The Real Chris Chua

Cafe Sketch 1/18/2012

2012-01-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

Some cafe sketches from last week. I've decided to break out the watercolors again and just get in the habit of doing it more often...

Cafe Sketch 1/02/2012 Part 4

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the final part of my New Year cafe sketch series, everyone! If you missed the first 3, make sure to follow the links at the bottom! Enjoy!

PART 1
PART 2
PART 3

Cafe Sketch 1/02/2012 Part 3

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned for Part 4!

Cafe Sketch 1/02/2012 Part 2

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

My new Tumblr blog!

2012-01-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give you all a heads up about my new Tumblr blog. This new blog will not be replacing this existing one but every now and then, I'll be posting exclusive sketches, animation advice, and a random collection of thoughts and photos!

Anyway, I'm still experimenting with the blog so don't be surprised to see the layout change every now and again as I work out the kinks. Please feel free to drop by and say hello and let me know what you think! Thanks and enjoy!

Cafe Sketch 1/02/2012 Part 1

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

New Year's resolution #289: DRAW MORE!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Holiday Break Sketches Part 2 of 2

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back guys! As promised, here's part two of the sketches I did during my holiday break. Between sleeping, eating, and visiting extended family, I even got a bit of time do some sketching! These first few pages were done in front of a movie theater in downtown Culver City.

There's a fountain in front of the theater that attracts kids of all ages...

If you missed Part 1 of my Holiday Sketches, follow this LINK. Stay tuned for more sketches coming soon!

Holiday Break Sketches Part 1 of 2

2012-01-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everybody! Hope you all had a relaxing holiday break. I got some much needed r & r as I headed down to Los Angeles to visit my in-laws. This first batch of sketches were done at Oakland Airport. Enjoy!

It's always amazing to see the sheer variety of people on display at the airport. You've got all sorts of body types, ages, attitudes and demeanors to capture. Definitely great sketchbook fodder!

Anyway, come back soon for more Holiday Break sketches!

Sketchbook Backlog Part 3 12/18/2011

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ok folks, here's the last batch of drawings from the old sketchbook backlog. The rest of these are from my trip to San Francisco several weeks ago. My sister was visiting from out of town and wanted to go shopping so I figured I could use that time to get some sketching done.

Hope you all have a great holiday and thanks again for stopping by to check out my sketches! Cheers!

Sketchbook Backlog Part 2 12/18/2011

2011-12-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

Alright guys! Here's part 2 of my sketchbook dump! The first few are from Oakland's Eat Real Food Festival a few months back...

This next batch is on the BART train going to San Francisco shortly after Thanksgiving! There's never a shortage of interesting people on the train...

Sketchbook Backlog Part 1 12/18/2011

2011-12-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long. BRAVE has been getting insanely busy and the holidays are almost upon us! I had some free time today so I figured I would scan in and dump a bunch of my sketches onto the blog before I get sidetracked again.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Lueder House

2011-09-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Joy and I had a chance to visit the Leuder House this weekend. We've often walked by the old Victorian house and wondered what it looked like inside. Well, we found out that the house was renovated and was recently put on the market for 2.5 MILLION dollars!

Anyway, I took tons of photos and thought I'd share with you all:

A view from the front of the house

Walking in...

My favorite room: the solarium

a closer view of the dome in the solarium

main kitchen

patio right outside the kitchen

kitchen sink. Note the heaters used to make the water hot.

beautiful copper stove vent.

dining nook with plenty of sunlight.

main living room

Upstairs

a wonderful view of Berkeley from the upstairs

Lovely window detail of the upstairs kitchenette

upstairs bed

arabesque lantern in the bedroom ceiling

bathroom with a view

beautiful view of Berkeley while showering!

downstairs bathroom with wood paneling

ceiling lamps

view of the back yard patio and garage

Master suite library.....Cozy!

Gorgeous trim on the roof

Solarium with lots of light

backyard path

Old boiler

view from the backyard garden

Plants in the back yard

Garage with glass sliding doors on all sides

Leuder House.

Downtown Berkeley 9/3/2011 Part 2

2011-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of my sketches from Downtown Berkeley. I saw hoola hoop fitness class at the park and did these quick sketches. Most of these are quick, 10 second sketches as I tried to capture the energy and motion of the subjects.

Stay loose, people and keep on drawing!

Downtown Berkeley 9/3/2011 Part 1

2011-09-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sketches from Downtown Berkeley this past weekend. I happened upon a farmer's market and did some people-watching at a nearby park.

Cafe Sketch 9/02/2011

2011-09-05T12:08:00.001-07:00

Weekend Sketches Part 3 of 3

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! Well, you've all made it to Friday! I'm gearing up for a nice long Labor Day Weekend of relaxation, sketching and gaming!!

Have a safe and fun holiday break, everyone! Catch you all next week.

5 years!

2011-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

This past August, I was lucky enough to celebrate my 5 year anniversary with my wife Joy. We took a long, relaxing weekend trip up to Mendocino.

A view of the California coast at Mendocino...

We rented an outrigger and paddled out to the river for about 5 hours. Yes, our shoulders were sore that night!

I didn't really sketch much but when I got the chance, I drew some of the local scenery.

You can't have scenery this beautiful and not drink wine!

And finally, here's a picture-perfect sunset on our last night at Mendocino.

I feel so lucky and so blessed to be on this crazy journey with my wife. I only hope that the next 5 years will be just as fun, exciting and full of adventure! Cheers!

Weekend Sketches Part 2 of 3

2011-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy hump day everyone! This week is feeling interminable. How bout some drawings to get you through the rest of the week?

Cheers, friends! More sketches coming on Friday!

Sketchbook Backlog Part 3

2011-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday guys! Here's part 3 of the sketchbook backlog. The biggest post yet! Hope this gets you through the workday...

Weekend Sketches Part 1 of 3

2011-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Have a great Monday, everyone!

Sketchbook Backlog Part 2

2011-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of my sketchbook backlog....

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! More to come tomorrow!

Sketchbook Backlog Part 1

2011-08-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. I've missed you. Yes, I've been quite busy over the last few months. Between gearing up on Brave, celebrating my 5 year anniversary and going home for my sister's wedding, things have certainly been quite hectic.

Anyway, I've gone ahead and scanned in quite a few pages from the old sketchbook and wanted to share my drawings with you. These sketches range from early March all the way to this past weekend. Quite a backlog, to be sure!

Enjoy guys!

It's great to be back! Stay tuned because I've got TONS more sketches coming your way guys!

Mexico Travel Journal Part 4

2011-06-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! Welcome to Part 4 of my Mexico Travel Journal! This is the last part of the journey on our 8th day in Mexico. As such, there are no pictures since we spent most of the day waiting in the airport in Oaxaca and on a plane home to SanFrancisco.

Day 8: We got to the Oaxaca airport several hours early hoping we could catch a stand by flight but sadly, there were no free seats. We ended up waiting for over 3 hours but that gave me plenty of time to relax and sketch!

Thanks again for taking the time to read my travel journal guys! I can't recommend Mexico City and Oaxaca enough. They've got great food, culture and such a warm, friendly people. I really do hope I get a chance to go back one day!

If you missed the first 3 parts of the Mexico Travel Journal, catch up HERE!

Mexico Travel Journal Part 3

2011-05-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay. I hope you've all enjoyed my Mexico Travel journal so far because today, I've got the biggest post yet!! If you need to get caught up, check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Also, if you'd like to have a closer look at my sketches, just click on the picture for a hi-res version! Enjoy!!

DAY 6: Joy and I start off the day by heading towards the Ethno-botanical gardens for a tour. As we made our way there, we noticed a group of people gathered around a local food cart on a street corner.

BREAKFAST!

We get closer and realize the guy is serving pork tacos and some sort of hot soup from the pork broth topped with cilantro, diced onions, and salsa. We order both and were blown away by the flavor.

These were definitely THE best pork tacos we've ever had!

yummy street food

After breakfast, we head over to the Botanical garden for our tour. We saw a bunch of interesting looking plants and even learned a thing or two about Mexico's rich botanical history. (Did you know that chilis have a high vitamin C content?)

Mexico has TONS of cacti!

After the gardens, we geared up for our most interesting tour of all: A trip to Teotitlan de Valle where we visited a group of women who were being given a loan through our donations to the tour. This was a type of micro-finance which helps women from the town get enough money to finance their projects such as rug making, textiles, and even food for their local shops.

walking the street of Teotitlan with our guide..

It was quite an eye-opening experience to visit these women and see the hard work and the labor that they put into their crafts. They opened their homes to us and made us feel welcome to see their handiwork as well as the process for making their goods.

You can see how many rugs and bags this woman has been able to make which was possible through donations from the tours:

beautiful rugs

Here, she talks about how she now prefers to use natural dyes over synthetic ones. In this case, she crushes these dried bugs called cochineal to make this deep, brilliant red!

Using natural dyes!

Another woman we visited uses her loans to make tons of tortillas. Here she shows us her stash of corn which she'll then make into tortillas.

corn for tortillas...

Textiles are HUGE in Oaxaca and Teotitlan de Valle is now known for their vibrant and beautiful rugs. We were invited by another woman who, with the help of her husband, specializes in making ornate rugs.

the looms create these beautiful rugs

One of the last women we visited made these flat, crispy wafers using an iron press heated over a tub of hot coals. It was awe-inspiring to see this woman devote so much time to making these wafers using this press. That press weighed a TON! I can't imagine having to do that for half an hour, let alone a whole day!!

Each wafer takes about 5 minutes to make and she had a stack of several hundred. She generously gave one to each of us as a sample. Interestingly enough, they tasted like fortune cookies.

tasted like fortune cookies!

We were all pretty tired by the end of the tour but it was absolutely worth every minute. It was truly inspiring to see these women glowing with pride at how they've banded together to be successful enough to support themselves as well as their families. This was hands down the best experience I've had on the trip so far and one I will NEVER forget.

For those interested in making a donation or to learn more about En Via, please visit their website at : http://www.envia.org/

rugs sold at the town square

Day 7: On our last full day in Oaxaca, Joy and I decided to visit Monte Alban, one of the earliest cities in Meso-America.


a view of the valley

Another interesting view was of the ball court (think ancient basketball)!

Of course, we did more pyramid climbing while we were at the site!

We returned to Oaxaca shortly before lunch. It was perfect timing because we ended up buying several types of food from a local street fair.

Joy buys some chamuy (sour tamarind with chili sauce)

Grilled chicken for lunch!!

After lunch, we decide to ramp down a bit and do some more people watching. Since it was a Friday, there was a good buzz of activity at the zocalo ranging from students to street vendors as well as shoe shiners!


a great view of the church while relaxing at the zocalo

Joy's sketch on the top right of the page!

textile vendor

As night descended on the city, it was bittersweet. We had a great time in Oaxaca, meeting some of the warmest, kindest people and getting to enjoy the culture of this great city. We would have to leave the next day but it was definitely a place we would never forget!!

Our last night in Oaxaca

Mexico Travel Journal Part 2

2011-04-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Welcome to Part 2 of my Mexico Travel Journal! If you'd like to catch up with Part 1 , it's not too late! Head on over HERE to check it out. I'll wait.

You back? Great! Let's get started with Part 2!

Day 4: Our last day in Mexico City. Joy and I had a quick meal and headed out to Parque Mexico since we didn't have to catch our bus to Oaxaca until 1 p.m. We saw a bunch of dogs sitting quietly all in a row with trainers watching over them.

dreaming of tennis balls:)

I noticed that people in Mexico City just adore their dogs. These trainers are apparently 8 brothers who provide training to dogs whose owners are at work all day and have no time to watch their pets.

some well behaved dogs

There were also a bunch of art students from a local art school drawing the dogs so I asked Joy to stop for a bit so I could draw the dogs as well!

After a few minutes, the group's art teacher looked over at my sketchbook and asked me to give her students an impromptu art lesson! I sketched for them and tried to tell them my philosophy of drawing using my limited Spanish. It was a bit awkward at first but the students eventually grasped what I was trying to say.

I give an impromptu art lesson to some students!

Afterwards, Joy and I spend a bit more time at the park. I sketched a bit more and we eventually head back to our hotel, check out and head to the bus station.

The 6 hour bus ride from Mexico City to Oaxaca was pretty uneventful. They had a tiny monitor that played Transformers 2, Old Dogs, and Surrogates. Absolutely PAINFUL! I tried to draw the bus driver (below) but the bus was too bumpy so I just relaxed and got some much needed rest.

drawing on a bumpy bus is VERY challenging!

Joy not looking too happy here :)

We finally arrived in Oaxaca at around 7:30 p.m. The view of the city from the highway was pretty spectacular and after excitedly checking into our hotel, we grabbed some food and explored the town.

Arriving in Oaxaca at dusk

There has been so much bad press about how "dangerous" and "unsafe" it is in Mexico lately and I wanted to take a minute to dispel those awful myths about this beautiful country. In Oaxca, at the center of town is the Zocalo, a communal area in front of the church in which the townsfolk all gather to be with their families, friends and loved ones.

You can see trinket sellers, musicians, tourists, lovers, elderly folk, and kids just hanging out passing the time, being with each other and living their lives.

at the Zocalo

Hanging out and watching people at the zocalo was a revelation to me. Not only did I feel EXTREMELY safe, but I also felt a such a warm sense of community and life exude from everyone around me.

Cathedral de Oaxaca

Naturally, all these interesting people got my creative juices flowing so I took out the old sketchbook and started drawing again!

Day 5: Our first full day in Oaxaca! We start it off right with some juevos divorciados (two fried eggs with beans, mole and some salsa) and coffee!

say it with me: "juevos divorciados"!

We then went to the Museo Nacional de las Culturas where we got to look at some ancient, Indiana Jones-style artifacts like this beauty:

real human skull decorated with turquoise tile-work.

After the museum, we spent some time walking through the markets where we bought an alebrije. Alebrijes are colorful, wooden figurines that are made in Oaxaca. They are sold everywhere and are really quite charming:

Joy picks the purple one! Great choice!

After a brief rest in our hotel, we spend the rest of the day at the zocalo again and I got a chance to get more drawing time in!

vendors at the zocalo

Our first full day in Oaxaca was an absolute blast. As much as I loved Mexico City, the sheer sense of vibrancy and life in Oaxaca was just intoxicating. I can't wait to share more pictures and sketches with you all soon so please check back again!

...To be continued!

Mexico Travel Journal Part 1

2011-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I know I promised you all some sketches and pictures of my Mexico trip, so it's finally here! First off, I'd like to apologize for my poor penmanship, misspellings, and whatever incorrect information I may have put into my journal. I don't have the best memory and some of these pages were done on the fly WHILE walking around in a foreign city. Not very easy, to say the least!

Obviously, it's very hard to bring forth the beauty and sheer LIFE that I observed but I hope that you guys can get a small glimpse of it through my sketches, and photos. I had an AWESOME time in Mexico and I hope you'll all have as much fun going through my travel journal as I had drawing (and making notes) in it!

Day 1: Not too exciting since most of the day was spent at the airport / plane / taxi making our journey from San Francisco to Mexico City.

cab voucher from airport to our hotel

Day 2: Saw us visiting Casa Azul (the Blue House) where Frida Kahlo and famous muralist Diego Rivera lived for a good portion of their lives.

the garden of the Casa Azul. No pictures inside :(

We also took some time to explore the city which was absolutely bustling with activity...

navigating the streets of Mexico City

beautifully carved door to a church.

Stopping for a snack (sope)!

We then toured the presidential palace where we saw Diego Rivera's famous murals. They tell the story of the people of Mexico and are absolutely STAGGERING to behold. Pictures don't do them any justice but you get the idea!

As I wrote in my journal, we went back to our hotel dead tired but glad to have taken in so much of the city on our first full day. A great start to the trip, for sure!

Day 3: We started off the day with a great breakfast of sopes (I'm eating a bigger version of it in the picture above) which are made with blue corn tortillas topped with beans, white cheese, chicken and a bit of lettuce. YUM!

sopes for breakfast.

After breakfast, we hop on the bus bound for the pyramids of Teotihuacan!

the view of the valley from the pyramid of the sun.

beautiful carvings on the pyramids.

We returned to our hotel later that day sunburned and more tired than the day before. We go back to our hotel, rested up and have a bit of wine. We also made a new friend:

I meet the hotel's resident dog, Abril.

Later that night, we set out for dinner at a restaurant called Lampuga where we had some amazing soft shell crab tacos!

softshell crab tacos and seafood chowder. STUNNING.

Definitely a great final night in Mexico City!

Stay tuned for my further adventures in Mexico. Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

Toy Story 3 wins gold!

2011-03-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

Hey bloggers! I just wanted to take a quick minute to congratulate my friends and co-workers who lent a hand working on Toy Story 3 which won the Best Animated film Oscar this past sunday. I didn't get a chance to work on the film myself but I was able to work on several promo spots so I still feel deeply attached the success and warm reception of the movie.

Photo courtesy of Lee Unkrich

All the awards in the world would mean nothing without my friends with whom I have learned and grown so much since I've gotten to work here at Pixar.

Arik Ehle, me, Royce Wesley, Aaron Hartline and Everett Downing

Lee was such a generous guy, taking the time to share the Oscar with everyone in the company, especially after barely recovering from the frantic craziness of the Academy Awards.

Director Lee Unkrich and me

Once again, a HUGE thanks to all the fans and everyone out there who embraced the film and its characters. It's been a fun ride!

Westfield Shopping Center 2/19/2011

2011-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was super rainy and dreary here in the San Francisco Bay area but I had my first non working Saturday in awhile so I was determined to use that time to relax and go sketching!

Anyway, Joy decided she wanted to go shopping in San Francisco's Westfield Mall so I tagged along and got some nice drawing time!

...warming up

I walked around for a bit and noticed a band of little girls romping around and having fun so I decided to sketch them!

little kids are a BLAST to draw!

There's ALWAYS a TON of interesting characters in San Francisco.

My favorite moment was seeing this little girl who couldn't have been more than a year old who looked like she had recently learned to walk. She would run back and forth from her mom to her dad as fast as her little legs could carry her and as she reached them, she'd give em a big hug.

These moments are really what sketching from life is all about. You get a true sense of a person's character because they're acting without any inhibition. It's real and sincere. You can't fake this stuff. All it takes is for you to open your eyes and look around. If you can find it, it's pure GOLD.

a beautiful moment between a father and his daughter..

Hope you all have a great week guys and come back soon!

Been playing lots of boardgames lately...

2011-02-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Those who know me well know that I LOVE boardgames. If you haven't seen it yet, I've got another blog called The Geekshelf where I chronicle my nerdy passions like books, videogames, movies, and last but not least, boardgames!

Here's a few samples of boardgame pictures that I've taken during our weekly game sessions:

Star Wars: Epic Duels

Formula D

Puzzle Strike.

I HIGHLY recommend each and every one of these games. They're all relatively easy to learn, have great mechanics, and allows you to trashtalk with your closest friends if you're so inclined! So what are you waiting for? Head on over to The Geekshelf to see more pictures and read about these great games!

A fresh batch of drawings 2/11/2011 Part 3!

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

More drawings from the sketchbook backlog!

Cars 2 update!

2011-02-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! I just wanted to give a quick update on my involvement on Cars 2. Late last November, I was pulled off Brave to help out on several Cars 2 promo turnarounds and as of January, I've joined the animation team to help finish up the film itself!

The film is looking really great with a host of new characters (my new favorite being British agent, Finn McMissle, voiced by the one and only, Sir Michael Caine!)

British Agent, Finn McMissle.

There are only 7 weeks remaining to finish up the animation and the crew is really doing a bang up job! If you simply can't wait, you can have a small peek at the official trailer here:

And if you want more info on the characters (old and new), locations, as well as the film itself just visit the OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Stay tuned for more news on Cars 2 as the film fast approaches its release date on June 24th!

A fresh batch of drawings 2/11/2011 Part 2!

2011-02-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

More sketchbook drawings coming at ya!

Happy Sunday everyone!

A fresh batch of drawings! 2/11/2011 Part 1

2011-02-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Sorry for the long lapse of not posting any sketches but working on Cars 2 since the Christmas break has thoroughly consumed my life! Anyway, here's a batch of sketches that I've had waiting in my moleskine which I've finally had a chance to scan and upload here for your viewing pleasure!

I'll be posting more here in the next few days so please check back in again! We've got 6 weeks left to finish up the animation for Cars 2 so I should have more time to sketch then. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Oh, and don't forget to vote on the new poll!

I'm a permanent Pixar fixture now!

2011-02-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

Many of you have probably heard that Pixar is expanding into a new building on their Emeryville campus. In addition to the new building, many extra parking spots are also being created to accommodate all the new employees so the parking lot is being expanded as well.

Anyway, last week, the company asked employees to sign their names into the wet cement of the parking lot. After a long wait, we were finally allowed to sign our names onto the cement!

my name in wet cement at Pixar. History!

It's a small gesture that the company didn't even have to do but it goes to show how personal Pixar is and has always been. I'm glad I was able to participate in this event and even when I'm gone, a small part of me will always be with the company that I love so much!

Pixar Times illustration and Interview!

2011-02-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers!

I recently had the pleasure of doing an illustration and interview for the Pixar Times! They're a great blog that covers Pixar news of all kinds and they asked if I could do a piece for their PixArt section for Pixar's 25th Anniversary.

"Checkmate!"

Head on over to The Pixar Times to see the illustration in full resolution as well as reading my interview. I hope you all enjoy!

Toy Story Poll results!

2011-02-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

Hey bloggers! I know it's been closed for awhile but here are the results to the last poll: Which Toy Story film to YOU prefer?

Toy Story 1 = 5 votes (12%)
Toy Story 2 = 6 votes (15%)
Toy Story 3 = 9 votes (23%)
Love 'em all = 16 votes (41%)
Not a fan = 3 (7%)

Thanks for voting and make sure to make your voice heard in the next poll!

The Pixar Podcast Interview!

2011-02-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Several months ago, myself and fellow Pixar animator Austin Madison were interviewed by Derrick Clemens of The Pixar Podcast. It's a wonderful two part interview that covers a gamut of topics such as how we got started in our careers, our paths through animation, and last but not least, how Walt Disney is like the Death Star!

Animator extraordinaire, Austin Madison

Yours truly

So, if you've got about an hour and a half to kill, why not head on over to The Pixar Podcast and have a listen? Drop me a line and let me know what you think!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing you all the best in the year to come!

Union Square, San Francisco Part 5

2010-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Union Square, San Francisco Part 4

2010-12-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, bloggers!

I'll be leaving town tomorrow to visit my family during the Christmas break, but fear not! I'll still be posting sketches here so come back often!

Union Square, San Francisco Part 3

2010-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Union Square, San Francisco Part 2

2010-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Here's part 2 of my sketches of people in Union Square.

Union Square, San Francisco Part 1

2010-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Have a great weekend, folks!

Black Friday Shopping Trip Part 4

2010-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Wendnesday, folks!

Black Friday Shopping Trip Part 3

2010-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Here's another batch of mall sketches to help inspire you to get your Christmas shopping done.

Pixar game night: Cosmic Encounter!

2010-12-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! In case you missed it, I did a write-up of a recent game night I had with a bunch of co-workers. Head on over to THE GEEKSHELF and check it out!

Cosmic Encounter!!

Have a great weekend!

Black Friday Shopping Trip Part 2

2010-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Black Friday Shopping Trip Part 1

2010-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Here's a fresh batch of sketches from my recent trip out to San Francisco shopping during Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). The mall was packed and there were TONS of shoppers to draw!

I'll be posting more so come back soon!

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 8

2010-11-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Hope you all made it out of the Thanksgiving holiday break safe and sound! I know, it's depressing that it's back to work again, huh? Like you, I was just getting used to all the eating and lazing around but oh well, maybe a few sketches will brighten your Monday!

Come back tomorrow and help me celebrate the momentous occassion of posting a sketch each day this month!

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 7

2010-11-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 6

2010-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Let get some PEN up in HEEERREEEE!

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 5

2010-11-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

...And now, WITH COLOR!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, everyone! Be safe and watch out for the turkey rebellion!

A kid's point of view

2010-11-25T22:49:00.000-08:00

A charming portrait of me done by one of the kids at the Thanksgiving party I attended today. Thought I'd share with everyone:)

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 4

2010-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!

Hope these sketches help with the digestion:)

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 3

2010-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Glad you could drop by to check out the latest sketches! We're only 6 days away from my goal of posting sketches every day this month!

I know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving but that won't be stopping me from posting up a few more drawings! So once you finish eating that turkey and you're plunked down on your couch about to pass out, why not stop on by and look at some more drawings?

It may just help with you digestion:)

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 2

2010-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe sketch 11/21/10 Part 1

2010-11-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

So, we come to it at last! We've got only a little over a week left and I will have achieved my goal of posting sketches EVERY DAY this month! Thanks again to everyone for the kind words of support and for coming to the blog to check out the daily drawings. But you didn't come here to listen to me blabber on. You're here for the sketches and here they are! Enjoy!

Small Moleskine sketches 11/14/10 Part 6

2010-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Small Moleskine sketches 11/14/10 Part 5

2010-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Small Moleskine sketches 11/14/10 Part 4

2010-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

what a good life:)

Happy Friday everybody! Remember, I'll be posting drawings EVERY DAY this month so make sure to come back tomorrow for more!

Small Moleskine sketches 11/14/10 Part 3

2010-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Small Moleskine sketches 11/14/10 Part 2

2010-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Small Moleskine sketches 11/14/10 Part 1

2010-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggers! Well, here are some sketches from my small softcover Moleskine. It's been my favorite sketchbook lately. Hope you enjoy the drawings and have a great week!

Sunday brunch!

Cafe Sketch 11/09/10 Part 2

2010-11-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/09/10 Part 1

2010-11-14T08:00:00.001-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/06/10 Part 3

2010-11-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/06/10 Part 2

2010-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/06/10 Part 1

2010-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/04/10 Part 3

2010-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/04/10 Part 2

2010-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/04/10 Part 1

2010-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sketch 11/01/2010

2010-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

San Francisco Day Trip 10/29/10 Part 3

2010-11-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! Well, we come to it at last...Part 3 of the San Francisco Day Trip series....These were some random people at the Westfield Shopping Center.

Have a great weekend guys!

Cafe Sketch 10/31/10 Part 2

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

The little boy was a joy to watch. He was playing with a Lightning McQueen toy:)

Cafe Sketch 10/31/10 Part 1

2010-11-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Day Trip 10/29/10 Part 2

2010-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's part 2 of my San Francisco Day Trip series, bloggers! These were drawn at the outdoor plaza at Union Square. Lots of interesting people to observe, for sure! Enjoy!

San Francisco Day Trip 10/29/10 Part 1

2010-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did some sketches in San Francisco last Friday. These first few were on the BART headed into the city...

The rest of these were drawn at Union Square while I was waiting for Joy as she went shopping...

Cafe Sketch 10/26/10 Part 3

2010-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everybooooody!

More tomorrow!

Cafe Sketch 10/26/10 Part 2

2010-10-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sketches from the French Hotel Cafe in Berkeley...

Cafe Sketch 10/26/10 Part 1

2010-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Have a safe Halloween, everybody!

Rainy Weekend Sketches 10/24/10 Part 3

2010-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Wow, So this is probably my biggest post EVER! I've been doing a TON of drawing lately so I figure I'd just dump as much as I could so I don't fall behind on my posts. Anyway, these are the last of the Rainy Weekend Sketches so enjoy!

Rainy Weekend Sketches 10/24/10 Part 2

2010-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back, bloggers! Well, as I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend was rainy and the weather pretty much sucked. Oddly enough, Joy and I ended up running around everywhere that day. Here's a few sketches at a restaurant we decided to try out called Champa Garden.

After we left the restaurant, the weather started to clear up so we went to 4th street where Joy continued to shop. I decided to make my way to Peet's Coffee and sketched some more:

Rainy Weekend Sketches 10/24/10 Part 1

2010-10-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! This past weekend was rainy, cool, and dreary in the Bay Area. Joy wanted to go shopping because she heard about a great sale at Jeremy's, one of her favorite stores in Berkeley. So, being the good husband that I am, I figured I would go with her and maybe get a few sketches in...

the rain gave pedestrians some GREAT poses!

This old gent was ready for anything...

Hope you're all having better weather in your neck of the woods and stay tuned for more drawings coming soon!

Cafe Sketch 10/21/10 Part 2

2010-10-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Some studies of the cashier girl...

Cafe Sketch 10/21/10 Part 1

2010-10-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Cafe Sketch 10/18/10 Part 3

2010-10-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Part 3 of my new sketchbook series! Thanks again for stopping by guys, but make sure to come back for more!!

Day Off Part 4

2010-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Well, here's Part 4 of the Day Off sketchbook series! It was so relaxing to get away from work for a bit and just draw all day.

I love drawing little kids!

Have a great week everyone!

Cafe Sketch 10/18/10 Part 2

2010-10-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

More scans from my new sketchbook...Enjoy, everyone!

A little splash of color!

Day Off Part 3

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Part 3 of my Day Off series....Enjoy, everyone!

trying harder to incorporate props into my drawings to add some visual interest.

Stay tuned for the final part of the Day Off series, coming soon!

Cafe Sketch 10/18/10 Part 1

2010-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hey bloggers! So I started a new sketchbook recently and I just wanted to share these new pages with you guys!

As I mentioned before, I'm really trying to do sketches that tell stories...

a couple of small gestures...

really tried to exaggerate this guy's MASS...

Day Off Part 2

2010-10-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! Well, here's part 2 of my Day Off sketches from this past week....enjoy!

this woman had some interesting poses..

seemed like an interesting conversation....

Cafe sketch 10/10/10 Part 3

2010-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, here's Part 3 of the 10/10/10 series. Try to contain your excitement....

Day Off part 1

2010-10-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Took the day off from work today and drew all day....

I'm really trying to get a better sense of place and relationships with my drawings.

Have a good one guys!

Cafe sketch 10/10/10 Part 2

2010-10-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Part 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!......*GASP*.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy

Cafe sketch 10/210/10 Part 1

2010-10-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! Hope you all had a great weekend! I spent pretty much the entire day drawing since the weather was so beautiful. It really can't get any better than that:) Anyway, enjoy!

Keep your eyes peeled for more drawings coming soon!

On my drive to work this morning...

2010-10-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

ya gotta love Berkeley:)

Sketchbook Backlog Part 2

2010-10-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Well, here's part two of my sketchbook backlog. I'll hopefully be sketching again this Saturday so make sure and come back again soon!

Have a great rest of the week everyone and if you still haven't visited my new blog: GEEKSHELF, make sure you go and check it out! Go ahead and get your geek on!

Sketchbook Backlog part 1

2010-10-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! Sorry for the long absence. Been up to lots of things lately, yadda yadda. Anyway, here's a backlog of sketches I've finally got a chance to scan and upload onto the ol blog.

back to watercolors:)

Enjoy and stay tuned for more soon!

The GEEKSHELF has arrived!

2010-10-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

Hey bloggers! Sorry for the long absence with my sketches. I've got a backlog that I've scanned and will be putting it up soon. In the meantime, I've begun a new blog called Geekshelf where I'll be posting my thoughts on films, boardgames, books and all my other geeky passions:)

So if you've got a few minutes to waste, please visit the Geekshelf by clicking on THIS LINK or the permanent link on the right hand column and let me know what you think!

Espresso Roma Cafe 7/17/2010 Part 2

2010-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggers! Here's part 2 of my Espresso Roma sketches from last weekend!

Have a wonderful weekend!