About Me
Archive for 2012
I did a post about my list of shows and stuffs I look forward to every year.
The lists and a new assassin.
And I realized that there's no local shows. Why is that? Maybe it's because the Malaysian film industry is filled with slapstick comedy-horror and love flicks or maybe I'm just a jerk who doesn't appreciate his own country. Lupa daratan.
But I'm not going to write a complaint in this post--no--I'm going to write about a show that I do look forward to every year; to embrace what Malaysian artists has to offer. Seniman.
Comedy is one of the best selling genres in Malaysia. Heck, when in doubt of trying to a new genre (Superhero, for instance), comedy is always the safest move they'll make. Most of the comedy films are slapstick and I'm not fond of shallow jokes and constant hitting. But I do like the comedy of what 'Maharaja Lawak Mega' has to offer. It was a reality show that started out as an audition for--well, I would like to say newcomers but most of the contestants are people who had no experience in stand up; trying to turn their life around. It later evolved into a competition for local titans in the industry. Imagine a show where Adam Sandler, Lonely Island, Damon Wayans, Jim Carey, Robin Williams and Rob Schneider had to compete one another. It's not actually a stand up show. It's more to a stage show.
When I heard this show came out, I was intrigued by the idea. Sure, to some, it is a rip of The Last Comic Standing but it's still awesome to me. The idea of having popular comedians competing is certainty entertaining and a bit different than The Last Comic Standing. I hate that show. Tak Lawak langsung!
The lists and a new assassin.
And I realized that there's no local shows. Why is that? Maybe it's because the Malaysian film industry is filled with slapstick comedy-horror and love flicks or maybe I'm just a jerk who doesn't appreciate his own country. Lupa daratan.
But I'm not going to write a complaint in this post--no--I'm going to write about a show that I do look forward to every year; to embrace what Malaysian artists has to offer. Seniman.
Comedy is one of the best selling genres in Malaysia. Heck, when in doubt of trying to a new genre (Superhero, for instance), comedy is always the safest move they'll make. Most of the comedy films are slapstick and I'm not fond of shallow jokes and constant hitting. But I do like the comedy of what 'Maharaja Lawak Mega' has to offer. It was a reality show that started out as an audition for--well, I would like to say newcomers but most of the contestants are people who had no experience in stand up; trying to turn their life around. It later evolved into a competition for local titans in the industry. Imagine a show where Adam Sandler, Lonely Island, Damon Wayans, Jim Carey, Robin Williams and Rob Schneider had to compete one another. It's not actually a stand up show. It's more to a stage show.
When I heard this show came out, I was intrigued by the idea. Sure, to some, it is a rip of The Last Comic Standing but it's still awesome to me. The idea of having popular comedians competing is certainty entertaining and a bit different than The Last Comic Standing. I hate that show. Tak Lawak langsung!
What I love about the show
What else could it be? Of course, it reflects Malaysian culture! Something that I can always relate and laugh about. Watching this show somehow brings a nostalgic feeling to me. I don't often watch local shows at home but that habit goes away when I visit my hometown. I guess watching local shows together with cousins has somehow became a nostalgic routine.
The concerning flaws
Even though the show has evolved with a better gimmick and more experienced comedians. It still has some very concerning flaws. It's not some mistake or writing issues that varies according to the taste of the viewers. The flaws could end the series very soon and I don't want that to happen!
It doesn't lives up to it's name
The word Mega and the hype of having the industry's titans battling it out with each other should produce a very satisfying show from every contestant. Sadly, only two to three groups are really funny (Most of the contestants are in a group). Doesn't that sounds disappointing to you? To make the disappointment even bigger, the show also has comedians from Indonesia and Singapore (The amount of actual funny performances are just so limited, I even forgot about the whole International competition thing). I admire the fact that they let the seniors of our industry to perform. The move seems like a way of respecting them while trying to get the more older viewer's attention. Sadly for them, most of the audience are young and their old school jokes aren't just working out with them. They need to be up to date with the latest trends. It's a must because even I'm having a hard time of laughing at their jokes. It's hard to make people laugh, I know, but at least I'm writing a few possible pointers that you could think about in order to improve. First, a more casual and more to the typical habits of Malaysian society has to be emphasize more. Like the old shows during the late 90's, their posture, timing and a combination of a half formal, half casual dialogue is still present in their performances. Second, it is most definitely the interaction with the crowd. Groups like Jozan has a very good relationship with the crowd. As an audience, I can almost feel like I know them both, Johan and Zizan. With better interaction, it will produce inside jokes. What is an inside joke? When something funny happens between friends and family, only a few will understand. It makes a better joke and bond.
The memorable traits
To some, my comments about the show might be too harsh. Well, I don't care because the amount of the positive side is more then the negative. What this show offers to me, films like The Dark Knight Rises or video games such as Assassin's Creed couldn't, is the family bond. I can share the laughter and enthusiasm with my cousins and siblings. I don' know, it's just a personal thing for me. I prefer to keep my passion for films to myself at often times.
Laughing together beats laughing alone
I just find it much easier and better to laugh at jokes, specifically Malaysian jokes, that are performed in front of a live audience. It's the sincere laugh (and not some prerecorded and unrealistic laugh) and the lively atmosphere that make it more jolly and fun. Perhaps, it's a matter of taste but I just find it hard to laugh at their prerecorded shows even if Jozan is in the show. But I do like to watch it because of the light story (I don't laugh though...not much).
Spin Offs
The phenomenon of this competition gave birth to Super Spontan! I love that show! Live comedy shows has become a favorite for Malaysian viewers and it should stay that way. The difference between Maharaja Lawak Mega and Super Spontan is that Super Spontan is an unscripted show. They have to come up with jokes on the spot and thankfully, most of the contestants are funny! That is something what Maharaja Lawak Mega should be producing. It's not exactly a spin off but most of the contestants are the same people from Maharaja lawak Mega. Karoot Komedia is also another show that I think it was inspired by Maharaja Lawak.
Opportunities/ Cultural phenomenon
Well, the show didn't only inspired some new reality shows. It also made it to theater, films and TV shows. Contestants like Zizan and Nabil had been in many films. Jozan and Boboi (Afdlin Shauki and Harun Salim Bachik at the time) had made a theater show at Istana Budaya. Quite an achievement if you ask me.
An example of their performance but this was at Istana Budaya though.
So, by the end of this post, you could say that there's two local shows that I look forward to every year; both Super Spontan and Maharaja Lawak Mega.
This show sort of gave a boost to Yasmin Hani's popularity.
I prefer this logo though because it is much simpler.
This show sort of gave a boost to Yasmin Hani's popularity.
And this is my last post for 2012. Wow! How time flies by very fast huh? Has it already been a year for this blog? I don't know. I didn't bother keeping track. From silly sketches to my artworks for my studies, the posts I did has been very much satisfying in terms of writing. I get to write loads of stuffs regarding my thoughts and tastes in the entertainment world. And writing about a local favorite for my last post of 2012 is definitely, to me, the best way to end it; considering how little I write about any local films. Thank you for those who reads this and any other post I did.
Hoping and praying for better days,
Salam and may your 2013 be splendid!
I've been watching and catching up with Kamen Rider and eventually became an instant fan! Of course I was aware with the franchise since I was a kid but as I get older, I assumed that it was just another silly kid's show that my adult-self cannot tolerate or like. During my semester break, after finishing my list of thing to do, I was bored and so I decided to watch Kamen Rider Fourze. It was the latest at the time and I was really curious about the silly rocket shaped helmet design. Surprisingly, the show was really good. It wasn't the kiddish action that Power Rangers (Current ones) or Super Sentai had to offer. It was a balanced between decent kid-friendly theme and superb creativity! But it wasn't enough for me, I heard that past Rider shows were more matured and so I decided to watch Kamen Rider Kabuto! A Rider that I've always loved the design when I was a kid; the horns and bright red armor were just a major win to me.
Sadly, during its run in 2006, I wasn't able to bear the slow paced show; being a kid and all. Of course I only expected action =P I was a kid.
But after watching the series now, I loved it more and more with each episode watched; telling myself "I used to hate this?!". Now let's not get all to geeky over it. I have to admit, it's not all that awesome. I dislike the very constant convenient arrivals or run ins of characters; arriving in the scene just in time to save the day or for the sake of the plot. That bugged me a bit.
Besides the superb design, mature theme, awesome action and gimmick, it has to be the idea of the show itself; of what it means to me as an adult watching my childhood show. The idea of me watching Kamen Rider Kabuto now is like what most comic book fans felt when they watched The Avengers live action film. It's a dream come true. Why? It's because I assumed that shows like Pokemon, Power Rangers, Digimon and so on would never be rebooted in a more mature way. Sure, we all like to love Pokemon again but as we get older, some of us might grown to be annoyed by it due to it's kiddish plot....but hey, it's for kids! It was always meant for kids which is why seeing these shows in a more mature manner would be unlikely to happen. It was almost like watching The Dark Knight; finally seeing a better or more mature Batman that previous incarnations like Batman and Robin failed to do.
And since this is a post to highlight my quick sketches, here's a practice sketch for an assignment of mine:
Salam and have a good day, everybody!
The other day, I went to a talk by various ex-students of my university. They gave us students some tips on how to survive in our studies and in the industry. One of the tips was that we have to make an online portfolio. It made me think to myself; I already had a blog but I don't post a lot of my own artworks. So, this is a birth of the 'Artworks' label! Just in case if you just wanna see more of my own sketches. I am also deciding to now draw for every post I make, even if it's a review. I'll try to do so if I have the time, Insya Allah. At the very least, I'll post un-inked sketches for reviews.
This is also an update for the 'Experimental Characters ' posts. The point of this is just to share the expanding ideas that I have.
I often write characters who are righteous and underdogs. So, this time, inspired by Kamen Rider Decade and Ben 10, I would like to explore the idea of having the most powerful weapon in the world!
The Decade Driver (Belt) enables the user to turn into past Kamen Riders; each with their own powers like time traveling and monster tamers. In the Kamen Rider story/universe, it's obviously a freaking powerful weapon. It seems like nobody can defeat this guy. Be that as it may, Riders after Decade has had a similar multiple combo-themed weapons which would match up well with Decade.
The infinity gems of the Marvel Universe is one of the powerful weapons but I chose to include this one because it seemed more interesting. Each gems has their own powers that involves time travelling and even alters reality! The user above is Thanos, a villain and perhaps the next villain for second Avengers movie!
I remember a time where I loved this character but after awhile, I realized that this kid is just a brat. The omnitrix has a similar function to Kamen Rider Decade but gimmick-wise, Decade wins for a long shot! But I admire the effort of this show's writers where they try to make each alien has a quick back story such as meeting the same species of certain aliens that Ben transforms into.
Now, here's my idea! I decided to go with an armor.
Like powerful beings (Superman and Dr. Manhattan), characters with powerful weapons tend to get stale easily because there's not much to write about. Due to their enormous capability, it's hard to add some drama; considering that it would only take minutes to defeat villains. And even if a villain who's as powerful as the hero is added, it would create a one dimensional rivalry of who's the strongest; this story gets old quickly if not written wisely. But hey, that's the fun of it! To see how your ideas go even if it's considered boring. Sadly, I haven't sketched a full body concept but I did had the time to draw a basic helmet design; a so called 'trademark' look of the helmet.
I went to a gallery and as I was still brainstorming a look for the helmet, I saw this painting. I hope you noticed that with each face, there's an outer line and so I figured, maybe I could design a helmet out of it. I wanted to somehow portray the Malay essence presented within the painting in the helmet design. Obviously, I still have a long way to go.
POWERS
In the story, mutants exist...bla bla bla (The old super powered beings plot). A professor found a stone that could amplify the mutation of mankind but at a dangerous rate when in physical contact. So, using his wits, he created an armor that could harness the stone's power. How high could it amplify human mutation is not known but with the armor, only 10 % of it is used. Now in this universe of mine, I prefer for the characters to not have God-like powers. So, weather controls and reality manipulation is a no, no. And even if there is a mutant with Magnetism powers, he can't actually levitate 5 tanks at the same time without decent training. But with the armor, it is possible. The armor is not actually a very powerful weapon in general but a powerful weapon in the universe.
And for the sake of making this post longer, here's a Malaysian tokusatsu show!
Not sure if it's still airing though.
So, if you have any ideas...please, do share!
Yet again, I am busy and so, my time for this blog would be limited. Thus, I won't be posting much original artworks of mine...again but in the mean time, I'll post some other personally interesting stuffs to me.
I'm fond of making lists for things to do or movies to see. I made a mental list of what to do for my semester break and Alhamdulillah, I manage to do them all. It ranges from series marathon to recycling for extra cash and it was fun while it lasted. Personally, the final mission was the best of them all when I get to see most of my childhood friends. They say that in time, you and your childhood friends will grow apart and until that time comes, I'm going to try my best to see them all when I have the chance.
But for this post, I'm focusing more on my must see/buy lists; movies, live shows or albums that I want to buy or watch. The name 'must see/buy' isn't the best words for a list, quite honestly, but I'll try to find it soon.
First on the list is always the annual WWE WRETLEMANIA! It was the 28th installment of the classic wrestling pay-per-view. I would try my best to not miss this as I would buy every DVD since 2006. Wrestlemania 22 was my first Wrestlemania and the most memorable match was when Rey Mysterio won his first World title in a triple threat match between Kurt Angle and Randy Orton. It was a truly an inspiring victory not only is it because of Rey's underdog background but also it was a win for the recently deceased wrestler at the time, Eddie Guerrero. You see, Wrestlemania to wwe fans are like the world cup for soccer fans. It is the event that all fanatics has been waiting for every year or so (4 to 5 years for the World Cup...I'm not a huge soccer fan by the way). And this year's event didn't disappoint as it at least had one very memorable match and that was The Undertaker vs Triple H.
Okay, this isn't a full post about Wrestlemania 28 and so I'll try not to overly write about my fandom for it. But just for the record, the best match, despite the promotional poster, was a hell in a cell match between Undertaker and Triple H (With Shawn Micheals as the guess referee). The action and the drama was just overwhelmingly good and the tagline, 'End of an era', was a major boost for the hype of the match.
Movies are always a must on my list and this years' looks very awesome with the presence of The Dark Knight Rises and the comic book dream movie, Avengers. Fortunately, I already wrote a review for this and thus saving my time for not having to write a longer post.
Be sure to read it! Movie reviews: The Avengers
I'm fond of making lists for things to do or movies to see. I made a mental list of what to do for my semester break and Alhamdulillah, I manage to do them all. It ranges from series marathon to recycling for extra cash and it was fun while it lasted. Personally, the final mission was the best of them all when I get to see most of my childhood friends. They say that in time, you and your childhood friends will grow apart and until that time comes, I'm going to try my best to see them all when I have the chance.
But for this post, I'm focusing more on my must see/buy lists; movies, live shows or albums that I want to buy or watch. The name 'must see/buy' isn't the best words for a list, quite honestly, but I'll try to find it soon.
THE 2012 LIST, NUMBER ONE
First on the list is always the annual WWE WRETLEMANIA! It was the 28th installment of the classic wrestling pay-per-view. I would try my best to not miss this as I would buy every DVD since 2006. Wrestlemania 22 was my first Wrestlemania and the most memorable match was when Rey Mysterio won his first World title in a triple threat match between Kurt Angle and Randy Orton. It was a truly an inspiring victory not only is it because of Rey's underdog background but also it was a win for the recently deceased wrestler at the time, Eddie Guerrero. You see, Wrestlemania to wwe fans are like the world cup for soccer fans. It is the event that all fanatics has been waiting for every year or so (4 to 5 years for the World Cup...I'm not a huge soccer fan by the way). And this year's event didn't disappoint as it at least had one very memorable match and that was The Undertaker vs Triple H.
Okay, this isn't a full post about Wrestlemania 28 and so I'll try not to overly write about my fandom for it. But just for the record, the best match, despite the promotional poster, was a hell in a cell match between Undertaker and Triple H (With Shawn Micheals as the guess referee). The action and the drama was just overwhelmingly good and the tagline, 'End of an era', was a major boost for the hype of the match.
NUMBER TWO
Movies are always a must on my list and this years' looks very awesome with the presence of The Dark Knight Rises and the comic book dream movie, Avengers. Fortunately, I already wrote a review for this and thus saving my time for not having to write a longer post.
Be sure to read it! Movie reviews: The Avengers
NUMBER THREE
Soon after The Avengers, DC's Dark Knight came to theaters and same goes with this film, I already wrote a review on it. I love this poster by the way! Bane was definitely a wise choice for the next villain. Despite the yearns for The Riddler, the fans still accepted Bane as he was. Movie reviews: The Dark Knight Rises and Looper
I still prefer Batman over The Avengers by the way =P
NUMBER FOUR
After The Dark Knight, it was suppose to be a video game but I only heard the news for a new Mumford and Sons album in the middle of this year (The list is usually prepared by the end of the year before until the first 2 months of the current year). Babel came out earlier than the video game so I guess I have to write about this first. Now, I don't buy a lot of album; only musicians who I'm truly passionate for deserve my attention due to my limited money. Buying this album had some risks though because I've already heard most of the songs in it online. Thankfully, the songs online were live performances and studio recorded ones are always a major win for me. Even with my passion for this awesome band, I didn't want to waste my money. I really wanted to make the album last long. Alhamdulillah, it was money well bloody spent!
And to make you readers understand how much I love this band, just listen to them:
FINALE AND NUMBER FIVE
And on October 30th, Assassin's Creed III will make it's way to stores. I'm confident, like most fans are, that what everybody expects is the breathtaking story.
I've been focusing too much with my studies, Batman, Avengers and even Kamen Rider :P
...I almost forgot my passion for Assassin's Creed! It will be releasing soon and I'm not that hyped! What's wrong with me! Haha!
And F.Y.I, this is also a post to hype the upcoming game.
I'm not that much of a fanatic when it comes to gameplay and I assume that, probably, most readers would assume an explanation of it when one is writing about a video game. Sorry guys, I'm not good at explaining technical stuffs and so, the video above might give you the explanation or at least, an idea of what the game would be like. I'm here to write about the extraordinary story. Jump to the site and you'll also learn about the Naval Battles in the game!
What amazes me is that the games tells the story of two protagonist, Desmond Miles and the new assassin, Connor Kenway. While most promotional videos and posters highlights the new assassin, I am excited for Desmond Miles because it is the story that drives the franchise. It is also said that this game will mark the end of Desmond's story.
But what I want most for this installment is a good villain! Frankly, in my opinion, previous main antagonist in the franchise such as Cesare Borgia wasn't very good. A good story deserves an epic adversary. You need to highlight a villain if you want to make them awesome; to build hype for their battle. Like Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, he was advertised pretty well and people started to like him before the movie actually came out. I notice that this franchise doesn't really highlights that and even when you play the game, the villains weren't epic enough. Only Cesare was highlighted when AC: Brotherhood came out and he's as good as it gets which is not enough to me. But there is a solution and I'm sure most true Assassin fans has notice this:
Daniel Cross
He had his own comic book series thus to me, it is an awesome way to promote an antagonist. The comic was a prequel before the events of the game itself, the assassins were heavily beaten by the Templars due to their undercover agent, Daniel Cross himself. He is a traitor to the assassins brotherhood because he himself is a descendant of an assassin in 19th century Russia, Nikolai Orelov. Because of him, many of the modern assassins were killed; leaving the remained to scatter across the globe.
We've seen classical Assassins assassinating men in robes. I think it's about time to see modern assassins to be highlighted in a epic one on one battle; finally adding an original, interesting and well promoted antagonist would really make Desmond's story an epic finale.
That's all for this hype and I really hope Assassin's Creed III, the last on my 2012 list, won't be a let down. Here's hoping for better days, Salam everybody!
I didn't post a review about The Dark Knight Rises straight away when it came out
...what a shame =(
It's due to the limited time I had when I was in my studies and to write about it now seems...I don't know, outdated? But then again, it is one of the most anticipated movies of 2012 and not writing about it would seem injustice; considering that I am a huge film geek. Maybe it's the idea of writing a long and witty review about the film that bores me; it takes time and I lose focus easily. So, instead of writing a long head crunching review, I'm going to write a short and simple one instead.
Some dubbed it as the best Superhero movie of all time and if I had to give my reasons why, it is due to the effort of respecting the dark and gritty mythology of Batman while adapting it to the 21st century's reality. What did I expect from it before it was release? As the tagline suggests, 'The Legend Ends', I expected a good ending; one that could inspire me and shock me with something that I have never expected. Of course, with ending gimmick revolving around the film, it comes to two assumptions: Will Batman die or will Robin pick up the mantel?
And after watching it, I was amazed by the villain, Bane. His body language and vocabulary was just intimidating and entertaining. And to answer who's my favorite Batman villain is just too demanding because I'm quite indecisive when it comes to this. Ra's Al Ghul was a superb villain due to his relationship with Batman; something that I've never seen before. ( I don't read much of Batman comics, folks) He's also a creative way of adapting a villain into reality. His immortality in the comics was translated to a myth; a gimmick to strike fear to his enemies. Joker, as well in the comics, was equivalent to Bruce's decision to use brute force against criminals. If justice decided to smack crime in the face, why couldn't crime hit back? Joker's actions question Batman's very idea and that makes an interesting story. But of course, it's his random acts of violence that caught the audience's eyes. Personally, random violence is nothing to me without a purpose; without it, the film would just be another straight forward action thriller which I'm not fond off. It's the combination of what Joker's violence and what he stands for that makes him entertaining. Lastly, Bane is certainly a villain that I could have never expected. Relationship, idealist and what next? What all Superhero face in every story... brutality. Bane is huge, smart and a capable leader. He had what both Ra's Al Ghul and Joker lacked, strength. And it is a delight to see Batman fighting in a one on one combat; one that involve two martial artists and not a brawl or a henchman fight which usually ends with the henchmen loosing with no effort. Some craved for The Riddler as the next villain but to see another idealist might not cope with what Nolan had in mind. By the end of the day, it was all about Batman and not the villains.
As for the ending...I must say, it wasn't really exhilarating. I assumed that there would be another guy who'd wore the Batsuit. While Bruce Wayne was heavily injured, the new guy was continuing his legacy. But you have to understand how Christopher Nolan wanted to ended it. He didn't want to make a spin-off or even a slight hint of another sequel. And after minutes of considering that intentions, I concluded that the ending was necessary. In real life, nobody wants to struggle for the rest of their lives. Athletes and cops retire when they are physically incapable and this also implies if you're a crime fighting superhero. This relevant story also signifies maturity for long time Batman fans; of how we realize that we're too old for reading comic books. It's time to put down the books and start taking responsibility for the people we love and ourselves.
POST BATMAN
I love the poster!
Why Post Batman? I was too caught up with The Dark Knight; I didn't bother giving much attention to
movies after it. Now that I'm having my holidays, it's time for this film geek to get back in the game. Honestly, after Batman, I instantly started searching for a new movie to be obsessed with...sort of pathetic, don't you think? But the movies I found are next year's release. Until then, let's watch Looper!
Another Bruce Willis film...wow, this is going to be another silly action pack film.
Boy, was I wrong! Joseph's make-up caught my attention at first. We have Benjamin Button's superb CGI face and even Captain America's scrawny body but they decided to go along with make-up instead. Honestly though, Joseph looks like Bruce Willis if he was a slick sexy boy but we all know that in his younger days, Bruce was a big harry tough guy; the kind of looks I prefer with heroes.
Watching the film gave me hope for writing stories because it had loads of layers. Assassin's Creed is an example of balancing a lot of layers but I haven't seen much of this in films lately. Looper certainly broke that chain. Assassins, Time Travelling, Mutants, you vs older you and heck, even motherhood is put in there! It gave that typical gun fight action a new breath of fresh air with it's themes and science fiction background.
Look at that make-up!
The down side though is that somehow, this film doesn't screams out 'marketable'. How do I put this? With Batman's background of being a comic book icon, it's easy to remember him;easily advertised and to be obsessed with. This film, with the ending it offers, doesn't allows itself to be marketable in a long extent. What about the success of Inception and Titanic? I'm sensing no sequels ever coming but yet they were inspiring nonetheless. It's just a shame to me that this movie isn't getting much attention in the 'mainstream' media. It is good...really good.
Before the ratings, I would like to remind the system :)
1/5: Pathetic/ Wasting time/ Disrespectful or any other insults you could think of :)
2/5: Boring/ Cliche'.3/5: A good film to past the time/ Could of been better.
4/5: An awesome and inspiring movie.
5/5: Ever green/ An instant classic/ Inspiring/ Epic/ Genius.
The addition of 0.5 is somewhat an extra to films that I think that could go to the next level of the ratings. Did that made any sense? :/
Salam and have a good day everybody!
Hi, everybody!
I started with the Hyena. Finding the style of drawing was the part where it took some time but it turned out okay. I wanted the colors to be flat so coloring it wasn't a pain.
But the skater was a pain. I am really not good with dynamic angles. At the beginning, I already thought of drawing a simple flat skater because I knew I wasn't good with angles but even with a simple idea, I really couldn't get the legs right. They weren't flexible or mildly dynamic enough.
Within these few weeks of free time, I wanted to make as much artworks as possible. I don't have time for a comic so arts for friends would do.
Project one is Redemption, it is an art to redeem myself after the first semester of my studies. Of course, not all of my art was accepted willy-nilly; some of them were rejected harshly =/
...while some I humbly agree, others I question with frustration. So, with the disappointments I receive there, I decided to make an artwork for a friend; to be printed and given in person. I've never done that. Most of the times, I would just tag them on Facebook =P
This is a concept art for the project, a mash-up of photos I found on the internet. Frankly, I couldn't wait to see it in reality so I did this quick photoshop pic while I was sketching the actual artwork.
My friend is a skater so...yeah, it's pretty straight forward. BAM! I just put in Tony Hawk in there. The Hyena is suppose to represent the naysayers of his choices.
And unlike my assignments, I finally had time to be experimental. I went for a walk in the park to take some pictures that I thought would be a good background. In fact, I didn't knew what to put as the background because I didn't had much idea.(Note to self, improve scenery drawings) It was fun taking the pictures; considering that I didn't had much to do outside of the house, the walk was a tremendous way to start the holiday.
At first, I thought I could go along with this idea but it didn't turned out good. It was horrible as live tracing it didn't helped and that was my original idea; to live trace a suitable picture that I took.
I took loads of pictures of course and this is one of them that I really like. It's....greeeny =D
And in the end, I decided to go all out experimental with this one. Oh no, I didn't use this in the final product but I did try to finish a concept out of it; just to see how it would look like. I chose this pic because of the tree in the center. I thought maybe it could be a natural divider of the negativity and positivity presented in the art.
This is concept number two, to see how would the live traced pic would look like with the sketches I made. Note that the skater is another random pic I put in since at that time, I haven't drawn the skater. Well, it looks interesting to me but it is definitely not presentable. I mean, no simple minded person would want this and so I dropped the live trace background idea.
THE SKETCHES
But the skater was a pain. I am really not good with dynamic angles. At the beginning, I already thought of drawing a simple flat skater because I knew I wasn't good with angles but even with a simple idea, I really couldn't get the legs right. They weren't flexible or mildly dynamic enough.
But thank god, I manage to drew a decent skater. The right leg is a bit big but it could be fixed once you scan it in the computer.
OUTCOMES
One of the things I've learnt in my studies is that you have to always have alternate versions of your artwork; especially if it's for another fella besides yourself. Below is my first version of it; of how I first imagined it.
It was either a complete dark orange or a live traced pic that was suppose to be the background. But after experimenting both possibilities, the outcome would still be bad due to the subject themselves. At first, I love the position of the Hyena and the board but when the skater was put in there, it went bad.
And in the end, I changed a lot of things with the background; starting with a metallic-like texture on top and with an orange alloy color. I imagined the whole art to be in a horizontal format but then changed to vertical because it seemed more appropriate; being a poster and all. This isn't the final product though. After asking opinions from fellow designers, I changed the skater and colored the see through fences.
THE END PRODUCT
In all honesty, I'm really happy now that I've started to create more artworks and most of them are even colored. I could see the difference between the posts I've posted before and after I've started studying design. Before this, I couldn't even color a simple character concept and now I can create a poster...no a good one but hey, I'm getting there. Alhamdulillah, I am so grateful and Insya Allah, I hope I'll be better.
Constructive criticism please, thank you and have a good day! Salam! =D
My goodness, it has really been awhile since I've posted anything here. After a month of work at MPH as my excuse to not be an active blogger, now I have another one; a big step forward in my life and it's University. Yep, no longer I'm learning as a teenager; being spoon fed in many ways that I haven't noticed until now. Now, I'm learning as an adult; figuring out on how do I survive in this cruel world and no longer imagining it as I always do as a teen. Alhamdulillah, I was able to get myself into a designing university and though it is expensive, with god's will, I hope I can find a way to pay not only those fees but also paying my parents back. So, here in this post, I shall post some of the artworks I did in my studies! Why now? Well, the first semester is almost over so with the weeks of freedom I have, why not start with this blog of mine?
It's not much but it's a start. I haven't really explored the deeper and better uses of Photoshop but in time, I will. This is just basics of adjusting color and brightness. I prefer candid pictures because to me, it captures the true essence of people rather than posing ones.
Now this is one of the pictures that I submitted and frankly, I'm happy with it. The subject is certainly a challenge as it requires me to travel. It's definitely a good experience because I've never done things like this.
Even with time not being on my side, I must admit that the works I had to do was very interesting and this is one of them:
Chose your own local movie and start Photoshopping it! I had to chose different stills from my movie by watching it. Bunohan was just a random movie I picked because 'Budak Kelantan' was nowhere to be found but be that as it may, this flick was really good. It wasn't the regular shallow story that most local films offer nowadays. It was a complex story of a dark mishap between brothers from another mothers...did that make sense? Well, it's a conflict between step brothers whose dad had made lots of mistakes and this includes numerous failed marriage.
Another scene I've chosen and below is the photoshopped product:
BAM!
Bad, isn't it? But this not the end product though. In fact, this is sort of a last minute work since I didn't really know how to use Photoshop. But Alhamdulillah, my friends helped me a lot with it and this is as good as it gets at the time. Oh, did I tell you that I had to paint it after I'm done? What the heck?! I'm not that good with painting and there I was, forced to this and to make matters worst, this was the final project which would be 40%...damn. Which leads me to lesson number two of being a designer:
"ALWAYS PUSH YOURSELF BECAUSE THE MARKET IS VERY DEMANDING"
Seriously, the standards in my university is high and they really push their art students to the max. I'm not sure if other public universities are like this...oh, and my university is a private one.
And this is the final product; chosen out of simplicity and conveniences. The color scheme I chose (which is a must and no spontaneous colors is allowed) is analogous colors because I already bought the color blue and I don't want to leave it to waste =P
I also had to use live trace in order to make the painting process easier. I'm not sure what this style is called but basically it's when you simplify the colors in groups of patches instead of the real life complexity. Below is the steps of painting it:
Alhamdulillah, it was better than expected. I had a bad history of painting when I was in primary school and the fact that I didn't tried to improve throughout my whole teen years really didn't helped with my odds of executing this artwork.
It took 3 days in total to finish this and I'm pretty satisfied with the men. The background isn't the best that I could do. Maybe the problem was with the photoshopped composition in the first place but it is what it is; I did what I could.
And here's another hand drawn/colored artwork of mine:
Now, I haven't been posting much of my original sketches but oh boy, I'm gonna make it up to this with not only the sketches I did for my assignments but also with fully colored characters! :'D
Finally, I get to post fully colored characters for the first time and this, to me, is the main event of this post.
The assignment required me to make character concepts and I knew then that I wanna make sure that this will define my style. I always prefer a realistic and simple story and that's what I did with my characters. Instead of sketching out of this world characters with heavy and huge weapons, I just drew characters that stays true as possible to history; reflecting their culture and personality.
Before I get to the colored characters, here's my first inked post: Space Opera
As for the lady on the far right, the credits goes to my friend for helping me out with the designs...thanks pal! This was also a last minute work as you may notice, their eyes aren't colored. But I'm still happy with it because I've never colored anything yet and to see it being better than I expected is really fulfilling. But wait, there's more! The next work is I have to make a poster out of these characters.
I had to come up with a title to and that took me a long time to figure out the right word for them.
I had to use all of the characters and I did but I decided to do another one where it only focuses on these two. I think that the background could still be improved though. This isn't the the artwork I submitted.
THIS IS:
I believe that as an artist, there's always room for improvements in your artworks but quite frankly, I love it!
As you can see, I adjust some things here and there. Most of the eyes are colored and one of the character's clothe is recolored. I even add some shades on the main character's face (Center) and change the Malay woman's skin tone. I decided to make it into a comic book cover since it was empty with texts. It's just that their poses aren't suited for a movie poster and, of course, I don't have much time to redraw them. So, I just work with what I got.
Well, I'm sooooo satisfied with this post because it's full with pictures and artworks unlike the previous posts which had only 2 to 4 artworks. The first semester is technically over (I have one more exam) and in the end, I learned a lot. Though at first, it seems like total perfection is demanded and I wasn't really fond of it but it all became clearer and easier (Thank god) once I get along with much of my course mates and lecturers. It's just their way of pushing us to be our best. With the free time I have, I hope I can get a lot of personal artworks done, Insya Allah.
Here's hoping for better days for me, my family and friends,
HAVE A NICE DAY AND SALAM!
Not a very appealing art but that's, sort of, the point. When I received my first assignment, it was this; to create lines that give you and the viewers the regarded feeling. This is suppose to be graceful and quite frankly, it's a bad one. I was utterly shocked with this homework of mine. I was all "What the heck?!", clearly I wasn't expecting this but then again, what should I expect as a stranger in this phase of life? Not the most fun but sort of interesting. Why is it not fun? It's not just because the limitation of it (You can't make the lines representing any objects or even shapes) but also the little time given. I had to create six line artworks while juggling assignments from five more subjects! But hey, that's the first lesson as an adult, nobody waits for you. So, even with the brief disappointments, I just gave it my all. Make no mistakes though, this isn't going to be my complaints about the education system. It's rather a shift of my feelings and artworks throughout the first semester.
Another subject is photography which I must admit, it wasn't my best field. As you can see above, it slants to the left which is pretty horrible. But of course, this is not the picture I submitted for the assignment (That would be suicide). This is 'Masjid Besi' at Putrajaya, one of the sceneries that I've chosen to took my picture at the time. The architecture is just mesmerizing; filled with modern and huge marbles. Fortunately, as a designer, it is a must that we learn the magic of photoshop and indeed I did.
It's not much but it's a start. I haven't really explored the deeper and better uses of Photoshop but in time, I will. This is just basics of adjusting color and brightness. I prefer candid pictures because to me, it captures the true essence of people rather than posing ones.
Now this is one of the pictures that I submitted and frankly, I'm happy with it. The subject is certainly a challenge as it requires me to travel. It's definitely a good experience because I've never done things like this.
Even with time not being on my side, I must admit that the works I had to do was very interesting and this is one of them:
Chose your own local movie and start Photoshopping it! I had to chose different stills from my movie by watching it. Bunohan was just a random movie I picked because 'Budak Kelantan' was nowhere to be found but be that as it may, this flick was really good. It wasn't the regular shallow story that most local films offer nowadays. It was a complex story of a dark mishap between brothers from another mothers...did that make sense? Well, it's a conflict between step brothers whose dad had made lots of mistakes and this includes numerous failed marriage.
BAM!
Bad, isn't it? But this not the end product though. In fact, this is sort of a last minute work since I didn't really know how to use Photoshop. But Alhamdulillah, my friends helped me a lot with it and this is as good as it gets at the time. Oh, did I tell you that I had to paint it after I'm done? What the heck?! I'm not that good with painting and there I was, forced to this and to make matters worst, this was the final project which would be 40%...damn. Which leads me to lesson number two of being a designer:
"ALWAYS PUSH YOURSELF BECAUSE THE MARKET IS VERY DEMANDING"
Seriously, the standards in my university is high and they really push their art students to the max. I'm not sure if other public universities are like this...oh, and my university is a private one.
I also had to use live trace in order to make the painting process easier. I'm not sure what this style is called but basically it's when you simplify the colors in groups of patches instead of the real life complexity. Below is the steps of painting it:
Alhamdulillah, it was better than expected. I had a bad history of painting when I was in primary school and the fact that I didn't tried to improve throughout my whole teen years really didn't helped with my odds of executing this artwork.
It took 3 days in total to finish this and I'm pretty satisfied with the men. The background isn't the best that I could do. Maybe the problem was with the photoshopped composition in the first place but it is what it is; I did what I could.
It's a little off...I know
And here's another hand drawn/colored artwork of mine:
This was fun.
Now, I haven't been posting much of my original sketches but oh boy, I'm gonna make it up to this with not only the sketches I did for my assignments but also with fully colored characters! :'D
Finally, I get to post fully colored characters for the first time and this, to me, is the main event of this post.
The assignment required me to make character concepts and I knew then that I wanna make sure that this will define my style. I always prefer a realistic and simple story and that's what I did with my characters. Instead of sketching out of this world characters with heavy and huge weapons, I just drew characters that stays true as possible to history; reflecting their culture and personality.
Before I get to the colored characters, here's my first inked post: Space Opera
As for the lady on the far right, the credits goes to my friend for helping me out with the designs...thanks pal! This was also a last minute work as you may notice, their eyes aren't colored. But I'm still happy with it because I've never colored anything yet and to see it being better than I expected is really fulfilling. But wait, there's more! The next work is I have to make a poster out of these characters.
I had to come up with a title to and that took me a long time to figure out the right word for them.
Why Takrif? Well, it's my attempt of redefining a Malayan hero in the 1500's and takrif means definition in Malay.
THIS IS:
I believe that as an artist, there's always room for improvements in your artworks but quite frankly, I love it!
As you can see, I adjust some things here and there. Most of the eyes are colored and one of the character's clothe is recolored. I even add some shades on the main character's face (Center) and change the Malay woman's skin tone. I decided to make it into a comic book cover since it was empty with texts. It's just that their poses aren't suited for a movie poster and, of course, I don't have much time to redraw them. So, I just work with what I got.
Well, I'm sooooo satisfied with this post because it's full with pictures and artworks unlike the previous posts which had only 2 to 4 artworks. The first semester is technically over (I have one more exam) and in the end, I learned a lot. Though at first, it seems like total perfection is demanded and I wasn't really fond of it but it all became clearer and easier (Thank god) once I get along with much of my course mates and lecturers. It's just their way of pushing us to be our best. With the free time I have, I hope I can get a lot of personal artworks done, Insya Allah.
Here's hoping for better days for me, my family and friends,
HAVE A NICE DAY AND SALAM!
