Geek Love

Sketch inspired by geek love

One Piece: Drip

Drip (aka Fake Sanji)

Drip's failed attempt to copying Sanji's Diable Jambe style. Well at least he tried.

Check out the #OnePieceCollab list by @Virrul here:  LINK

One Piece: Portgas D. Ace

Portgas D. Ace One Piece

Since I was a kid, I have been watching One Piece. It has been an amazing journey watching Luffy and his pirate crew undergo series of dangerous and hilarious adventures. Lately, I had the opportunity to participate in @Virrul's #OnePieceCollab on Twitter. Ace (kid) and Drip are the characters I'm in charge of illustrating. Now that I have finished Ace, look forward to seeing Drip (fake Sanji) soon! 

Spirited Away: Haku

Haru "Spirited Away"

Woot! Completed my first collab ever! Here's Haru from Spirited Away for #MiyazakiCollab on Twitter. Be sure to check it out here: LINK

Looking Back

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. Now it's time to get back to work!

Back in October, while I was hanging out with two Sheridan classmates, we decided to establish a group called Creative Weekly. I introduced an art challenge where we had to submit artwork every Wednesday (by 8pm) and give each other critiques. I'm proud to say that we have all finished our first Creative Weekly Art Challenge and managed to hand things on time from October to December 2013!

  

At the end of the challenge, I suggested that we write a reflection based on the accumulative artwork. So here is what I wrote:

"This art challenge has helped me learn a lot of things. Not only was it motivating to get critiques and feedback from my peers, but I also looked forward to what they have created. Together, we have inspired and pushed each other, and I would love to continue making art with them by my side. 

At the beginning of October, I was lost. I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do. I kept applying to Graphic Design jobs because I thought that was the only thing that was available. But then I realized as I looked at my portfolio, as a whole, I showed no signs of wanting to do Graphic Design at all. It's just not my calling. The first few projects I did were a bunch of narratives, just to loosen me up. I love making comics and at the time, I was very interested in making a zine!

November was full of trial and errors, and a lot of soul searching! I started joining a lot of social medias such as: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in order to promote myself. I also created a binder, back in September, called "The Book of Answers" to help me organize myself and my growing art career. The binder consists of a lot of my research such as: my job hunts, business notes, art projects, art show, social media and more. Based on the collection of my November artwork, it was full of digital experimentation and I felt I was getting somewhere.

December was when I started to fully grasp of what I wanted to do with my art. I'm very interested in narrative and creating concept art for games and/or comics. You can notice that the pieces I have submitted weekly has started to become more defined and consistent. My anatomy has also improved. My goals for the next art challenge are: to pump out as many pieces as I can, learn how to draw/paint faster, apply to online concept art schools and seriously improve by the end of the year."

So there you have it! If you are an artist who is having difficulty finding time to create artwork, I would definitely recommend to try doing this Creative Weekly Art Challenge with me!  Set yourself deadlines and goals. Write down what you want to accomplish the next day and act upon it. Once you check off all the things you managed to do, you'll realize how satisfying it is to get the job done.
 
Be ambitious and keep creating.

The Beast Within

(click to enlarge)

Here's another custom Magic token card that I have been 

commissioned to do before the end of 2013! 

Process Work: Green Elf

 

Here's a preview of what goes on behind the scenes. My process work is very simple. It just takes three basic stages!

STAGE 1: Thumbnails

For this particular commission, I had to draw an elf which resembled the client's friend. The necessary details that I had to add within the piece were the squirrel coat of arms and the two swords. I really enjoy this stage of the process because it allows me to draw loosely and freely. I don't have to worry about the details. I just have to make sure that the thumbnails portray what the client may want and that they were understandable. Drawing thumbnails are great composition studies. I always make sure that there is clear directional movement in the composition. You can also use this stage to determine your lighting and shading.

STAGE 2: Line work

Since the client chose the first thumbnail I drew, now it's time for the line work stage! Usually this stage takes some time because now I do have to worry about the details. Right from the beginning, I knew that I didn't want the elf to be wearing some skimpy armor. I wanted her to look appropriate in her battle gear, something that would obviously protect her body. After a lot of googling and looking at art book references, I drew the battle armor you see before you.

STAGE 3: Colour

Finally, the colouring stage. Sometimes I dread this part of the process because it can be a little tricky. However luckily, I already had an idea of what kind of colours I was going to use for this piece. I knew her armor would be green because as an elf she would want to blend with her surroundings. Since the client's friend likes red, I have included hints of that colour on the sword and jewelry.

So there you have it. Pretty basic stuff!

If you wish to request a commission feel free to email me at info@heatheragoncillo.com

Thanks!

Spark of Magic

(click to enlarge)

Although DarkEyv is my D&D character, for almost a year now, I'm still learning the type of character she is. The more I draw her and the more I use her during the D&D sessions, I feel I'm slowly completing the puzzle. Who is she?

DarkEyv's story begins as a level 1 Arcane Magician traveling towards a village called Fallcrest. Her quest in life is to seek out and defeat the evil magician, Kthulhu, who stole her heart and took her memories of arcane knowledge with it. In order to get back what she lost, she aims to study the ways of arcane magic again and confront Kthulhu for his crimes.

I plan to illustrate a comic based on her past soon. So keep watching for more updates. 

Electro Addict

"Electro Addict"

This piece was inspired by dubstep & techno songs that I have been listening 

to in my ipod. I submitted this piece for Collective Arts Brewing's Label Series Two. 

Click link to find out more about it: Collective Arts Brewing

Adventure Time Competition

Remember that Adventure Time fan art I made a couple of months ago? Well, I decided to put it to good use and submit it to this Tee Design Contest. You could help me win by voting! Here's the link to rate my design: RATE HERE!

I'd really appreciate the support!