Avius: trite wit

"I twitter"

Number 5 in the "Nouveau Robotica" assembly line-- based on the ubiquitous micro-blogging site. New sidelinks for the possibly prosaic, but so very up-to-the-minute happenings are up!

The design of the robot was based on household wares like tin soupcans and string-- a most classic analog communication~ The bird there is singing his song in Spanish. There are so many different onomatopoeia for birds and other animals are in different languages-- check some out:

Bulgarian: piu-piu, chik-chirik
Czech: píp píp
Dutch: tjielp tjielpEnglish: chirp, tweet
French: pit pit
Indonesian: ciap ciap
Japanese: chun chun
Korean: jek jek
Montenegrin: ciju ciju
Polish: cwir

Is it me or do birds in Poland sure sound like they're confused..? "Cwir??"

It's 2010: Where is my hovercar?

Also HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Hope all ushered in a new year with great fun and safety--

Yes, safety.. quite important. An update @sketchboy01 details such things~

yarrr... ;]

More Holiday pieces

'Tis the Season

Happy holidays out there! Here's an illustration for a couple good friends, R.J. Hochmuth and Abel Stearns [of Digital Sarcasm and the Thought Police] for a (slightly wacky) CD idea. Not quite a musical compilation, not quite spoken word-- but RJ's got a really great voice that I think just has to be exploited/shared with the world. Think, the voice on that automated Moviefone or... maybe a real dapper sounding baritone GPS navigation voice.
"Turn left, Turn left, Turn left!"

A bunch of American Greetings

Several cards I worked on for AmericanGreetings.com have gone live. To see some development storyboards, check out my other blog.

I was playing around with the iphones on display at the Apple store and found one of my works on the AG app-- yay! I still have a bit of trouble working with what feel like chubby fingers typing on those shiny gadgets though. Takes me about a minute per word still...

Screenshots and links--!

A Holiday Wishing Star card for use thru email/ Facebook/ Twitter featuring this adorable lil' owl. [storyboards]

"I'm too Festive" parody song for "I'm too Sexy" [storyboards]

Card for Aretha Franklin's "Winter Wonderland" [characters/background design, storyboards] Animated wonderfully by Heather Dunn.

"Christmas Magic" card with classically cute critters [character design]

Copyright ©AG.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

Joyeux Noel

Rudolph 2.0

Number 4 in the Nouveau Robotica series. Who wouldn't a GPS navigated, halogen nosed, mechanical reindeer for Christmas? There's a bit of French in there (just as Mucha would have been familiar) so bonus points if my translation(s) need correcting~

I was a torn between a couple ideas for this year's Christmas card. At one point in my brainstorming stage though, I found myself hit with multiple 'suggestions' from different sources.

One was an old claymation show on T.V. about the famous rednosed friend. Another was the podcast I was listening to: "Art & Story" with Jerzy Drozd and Mark Rudolph. And finally my Netflix DVD came in the mail: Away We Go, starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. Seemingly unrelated but I took them as signs~

On the Sets of CSI: Miami & Iron Man 2

Lurking in the Background

Some people may know, but on occasion I double as a background actor. It's always an interesting time being behind the scenes and I love seeing the proccess as well as getting to talk to people. Once in a long while, when schedules permit, I'll get to do dual roles for a project as Storyboard Artist and Extra like I did for "The Fray" music video.
There are some long hours waiting around while the crew preps so I'm always armed with a sketchbook to make good use of my time.

Below are some sketches on set from a couple productions "CSI: Miami" and "Iron Man 2"-- sketched on site, color/tone in Photoshop.


CSI: Miami (is actually in sunny Long Beach CA)

This is actually the second time I've been on this show. The role I played this time was "Asian Gangster/clubgoer". My friends insisting I don't look anything of the sort, it required a lot of scowling and by the end of day my face kinda hurt.
Originally, I had answered the call for someone with knowledge in Kendo and I was looking forwad to getting to wear my traditional garb and put my dusty bamboo sword to use but unfortunately the scene was cut. Luckily though, I did get to be a bodyguard to the main Yakuza boss deftly played by Roger Yuan.

There were also some scenes where I'm in the back when David Caruso and Eddie Cibrian's characters confront their suspect-- when I sketched the detective and one of the suspects played by an actor named Luis (top).

Links to the episodes online or perhaps screenshots to follow when they air!! (Jan 2010)

Ever-cool Horatio CaineSome extras got tattoos painted to up their street cred...Detective Eddie and Mob boss Roger

Iron Man 2 !

This was a huge cattle call for background actors as part of a crowd scene. Cameras and recording devices were strictly prohibited but pen, paper, and memory weren't. Very brief images of Tony Starks's stage dancers showed up in the trailer premiering at ComicCon this summer. Here are some sketches of the talented performers, the "Ironettes". Also are some of the hero himself Robert Downey Jr. and some detail studies of the practical suit--I'm sure it will be CGI'd to glossy perfection in post.Along with the rest of the world, really excited to see this film.

CbugX and Hadrian

Wacom Work:

A couple new sketches. See the process GIFs for both of these on my Flickr page: "CbugX" and "Guard Hadrian". I think naming characters is real fun part of design, gives them more personality.
I always thought the stock symbol cbugx had a funny sound...
I wanted the guard to have some regality to him so why not a wall-building Roman emperor...

Hit a bit of misfortune recently in getting my laptop stolen. A good reminder to back up files and be ever alert. I've since been spending some more quality time at the desktop though. The Intuos 3 definitely has it's pressure sensitivity advantages compared to the Bamboo Fun (if the name didn't give it's 'hobby' level functionality).
I haven't tried out the the newest Intuoses, but trying out the Cintiq, sure makes an investment in a Modbook more attactive.

Jedi Knight training/drawing process

Kalik Vrosh:

'Cause every Star Wars character needs a cool name. This was done for CGHub's bi-weekly 2D drawing jam. A wealth of talent on there with enthusiastic creatives to keep me motivated.
There was another sketch of a duel I started after first reading about this irresistible theme that I'll post soon-- just a few more things to tweak.

I've found that most of my favorite characters develop out of teeny tiny thumbnails that cross out the option of too much detail.
Expect more gamer-ly art done in this method to be added in the next few weeks~

More Coffee Sketches

Going Postal:

This is the most recent spread for a project Postal Sketches, where several artist friends mail a sketchbook between each other, drawing up some inspiration from the previous pages. I had forgotten to link to the blog this whole time! Be sure to check it out though. Great fun to see what develops in the sketchbook and keep in contact in such an old school way-- go snail mail!

I decided to stick to using ink and coffee for this spread since I've been using it as my medium of choice in my own sketchbook these days. Check out below some recent doodles from a trip to San Fransisco's Alternative Press Expo (APE) and around my own town's coffee shops.




... subsequent sketches to come in more frequent posts :]

Comics and Coffeestains

Attention Space Cadets:

I recently teamed up with old college pal Ralph Miranda to submit pages for this contest put up by Frank Cho and Doug Murray. Essentially a pencil and ink test, 6 pages of script were provided by Murray and character designs by Cho. The winner would score a contract to do the series published through Image Comics.
Thanks to nuggets of wisdom imparted from Art and Story and a fellow comic buddy at my side, we were able to submit all the pages in just about a weeks time.
Finalists will be chosen at Baltimore Comic-Con on 10/11 and winner 21 days after. To see all six pages of our entry, check it out here.



Clumsy Coffee

As frequenter of coffee and tea shops, I found myself without my watercolor kit one day-- but found a great alternative! I later found a series that superstar illustrator Christoph Niemann did on napkins and later some more by digital matte artist Mitchel Stuart . It's sparked some ideas to do a sort of meta-aware story of characters that live in a coffestained sketchbook world. I think something many creative types might relate to well with our addic-- err love, for the drink~

Ravens and Workshops

"Corvus Moon"

"A murder of crows
one finds a fanciful perch
almost haiku ..."

I have a new Threadless t-shirt submission in the running! Won'tcha please vote (high :]) and perhaps leave a comment?? Chances significantly improve with public support and i'd be much obliged with yours!
Based on one of many ideas involving ravens/crows I've been tinkering with-- I feel like bird motifs seem more popular in design these days. Hopefully I can ride a hip wave or... glide on a favorable wind~


Walsers Workshop

This Saturday (9/26), I will be doing a drawing and painting lecture demo at Walser's Art Supplies and Digital Printing. I will be talking about Grumbacher brushes and ink techniques and how these can be applied to the commercial illustration field. I'll be touching on both development and technical use of the mediums. There will be four sessions throughout the day between 10AM - 4PM. Seating is free but limited. You can also score some free product samples too! Click on the image to see the PDF details :]

Medicus Rex

NouveauBots/Robotica

The third installment in this series of Alphonse Mucha inspired peices. I've got several more themes I've been wanting to take a crack at-- just a matter of carving out the time. I love playing around with and bringing together dissimilar concepts like mechanical things with very organic or plant like ones. I found a beautiful book on Mucha on the bargain shelf at Barnes & Noble and couldn't resist trying apply the plantlike forms to a new age. The book's also a fascinating biography of how he made it as both an illustrator and fine artist throughout his career.

I'm also looking to see how old and dead languages can relate to technology. Both Latin and binary are pretty vital to our language and communication, but we don't really pay much attention and they run in the backgrounds of our daily lives.

In the previous ones in this series I used tech symbols without much intention... I'm inclined to switch them out for things that make more sense to them now~ For this one, finding the origins and use of the caduceus medical symbol was an interesting read. My next one is looking to be a bit more topical... which means I better jump on that soon in case it turns out to be a fad~

[about the title: he just looked like a "Rex" to me... maybe he's operating on his own motherboard? eeew gross~:P ]

Divingbell Behemoth

Movers and Shakers

"I have seen landscapes...which, under a particular light,
made me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge.
Nature has that in her which compels us to invent giants:
and only giants will do."

--- C.S. Lewis

I found this quote on Charles Vess' site and thought it fitting. I'm working on a series of watercolors of local beaches and marinas that are destined to have giants in them. The above monster was one designed to fit into one of these paintings of Huntington Beach Pier but found it's way into this old postcard look instead. Now I just might want to do olde tyme postcards instead~

Costumed in Characters

O Drawing nights...

...they are just so much more fun with an enthusiastic model--especially one equipped with a wide array of costumes and props. Starting at the top we have Mei, twin to ole pal Mai who instantly became original living characters with hats and swords on hand. We also have our favorite shoe-gazer rock star Rodney. A marker drawing of one of his four cats soaked through the opposite page... We're surrounded by felines during these sessions, so felt fit to keep it. Drawing nights set to good tunes-- a great way to keep hand skills familiar in my often digital world.

I like this one because something about the addition of the nerf gun made her feel like part of the Serenity/Firely universe.
Other Characters

My posts on here haven't been as frequent as I like. I had to glance at my own blog header to remind myself to let some sketches loose up on here. And so...

A masochistic fighter; taking delight in inflicting pain in battle as much as receiving it.
--a little on the darker side, but a concept spurred by conversations with a friend who had an idea for an animated fight sequence. In talking about the choreography, my mind kept wandering to the why and how-comes of a fighter's particular history... a fun way to brainstorm character ideas.
A character for a story where a magical weapon comes into play. The oversized glove might have something to do with being able to wield it.. the sword needs some more work, to be influenced by fountain pen nibs.

More Nouveau Robotica

Smells like Machine Spirit

Continuing with the series of Art Nouveau interwined with technology-- This one is a sort of advertisement for fine machine oils. I have another in the works that is 'medical' related. I have a few other themes in mind that I'm looking forward to doing that will use some original robot designs. This one has a lot influence from the cool Cunningham Bjork androids and the "I, Robot" styles.

Sketch up

A sketch of the current one in progress:
and here we have the Canadian Javanaut.
Not sure quite what to make of him but he does love his coffee... eh!?

CHRISKAWAGIWA.COM !!

(loud enough??;)


And now announcing--

My new site, chriskawagiwa.com is finally up and running! It's been a long time coming :] Please check it out to see a sampling of my work (and a few easter eggs if you're patient~).

As I had mentioned an intention in a previous post, this blog is now more free to just be an avenue for sketches and ideas that I shouldn't feel so "precious" with. We all know how well that worked out for ole' Smeagol... :P

Thanks go out to Karen J. Lloyd who out a out a post on her storyboard blog about the importance of a good web presence which prompted me to finally get down to it. If you're any sort of story or creative enthusiast, I recommend a look-see through the posts. Valuable trinkets of advice sprinked throughout in there.

O and Comic-con--

was fantastic! The size is has grown to overwhelming proportions but getting to meet some creators among the bustle was totally inspring. I was hoping to attend some panels this year, but most were packed to capacity-- especially if they featured any celebrities. Alas, it looks like i'll be seeing new trailers and sneak peeks for any new comic book movies with the rest of the world~

Jacob's Dino-guy

This is a dino character from Josh Kemble's comic, "Jacob's Apartment". a fine quality print of this digital painting could hopefully be a part of their benefit to support some replacement audio equipment on their podcast, Big Illustration Party Time. Along with Kevin Cross, they're still keeping up the very helpful weekly show on "the in's and out's of freelance illustration" in low fi. Thankfully not off the podcast air but a silent dinosaur is always fun i thought...
rwar~

Crystalline Roots

A couple backgrounds for an iphone game I'm working on...
also a chance for me to try out more digital painting in Photoshop. It surprising how quickly random landscape forms can be painted out this way.
Some inspiration came from an artist I met once, Gabe Leonard. Really swell stuff. His work is traditionally done... sometimes makes me want to dig up the old oil paints, but my turpentine fearing braincells clutch to pixels..

Ta-da !

a Clueless Magician: This was just a tiny sketch I found in my book-- felt like throwing some color/texture on it. I don't think it's in my usual style, but I've been watching/reading a lot of Mike Mignola's stuff.

I just finished watching the animated version of "The Amazing Screw-on Head". Zombies and Vampires and Lincoln ! Material just cool because it it -- a nice departure from overly serious subjects (in both news and art~).

Wrench ball !!

A randomly constructed digital sketch. Interpret accordingly.

One interpretation: a futuristic game of dodgeball/lasertag-- but the balls are bombs which you have to diffuse before they explode with parts to build lasers with...!

I dunno. I think i just wanted to draw a guy with goggles :]

New format

::hoot hoot::

Some changes are afoot for this blog~ I've been working on a static site and am looking forward to transitioning this to something more fun and casual... hopefully weekly updates with sketches, works-in-progress, and experiments in digital art to keep me on my toes.
If anybody's out there, stay tuned..!

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vote for me won'tcha?

[the original image before reducing colors]