AbeTena

The Winged Tiger

2011-12-30T21:04:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine once let me borrow this beautiful comic book called The Winged Tiger (check it out). It features art by Moebius, Aragones, and many other legendary masters of the medium. I don't own a copy, but the motif and the charm always stayed with me. I need to get my hands on that book!

I did this illustration in honor of friends who had their first baby a while ago. Unfortunately, I am the slowest, busiest artist ever, and I am super late with this image. Their baby is probably like 90 years old by now! I am also working in another piece for my brother's lil baby, who was born a while ago as well. More on that soon! (hopefully)

A quick Sketch

2011-10-27T18:12:00.001-07:00

Some more live drawing and painting (nudity)

2011-05-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

I have been meeting this awesome painting and drawing group on the Saturdays. It is pretty low key and pressure free, and that's perfect! It helps me relax after a week of deadlines and critiques. These are some paintings and a drawing I did in the past sessions.

Swords

2011-03-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I made a post, but I have a good reason. In October of last year I started a job doing art for an online children's game, and since then it has been all about learning the ropes. This has taken a lot of my "art" brain away, and it was only recently that I started to work again in personal projects. My adventures with animation and modeling will have to take a rest for a little while. I'm fumbling my way back into personal work by doing figure painting on the weekends, and trying to find simple unfinished projects to work on.

This image is one of those unfinished things. At some point I was sketching a werewolf (now fox spirit) for a sculpture assignment that I had for my Zbrush class at RISD. That sculpture never materialized, but I kept rubbing the sketch in my lunch breaks at my previous job. Not a very ambitious composition (or concept, for the matter) , but still fun :)

Robot WIP

2010-06-01T13:32:00.001-07:00

This takes SO LONG... but is fun :)

Revisiting the robot design

2010-05-21T09:32:00.001-07:00

Back and forth from old to new project, retouching and revisiting things. A new try for my robot maya animation, next to be used in Zbrush for detail. One day it will all come together!

Almost there...

2010-04-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

More WIP...

2010-04-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

I am going to have a loto fun bringing all this projects to portfolio standards when I finish the class. Homework just keeps on coming! Now a battle dinosaur.

Bastet Mummy

2010-03-23T04:58:00.001-07:00

Work in progress :)

The Esoteric Order of Dagon

2010-03-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Somali Pirate WIP

2010-03-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

Another stage on the Somali Pirate illustration I am doing for my Zbrush class. The hands need a lot of work and the pose is by no means definite, but that is precisly the power of Zbrush: it allows the for a very flexible workflow, in wich you can choose to tackle detail and overall shapes back and forth, moving from levels of detail with ease. I know that is better to finish all your big shapes first before moving into the detailing, but the truth is that sometimes that detail informs the pose, the anatomy and everything else. As I started working into the more subtle details of the face, for example, it became clear to me that that rest of the body should have more tension. He is relax but aggressive in the sketch, but now that his face is a bit more stressed, I know where to move with those hands and arms, and how tense his muscles should be. This an exploratory excercise anyway, so is fun all around!

For the next Zbrush project, I have to make a frieze. I am working on some sketches for the capital frieze of the temple of Esoteric Order of Dagon, which is located in old Insmouth. Shadowy things of the utmost eeriness happen in there tho, so avoid the town or visit it at your own risk...

Two very different kind of pirates

2010-03-03T16:03:00.001-08:00

Parallel to all the other projects I am currently working on, I am now taking a class at RISD. It is a small course on Zbrush, a software I've been working with for almost a year now, and that I think is one of the coolest things ever created. I decided to take the class in order to get more nimble with the program and to learn as many tricks and tips I could from teachers and students. In any case, the first thing I have to do for homework is a portrait of a Pirate. I spent my morning making a bunch of sketches, and I have a couple to show. The first one is the fictional portrait of a Somali Pirate, which I thought would be an interesting subject. I looked at a lot of pictures from news services, and is interesting and poignant to realize how many of these prates are very very young. The second sketch is for Florita, the terror of the seas!

I know... I am weirdo :)

A little preview

2010-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Slow but steady. I am sure I will finish my first Maya animation very soon...

Edit: Link to the Youtube Video for a simple test rendering here

Another train Sketch: robot lady

2009-12-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

The snow is falling in Boston, and my train rides are longer for it. A lot of interesting people to draw, a lot of time in my commute, and a lot of EBM music in my mp3 player, produce humanoid robots in my sketchbook. This one, I magine, would be the cyborg in charge of directing traffic in a dystopian future. Waving her hands, she can conduct the bloodstream of a city like an orchestra. Fun!

I wish I was a robot :D

Sketch: Innsmouth look

2009-12-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy, but I always have time for a quick sketch. I spend my time in the train to work reading, and I am currently going back to Lovecraft. These are a few 30 min sketches I did of the famous "Innsmouth look": bulgy eyes, nasty necks, decayed skins, angry and cold glares. I will do more of these in my free time between commissions and work. Stay tuned!

WIP Jaguar Warrior and Moon Goddess

2009-12-08T08:21:00.001-08:00

So, besides the ton of things I have to do, I am working in a personal project to continue the series of illustrations based on the Olmec myth of the Jaguar Warrior. These are a few sketches I made to study the characters involved in the next image. More to come, stay tuned!

Third out of 3, for now

2009-11-25T09:26:00.001-08:00

Now the last one, the amazing Kaliman. This character is so interesting in so many levels! To many to discuss. I quick rundown of his background: he was found orphan and abandoned by a Prince who was the heir of the goddess Kali. The kid is raised to maximize human physical, mental and spiritual potency, and is by all definitions a "perfect" man. His goal in life is to protect justice, and becomes some sort of world class detective and crime fighter. His powers are of the mind (telekinesis, telepathy, so on...), and he knows martial arts and criminology, and everything else. He is not like a superhero in the sense that he does not fight supernatural monsters or villains, but he is supposed to be a bit above regular humans.

It was a radio show, a comic book and two movies all together. Kaliman's legacy has been forgoten in Mexico and Latin America quite a bit, but he is still very well known over there. Lots of fun to paint him!

3D personal project

2009-11-20T06:55:00.000-08:00

In whatever little free time I've had, I've been working on what may become a big 3D project to be used in illustrations and stuff. This is one of the characters, modeled and textured in the old school way: modeled from a little cube, the textures made in Photoshop, just normal maps besides the colors, and rendered with only Ambient Occlusion. It was all made in Blender.

16270 faces.

Now to rig this...

2 out of 3

2009-11-18T09:36:00.001-08:00

Still working on the Mexican Heroes commission. 2 out of 3 done. Kaliman is requiring some changes, but should be done soon. Fun times with digital painting.

Mexican Heroes

2009-10-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

I have a new commission. Iam llustrating Mexican traditional comic book superheroes in a new and revitalized way. I made 9 simple sketches in about 3 days. 3 of these should become a complete, well defined painting, but this rough images are fun in their own way. Nothing complex, and many issues to resolve in the next stages, but drawing heroes is always a blast!

Sktech: the beggining of a storyboard

2009-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

So I've been taking classes in Maya and doing some modeling and rigging stuff for myself, and to learn, and to suffer, and whatnot. The thing is coming to a point in which I need to do some storyboard or pre-production or something, and I am starting a little project. I decided to put it here because, although this is just one page out of many, I think it shows the direction I am going for. Plus, why not, right?

Monsters of the Museum

2009-10-08T18:24:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is to visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History to draw some creatures from observation. Recently I have been interested in old school shooters and their mechanical design, and so taking a clue from de G-darius series, I did some sketches for battleships that look like sea monsters. The shapes of these prehistoric creatures is much more capricious that anything I could come up with without reference. It is also interesting to me that since many of these creatures are preserved only as fossils, we don't know how the skin looked, or what colors they had. The rough and dull texture of the rock does not invite for much shading, but it does call for paying attention to the overall shape. Fun times!

Painting from observation

2009-08-06T11:54:00.001-07:00

I am constantly drawing and painting monsters and robot girls but, from time to time, I like to do some straight up drawing and painting from observation to stay as sharp as I can. Many of these drawings are to small and irrelevant to post here (maybe?) but last week I devoted some more time to this painting. Yes, it is a cheesy garden sculpture! It was fun to do, nevertheless.

Some human figure

2009-08-06T11:53:00.001-07:00

Some quick human figure digital painting.

Dr Sketchy

2009-08-06T11:43:00.001-07:00

I recently went to a session with Dr. Sketchy, the good Mr. Reusch (teacher at MassArt and artist exceptionale). Him and the beautiful Devilicia pose dressed as zombies, robot girl and space monsters. These are some quick 5 to 15 minute poses. If you want to find out more about Reusch, check http://misterreusch.blogspot.com/

Old One all around

2009-07-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

A better quality turn around image. My website is meant to be seen in any computer and thus is small. I hope this image shows in better detail my work with Cthulhu.

Counsel

2009-07-21T12:01:00.001-07:00

The Jaguar Warrior of the Olmec civilization seeks for advice. The old king talks using the murmur of the water, which only the warrior can hear. This image is (loosely) based on a prehispanic myth.

This lady is a mechanic (concept)

2009-07-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Some digital concept work. Since I don't get to my blog very often, I have to make multiple posts at the time!

A quick sketch

2009-07-21T11:50:00.001-07:00

Quick gestural sketch I did a while ago :P

The old (and creepy) one

2009-07-21T11:37:00.001-07:00

Zbrush Sculpture based on an old design of Cthulhu. I know that it is normally depicted by other artists as a hulking, strong monster, but for me Cthulhu represents a different kind of fear. A big scary monster is a threat to our physical integrity, a challenge to our abilities and wits. What is really scary about the Old Ones is how impossible is for humans, according to Lovecraft, to prevent the doom they bring. They are older than humanity, more powerful than any hero or weapon. I decided to make Cthulhu too have a decayed, aging body that represents a fear on us perhaps more primal and less avoidable. No matter how powerful we are, we all succumb to time, right? >:[

Coffee Pot

2009-07-21T11:33:00.001-07:00

This was for my degree project. A Coffee Barista from a dystopian future!

Character concepts

2009-07-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Some characters, and sketches behind them. It is nice to be able to show better resolutions on my blog than on my website!

Escape from Mars (concept work)

2009-04-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Some process work for "Escape from Mars". Pencil, markers, and some 3D modeling.

Hamlet

2009-02-16T13:24:00.001-08:00

scratch board

Polar bears in New York

2009-02-16T13:23:00.001-08:00

Digital painting

Painting Machine

2009-02-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

Acrylic and oil paint over canvas board

Escape from Mars

2009-02-16T13:20:00.001-08:00

Acrylic paint over Masonite

Donkey

2009-02-16T13:19:00.001-08:00

Watercolor

Bugs at the laundromat

2009-02-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

Personal work. Acrylic on canvas board.