Gundam Gouf MG

After finishing the Zaku, I was now ready to work on the model kits that I bought while I was in Japan. I decided to work on the Gouf before tackling the giant Sazabi kit. I’m a big fan of the Gundam series, and one of my favorite mobile suits was the Gouf. The Gouf is a newer, improved design over the general use Zaku mobile suit.
This Gouf was piloted by Captain Ramba Ral, who was a great adversary to Amuro Ray.

 

The assembly process went by very smoothly, and seemed a little easier to assemble than the Zaku. The pieces felt very robust, and everything fit very well.

 
 

This kit turned out great. The colors are very vibrant, and the mobile suit design looks very aggressive. I like that this kit comes with a lot of accessories and is very easy to pose. I already added decals and may add a little weathering in the near future. I would reccomend this kit to anyone who is a Gundam fan who has patience.

 

Gundam Zaku II MG

Around November 2024, I returned from my Japan trip with two new Gundam MG kits. Before I can get started on those kits, I had to finish my Zaku II. I already assembled the kit and added decals. What it needed was weathering. I saw many examples of weathered Gundams and wanted to make my Zaku II look well worn.

 

The model had to be disassembled for weathering. I used Gundam markers and a paintbrush to create the effect of paint wearing away to reveal metal. I sanded areas to create a rougher finish. I then painted worn areas with a dark grey color, and then silver to indicate metal.

 

I’m very satisfied with the results. I may work on another Zaku in the near future, and try to depict more severe battle damage. I still have to finish other kits I’m working on.

 

Self Portrait

I’ve been a little busy lately and now that things have calmed down a bit, I decided to update my blog with a few personal projects that I’ve finished within the past few months. One project that I’m really proud of is my self portrait.

I finished this self portrait in on March 30th, 2024. I waited 6 months for the painting to fully dry for varnish on September 29, 2024.

 

The gloss varnish made the colors and details more vibrant, but I feel that I lost some of the brush strokes.

 

This was how the painting looked when I finished it on March 30th. It was a little hard to photograph, because the paint was very shiny. I was very satisfied with resolving proportions, details and colors.

 

I started this painting around January 2023. I was originally thinking that I could finish it for my 40th birthday on February 26th. It turned out that I was a little rusty at painting, and this painting took a lot longer than expected.

What made this painting challenging, was getting the facial proportions and expression correct. There was a period of time where I thought a purplish background would have looked good. I ended up using a darker neutral that was less distracting from my tan skin tone. I really wanted to emphasize bold shadows and highlights from a strong light source.

This painting was a great experience. I might be tempted to work on another self portrait in the near future. Hopefully, it will be quicker with the knowledge I gained.

 

Sketchwars 2024

I’ve been a little busy during this past year. This year started off busy with CES. It’s now Chinese New Year and things have slowed down a bit. I’ve been an active participant of Sketchwars on Facebook. Many of the designers participating are very good, so I do want to try my best. Its been a very fun and creative outlet! Here are my entries during the past year:

 

Delica sketch

 

One vehicle I’m particularly a fan of is the Mitsubishi Delica. The first time I’ve seen one of these was in Austin. I was very drawn to its stubby proportions. With its knobby tires, brush guards and vinyl graphics, it looked like a very adventurous looking vehicle from a different era. This was sketched on an iPad using Sketchbook Pro.

 

Some initial progress before the final version.