Double Edge Brush

I was looking for my usual go to brushes when I spontaneously decided to try this Double Edge brush. I like the feel of it, so I'll try it on a drawing or two.

Neck Piece 4

I am working hard to make her look like an actual fashion model, without actually copying a fashion model's face. It's not the easiest, but I'm getting closer...

Shadows

I was reading some fashion magazines as I went through my stacks to figure out how to organize and cull some of the collection, and between multiple things I noticed I got a composed a new image in my head and this quick setch brought it all together. It's kinda like AI feeding off ofthings it sees, tehn spitting something else out...except you know, human. 

I rather like this quick sketch—the expression came together rather quickly. Not sure if it needs refining or should live as this quicksketch.

In Stance

I'm reorganizing my periodicals—comics, magazines, art books—because the stacks have taken over my apartment. While going through one magazine I saw a picture of a guy posing shirtless with his chin upward, his head cocked backwards into his neck, yet seemingly with a slight slouch as well as a concave curve to his spine...all the while with his pelvis outward. I wanted to emphasize that stance and see if it could be something erotic (hence the pants down). I'm also testing out this Ranger Bristle brush, which is old but nothing I recall ever using. This is the rough sketch.

Nudeshape 3

In the past few months I've been so influenced by the chiaroscuro techniques of my new friend Francisco, that it's changing how I draw. This is a good thing, change, but I also don't feel very comfortable with the current state of my art, maybe because I haven't foind my technique fully yet. 

I seem to be getting more and more compositional in this one. I think it's more because I cant stand the balance of colors on my Instagram feed, so I'm tailoring the colors of this sketch to work in the feed versus just to make the sketch sing on its own. Although to be fair, I don't think it's a bad color combo.

Nudeshape 2

I think he's coming along nicely!

New Pose Idea

I was chatting with a possible nude model from abroad, who wants to pose for me. I thought of some pose ideas for him and created this rough to show.

Nudeshape

I decided to start a new sketch using old, discarded photos I took as reference. This series had some goot shots, but things would be off, like the background or the lighting, etc. so I never used them as art photos. But as references? They work!

Neck Piece 3

These African heads are so beautiful but very specific, but I think I'm making (ahem) headway with this one.

Re-Boss-Ing 4

Oof, this one gave me trouble. I think the pattern on his shirt made it harder, and I tried to do minor triage, but really, I had to assess his whole body stance. Fortunately, once I did that, that pesky arm felt more reasonable to redo.

Re-Boss-Ing 3

I can't leave well enough alone. Before I updated my website with work from 2021, I had to redo a lot of stuff I felt were in need of correcting!  Mostly in how I rendered the walk poses, which are certainly difficult enough with the foreshortening, but moreso when you want them to really feel natural. I think this pose might be the only one I did fully straight on with that back leg.

Ray In Repose 7

Little bits here and there—his hair, the forehead shape, his shoulder...so minor and yet they affect so much in the overall!    

Ray In Repose 6

I think part of the fact that I had already felt I got a good likeness, allowed me to revisit and rethink how closely the likeness actually is. And I did more work on it, although I fear I might be overworking things, so I took down a lot of the extra shading I did yesterday. Plus he looks less sullen now!

Ray In Repose 5

The funny thing is I thought I was finished with this portrait. So, with that assurance in mind, I thought Icould experiment with details that i thought could be tweaked...and then I got to tweaking teh entire thing and it all looked wrong and I needed to be UNfinished. 

Plus, as I add in more details, the likeness improves, but the subject also ends up looking less attractive as I add bags and shading and lines...so I need to walk away from this again.

Re-Boss-Ing 2

I am never satisfied with my work, which I hope means I'm always improving. Well, when I decided to start updating my portfolio with older, way-overdue-for-publishing work, I can't help but get into the minutiae of each piece, as if the client were still going to hem and haw over things that are perfectly fine. But as an instructor now, i see all the mistakes I need to fix! So this Asia guy got taller and better skinny jeans (yeah, I know they're not currently in style but that's what the client wanted then...plus they're already on their way back) and the African guy needed  balancing on his arms (how did I miss that the first time?!)

Neck Piece 2

I've been looking at faces (and putting them away—don't want to copy a model's face necessarily) and trying to create a face from memory so it's technically mine. She's better, but she reminds me of the type of the actress who plays Shuri in teh Black panther, but I kinda want someone more modelly.

Neck Piece

Had a new idea for a drawing and this is the beginnings of it, but I'm having trouble creating a believable African head right now. I have something in mind but this isn't quite right yet.

Shorts Sideshow

I've become enamored again of having men peek out of their wide leg shorts.

Nick, Turning

Another added sketch for my Fetish series featuring model Nicholas, taken from a still of our photoshoot together from months back.

Towel Toga, Done

I decided I wanted to post him on instagram today, and I needed to correct his hands before I did. So I decided to make my own reference and I posed in front of my iMac's Photobooth app and got the hand reference I needed.

Ray in Repose 4

Sure enough, as I mentioned yesterday, I'm hard at it, nickeling and diming every detail. I rotated the entire sketch by 3 degrees, which is strangely the  consistent measurement I have for drawing erroneously. My figures always need rotating about 3 degrees, I must have a visual skew. I also changed the background to mark a shift in the work. It makes it feel more like I'm getting more accomplished when it looks radically different from yesterday, haha

Ray in Repose 3

I decided enough is enough and I need to finalize this portrait of my friend Ray. And I made good progress today! The main problem is that when you make progress, you end up becoming even more detail oriented and finicky, so the portrait feels like it's closer to a likeness but you end up doing a ton more work because you realize how far you actually were to begin with haha

Musing on the Menswear Shows 6

I am wondering if using the Ruffin brush for this looser, messier coloring style is the way to go? My tendency is to think a watercolor technique is what I should do, but that's the classic fashion illustration technique in my head because I grew up idolizing Antonio. But the Mid Century artists did fashion illustrations with this technique, so I wonder if this is my newer adaptation. Thoughts...

Musing on the Menswear Shows 5

Dior set up a lot of the guys with seemingly undone hair, not unlike many of my menswear kids sported last sem. So I channeled that on to this suit that is Sacai inspired, although I need to check the actual reference since I'm drawing this from memory. But I'm liking the way the face is evolving on the suit guy.

TJ Collab

One of my fave models this year, TJ, asked me if he could collab with me for today. it was out of the blue and a nice offer, but I got a bit of performance anxiety because I had to both host as well as draw! I wasn't very happy with the resulting drawings, although TJ says he was. I'll leave it with him. Anyhow, these were the results

Robe Reveal

Had a new drawing idea using my standard naked-underneath-a-robe bit, but this time...wait for it...seated! lol But it's just enough to make things feel newer.

Leaning Into Nick, Done

I finalized my drawing of Nicholas just to have something to post on IG today, as I was trying to do it yesterday but I just couldn't be certain it was quite "done", you know? But it IS now. I'm happy with how it turned out.

Happy Joanne Day!

My best friend in college, Joanne Pe, celebrates her 60th birthday today, so I did an updated sketch of her based on one I did a few years ago, albeit with her current hair and makeup.

Musing on the Menswear Shows 4

I've been wanting to draw the renewed interest in all things big trousers again (honestly I thought they would be dead by now) but Paris kind of doubled down on them, with both Dior and Sacai really featuring even bigger versions.

Daphne, Live

When my friends Daphne and Max came over for brunch the other month, Daphne inquired about a watercolor I had on display. It wasn't mine but a print of one I admired, by Kevin Wada. I then showed her some of my own fashion watercolor sketches and we decided to have her pose for a portrait. I'm rusty, as I have not practiced my watercolors all that much, even if it used to be my medium of choice. But I also feel like I have more experience drawing live now, so I felt more confident that I could get a good portrait done. The final results was more mixed, but Daphne was happy with it so I'm pleased.

Story Pose 3

I randomly decided to do more finishes on this drawing, but while the body is okay, I am not loving the face and hair as much as I've revised it. I mean, it's fine as a face and hair go, but I'm not into teh look she's selling. Maybe I need to revamp the entire outfit.