Kapow!

2010-10-15T18:54:00.001-07:00

I guess it's been awhile since my last post. :P The cliff notes version: got into the UCLA Animation program, churned out three films, currently on the job hunt. Saw Jackass 3-D today (instead of the owl movie - oh, animation guilt- )? lol I was happy to see Steve-O and Chris Pontius; I didn't really get to watch Jackass in my college years, but I did like Wild Boyz quite a bit. I've been a fan of the 3 stooges since I was a wee impressionable kid, so the humor from these guys kind of run in that slapstick vein. I think one can pick up on that comedic timing from watching these gags. I saw a couple trailers for western/steampunk/ninja movies. Mmmm who knows if they'll be any good, but I wouldn't mind westerns coming back as the next awesome thing. It beats sparkling teenage vampires that's for sure. Currently at the workshop (its gravitational pull is strong) helping Sijia wrap up her thesis film. I have a few minor things to adjust with my Groening film as well. Screening is Oct. 22nd!! Mark your calenders. 7 pm. Bridges.

Gorillaz what?

2007-07-25T19:57:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine gave me an itunes giftcard- finally I can get all the music I've been meaning to. :D One such song is Feel Good by Gorillaz.. and yeah I just had to draw myself Gorillaz style. Not too hard since I mostly based her off of Noodle. And I had to draw Chris too grahahaha.

*edit* Since I totally broke facebook, I had to take a ss of a graffiti I did on Dave's wall.

Bang! Pow! Biff! Zap?

2007-03-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Mmkay so, I'm applying to UCLA's MFA in Animation program. Yeah, a bit out of left field, but we'll see. With that I'll probably try to strap myself down with a 9-5 desk job and put everything I earn towards the 'pay off student loans' fund. Money shmoney.. :P

Found a neat little sportsbar (Yankee Doodle in Santa Monica) the other day with Stef while we moped about our quarter-life catastrophies. I noticed a dress code sign but barely read a sentence before two over exhuberant waitresses declared 'Come on in, ladies!! It's much warmer in here than it is out there!' and hustled us inside. I approve of their pasta, and the margaritas were nice- though Stef and I felt rather ragamuffiny in our hoodies and jeans.

Back to the grind.

There's always tomorrow..

2007-02-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

Mr. Personality

2007-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hmm, have a demon long range attack dude from that angel modeling project I mentioned a few entries back. This is actually a slightly revised concept sketch. They wanted him slightly leaner, hairier and with singed hair? The massive butcher knife on a stick was replaced with a throwing spear ("GIT OVER HERE D:"). Now to draw out the 'foot bow' alternate weapon.. Sadly when I googled 'foot bow' it came up with a bunch of chinese furniture. :(

Shoveling Snow...

2007-02-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

Or go to the beach here in SoCal while the rest of the country freezes.. Angelinos sure have it tough don't they?
I did this piece for Alice's Holiday sale at the Long Beach Aquarium, but apparently everyone was extremely stingy this past holiday season so nothing sold. They even managed to resist the charm of the coffee fox (see below) which was my #1 sold out item at my convention. Afterwards I told Alice she should've charged per laugh, as my various pieces seemed to get a good chuckle from a lot of folks. Anywho, watercolor and some pencil titled 'Snow Crab Delight'.

News news news.. Remember the Urban Bird Celebration? They're featuring my art up at their site, Westside represent! XP Kind've interesting how all the artists save myself (and the artist they chose) all hail from New York.

Still plodding along on my convention leftovers. There's something about my house that just makes me feel extremely lethargic. I've had people who come over feel the same.. I get the feeling the house was built over a gas leak or something.

Oh, and of course: Since UCSC's IT Dept is finally getting their act together, they sent me an account termination notice for my UCSC email account. No love for alumni... if I ever become rich they ain't getting a donation from me. I've ported everything over to my new digs, corvidblue.com which ironically expires in 2 weeks. =| I'd like to give the site a good and thorough overhaul in the near future, but for now there you go. :) Now what to do with my couple hundred odd useless businesscards.. I did note at the time I was going to reprint them in color. >_> *folds mini-airplanes*

Ringin' in the New Year

2007-01-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

My New Year's was sadly spent shoveling kitty litter, picking up dog poop, then eating a pint of ice cream by myself in some strange house in San Diego. Yes, I washed my hands before eating said ice cream. :P HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Let's see.. news since then:

-Unfortunately, though I was one of the top four choices for the Urban Bird Celebration Cornell artist call, my phone interview wasn't charismatic enough for their liking, and I was passed over for a school teacher muralist hailing from Brooklyn. =| I'm sure that particular applicant sounded much more interesting than some bum hailing from the suburban (not even ghetto) part of West Los Angeles. Oh well, it was still a learning experience and I'm happy to have partaken.

-Failed at acquiring a Wii. The supplier fell through! However, a PS2 was the booby prize, soon to be joined by a consolatory DS Lite. Artists need game time too.. don't you know games help fine tune hand motor coordination? XP They also make mothers mad and shake their fists at you, while repeatedly reminding you that when she was your age, she was already married and trudging through the snow somewhere in Japan with your brother bundled up on her back.

-Survived another convention of sorts. I have a queue of about 28+ requests to go through now. =|

Enough blabbing, have some art.

- Sold at the show: I couldn't come up with a more appropriate name than 'Peee-yew!'. Cause you know.. 'I Hated This Drawing For 3 Days' and 'My Grasp of Color Theory Needs CPR' didn't sound quite right. I think 'Artist Not Happy With Composition' can still be appropriate though. :) But I do like his happy skunky face. Anyone wanna guess what species of skunk it is? And if you don't get the tomato reference I'll be happy to explain so you guys don't think I'm some sick weirdo. :P I was a bit worried that it'd look like he was bathing in blood, but cadmium red makes a nice spaghetti stain color. Mostly gouache and some inks. I'm still serious about the color theory comment though, if anyone knows of a L.A. local area that offers a brief (and useful) class on it, please let me know.

I feel like my greater weaknesses in my artwork are in order: a) color theory b) anatomy c) perspective. These things will improve with time. Will update with some more arts later. :O A more in depth model sheet of the female angel from an earlier blog, a couple more convention pieces, etc. Till then...

What time is it?!

"My hat... is AWESOME!!"

So You Wanna be a Rock Pigeon Star?!

2006-12-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

My frankenstein creation from acrylics, inks, gouache, then Illustrator/Photoshop. It's a bit different from my original concept idea but I was pressed for time.

And lo, I present Pidge, King of crumbs, drive by pooping, and all that is Fat & Sassy. For Cornell's Urban Bird Celebration artist call. They were looking for accurate bird illustration, but with a cultural and spicy flare? I was seriously going to draw a pigeon in a sombrero but didn't think that'd fly well. But rock posters.. we see those everywhere. The pun was really not intended. Don't hurt me.

There's also a huge error with this, and I'm embarassed to have noticed post sending in the application.. A tuppans to those who can point out this terrible tragedy.

Angels and Inner Demons

2006-11-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

A pal of mine thought Mr. 20044 was the codename for some hot guy in my life. Sorry to disappoint, but it's just the col-erase number code for a particular shade of blue pencil I favor. Now you've got me disappointed.. I kid, I kid. Ah Mr. Blue Pencil, I'll never abandon you.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now the holiday shopping fervor is upon us. With that in mind, what would make a better gift than custom artwork from yours truly? Well, a wii or gargantuan plasma tv would be better gifts... but I digress. Inquire within if I've captured your interest. :) Dave, these angels are for you buddy. Let me know if they're the sort've thing you're looking for, and I'll ink up something more suitable as models.

Whoa Doggy

2006-11-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't uploaded in a month! Shame on me. But more so on you for not complaining.

*crickets chirp*

Life has been fantabular. The lovely day to day goings-ons at the Lai household has only confirmed my beliefs in moving out asap. Or getting my brother committed. I'm leaning towards the latter. Oh yes, you're here for the art:

Starbucks is far far away my poor fellow. Not to mention said coffee would become iced by the time she got back. There're a few things I would've adjusted with this pic (particularly the space in the word bubble), but I rather liked it. I hope he found a home at Alice's Long Beach Aquarium Holiday sale (to which I've heard no news of- how dare you keep us in suspense!).

Pre-Thanksgiving is this Saturday! Turrrkeeeeey-

My Little Retro Pony

2006-10-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

80's sundry, equines, gadzooks! I painted this one about a year ago.

Left to Right:
Captain, onager (a type of Asiatic ass)
Koosh, burro
Orange Blossum, Przewalski's horse
Barcode, generic Plains zebra (the barcode was invented some time in the late 70's, but became widely used in the 80's.. fancy that :O)
BetaMax, quagga

Gouache and color pencil, my first go with this kind of mixed media.. took a bit longer than I would've liked, but for retro ponies I'll spare all the time in the world.

Palo Alto hijinx. :)

2006-10-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

Beth insisted that the photo I took of us be blogger material, and with such a pretty picture I couldn't disagree.

That's Beth's driveway. I'm holding a tub full of pretzal crisps. Mmm. Pretzals.. Hope you're having a good time at the lake, Beth. :) For those just tuning in, Beth was my Science illustration table buddy back in good ol' Santa Cruz. She's quite the botanist.

Flailings

2006-10-04T00:27:00.000-07:00

This'll be my last digital sketch post for awhile, need to post real medium stuff that I have actual control over. ;P
Ah, let the world know of my love for garden tools.. especially pointy Japanese sickle ones.

Run, Cactaur, run!

2006-09-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

He realized he left the stove on. SAVE THAT QUICHE, CACTAUR!!

I've had a biased intolerance towards computer coloring, but reckon as people have abandoned betamaxes for VHS, and laserdiscs for dvds, so must I move on with the winds of change...

*whooosh*

Mr. Jackalope & Commissions

2006-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still bitter about the aforementioned incident, but the world moves on! So, have a spiffy jackalope. My brother needed a concept sketch of one for his nerd club.
Wups, better go put that quiche out!
------------

I also wanted to note I've opened up a few slots in my commission book. $25 +$1 shipping/handling for pencil sketches, though I'm open to inks and watercolor (email for ze quote). 4 slots left! Come git 'em while they're still hot. Leave a post here, or email mjlai at ucsc.edu. I admit, I'm trying to avoid getting a job at Starbucks. Let me help you help me from becoming a corporate caffeine slanging zombie.

MJ out.

I'm an asshole

2006-09-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

I get the feeling if I was a snail, I'd probably be a bastard like that too.

Don't Shoot!

2006-09-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

This one is *almost* as awesome as the last. It comes pretty close.
I miss the classics. Thanks Kathy!

Sonofagun

2006-08-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

This is the most awesome image ever.

Let's dance like nobody's praising us.

2006-08-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Let's dance like nobody's praising us
Let's sing like nobody's listening
Let's work like we don't need the money
Let's live today like our last
Let's love like we've never been hurt

Dig those threads

2006-08-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Too bad it's never cold enough in L.A. for me to wear these clothes comfortably. >:(
Scribbly scribble thing.

Say Howdy

2006-08-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Remember those days?

Buckbeak ain't got nuthin' on me

2006-08-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

You'd be in a hurry too if your house was on fire. Gave him secretary bird influences, emu feet, and standard horsey rear.

Disco Donald commands you.

2006-08-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

*edit* And the world needs more hot guys in bomber jackets. Laffles my waffles. (Yes, for you Stef. :P See, the goggles and jacket are an improvement) And no, those aren't swim goggles. :(

Worst Jobs

2006-08-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

For some reason I got the idea for this while I was perusing Calvin & Hobbes during my ridiculous 3 hour wait at the doctor's.. though I have to admit this would probably be one of the top worst jobs (ever watch that show? Ho boy.)

This might be a good sketch to make into a nice polished piece some day..

Sketch dump

2006-08-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

My brother replenished some of my art supplies for my b-day, and for whatever unfathomable reason I haven't been able to stop sketching since. As most art types know, sketching is an essential exercise that should be done at least once a day, if not more often.. it's an exercise I've repressed somewhat for the past few years.

I've definitely missed it. The steam punk welder to the right is the first I drew in one of the sketchbooks my brother gave me. I have a thing for googles and accesories. :P The left is pretty self-explanatory. In retrospect I should've made the belts much wider. Ah well, I'll save that for a re-hash.

Emo sheep: A church friend has a project in the works, and while we haven't done much brainstorming asides from a few oneway emails, I've been playing around with some potential character designs. And that's all. :O I'll post the million Donald heads I've been doodling later.

Don't ask.

Let the madness begin. :)

2006-07-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

If at any point spontaneous combustion occurs, do not panic. Calmly take out marshmallows and graham crackers. If chocolate is unavailable, run screaming for the hills.