Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

Another study of a place I found on Google Maps Street View. I'm amazed they even stuck their cameras into the water! Such a beautiful sight, I only hope I managed to capture the slightest fraction of its beauty. I do wish to see such things with my own eyes one day.

Particularly challenging, as I've never painted anything underwater properly before. Also while doing these studies, I'm still trying to find a process that works for me, as well as trying to push the scene in my own little way.

Process:

Manturovo, Russia

Decided to do a quick study of someplace else, so I took a trip on Google Street View. Not even sure where this is exactly but my guess is it's in somewhere in the region of Manturovo, Russia.

Hazy Night

A night study, making me realize they're a lot tougher than day ones, at least for me. Way too many sources of light and they boggle my simple mind. Hope I extracted some understanding out of this. I loved how the light beams cut through the air in these hazy conditions.

In other news, the smog has decreased in these parts, thankfully. Process below:

Hazy Afternoon

Another therapeutic session, while trying to keep the strokes simpler. This was yesterday afternoon, when the haze wasn't as bad as today. On a brighter note, at least I didn't have to define the buildings in the background!

My lungs are starting to hurt a little.

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

Accuracy aside, these were largely inspired by an awesome cartoon I used to watch as a kid (King Arthur and the Knights of Justice). It was about a high school football team that went back in time and became Knights of the Round Table with special powers.

Doing 3 variations of something just like the good old school days, I realize how slow I actually am. Took way too long on these, going the slow route via linework. But I think it was a fruitful exercise, especially since I rarely do these armour things. Glad to have some feedback from friends on these and realizing how far I'm lagging from everyone else!

On a side note, I've always been impressed by John Liew's work so I tried to achieve that level of finish and detail. Despite missing the mark, it was a good gauge of how far I can push right now.

Watch the awesome introduction sequence to this cartoon here.

Temple Ruins

Trying to apply what I've learnt from all those studies into an imaginary scene. Not the best of attempts, but I think I learnt a thing or two here.