-TX border and one of them ripped through the middle of Clovis. It destroyed 400+ homes and businesses in Clovis alone. It ripped up 100 year old trees, tossed trailers through the bowling alley roof, ripped the roof off of the senior citizens housing, bent phone poles in half and sent air conditioning units from one of the junior high schools through the roofs of surrounding houses. It completely destroyed one of the grain silos I'd known all my life. A lot of people were injured in some way, head trauma and the like... 2 are in critical condition. 120-125 mph winds left a 3 mile long path through the center of my town. I'm so scared for people I grew up with and families I know still live there. I'm sad I can't be home to physically help in some way.

A Salvation Army truck on its way from El Paso to Clovis was looted. $1500 worth of supplies was stolen right out of the back of it and the thieves haven't been found yet.

I don't have a lot of free time on my hands right now but I want to start a fund raiser for Clovis. I don't expect to raise a lot of money but every little bit will help, y'know? So, if you're interested, I'm goin to open $3 commissions for quick head-shot sketches of your choice of character. Please send your donations through PayPal to y2jenners@cox.net. Once a good amount has been saved up I will donate the entire thing to UnitedWayENM.org for the Tornado Relief Fund. Or, if you'd rather, you can bypass me and donate directly to their website.

If you want a $3 commission please send ^y2jenn a note with "tornado commission" as the subject and include any links to character references. Any thing from you guys will be appreciated so much.



This what $lolly said next:



If you aren't able to help monetarily, then please help us by passing on ^y2jenn's journal to your watchers. This is why the watch orgy comes in handy, let's make it count.

Thank you



Sorry if the links doesn't work, cos I just basically copy this from $lolly's journal


This is far more important that the stupid April Fools crap!

Spread the word to everyone

Featured Artists

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Thanks to for the idea... I wanted to make a journal that would monitor my progress and it's about time I followed through. Below is a link to some sample of my artwork from each time period. The earliest pieces have not been submitted in my gallery before.

[link]

Before 1999: Unfortuantely, I don't have any of those drawings anymore. Back then, I had a great interest in animals and drew them all the time. Other than Charlie Brown and other cartoon characters, I generally avoided drawing human beings. My mother showed me how to use bubble outlines for drawing, a valuable technique. I discovered anime in middle school, two years before the Pokemon craze. I actually watched very little anime but the few I seen left a lasting impression on me.

1999-2000: Through anime, it was my first stepping stone to attempt to draw the human figure....and shifting attention to drawing human beings. I had no clue about proportions and the didn't really understand shading.

2000-2001: I improved on the proportions, but I didn't actually know any anatomy. I just drew based on what "looked right" in my eyes. In this picture, a classmate at the time note the feet were too parallel and they should point away slightly from each other XD. I followed her advice after that. I also got a sketchbook by that time which contains a lot of character concepts.

2001-2002: I took art class that year. Honestly, I hated it because I wasn't allowed to draw what I want. However, this helped me out in the long run so I'm thankful that I went through that. I didn't learn anything about drawing a human figure at this point. Instead I learned about light sourcing (I wasn't good at it), vanishing points, and ways to show depth. This sample, is something I drew outside of class. I tried to use composition and vanishing point. I gave outdoor backgrounds a little more focus that year.

2002-2003: I took a second art class. This time I actually enjoyed the class. There was a much larger focus on drawing the human figure this time. It also helped that the teacher was more open to trying things on your own. I learned the basic proportions of a human being and finally broke away som bad habits. I started to develop an interest in more realistic styles like that Ayami Kojima and Tetsuya Nomura. I also started to realize I cannot emulate styles well anyways to continue that path I was going previously.

2003-2004: I am repeating myself here, but I think it was important time as far as my growth was concerned.... I was fortunate enough that meet a classmate who had interest in art. He looked at many of my drawings and critiqued me; this was the first time that someone has pinpointed so many anatomical errors. The most common error he pointed out were the flatness of the hands and feet and lack of muscle tones. He even let me borrow a book that helped me immensely. The hands now had a more solid form now that I understood the bone structures of the hand. I learned the feet are more of wedge shaped and not flat. I started to draw muscles with more definition and shape. I used just make the arms thicker, but without the curves on the arms. I started using spheres, prisms, and other 3D objects as outline instead of circles, which aided in drawing from a variety of poses in deep space. My style started taking on a more realistic direction. I did take painting for one semester, and the teacher said that even cartoonists draw realistically before they choose to draw in their chosen style. I didn't understand what he meant until semester was over. It seems like a sick trade-off, but I was not as imaginative as I used to be .

2004-2005: I took what I learned last year and just developed it a futher. I experimented with a variety of poses and angles (which I'm still doing to this day). My shading skill was never that good, but I improved a little in that area.

2005-2006: I didn't have as much time on my hands and I found no inspiration for much of the year. I mostly drew halfway and stop. I was just glad my abilities didn't deteriorate too much.

2006-2007: I got my deviantart account by this time. Thank you everybody for the encouragement and feedback. That provided the motivation to improve and continue with art.

To summarize what I learned:

1) Learn the foundations of art. Even if you choose to stylize, explore real life as well. Reality is the source for a lot of art, be very careful with "How to Draw ___ Style" tutorials, it may not always teach you the basics. Trying to imitate another artist without knowing the reasoning behind the stylization will cause you to stagnate and suffer in the long run.

2) How do you get better? Practice....There is no magic to it. There will always be someone technically better than you. Instead focus on improving your own work. It sometimes takes a bunch of horrible drawings before you notice your improvement.

3) Please help encourage others. Nobody starts at the same level. People can always improve as long they are willing learn. Remember, nobody started out as a great artist. Nobody's art is perfect and everyone has something to learn. After all, DA is an art community.

Featured Deviants

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Got tagged by

Once again it's a list of random facts about myself. I'm not going to tag anybody unless you want to be tagged.

1) Once in a while I try to be organized, but I don't follow through in the long run >_<

2) I learned to ride a bike at a rather late age.

3) I am usually a very quiet.

4) I like to take naps

5) When I was child I used to be afraid of dogs but grew fond of them as I got older

6) I keep much of my old artwork, a few were submitted to deviations and scraps. They look awfult to me, but it's a way to monitor my progress or had concepts that I liked. I will post up a journal about this later on.

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I still need to finish up requests for , color [link] for , and a redo of and old drawing suggested by . After that, I'll be open for other activities.