WIP: More Painterly Practice

© Jason Jalbuena

It's been a while since I touched the Sci-Fi Genre, so I thought I'd continue my painterly practice by drawing a classic Sci-Fi Robot. He's a WIP, but I'm pleased at where he's at so far. I'm looking forward to the finish line!

- JJ

Painterly Practice

© Jason Jalbuena

I wanted to tap into painterly techniques and did so by drawing a simple cottage. My ambitious side wanted to do a massive fantasy landscape right away! Then I told myself, "Self! Embrace the process first!"

That I did, and it gave me a good dose of confidence, coupled with a checklist of things to work on. I call that a successful drawing session.

Practice Practice Practice

© Jason Jalbuena

I was once told to feel good enough to do your job today, but at the same time feel shitty enough so you can do better tomorrow. I've been lucky enough to hold a career as an Artist in the Games Industry for almost 2 years now. I've learned so much since, and yes I've grown skillful enough to be where I am today. Now comes the aforementioned "shitty" feeling.

I did some rough head/expression studies just to see where I'm at these days. It was refreshing, and a good wake up call. I'm reminded that you either get better or get worse, you never stay the same. I'm taking this in stride and putting effort in the practice.

Simply put - there are no shortcuts. Just hard work.

Embrace the Stress

© Jason Jalbuena

If you asked what I've been up to since my last post, I hope you're sitting down...and maybe have the day off. But that kind of conversation has its appropriate place.

I'm here to recognize a positive constant - Art. I've been blessed to be able to practice art - first as an actor and now as an artist - and do it for a living. The medium has changed but the experience remains the same - it's forever challenging yet extremely rewarding. The stress has been insurmountable at times, but that's a sign of growth. If you stop stressing, you stop learning - thus you're doomed.

If you find any inspiration behind this, great! Embrace the stress. You'll be surprised on what gets reciprocated.

- JJ

Chuck Norris doesn't do pushups. He pushes the earth down.

It's been a while since I drew characters. It's also been a while since I saw a Chuck Norris movie. I recently saw "Sidekicks" (loved that movie when I was a kid). So I decided to draw Norris in caricature form.

- JJ

Seeking my Identity

My own experience is that everybody is born with a certain talent, and unless he lives that talent to its fullest, something in him will remain missing. He will go on feeling that somehow something is not there that should be.

~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

I've gone pretty far in most of my adult life saying that I'm an Artist, but I never really took the opportunity to link that label to who I am as a person. For a while I called myself an Artist because it's more so what I do than who I am. I'm an Artist because I went to school for Visual Arts, I acted (in the past) and I draw. It's what I "do". To be clear this doesn't have anything to do with my passion for it. The passion is alive and well. My point is that it's time to express it more, allow it to become me.

I came to this conclusion because I'm noticing that though I've continually acquired the skill set to exercise Art, I've never taken the time to establish an identity within my work. I see the works of people I admire, and they all speak a design language that's specific only to them. They've successfully created an identity where when we see an artwork of theirs, you immediately say "That's him/her".

I think the problem with me is that I'm never satisfied with what I currently know as far as skill. I want to continue learning, leaving me with little chance to declare an identity beyond that of "student". It's time to take what I know and apply it toward a style that not only identifies me as a unique artist, but a professional one. Granted as Artists we spend a lifetime continually learning as a means to improve beyond what we know. I think it's also imperative to establish yourself in the professional world. 

I've spent a great amount of time (and money) learning and building the necessary skills and knowledge to become an professional artist. I believe this is the part where I declare myself as one, and begin formulating a style that expresses my artistic identity. It's time to become who I am - a Professional Artist.

- JJ

Gestures!

I set out a long term goal for myself to really take figure drawing by the horns and hone it. In the past and at work I've been granted opportunities to draw characters, and it's brought me to a more comfortable point than ever. However, there's still a little sense of anxiety felt whenever I approach figure drawing. To be honest I hate that feeling - anxiety - because it instills doubts in my head. It's time for a confidence booster. It's time to draw.

I elaborated on "small victories" in my last post, and above is my first attempt at a small victory in figure drawing - iterating gestures. This to me is a crucial first step, for it's training my eye to observe the human figure and its complexities. It's also allowing my drawing hand to loosen up and really capture the dynamics of the figure along with the juxtaposition of balance/imbalance. It'll be interesting to see my progress on nailing those key identifiers within the major masses of the figure (head, ribcage, pelvis, etc.). 

Beyond that I felt this is a good test of will and self-discipline. I no longer have the rigors of grad school to keep me on my toes on getting better. It's truly up to me now to take myself to the next level. Here's to discipline and achieving the first small victory!

- JJ