Its been a min.

Lightbox just wrapped up and it was calm and cool! Got to spend a lot more time with old and new friends, catch up and see how everyone was doing. It was pretty fun.

Remember Passive Strike? I mentioned it in the last one, but long story short, Splintercell deathwatch dropped. Man was my idea visually similar. It comically bummed me out at first because I was like damn! People are gona think I copied! But then I realized it felt like I was ahead of the curb, I was working on something that was so strikingly close that wasn't even announced until it was and thats something worth feeling proud about. 

                                        Here's a couple of things I did for that^

ANYWAY I'll keep at it, but I definitely want to adjust some things. Otherwise, I am now a concept artist at Astray Interactive! It's been pretty fun to have such an organized and passionate team. Every piece of art I've handed in to the team has felt rewarding. I wrote a little more about it on my website you can check out what I mean there.

Here are some photos I have from recent.

Eddie Smith is a longtime inspiration of mine. After we met last year at his FIRST convention ever ( he's nuts for waiting that long, dude is extremely skilled and admired by many) he has only deepened my respect and admiration for his character and his work. 

Checking in on me when he can, and helping me grow at every corner I find myself stuck at, I am very grateful for the bond we have. Some days when I've felt stuck I'll stare at the little sketches he's done for me, or reflect on conversations I've had with him.

Each time he has consistently made me feel like I'm headed in the right direction and man I just think the dude is damn cool. I hope to make an impact on other artists the way he has. 

I met so many dope people this year. I cannot wait for us all to eventually find the opportunity to work together professionally. 

I flew a plane

 Lots and lots of jets and planes. I had that on DVD and would watch it repeatedly growing up.

I've been basking more in what I enjoy outside of creation to find out what I want to create. I flew a plane and connected with a couple of pilots.  It was so fun flying a Cessna 172, its rattling and sound emission were very similar to my car. So honestly, it didn't feel all too new to me, and now I have a new goal outside of art! I'm going to pursue my PPL (Private Pilots License). Here are some photos from the day I flew!

 I've been studying and practicing my iteration ability, shape design, and color. Color has kicked my ass but I know in time I'll have stronger understanding of it. Taking a break from passive strike since I'm on other endeavors. I have a new idea for a game portfolio I want to tackle. My brain has been running crazy with new ideas, but I  know I need to lock in and focus on one thing at a time. It's been a busy time recently for me, but in just about a month or two, things should begin to slow down enough to a point where I can reassess where to prioritize the direction my journey ends up going. 

Some thumbnails, I spent two minutes on each. Desigining a parabolic scope accessory for an ECH helmet.

Getting back on track YO

 It's been a few years since my first entry here. I wanted to bring it back and add a dialogue in a reflection since 2022.

Grief, lots of it, in many different ways that were new to me, and It really put my life on a bit of a pause. But I'm getting back into the swing of things. 

SO! Creatively where am I at now? 

I'm sharpening my skills, learning, and continuing to grow in ways that complement me. I've gotten better at 3D, and I'm ready to use all my hard skills to create. 

I began setting the foundation for a graphic novel I want to publish. It will take inspiration from my great grandparents who survived the holocaust, and be centered around two individuals who find love in each other amidst the tragedy of war. Got to sit my grandfather down for that one. My great-grandmother has her entire entry recorded in the Smithsonian Museum, but I don't speak Polish, so I need my grandfather's retelling, or direct translation. I hope to head over to his place and get that done soon? More updates on that in the future. 

 Along with a new logo I designed for myself. It's pretty simple, inspired by the game consoles most prominent in my younger years, knowing I have to be punctual about time in life, and its limited nature. As well as the idea that I'm powering creativity, using 3d, standard primitives, and forms to build new things. I aim to think outside the box, hence the L expanding past it. It was super fun to learn about graphic design for a few days and practice that here for myself. 

Logo at the top, inspo is bottom half

To follow up there, I finally have a proper website! Thanks to the help of a few artists who responded to a question I had on my story I sat down and got that done! Here it is below! I noticed the websites a bit janky in some places, but I think it's just right.

https://cartlos.com

I've had some great help from friends like El and Sung, they've kept me levelheaded and focused in recent months. Sung has gone out of his way to help me a whole lot actually.  I am excited to one day honor that effort in the work I produce after his rigorous critique and input on my progress. 

Y'all should check them out @sunghuhart @oso.apple on Instagram

Lastly, I'm working on a small little thing I'm excited to eventually share. There have been a lot of inspiring TV shows to me lately, so I wanted to kinda create "my own". I find it cliche, but I'm having fun. Here's the logo! This is all I'm gonna share for now. 

Otherwise, what do I have ACTIVELY going for myself? Planes, I'm supposed to have my discovery flight soon to fly my first plane. Pretty excited about that. Been life-drawing them with friends and stuff, and I'm actually going again tomorrow. 

 Until Next time! Idk what more to say, bye! See ya! I'm out! Peace!

MUTE

 I don't have a journal or a diary. I never considered one. I like talking but what was the point if I'm only keeping it to myself. For that, I'll continue to keep thinking. 

I'm writing and drawing my first comic book.

It's called MUTE.

It's really inspired by Lindsey, she's really cool and super inspiring. She was just the best source of reference material for a story. I tried to create it around her interests and all. In a way that can metaphorically describe how I see her in a fictional depiction. 

Here's the logo, I'm pretty proud of it. 

I want to publish it as well but I've been getting nervous about how to get that done. I keep getting told I should try and submit it to Image comics. I'll think on it. (Update: I think its way too inspired by certain story I like so NOPE! haha)

After all it feels like a sign from the universe because of how much inspiration I've taken from specific Image folks.

I mean, Cory Walker is the reason I'm typing this right now. That dude is so cool man, I hope I can meet him one day. I see him talk on his blog a lot about feeling certain ways towards his art. I wish there was a way I could let him know from my perspective, he's grown like crazy and his art is some of my favorite. Cool dude.

I hope my story is enough to entertain at least a few people. I want to leave an imprint on this world some how.