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.