Catching Up

Time flies by every year, making it seem like Christmas is just around the corner.
On the day itself, we sometimes lose sight of what's really important about Christmas.
Bombarded by the rush of people making their way to shops to buy gifts, online or on foot,
the stress, the frustration and the madness can easily blind us from the simpler times.

So if you are one of these people, try this next time.
Keep Christmas simple. Presents are superficial on the surface.
Take a step back and simply give your time to that special someone.
Be it a family member, your friend, or relative, or even a stranger.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Warm regards,

Elson 'Darkspeeds' Wong




This took me AGES to do but it was a worthwhile digital painting exercise for sure!

The inspiration behind this piece can be found here:


Six Days Till Christmas! Six Days Till Christmas!
It's amazing how time flies - we're almost to Christmas! Have you done your Christmas shopping? Have you watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens? I got myself a bunch of stuff but perhaps the most interesting item would be a 13th Century Sword (live blade). You're wondering - why? I'm telling ya - why not? (Actually I have a legit reason and it's a story to share for the New Year).
Anyways this past week had been BUSY. So I do apologise in advance to :iconblackan: and :icontwintailfirefox12: for the lack of updates on their commissioned pieces. I will however commit to getting those done right after I finished this painting in which I'm about to reveal for progress. = )
All of those who are watching, you should know of the Lackadaisy series by Tracy J Butler (aka :icontracyjb: and if you haven't where have you been?), I'm doing a Christmas tribute illustration and this year it's dedicated to her series. I found a powerful conne


Special thanks to , I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look ever to continuing supporting you on Patreon and with my own personal projects inspired by your series.

Also I would like to take the time to personally thank my 'Clothed Figure Drawing' instructor from the Academy of Arts university back in 2013 - Thomas Gronbukt. He was the one got me to think about my strokes and the importance of paying attention to detail to illustrating clothing on figures. He also gave me recommendations on top American illustrators in which one of them has been inspiration for his project - Norman Rockwell.


Last but not least, here is the painting process to share with you all!

Merry Christmas ~ (Part 2) Painting Process Merry Christmas ~ (Part 2) Painting Process - Catching Up
It all starts with the humble thumbnail sketch. I did three and decided to pick the best one that would suit the project.

I then decided to take photos of myself posing as the subjects (Mordecai and Rose) for my own referal when it comes to accuracy of posture, anatomy and the folds of jeans/pants.
  
I continue to illustrate the elements that made up the illustration, making sure that I got a solid foundation before I began painting. Excuse my 80's cartoon references!




As you can see I've made some changes - there is one chair less outside the cafe and one of