School is pretty much over

These last few weeks have been… tough, I seriously thought I could finish my last research paper in a day or two since I had most of the information in my mind. But as it turned out, I ended up having too much and ended up writing five different papers before eventually deciding on the last draft. I ended up cutting quite a bit from it. I hope that turns out ok.

Now that I am almost completely free I can start focusing on improving my art and putting some time for my body since I have been doing nothing but sitting these last few months. I made sure to buy desk that I can adjust the height so I can stand up as I work as well. I have to make sure not to neglect either side. I figure the biggest downfall for me is that I have tunnel vision and can only fully focus on one thing at a time. And that is incredibly annoying, so overcoming that is one of my goals during the summer.

Now that I have this all thought up, I have to start back with some new work and soon. We’ll see what conjures up.

Hasta la proxima

– XERO

April 28, 2016 0

RebelsRebels vs the Empire – A fight between father and Son

Sorry for disappearing again, the end of the semester is coming upon me and things got a bit out of hand. I just need to finish a paper and I will pretty much be free of school obligations.

Anyway, after much thought I think it is finally time to make this piece go fully live. And like with all my previous works I have finally decided upon a name (although I had one a long time ago but I forgot), “Rebels vs the Empire – A fight between father and Son”. The theme of this piece is set in the 1940s when WWII took place. A lot of influences were drawn from Germany for the Empire after all, and of course there’s the whole Japanese influence (mainly the ideas of samurais, ki, etc.).

So with that in mind I had Darth Vader use a German uniform. I really liked the baggy pants which aviator divisions (among others) used. I thought of making his buttons different colors, but decided against it. The idea of making a communication device provide those light did come to mind, but the place I wanted to place it on would be covered by his arms so again I decided against it. I thought of making him go in all black, but I decided for a mainly three color scheme of black, gold and grey. I really wanted some more variation within Vader’s uniform. Plus I had the idea of having some type of armor beneath his jacket and pants (some of which can be seen on his arms). The idea is that the technology isn’t there for fully robotic prosthetics, so what if he just had his burnt skin replace with metallic armor?

As for Luke I wanted him to portray some influences of Japan, but also the Allies from WWII. I eventually decided on a combination of Yankis (specially since he represents the rebel forces) and some parts of the uniforms of the allied forces (which pretty much just ended up being the boots, undershirt and maybe, just maybe the pants). I could’ve gone for a camo pattern, but since he is supposed to be like a delinquent he wouldn’t follow the rules would he? So the decision was made to have him in all black like in the final movie (0f the original trilogy).The jacket I wanted to look like those that Yankis wear. They tend to put nonsensical (usually) kanji together that sounds cool and tough into a completely made up word or phrase. So I decided to do the same. It was actually quite fun to do and now understand why Yanki do this (and why they get some weird words and phrases that don’t make sense). I used Kanji for “Rebel + Alliance” on the right arm and “Defeat + Evil Spirit” on the back. I was going to add something else to the left arm but decided (mest up/forgot) to not put anything on it… The Rebel crest is also there. As for the red cloth on Luke’s left arm, I was thinking of the headbands used by Yanki, but I decided to put it on his arm.

Finally, as for the swords, I used the colors from their final confrontation.

The setting was originally going to be inside a battleship, much like in the movie. But after much thought I figured I could do more on a cliff where I could add air and sea battles to the background.

This was a bit of an annoying piece due to the amount of details and objects I had to keep in mind as I worked on it. Not only that, but as I added new objects and colors I had to go back to previously finished areas to have them meld well together…

But it’s now, finally, officially done.

-XERO

April 11, 2016 0

New Art Piece – Star Wars

Currently working on the next piece. This is a sneak peak. I’m hoping to use some new techniques with this.

Ashita mañana –

XERO

December 21, 2015 0

I’m finally free for the winter!

Finals are finally done, so I can start having more time to focus on my artwork again full time.

Of course, despite not posting things here, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been working on work behind the scenes. I have made some progress on the cosplay. here are the boots for Camus.

Now, as for the second armor, here it is. This time it is Gemini’s armor.

All that is left to finish is the shoulder plate (which is a bit tough) and the arms.

Aside from this, I got a new request for my youtube channel. This time I have to draw Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan. Here is the rough draft of what I will be working with. It was requested that I use color pencils. It seems like the requester doesn’t have the funds to afford the more pricey art supplies, so I will be using my crayola brand color pencils. This will give a good indication of how much I have improved since the last artworks.

Here it is.

Well, I’m off to work. And since I have more time, I will try to post things more frequently.

December 10, 2015 0

I’m finally back, and some more updates on new projects

It took me quite some time to finish some work I had to do for school and some other things. But I am finally ready to start work again. I apologize for disappearing again, but the research paper took much longer than I thought. Now that is finally done and I will finally be able to work on some of my artwork, and some other projects such as some armor for a cosplay set me and my group plan to take for next years anime convention.

Here’s a sneak peek at what I am currently working on. This is Camus’ armor from Saint Seiya. There are about four more armors I will be working on. So I will not be saying what they are and let you guys take a guess as to what they will be.

I had to take this pile that I had all jumbled up and rebuild it back into the armor. That takes quite a bit of work, but I hope to take the template and finally make the cuts to the foam and build the actual armor. I currently have two armor templates done, next will be to build the next two.

What do you guys think?

November 23, 2015 0

Another year has passed, I am a hopeless dream chaser.

Man, this year went by quite fast… I can’t believe I’m already a year older. I feel like I have to do much more this year. Since I was in high school I had some plans set out for when I got to around this age. So now that I am a year away from that age, I have to make sure I accomplish those goals. One year to make this long Artist Project a complete and utter success. This year was a good one. I made a lot of great progress over all and was able to officially launch this site. I made a decent amount of sales, and got my name out there a bit more than before. Overall I guess I can’t complain over the progress I made this past year.

But that doesn’t mean I should slow down and feel that it is good enough. I still have much more work to do to make this a viable source of income that I can live off of completely. And for that I had some strategies that I had been working on over the last five years. I didn’t make use of them because of my lack of skill and money. But that has been steadily been getting better to the point that I am confident I can make it work properly now. Those plans will be completely revealed as I unleash them. But overall it has to do with offering my services locally, creating advertisements for my college, business cards and a couple of more things that will be disclosed shortly.

This year I hope to go all out and show what I am capable of, I want to prove to myself that this was the right decision. And that following your dreams should not be something to be afraid of pursuing. It takes a lot of work to make it a possibility, specially when one doesn’t know how to go about it. But with trial and error I managed to pick up quite a bit of knowledge on the matter. Now it is just a matter of executing it. I may fail, but I will learn from each time I fall and pick my self up and try it all again knowing what doesn’t work. It might take me five tries per strategy, but I will get it eventually. And what works I will be posting it up here so that those who wish to follow this path have something to guide them on their own journeys. It might not be the best guide, but at least it is something that could give them an idea of what to expect so that you guys who are also hopeless dream chasers like me can grasp a future where you are doing what you love.

Thank you all who have been following my progress and hopefully getting some help with my experiences.

(usually I do a drawing for my birthdays but I have a test and have been busy with other engagements so I won’t be able to do it this year)

Here’s hoping for another great and even better year!

-XERO

November 2, 2015 0

Starting the second phase of the Artist Project!

Alright, now I feel that I am ready to start phase two of the Artist Project. I have accumulated enough artwork that I feel it can be presented and sold to people locally. I luckily have a friend that is in a college anime club, so I will start there. I also have another friend that works in a Mexican restaurant, so I will work on a couple of more art pieces that I can offer them so that it doesn’t look out of place. I have two pieces that I can offer right now and two more that i can work on and finish. But I want to at least work on two more pieces that actually have some color… So that one is still not ready. I have to start pushing my art a bit more starting now. And the best way to do that is locally, after all, some people only deal with local artists. This will be the second step on increasing my name. Hopefully this helps kick start my popularity. But of course, talent and good work are the most important things in this world. So I have to work on getting even better.

Aqui voy!

October 25, 2015 0

3D Gundam Project Update II + Other thoughts as an artist

As stated before, I am currently working on a new commissioned work. For this one I decided to do something a bit different and add 3D elements to my work. So it will have a mix of different techniques I have acquired thus far. I used a variety of tube, straws, wires, cables, computer parts and a lot of hot glue. Over all I really like the way it has turned out. But I still need to add the Gundams and mobile suits themselves to this battlefield before I can feel like the project has made and good progress. After all, I still am hoping for a end of the week finish. I’d say it’s doable.

I have been tempted to leave it as just a G Gundam inspired piece, but since the original piece is what made my customer want one. I will continue with the original plan of making it a mixed series piece.

What do you guys think?

As for some thoughts that are completely unrelated. I have been working hard to become a pro artist. And although the definition of an artist being a pro is someone who is payed for their services, I still feel… lacking. I wan’t more, I want more customers so that I am completely sustainable with my art. And I know I am being selfish wanting all of this so fast, but my circumstance require it. As one grows older responsibilities manifest themselves whether one wants them or not. And that can make one’s pursuit of this career path a long shot not just for the many others around one that see it as a pipe dream, but to oneself as well. After all, at the beginning of this path, well, things are quite tough and stressful. Unlike other jobs/careers, one is not instantly and steadily rewarded for one’s feats and efforts. No, for the most part it is unpaid and lacks a lot of benefits. Being an artist is tough and definitely not for anyone. But for those that do decide to stick around, there is a reason. And that is to make one’s dream come true. We see everyone else that has given up on their dreams and instead decide to pursue the “normal” and “real” jobs that society has deemed so. Meanwhile those of us who have chosen other paths going away from the norm are seen as just taking an excuse not to work. It can be quite stressful. But we know that what we are doing is a gamble that can have repercussions later on. But I decided to gamble everything on this, and I will not falter so easily, I just hope, I can bring some results from my hard work.

Vamos, XERO!,

Hay nos vemos.

-XERO

August 17, 2015 0

I’m finally back!

Sorry, man can’t believe I disappeared for about a month. But I was working on some projects (entering more contests on Deviantar). But I really don’t feel they are worth putting up here. I felt a bit weird drawing some of them so I wasn’t really able to produce anything that can be considered “good”. To be honest I used it as a chance to experiment on a couple of new techniques and see why some of my artwork looks so bad when I outlined them with a pen. And I have found the answer. If I don’t make the colors in the drawing simple and instead add a lot of details like I tend to try and do, it doesn’t mesh well and looks really bad. So I finally solved that mystery (though was it really that hard to figure out?).

I have been uploading some of my artwork to Pixiv, surprisingly I have not been doing abysmal there. Having been there for just a couple of weeks I have already obtained a couple of followers, something that took quite a while in deviantart. My views have not gone over 300 yet, but that’s something I hope can change soon.

This was my last artwork by the way:

It doesn’t look bad, but it does need some polishing (this was a contest entry by the way). I noticed that Copic markers don’t react too well with Bristol paper. There seems to be some blotchiness and that is a bit annoying. On the plus side it does give way to using it in conjunction with color pencils.

I also want to revive my youtube channel, but that will have to wait a bit more.

In any case, I will be working on some more artworks so I will keep you guys updated.

-XERO

August 7, 2015 0

Inadequate

I’ve been feeling quite inadequate lately. My skills have improved but are still not good enough to reach the next stage. I have many regrets that are currently plaguing my mind. And that annoys me to no end. After all, if I was strong I would just overcome them without a problem in no time. But because I didn’t prepare beforehand, that all went down the drain. I used to be known as a really hard worker, but it seems that sometime before I became rather soft. A shadow of what I used to be. Recently some of that spark seems to be ignited from time to time but I don’t need just a small spark. I need to set my soul ablaze and go at it 100% just like I used way back when. The first step is to not just think it, but do it. Which is why I decided to finally join the world stage so that I can test my skill repeatedly and increase my skill faster by going against stronger artists. That’s how I picked up skill before after all. Although I know I can do it, I just hope it doesn’t take too long. there are many goals and wishes I wish to accomplish before they are too late after all. Here’s hoping it all goes well, I will continue trying to set my soul on fire so that I can reach those at the top and accomplish my dreams. Hopefully you guys follow me on this journey.

-XERO

June 26, 2015 0

How to draw Misaki Ayuzawa’s Face I-IV

If you have any questions let me know in the comments.
I placed no audio track so please listen to your own music as you watch.
Hope this helps at least a couple of you guys.
I have a couple of other videos in store regarding Misaki Ayuzawa’s face. So please look forward to that.

On another note, tomorrow I will upload some rough drafts of my next artwork. So I hope you look forward to that.

-XERO

January 16, 2015 0

Artist Project Update 11/22/2014

My page is no finally fully optimized and ready for business. It took me a while to figure out what I should do and how. I’d say that the prices were probably the hardest thing I had to take care of. Artwork takes quite a long time to make and on top of that it requires a lot of effort despite what people may think. So I went around to see what others were doing. I found out that their prices were really cheap. So that didn’t really help me at all, but I noticed that they sold their work as prints, not the originals (some did, and for dirt cheap too, but that is a different story). In that instance I decided to instead make work that would be made for the sole purpose of selling them as prints. I still think that the originals should cost more, but I’ll just refrain from selling those.

I heard that it was hard to survive doing this, and people weren’t kidding. It takes a lot of time to hone one’s skills and actually make money from it. One of the reasons for that is because it takes time to make a name for oneself, unless one has the ultimate ability to make good work and make art that pleases the masses. It seems that most of the art that gets the most attention at a quick rate is art that relies on fan service pieces. And that saddens me. I don’t want to have to resort to that, it’s just not my taste or style. The only other route to take is the harder one where I have an impressive art ability that is undeniably good. But even then I still have to get my name out there. And that takes time. But it seems like my time has shortened. I need to make this a liable career soon, otherwise I need to find another way to make money so I can pay for school and art supplies. That of course will cut away at the time I have for actually working on new pieces. So that will make my time getting there even longer, and that scares me a little. I seriously need to do something to remedy that. I have to make art that blows the minds of people that come across it. I need to figure out what my artwork is missing if I am seriously thinking of becoming a professional artist.

I finally managed to finish 16 pieces that I deem worthy of being in the gallery. But that is not enough, I have to make more even better pieces. My determination has been fluctuating recently, although I have managed to hone some of my skills to produce what I had in mind. I still see a lot of room for improvement. I will go ahead and keep training and see if that makes any difference. I have been getting a couple of new followers here and in Deviantart, but I have yet to have anyone buy any of my prints. That’s probably one of the hardest things I have to keep in mind, many people will be content by just downloading the digital copy off the internet. I have to become good enough that people will want to fund me and my art by buying prints or giving me commissions. For now that is my next goal.

till next time…

-XERO

November 22, 2014 0