Weekly Sketch #13: Sherlock Holmes

Not a true Sherlock Holmes piece, this is one of th screens from the movie, starring Robert Downey as Sherlock holmes, which by the way comes out today. I'm not a fan of either; this is just for fun.

Still working on the three works in progress. I'm getting critiques for Machhiwara, detailing Hari Singh Nalwa and settled on a turban for Akali Phula Singh. They are going to be awesome!! Time to get back to work!

Weekly Sketch #12: Wolverine

I'm done with exams, done with school for now... and winter break has begun, what does an artist do at this point? He does what he loves!

I am just getting down to business, drawing and painting! I have started working on my Works in Progress again, shuffling between three at the moment. The other ones I have put aside for later. I mentioned I was redoing the layout or redoing a certain, significant portion of it... that's why.

The sakhi of Guru Gobind Singh ji in Machhiwara has always touched me, and I am sure it has a place in the hearts of many other people. Although I was not particularly fond of my speedpainting of it, several close friends and family encouraged me to work on it, and so I did. It turns out that its almost complete. I am looking forward to sharing that with everyone soon. However, I won't be posting any updates of it instead I will continue with my weekly sketches.

Also, my Hari Singh Nalwa speedpainting has been getting quite a lot of attention. This was another piece that lacked that "bang" for me. Nalwa was a true Sardar, he had high moral character, and a commanding presence. He was a powerhouse, which is why he was given the title Nalwa. So while I was busy figuring out what I could do to create that impression. A buddy of mine from DeviantArt, Cap-art, almost in a casual manner, solved my problem. He's a great artist, with a special talent for speedpaintings in particular. He quite willingly painted over my picture and showed me how I could improve it. I feel quite grateful to him for his enthusiasm and help and also, because now Hari Singh Nalwa is starting to reach its full potential. One can see the sardar in a powerful, majestic posture with a hardened face of a warrior but with the calmness of an elite, with his hand resting on a long sabre, and his face lit with a soft candle light. It is looking finished now even though a lot of detailed work must still be done. Again, I won't be posting any updates for this painting because it looks quite finished already, and the final won't make as big an impact.
Those were two success stories; two paintings that worked out quite nicely. However, the third painting I am working on, I am having some trouble with. Akali Phula Singh's turban has been a handful. I have tried different Dastar Boonga styles but currently none of them seem work. I haven't been able to identify what's bugging me. Maybe I should just stick to what I have and refine it... I don't know, perhaps something will work out as I work on it.

Anyways, a very Merry Christmas to all. Celebrate it as you would do anything else.
Hmm other notes... I should be available now to answer any inquiries about my paintings. Use the FAQs page on my website to ask any questions. Also, you can either subscribe to my blog or my website to keep up with releases. The news updates on my website will then be emailed to you. Often my releases are in the middle of nowhere, disconnected from any gurpurbs or other events, so it's a good idea to sign up.

Old Sikh Warriors - Two New Art Pieces

Hey guys, it's me - the science guy - who loves to paint! It's been heck of a month so far! So many tests and assignments - all at once... but this month's not over yet. The rest of the month, year even, will be just as busy so I'll still be absent from the blog for a while.
Many of you have probably seen my newly released painting, Akali Nihang General. I released it a while back but did not have any time to blog about it. I could either spend time painting or blogging, and I chose to paint. Not a bad idea considering I recently put together some concept art for a future piece, Hari Singh Nalwa. ;) The finalized painting will probably be a chaotic battle scene like Battle of Chamkaur! I have got some ideas for it but like always... "we'll see how it goes".
Anyway, It's on my website now, so be sure to check it out! And check out Akali Nihang General if you haven't done so.
Hmm... what else? Oh, yes the Diwali Sale went well! Not sure if I will have something like that again any time soon, though.
There was a poll up on my Works in Progress page. Many people have voted, and your votes have helped me take another look at my paintings. Mai Bhago one is doing just horrible at the moment. I will probably be scrapping that one and replacing it with a another composition. Udasis of Guru Nanak is on par with Banda Singh Bahadur at 25%, so that tells me that I must improve their compositions. I had already started doing that actually ;), they hadn't been updated as my skills became better. They are like windows to my past! ;)
The winner is Akali Phula Singh, and I have planned to release it next summer! Some of you are wondering, next summer??? DUDE, what about this Christmas?! ... hehe, I have another painting that's ahead of Akali Phula Singh, both in history and in completion...

I put up the poll because I didn't know which ones to work on, and spend more time on, and I have gotten my results, thanks to you guys!

Weekly Sketch #11: Dinosaurs and Sikh Toons

What do Dinosaurs and Sikhs have in common?
Think about it... I'll give my answer later in the post.

University started a while ago, it's crazier than it has even been. But not the homework... not yet ... it's some of the other little projects, I am working on. Trying to shuffle between them and the school work is a daily chore. Not only that but I'm releasing yet another painting. Right now, I'm getting critiques, adding finishing touches and so on. It'll be a while before, I can put it up.

In the midst of all that, I do my usual "city-reading", whenever I would walk to Union Station from the core of downtown. City-reading is when you walk around the city by yourself, observe people and buildings... maybe even youself in the mirrors haha... observe the textures - of the roads, cracks, bricks..., the atmosphere, the breeze, the humidity, the temperature, the sky - if it's not too bright... the clouds, the reflections on the buildings, the smoke... and just take every sensation in. It's strange but entertaning when you have no company. It seems like a lot but it calms you down. Well, that's how it works for me. As an artist and even as a scientist, one must learn to observe, one must learn to look at things from a new angle, and one must keep an open mind.

Anyways, back to that question I asked at the beginning of the post. What do Sikhs and Dinosaurs have in common?
Well, ignoring the common ancestry and the similar molecular structures of the subjects, both have been the giants of my world - they have been of great interest to me. I used to go to the library and would pick up books just to look at paintings of the dinosaurs. I wondered how we had come to know such things, how did such big "lizards" came about... it went as far as wanting to be a paleontologist, at one point... My interest in Sikhism came 3 years later...

Sikhi Art: Diwali Sale

Happy Diwali people! I know it's a bit early but I am having a Diwali Sale (20% OFF), so I thought I'd let everyone know. The sale includes Paper Prints (no posters) and Canvases. The prints currently available for sale include Battle of Chamkaur - Sahibzada Ajit Singh, Baba Deep Singh and Mata Bhag Kaur.

The sale ends on October 17. For any questions, you can comment here or use the website's (confidential) comment system to contact me. I'll make myself more available until the sale ends. i know I have been slow in replying to comments on this blog, and that's because I wouldn't know when someone commented. Now finally, blogger has done something about it, they have enabled notifications. This should make replies come much faster.


I know I haven't uploaded any weekly sketches lately, but I will be doing that soon, sketches from this week and from previous weeks. So keep an eye out this week...it's gona be a big one.
I have also been looking into T-shirt designs among various other things. One such design is available here. Check it out, buy the T-Shirt if you wish. It's going to be available for $25, at the moment. And please, make sure to leave feedback.

Weekly Sketch #10: Green-Eyes Nihang Singh

It's that time again, summer break is about to come to an end. It's time to head back to university for another exciting but hectic year. When you really think about it, it creates a blend of feelings inside. You're nervous to enter the uni again but excited about doing so; happy to get back to science yet sad because you've got to leave most of your art behind... and there are other feelings, which beyond my vocabulary. No, really, my vocabulary is THAT small.
The summer was awesome though, I painted almost everyday! I didn't go out as much because I was really into it. The result of which is three finalized Sikh history paintings (BOC and
other two will be released soon), more progress in other projects, and a ton of acquired skill and experience!
For this week's sketch I again went back to Charles Meacham's photos. As a result of my previous sketches of his work, he contacted me and we met up over MSN. Check out his blog, he explains it well.

Weekly Sketch #9: Mutants

Wow, I didn't realize that I hadn't updated in a long time. I was caught up in other work-related things, and when I did get a chance to blog, I became too lazy to do so. Yesterday, someone remided me of my duties so I just had to do it!

I've also been updating things on my website, adding info pages and stuff. I am also looking into giving it a new appearance. Maybe that should come with a new release (which I was hoping to finish a week ago but oher things sprang up).

Ok, I have also activated to allow for anonymous comments, so if you wanted to comment but you couldn't... well, now you can.

Weekly Sketch #8: Young Sarbloh

Been busy the past few days with other projects. I spent most of today working on one of my Sikh history paintings. The plan is to finish it by the end of next week but we'll see how it goes.

This week's sketch is Young Sarbloh in the Anti-Sikh Riots. It's actually last week's sketch but I got lazy and busy... ??? ... busy lazying... haha, and so never posted it.
It's just a quick speed painting of young Sarbloh. I was doing a face study while learning Painter, when I got the idea. I know I kinda rushed the background but...meh... my focus was the emotion anyway. haha

The 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms were triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The assassination itself was in retaliation for Operation Bluestar, in which the Indian Army attacked Sikh militants hiding in the Harmandir Sahib, the holiest Sikh shrine. Over the next four days, as many as 3100 Sikhs were killed in retaliatory attacks. The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi.
from wikipedia, July 23,2009

His whole family gets killed in the riots. When Sarbloh finds out, he gets pissed, and goes on a bloody rampage...

At the time, he couldn't "turn into metal" but he could still gain the offensive capabilties, which he wouldn't normally get without his dense protein exoskeleton( AKA metal skin).
He does however, get this reddish colour and glow in his eyes (which is why everything around him is red). This partially obstructs his vision, making everything look greyish, reddish and blurry.

Other Sarbloh concepts:
http://prince911.deviantart.com/art/Sarbloh-Wallpaper-81988078
http://prince911.deviantart.com/art/Sarbloh-77927150

This is Khalsa! BoC - Sahibzada Ajit Singh

This is blasphemy, this is madness!
Madness? This is KHALSA!

So I finished BoC, the day before yesterday. I got a few suggestions since then so I might work on it a bit more but then again I might not. I have been working on the critiques for 3 weeks so I am a bit burnt out by it, and besides there are always things you can improve. Especially, since my anatomy, clouds, etc. are quite weak. But I have been taking care of that with studies; I want my upcoming paintings to be even better.
Anyways, this was a huge project. From the size of the canvas down to the armies in the background to the amount of research that went in. I used a lot of references, pretty much for everything you see in the painting. This project was a massive learning experience as it created a lot of frustration but I kept at it and finished it. This is truly something for me to be proud of!
If you're wondering why I removed the poll, it was because the poll website is not working, and it was messing with my blog. I did not lose out on the results, however. I was keeping an eye on it. It was clear that Udasis of Guru Nanak and Banda Singh - Battle Charge were tied with the most votes then Machiwarra and Akali Phula Singh WIP, followed by Mai Bhago - The Brave Kaur and Akali Phula Singh SP. I think the poll really showed the split in my audience. Half of the people voted for a war painting and the other half voted for a non-war type. Either way, I will be doing both. In a couple days, I will do a major update on my website, which will include new versions of all WIPs, and sketches of new ideas.

Battle of Chamkaur - Sahibzada Ajit Singh
for prints visit: www.sikhiart.com
for a better experience play this track! 300 soundtrack


Background Storyline: Sahibzada Ajit Singh's horse has been seriously wounded, forcing Ajit Singh to fight on foot. The young Prince, after being wounded himself, notices a Mughal cannon being readied for teh seige. He charges the infantry that guard it. Some high ranking Bhumi militiamen and Cavalrymen see his strategy and rush to the spot...

The story of course is based on an actual event where Guru Gobind Singh's oldest son (Ajit Singh) volunteered to defend the small fortress they were in. The Mughal army had surrounded it, and there seemed to be no escape. Guru Sahib was sending Singhs in fives to keep up the defense. Inside the fortress, many Singhs prepared themselves for death, and many defended the fort with showers of arrows, along with the Guru.

This is one of Bhagat's more detailed paintings. There is a lot to look at, much to learn, and many things to discover. Once you receive the print (and make sure you get the biggest one you can), lookout for: Mughal cavalry archers, Chamkaur Di Garhi (It's there alright), the fortress with Khalsa forces, two Singhs who charged the forces along with Prince Ajit Singh, Mahouts (elephant riders) see how many you can find ... and there's much more... seriously!

Some details of the work here, 3 of them are updates of the WIP details I had in this post, the other 2 were randomly picked:

Weekly Sketch #7: Sikhs

Just taking another break from Battle of Chamkaur. The whole critique process really slowed me down but I am going to keep at it until I finish. Expect some sneak peeks of the work real soon.

Anyways, this sketch I did really late at night when I couldn't fall as sleep. Again, I'm using Charles Meacham's photos of Sikhs. So it starts from the top left. Then I did the guy to the right. It got better but proportions were a bit off. Next was the smiling kid. Then scary man and finally the guy on the bottom right. At that point I signed it and dozed off.

Udasis of Guru Nanak update!

Well, for having the highest vote so far I thought I should work on Udasis of Guru Nanak to keep my mind off of Battle of Chamkaur for a couple of days. I am trying to give form to something that is just a concept of the human mind, and at the same time show it in a familiar way. In this update, I have developed the concept further, and I plan to keep going.
And about Battle of Chamkaur, this coming Tuesday is looking good for now but I'll keep updating you guys on it.

Weekly Sketch #6: Yet Another Nihang

It feels like I am majoring in Nihangs or something. haha

Anyways, in this painting I was just going for the right colours without cheating( where I would simply pick the colours off the photo). I think I did pretty well. Again, I am just using Charles Meacham's photos... Hope he doesn't mind...


This is good practice to take my mind off of Battle of Chamkaur for a couple of days. I am just not picking up on the crits so I thought perhaps when I look at it after a few days, I'll be able to see what I can improve. It's gotta be a masterpiece! I am in love with it!

Weekly Sketch #5: Happy Nihang

It's time for a weekly sketch! It's a bit a cartoony and a bit out of proportions at places even for a cartoon but no worries.

Um... I reached my goal of completing Battle of Chamkaur - Sahibzada Ajit Singh. Now I am trying to get criticisms to improve this dynamic piece. I was so concentrated on the technical bits that I had forgot to consider how it was turning out overall. So the plan is to finish it by next week Tuesday. Hopefully it all works out by then.

Weekly Sketch #4: Biocyborg

A bit early for a weekly sketch post, and that's because I didn't do much for Battle of Chamkaur. I set a deadline for myself for June 20th. So the plan is to finish BoC by 20ish then give myself 10 days to correct any mistakes, getting it ready by the end of the month.

I put up a poll for my next painting. So far Udasis of Guru Nanak has the lead. It turns out that its also the only painting up there that I have to study for. I mean I have to study clouds, mountains and landscapes before I do a decent job on it. I don't mean to discourage its supporters though. Banda Singh - Battle Charge is in second place. It has had more work put in to it than the other WIPs. If Udasis of Guru Nanak will take the longest to finish then Banda Singh - Battle Charge will take the shortest.

Anyways, enough updates.

Here's the sketch. It's a biocyborg. Read more about them here: Sikh Biocyborg

I didn't spend time refining it so some pointless things like the tube are still there. My main concern was to get a sci fi feel to it, and I think I did. Remember...

Weekly Sketch #3: Rocky Mountains

First things first, make sure you guys vote in the poll. Check out the paintings on http://www.sikhiart.com/ before you do. WIP = works in progress and SP = speed paintings
This week's sketch is of the Rocky Mountains... more like a painting but a good start, I think, when doing landscapes. As you guys know, Udasis of Guru Nanak features a dark (will be darker when I am done! muhahaha) mountainscape in the back. So why not paint a few before jumping right into a powerful piece?

Um... not to try to offfend anyone but I think Rocky Mountains is the most uncreative, unimaginative name ever! haha WTF? Rocky Mountains who thought of such a name? It's like calling the Himalayan mountains, Large/Tall Mountains or Snowy Mountains or something. It's like naming an Indian guy, Brownie Sharma. Anyways, I have never been to the Rocky Mountains, maybe they are so rocky that no one could resist the temptation of naming them the Rockies. haha, and maybe a guy could be so brown that the name Brownie is suited...
One day I will find out...

So for the sketch I just took a random photo of the Rockies, off of Google images and copied it. The clouds need more work. Perhaps, that's something to consider for a weekly sketch.


I also grabbed another photo and copied it. It's supposed to be Lake Louise, and no I haven't been here either...
This time I didn't go straight to colour, I first did it in greyscale.

Then I overlayed some colour, and voila!

Original

Weekly Sketch #2: Nihang Singh - Greyscale

It's more of a painting than a sketch. I recieved my new Pen Tablet a couple days ago, so I just wanted to paint something quick. I have some photographs by Charles Meacham, so I took one, and started to copy the values.

These past two weeks I devoted to the Battle of Chamkaur(BOC) - Sahibzada Ajit Aingh, finishing up the main sketch, adding new things, adding more detail. Once its complete, there will be plenty of things going on in the painting. Each section will have its own story to tell. Often what happens in Sikh war paintings is that the main focus is the only thing there to look at at. A second or third glance does not create further interest. My goal for BoC is to create that interest. Hopefully, I can achieve that goal. In the Works in Progress section on my website, I have taken down the previous update of BoC. Its now back to the old version. That was just supposed to be a glimpse at how its coming along. Anyways, so the plan now is to release that painting by the end of this month.

I am having difficulty deciding what I should paint next. So I'll be putting up a poll, where you can tell me which painting you would like to see completed next. To see what the paintings look like you might want to visit Gallery->Works in Progress (WIP) or Gallery-> Speed Paintings (SP) on http://www.sikhiart.com/.

Here's the list in no particular order:

>Udasis Of Guru Nanak (WIP)

>Banda Singh - Battle Charge (WIP)

>Mai Bhago - The Brave Kaur (WIP)

>Akali Phula Singh (WIP)

>Akali Phula Singh (SP)

>Machiwara (SP)

I have laid out some ideas for other paintings. Some of which will have nothing to do with war. However, I want to complete at least four of the above before I work on new ones.

Weekly Sketch #1: Birdman Tara

"What should I name it?"
As I worked on this final sketch, I kept thinking about naming it! Thinking that weekly Sketch #1 isn't a good name, I activated my "name generator networks" in my brain, and in no time names started popping up in my head.

Bird Warrior
No, sounds like fantasy warrior that uses bird attacks or something...

Birdman Jones...
No

Birdman Jones
NO

Birdman Jones
WHY BIRDMAN JONES???

A friend comes on MSN ... ... Him: have you worked on the comic? ... Me: No, I am working on my weekly sketch... Him: Cool, what is it? Is it like top-secret?... Me: Bird Man Nihang... Him: lol!

So now I had a better name Birdman Nihang... (by Nihang I mean sikh warrior). Suddenly...
Birdman Jones
WTF??!?! and that's where it hit me, that name wasn't personal enough! hahaha


OK, enough with that. This is sketch is dedicated to my pet lovebird (there is a type of bird called lovebird). Cheers to his cute annoyingness! haha

Going Underground

Don't take my infrequent posts as a sign of death, haha, which is probably what some old school Punjabis are wondering. Kite mar tan ni geya! I just got kind of lazy these past few days plus nothing's really going on with me. I haven't done any major Sikh history work but I am definitely in the game with a bunch of other things including a Sikh related mod and a graphic novel. Anyways, since I am not going to reveal anything about those two, I have decided to do weekly sketches the keep the blog running.

This week I am going to put up a speed painting depicting Guru Gobind Singh ji in Machiwara. I dug it out of my computer mess, after organizing all my files. I wasn't too fond of it so recently I randomly started to fix some things up. I called up my youngest sister to ask for her opinion and she totally loved it. I was kind of surprized. She suggested that I should continue to work on it and finish it! I don't think I'll be doing a good version anytime soon though. Anyways, here's the painting.

I await my order...

Well, I said I would update frequently but nothing is happening over at this side of the computer. I mean I bought a new tablet, the thing I draw with, I love it so much I ripped out three nice pieces, worked on my comics and stuff. I totall fell in love with it. I started to build my dreams and hopes on this new found love. But then things changed... I found a better deal...

So now I am just waiting for the new one to show up. I hope I do not get too lazy by then. Anwyays, I guess the "time-off" has given me a chance to do other things like looking for better deals on prints, playing video-games for hours on end, and looking into T-shirts. I started with Mata Bhag Kaur as a base for a small design. Here have a look, don't hesitate to leave comments for ideas, suggestions and critiques. This is my first go at the designs so I really need it...


I am going to do something similar with Baba Deep Singh ji. But before I do I will paint his left hand in.

I'm back! Yipee!

This is probably the longest leave from my blog. Well, I didn't post for two reasons. One, I didn't know what to talk about lol, and two, I was concentrated on my exams. Yep! you heard it right. I was focused! No painting, no wasting time googling random things. It was just me and my books.
haha, no that's a lie, actually. I did fool around, I did paint here and there but not much, which is a big improvement, considering last semester...
http://sikhiart.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

Anyways, I'm back and running. I haven't began my work on Sikh History just yet. Right now, I am just painting anything that comes to mind.

Blue Jaye - my take on GWDill's character
Nihang Singh - the sketch but coloured in... for no apparent reason...
Demon King - Miri Piri: The Blades of the Guru

I had been working on Battle of Chamkaur and Mai Bhago over the school year. If you've been to www.sikhiart.com then you've seen the updated Battle of Chamkaur. I will soon be posting an update on Mai Bhago.

That's all for now, my summer break has begun so now I will have all the time I need, to paint. Keep an eye on the blog, I am going to be posting more frequently.

Both Blasphemy and Madness, This is LIFE!

The title just came to me. Is it related to the post? I don't know... For those who are wondering why I keep using the words blasphemy and madnessin my posts, haha, it comes from 300, the movie. One of the most famous dialogues, "This is blasphemy, this is madness..."

For a while I have been feeling quite depressed or I tend to think I have been feeling that way. Its not a good feeling at all. It feels like the whole world hates you. but not only that, it feels like you hate yourself. It gets hard to meditate, to focus on school. I hope I can fight it off. Those who see me and chat with me, probably haven't noticed though, because I am always trying to have a good time, always laughing (sometimes at nothing, sometimes at my state).

However, depressed I maybe, I always have a part of me that is happy, always happy, overly exicited sometimes. I don't know why; maybe I am depressed because I don't know why. Maybe the word depressed is a big word, and sad is more like it. Perhaps, I am not depressed at all and it's just part of stress. Final exams are just around the corner...

Anyway, whatever happens it's all good! I gotta say though, that's a bad introduction to this post. I had recently developed a piece (still in progress) on Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. I had initially pictured it with a cheery feeling, you know, the kind of feeling you don't have when your sad! haha

But, before I started painting, I thought, "Let me try something."

So I painting this dark, hot sky, and continued from there. I was probably letting out my feelings but then I realized, "This is it!"

This is the setting Guru Nanak should be placed in! I mean he wasn't fighting against flowers and singing birds, he was fighting against oppression, prejudice, politics, and the corrupted ones. I believe the setting reflects that time perfectly. ... Even when I am not painting war, I am still talking about fighting stuff. Haha, this is the perfect transition from MAD war paintings to pretty, everything-is-so-nice paintings. About the Mad war paintings, I can't wait to finish those off in the summer! Talking about summer, I will probably be joining some feed-the-homeless (sikhcess?) events and stuff. I had been planning for a while, but was too lazy. That will end this summer because I really want to make a difference!

Slowly but surely..

I was just looking through my last post when I realized something, the only difference between the words "tourist" and "terrorist", is "our" and "erro". Tourists are ours, and terrorists... err...O, you can keep them!

Final exams are just around the corner. I can't wait till I can start working on my paintings full time! After I finish three of my WIPs, I am planning on working on some "peaceful" types that show the humbleness, reasoning, guru ka langar, and many other non-violent aspects of Sikh history. I realized that my goal was (and still is) to create a positive image of Sikhs, but by showing all this violence, I create a negative effect on a neutral observer. I am thankful to God for making me realize this sooner. I bet most of you are like, " Why not start earlier? Why finish three before changing subject?" Well, the three paintings I mentioned are Mai Bhago - The Brave kaur, Battle of Chamkaur - Sahibzada Ajit Singh, and Banda Singh- Battle Charge (I guarantee if nothing else, that Singhnis are going to love Mai Bhago one). These paintings are 60-80% complete, and I am actually hoping to get them out by the end of this summer, leaving all of next year for what I call meditation through art. So far it has been intense gatka training and horse riding. Hehe
So slowly but surely, I will get those three paintings out. Slowly but surely, I will turn this negative effect into a positive one. Slowly but surely, I will learn to make better jokes, better than the one I started this post off with! HAHA

A strange thought

Hey guys, I have been absent from this blog for quite a bit now. I have been bombarded with midterms and assignments! Over the past month, I started to work on this new amateur comic. Its about this angel dude... I really have no clue about the story. haha, I figured if I was going to make Mutants and Miri Piri, I was going to need some experience. For those that think it would be better to work on comics based on history, well, I admire the thinking. I have started work on one such graphic novel, with a long distance friend of mine. I am not going to reveal anything just yet, except that its from the Sarbloh Warriors time period.

So, why the strange title about strange thoughts? No, I am not trying to mislead anyone here, haha, I may have done that in the past...or I may have not... Anyway, after the midterm I had today, I was walking to Union station when I said to myself, "Hey, today would be a good day to take pictures of the city!" (so I can get more practice for cityscapes for the Mutants comic)

As soon as I pull out my camera, I was thining, "I will either look like a tourist or a terrorist. trying to take pictures to either show to family or to plan a bombing or something." I laughed, " Judging by my turban, I am probably going to come off as a terrorist, rather than a tourist."

haha

There was this one time when this old white guy was staring as I walked down the underground path. I couldn't help but gigle to myself as I passed him. Before that happened, I used to joke with friends about something like that...

BTW if you're wondering why Kes is saying "No!" in that picture... join the club...

Nocturnal Artist

haha, I am loving that title. Even though, it barely has anything to do with the actual content of the post. I just couldn't go to sleep, I napped for 3 hours just before bedtime, this was bound to happen. If I can manage to get some sleep I might just go to the Langar event in Toronto.
So I went my sister's music class. It was great. There were like 15 students, very curious. Showed them the parts of the tabla (with a bit of history and explanation on the bol), played all the basic taals (6,7,8,10,12,14,16), played some beats, then played with them. It turned out as a learning experience for me as well. Now I know what a Djembe is. Its an african drum and... err... that's it. In the end, they played this really cool composition they had been practicing, few of the students got up and danced! It was wicked! BTW is it just me or does tabla sound very quiet? Compared to about 15 Djembes, I could hardly hear myself playing! and efore that one of the girls was like "Could you play louder?"
Anyway, it was cool except I didn't eat breakfast; which was not cool! At one point I was sure I was going to pass out! At other times, I would simply go blank. haha, that was high school all over again! The passing out bit, going blank and the fact that I went back.

Feedback please

Come on, guys I've been blogging for quite a bit but I haven't gotten much feedback, their was a veer who pointed out that more non-war paintings should be done and some people are regularly checking the blog but other than that nothing! Comment on stuff, tell me what you think, what you like and what you don't like about what I write or paint. Only then I can figure out what people are looking for. If nothing else then just point out the speling mistaks and errors of gramatical, for God's sake. So c'mon people put your thinking caps and err... turbans? on and unleash the... err.. comments!

While your at it, check out this cartoon. The inspiration came from Chakram, a unit from Age of Empires. He is a nihang that always uses chakars. Kind of strange but I guess it does add variety. Anyway, here is Jathedar Cronk Singh. I've been thinking now and I think that I should star doing comics on him. Nothing major, just good old humour, Pagt(Bhagat) style!

Back to School with Akali Phula Singh ji, again...

Well, technically I am decieving my readers with the title but I am going back to school, not my university though but my old high school. My sister invited me to introduce her music class to tabla. Her teacher loves tabla and probably had something to do with this as well. So here I am waking up the good old tabla muscles who were in hibernation for 2 years!

So what does Akali Phula Singh ji have to do with this? Well, it just so happens that I was painting another version of him. The old one reminded me too much of Baba Deep Singh, it did not have that nihang look, you know the one you'll see in wars, the one that says "Come any closer and chop I'll your God d*** head off!" hahaha. Well, I was able to show that look in this new piece. I used my Crysis Turbanhead to start me off on the basic pose, and then I worked from there. Maybe, I can continue to work o nthe old one as Baba Deep Singh ji...

Life with Mutants - Biocyborg

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I've been busy with school work and comics, mainly schoolwork. Last week I was able to put together an idea for a "biocyborg". A cyborg that builds itself. What happens is that these members of the Homo mutatio species are able to mold their skin around machines. They have little collagen in their skin. Collagen is exactly why your skin doesn't come off when that aunty pinches your cheek. The collagen that they do have in their tissues is modified to adhere to metal surfaces. The neurons in their body are also modified and are able to recieve electrical impulses from external sources. Well, actually anyone's neurons can recieve external electrical impulses. However, the difference here is that biocyborgs when constantly stimutaled by electrical impulses, generate a variant of neurons that will try to control that impulse. These neurons may develop special dendrites (the part of the neuron that recieves the signal, branch like), which will wrap around the stimuli and generate extracellular environments to try to reduce or amplify the signal. Although, a large electrical impulse can still kill biocyborgs, they will eventually adapt to this stimuli if they survive.

I present to you a Sikh Biocyborg. His armour is loosely based o nthe look of the Crysis armour. So what's his story? This currrently nameless Singh moves to US to further his studies. BOOM! 9/11! He becomes the target of hate, eventually, he is beaten harshy and gets knocked out. Not knowing what to do with him, the ignorant fools dump his body in an abandoned junkyard nearby. For days this Singh lays unconscious, unaware of what he is turning into. His head brutally smashed starts to shed the hair, as the skin and bone look for a way to repair the skull. His left eye, which was seriously damaged in the attack, is degraded, in fact, most of his body fat and some muscles are degraded as well, to provide energy for the repairs. Over a another few days, his damaged left forearm starts to recover, it bonds to any nearby metal, strengthening the bone and sealing the wound. Surprisingly, the repairs create a sort of basic skeleton, over the damaged one, leaving sealed holes in the metal as if expecting more metal to bind into them. Ok, I am going to leave it here and just show the cyborg.

Here is a more enhanced version of him. On the leftside, he now has an additional lens, which he augmented with infrared technology. His appearance amazes his professors but what they don't know is that he is a mutant, a biocyborg. He is naturally intelligent, with a larger brain sitting comfortably in his semi-metal skull. He also gave himself a mechinal hand which he is able to remove from that metal core of his arm. Later, on he will be able to equip weapons on this core. His back is also partly metal, it has sockets for hooking up to his computer or to recharge the metal core.

Crysis Turbanhead

I was bored over the weekend. I got midterms coming nextweek so I got tired from studying and decided to do paint. Then I got distracted from that and this dude was born. The original picture comes from Crysis Warhead, the video game. I just edited it, you know, put the turban and beard on.

I need to brush up on my sci fi Sikhs. The only sci fi looking art in my gallery is Ranjit Singh and he is far from looking like a high tech, sci fi character like you see above. In the near future, I plan on playing sci fi games and using those as inpiration.

In conclusion, sci fi Sikhs look badass and I must draw them!

Banda Singh? um...well...

Um...he did stuff...YA! thats it! He fought, fought some more and ya...

Honestly, we need to teach our kids about our great history. They know nothing!

Haha, actually, I am out of words. Good thing I am not out of art! Seriously, this is my whole freakin' post; I got nothing! Everything is normal... too normal... Uni's going as usual... life is going as usual... even my paintings are going as usual... ooh, I did get sick over the weekend but other than that, normal.

It's a good thing I got a picture to back up my puny post with a 1000 words.

So here, Banda Singh - Battle Charge with updated colours. Its still a WIP, I think it will remain that way till summer because I am going to do some comic stuff before I get back to Sikh history paintings.ENJOY!

Mutants: Balbir Kaur

If you thought all my mutants were male then meet Balbir Kaur, a devout Sikh, the manipulator of one of the most abundant substance on the planet. The substance which made life possible. The substance with the formula H2O. I cannot continue to grind this anymore, its water!

Balbir can manipulate water at will, controlling the individual molecules as if playing with marbles. It is not quite understood how she can do this but it was theorized that these types of abilities result as an interaction of brain waves with the environment and self. The fact, that she can control water makes her deadly but the fact that she can (with a limit) get past the brain waves of other people and mutants, makes her one of the few mutants who are able to achieve an instant kill. How? She can crush the brain of her opponent with the blink of an eye. *300 music playing* She looks very innocent though, and she is. She would never do such a thing, would she?

Other than destroying brain cells, she commonly uses her "talwar-e-pani" or water swords to cut through the most toughest materials. She is a skilled martial artist, and teaches gatka later on in life. She derives the technique for manipulating water greatly from this martial arts and strict meditation. Lastly, the air surrounding Balbir, becomes very humid. She currently has no control over this "automatic" side effect, other than "manually" dispelling the water molecules in the air.

Miri Piri - The Blades of the Guru

Well, I had mentioned that I was planning a comic called Miri Piri. A fantasy world devastated by all sorts of corruption and "evil" where two Sikhs are born. They literally join forces and take on the main antagonist. I don't want to reveal too much yet. We are still working on the story but the main framework has been laid out. Miri Piri were the swords of Guru Hargobind Sahib ji, the sixth guru of the Sikhs and the story revolves around obtaining his long lost swords to save the world.

I had been thinking about Miri Piri for a few years now. I wanted to team up with writers and artists who are willing to put some effort to turn this fantasy world into reality. A while back I had an old friend join my team which intially consisted of me and my sister. And just recently I had another fella offering his services. I will introduce them with another update, later on.

Currently, I am looking for someone who can work with me to create the images in the comic. I am looking for someone with an artistic ability. I don't really care about what style you draw in, as long as you have a clear understanding of the human figure and are able to lay down environments including forts, mountains and many other kinds of terrains and architecture. Other than that you must keep in touch with the team and be able to spend some time each week on the project.

Here is a Sikh Shield Warrior and a Sikh Swordsmaster concept. These were developed quite a while ago. The shield warrior has been up on my Deviantart gallery for ages.

I think now would also be good time to post the Khalistani Warrior concept I had been reworking. I think the red armour looks totally awesome! I gave him a saif (two handed sword) instead of that small military pickaxe. overall, I must say I did a good job. Its still a WIP but I doubt I'll work on it any further, any time soon. Here's how the original looked like.

Back to school with Akali Phula Singh

So its time to head back to university. GOOD! I was getting - as a friend of mine puts it - MAD LAZY! I mean I wasn't as productive as I thought I would be. I didn't even want to leave the house! I sat on my couch and watched TV most of the time. I didn't work on my other paintings enough to present an update. I got so lazy! I can't believe it!

However, today, like 20 minutes ago... I did do a speed painting of a Sikh general who I am going to call Akali Phula Singh ji. I think it took about an hour. I used the Prince of Persia concept art and my own Baba Deep Singh for reference. I wanted to loosen up a bit. I have been doing a lot of technical work lately, you know, trying to make everything accurate and all. This time I wanted to sit back and paint whatever!

I might make a good copy of this but right now I want to get back into my university mindset. Haha, I say that like it's any different from my current mindset! No seriously, I am determined to concentrate on my studies! I am going to try really hard to manage my time better. That is my goal, otherwise I put away the paintings for summer.