East of Here and West of There

Kal and Juan of GMA News TV's Ugaling Wagi. I designed these two over glasses of iced coffee, two or three Banh mi sandwiches, Jonas' beef pares ( with a side order of kikiam,) Jolli spaghetti, some bags of chicharon, nachos with cheese and a Burger Project monstrosity I mashed up. Of course, all these were eaten in a span of a week or two...

Inspired by TSR's campaign setting of Athas, the world of the Dark Sun. The world is more primitive and more brutal than ordinary run of the mill medieval fantasy worlds, thus requiring a hardier, more rugged form of life. Depicted is a Mul gladiator, a crossbreed of a dwarf and a human. Bred for gladiator combat, the mul inherited the dwarven characteristics of incredible strength, stamina and grim ferocity as well as the taller and more supple physique of humans. Muls are normally hairless and sterile. The Mul depicted is wearing chitinous armor and bears ownership tatoos on his face. Scanned pencil sketch.

Dwarves are short but extremely powerful. Athasian dwarves average 4½ to 5 feet in height and tend to have a very large muscle mass - a full grown dwarf weighs in the neighborhood of 200 pounds. Lives of hard work in the hot sun leave them with a rich tan and rugged, calloused hands and feet. Dwarves can live up to 250 years. A dwarf's chief love is toil. A dwarf is never happier than when there is a cause to work or fight for, something he can approach with stoic singlemindedness for weeks, months, years, or even decades at a time. Once a dwarf's mind is committed to a certain task, he'll only set it aside after a great deal of grumbling and coercion. The fulfillment he achieves upon completion of a lengthy, difficult task is what he strives for. from Dark Sun Races Inspired by TSR's campaign setting of Athas, the world of the Dark Sun. The world is more primitive and more brutal than ordinary run of the mill medieval fantasy w...

Inspired by TSR's campaign setting of Athas, the world of the Dark Sun. The world is more primitive and more brutal than ordinary run of the mill medieval fantasy worlds, thus requiring a hardier, more rugged form of life. Depicted is an elven warrior. A bane to the city states, Elven desert raiders prowl the harsh landscape of Athas. The Elf depicted above wears his tribal war mask around his neck. The mask also serves as a sand filter and glare reducer. Athas yields very little iron, thus requiring the use of alternative materials for weaponry and protection. The mask is made from bone and crystal slivers while the sword is made from crystal. Pencil sketch colored in Painter Classic. The dunes and steppes of Athas are home to thousands of tribes of nomadic elves. While each tribe is very different culturally, the elves within them remain a race of long-limbed sprinters given to theft, raiding, and warfare. An Athasian elf stands between 6...

Way back in college and before I started miniature wargaming, I joined a small group of like-minded fellows and went adventuring in the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons, first in Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms and then Athas, the world of the Dark Sun. I bought the Dark Sun set and really liked the campaign setting, even setting up as a dungeon master a few times with my illustrations and game aids. The world is more primitive and more brutal than ordinary run of the mill medieval fantasy worlds, thus requiring a hardier, more rugged form of life. Depicted is an Athasian Elf. Known as ferocious desert warriors, the Athasian elf is fiercely clannish and territorial. The elf depicted above bears the hair beads and the bone hilt crystal longsword of a war leader. Pencil sketch colored in Painter Classic.

Digital illustration; 2014; Inspired by the 2010 edition of Charles Dicken's Bleak House

Here are three comps for a portrait project I'm working on. The composition's very important in making the portrait succesful so I'm still mulling over which one to work on. At this time, I'm going for comp 1. Comp 1 Comp 2 Comp 3 Colored comp to come!

Digital comp for an acrylic painting

Here are two acrylic paintings I'm working on. These are digital sketches of what I plan to do. Ever since, painting has been a spontaneous act for me, with the composition, colors, strokes, etc being determined as I work on the piece. Nowadays though, I'm planning each step. And the computer has been a very useful tool for this. With Photoshop, I can fool around with the composition and the colors. Although I plan to avoid a heavy outline, the heavy linework in these digital roughs gives me a fresh perspective  in planning out the composition. I drew these roughs with a thick round brush on the exact canvas size I plan to use but only in 72 dpi. This is more for expediency's sake than anything else. Using digital roughs have also made me more conscious of my color choices. Before, I'd grab whichever tube was suitable for me during the actual work. This is why my taboret is extremely messy and crammed with different colors, varieties and brands of paint. By trying ou...

At the beginning of the War of the Ring, Frodo Baggins was carried on Glorfindel's horse towards the Ford of Bruinen, with the Ringwraiths in hot pursuit. It was at the ford Frodo, poisoned by a deadly wound, made his stand, and defied the Witch-king of Angmar. CorelDraw Vector Illustration; 2004

Galagos isn't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill wizard. An incantation gone wrong has left his soul trapped in the body of his familiar, a prissy black cat with wings named Puss. Now, he's searching for the means to gain back his soul and to rid Puss of an unwanted tenant in her body. Another character from my 'Land of Iph: Wizards and Warriors' series. Coreldraw vector illustration.

Ages before, the High King of Assuria ordered the creation of a unit of immortal soldiers to act as his bodyguard. Chosen from his most loyal followers, he bound them in service and fealty to himself and his descendants. However, his plans went awry when a cataclysm sank his kingdom into the sea and the spells for making these sentinels were lost. Now, leaderless and scattered in the land of Iph, these immortal warriors seek new kings to follow and new causes to carry. And perhaps, they also seek an escape to the timeless tedium of battle that has become their lives. Another character from my 'Land of Iph: Wizards and Warriors' series. Coreldraw vector illustration.