blog-o'-mok

sketch sketch -- crash -- resume on the NEXUS

2012-01-24T06:51:00.000-05:00

So i started this sketch on the train on my way home, and it was finished and ready to save, when, my phone rebooted itself and was unable to save. I certainly hope this isnt a sign of things to come. I just have to save it every 10 minutes perhaps.

It's unfortunate because, usually for me, it's hard to recapture the spontaneous energy that was captured in the original sketch. But alas, after the reboot i had to repaint what i remembered when i got home. Here's how it turned out.

Tablet discussion and New Galaxy Nexus sketch!

2012-01-23T09:43:00.000-05:00

So it appears that my last update was back in Oct 2011. Before you all go judge me and call me a slacker realize that this has been the longest rut of creativity I've had since taking on art as a full time occupation and hobby. And I'm glad I'm starting to slowly gain back some ground.

Over the holiday, I picked up a Galaxy Nexus, and along with my Targus stylus gave Sketchbook Mobile another shot. Ever since I used to sketch on my Nintendo DS I have been unable to find a decent medium to digitally paint on. I have long since stopped using my DS, so the next device to try out was the iPod touch. Unfortunately it was too small and so was my HTC Desire. That plus the lack of pressure sensitivity was enough to discourage me from trying again any time soon. For about 2 years I've been waiting and wanting to find a replacement..

My Nexus, however, has the biggest and brightest screen of all my previously owned devices, and I'm glad to say that this makes up for the lack of pressure sensitivity for my device. So perhaps this is the role that can be filled by the over-saturation of Tablets in the market. With this in mind I have been waiting and researching the various tablets out there, finding the sweet balance between cost and usability. As long as the tablet has Honeycomb on it, Sketchbook Pro can be used with pressure sensitivity. That's right, capacitive touch input, WITH pressure sensitivity. So far the best deal I've seen is the Thinkpad Tablet, even though it's not marketed to designers or artists. How silly.

I'm still struggling to find the niche for which the tablet may have with a digital artist. While it might be nice to doodle and sketch on the move, will my Nexus be enough to cure that itch? Mobile sketching and painting is purely hobby, and it's not as if the tablet will replace any Wacom attached to my PC anyway. That being said, Samsung may have an answer for this as the Galaxy Note is coming out and will not only be even bigger than the Nexus, it will sport a pressure sensitive stylus. This might be the answer, but would we really want to have to carry around a 5" phone just so we can sketch on the go?

The new tablet technology coming out certainly is exciting, and for some reason it's hard to find discussions from what can arguably be the biggest market and niche for the entire tablet industry -- artists. Hopefully someone will read this and see, yes we need tablets, with pressure sensitivity. Let's give the Wacom cintiq a run for their money.

Sketched on my Nexus

long time no sketchy

2011-10-17T08:08:00.000-04:00

Long time no sketch. Dont know why. I should sketch more, yea? Here is what I came up with .

sketches of Starcraft 2 Pros

2011-08-17T23:57:00.000-04:00

Did a quickie on the stream tonight, of Destiny and EGiNcontrol. It was fun, drawing on a tablet takes some getting used to, painting is a bit easier, but i'm getting the hang of it. Sketchbook Pro has some great brushes and pens, excellent line tools.

speed painting is on Youtube!

2011-08-16T00:03:00.002-04:00

Well..i'm not sure if it's actually a speed paint. I'll just call it that because after i set it to 6x speed it's now really really fast.

It's Earthworm Jim in 6 minutes!

EG's @Idrajit Painting #SC2

2011-08-15T09:12:00.000-04:00

So live on sketchpad.tv, I decided to paint someone very dear to the SC2 community. This is Idra. He goes by the nickname "Gracken", so thought this would be most fitting. A throw-back to my old Bruce Lee painting on www.andrewmok.ca

Here are the recordings of the sessions, soon to be sped up and uploaded to youtube!

part 1: http://www.justin.tv/drumok/b/292184394
part 2: http://www.justin.tv/drumok/b/292306837

Sketches from weekend!!

2011-08-10T13:36:00.000-04:00

Had a gig this weekend! Someone I drew from April, decided to invite me to another event! woohoo more FACES..i love drawing FACES!!!

here are some of the highlights

Debut sketch on Sketchpad.tv! -- Earthworm Jim

2011-08-10T00:15:00.001-04:00

I joined an awesome streaming channel called Sketchpad.tv . It's a group of artists, scheduled to stream while they create art! I had my first session and ended up scribbling this. Figures it'd be another character from my childhood..

I also stream at the same time on my own justin.tv/drumok channel too.

Here's the video if you missed it... http://www.justin.tv/drumok/b/292130788

i plan on uploading a sped up version to youtube soon also.

Mega Man 3: Snake man

2011-08-07T21:05:00.000-04:00

Did this one on the stream, but in 2 parts, thanks to technical difficulties! Fun nonetheless!

China Economic Review, cover #3!!!

2011-07-05T05:52:00.000-04:00

Behold Sim City's "Will Wright"?

2011-07-04T05:47:00.000-04:00

So my friend started up this blog http://thatswhatshesnes.tumblr.com/ where he reviews classic SNES games! Ah I remember reading reviews and walkthroughs in Nintendo Power.... anyway, go over there, check it out, and subscribe to it...

Here is my contribution thus far!

He is that dude from Sim City who comes out to tell you things about your city!!

Birthday gig sketches!!!

2011-06-27T05:52:00.000-04:00

yay!!!!

HIATUS NO MORE!

2011-06-23T00:37:00.002-04:00

So i've been back from Beijing for a few weeks now, but been super busy! Settling in with new job, no time to stream!! So here's the first sketch was able to do live on www.justin.tv/drumok. I gave myself a 40 - turned -30 minute time limit to come up with something.

here it is! saturation!!!!!!!

sketches of kelda!...and some guy...

2011-05-26T03:10:00.000-04:00

Here are some sketches after a great night at a dinner overlooking the Forbidden City, we headed over to a cafe to unwind!

also there was this guy with bulgey eyes.

1 per page!

2011-05-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

Some cafe drawings in Beijing!! All I had was this tiny palm sized sketchbook, and i could only fit 1 face per page! I guess that will be the theme of this sketchbook from now on. 1 per page.

Greetings from Beijing!!

2011-05-15T12:41:00.000-04:00

Back in Beijing again! Updating this blog is a bit more of a pain now, and I am unable to stream on justin.tv til i get back, BUT i had a few good sketches while out and about today, and so here they are!

Happy 25th Anniversary Legend of Zelda!!

2011-05-04T09:34:00.000-04:00

Ahhh such fond memories playing Link to the Past. What a great game, with great music!

Did some sketches today on the live stream for just such an occasion!!
follow it!! www.justin.tv/drumok

here are 3 of 32 women i sketched.

2011-05-02T00:55:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had a gig at a bridal shower..i have never been in such an estrogen rich environment before. Interestingly enough, most of the ladies I draw usually have a request like 'smaller chin, make me thin, give me bigger..uhh eyes..'

The best part about this gig is that NONE of them had any requests...they were all great sports, and great fun!

I hope they invite me back!

Chuck Jones made me do it..

2011-04-29T13:35:00.000-04:00

So on the live stream, I had no idea what to draw, didnt want to do another mega man thing, so i just started putting down random shapes and came up with this. I dont know why i always see this kind of vampire.. must be the chuck jones fan in me. I shall name him Vampy.

Mega Mania continues!!!

2011-04-28T14:36:00.000-04:00

Did a live sketch again on justin.tv/drumok! It was nice to see @southerngfx there!! Here's Shadow Man! Thanks for telling me about the rim light, that was a pro-call!

Mega Man Mania

2011-04-27T13:46:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more painting sketches I did on the stream. I'm trying new ways of painting, trying to find a good, efficient way to paint in a style i think fits. here are two that i did differently.

Dr Wily and Top Man. Did these ones live, with some mega man music playing! follow me on www.justin.tv/drumok !

Live birthday party sketches!

2011-04-25T12:02:00.000-04:00

Tried some new paper at this gig, it kind of threw me off, it was a bit slippery than I'd expected.

After I loosened up i got some good drawings out of this. I feel my structure is still a bit off, probably lack of practice, but overall i feel like i'm seeing likeness is a bit more.

It'd be really fun if i could stream this live too on justin.tv, just gotta figure out how to do it efficiently.

Doc Ock and Venom on Dru Tube!!

2011-04-22T14:59:00.000-04:00

More doodles from the live stream! Thanks for those you came by to watch and chat. And for those who have yet, follow justin.tv/drumok for upcoming sessions!

The Office: Andy lip sync revisited!

2011-04-21T15:06:00.000-04:00

Took the old clip from last year, and decided to redo it..nothing fancy, just wanted to see if my basics have gotten better!

Also, on the right side you'll notice the "Dru Tube" (official channel name pending....lol) link! Follow it, check out the clips. I try to stream live sketching sessions either at cafes or quick painting sessions in the studio.

I will probably stream today, in which case I will tweet when I go live!

more 'drutube' live sketches!

2011-04-20T19:31:00.000-04:00

Still trying to figure out a good name for this stream.

Here are what i sketched. So instead of spending close to two hours on 1 painting, this time i was able to churn out 2 in about 90.

Next time i'll try to bring out a webcam or something and stream some live drawing at a cafe.

Be sure to subscribe to http://www.justin.tv/drumok to get notifications of when I go live. Or even on twitter where I jot my ramblings and announce when I go live.

JustinTV: Live sketch!!!

2011-04-19T16:53:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone.

Today i tested out something i've been wanting to try for a while!! I did this sketch live on my new justin.tv stream http://justin.tv/drumok

Follow me on twitter, or subscribe to the stream to find out when it goes live!! I will usually be painting sketches, or doodling random faces, drawing from inspiration here in the studio or live in a cafe! I wonder if that's allowed... i dont see why not..a public sketchbook, right??

Farewell TimeOut Beijing!!

2011-04-19T10:33:00.000-04:00

Over a year and half ago, i ventured into the offices at Time Out Beijing, in hope that someone there would like my Dwight postcard enough to let me draw. Kenneth Tan was that person!! Hard to believe that for almost 2 years, without fail, i have been providing monthly illustrations for Time Out's quirky romance and love section!

It has been a fun ride, and I would like to thank everyone over at Time Out for the wonderful opportunity and memories!

new avatar doodle!

2011-04-19T01:56:00.002-04:00

Late at night, felt the itch, and here's a quick doodle, which will find its way into being my new avatar for the time being. I also drew this Ninja Turtle for @kel_duh.

yay!

oh yea, my phone has a camera on it...

2011-04-10T00:48:00.000-04:00

So today i was at a wedding doing a live sketching session, and drew a few that i thought were pretty good! But one of the things i ALWAYS forget is to bring a camera with me. In the past i've tried taking photos with my phone, but we all know how great those old flip phones were. ie. they werent.

Thus, today I remembered that my phone's actually got a decent camera on it, agree?

SNES itch..it's that time of year again.....

2011-04-01T15:36:00.000-04:00

So for some reason about this time of year, i smell spring in the air, and what is it that i do almost every spring?

I beat Mega Man X a couple of times. I think this is the only game i've actually done this with. I was watching Super Replay here http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/05/28/super-replay-link-to-the-past.aspx?PostPageIndex=1 of them beating Link to the Past, and the guy says he beats it 1-2 times every year... that game is MASSIVE. I dont have the patience, so I just play mega man instead.

happy mega manning!

Time Out Beijing spot illustration: LOVE TRIANGLE!

2011-03-10T10:02:00.002-05:00

Or something...?

yea lets just say it's a love triangle.

March 2011 China Economic Review cover piece!

2011-03-04T10:28:00.001-05:00

Hurray!! Another cover for China Economic Review! This one was a lot of fun to come up with, there were a bunch of revisions for it too. Not that many big changes though! Woohoo, onward!

Intuos4 @ the "Fresh Cafe"....

2011-03-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

So i'm trying to sell my old wacoms since i bought this intuos4. I like that it's a size that will actually fit in my bag. So i brought it to William's "fresh cafe".... which is....an interesting name from what was once William's Coffee Pub.

Should I: Starcraft2 or Intuos4?

2011-02-27T01:10:00.000-05:00

So I came home tonight after watching the Leafs' game at a friend's place, and there in front of me were 2 choices!

1. Should i play some starcraft 2?

2. Should i paint with my newly purchased Wacom Intuos4 w/ bluetooth?

Here is what happened.

The WiFi is pretty awesome, though this is my only painting so far, I really like having to not worry about the wire getting all tangled up and awkward, especially since i sometimes use it on both my laptop and desktop. It's too bad Bluetooth is kinda buggy on Windows 7.

Stinky poop TTC sketches

2011-02-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

So of all the days i decide to hop on the TTC to work, the entire transit system, the subway, the buses, AND EVEN out on the street stunk of... what can only be described as feces.

It was terribad.

Here are some sketches I did to take my mind off the stench.

Sketches on the GO on the GO

2011-02-14T10:00:00.001-05:00

I ran out of pages in my 3x5 sketchbook so I busted out the 8x11 on the GO train last week. It's a little distracting when you KNOW that they KNOW you are drawing them ,especially with a large sketch pad. I dont do this enough anymore, where I can just ignore them. I'm so out of practice.

I DID however pick up a new 3x5 so i will be using that instead.. yay!

New gig! oh and Time Out

2011-02-03T10:00:00.002-05:00

And YET, another for Time Out! This one was fun to work on!

Side note: started my new gig with Gallus, and will probably post some sketches of some of my colleagues. Been crazy busy trying to fit in time to do some blog art! But more to come.

Side side note: really excited by ASUS's new line of tablets coming out...oohhh the fingers get itchy!

China Economic Review: my FIRST COVER piece!

2011-01-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

Tah-dah! This piece was for this month's China Economic Review! My first cover piece. Starting the new year on the right foot i suppose. Let's hope there's more of these moving forward!

Playing around with TimeOut

2011-01-11T14:26:00.002-05:00

What's the difference?!?! I dunno..subtle brush and technique changes..did the line work all in Photoshop, which i usually dont do. Not sure how much i like it.

onward with something exciting to be posted in the next few days!!

Back in TO, first sketch of the year!!

2011-01-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

Happy new year to all!

Today's sketch comes from being bored on the plane, and getting tired of drawing the few people in my field of vision.

When in doubt, make up a face, and use its negative space for the next.

the pencil makes a comeback!

2010-12-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

I usually draw in pen...but.....i do enjoy the fun weighty things i can do with the pencil. These are all ppl i see at the coffee shop. Except this first one. It depicts me with my oversized laptop. I'm either trying to read, or playing starcraft on it.

What, me? #CharacterDesign?

2010-12-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

Last few days at my current job! Had some time to doodle out my 'versions' of some character ideas floating around the studio. I had a lot of fun doing it, no wonder everyone wants to be a character designer.

Coffee + Laptop + #Intuos3SMALL

2010-12-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

Drawrin sum skatches. And chess.

2010-12-12T11:28:00.000-05:00

Sat down with my large caffeinated beverage and proceeded to doodle a few in my 3"x5". Also played some 'free chess' on my iPod. It's been decades. Yes decades. I suck at chess.

Batman vs Timeout!?

2010-12-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

I had fun drawing his creepy grin.

Happy 100th Gramps!!

2010-12-01T11:13:00.002-05:00

The Dark Knight Rises

2010-11-12T11:17:00.000-05:00

So there are rumours going around for the 3rd Nolan directed Batman film about casting 2 female characters for The Dark Knight Rises. One a love interest, and the other a villain. What a burden.. to top Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight..

Thousand mile sketch club

2010-11-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

Did these sketches while waiting for my 'chicken or fish' on my red-eye to Toronto. Done in my 2" sketchbook on my knee. I need more of these sketchbooks.

The chicken was good.

Mall SKETCHES!

2010-11-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

i need to do more life drawing. I miss the dynamic action poses we used to get at school.

so here's a weird one for Time Out...!

2010-11-03T11:44:00.000-04:00

see if you can guess what i'm trying to illustrate in this one...

i dont think i even fully get it..

OR DO I?

no. i don't.

do i?

Speaking of Koji-Kondo...Mario Paint!

2010-11-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

What?! I did!? Yes! I did. On Twitter.

I spoke of the wonder that is Koji-Kondo, and the nerd-wonder that is rainwave.cc If you like Koji-Kondo, or would like to find out who he is check it out!

more sketches

2010-10-27T11:55:00.002-04:00

Childhood FAVES!

2010-10-22T05:01:00.000-04:00

Some quick doodles of childhood favourites. It's interesting to see how you see them in your mind's eye now, and compare them to what they looked like before.

I actually haven't drawn Mario in a long time, nor did I draw him very often.

Spiderman is always a recurring theme with me, the poses and such are way too fun.

life sketches?

2010-10-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

Havent done any life drawing in a VERY long time...I miss the great action poses we used to get in school from our models...how we take things for granted...

Does it really count as life drawing if you just do tiny doodles into your sketchbook? I dont even know, but i definitely should do more of them anyway....

Gotta find some locales where the poses are more dynamic.

the face is where the fun is..

2010-10-08T09:51:00.000-04:00

work has been crazy!! nothing like relaxing at the cafe with some coffee, with my sketchbook and funny looking people... ok they're not that funny looking...

Down time!!

2010-10-07T00:50:00.000-04:00

A few doodles I did in between planning a few scenes at work.

More Time Out! Haitus is over!!

2010-10-01T01:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't been lazy i swear..

2010-09-11T08:32:00.000-04:00

Lack of updates? Yes. There are a few good reasons for this. Let's start with my laptop dying ever so painfully.

It started about 45 days ago, I noticed my laptop lcd just shut off on its own. I thought it was the screen saver. But no. In fact, it wasnt off at all. I could make out a very faint image of my desktop and windows that were opened before it descended into darkness. Uh oh. Looks as though something is dying. Quick fix: ok so i'll dial down the brightness to about half way and see how that goes. Success: i've added a few more weeks to the thinkpad's life.

Two weeks later, after having to work on mid-brightness, it turns off again, rather constantly too. Every 20 seconds at some points. So I dial it down to the very lowest setting. At this point I am squinting at my dim laptop. The display has a tint of red and orange, and makes a very high pitched buzzing sound.

Two weeks later, on the lowest settings, in the middle of painting a commission, it turns off again. Every 10 seconds or so it turns off, refusing to stay on. Solution: I bring the thinkpad to work and hook up an old CRT i found by IT's desk. Success! I am using my laptop with a clear, bright, albeit oversized display.

I am happy I found a fix, and am thinking maybe i'll pick up an LCD external in a few days time so i can use it at home. I shut down the laptop, and bring it home.

I plop down into my work area the next day, open my bag, excited to start research for a new project. I press the power button, and decide to make a cup of coffee (my laptop takes a while to boot up). I come back and notice that the screen is still black. Even with the external mammoth of a CRT hooked up to it, the screen shows black. I power it down and restarted it hoping that maybe it's just glitching. This continues for about 2 days.

GG laptop.

So for the past month i've been using my girlfriends x201 (great machine, but TINY DISPLAY at 12") to do commissions, check email and play starcraft 2. All very difficult for me to do on such a small screen. i ACTUALLY quit a game of SC2 by accident because of the small keyboard.

I am currently working on a few more magazine illos, on this tiny laptop, and needless to say I am very excited to get my new 15" laptop in about a months time. 'Til then i'll do what i can to get some art up on here.

In a nutshell: Lack of updates due to lack of computer.

Illo for Time Out Beijing August 2010!!

2010-07-30T14:57:00.000-04:00

Here's one for August!

Happy Starcraft2 Day! -- a sketch..!

2010-07-26T12:13:00.000-04:00

Big hiatus. Yes i know. I've been quite busy with commissions, freelance, and trying to nab a job. The good news: i am now employed here in Beijing as an animator at Possibility Space. Very exciting! It's crazy to see the talent surrounding me here.

ALSO...since I'm now living in Beijing, Starcraft2 day actually comes to me before all my friends who eagerly await the sequel in Canada. Yes that's right. I'm living in the future.

To celebrate, i sketched this on my laptop. It was quite difficult as my laptop's LCD is having trouble staying on, at any brightness higher than about medium. So i'm squinting at this slightly red hued semi-dark screen.

Anyhoo, i hope to add colour to this when my eyes stop burning. .

tonight: more nostalgia... Cow Launched!

2010-07-09T12:51:00.000-04:00

Tonight's sketch.... Earthworm Jim! Woohoo!! Played around with painting techniques that i dont usually use. So it's a bit rough around the edges. I loved this game. It had awesome music too. I hope they revive this series, but i'm not sure how it would play in 3D. We dont see enough side-scrollers anymore. I think the last one i played was New Super Mario Bros.

Who was your favourite Ninja Turtle?

2010-07-01T14:01:00.000-04:00

Mine was Raph. How could it be Raph, you say? His weapon is the shortest, he's a rude (so the song says), an obnoxious bad-ass, and because of this gets his butt kicked in the first movie.

Moving on, way back before I took my art 'seriously' i used to draw ONLY super heroes and my favourite TV characters through childhood. I didnt paint back then. I went through phases of Batman, TMNT, Spiderman (still love drawing him), Earthworm Jim, MegaMan, Joker, and EVEN DRAGON BALL Z etc... and over the past few years while trying to actually LEARN how to draw and paint.. i didnt draw any of these characters nearly as much.

So i think it'll be fun to revisit these characters in the coming weeks to see how my mind's eye sees them now, after the long hiatus. Meanwhile i can just treat these sketches as experiments in Photoshop (or maybe other software?). Who's next on the list...

My debut with Time Out Hong Kong

2010-06-30T10:58:00.000-04:00

Got the chance to contribute to another Time Out publication, this time for Hong Kong. As opposed to the usual He Says She Says column for Time Out Beijing--where readers write in seeking relationship advice, this piece was for a quick column about restaurant etiquette.

Looking back at it now there are a few things I would probably try to change, like the line work. The line work in this one is scruffy, which works for some of the elements but i find it gets a little messy throughout. Usually I sketch in pencil and then clean up with pen, but at the time I actually did not have a pencil to rough it in with. But as it turned out, i ended up liking my initial sketch. I really enjoy the way I painted the Starbucks Smuggler to the left side there.

A sketch..finally...

2010-06-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

OH MY! almost a whole month without an update. How bad of me. It's been challenging this past little bit trying to find time to paint and draw for myself amidst all of the job hunting that's going on.

ALSO..haven't found a scanner yet, so i have a bunch of sketches i really like that have not found their way onto the computer. But i will upload those in due time.

I had the Wacom out today, and felt like doing a quick painting from a sketch I had uploaded earlier! Here tis!

1 Year of TimeOut Beijing..

2010-06-06T06:32:00.000-04:00

Yet another one for TimeOut Beijing. Hard to believe I've been contributing to TOBJ for over a year now. Woohoo!! Speaking of which, I will be contributing to TimeOut HongKong as well in the coming months, cant wait to post that one.

I have a bunch of people sketches that i want to post, but i am without a scanner. So if you would like to ship a scanner to me in Beijing that would be greatly appreciated. And if you're feeling generous, a new laptop would be nice too, so i could photoshop, maya and Starcraft 2 on it without problems. I can barely run Starcraft 1 on my current laptop. Yes that game is from 1997. My laptop....it.....has issues...

a quck doodle at lunch

2010-05-17T05:44:00.000-04:00

stopped to get our VEG-ON! yum. That is.. vegetarian organic nature food.

LOOK!! another face!!

2010-05-13T01:54:00.000-04:00

Fellow artist Jan Cyril Fundano lent me his face for a quick warm up sketch. He was not aware of this until after I showed him.

Fun times.

Next up, some sketches from Beijing.

Back to the drawing board!

2010-05-06T22:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a live caricature done at a charity event in Toronto for the Covenant House. Wilson was kind enough to pose, and lend his camera, AND email me the photo afterwards.

Thanks Wilson. Look at that smile.

Updated: Demo Reel 2010 is online!

2010-05-04T19:36:00.003-04:00

UPDATE:
I have uploaded a revised version of the demo reel. Comments n Crits welcome!!!

hurray! my demo reel is done....for now! so while i scour the earth for jobs, i will be working on more animation exercises, and lip syncs in the meantime to expand on my reel.

crits, comments & job offers are welcomed :D

Thanks all.

also on VIMEO: http://vimeo.com/11487281

Finally finished! My Short Film: A Curious Caper

2010-04-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

So it's been a wonderfully stressful 8 months, but it's finally finished. Here is my finished short film. Feel free to leave comments! Cheers. Now for some sleep.

A Curious Caper - Sheridan College Short Film from Andrew Mok on Vimeo.

Revisiting Gus Hansen

2010-04-01T10:46:00.000-04:00

One of my first painted caricatures way back when i first started was of professional Poker Play Gus Hansen. At the time I was pretty happy with it, though it was in black and white, and when glazed with colour it looked flat.

This time around, this somewhat finished piece went through a number of methods since i couldnt get it to settle down. I found after i used some basic skin tones to establish values, i could add and alter the colours as needed after.

Look Mawh, i animinated! Ninja wrath!

2010-03-26T13:32:00.002-04:00

'Hey Andrew, update your blog more, you've been slacking!', says my 'Mario bros 2 Shy-guy keychain' that @kel_duh gave me. He sits on my desk and reminds me to keep up with the blog.
'What have you been busy with, u slacking liar?' , asks Shy-Guy.

Little does he know, since he has no face and therefore no eyes, that I'm actually quite busy with non-illustration work, hence the slow updates.

Been working on this 60-120 second animated short/exercise since December. Lots of work is going into this. And as with every Sheridan 2nd term final film, everyone is just a one-person team. Each person is responsible to come up with a concept, character and layout design, modeling, rigging, lighting, and of course, the animation.

My main focus for this project is character-animation in dynamic movement as opposed to lip syncing. That's why all the props and layouts are so simplified. If i have leftover time i will try to make the props look better.

Only got a few more weeks left, most of the animation is done, so here's a quick look at a bit of it.

Feel free to let me know what you thnik, i know the image isnt great. It's a very crude playblast to test timing, weight, and fluidity.

Jimmy Fricke. He's large.

2010-03-23T11:02:00.001-04:00

I was watching poker on TV the other day, the Aussie Millions, and this man, Fricke was runner up to Gus Hansen, whom I painted long ago and he used to be on my website. And i've got another version of him in the works actually. I will post that when it's 'done'.

For now, there is Fricke.

Nerd Alert: I Starcraft II fever! This is a Zergling.

2010-03-17T18:29:00.000-04:00

Nerd alert. Yes. I have starcraft II fever.

Found this old sketch of a Zergling in my sketchbook, so I added wings to make him a Starcraft II zergling. Yes. Second nerd alert.

sketches i sketched in my mini-sketchbook. (sketches)

2010-03-08T18:10:00.005-05:00

o wow didn't realize my last update was about a month ago.

my lovely gf, who was featured in the post below came to Toronto for a visit last week, and i was fortunate enough to find time to relax with her in a few coffee shops. Luckily i had my mini-sketchboook-of-fun-times in my pocket, so i started to doodle a bit.

I gotta get better at this updating thing.

A Quick sketch of .@kel_duh via le Tooninator

2010-02-16T14:25:00.005-05:00

Here's a quicky experimental piece i did while waiting for dinner over the weekend. It is of my lovely radio host girlfriend, @kel_duh on twitter.

This style is inspired by my buddy Matt -- talented artist, awesome dude, check out his work. Enjoy!

Phaneuf sketch

2010-02-07T18:15:00.005-05:00

In celebration of the New Leafs' acquisition, here is a quick sketch of Mr. Phaneuf. Perhaps next on the list should be Giguere for opening his season with the Leafs with back to back shutouts! Woohoo!

Feels good to get this out of my system--it's been a while since i've sketched or painted at all lately.

Vampire-phile for TimeOutBeijing

2010-02-03T16:53:00.004-05:00

BUSY BUSY! But not too busy for Time Out Beijing.
This was a fun one for February, 1 bat, 2 bats, 3 bats, AH-AH-AH!

First painting in SketchBook Mobile!!

2010-01-26T18:18:00.003-05:00

Quite the hiatus. No excuses, just been super busy with no time to blog. But i DID pick up Sketchbook mobile, and am still trying to master how to use it well. It's quite tricky, while it doesnt feel as accurate as the DS, i DO enjoy the larger surface area, brush options, layers, and interface. Here's a quick sketch I did during my break. More to come from the daily commute.

TimeOut! first of 2010!

2010-01-05T16:17:00.003-05:00

The first of the new year goes to TimeOut Beijing!

Fancy Pants Coffee sipping sketches

2009-12-30T17:45:00.002-05:00

Once again, some quick sketches at the local starbucks while sipping my fancypants coffee drink. Gonna try to keep this up until my holiday ends. GOGOGO!

Holiday Frenzy Mall Sketches!!

2009-12-23T19:42:00.005-05:00

Going to the mall is a huge hassle during the holiday season, yes? I agree!! After a few hours of getting my shopping done, I figured the best way to take a break is to take advantage of the gajilliions of people trying to get their holiday shopping done. Naturally, I grabbed a cup of coffee and just sat in a resting area to draw. So many faces to choose from, and you only have about 4-6 seconds to capture what you THINK you see before they walk past you.

Out comes the mini sketchbook (another great reason to carry one around is you dont wanna carry a large letter size sketchbook while you have arms full of shopping bags), and my trusty Micron and away I go.

I think my favourite one is this first one of the lady working at 2nd cup.

Oh what fun it is to draw.

Finally a chance to cafe sketch. love it.

2009-12-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Feels good to draw for myself after a long hiatus. Been so busy lately with animation that I haven't had nearly as much time as I'd like to keep up with this hobby of mine. At first I felt quite rusty but as I loosened up i felt much better and came to realize once again why I love doing this. I have about 3 weeks before I get back into crunch mode, so hopefully i'll have more sketches done by then.

WOOHOO!

Time Flies Time Out Beijing

2009-12-02T13:03:00.004-05:00

So it's been about 3 months since Beijing. Crazy how time flies when you've got piles of work to do, very little sleep, and lots of caffeine. Being in a delirious state can be nice--experience your days in a dream-like state.

Here's December's Time Out Beijing piece. I'm starting to like this 'bland' black outline with no weight on it. Maybe i'll try scratchier, sketchier lines next time. Or maybe not.

only 19 weeks left!

Inspired to do...a quick 15 minute sketch of Ron Wilson?!

2009-11-25T12:57:00.002-05:00

Haven't had much time lately to do much digital painting. So while browsing some of the blogs of inspirational artists (some of whom got to got to ISCA--formerly NCN, this year). Some of the art i've seen blew my mind. Hard to believe how much improvement had taken place over a year, yet I feel like i've stagnated somewhat. Gotta draw more. This really sparked me to create something amazing. Well at least ATTEMPT to.

Unfortunately this quick 15 minute sketch was all that would come of it. I DID manage to sketch and paint this entirely digitally (usually i need to sketch on paper first for my best results), so i guess i am learning new tricks somewhat. But do i credit this trick to my new larger tablet?

I actually painted this while watching a Ron Wilson Q&A. Go Leafs Go? No?

A 10 second Animated short -- 'Dummy'

2009-11-22T13:29:00.002-05:00

Here's one that's a tad longer than 2 seconds. We were to model an existing toy and create a 10 second bumper interstitial. Props to Yoshi's Island for the silly background music. Enjoy!

My Wooden Robot's Walk Cycle of fun

2009-11-06T18:35:00.004-05:00

He's a pre-rigged, out of the box, robot....apparently made of wood. This is the walk cycle I sweated over for Sheridan's Computer Animation program. Tweaked him a bunch, and perhaps i'll even upload the funky weird ones i did too. Might start another blog with a peer to work on goofy lip syncing. That should be fun, yes?

Rookie the Shocked Cat and his new home!

2009-11-06T11:06:00.004-05:00

Let's all congratulate my friends (including Rookie the Shocked Cat) on purchasing their first house a few weeks ago! Woohoo!! This was a greeting card done for them to send out to all their friends and family.

How to Get'er DONE efficiently! TimeOut Beijing November.

2009-11-01T22:47:00.010-05:00

"...everyone in the engine room drowned..." -- Phyllis, The Office

I love that show, how fitting that i'm watching this episode as i write this. The engine room folks on the Titanic were a hard working bunch. Hardworking is GOOD but dont drown in your work like i almost did. The past 2 weeks have been insanity the manatee but here's how I dealt with it.

Once again it was time for another one for TimeOut Beijing. This was a quick turnaround that had to be done during a jam packed schedule and overall i'm quite happy with it. I was up to my neck in deadlines and projects. So what happens is when task after task is stacked up against us, we hyperventilate and get overwhelmed. The cure for fixing that feeling of overwhelmed-ness (is that a word?) is to make a plan.

For example: a commission with 2 subjects-- i will divide it into tasks such as:
1. research
2.sketches
3. composition/block-in
4. details for subject 1
5. details for subject 2
6. background
7. touchups

Even simply writing this out will make you feel more in control. So the above works out nicely to complete 1 task per day over 7 days + 1 extra day for buffer. This way you do not over commit yourself and drain your energy for other projects you have to do that day. Of course you will have to adjust your task management according to the amount of time you are given per project, which is why using a day planner or agenda is extremely useful. I always use one of these to remind myself of deadlines, events, and which tasks i should do and which day, how much time to allot to them, etc.

What do people think? i'd love to hear how other people manage their projects.

As for this piece above, my personal goals were to use more vibrant colours and achieve a cartoonier feel. Any comments and crits are appreciated.

[update] i got a comment concerning '7 days being a long time to do this illustration', which is true, in most cases for magazines you only get a day or two like the above. The example i used above is purely example, and is usually a timeframe easier to follow for caricature commissions.

Homage to Chuck Jones' "Transylvania 6-5000"--Happy Halloween!

2009-10-24T15:50:00.004-04:00

Took an old sketch inspired by Jones' Dracula design (and one of my favourite Bugs' cartoons of all time) and played around in photoshop with different painting methods. Here's what i came up with. Any comments and crits compared to what i usually do?

Seems like a fitting sketch, yes? Happy Halloween!!

pro: duo monitors, con: small buggy dinky tablet

2009-10-22T10:58:00.003-04:00

Just got my copy of Adobe Master's Collection CS4 and have only played around with Photoshop thus far. In fact, this quick painting below is the only thing i've really done with it.

Bonus: borrowing my girlfriend's extra 17" LCD monitor while she's away without asking..thanks Kelda!

i'm used to CS2 and so it was refreshing and slightly confusing shifting over to the CS4 interface. The brush options palette was hard to find at first but when I did, I tore it off and put it on my 2nd monitor. Along with it i placed my layers palette, the color/swatches, and this new 'adjustments' palette that I have yet to use or figure out. In the rest of the space I place reference photos and a smaller version of my current painting. This tip was taught to me by Bobby Chiu -- go to Window -> Arrange -> New Window for [filename]. This opens up a new frame your current window that I use to shrink down and keep as reference while painting. It's like when you paint traditionally and take a step back to assess the piece as a whole. Handy!

My only drawback is that i have a 4x6 tablet which is not suitable for widescreen, but the extra real estate really helps me organize the workspace.

Going to be working more on my desktop these days and less from my nearly-explosive laptop. If anyone knows where I can get an affordable larger Intuos3 (or better) let me know!

curing the itch to sketch which induces barf..

2009-10-16T19:00:00.005-04:00

Once again, finding time to sketch is increasingly hard to come by. Once in a while I get the itch during times where it isn't quite convenient or comfortable for sketching. Got the itch while in a long grocery line up. Luckily i had a mini sketchbook with me at the time.

This time around the itch came while I was on my 1.5 hr commute. I find that it's easier for me to draw on a subway versus the bus. This is mostly due to the fact that subways only move in 2 directions, and generally i face forward or to the side (going backwards makes me want to yak).

So my point is, i haven't had the itch in a while, and the itch came while i was on a bus ride--which involves acceleration, deceleration, winding turns, the aromatic smells of people's food, limited leg room and arm room (and i'm not a tall person, that's how crammed it was). What is one to do?

I busted out the clipboard and doodled some live sketches, memory sketches until i felt like puking (took about 30 minutes), and then dozed off for the rest of my trip.

Peter De Seve's amazing sketchbook -- drawing from imagination?

2009-10-10T19:22:00.005-04:00

Picked up Peter De Seve's amazing sketchbook a few weeks ago, and it is very inspiring. He has some amazing drawings of characters; I wonder if these characters are inspired by actual people he sees. I'm sure some of them have to be from his imagination, like this one drawing of a wiry naked man in a tree.

Just goes to show that drawing out of your imagination is just as important as drawing from life. I feel like i've spent so much time drawing people and caricature sketches in cafes through observation that i often forget to delve into my imagination to draw something out of my head. I've almost forgotten how to make something up. I used to be good at this. I wonder if our imagination-power decays as we get older....I suppose like most things, it only decays if you dont exercise it. I'm going to start drawing more from my head and blogging it.

This quick sketch however is from observation and served as a warm up for today's workload. And what a workload it was...

Been so busy these days, it's getting hard to find time to sketch, draw and paint for myself.

Free Caricatures @ Nuit Blanche & Time Out Beijing October

2009-10-01T11:53:00.007-04:00

Attention all Nuit Blanche attendees--i will be drawing free caricatures at the 11th Annual Design Competition called Art of Fashion held at The Distillery District's Fermenting Cellar. I'm only there for the beginning portion of the event from 6PM until about 8PM. So if you're going to be at Nuit Blanche, come a little early for a free drawing. Hope to see you there!

And on a completely different note, I'd just like to say that I'm really happy to be continuing my work with Time Out Beijing from abroad. Here's a new commission for their October issue. Let me know what you all think in the comments!

6 Ways to Stay Focused while Distracted

2009-09-19T13:19:00.000-04:00

How often do you find yourself wanting to get some work done, but struggle during that first step of getting into work-mode. It's like fighting against gravity, isn't it? When I find myself in this position, I find that the best way for me to be productive is to become focused while distracted.

This may not make any sense to you (or maybe it does), but I find the best way for me to stay focused is to work while things are happening around me. These distractions are enough to keep my mind from falling asleep, yet not disruptive to the point where i lose concentration. The key is to only use distractions that you know won't pull your attention away from your task at hand.

1. warm up
Just like those sketches above, you should start with a quick warm-up , whether that be sketching, reading, meditating, writing, whatever it is. This will set your mind up for work-mode and is much easier to sink into the heavier tasks from this position.

2. movies and television

You may be like me and enjoy working while your TV is on. I've tried this a bunch of times to figure out what works best for me to stay focused. As it turns out, light comedies such as The Office are perfect for me. Having the noise and comedic banter in the background fills the silence, and may even induce a chuckle while you work. This is especially helpful if you're watching a familiar movie or tv show which you have seen countless times before. This reduces the number of surprises that will fight for your attention.

3. Instrumental music

I have always enjoyed listening to music while drawing. The only problem with this is that a lot of music has lyrics. You might find that the lyrics in music will tend to make you sing along. For me, I find this very distracting. So instead, i listen to instrumental music. Humming along is a lot easier than trying to remember lyrics. However...

4. Talk radio

If you do in fact find yourself humming along with the music from #2, then perhaps listening to talk radio will be more helpful. With talk radio i usually notice i am able to pay attention to the radio and pick up key points from the host, without it totally destroying my focus. And if you really get into the groove, you will find that you completely zone out the radio altogether and it all simply becomes background noise.

5. Work in public

While a library may work for some, it may be way too quiet for others. This is why a cafe is the best substitute. There is enough foot traffic nearby to look up from your work for a quick break and people watch for a minute or two, yet it's usually quiet enough to get some work done as well. This works well with any other suggestion from the above, and sometimes you'll find that the change of scenery is quite refreshing than your usual workspace.

6. MSN -- if you must use it, must be on silent

I am one of those people who keeps their MSN on 24/7. I dont know why I do this. As many people on my list will attest, I sometimes will message them: "Hey, what's up", only to disappear for 3-4 hours. Now they know why. With MSN you can treat it like a 5 minute reward after 90 minutes of hard work. Come back to it to check your msgs if you find you're losing focus, answer a few people, and then get back to work feeling refreshed. The important thing is to keep your status on Busy so that the sounds from alerts and messages don't distract you prematurely (or turn off sounds altogether). This goes for all other instant messengers, twitter, facebook, linkedin and email.

I hope this lends some insight into how I attempt to stay focused. Let me know what works for you, and share your tactics in the comments below! Stay tuned for more goodies, thanks all.

Using my Nintendo DS to PAINT!

2009-09-10T21:28:00.009-04:00

Things have been getting busy lately!

Did these sketches on my DS using a program called Colors! while on the daily commute. I wish I had it in Beijing with me, would have been cool to do some Plein Air digital paints. Sometimes you see something you want to paint, but dont have the tools nor the time to set everything up! I did manage to get some quick pen and ink sketches from the Great Wall, which I will upload soon.

Anyhoo, these are mostly from imagination or slightly inspired by someone sitting nearby.
Let me know what you all think!

[UPDATE] oh and by the way, for those of you who have not tried this wonderful program, Colors! saves a 'movie' of your process as you paint. Now you can watch and share your process with fellow artists, which i always find very inspiring and helpful. Here's a link to my Colors! gallery where you can view the movies and other sketches i've uploaded: http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/author.php?page=1&id=8592

Drop me a line with some feedback!

Ice Cream Parlour Victims: the mini sketches part 3

2009-09-03T16:13:00.002-04:00

These guys didn't know what they were getting into that night when they were hankering for a double mocha almond sugar cone. But then again, none of them noticed i was drawing into my 3x5" sketchbook.

These books keep getting smaller and smaller. One day i should just start drawing on a 1x1.5" PostIt Pad.

I've been posting all of these sketchbook entries over at drawingboard here if you'd like to see them in their entirety.

Freelancing with Time Out Beijing from Abroad

2009-08-31T11:05:00.004-04:00

Here's one for Time Out Beijing's September issue. I've noticed that I use a lot of cool colours in my work, so here i'm trying to use warmer, more cheerful colours. I'm not sure if I like them though, what do you think? I want to try more pastel type colours next time around. Any comments would be appreciated.

More good news is that Time Out Beijing is keeping me on for the time being even though I am no longer in China. That is quite exciting, so keep on the look out for more Time Out stuff.

Also I'm glad some people found my little piece on drawing in public enjoyable. Next I will be working on a similar article about how to stay "pseudo-focused" and I am also working on a digital painting tutorial for drawingboard. I'm not sure if people will find it useful, but I always enjoy seeing different approaches so I figure at least one person might feel the same. Stay tuned.

7 Strategies on Drawing People Discretely in Public

2009-08-28T15:06:00.000-04:00

I remember when I first started drawing people in public: it was not only difficult as most people do not freeze in position for sneaky artists to draw, but also quite nerve wracking since you're probably hoping not to get caught. The fear of receiving evil cut-eye, or worse, a grande latte to the face makes starting out quite treacherous.

So I thought it would be fun share a few things with you that I found helpful when I first started out. Enjoy!

1. Get a smaller sketchbook.

Getting a sketchbook that's 5"x7" or smaller is probably the easiest way to keep you and your new hobby a secret from your victim. Or if you're on a budget, simply get some printer paper, cut it into quarters, and staple it together and voila, you're very own pocket sketchbook.

2. Draw on your lap

Take that small sketchbook and draw on your lap instead of the table. Now your victim will not see the sketchbook and will probably just wonder why you enjoy staring into your lap. Either way, your victim will probably shrug it off and leave you alone.

3. Litter the table with other things

"Things" being newspapers, magazines, books, a laptop, textbooks, comic books, socks, your dog...whatever it is you can find that will hide what you're doing from your victim. Your victim will naturally assume that you're working on whatever it is in front of you, rather than his or her face.

4. Avoid erasing

Having to erase requires vigorous movement of your body and probably causes some rattling of the table, which might cause your coffee to spill, resulting in you cursing to yourself aloud. So it's best to not do it. Don't draw attention to yourself. This is another reason why I enjoy using a pen.

5. Use your peripherals

In other words, treat your victim like an eclipse, do not look directly at it. Look around the person; like at that lamp to their left or the window behind them, but keep the person in your field of view. Use your peripheral vision to notice whether they're looking in your direction or not. Then as they direct their attention elsewhere, you take a quick peek and start doodling what you see. This is also important to keep in mind when your head pops back up for a 2nd glance afterward. Start from your peripherals.

6. Memory Sketch

This method is a good exercise that was introduced to me by Stephen Silver. It's best to choose someone not staring in your general direction(obviously). All you do is take 30 seconds to observe and memorize everything you can about the victim; pose, line of action, proportions, key features, personality, etc. Then you take the next 5 minutes or even 5 months to regurgitate everything you remember. Not only does this improve your observational skills, but it also virtually hides the fact that you are drawing your victim. To onlookers it seems like you're drawing straight out of your imagination.

7. Just blatently do it

Ok maybe you shouldn't wave the sketchbook in your victim's face and announce that you're drawing them. But don't be afraid to just draw and let people around you see. Most people I run into are fascinated with what you're doing. The victims usually can't tell that you're doodling them based on the drawing anyway (hmm don't know if that's good or bad actually). The only thing to remember is not to stare and make them feel uncomfortable (refer to #5 above). An easy way to ignore people around you and to stay focused is to listen to music while you're doing this. The music distracts you enough to ignore onlookers but keeps you in your bubble enough to maintain your focus.

I hope this encourages a few of you to get out there and try it if you haven't already. Be sure to drop a line and let me know how it goes. Don't forget to RSS the blog.

happy fast sketches from the happy panda sketchbook!

2009-08-26T08:09:00.006-04:00

Hurray more uploads from wonderful mini-sketchbook I bought in Beijing. This time I included the cover. Yes it's a weird cartoon Panda. Yes it says 'Doing the stretching exercise?' And incidentally, yes I AM kind of doing stretching..

Incidentally, I started a thread over at DrawingBoard.org (http://www.drawingboard.org/viewtopic.php?t=69748) of sketches that I have been doing that are generally in this quick and messy style. Check them out and let me know what you think!