Ad Astra Per Aspera

Birthday Comission

2012-02-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

A painting I did for a client who wanted a painting for his significant other. I actually liked this painting and how it all came together. It was one of those paintings where things were just going right and felt no resistance : ) . I hope they like it

Reaching

2012-01-08T08:57:00.001-08:00

weird dreams of late

Dare to Let Your Dreams Reach Beyond You

2012-01-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

If I dream you're here

and you dream I'm there

We'll be no where near

You should just come here

If I wake you up

Only difference is

You can live the dream

Just believe in it

while falling asleep listening to "The Dreamer" by Common this is what I saw in my mind

Round 2

2012-01-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

So furthering my exploration of Robh's approach to painting , I have found some interesting things about it that I think are quite efficient. I am not sure how to put it all in words. But it is definitely putting me outside of my comfort zone.

So I included the intial block out. This is actually kind of where I spend the most time thinking. It kind of hurts my head to think about all the shapes and how lighting affects it. Its kind of like being a mathematician . However, When I did get past that particular part . Everything felt rather easy and relaxing to do. I will have to do more studies of this. Any way's enjoy

For my Lady

2012-01-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

May 2012 bring her nothing but success and happYNESS ;)

NEW WORLDS CG HUB CONTEST

2012-01-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

done for the CG hub new worlds contest. Theme was north pole. Here are the thumbs and the final , I hope you like. If you happen to come across it on the polls feel free to vote it!!

Jang Khang Study

2011-12-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

study of Jhang Jaeok and Khang Le , some of my favorite artists. I love their loose style!!

For the Dreamers and Believers

2011-12-25T09:23:00.001-08:00

merry x mas

Ruppel Studies

2011-12-23T07:26:00.001-08:00

Because I am such a fan of Uncharted 3 and Robh Ruppel. I can help but try to do some studies of his style of paintings. I seriously have no clue of how he does it haha. But these artist studies are great for me to explore things out of comfort zone. Here are couple of the results.

Station

2011-12-14T11:26:00.001-08:00

Live Stream Painting

Warm Up

2011-12-13T06:30:00.001-08:00

Exploring different ways of painting . Now back to work

Practice

2011-12-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

took too long but ah well , just grinding trying to get better

Segovia

2011-11-26T07:58:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Segovia

Do it for my City

2011-11-24T04:33:00.000-08:00

Morning Sketches

2011-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Lunch Sketch

2011-11-16T15:21:00.001-08:00

House Lunch Sketch

2011-11-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

cartoony fun , quick sketch before starting work

Sky Rim Inspired

2011-11-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

everyone has been talking about skyrim lately , never actually heard of the game before nor played it , but after looking it up , the environments were pretty inspiring so i thought I paint something in that world for fun , enjoy

Studies

2011-11-06T15:23:00.001-08:00

"so here we are , it's funny how so close can seem so far"

cloud and john singer studies

Themed Paintings - ( Under the Sea )

2011-11-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

So on James Paick's blog he speaks about the different themes one can paint for environmental concept art. So I have decided that each day I will try to bust out 3 - 5 paintings for that particular theme ( I know he can do 5 in a day , I am not that fast .... at least not yet)

Something that I started is that I work on each painting in 20 minute intervals , and I put an online timer on my other screen. When I see that time winding down I force myself to be bolder with my decision. As soon as it hits 20 minutes I start a new painting and I keep rotating. So I kept each one of these to 2 hours a piece. However, before all this I gather some reference and spend about 20 minutes doing rough sketches on pen and paper before jumping to digital. I will be doing more tests on this and themes. Next theme is cliffs.

kalen

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

They don't really celebrate Halloween here that much so I need to represent. This was done for some one asked me to more of a cartoon/animation type style , it was fun to do . I hope you like.

Trying to get up off the sidelines

2011-10-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Aj's recent art posts and Gino Whitehall's brush work. 1.5 hours CS-5

Color Test

2011-10-21T15:58:00.001-07:00

an experimentation with how i approach color , I will try it a couple more times , anyways enjoy 2-3 hours CS5

EnviroTest

2011-10-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

experimenting with the way I used to paint a couple of years ago , and seeing what I like and what I do not like. Done during a couple of lunch breaks

cheers,

kalen

Character Lunch Sketch

2011-10-17T05:27:00.001-07:00

Quick character sketch done during lunch . 1 hour ps cs3 . Keep Grinding yall!

Quick Test

2011-10-16T05:39:00.001-07:00

quick paint test before I start some work. Different color scheme than what I am used to

Also here is a Video of our trip too!!

2011-10-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Pyroow aka Hacham made a sweet video of our travels , check it out!!

Morocco and Friends

2011-10-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

This last week, Paul Richards came to visit us in Madrid. Such an honor to have such a skilled artist.

During that week we took a trip to Tangier, Morocco. We were extremely blessed to have met some fellow artists through the Deviant Art community that drove 6 hours out of their way just to come meet up with us and show us their country. It was gr

eat to experience their culture and also life as they know as concept artists. I was able to visit the beautiful country side city ofChefchaouen (Known for its beautiful blue buildings, if you have never seen you must google it).

There is no doubt I would have not been able to experience such a beautiful city had it not been for them. So this painting is dedicated to them , Thanks for the experience guys

Beaches in Portugal

2011-10-10T13:01:00.001-07:00

Recently had the chance to check out the beautiful city of Porto in Portugal. Great food and wine , and the beaches were very beautiful

Quick Test

2011-10-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

Paul was asleep , still a little jet-lagged. So I decided to paint while he sleepin

Study

2011-09-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

study. 2 hours photoshop. goodnight

Touch The Sky

2011-09-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

3 years ago

2011-09-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

September 24, 2011

It's only been 3 Years look at how I've grown
I'm just in my zone, I call this shit the calm
Yea, but I'm the furthest thing from calm
Dedicated to my mom, and I swear my word is bond
Everything will be ok and it won't even take that long
You can see it in my face or even read it on my palm
Leader of the new school it's proven and it's known
I'm sittin' in a chair but in the future it's a throne

-drake-

Only 3 years to this day yet so far to go. That was the first painting I ever posted. So I decided to repaint it. To all the people that have let me into their lives , and to the people who have inspired me and helped me along the way, to all my supporters and doubters. I thank you . Let us see how far we can take this!!!

Kalen

Lasso Test

2011-09-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Experimenting with lasso tool/shape tools . Seeing what I can come up with. Sorry for lack of posts , I have so many unfinished paintings that I need to just finish up and post . I have been live-streaming more and more but most of them suck haha. But I did like this one from my stream , anyways more to come enjoy

cheers,

kalen

Splurge Break Session

2011-09-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Done between lunch breaks on and off for about a week or so . I kind of hate taking so long on a piece ( its probably the concept artist in me telling me to get it done and crank it out) . But on this one I took my time and really tried to enjoy myself and life how it came out. No expectations kind of thing.

A little inspired off of Guild Wars 2 stuff , would be such a cool game to work . One can dream I suppose.

Pictures from Portugal Coming Soon!!

cheers,

Kalen

Merchant City

2011-08-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Live Stream session , after I got the basic block in , decided to take it to a more rendered finish , anyways enjoy

Gate Paintover

2011-08-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

This was a paintover done for my friend kelli hoover and her game project she has going on at school at the moment, She provided great line art for me to go off of. So this was to provide an idea of what color/mood could be like . Anyways I can't wait to see how their project comes out , they have a lot of talented people on their project : )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEFANIE

2011-07-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

So My "ACTUAL" present that I have for her is in Madrid , but until she gets here , this my present to her .

I have been blessed a lot in my life and one of the greatest things thus far is having Stefanie in it

I know being with an artist is never easy , I dedicate a lot of time and effort to my craft, however through all of this she has always stood by me and has never faltered. Next to my mother she has always been my biggest fan , and I know without her none of this would be possible ,

so happy birthday baby

i love you soooooo much : )

Go Hard No Days Off

2011-07-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

5:00 am in madrid ......... eyes tired

WEST SIDE

2011-07-19T14:16:00.001-07:00

get it JOE PAULLLLLL !!!!

Fresh Breeze

2011-07-17T05:07:00.001-07:00

inspired by thomas moran , dorje , odyssey to the west, and the wonderful clouds in Spain , 2 hours CS5 .

2011-07-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

3 lunches later ............. I've been skippin lunches to paint for an hour instead . Luckily in Spain we get a 15 min break at 11 in which we go to a restaurant and eat bread with tomato sauce with orange juice for 2 euros. It's pretty filling!! So skipping lunches it is , if it helps me get better!!

inspired by santiago calatrava's architecture work which i want to go see since he has bunch of his works in spain!!

much love

kalen

EYE GATE!

2011-07-11T14:53:00.001-07:00

Me trying to be cool like david hong haha

Live Free

2011-07-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

My island paradise ( inspired a little by Kingdom Hearts)

Always live free and do what you love my friend . that is all. Steffie comes in about 3 weeks . I am very excited for I have not seen her in 2 months , and it will be 3 months come august. I just wish the days would go by faster. This one is for her.

Forest N Things

2011-07-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Then and now

2011-06-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

To measure progress in ones art is never easy. I think it requires a lot of faith. But regardless I think it can be done.So I took an old painting I did 3 years ago and tried to reinterpret it again.
This what I came up with, I felt my head was in the right spot in that time , but I could easily remembered how scared I was to take chances in my art , impress people , get a job etc.

So This time around I tried to eliminate those things in my mind ,
new one

old one

Hope yall dig

Live Streamin Morning Warm Up

2011-06-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

So I woke up a little late this morning and did a little live stream warm up . I didn't announce it just because I wanted to simply jam to my music and paint , If I usually have to talk then I can get distracted from time to time and it takes longer .

But you can watch it here[link]

I will prolly live stream tonight and take on questions and all that good stuff

CS5 1.5 hours ( Still a little too long lol)

Enjoy

Some Art Therapy

2011-06-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

So I started this a quick Warm up at work yesterday , Took random photos mashed em all together. I began to kind of like it so I took it home and finished it up .

Don't usually do sci-fi stuff haha but i like to do it , so more sci-fi to come , thanks to all who came out to the live stream to support ,

love you all

kalen

Live Streamin

2011-06-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here is the painting done from last night's live streams , It was about 1 and a half of painting , and then I woke up this morning and spent about 2-3 more hours , so about 5-6 hours total. ( Still kind of long when I think about it , I could easily be faster, just need to concentrate a little more)

Sunset

2011-06-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

Little landscape before bed

What Started as a Demo

2011-06-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

What started as a demo for my co worker/roommate Rob. Became kind of a full colored illustration/concept.

Big ups to edgar for all his suggestions while painting this , he even drew a basic shape of the monster on that bridge and I took it to a rendered finish. This is one benefits about living with other artists , is how they can push you and challenge your ideas while painting. Not to mention all the inspiration they can provide as well

This one of the more complex pieces I ever done , I kind of wanted a final fantasy type enviro with lots of people running around , more of a thriving environment as opposed to my usual stuff.

This is about 8 hours total , kind of long in my opinion , I think I can be faster.

I will be posting the psd of this piece soon so you can check out all the layers,

until then , We are having a house warming poker even at our apartment , wish me luck!!!

For My Lady

2011-06-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

For my lady , I am usually painting a lot more since she is back in the states getting prepared to move out here in august. It has been the longest I have been away from her so painting helps me keep my mind off the distance.

So anyway love you very much , and always thinking of you

Freelance Warm Up

2011-05-28T03:19:00.001-07:00

A little warm up before I start some freelance ish , my attempt to be like dorje bellbrook ( one of my fav artist) haha , fail , ne ways hope all is well with everyone

2011-05-21T10:46:00.001-07:00

So I finally got my computer set up , I am surprised it made it through the long plane ride. Everything seems to be in order so I did a quick painting test to make sure everything is good before I start taking on any freelance.

Anyways This took about 4 hours total in CS5 , it was all done with one chalky brush and some custom shape tools. It was only when I was about 90% done with that I began to add photo texture in the foreground.

I usually add photo textures in the middle or beginning , so this was a different way of approaching it. I will try more tests . Ill try to do some live stream tests to as well. Make sure everything is working on that end . Anyways , thanks for looking

Last Day In California

2011-04-28T10:29:00.001-07:00

I can't put into words how blessed I feel to have friends that care about me so much. All these dudes came out to give Edgar,Danny, and myself their blessings as we make our journey to Madrid.

I have no clue what this new experience has in store for me , but I hope it will change me for the better. So I wanted to say thanks to all my friends , new and old. Over the course of 5 years these guys have become my family. They have all contributed something in my art with their , knowledge and passion. I know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for these guys.

So I will miss you guys , but it's not goodbye . For I know our paths will cross in a few years time. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING GUYS , I HOPE I CAN MAKE YOU PROUD!!

Human Planet Study

2011-04-27T20:06:00.001-07:00

Been Watching Human Planet , I am all about that show!!!

Demonic Strong Hold

2011-04-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Comission

Copyright 2011. Copyright owned by Wendigo Publishing & Consulting, LLC. WendigoPC.com

Had a lot of fun with it

Concept Club Painting

2011-04-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Quick painting done at concept club , its crowded tonight!!! ne ways ttyl

kalen

FFT-Dark Knight

2011-04-14T10:22:00.001-07:00

Been playing a lot of FFT lately , so here is a Dark Knight , they are so overpowered!!! lolol

Ship Wreck Warm Up

2011-04-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

little 1hour warm up sketch CS-5 , I am sorry for the unfinished of these , these are kind of just random no fear paintings. So some of these may not be the best. : )

Organic Warm Up

2011-04-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

warming up with some organic shape language , 1hr CS-5

Clouds

2011-04-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Clouds were awesome today in Huntington Beach so I took a photo and decided to paint it , it was really fun

Warm Up

2011-04-07T16:14:00.001-07:00

Don't Ask , I was just messin around with photobashin lolol ( was never really my style), about 1.15 in CS5 .

Edwin Lord Weeks Study

2011-04-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

been busy with work and world of dance ( which was a pretty fun time) . Had throw in some study time. Edwin is a beast!!

Cliff Beach

2011-03-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Trying out different ways to paint , Looking at the masters like Richard Schmid. Too much to learn not enough time in the day.

Sucker Punch Study

2011-03-28T13:57:00.001-07:00

As a concept artist I will say I throughly enjoyed Sucker Punch . It's kind of like watching Ninja Assasin . You are not expecting some crazy deep story , you are expecting NINJA'S fucking up people. So in short everything I was expecting from Sucker Punch was delivered to me, and in some cases exceeded my expectations.

I was quite inspired by the environments that as soon as I got home I tried to paint some of the memorable compositions I saw. I will have to grab the art book too.

1 Hr CS-5

CLOUDS

2011-03-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

As I was driving today to go work on my freelance , I noticed the clouds in HB were friggin awesome , I didn't have my camera on me ( shame on me ) so I took a picture of it on my crappy phone and started painting it up . Clouds after rains storms are the best , tank was an after thought lolol

cheers,

k

Warm Ups

2011-03-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

I will try to do some kind of warm up each day for this week for fun , I'll just edit this post each day and what not

Rocky

2011-03-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

Exploring with the shape tool

I kept all the layers for this painting so I am trying to figure out a way to upload it because I think it's a big file. That way you can guys can see how i did it. But I will be making a tutorial explaining my thought process as well, So stay tuned.

cheers,

k

Practice Speedie

2011-03-09T18:22:00.001-08:00

speed paints , about 1-2 hours each CS5

Messin Around

2011-02-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Spain , it was pretty cool . I shall keep yall updated on the whole moving out there to work thing . Anyways just wanted to painted something out because I have been busy freelancing .

1 hour ps cs5

peace

My Shitty Ruanjia Study

2011-02-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

So apparently I need to move to china and learn how paint because I paint like a child lol . Anyways this was my first attempt at trying a master copy of a Ruanjia piece .

if you haven't see his work go to http://www.ruanjia.com/ and then cry yourself to sleep , anyways I learned a bunch of interesting things from this and shall do more : )

i-phone case!

2011-02-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

So awhile back GrifMD from DevArt asked if he could use my Mirrors Edge piece for a print. I don't mind as long as people ask . I had no idea what he was printing it for , but apparently it was an i-phone case!!

When he showed me I was pretty amazed of how it came out , so I asked him to take some pictures of it so I can post it on my blog

i don't have an i-phone but this looks pretty damn cool if you ask me! I wanna get a case for my phone now : )

Thumbnail Test Paitings

2011-02-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

thumbnail test painting

Hallway/Stream

2011-01-31T22:51:00.000-08:00

Did another live stream to end the night , thanks to all who came out :) . You can catch the vid on my livestream . About of hour of actual painting lol the rest is me talking and messing around lol

I then took another hour or so and tried to render it out to show people how i take an image to a more rendered finish

Live Stream Concept Club Painting

2011-01-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

a quick painting demo done for a student in class . about like 30 minutes total , something quick from the top of the dome and yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh enjoy lol

Practice Sketch

2011-01-27T20:34:00.001-08:00

Live Stream !!!

2011-01-27T15:22:00.000-08:00

Just did a live stream , THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT!!! it was soo much fun painting with peeps and answering questions , ill do one again real soon!!!

Speed Paint

2011-01-26T22:34:00.000-08:00

Phenomenon Contest

2011-01-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

This is my painting submission for the Phenomenon contest. I took an old sketch I recently did and redesigned it for the contest. I hope y'all like :)

FFT-Chemist

2011-01-23T01:48:00.001-08:00

Always loved Final Fantasy Tactics , thought it would be fun to redesign the chemist lol. Trying to be like Clement Sauve and failing lol

Tank Study

2011-01-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

Warming up for the afternoon. Painted off of photo reference . 45 mins CS5 ; ) . Now onto work

Sketches

2011-01-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Edgar Payne_CS5_Test

2011-01-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

Testing out cs5 blending options while doing some Edgar Payne studies. More to come : )

Bear Man

2011-01-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Saw True Grit with Stef and this character in the movie to me was hilarious. He was so badass an funny at the same time so I had to paint him . Also This was done in CS5 and I must say I like the blending options . I will have to do a few more tests, but Painter may be dead to me now

Character Studies

2011-01-09T03:10:00.000-08:00

Hard life of trying to draw women . I would draw Stef 24/7 but she is a busy woman ; 3 . So models from Moko will have to do.

Trying to get more comfortable painting characters

Pallet Knife Pushin

2011-01-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Been watching some traditional vids lately. I want to buy Bob Ross DVD'S , dude is soo quick. This makes me also want to do some Thomas moran and Edgar payne studies , maybe a little Richard schmid on the side too! : )

The Cave

2011-01-06T01:15:00.001-08:00

Trying out some new ways of conceptualizing , I don't really like it tho but meh, no fear, gotta let go and just paint. I'm not gonna get it right the first time , so gotta keep trying : )

Clouds

2011-01-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

The clouds have been absolutely beautiful lately here in Huntington Beach. After I worked out I walked outside of the gym and saw this scene and in my mind I knew I had to paint it , So I went home and painted it as fast as I could : ) . I tried to take a picture of it on my shitty phone haha . It didn't really help , anyways enjoy

Warm Ups

2011-01-04T01:26:00.000-08:00

This started off as a warm up , but I liked where it was going so I decided to finish it off , about 4 hours on and off while playing black ops lol. any ways thanks for lookin

And A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-12-30T00:45:00.000-08:00

bored as usual , still in the holiday spirit . Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Been looking at a lot of models from the moko website!! (they are all hott!!!) lol . Anyways they have lots of good fashion reference and what not. Enjoy

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T14:04:00.002-08:00

This one goes out to my all my family and friends. Especially my family , I couldn't do it without you guys.

To all my supporters , thanks for everything . You guys make it worth while.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR,

lets keep pushing!!

Kalen

Practice

2010-12-22T18:44:00.001-08:00

can't go too long on these holiday breaks without painting something : )

Round 1

2010-12-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

So I took a stab at making some God of War type environments. AJ and Paul gave me some really good insight. Definitely kicked my ass in critiques. So I will be doing another batch of these types of Enviros in the near future

; 3

2010-12-10T18:18:00.001-08:00

and also excited for the movie

2010-12-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

after doing film studies i had to make an attempt to do my own kind of fanart. Anyways onto more paintings that will not have blue glowy lines : )

Tron Soundtrack Awesome!

2010-12-09T12:33:00.001-08:00

Tron Soundtrack is awesome!!! So I had to do a study lol , will probably do my own tron inspired enviro today

Im on a boat!

2010-12-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

Just a little practice for the evening , trying to take my time in the beginning process so I have stronger foundation while painting. Learning some interesting things :) . Enjoy the journey

Warming Up For the Day

2010-12-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

A little painting to start the day. Weekend was awesome . I had the pleasure of hanging out with Paul Richards (aka Auto Destruct) http://autodestructdigital.blogspot.com/ during the weekend . Definitely one of my fav artists so it was quite an honor to chill and enjoy each others company!!

anyways onto the week!

Tangled Study

2010-12-03T15:58:00.000-08:00

Tangled is an awesome movie. The design, colors , animation , etc is very well done. So i had to do a painting based off the awesome movie. I tried to do this while the movie was fresh in my mind lol. Anyways it was a pretty quick study . 1 1/2 hour total. enjoy