Spam Eggs n' Rice

DbC Challenge!: Squeezable Singing

2012-03-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

My submission for the Drawn by Chance Challenge this week! The theme was SQUEEZABLE SINGING:

...my deepest sympathies if you've witnessed this actual event first hand.

--

Here are the rest of this week's submissions!
-Stu

Jogging comics

2012-03-06T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hey, wait a minute...

Where's that friendly cat that lives here? It's always waiting on the front step.

Oh wait, there it is...

...crapping in someone's potted plant. -___-

I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty damn funny.

-Stu

Thanks Mom & Dad!

2012-03-03T00:49:00.000-08:00

I woke up yesterday morning, surprised, to find this clipping from the Bakersfield Californian (my hometown newspaper) in my email:

I'm terribly terribly lucky to have such thoughtful and supportive parents, and I couldn't be more grateful...

...Thanks you guys!!

Love
-Stu

Hipster Amy

2012-02-27T21:56:00.001-08:00

Amy Wong's pretty cute (globviously), so here's some sketches for fun!

(inspired by Adam's photosite, mentioned in the last post),
-Stu

Messin around

2012-02-26T22:52:00.000-08:00

Some late night sketches from my good friend's photosite:

-Stu

Office Mysteries...

2012-02-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

And now, here's a comic about the importance of getting to know the people you work with:

NOTE -- If you're one of the tallest guys in the office, this is automatically your job:

Life is a mystery...

-Stu

classmates

2012-02-22T00:36:00.000-08:00

-Stu

Stu Draws Games roundup!

2012-02-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

For the more perceptive of you, this is old news, but I've REcently REstarted REupdating my game-sketch Tumblr - StuDrawsGames!

Warrior - FINAL FANTASY

Monk - FINAL FANTASY

Thief - FINAL FANTASY

White Mage - FINAL FANTASY

Red Mage - FINAL FANTASY

Trying to keep things loose, clear, and story-focused. I think I've finally found an efficient method that works, so stay tuned (for real this time) for future updates!

-Stu

Americana Sketchdump

2012-02-16T01:15:00.000-08:00

"mrrrow"

-Itty Bit

Doodles

2012-02-15T01:33:00.000-08:00

from Jay's class

"For Alexandria" - an FFIX fancomic

2012-02-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

Now it's no secret I'm a huge nerd, so enjoy this story I did for Zac Gorman's Final Fantasy IX anthology, the Tantalus Theater Review (release TBA).

Growing up on the Final Fantasy series had a big impact on me creatively, and FFIX was no exception. First hearing about the project, I was instantly inspired to come up with something. As it usually goes, however, what started as a quick project for fun turned into something much more serious and time consuming. Despite that, I had a ton of fun writing/drawing/coloring the story and I hope you enjoy reading it (whether you've played the original game or not)!

...and to anyone curious who hasn't, I've provided a short list of referential notes after the jump!

-Stu

PS: Huge thanks to Nate, James, Kat, and Deb for their help with color-flats!

Beatrix - "For Alexandria's" main character. In FFIX, she's a young general and a prominently featured supporting character.

Steiner - The injured soldier who retrieved Save the Queen, and (in the original game) a knight captain and one of the story's main characters.

"Lady Garnet" - Mentioned by the Colonel on page 5, the 16 year old Princess of Alexandria and one of FFIX's main characters.

**It's also worth mentioning, the final page was drawn directly from a scene in the original game itself, an attack on Alexandria, which can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes

2012-02-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

"Explorer: The Mystery Boxes" is the newest comics anthology from Kazu Kibuishi, and the spiritual successor to Flight! Within are seven stories that each pursue the question "What's in the box?," featuring:

Under the Floorboards by Emily Carroll

Spring Cleaning by Dave Roman & Raina Telgemeier

The Keeper's Treasure by Jason Caffoe

The Butter Thief by Rad Sechrist

Whatzit by Johane Matte

The Escape Option by Kazu Kibuishi

The Soldier's Daughter by Stuart Livingston!

Working on this project was a tremendous opportunity, and perhaps the greatest learning experience I've had as a storyteller. I'm beside myself knowing my story is being published alongside such talented cartoonists, and can hardly wait for you guys to read it!

Check out what people are saying about Explorer:
Wired.com
Booklist
Community reviews on Goodreads.com

Thanks to Sheila, Kazu, Jason and Stephanie for all their help!

Here's a doodle of my character, Clara, enjoying the book:

Be sure to stop by your local bookseller or buy it online now!
-Stu

Hourly Comics Day

2012-02-02T00:13:00.000-08:00

Yep! Third post in three days - not sure if I've ever been that consistent before. Anyway...

This year I decided to participate in Hourly Comics Day! It was my first time doing this, so excuse the rushed, sloppy drawings. It was interesting though, reflecting upon and drawing a moment per hour. The day feels so much longer, and you become much more aware of every little miniscule or major event.

When you finish, check out these other great HCD comics!:

Vera Brosgol
Dean Trippe
Lucy Knisley
Graham Annable
Scott C.
Anthony Clark 1 2 3 4 5

Enjoy!

-Stu

Isaac the Pirate

2012-01-31T22:07:00.000-08:00

More bored-at-work sketches...Some fanart from one of my favorite books:

Isaac

Alice

Philip

Everyone should read Christophe Blain's comics, they're the best!!

-Stu

Girl

2012-01-30T23:42:00.000-08:00

-Stu

Something Dumb I Did Vol. 3, etc...

2012-01-28T01:02:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, at work!

This one's short...

...because dumb stuff shouldn't take that long.

8-I...

---

Oh, and also! -- Thursday night I was lucky enough to see PORCO ROSSO at the Egyptian Theater! One of my favorite movies...

...It was fun!'

-Stu

Zoo sketchin'

2012-01-18T01:09:00.000-08:00

A few drawings from Monday morning @ the LA Zoo:

Not too long ago, the mother tiger gave birth to cubs! Super adorable kittehs, mang

Are YOU going to the "Castles in the Sky" Studio Ghibli film festival at the Egyptian and Aero Theaters? You probably should.

Got tickets for Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service...yes, that shall do. Won't have to go to the theater ever again.

'night everyone! zzzz

Stu

Q-Pop's... Thailand Flood Relief Art Auction FUNDRAISERRR!!!

2012-01-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

This Saturday night, Jan. 14th, I'll be participating in QPOP Gallery's Thailand Flood Relief Art Auction Fundraiser!

It's a great benefit for the terrible flooding taking place in Thailand featuring some really great artists. Please come and support!

Here's my piece:
"Samoan Tree Toad"
4"x6", charcoal and ink on cardboard

Here's a closer look at the piece before I cut it:

Hope to see you there!
Stu

Chrono Trigger Kali!

2011-12-30T16:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Belated Christmas everybody!

Here's a Chrono Trigger-Christmas print I illustrated for my good friends Kali, Nico, Jack, Tara, Myke and Matt. I drew them (and myself) as each of the main cast of the game, my favorite game ever, as well as some of theirs!

Have an awesome weekend and a Happy New Year!

Stu

Warmups from work

2011-12-15T22:13:00.001-08:00

I found these story-warmups earlier today...I think I did them in September? August? Something I started but, as you can see, didn't keep it up for very long. :P

The only thing I can remember about 'em is I had one song per picture I'd just listen to on repeat til the picture was done. And also, to anyone who's curious, doing full-color pieces in ToonBoom Storyboard Pro?...huge hassle, but it can pay off!

"Who's Theme" by Minmi

"Old Soul Song (For the New World Order)" by Bright Eyes (particularly everything after 2:40)

"Electricity" by The Avalanches

Should I continue doing these? I should. :)

-Stu

One Thing at a Time!

2011-12-12T23:52:00.000-08:00

A month ago, I posted inks to a new comic I'm doing - more specifically, a short I'm doing for Zac Gorman's upcoming FFIX zine, "The Tantalus Theater Review!" Following some big deadlines at work, I'm happy to be jumping back into color. Here are the same panels I posted as B&W inks way back...

And a bonus panel!:
The story should be totally done by Christmas - as for the zine itself, that's TBA! :)

-Stu

"What If..." at Gallery Nucleus

2011-12-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

This is as last minute as a gets buuuut...an announcement!

Tonight I have a piece hanging in the "What If...?" show at Gallery Nucleus, my favorite gallery! This is the first time I'll be featured here so I'm really excited...

Here's a little preview of the piece (on my kitchen counter, ooh-la-la):

Hope to see you there!

-Stu

Sketchdump!

2011-12-01T01:09:00.001-08:00

The Americana, 11/30/11

Went out sketching with Steph, Megan, Jackie, Kat, Davin, Te, and Tom. The little casual group we started just a few weeks back has really grown quickly!
Wow, it's December already!
-Stu

5 Years!

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my 5th Anniversary with Steph -- a lot has changed over the years:

:)
-Stu

Out sketching ...and something amazing!

2011-11-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Steph & I have started joining a couple old college friends for sketching around the Burbank area Wednesday nights. Here's a few from yesterday:

Poor Steph had a headache!

And also...something amazzzzzing arrived in the mail today that I've been waiting a long time for. It's a good thing I had my camera ready the exact moment I opened the package for some reason!
What is it? Uhhh...I dunno...but It's a secret though, so you'll have to wait and see...

See you at CTN! Saturday! Can't wait!
Stu

Back from the graaave...

2011-11-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Been a while since an update! Been making lots of stuff lately, despite the dust collecting here, so I thought I'd leave this here...

These are a couple panels from a new comic for this thingie I'm working on - so so excited to finish and show everybody!
More details, images, and just plain new stuff to show soon!

-Stu

2011-10-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

A quick sketch for something new that I'll (hopefully) finish...

Something quick

2011-10-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Something Dumb I Did Vol. 2

2011-10-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

CSUN, 2006.

Here's a little horrible happening that took place at an on-campus convenience store...

... I thought I'd keep it short. :/

-Stu

Back in the Saddle

2011-10-03T23:24:00.001-07:00

Went charter fishing the other day with my dad - you see all kinds on ships like that!Caught & kept 12 cod - over half of em cooked already. Tastes gooood :-d

-Stu

Something Dumb I Did Vol. 1

2011-09-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Ratatat Show, 2006.

In college I discovered the band Ratatat, and from that day on I was never the same. I was obsessed - I bought every album, owned every single, saw every show that I could.

They had a power over me.

So I bought a ticket to a headlining show in Hollywood at the Music Box.

The only problem I had with their shows, however, was that I could never get into their opening acts. For me, no one was good enough to stand alongside them.

This night was no exception.

I waited...I endured. Whatever it took until my favorite band took the stage.It wasn't the first time I stood through the entire set, holding my spot at the front.
But this time, something different happened....To say I was starstruck would be an understatement.Because OH ---- MY ---- GOD ---- there they were ---- just backstage, and enjoying the show.Held captive by an opener I'd long since given up on, I could do little else but STARE...so I STARED.
...and I STARED......and I STARED......and I STARED......and I STARED some more, without realizing that, up in the front, standing 6'4", directly in front of open stage and blinding bright lights I had at that moment become the most conspicuous object imaginable.Ya, it was pretty dumb.

-Stu

Juni and Juli

2011-09-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

(Stu Draws Games!)

Kick punch kick punch...

2011-09-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

Warmed up with a couples sketches of the ladies of Street Fighter 2...yeahh there are only two of them.

(reposted from Stu Draws Games!)

LAX Girl

2011-09-05T15:13:00.001-07:00

-stu

Gesture Drawing - Week Eleven

2011-09-01T21:21:00.001-07:00

This set is coming in a bit late as I already finished Mark's class this past tuesday...these are actually from last week.
Our model was a busty, muscular warrior lady...kinda tired of the warrior theme, so as you can see I took a stab at story sketches doing my best to deviate from it.

Such as this gothic swordstress (that a word?)
A ninja...
A trojan...
A warrior...of rock (?)Cowboys/girls were warriors too...
Momentarily revisiting Maggie Kobayashi...a character I created for Rad's Story Development class last Fall. Memories!And heeere commme the onessss!

And something a little Frazetta-esque I realize (sorry dude)
Week twelve should be up in a couple days

It's been a busy few weeks since starting Futurama, so aside from all the gesture drawing going up lately, I've got some new content brewing for the blog I think y'all will enjoy... so look forward to that...when it's done...which'll be soon...promise! :P

Gesture Drawing - Week Ten

2011-08-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

A rushed lil' update from Mark's class.

Nothin fancy here - cheap ballpoint pen, some brushes, simple paper, blurry pics. Wish I had more time to update this, but alas...>_<

Allowed myself a good amount of story sketches. Some weeks I can do em like crazy, some I can't do a single one...now if only it were just a tap of drawing I could turn off and on...that'd be somethin' :P

Socrates the Half-Dog & Hercules:

Good ol' Jawless

-Stu

Stu Draws Games

2011-08-17T00:51:00.001-07:00

To those who may be unaware, I have an old game-sketch blog called Stu Draws Games! I've had it for a long time, but haven't updated in a while (til now). Here are a few recent character sketches from Final Fantasy I!

Before, I used to pick a game randomly and draw, but I think I'm gonna try focusing on one game at a time, blowing through several characters at once before moving on. We'll see how it works out.

Meanwhile...

When I'm not super busy at work, been trying to figure out my next big project following the Table. I'm already gathering ideas for the second book, while thinking about collaborating with another artist on a new seperate comic project...and that's just scratching the surface unfortunately O_O. Here's to keepin' it real, I guess!

-Stu

Gesture Drawing - Weeks Six and Eight

2011-08-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

Whew! You go camping and miss a few classes and you just never wanna get around to putting your drawings back up...it's what happened to me, but all that's behind us now. Here's some more sketches from Mark's Gesture Drawing Class:

Week Eight

trying something new:messin' arounnnnd:

Week Six, definitely not one of my strongest weeks.
Tough model too, very thin :P
A few story sketches managed to find their way in here...

Drawn from my latest obsession...Like whoa

New drawings soon!
-Stu

Portal Birthday Card

2011-08-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

Made a fun Portal card for my little sister's birthday - check it out!

Front:

Inside:

She's a huuuge fan of Portal since I first showed her the game - if you need anymore convincing, check out this amazing cross-stitch she made for Stephanie: http://flic.kr/p/9CtVK9 WOW!

-Stu

PS: Wayyy behind on my gesture drawing uploads...new drawings up soon I PROMISE!

Shark Week!

2011-08-05T01:02:00.000-07:00

So I'm joining in on Shark Week at the request of my friend Megan (she's a shark expert, peeps) along with many other artists seen below:

Carrie Liao
Mike Nassar
Ryan DeLuca
Nate Villanueva
Marina Gardner
Eric Wu
Titblog

How could I pass up the opportunity to draw all my favorite shark species...

When I was in the fourth grade I did a report on sharks. I got a D.

I don't remember why...

-Stu

Something new...

2011-07-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Two characters from this new thing I'm workin' on...
More info soon!

The Table is set!

2011-07-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

My very first mini comic "The Table" is done!
This mini-anthology, my first foray into the realm of autobio comics, tells several stories about my close group of friends and me, and the embarrassing, ultranerdy adventures we shared growing up in Bakersfield, CA. Drop by the FLIGHT Comics booth (#2235) where I'll be signin' & sellin'!

Here's a little sneak peek!:

It was a joy putting this book together, thinking back on those memories, and also an interesting challenge creatively picking the events I feel I could share with the readers who were never there or never met me or the other members of The Table.

Big thanks also to Vera for her printing advice, and her amazing minicomic that inspired me to make The Table!

...ALSO FLIGHT 8 is in stores!

I don't have a story in this year's volume, but come to the booth to meet several of the amazinggg creators who WERE involved in bringing together the bittersweet final volume of this great series! :D

-Stu

PS: If you were wondering about the lack of recent updates, there's yer answer :P

Mini Comic Samplin'

2011-07-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Burnin away half my vacation on the mini-comic...lovin every minute but I'm pretty burnt out today...gonna rest for a bit. Here's a few panels from one of the stories!

-Stu

Gesture Drawing - Week Three

2011-06-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of Gesture Drawing updates...last class was cancelled and pushed back to this week. Anyway, long story short, here's some drawings I did last night:

Jumping ahead, in the middle of the session we did some short one minute gestures. As you'll see below, I took a more story-oriented approach to the poses, but for these quick ones I just observed the model as he was.

Back to the beginning of class, here's a few 2's and a 4:

Most of the class was spent doing 5's which I preferred. Finding a unique story for the pose and adding specific details and elements to clarify those ideas is my current aim for this class:

I somehow managed to eat it on the last pose twice, so I threw together at the last second this quick gesture of the model, and it ended up being one of my favorite drawings of the session.

In closing, I've been dying to add more original content to this blog, outside of the gesture drawings etc...well let it be known I've begun inking my upcoming MINI COMIC to be finished around Comic-Con time...More on that next post!

Stu

NO Idea

2011-06-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Results: Positive!

Try Try Try

2011-06-22T01:55:00.000-07:00

After-work Stu is all...

Gesture Drawing - Week Two

2011-06-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

This past session, I decided to focus on observational sketches to study details of the model, any unique landmarks or features to give more specific personality to the poses. Here's some 2's in charcoal & conte crayon.

After our first class-critique, I relaxed a bit with some pens @ 3 minutes.

While I tried to avoid complacency I (admittedly) fell back into my old habits...doing the same sort of loose, simple gestures that defines my comfort zone. It's like candy!...and I like candy, is that so wrong? (it is.)

...I'll have to focus a little harder not to fall into this and stick to what I want to improve on.

And a few quick 1's to end the class in conte crayon.

TO THE END OF COMPLACENCY!

Cat Burglar

2011-06-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Crazy thing happened this morning while I was out on my jog. Some cat burglar was trying to break into someone's house!

I knew I had to do something.

Soon, a few officers arrived. Not nearly enough if you ask me.

But before long they got their man.

Thank goodness.

Morning Warm Ups

2011-06-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

Free time is niiice. Neighbors around the 'hood:

Gesture Drawing - Week One

2011-06-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

This term I'm back in Mark Macdonnell's Gesture Drawing class offered at the Animation Guild. One of the most invaluable classes I've ever taken, I decided to take it again to brush up on my gesture skills - finding the form/essence/story in the pose: one of my favorite things.

Here's a few sketches:

Started with a few quick observational gestures to warm up (2 minutes)

After loosening up a bit, I took a stab at some story sketches (2-3 minutes)

Finally, cooled down with some more observational sketches. Here you can actually see what the model looked like when she changed her costume...lingerie, leggings and a caution tape nest hat. By this point she had taken off the gas mask already O_O

-Stu

First Post

2011-06-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

Hey hey! So I decided to leave tumblr in favor of blogger as my main venue of comics, art & news in general. I will, however, continue to maintain the tumblr, and the long-neglected Stu Draws Games as a place to put up quick sketches, etc., and hey - that way, I may post even more frequently than I had before! Anywayyy what was I getting to... oh right!

I recently finished a 16 page comic for an upcoming anthology series - more info in the near future - started a new storyboarding gig at Rough Draft Studios, and have more time to post...so let's get right to it! Here are a few character studies for an upcoming mini-comic I'm planning on putting together very soon!

The dorky dude eating the baby carrots is me of course...as for the other three, sorry guys :P