finished

ok, so it took one day longer. and even at that, i feel like commending myself cuz i almost didn't want to finish it today seein as how we got The Dark Knight on Blu-ray this afternoon. very tough not to watch it. it looks fantasmagoria! which is a word i never use so that says something.
at any rate, it took some finagling with the dragons and stuff in the back but seein as how its not the most important part, i just went with it.
u may be asking urself "peng, what do dragons have to do with this mini-pinscher?" its cuz my bro-in-law likes all that typical asian-y stuff like dragons and kung-fu movies and chinese/japanese characters. his dog's name is Jade. and even though that is spelled with the first initials of his full name, i think it's also cuz of that asian-thing. HENCE, the dragon. (and the only reason why i didn't make it green cuz it's like "duh peng, jade = green" is cuz he likes the Rams football team and they're navy blue and gold.)
BUT WHO CARES! i'm just babbling now. just enjoy! ^___^

what's new!

well, here's what i've been working on lately. i'm getting these doggy portraits underway and am finally starting to feel a little more confident that i can, at the very least, do a decent job on these. i always feel like there's always so much more to learn so i gotta keep doin them. problem is, one of these takes 3 hours straight and at the end of one, my head is givin me a mental punch in the face so i end up only doing one in a day.
i pretty much draw over the picture on a different layer to get the important lines of the dog, then i start filling in the figure using a chalk brush set at 100% opacity and a very low flow. after the main colors are on, i use the same brush but take the opacity down really low like about 20% and the flow even lower to like 9% and brush in dark spots as well as light spots alternating from multiply to screen. eventually, after 3 hours of darkening things in and pulling lights out, i end up with the finished product! the schnauzer is my first trial of my friend's in-law's dog. the bulldog is my sister's which i did to turn into a christmas present for her. lucky for me, nobody in my family cares about my blog to look here so no surprises will be spoiled. (sniffle)
this picture below is what i'm currently working on now for my sister's husband. doing the same thing for him that i've done for my sister since they each have a dog. that way everyone's happy. balance!! yay!!
hopefully, i'll finish this one up by tomorrow so i can get the present done in time for christmas. i'm always so late with these things. but seeing as how it's past midnight and i gotta go to work tomorrow, i should go to bed. if u want one done of ur dog, contact me!

coldest winter...

...not really actually. i just happen to be listening to that track on Kanye's new cd. didn't have anything interesting to title the blog. creativity just isn't flowing lately. maybe it's the cold. maybe it's all the hours i put into working at the kennel. maybe it's even not hangin out with other ID members lately. (we're on vacation from each other till next year.)
but really, this once-a-month-blog-posting is unacceptable! i gotta post something dangit. so, in the spirit of posting something, here are a few pieces i've completed during the time i haven't posted. doesn't look like much when it's all collected like this, but i swear it does take time! =P
enjoy!