Dex Mission

I.F. Afterwards

2010-11-08T12:36:00.002-05:00

These are a few things I took with me, after all that I have left behind.

More Sketchbooks, Illustrations and Art stuff to come!

2010-10-09T14:13:00.007-04:00

This whirlwind is starting to settle down. The last couple of years has been full of lessons. Most of which I will take with me. Some lessons, I am sensing will be trouble. But for now, they are wrong lessons at the right time. They will exist within me, until it is time to undo them.

Anyways, back to drawing and making curious little things... Here's a preview.

Theming Blogger

2010-03-31T17:21:00.003-04:00

Never really tried theming this thing before. It's kind off a pain in the ass for some sections but not bad overall. I'll spend actual quality time looking into this later...

I.F. Red

2007-01-27T02:57:00.000-05:00

I cannot stress enough, how fulfilling it is to be able to work on my sketchbook again…

This page, although not by design, is a culmination of the last couple of weeks. I see glimmers of my brief time in New York city, being at the Metropolitan Museum, and recent conversations with Yvonne.

On a side note, I am currently working on my website dexmission.com. I’m kinda bit rusty with the HTML and the Flash but it’s all trickling in drop by drop. The site should be up on happy hearts day :)

Some Portraits

2007-01-27T02:18:00.000-05:00

I’ve received a couple of questions on how I go about working on my illustrations so I decided to write a brief summery on the topic. Please note that there are many professionals that work in a similar fashion, and there are also many others that work completely different. There is no right or wrong, just personal preferences.

Although each project runs the gamut, the constant factor lies within traditional core foundations. Everything I create begins its life either as a drawing, a painting or both. This then becomes the groundwork for the computer.

On that note, I must insist to point out that there is a certain amount of care involved when working with a computer. There is a fine line that is easily crossed where the computer can become more than a tool, and consume the sincerity and integrity of the work. Many beginners tend to make this mistake, using filters and canned effects to facilitate their needs. Avoid this as much as possible. Also, I highly recommend using a Wacom tablet. If you have the means, an Intuos 3 is an amazing tool; but the Graphire is also a good choice if you want to be more economical. I use a Graphire… (ehh..for now :))

Each one of these portraits were done under 24-hour period. I was given the assignment at 9 a.m. and had until 6 p.m. to finish and upload via FTP to the printer’s server. It was a little nerve racking but it was a good challenge.

Rendering the drawing well is important because it sets the values throughout the process. This allows me to concentrate more on color because the drawing if done correctly keeps the values honest.

The image is scanned and colored in Photoshop. I use stock brushes with the opacity set to 10-50 percent depending on how solid I want the color to be applied. I build up the color slowly but surely, getting more and more opaque as I work until it evolves to my liking (this is very similar to traditional oil painting). I then finish it off Mr. Mike Wallace by tracing specific outlines using a vector program like Illustrator to get the crisp and clean edges.

This is Dan Rather

And this one is Danny Goldberg

Holidays

2007-01-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

I got to visit and spend time with my family these past holidays. I witnessed a wedding, got jumped by a bunch of 9 year olds, got some stuff published in Look-look Magazine, ate tons of Pilipino food, sang karaoke for the first time (Freddie Mercury’s "Bohemian Rhapsody" if you have to know…), learned a new magic trick and took a mini-trip to NY city with Yvonne.

I was the designated photographer for my aunt and uncle's wedding. I shot with a 28-200 mm, Nikon D200 with an SB-800.

My family consists of 90% girls. WTF? :)

Yvonne and her new toy. She volunteered to film the event. It was really great of her. She took about 8 hours of footage. Do you know...what it's like...editing 8 hours...of footage?

It’s a Philippine tradition to stab paper money to the bride and groom as they dance. I didn’t know this. But I didn't have any cash so I contemplated pinning my credit card on them, but my aunt beat me to it.

Check out my feet:) I was in such a rush I forgot my shoes in the hotel room. I think that was the Asian island boy in me trying to come out. Hey, I gotta have my chankletas. And umm..that's not really my head...

My family and friends...

Metamorphosis

2007-01-20T06:31:00.000-05:00

I woke up to this. She’s newly hatched, fresh and new. I was lucky enough to capture some footage.

I haven’t posted in a while. I blame occupational hazards. Anyways, that should change from now on.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-28T22:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Have fun and stay safe :)

Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been flooded with things as of late, but I promise to make up for it soon. I should have some sketchbook pages scanned in the next couple of days, along with other illustrations and art.

Movie stills

2006-10-21T22:58:00.000-04:00

These are stills from a 3-minute film Yvonne created for school. It was a little weird being filmed as I painted, especially since I have not truly painted in so long (some watercolors here and there). But it was definitely great to get back on the horse. Oh, how I really missed the smell of oils…

I am usually a studio painter, but because of the time restraint, I painted this Ala-Prima (wet paint into went paint). As the pictures suggests, I am a pretty messy painter. I’ve been known to use my forearm as my palette and sometimes chew on my brushes.

I.F. Quiet

2006-09-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

I’ve been occupied as of late. It’s nice not to think so much and just draw. This is something I did today. I went to the art store and talked to some old friends, and got to play with some new stuff they had. Plus I should have a photo shoot tonight, so it should be a productive day.

Some Drawings...

2006-09-28T21:10:00.000-04:00

I went up to Orlando a couple of days ago and surprised my little sister for her birthday. It was really a great time and I was able to sit down after the party and draw a little.
With all this hoopla on stingrays, it managed to leak into my book. I use to see them all the time hiding in the sand during my many visits to the Keys. It’s a real wonder that I’ve never stepped on one.

There’s a phobia in here…somewhere.

The girl with the white hair is my sister… No she doesn’t have white hair. I just carry whiteout with me everywhere I go.

HA! The only time anyone actually stays still for me is when they're asleep... This is my cousin and her boyfriend asleep on the couch.

Old Sketchbook

2006-09-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

About 7 months ago I started to draw again.

These are pages from my first sketchbook after a year and a half hiatus from drawing and painting. My lines were somewhat clumsy because of this absence, but I am as much attached to these drawings as I am with anything else I have ever done. Rilke once wrote, “A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity”. Although my ego does not carry me far enough to claim this is good art; its creation was without a doubt the essence of inevitability. This book is a Japanese style bound Moleskin that Yvonne and I share. Within it are stories and images about our lives intertwined.

// My sincere apologies to the "medicine man” for my inability to adhere to his advice. I enjoy my walks in the rain too much to surrender it for any extended period of time :) //

Uri Geller is a funny guy...

2006-09-02T22:06:00.000-04:00

It seems there is a video of me in youtube. It was taken by friends of mine about a year ago during one of my visits. I'm the person with the coin :)

I.F. Match

2006-08-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

My 8-year-old sister comes home one day after school and walks up to me and says “Jo-jo came to school with his eyes all bloodshot”.

Surprised, thinking the most horrible things, I replied “Oh no, what happened to him?”

“Well yesterday, he was alone in his room and thought that he could turn Super Saiyan. So he tried really, really hard to a point where he popped blood vessels in his eyes”. She replied with a smile.

Prior to this moment, I was unaware that one could possibly DIE from laughing so hard. But the gods have smiled upon me so I can live to tell the tale. This illustration is for that special kid (my hero for the week) who thought he could turn Super Saiyan. “A+” for effort!!!

Technical stuff:
I’ve always loved making shapes. I create them on my spare time and with the intention to provoke a mood. This shape, the giant mass of floating something is my depiction of tension and anxiety. It’s not anything directly representative… although I am sure if one looks hard enough, shapes become recognizable.

The illustration is about a fight or a match. It is about a little boy with superhero-like imagination, tossing away the gloves to confront the unexpected and overpowering unknown (I call it growing up, or Jee-pee for short). It’s a fight to the finish. Winner takes all, with a touch of “you’re gonna have to drag me to an office desk, kicking, biting and screaming” attitude. Call it my Peter Pan syndrome.

Oh yeah, and the fish. The fish is the sidekick. Because really…who wants to be a super hero without a sidekick? // note: I decided to take out the fish. Although I loved him so, he just wasn't working with the composition. Owell, I'm sure hell come up again somewhere. //

This is my entry for this week’s Illustration Friday

2006-08-17T19:49:00.000-04:00

When I was small child living in Manila Philippines, my grandparents whom lived a very meager life worked the good part of the day. During this time, I was left alone to fend for myself, exploring freely my house and town. My grandmother to this day tells stories about how she would come home and find me sleeping in the most awkward, small and cramped spaces. My favorite place she said, were cabinet drawers.

I do recall slivers of those memories. I didn’t have any siblings, toys or many friends, so for fun...I locked myself in small, dark confined areas and imagined magical and fantastic things. I would play out stories in my head, wording out with conviction every moment. I did this...until I fell asleep. This is what I considered “play”.

I.F. "Capture", plus late entry for "Clean"

2006-08-08T01:11:00.000-04:00

// This is my main Illustration Friday entry. I'll ellaborate more on it later. I'm sleepy...ZzzZzzzz //

Ok, I'm awake now....well, kinda. This illo is an amalgamation (big word..tee-hee) of thoughts and ideas that eventually grew more interesting partly due to my busted copy of Photoshop. When in doubt, improvise :)
Anyways, I was literally two seconds away from throwing my computer out the window and shooting it with flaming napalm arrows on its way down, when I decided it would be best to take a long walk outside and let things simmer for a bit. Two hours later, Yvonne found me. Or I found her…I haven’t quite figured that one out yet, and she like the very cool person that she is, sat me down and guided me through the painful process of “not giving up”. She stayed up late with me, woke up early and even made me breakfast. She gave the best suggestions and even did some of the crap clean-up work while I was taking a nap!!! I think… I owe her dinner or something…

So anyways, this is the outcome of my weekend.
Oh, Yvonne, if you are reading this, thank you again so MUCH :)

This is a late entry for last weeks I.F. word "Clean". I literally found it Thursday mid-day, so I didn't have much time. But I decided to post it up anyways for fun.

More sketchbook pages

2006-07-27T19:46:00.000-04:00

I drew this during lunch the day before my birthday. I finished it off over a fish taco dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant and a coffee dessert at the bookstore afterwards. Watercolor, gouache and ballpoint…

I had a pet arowana when I was younger that I had to free because got too big for my tank. He or she was about 2 feet long. I still go by the lake where I released him/her. On my lucky days, I'll catch a glimpse of him/her swimming by under the shadows. I hid it in this page. Watercolor, gouache and ballpoint…

I got to see the sun come up...

2006-07-27T16:46:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to me {:^)

I went to Key West and got to scuba dive as a suprise gift by Yvonne. I have done some snorkeling and free-diving in the past but never with full gear. Breathing was a little awkward, my body definitely freaked out as soon as I dove in, but I got use to it soon enough especially during my second dive. The visibility wasn’t great though (about 25-30 feet), it’s been raining pretty regularly down here but it was definitely fun.

Some pages

2006-07-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

I will be posting more sketchbook stuff sometime soon. In the meantime, this is a sample of something I’ve been working on.

I have been fighting desperately with the whole process of creating comics. There are certain things I like about these two pages, but I feel like I am pulling punches overall. It is clear that certain influences have managed to seep through, which in many ways can be O.K. But I am unsure if enough of me has managed to come across. I have a certain affinity with confident and distinct lines; something I always try to do when I draw, but I feel like the excessiveness of the textures and colors pull me away from my initial goal. I get way too distracted sometimes when I work… But I am fairly new to the medium so I guess this is all trial and error. Sigh… Things will get better right? Err...right?

On a happier note, Yvonne and I got to see Cirque du Soleil. We sat about 3 feet from the stage. It was truly amazing. If you have the means, I highly recommend it. We were both smiling from ear to ear. It definitely fits in the “thing to do before dying” list....

Study Drawing

2006-07-06T15:29:00.000-04:00

This is sketchbook study I did after seeing Gustav Klimt's “Study of The Head of a Blind Man”. It would be fun to reproduce the painting one day...

For future projects

2006-07-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

This is another digital painting. Her skin pores ultimately looked textured mapped in 3-D, but it was all done in Photoshop. I think this speaks volumes for the versatility of the program. Although, truth be told… the effect was pretty much accidental on my end.

Today...

2006-07-05T11:13:00.000-04:00

Today, North Korea launched a series of missiles into the Sea of Japan , including a long-range Taepodong-2.

It is very important for us all to be educated about this all. Please make time and visit this old website, endofexistence.org.

Painting with Photoshop

2006-07-01T17:48:00.000-04:00

I recently have taken up Photoshop painting. I have been using the program for quite a bit of time now (design and photography), but have never dwelled into using it as a painting tool. I remember trying out Painter 5 a long time ago, but found it frustrating (although many people suggest it is much better now; I have yet to get a copy for myself).

I still revert back to some comforts when trying to paint in Photoshop. I do import textures in because it gives me such a wide array of options, especially with the layer effects.

This was created with the Wacom 4” x 5” Graphire. It’s a small little thing that can get exasperating sometimes, but for the budget minded, its still very good. I hope, sometime soon to get a 9” x 12” Intuos 3.

Oh, and yeah… on a personal note; I have the flu. Plus I just had oral surgery. It sucks terribly (*no pun intended). And I’ve been working quite a bit and trying to manage time in between to create and research, and still have some sort of life. I would really love to break into comics in the next year, so I’m working diligently on creating a decent body of work to shop around.

Though I must admit that so far, I have been doing a decent job juggling everything. But I know deep down I really do need to time to relax. A whole day doing nothing would be wonderful (*nothing meaning no work or obligations). I will be heading out to St. Augustine this weekend, maybe I’ll find what I’m looking for there…

Kristina

2006-06-25T17:34:00.000-04:00

Pre-digital. Old school!!! :) Oil and 24k German goldleaf on wood. 16"x20". This is my cousin Kristina. She is half-Pilipino, half American. She says that makes a her a "FLIP". The initial painting was suppose to have her hair out but when she came by wearing a doo-rag (sp?), I couldn't resist.

More drawings...

2006-06-25T10:32:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of more pages from my sketchbook.

These two are ballpoint and sumi-ink drawings. I drew them inside a coffee shop I found in some small town in the Florida panhandle. There was an annoying man that spoke loudly about how much money he made. I remember thinking that my coffee was quite hot. It would have made a great projectile. But ultimately, a cooler head prevailed and I went off to look for a good Rilke book.

I like this movie quite a bit, although I find many people are turned off by it. Watercolor and gouache over a xylene transfer…

Red ballpoint, watercolor and gouache over a xylene transfer…

Drawings from my book

2006-06-25T00:26:00.000-04:00

These are a couple of pages of my current sketchbook. It is comprised of doodles, ideas and notes; including various things I encountered during my road trip a couple of months back.

I went sky diving a couple of times this last year. It was and continues to be a wonderful experience. This page was created 20 minutes before my first jump. Two characters I met, one a 70-year-old man who is addicted to jumping (has over 800 jumps under him) and the other; an older black woman, a 40-year-old mother who jumps every weekend as a hobby. They found their way into my book.

Drawing on the plane, turning unsuspecting passengers into victims for my drawings…

Notes and ideas for a painting…

I like the smile on this one…

Waiting for sushi to arrive… My favorite drawings I find are the most careless ones.

Last night

2006-06-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

The Heat won the finals last night. Driving in Miami afterwards was absolutely crazy...

June 20, 2006 :)

2006-06-20T17:41:00.000-04:00

I need to paint. I have postponed it for so long. I believe it was out of necessity and I am at peace with that; but my gut is slowly crawling up, tugging at my tongue, nagging, reminding me what I have put away.

I guess this blog will be therapy for me. I will sometime soon, be posting miscellaneous drawings and hopefully paintings... both traditional and digital. It is always nice to see a collection of things, no matter what it may be.