Bali Bird (by Alex)

My friend FuiPing who just got married has a strange humor. She loves taking funny pictures ^^ She went to Bali for her honeymoon not too long ago and took a picture with a giant bird stone statue, she angled herself in such a way that the picture would turn out like the bird is eating her head. I thought that's hilarious! =)

This is for your FuiPing for making me giggle. And Congratulations!!

AVATAR (by Alex)

(Click to enlarge)

(in progress...)

It's been a while since I last posted, I apologize profusely. I had been trying to cope with my weekly schedule, which turns out to be non-routine, so it was hard to be to get myself to sit and draw around the same time everyday like I usually do. There's just so much going on with my new life right now that's why.
Now that I've realized I don't have a routine anymore, I figured that I'd just sketch and draw whenever I am able to no matter where I am. I drew this one today, 2 hours in the library, and another on the couch in my wife's apartment on campus lounging around with her and her housemates. Definitely feels like drawing in public too, and I am slowly getting used to the idea.
I am sorry I hadn't been able to visit all your sites looking at your drawings, I'll catch up I promise.
Thank you all again for dropping by and leaving comments. I really appreciate it a lot, and I'll try to draw more too. ^^

Lawrence & Pam (by Alex)

Lawrence is the Iceman, that's what everyone calls him here because if you need anything to do with ice, he's got the way to make them. He's also a good friend of my father-in-law, and he and I collaborated in an interesting project for my wedding reception, an entirely unique and personalized ice sculpture with the touch of asian and cajun cultures, my pencil, his ice, an interesting fusion. The result is as below:-It was fun designing it, and seeing it happening in 3D, and moreover, in ICE! It totally enhanced our wedding reception, made it even more unforgettable for us. A brief explanation on the design, The top block is lined with the Chinese character "Double Happiness" I arranged them in such a way that it would show more "t" and "A" because my name and Tanna's names' got a lot of A and t. The Fleur De Lis is of course Cajun's favorite symbol, and the bottom block was designed to show a solid foundation, with a lot of 45Degrees angle to reflect lights.

So here's my way of saying "Thank You!" to Mr. Lawrence and his wife Pam. I'll give it to him tomorrow morning, and hopefully he'll like it as much as I love his ice sculpture. Thanks again everyone for all your wishes, comments and feedback! I really appreciate them ^^

Strathmore Bristol Vellum 300 Series 9"x12", 100lb (260g/m²)

Coffee (by Alex)

First of all, I want to wish everyone a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I know it's late and all but things couldn't get any more hectic with wedding preparation and all the paperwork in the way. It's a major transition for me (and yes Raena, I am here ^^)
I've missed out all of your work, and I will soon have a lot of time to spare while waiting for the government to get things done before I could get employed. Hopefully during this time I'd be able to look through the 2 months of work that I've missed from you guys.

I drew this when I was in still in Germany, and it's the last drawing I did there and last year. I just didn't have anything to do while in the cramped hotel room, so I walked to the nearest McDonald's and ordered a major cup of coffee and started drawing in public for the 2nd time =)

Thank you so much everyone for all your comments for the cat I drew. I really miss you guys and I hope I am not forgotten.

Katze (by Alex)

(Click to enlarge)

This is my first drawing of a cat, and it too will be given away as part of the deal I've made. It can also be considered as my first sale perhaps, but I don't think of it that way. I was racing against time with this one(2-3hours), as I will have to settle a lot of things in this and perhaps next week as well, and I'll lose my internet connection in less than a week time so I might not be posting anytime soon.

I'd like to take some space here to thank everyone for your generosity, for visiting the site, for looking at my drawings, for leaving comments and for your precious time. Every little words every little gesture helps in keeping the motivation level up, and I am really glad that I've known so many wonderful souls from EDM. It has to be the best group I've joined EVER. ^^ With much respect, and much gratitude I bow down to everyone in the group. Thank you very much!

Knapsack Guys (by Alex)

(Click to zoom)
Graphite on 16.5" x 11.6" 190g/m² A3 paper

So here is the gift that I've been working on for the passed couple of weeks. It's a huge one and it is a gift for Sascha(the big guy in the front) and he's been one of the closest friends I have had in the whole 3 years I've been here in Germany. It's not the first drawing I did for him either, the first was a drawing of the cute version of Optimus Prime on the birthday card that I bought him. The names of the people from left to right starting from the bottom row are Frank, Alfred, Stefan, Sascha, Martin, Giacomo, Wolfgang, Thomas in his uniform, Marcus, Ralf, Bernd, and Heinz-Gerd.

He actually asked for this one... he said he wanted to have another drawing from me before I move away... he didn't specify anything, just something that's me. So I thought it'd be nice to draw faces of the boys I've been working happily with. I gave this to him this morning, I think he remained speechless for about a minute. So I asked him "were you expecting this?" and he was like "NEVER" and was smiling the whole time, like he won a trophy or something :) In my opinion, the best look ever, and that's also one of the reasons I love drawing in the first place, and that's the reason I gave all my drawings away prior to this year.

Thanks again for all your encouraging words and posts on my previous sketch. I am glad I could bring out the characteristics of Mandy Lane... it's a very twisted movie, but I love how the plot changed.

Plum Flower (by Alex)

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I wanted to do this in color initially, but I was afraid that I'd mess it up real bad so I thought I'd play it safe. In the end, it looks kind of messed up anyway -___- So maybe I'll try it again with colors some other time. I also notice that I am getting tired relatively easy these days, that's why I haven't been able to draw more than I used to. I am going to say it's due to weather change, and it is getting a lot colder these days.
The picture was taken by a good friend of mine Douglas, who is an awesome professional photographer. You could find a lot of great subjects for sketching and drawing here. Unfortunately his blog is in Chinese. But we all know that picture says a thousand words right? ;)
Thank you from the bottom of my heart everyone for your comments and your warm wishes in my previous post. I really appreciate them all ^^

Seeing Double (by Alex)

(Click to zoom)

(Rough sketch stage)

(Light shading and some highlight)

(Hair detailing and more shading)

If you notice that these two people are looking very similar, that's because they are actually one person :) just with different poses.
I always have problems drawing people that are dear to me because I am afraid that they won't like the result. I practiced with my niece and that now gave me a bit of confidence to draw the one I am marrying soon. She did mention that I never drew her, not because that I didn't want to, but it's because I didn't think I was good enough yet(I still don't feel that I am good enough actually). But a lot of things have been going on lately, and she's not in the best of her mood. So I took up the courage to give it a go and hope that it's able to life her spirit up a little and cheer her up a bit somehow.
Tanna, please be happy. I can't do much right now, but I hope I'm able to just put a smile on your face by drawing you. I love you ^^

Many thanks to everyone who commented on my earlier sketches of my niece. All your kind words made this possible.

KaQin in supermarket (by Alex)

(Click to zoom)

(Outline stage)

(Light shading and hair detailing stage)

(More shading and detailing...)
Moleskine Sketchbook (5"x8")

Another drawing of my baby niece. She's wearing the dress I bought her from Zara in Cologne, and I am pretty sure she will not fit in the dress in a year time. But that of course won't stop me from getting her more dresses in the future ^^ Since I am pampering her forever, I am only getting good designers' stuff, stuff I could only dream of having when I was little(not that I knew what they were or if I would appreciate them anyway).
I took a little longer this time because I wasn't feeling too well these few days, maybe sleep deprived, I am not sure. But I am adding more steps this time because I couldn't do as much at one go, and I needed to rest almost every half an hour. Getting old maybe? -_-;;
And as I told Dan and Raena earlier that I would do something with my kneadable eraser. I didn't put a lot of effort in this one, but here's a skull ^^

KaQin in a Car (by Alex)

(Click to Zoom)

(Outline stage)

(Light shading stage)

(Hair detailing stage)
Moleskine Sketchbook(5"x8")

Here's a drawing of my baby niece whom I absolutely adore. We are not that close because I am working in Germany, and she's in Malaysia, and I've only seen her twice in 2 years for no more than 4 weeks in total. She's 18 months old now, and growing up real fast. I am not sure when is the next time I'll be seeing her again, but I know that it won't be soon.
This is the first time I am drawing my family member, and I've got this pressure all the time telling me that I won't be able to do it well enough to their approval(and I still have that). But I really hope that they'll like it. And I'd like to tell everyone here that I love my family, I love my nephews and my niece, and I miss them a lot, and I am sorry that I've been away.

Show and Alien (by Alex)

(Click to zoom)

(Outline stage)

(Light shading stage)

That's all for this extremely hilarious Taiwanese show host duo. Thank you so much everyone who visited the site for you kind support and all your comments. I am so glad what I do here is being appreciated.
I will keep posting the steps, and this time it shows a lot of changes from one stage to another. The outline stage this round is more like japanese manga style I think ^^ And then the light shading stage was weird looking this time(usually I like this stage the most as things start to come alive). Iit's been great fun drawing these two celebrities, especially with the hair. Thank you Show Lo and Alien Huang, you two are great entertainers!

Alien Huang (by Alex)

(click to enlarge)

(outline sketch stage)

(highlights & light shading stage)

Yes, no kidding! His showbiz name is Alien Huang, and he's another famous Taiwanese singer, actor, and host. He also owns A.E.S(Alien Evolution Studio) clothing line in Taiwan. I watch the variety show (Entertainment 100%) a lot, which he co-hosts with Show Lo, so I was thinking that it would be nice to do a couple of FanArts of them by sketching them.

Thank you all for your comments, your encouragement, and your motivation. And I am glad that some steps shown in the course of sketching are being appreciated, so I will keep doing it and hopefully it'll be somewhat helpful to those who wish to do portrait sketching. Not that I am a pro or that I've attended any art school or classes(I really should take one someday), so I really don't know what's the right way or the wrong way, I just do it base on how I feel and whichever way that makes sense to me. I'd be grateful if you could give me some pointers if you see what I did wrong because I'd love to improve myself too ^^

Show Lo (by Alex)

(click to enlarge)

(rough sketch stage)

Hands got a little stiff not sketching after more than a month. I just finished watching a Taiwanese drama series called "Hot Shot" and it's about basketball, and one of the main characters in the series is played by the all hilarious and talented host, singer, fantastic dancer, and clothing line owner(Brand: STAGE), SHOW LO. He's about my age but the level of success if obviously incomparable ^^

This is considered my "exercise" sketch, and you could see a lot of "laziness" in it, but I'll start working on something else soon. Thanks again for all you warm wishes and for liking my wedding invitation card design. I was having a lot of doubts, whether it'd be too chinese, whether it's not special enough etc. But I am so glad everyone of you approved :)

Gilwi the Horse (by Alex)

(click and it magically becomes bigger ^^)

Just a quick post of Gilwi(I hope I spelled the name correctly), a cute horse of Sylvia, a wonderful co-worker of mine in Germany. She loves her horse a lot, and I was still thinking about drawing something with beautiful hair and she burned be a CD with pictures of her beautiful horse.
:) I got those picture 3 months before, and I just hadn't got time for it, with all the traveling and other sketches that I had to do first. So I am sorry Sylvia for taking this so long, Tanna loves this one too by the way as she loves horses.
I finally got to Louisiana, after getting stranded in Memphis for a night because of the tornado. I'm still trying to fix the broken clock in my body, and I need to fix by tomorrow because I'll need to get busy starting tomorrow for the whole week. I am hoping that I'll get more clues on how to proceed next with my life after the meeting with my lawyer on Tuesday in New Orleans. I've never been there and frankly I am looking forward to this day-trip. Wish me luck guys because I'll need a lot of it.

Thank you all again and again for all your comments on my drawing of YUI. I really had fun doing that, and I didn't think it looked like her but apparently everyone's been telling me otherwise. I probably need to fix my eyes too XD Happy drawing everyone!

YUI (by Alex)

(Click to zoom in)

-Outline stage-

-Light shading stage-

-Hair detailing stage-

Yui, a 22 year old singer-songwriter, actress from Fukuoka, Japan. She has 3 albums, 1 compilation album, and 14 singles released to date. This is drawn from her compilation album cover called "My Short Stories"

This is just another attempt of a celebrity sketch, so Yui fans please don't get angry if you think it doesn't look at all like her, because I know it doesn't :) But I am showing the stages again, showing how it was done, I hope you like that.

Thanks again for all the comments left on my previous drawing. I really do appreciate every word there, and that gives me a lot of motivation to work on the next piece everytime. Happy drawing everyone! ^^

:DDD (by Alex)

(Click to zoom in)

-Outline stage-

-Shading Stage-

Yeah, you might find the title weird, but the DDD stands for Dr. Dany's Daughter ^^ Dr. Dany is my boss, or was... but he's a great guy and by far the best boss I've ever had. He's got a couple of beautiful kids, and he's got pictures of them all over his office, so I thought I'd want to draw the youngest one because I like kids too. She might not look the same as she looked in the picture, still I hope he likes it.

I am doing another step by step, so that people could see how I worked my way through, and perhaps give me some pointers too.

Thank you all again and again for all your comments on my previous posts. You all are great! :)

Ruling the dance floor (by Alex)

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I just thought I'd like to capture a little glimpse of MJ's moves on my sketch book, and how people would remember him. He has a lot of signature moves of course, and this is one of it :)

Thanks for all your comments on my previous post, I appreciate them so much. I am sorry to say that I won't be posting the wedding invitation card design yet, until it is printed, because I'd want to make a comparison ^^ Thanks for your patience though, and for having so much interest in that as well. Happy sketching everyone!

Rejected Wedding Invitation Card Ideas #1.5 (by Alex)

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This is pretty much what I did, and I ended up having what's on the right of the page as part of the card design at the back. I am glad I didn't have to go through so many rounds of it because I still had to work on the layout and all the stuff which I spent most of my time doing and fiddling with.
I'd say the card design is completed, but I won't post it up yet, not at least until it's actually printed out, and then we could perhaps compare the printed version with the one on computer. In the meantime I'll try to get back to the usual sketches and drawings.

Thank you all so much for your comments, ideas, and wishes earlier, I appreciate them so much, and I am glad I made some of you happy because of the cuteness of it. ^^

Rejected Wedding Invitation Card Ideas #1 (by Alex)

(click to enlarge)

As I told a few people that I'd be busy designing my own Wedding Invitation card for these couple of weeks, and that I'd also try to post something each week at least.. so here it is ^^

I am still working on the card, and I am planning to create several layouts so that we could see which is better and pick the right one. I'm still very new with the Open Source software "Inkscape" which I am using. It's not as powerful as Adobe Illustrator, but hey...it's free and it gets the job done :) So it might take another week or two, but I hope you'll have patience. I promise that once it is final and when the printing done, I'll post it up and share with everybody here. And in the meantime I'll just post things that I won't be using on the card. I am not using this because it's too cartoony.

Thank you so much for your comments and encouraging words in my previous post. James and Carine really like it, and they said they'll slot it into their wedding dinner presentation, so it will be in a big screen and my parents will be there too :) I am really happy that even I can't make it there, some part of me is still going to be present. Thanks James and Carine, and may you both silly bunnies live happily ever after just like in the fairy tales.

Rachel Weisz (by Alex)

My 3rd celebrity sketch ^^ I've always liked Rachel Weisz because of her roles in a lot of films, and of course the comical role in The Mummy is probably which people remember the most. This picture is taken from the movie "Definitely, Maybe" and I thought her hair is gorgeous.
I've spent more than 3 hours just detailing the hair, which is the biggest part of the sketch I think. An hour before that for the outlines and rough details, and another hour in the end finalizing, and adding my silly touches as always. I had a lot of fun despite the time-consuming processes.
Tools used, 0.5mm and 0.7mm HB mechanical pencils, 2H and 4H wood cased pencils, and 6B pure graphite pencil, and of erasers of course! ^^
Thank you so much for all the compliments on the Panda. I'm so glad you like it, and I hope you like this one too. I'm showing the steps again.