The Thinker

A commission I did back in 2010, showing a Singh contemplating his actions, his purpose in this world. The men in the back are going to war, but this man has stepped outside the herd.

Based on the bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, 'The Thinker'.

Patialvi Baba Reloaded

Have a wonderful 2014! 

Akali: Warrior Monk

I know what you are thinking. WTF Bhagt Siyan?! Where have you been? No updates, not even some random sketch. What happened to your weeklies? What happened to the bond we shared together? you no value bond? Our bond?

Bhagat value bond, our bond.

How do I know you are thinking that? Because you were reading what I wrote and thinking it in your head. The real question is were you aware that you were thinking it in your head?

Anyways, it turns out female Akali are called Akalini. Like gardener is called mali, and a female gardener is called malini. Hence this post is titled Akali, I changed title of the last one to Akalini. This time their turban is even bigger, so are their weapons, and they are enchanted with magical properties, dangerous powers than can be exploited in the battlefield. From turbans to turban towers to turban forts and castles, Akalis are more badass than ever before.

I am trying to practice my concept design. I am gona try and shell out a few more of Akali, big turban theme. And also rework the Snake Charmer design. This one is just way too much like the historical male Akali. I want Snake Charmers to look like ascetics, and tribal-like in appearance, mix of Indian sadhu and vanar. Even those that descend from Akali.

Weekly Sketch #12: Patialvi Baba

I was going through older work and was inspired by a few images I had published, Khalistani Warrior and this random dude. Remember that guy? From 2009

So in the same spirit and theme I present this week's sketch. It started off as a simple line drawing. I went back and shaded it in and was satisfied. It was a great addition to my sketchbook. Something that was both familiar and novel. But my whole sketchbook was all black and white pencil drawings. I decided to pull out my watercolours and coloured him in. Hesistant as first, I put down a few shades on his left leg (the other left). I figured if I mess up it will look less bad. But it turned out well overall. I am happy with it.

Click on the image to check out the full thing at Deviantart.

Akalini: Warrior Monk

I'll keep this one short since I want to keep a balanced post length on this blog.

I always wanted to do a female warrior inspired by Sikh aesthetics. I have painted several Akali-inspired males in a fantasy setting so I thought my next one should be a female. Luckily everything here just fell into place, the colours, pose, armour and everything. The male ones did not turn out as well as this one, which is why I did not upload them. However, they became a source of ideas and inspiration for me.

Inspired by Akali Snake Charmer piece, the idea came from a painting of one of those male Akalis, in whose background I had drawn a silhouette of an Akali with a really tall turban and armour spikes. So I cropped out the silhouette, enlarged it and started working on it.

This piece was obviously inspired by Akalis but Akali women never dress like this nor are they ever monks. This made it really exciting for me to work on it. I intended to push the fantasy style and context of this piece by adding armour pieces that are clearly unreal. It is not possible to fight in such large turbans either. (Hint: This is a fantasy piece NOT a historical one.)

This was a nice break from my Hari Singh Nalwa painting.


Click on the image to see the full version.

Painting Baba Deep Singh ji's Face

Well I have been meditating for a while now. And that's probably affecting my brain structure... well it IS affecting my brain structure. It's changing and so... stuff happens. *thumbs up*

*grins*

(Lol, well I studied how the brain changes after many years of meditation for my class assignments. Maybe I will share some of that later.)

Anyways, been working on Baba Deep Singh ji at turtle's pace. I actually haven't worked on it in the past few days... That's because I have been feeling quite confused. The words "I don't know." are quite frequent in my head. (Though I still talk as if I know) Just a general feeling of confusion, combined with inactivity. There is peacefulness. Fulfillment. The confusion and inactivity is not something I detest. It's weird...

So as I worked on his face, my family members and other individuals commented on it, and gave some advice. Which I then tried out while painting. Basically, most people said he's gotta be looking angry, and some said he would be peaceful.

Enter in confusion et al. I believe (I think I believe this) that one would be very angry in a battlefield because well it's a battlefield. But after meditating and looking at people like Bhai Ghanaiya ji (who fed water to fallen soldiers because he saw the Waheguru in all of them... in the midst of a war, Battle of Anandpur, I think) I think maybe it's possible to be calm in a battlefield. And that maybe it's the hallmark of the elite soldiers... that they are calm in battlefields. They have gotten used to the conditions so it's nothing new for them. At which point, their emotions do not get into the way and so they can display maximum levels of skill and experience.

Now with that said, Bhai Ghanaiya ji wasn't getting charged at by 10 enemy soldiers. And he wasn't about to breathe his last breath. He was not scarred or with fresh wounds everywhere. He was not fighting. He was not in a war. He did not perceive war as we see war... I am not going to go that route, it's too hard to describe.

Point is a warrior is going to be in a battle. He is going to experience war. A battlefield is a very different environment than our normal lives. In our normal lives it's easy to be quite peaceful with calm faces (hint: meditate more often). A battlefield is a death bed. Emotions often provide great fuel for activity, for charging into battle, for hacking, slashing, and killing people. Chopping off limbs, smashing skulls... Now it seems a highly skilled meditator would be in control during his own emotional outburst that results in this gruesome scene. He may well be very angry but he is steady... and he may not be angry (that's allowed as well).

But would a skilled meditator, a wise being, have an emotional outburst? I don't know. I don't think one can know. We can only try to imagine what it's like.

So I am just going with it... whatever gets painted, gets painted. Not giving a hoot about diddly squat.

The first image is the very first ever. (Quick fact: There is only one print with this face out there. Someone from Dubai purchased a Large canvas print. At that time, I did not personally handle orders so if that was you and you are reading this, get in touch.)

I then added more beard because at this point in time, I felt his face needed more beard, and I was quite satisfied with this.

Recently I felt that the image can be significantly improved. I mean I have gotten better at painting, more skilled, more experienced (if that's what you call it). So I worked on it. Some input came in from people, my mind, etc. The number 3 is what I painted. Some more input came in from people, my mind, etc. and number 4 was the result.

At this point, my sister comes in and comments. So I sit down with her and I try a few things out to see if I could bring back some of the elements from #2 and all that battlefield stuff I was talking about. She adds in what she thinks would help. The result was #5. That's where it's currently at (I am still trying to figure out how that blood that is pouring out of the wound... how that will flow down his face. Will it flow towards the side? straight down? into his right eye? all of the above?)

At this point, you have the opportunity to give your own feedback. Which image? Is it working? Is it good? bad? Why? Just say whatever comes to mind.

I will meditate on it, and see how the face turns out when I paint it. Also I think I could benefit from all your perceptions of Baba Deep Singh ji. Everyone's got their own image, and although we cannot know what we are all thinking when we are thinking, we can get some hint of those thoughts and images. The more knowledge the better. Also, tell me what you like about Baba Deep Singh ji.

Ok almost 5 am. Going to go to bed. Goodnight

Updates and Sikh Mod

Hi guys, yes, I could have blogged more but didn't feel motivated enough. I have been working on several paintings, both historical and fantastical one. (I actually started many more pieces but some were lost due hard drive failure. I have been much more careful about backing up my work since then.) I also started laying out some ideas for future games I might do. One of my dreams is to create some video games of my own, with characters that are designed by me, with Sikh characters, and so I regularly remember that dream and design characters and gameplay around it.

As I was in the process of doing this, I felt very motivated to work on a mod that I have been involved in. I started this back in 2009 when I felt like I had nothing to do. I always feel like that for some reason, even though I have a lot on my plate... it's full! When I first announced it, I made a new friend in the process and he got me started. I did not know squat about programming so I left that job to him. I would take care of the art, while he (enjoys math) would take care of the programming. He was actually thinking of a similar mod, and so was very quick to join me. With Sarbloh Warriors down, I saw this filling its spot.

We planned to mod the Sikh Empire for Age of Empires 3. Age of Empires is a real time strategy game where you choose one of many civilizations and take on the other civilizations in battle. The Age of Empires series is one of my favs and so this was very exciting.
Its second expansion has India already but a modern India. It has one Sikh unit to begin with, Chakram, a hoop thrower. That's right its main attack, it's only attack is to throw a Chakar (and to hit someone with it if they come close). Ridiculous, I thought to my self. The game was awesome, and Chakram was even cooler but it did not feel right when I played it. Udasi, a sub-civilization can train Chakram, a Nihang... a Nihang who does not use swords... you get the point...

So this winter, feeling very motivated, I got back to that mod, got back to playing Chakram, got back to altering the game files so that I could train more than 23 Chakrams! This winter, I took a deep breath and thought "This is it! If I can't give this guy swords..." I never finished the sentence, I don't think negative. "I can give this guy swords!" I thought positive and it paid off, Nihang was born. Though, this was just a Chakram with a sword. I later went back and 'modded' meaning modified the textures to make them look different.

This was a new step for me and I realized how easy programming this game was. Well, this was not REAL programming. This was modifying existing code (computer language that is translated into the game), well-written, easy to understand code.
So the next week, I was found living on my computer, except for maybe sleeping and bathroom breaks. I really got into it! I managed to create several units (the playable soldiers of a civilization) before that friend and I got back and shared code. (I still have to work with what he has already done, which was most units of the Sikh Empire). As an immediate reaction to his input, I started creating Maratha, Mughal and Afghan units. All of a sudden a rush in my energy levels and motivation made me very confident. I decided we will split the Indian civilization into Afghans, Marathas, Mughals and Sikhs. More units, more playing styles and more research that needs to be done... It is only now that I realize how big of a task it is to create even one civilization let alone four! However difficult it might be, my plan is to finish at least two. I am hoping we get a few other like-minded people to help us. If this ever gets finished it will be the coolest mod ever! Right now I am back at university and getting back to studying science but hopefully I will come back to the mod this summer.

Here's a screenshot of the mod, of Sikhs and Mughals in action. Click on it to see the full image. (We can only modify existing units, so I cannot make the different turbans more accurate than this)

Late Gurupurab Celebrations at Sikhi Art

Machhiwara was supposed to done by January, and was set to be released on Jan 5. At that point I had recieved the constructive criticism, I had asked for and I got back to work. Took a couple of weeks to straighten out the setting and composition, and so the painting was delayed.
But now that it is out... Happy late Guru purab to everyone!! :P

So, what's next? Well, I have no plans on working on any painting till summer. But when I do get started, Akali Phula Singh is next. It is a along awaited painting, and I have been aching to get to it!

So what is Machhiwara, what is it about?
Well, after being attacked several times by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb's army, Guru Gobind Singh ji is forced to flee from the Anandpur fort to Chamkaur. During the escape, the weather was insane, and it flooded the river, Sirsa, that Guru Sahib had to cross. In the chaos, his mother and younger sahibzaadey's are separated from him, and are eventually doomed in the false courts of Sirhind.
As Guru Sahib takes shelter in a haveli in Chamkaur, he is again attacked by the Mughal forces. This time his older sons fall in the intense battle that takes place. Odds were stacked aagainst him, Guru Sahib had to flee once again. This time he had nothing left all his devotees had been martyred, and his family was lost. The great cause he was fighting for seemed to be slipping away from his grip. However, as Guru Gobind Singh ji meditates in Machhiwara, he keeps himself in the highest of spirits. Exhausted from warfare, he rests here overnight, and is eventually saved by his Muslim devotees in the morning.

Machhiwara, undoubtly, is a symbolic painting. Everything around Guru Sahib symbolizes his chardi kala attitude, and the rise of Khalsa.

Click on the image below to access close-ups, larger image, buying options, etc.

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!

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!

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.

Mai Bhago - The Brave Kaur

Mai Bhago, whose full name was actually Bhag Kaur or Mata (mother) Bhag Kaur, with respect, was one of the most revered warriors of Sikh history. The title "Mai Bhago - The Brave Kaur" of my next WIP {BTW, this means Work In Progress(and BTW, BTW means By The Way)}, is meant to connect Mai Bhago with Kaur. I think the second name, Kaur, is very important when saying her name, Mata Bhag Kaur. Why? Well, its an important part of our history. The names Kaur, and Singh (as well), tore us away from the castes and lineages we were stuck with! The fact that we fell in the same hole we were saved out of, is a whole different story.

Anyway, why should Mai Bhago be called Mata Bhag Kaur? Well, we have Baba Deep Singh, Banda Singh Bahadur, Sahibzada Ajit Singh, and so many other Singhs but we have a Kaur of that time, who, we do not call by the name, Kaur. Why? Weird, isn't it? I think so...

My next WIP is actually my first digital painting on Sikh history that I began at the beginning... of the year. I had done many paintings on Sikh history before this, but those were on bristol boards and canvases. Many were imitations of Sobha Singh's, Kirpal Singh's and Mehar Singh's works. I used to add in my own elements for fun! That was a good learning experience for me. It got me started on Sikh history, however, I didn't have the same feel for Sikh history as I do now! Then I did not research beyond the small, thin paperbacks I found in gurudwaras. It was Sarbloh Warriors, which required me to research for concepts. I didn't take it seriously then, but I really dug into it when I worked on Sahibzada Ajit Singh.

This WIP of mine started with a really good concept, with good composition and with a nice setup. However, as I worked on it, it started to become into something completely different. In fact, it didn't have the same emotion as the first one. Whereas, the first one was a woman charging, the newly developed piece was literally a stroll through the park... err... without the park. Here, see for yourself.
This is Stage Four of the WIP...

...and this is Stage Nine! (I decided to finish this painting, as well as going back to the Stage Four and working on that as Mai Bhago - The Brave Kaur.)This is Stage Five of Mai Bhago - The Brave Kaur. For some reason it reminds me of Batman - The Dark Knight...

Mutants - Born to Stand Out

Mutants, sometimes I feel like I am one. As a turbaned Sikh you stick out like a lighthouse from the shore. As a Sikh, you are pretty much BORN to stand out. Nowhere you can hide, nowhere you can run! That is the theme of Mutants. For some reason only the Sikh mutants survive; the others seem to die as their mutations surface! Sikhs after being labeled terrorists are now labeled mutants! In this world, that is NOT a good thing. Mutants are often chased down the streets, burned, shot, beaten... The police should help right? They often join this madness! Without giving this change a second chance, the entire country is against it with the exception of a few! So as I was saying, most of the mutants die with the exception of some Sikhs, Rastas and some lucky individuals. Why is it that natural selection is weeding out mostly non-Sikhs? Why do the others die while the Sikhs, Rastafarians and a few survive? What do they have that the others don't? It seems like whatever they have, is what allows the mutations to survive inside them. It is as if nature had a plan, to weed out anyone that goes against it... There was research being done on this. Those that would normally die of mutations had been enclosed in capsules to keep them alive. Some of them had been successfully saved. But was that a good idea? Those that had been saved are changed... their personality... their powers... In a good way? Only time will tell.

There is major conflict between the human species and this new "species" that has emerged. It has become impossible to live without fear of a mutant or two raiding your house. Do they raid houses? There hasn't been a case yet but does that stop people from being afraid? Afterall, they could do anything! The laws of physics barely hold in place, before them. They create fire at will, turn their skin into some kind of metal and blow things up with their minds. Is this a curse or a gift? Is this revolution or destruction?

Well, I don't know I am still figuring this out! Let me introduce some of my Mutant friends! You can see my full Mutants gallery at the very bottom. Here I introduce only a few:

Sarbloh - seems like Colossus, looks like Colossus but is he another Colossus?
Sarbloh was one of the first mutants I created.
"As his turban was knocked off, his hair opened. But Sarbloh stood there, silent. Behind his hair, I could see his expression change from serious to that of an angry bull. He clenched his fists as he charged towards his attacker!" - Tej Singh, Mutants

"I have been through the anti-Sikh riots in India! I have survived a plane crash even when everyone on the plane died! Even the fall of the mighty Twin Towers could not crush me! By the grace of Waheguru, I, Kartar Singh, AM SARBLOH!" - Kartar Singh, Mutants


Zora Singh - Seems like the Iceman but is he really the iceman?

All I can say at the moment about him is, "A sixteen year old Sikh gangster!"
Well, he was 16 then. Now is probably three years older, anyway, you can probably picture a Sikh gangster. If you can't then you will have to wait till the next update on this.

Zora Singh is able to slow down the movement of atoms at will. He is particularly able to do this with compounds containing the elements hydrogen and oxygen.
He is able to create liquid oxygen (LOx), liquid hydrogen (LH2) and ice out of thin air. LOx is a VERY strong oxidizer. Organic materials burn very rapidly and energetically in its presence. Some like asphalt can even detonate when soaked in LOx! LH2 is used as rocket fuel! Although, Zora Singh is able to liquefy both hydrogen and oxygen, he cannot continuously do so, as it requires a ton of energy;it puts great strain on him. However, creating ice is his second nature.

Zora Singh is not an iceman... By manipulating oxygen and hydrogen, he is able to create MASSIVE explosions! He is a definitely a dangerous force to be reckoned with!


Kes - he seems like... oh wait, this is a new one.
He was one of the Mutants placed in a capsule. He had his own unique hi-tech capsule at the underground lab, designed just for him. You don't even want to know how they caged him before! But he wasn't placed there so they could save him, he was imprisoned and was been researched on. His abilities allowed him to uses his kesh (also kes, meaning hair) to absorb ENORMOUS amounts of energy allowing him to do virtually ANYTHING with this. This version of Kes uses the energy to thicken his hair, growing them longer and shorter on will. He is able to do mechanical work with them e.g. grabbing onto opponents, hitting them... lifting GO trains...
... the longer the hair, the more dangerous he gets...
Of course, if you cut them and shave his beard, this man becomes like every other mutant, weak. So that's how they kept him imprisoned! They kept cutting his hair. Kes would try his hardest to grow them but the next day he would find himself helpless with just stubble.
He has been stuck down there for ages...


To see other characters and paintings/concepts, please visit the Mutants gallery or click on the banner at the very bottom of the page, sit back and relax!
If you are interested in working with me on this project, please email me: bhagatbedi@gmail.com

Sikhi Art on SALE!

Apparently, DeviantArt is having a sale! Everything is at least 20% off!
Take advantage of this! Sale ends December 15th.

For slightly more expensive but diverse framing options visit Imagekind.

Mata Bhag Kaur was my first piece of work on Sikh history. She lead an army of Sikhs in the Battle of Muktsar.

Balance

I think balance in the key here to get some studying done, in my case. With a wicked painting developing so fast, who wants to study? Well, I DO but I can't. I am going through that "I want to paint! I want to study!" stage again. But this a bad time to be going through that, exams will begin in three days! Now I know why putting each foot in a different boat doesn't work out... I am going to try to do both studying and painting, back and forth. That way I'll get both done rather than nothing!
I have put more effort into developing the "Banda Singh - Battle Charge" painting; yes that's the name now. I didn't like his hellboy style beard, so I gave it some length. I wanted him to wear a helmet like both his paintings I drew inspiration from, so I added one in. I noticed the clouds were... terrible, so I fixed them; still working on that. I added a few more mughals in the back. Also, added some smoke (orignally a bad looking cloud) from explosions, perhaps.
These paintings aren't going to be black and white. I will be colouring them. I find I have more control over greyscale rather than colour. This stems from everything I did when I was younger. All my sketches were greyscale. When I made the mistake of colouring them, I would ruin the sketch! Anyway, I wanted to see this painting in colour so, I did a colour study, to see how the colours would workout, I think I like it. I am glad I didn't ruin the sketch!

Exams have arrived! WOOT!

Yes that's right. It is the end of the semester, which means exams, which also means a break afterwards... which means more time to paint!! WOOT!!

So ya exams are here but does that stop me from painting even when I should be studying? Heck no! =D But I did stop painting. I am going to study as much as possible for the exams, next week. My plan to ace those exams (yeah right!), and finish Battle of Chamkaur and Baba Deep Singh during the Christmas break. I am thinking about getting the Print Account for DeviantArt. DeviantArt allows me to sell mugs, puzzles, postcards as well as the usual Photo Prints and Canvas Prints (but with little option for frames). I think puzzles would be really cool!! Anyway, if anyone knows of a better service, could you please let me know? I could sign up for that instead.

Banda Singh Bahadur, I think he's one of the most interesting people from Sikh history along with our Gurus. While being tortured,
"Mohammed Amin Khan, who was standing near, spoke as follows: "From your manner so far you appear to be a man of virtue, who believes in God, and in doing good deeds. You are also very intelligent. Can you tell me why you are having to suffer all this here ?" Banda's reply was, "When the tyrants oppress their subjects to the limit, then God sends men like me on this earth to mete out punishment to them. But being human, we sometimes overstep the laws of justice, and for that we are made to pay whilst we are still here. God is not being unjust to me in any way." (Wikipedia)

After reading about him, I immediately wanted to paint him again. The first time I painted him was like 4-6 years ago, where I had copied that famous painting of his (I think he is sitting in the Bir Asan in that one). If you don't know what I am talking about, here Banda Singh. So yeah, I wanted to paint him again but in my own way, in my own setting! I had done a few sketches before but didn't think they were good enough for him.

I sat down earlier this week and began to work. The funny thing is I sat down to paint another Battle of Chamkaur scene but with a Singhni. Was there a Singhni with the Singhs at that time? I don't know but that painting turned into Banda Singh Bahadur! Oddly, when I decided to forget Singhni admist of Singhs in Chamkuar, I switched to Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh. These two brave fellows took on 800 Mughals horsemen!!! Let me emphasize the taking on the 800 Mughals with taking them on with just lathis, which are wooden staffs!!! By now you probably know that, they will be next ;)!

So how Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh turned into Banda Singh Bahadur? Well, they didn't fight on horsebacks, they were on foot. What I had was two Singhs on horsebacks, wearing shawls and a kachere! Then out of nowhere Banda Singh appeared in my mind, the sitting pose and the one on the horse. I immediately started to make changes...

What is cool about this painting (it is still a WIP) is that I did most of it very quickly from the sketch. My brushstrokes are much more controlled now, and I am able to get much more done with fewer ones. I have also been blending quite a bit. My skies are also getting better. All in all, I can see my self improving. (This is all on the computer BTW)

The madness has ended!

... The madness had ended... um... ya... that's pretty much it. By madness I mean constant heart attacks from all the work with more to come from exams in a couple weeks, and by ended, I mean, ended temporarily! University is a lot of work and I don't know why my brain is in constant denial of that; maybe I should ask Freud...

Ah, that's life though, you gotta love it! It would be quite boring without this overdrive! By the way, I am not much of a writer really (I try hard... lol). The only thing I can write is scientific papers and even those are a big pain in the... ... hand... But I am glad that I got sometime to paint this weekend. I started working on some of the old sketches. I will eventually finish the paintings below. I like to take things slow and steady (which partly explains the constant heart attacks). If you are in my labs you should know that already!

Anyway, I was working on the Battle of Chamkaur series. Here I am trying to depict Guru Gobind Singh ji leaving Anandpur and making his way to Chamkaur di garhi (I think I got that right, it's when he is tricked into leaving the castle). He pulls out a spear and nails down every mughal in his path! So here's the basic idea. I think it feels very chaotic, which is what I want. I hope this feeling stays till the finish, although in art there is no finish, only personal satisfaction.

Other Projects

I pushed aside some projects to make time for painting Sikh history and because I get bored from working on one thing for two long. Here are two WIPs from my fictional fantasy world called Miri Piri. it's something I have been dreaming about ever since I played Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft. Note: These are NOT real! I just had to say that because I have had this guy... let's just say he got pissed off at Khalistani Warrior (scroll down the comments to see).

Anyway, I have to say Khalistani Warrior turned out to be one of my most famous pieces judging by the views it got. It was the first painting I did when I got my tablet. Before that I painted with a mouse and it was a huge pain in the... ... hand. My Sarbloh Warriors concept/game art was done completely with mouse. That was how I really got into this digital painting business.

Well, without further delay here is another Khalistani Warrior WIP:

So Khalistan consists of this huge castle surrounded by a few villages, in the middle in Dead Lands and west of the Himalayan mountain ranges. It is north of the Southern Dynasty.

Some background storyline I am working on:
"One night, when the Sikhs are celebrating Vaisakhi, the Southern Dynasty with their hordes of infantry, elephants, monkey warriors and Mountain Giants, attack the castle. The Southern Dynasty who was once their closest ally had chose to betray them and besiege their castle. They took over Khalistan, after putting up a small fight with the Sikhs, who had fled north in an attempt to save whatever that was left of their kind. They were met with the Dragons, who were being hunted down by the Undead and the Western Alliance.
The Dragons and Khalistanis joined forces and took back the great Dragon city of Dormgore...
He is now a warrior of the race known as the Dragon Riders."

Talking about Dragon Riders, here is a Dragon Rider WIP:

BTW his sword is the Khanda symbol, with Waheguru (wonderful teacher AKA God) imprinted in it.
Currently, I am working on a comic based on Miri Piri. Depending on how things go, my plan is to release the first issue by the end of August this year but I doubt I'll finish the issue by then since there are currently only two people working on it, including myself. I have pictured it being turned into a game as well, but we'll see how things go.