Helen Jen Is Drawing...

A Friend's New Baby Girl

2009-02-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Every time a friend of mine has a new baby I'm reminded I have ovaries and I better use 'em one day if I ever want one of these little guys of my own.

The model for this baby was actually a cute lil' guy I sketched from memory at the SF Moma. He was rockin' some major diaper booty as he stumbled down the hall. AAAAAAAAW!!!!

Then I took that sketch, scanned it and inked it into a little Asian baby girl using Illustrator:

For now, I will remain satisfied makin' babies in print. This sweety pie is going on a CONGRATULATIONS THE SCREAMING PAIN WAS WORTH IT card for my pals Katie and Leon in Japan.

"A Panda Carrying an Axe..No, Make it a Red Panda...in WU XIA Style!"

2009-02-04T04:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Mr. Jason Ho for suggesting I draw this lovely axe-wielding Red Panda. Only a very special brain would tell me , "Regular pandas are cliche..." and that I should make it in the Wu Xia style.

Perfect timing though since I'd just broken down and bought "The Art of Kung Fu Panda". As Po would say it's BADTASTICAL IN ITS AWESOMENESS. Though after drooling over Nico Marlet's work, I had to now make a Red Panda that didn't look like Shifu. Hence why mine is a butt-kickin' GIRL Red Panda.

I like this trend of gathering inspiration from my palsies.

Hey friends- what should I tackle next?

I'm going to leave you with a video I found while Googling for cool Wu Xia moves:

Sensory Overload

2009-01-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

I'm playing with Adobe Illustrator. As you can see I went infreakinsane with the shapes tool here. I call it HOPE! CHANGE! FRENCH HIP HOP! WHUT! C'EST SEXY!

Herself

2008-12-12T01:39:00.000-08:00

That's ME!!!!

WHAT economic meltdown?

WHAT layoffs?

WHAT terrorist bombings?

lah lah lah

la dee dah

It's bleak these days, trying to keep my inner optimism.

A Hamster

2008-11-26T01:01:00.000-08:00

This one's for you Jodi!

A Bookish Girl

2008-11-21T01:29:00.000-08:00

I'm watching Twilight tomorrow with 3 hipster librarian chicks.

Bookish girls absolutely rule!

A Girl and Her Bike

2008-11-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like a cold combined with day-job-disenchantment to force me to stay at home and draw.

What did I draw in my dark, dungeony apartment? Why- an outdoorsy day-travellin' gal!

Oh irony!

By the way, this is also my first piece inked and colored entirely in Adobe Illustrator.

This was no easy feat. On Saturday I spent a good quarter of my day trying to figure out why my Wacom tablet was not registering pen pressure stroke sensitivity. No matter WHAT I did, my line strokes were -UGH- uniform in width!!! (you high strung artistes should surely comprehend my horror while you normal humans can continue rolling your eyes...)

After fruitless searches on the forums with plenty of bitching and complaining to multiple friends at 3 AM on the internet, I finally PRESSED HARDER on my tablet.

And it worked.

Now everyone can collectively roll your eyes at me...ALTOGETHER NOW!

*head slap to forehead* Bah! I blame my cold.

BFace Halloween Card

2008-11-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

She started off as a hunchback or a pumpkin but then she started to look kinda Ashley Todd-ey- so I decided to go for it.

My friend Jason Weston sent back the best response:

cute!
did you know what bface meant? i didnt!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bface

I Miss Snow

2008-06-13T04:15:00.000-07:00

It's been 74 degrees, sunny and hot in California for months.

Oh the humanity.

RUSTY.

2008-06-12T04:04:00.001-07:00

This is the face I make when I stay up late with the TV on and am confronted with the awfulness that is "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and "Tila Tequila's Shot of Love"...unfortunately this is the only kind of dreck I can play in the background as I draw- programs like these don't require a lot of brain cells or attention to follow...letting me divert both to my drawing instead.

On that note..I've been REALLY LAPSE with the art lately. I blame the soul crushing schedule at work- and my new obsession with Law & Order SVU which plays TWICE on two separate stations after I come home from work. Ugh...I feel this is kinda clunky...hopefully after a few more weeks of diligent practice my skills will be back to where I think they should be.

Use it or lose it!

Nice Purse!

2008-06-08T04:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have more fun looking at the people who go to art museums rather than the art they're looking at.

My Comic Shizz in Hyphen Magazine!

2008-06-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

Awesome news! I have the privilege of being the featured comic artist in the most current issue of Hyphen Magazine! #14, the "Spaces Issue" can be picked up at these book stores.
Besides my comic (check the last page yo!) the mag also has some great articles worthy of readership. From the Hyphen Magazine site, here is a list of what else is featured:

John Cho talks about starring in "Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay" and what it's like to take on the iconic role of Sulu in the "Star Trek" prequel movie.

Speaking of "Star Trek," we'll go where no magazine has gone before and scrutinize the white-dominated utopian future envisioned by the show and movies.

Byler, the filmmaker behind "Charlotte Sometimes" and "Tre," discusses art, activism and his support for Barack Obama.

Hyphen lays down the odds on who will be the first Asian American to run for president.
We'll look at the burgeoning Asian Pacific Islander prison population, what binds API inmates together and the writings of ex-prisoner Eddy Zheng.

An actor, a museum curator, a balloonist, an Elvis collector and an ocean swimmer tell us how they use their space.

We'll look at the legacy and rebirth of Seattle's Wing Luke Museum and the International Hotel in San Francisco.
We profile "Jonah Hex" creator Tony DeZuniga, leader of the “Filipino Invasion” of American comics

As a sneak preview, here's some panels I worked on for the comic. To read up and see photos of the actual events that inspired me, please check out my blog entry from Hiding in Asia.

Drats!

2008-05-07T01:30:00.000-07:00

Apparently the site I was using to host my flash cartoons went down (what is this? 1999?!)

So that's why you see a blank empty space where there ought to be beatific works of artistic flash cartoon GENIUS.

Everything will be back up and running once I find some time to re output new SWFs and find a new host.

Winnie Sleeping on Her Favorite Rug

2007-12-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

A Treacherous Pool of Jelly

2007-11-25T23:32:00.000-08:00

A Girl Who is High

2007-11-21T01:55:00.001-08:00

A Babysitter

2007-11-06T16:33:00.001-08:00

Sleepily

2007-10-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

A Self Portrait in Technicolor

2007-10-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

This is the color version of this drawing which I did the week I had to walk around like C-3P0 when my spinal column ceased to function.

Mike Tyson at Pinkberry

2007-10-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

(per Elyse's request, I've filed this entry into my art blog. Are you happy NOW Miz Librarian?!)

I'm noticing that as I encounter these birds of paradise a.k.a. CELEBRITIES in Los Angeles, that I am waaaaaay to cool to whip out my camera and get all pappo or razzy on their asses.

I usually affect that "You don't impress me but that guy standing BEHIND you has me utterly captivated." demeanor while furtively making mental notes about EVERY detail of their appearance.

Or in the case of Mr. Mike Tyson, I just didn't want the guy to beat my ass. Plus I value my ears. They're cute, tiny, and perfectly proportional to my head.

But seeing Mr. Tyson at my local Pinkberry's was too much of a hoot to NOT share with you all. So without further adieu, I am going to introduce you to my FIRST EVER Celebrity Encounter Art Lesson.

Lesson 1: See and Draw Mike Tyson!

Step 1: If Mike Tyson was a Shape He'd Be A....

The first thing I noticed about Mike was that he looked like a block.

So everyone grab your pencils and draw a basic square...or rectangle like me. He was kinda puffy too...so don't be so rigid with the lines or sharp with your edges.

Step 2: Mike Tyson's Turtley Proportions

Because Mike Tyson has almost zero neck, feel free to draw his head in the body. Like turtle!
Define his waistline in the middle.

Step 3: Mike Tyson's Sassy Figure Comes Together

His years of tough training have blessed Mr. Tyson with arms and legs that could mortally wound a tiny 115 pound girl who is subtly trying to take a photo of him with a camphone.

Step 4: Mike Tyson in TECHNICOLOR!

Mike was in an almost all white outfit. To be frank I was too busy staring at his face tatoo to notice what color his shoes were. Let's just say they were blue. And because Mike is a proud black man, let's not make him pink or yellow shall we?

Step 5: Plug in the Details That Make Mike...simply....MIKE.

Here we put in the finishing touches. Bringing Mike to life is all through the details. (FACE TATOO) and inserting the things that make Mike...simply Mike (FACE TATOO).

So there you have it. Not only do you know what it's like to SEE a living legend, but now you know who to draw him. All without the threat of getting a camera smashed into your face.

With a Wacom

2007-10-09T02:21:00.001-07:00

Oooh, using the Wacom Tablet is getting addictive. I love how my style sort of loosens up as I use the stylus. I wish I could have a small Cintiq sketchbook by Moleskin. How hot would that be?

Little Red Hoodie Frog

2007-10-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

A Hipster Bunny

2007-09-20T02:04:00.001-07:00

A Conversation About the LA Bus System

2007-09-19T17:08:00.001-07:00

FEET

2007-09-17T00:00:00.001-07:00

If there is anything I USED to hate drawing more...its feet. The human foot has always tripped me up in life drawing. Sometimes, my drawings will mysteriously, um, stop just a little below the waist when I'm drawing a person. Oops!

But to be a better artist..to grow I must force myself out of this little corner I've painted myself in, and make myself learn. Hence, I've been drawing and looking at feet. ALL DAY. LOTS AND LOTS OF FEET.

I feel like a foot fetishist. Oh YEEEEAH! TOES! WOOOOH! LOOK AT THAT ARCH!

These are my sketches, and some random notes.

And at the end of the day...I think all the pain was worth it. Here's the sketch I drew afterwards:

A Random Face

2007-09-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I draw faces in a stream of conscious way without any references to guide me.
I never know what they'll end up looking like. Kinda like a weird road trip you take without a specific route or destination in mind. And then I kinda look at the person I wind up with in my sketchbook and think..."Wouldn't it be WILD if there was a real person who looked like this?"

Chicks Doing Chick Stuff

2007-07-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had a peek in my male friend's sketchbook.

"Wow! That's a lot of boobs! And GUNS!"

I don't know why I'm surprised. Working in animation studios filled with horny, overworked, repressed male artists- I've seen plenty of boobs and guns in my day.

But maybe it's stuff like this that reminds me boys and girls are...different.

I'm usually loathe to specify men are THIS...women are THAT....

But these tend to be what the women in my sketchbook look like. And it's not like the boys I draw are "Mr. Universe With His Shirt Off" baking a cake either.

I think that's true for a lot of other female artists.

Hmmm....why do you think that is?

High Fashion in Tarzana, CA

2007-07-12T04:51:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to draw more pictures from life, but I haven't been inspired to lately until I started noticing some of the interesting fashions sported by the residents of Tarzana,CA.
Especially at the Coffee Bean and Panda Express next to my offices. Ever too shy to whip out my camera, I've decided to opt for a more subtle and lasting approach of using pencil and paper to preserve these images to memory.

Like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life...okay no. But somehow this seemed less yicky when I heard them speaking French. Aaaaah...the French.

I am all about women with a little swerve to their curve, junk in the trunk, jiggle to their wiggle...but sister here needs to learn how to dress to play DOWN her ASSets. Pajama capri pants with girl clown smiley faces are NOT the way to go gurl.

Incidentally, Tarzana is also the town where Britney up and shaved her head all crazy like that.

Something in the water?

A Booty-Shaker

2007-06-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

My roommates and I are OBSESSED with So You Think You Can Dance?

Its affecting my art!

Little Women

2007-06-15T02:11:00.000-07:00

I've been flipping through The Danger Girl Sketchbook lately as I'm brushing up on my anatomy...as TOTALLY objectifying as Danger Girl is, its usage and exaggeration of human anatomy is brilliant. HOWEVER. I've been ODing on boob-a-liscious half naked comic book females lately, so in retaliation I decided to devote a whole page to what I think young women REALLY do look like. In my world at least.

In Pain

2007-06-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

I screwed up my back a week ago ,and for a day I walked around like C3P0 not being able to bend or flex my spine or torso.

Here is the picture I drew that day...

Ninjas!

2007-06-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

A Bitchy Girl in Flash

2007-05-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to check out a free Flash workshop sponsored by Six Point Harness Studio.

Here I am looking all serious and studious .

I picked up some excellent tips. Usually, to draw something like Bitchy Girl here, I draw a thumbnail first, scan, import into Flash or Illustrator, and trace over it using vectors. But after the class I was able to churn her out with just a mouse and the whole process took only 3 minutes!

If there is something I love more than drawing...it's saving time.

History! The Way it TOTALLY Happened!

2007-05-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

A Shot of Erin From the Roadtrip

2007-04-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

Erin is definately prettier than my drawing. Sorry!

A Phone Conversation With Tom

2007-04-19T01:12:00.001-07:00

A Commuting Alien

2007-03-20T00:34:00.000-07:00

A Disney Freak

2007-03-16T03:02:00.000-07:00

I saw this girl at the airport in Taipei. I was too close to take a surreptitious photo of her, so I commited her and her outfit to my memory.

For this drawing I used Illustrator. Got over my fear of drawing in vectors. Wheeeeeee....!!!!

To Finish Her Short Film

2007-03-10T01:49:00.000-08:00

People in Assorted States of Dress and Undress

2007-03-10T00:54:00.000-08:00

1-Minute Poses -I'm such a prude, I love drawing clothed people...

2-Minute Poses- One of the designers in our studio asked if he could keep these. :)

10 Minute Pose- "I call this...Bald Adonis."

30 Minute Pose- At Spring St. Studio in NYC

Washington Square Park Dog Run- And finally...Nekkid' Dogs

Toy Designs for Valentine's Day

2007-03-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

I actually don't quite mind Valentine's Day. Whether coupled or not, I don't freakin' care. You love your sweetie, sure, but you can also love your friends, your family, your dog, your 14 cats that share an apartment with you....you get my drift. These are some funny toy designs my friend asked me to come up with for her company. My faves were the hedgehog and pug.

During a Dull GMAT Class

2007-03-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

GMAT Class? Long story. Let's just say I hold an equal interest towards broadening my business and artistic education. This fellow is inspired by Prince. Reading Comprehension was on sexual and asexual reproduction of fungus colonies...sexual reproduction...sex...sexy music...sexy rock stars.....PRINCE....last night I saw a Chappelle Show skit on Prince...hey isn't it Halloween soon I should dress up as Prince...what would my costume look like? Ok, you get the idea.

Some Simple Background Designs

2007-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

These are for a short film that my friend is trying to complete by March 14th. I banged these out in about a day. It's been a while since I touched BGs, since I usually do character stuff, but I have to say, not bad for a rush job.

A Self-Portrait

2007-03-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

"Hello, the name of my blog explains it all. In my quest to stay artistically focused, fruitful and energized I have created an online sketch blog. I welcome comments and feedback, if only to get even better and to fight SLOTH! EVIL EVIL SLOTH!-ahem-cough- hope you enjoy the art!"