Quick Head Study

Hello folks! Another one from my sketchbook. It's pretty small, about 3x3 inches. I drew this one from a photograph I took in class. Just trying to get the rust out of the Ol' gears.
Quick small study using black Prismacolor pencil.
Thanks for looking.

More sketches

From my sketchbook. Once again, it's all from my head. Just trying to put the old brain to work.
Thanks for stopping by.

OMG! An update!

Hello folks, I know I haven't updated the Blog in a while - almost a month - but it's been quite busy for me lately. Work, projects, personal stuff... It's been busy but it's a good kind of busy. On top of that my wife and I are preparing everything for the arrival of our first son. He's due in March 2007. Well you can imagine how things are over here.
I've been doodling and sketching a lot lately (I wish I had time to paint) and this update is a result of some of this brainstorming.
I drew this from my head, I'm trying to stay away from references, at least for a while. I'm forcing my lazy brain to workout a little bit. I realized I was too dependant on visual references. Besides I'm into gladiators nowadays. Maybe I'll do a quick digital painting of some gladiators within the next week. We'll see...
Anyway, I hope you dig the update. Basic stuff. Hi-tec pen and blue pencil. It's not much but it sure was fun to draw it.
Thanks for stopping by.

Freakin' Busy, man...

I know it's been a while since I updated the blog but it's been really really really busy over here. We moved to an apartment, we had to get it painted, furnished, plus internet connection, cable, appliances etc. I didn't have time to paint anything so I'll just update a photograph. I took this one in San Fran. Here they go: The loud and elegant Blue Angels.
Thanks for your patience.

Quickie

Hello folks, I sketched this one this evening while watching soap-opera - brazilian soap-opera, the best there is (just kidding, some of them are actually awful). I'm only posting it today because tomorrow will be a busy day. There will be a Comics Convention in Sao Paulo, nothing big like San Diego Con but worth checking out.
As for this sketch... Photoshop all the way (as usual).
Thanks for stopping by.

Memorial Day

Yesterday was Memorial Day in Brazil, it rained so much and the drops were so thin they reminded me of tears. Tears of joy, not sadness.
Then I found this picture I took the first week we arrived in Sao Paulo.
I think it suits the occasion.
This is an homage to all those who already made their transition.
God bless.

Okay, I did have some time...

I know I said I wouldn't post anything today because I'd be busy and all... but I did have some time. We finished everything we had to do ahead of time so I decided to do something productive instead of being a vegetable in front of the TV set. And voilà (did I spell it right, Mikael?), here it is. Today's update. Same as the other one, only Photoshop on this one.
Thanks for looking.

Tomorrow's update today (yet again)

Hi folks! I won't have time to update my blog tomorrow so here goes a quick digital painting I did this afternoon. It's from a photograph I took at the Met (it's somebody´s sculpture, I don't know, I'm really bad with names).
I was kinda rusty when I started but eventually I got the hang of it.
Hope you enjoy it.
It's all Photoshop in this one.
Thanks for looking.

Happy Halloween!

Hello folks! We found an apartment! Yay!
But we haven´t got it yet (paperwork, you know, it´s going to take a while, even here). But in the meantime I´ve been meeting some people, making some connections etc.
I haven´t had time to draw or paint in a while therefore I´m posting an old drawing.
I did it about two years ago, I just thought it would be appropriate to post it today (for obvious reasons).
Pen and ink on paper.
Hope you enjoy it.

Peek-a-Boo!

I know, I know, it´s too soon for a Halloween update but I just felt like it. And besides, God knows when we´ll be able to finish our apartment hunt. Until then daily updates will be almost impossible, folks.
I was fooling around with the apperture on this one... And (colorwise) a little bit with Photoshop later.
Thanks for stopping by, and for checking my blog regularly.

Bart Station

I took this photograph inside Pleasanton Bart Station, I like the way the light was breaking up the space. I only had to compose it and click.
Thanks for looking.

Yay! Updates again!

Hello folks, how are you all doing?
I have been quite busy this past week, we arrived in Brazil on Thursday and since then we have been looking for an apartment (as well as visiting the family, socializing with people, making some calls etc).
This update has kind of a nostalgic feeling for me. I took this photograph at the Fisherman´s Wharf in San Fran a few days before we left. I´ll miss San Francisco but what I´ll miss the most is the people I met there (artists, some instructors but especially my friends - thanks for having lunch with us, guys. Hey Al, we missed you there).
Anyway, I hope you´ll enjoy the updates from today on (only photo updates for a while, I´ll start with the drawing updates as soon as we find an apartment).
Thanks for stopping by.

Sonoma 2

Another photograph I took in Sonoma. Great place to visit!
Thanks for stopping by.

Chinatown

San Francisco's Chinatown.
Thanks for looking.

Sonoma

I took this one yesterday in Sonoma.
Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for looking.

Enjoying SF

We have about a week left before we move to Brazil. As you can imagine we're trying to do as many touristy things as we can.
This is the view we had from our old apartment.
I'm gonna miss that place...
Thanks for stopping by.

Back in SF

Hello folks!
We're back in San Fran.
I took this one at the Stonestown mall last night. Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by.

Santa Monica

We'll be driving back to SF tomorrow.
I took this one yesterday.
Santa Monica, early evening.
Thanks for stopping by.

Nice Moon

I took this one in San Fran some days ago.
Thanks for looking.

Tomorrow's Update Today

Hello everyone!
I won't be able to update my blog tomorrow (October 7th) so I decided to do it tonight.
My wife, a friend and I drove to LA today. I took this one at the Farmers Market.
This one gave me a hard time because I didn't use a tripod.
Hope you guys enjoy it.

Yay! Update!

Hello folks, I'm back after a few days off.
This photo was taken yesterday. I went to a friend's building's rooftop and was amazed with the view.
Thanks for checking my blog regularly.
Hope you guys enjoy it.
See ya.

I'll be back in a few days...

Unfortunately I won't be able to update my blog anytime soon, we have to clean up the apartment before we return the keys, so it will take a while. I'll be back with the daily updates sometime next week.
Thanks for checking out my blog.

Done!

We have finally finished packing everything, I feel I can almost listen to 'Hallelujah' playing in the background. The moving company came today and took all the boxes away... What a relief!!! I had to pull an all-nighter the night before so I feel pretty tired and sore right now. I'll be back with the drawing and digital painting updates in a week or so but until then feel free to enjoy the daily photography updates. I'll be hitting the coffee shops again in a couple of days. I miss sketching people but right now I feel like I need a vacation... and some sleep.
Thanks for your patience.

Still packing...

The moving company will come over to pick up everything tomorrow. On one hand we will be finally finished with all this packing we've been doing, on the other hand we HAVE to finish packing everything by tomorrow!!!!!!
Today will be a really busy day.
I took this one in Kyoto, Japan.

Another lazy day...

We're still busy packing things up but my wife and I decided to slow down a bit.
When I'm done with this update I think I'm gonna take a nap (haven't done that in a while).
I took this one in Brazil. I forgot the name of the city though but it's close to Parati.
Thanks for stopping by.

Yosemite

I took this one at Yosemite National Park in California.
Great place to go, very inspirational. I felt overwhelmed by its Natural beauty and (of course) by Ansel Adams' photographs. The great master set the bar so high on photographing Yosemite that I couldn't help feeling a little intimidated.

Almost time to go

I'll be flying home in three weeks and I can't wait to get back. Although time will seem to fly, I know that the following weeks will feel like forever.
I just want to go home...

A nice warm day...

Enjoying the city as much as I can before we move.
See ya.

Take me out to the ball game...

I took this picture last year during baseball season.
I like the way it turned out.
Thanks for stopping by.

Night Shot in L.A.

I took this one in LA some months ago.
I like the way the colors contrasted and interacted with one another.
Thanks for looking.

Lazy Sunday...

Still packing. But a little lazy, a little slow...
45th Avenue in San Francisco.

Airport

Getting ready to go back home in a few weeks.

This morning

Hello folks.
I took this photo this morning, aroung 7a.m. I woke up early because I parked in a construction zone and I had to move the car. Luckily I was carrying my camera with me.
Thanks for stopping by.

A nice day for a walk

I took this one some time ago. It was a really nice day, my wife and I went for a walk. Plus, it was a good opportunity to take my new camera for a test drive. I don't know about you guys but I'm a Canon guy. I tried Nikon, Pentax and Minolta but I still think that Canon rocks!
Thanks for stopping by.

Photographing at Night

I love night photography.
Although it's a little shaky, I like this one (I didn't have a tripod on me that night). You can see the Golden Gate Bridge structure in the middle ground and San Fran in the background (and, yeah, some people in the foreground but they're just a compositional element).
Thanks for stopping by.

No time to paint

Hello, I'm still too busy to paint so here goes a photograph. I took this one in Buonconvento, Italy.
Thanks for looking.

Head study

This one was done with charcoal.
Thanks for stopping by.

Old Stuff

Hello!
I was (still) packing some of my art supplies and artwork when I came across this one. It's an old drawing, I drew this one in school. It was a Head Drawing class.
Hope you guys enjoy it.

Oh, well... busy still

Yeah, you know? Still busy, guys. This one I took in LA.

Still very busy...

Not much time to paint.
I took this photo in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Hope you enjoy it.

Busy...

Still busy, guys. This one I took in Japan. Thanks for looking.

So much packing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry folks, no digital painting yet. Still packing...

So much packing....

Hello folks, we're still packing stuff.
So here's a picture.
Thanks for stopping by.

New idea...

I had an idea... instead of not updating the blog at all when I'm busy, I decided to post some of my photographic work. So whenever you guys check my blog and you see a photo, it means I was too busy to draw or paint. It's another way for me to keep my self-imposed daily updates.
I took this one in San Fran, in the Mission district. If you liked this picture, feel free to check my Photo Website. There's a link to it in the Links section: Douglas Amaral - Photographs.
Hope you like it, thanks for stopping by.
See ya.

Not enough time to paint...

Hello!
I didn't have time to work on the painting at all today so I'm posting a picture.
I took this photo about 2 years ago, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
That's where my wife and I will be moving to. There's so many things to pack that I don't think I'll have time to keep the daily updates going this month.
I'll try to work on the painting tomorrow, I really want to finish it.
Thanks for stopping by.

Digital Painting in Progress 3

Hello folks! As you can see I didn't have much time to work on this digital painting today. I'm enjoying Labor day weekend. But still, I decided to work a little on it. I worked on the hands and pants (I'll keep working on that, the hands bother me a little), I also trimmed the hair and cropped it.
Well folks I'm not gonna lie to you. I'll TRY to finish it up by tomorrow. If I can't finish it up by tomorrow, I'll post whatever I was albe to do during the day.
Thanks for your patience.

Digital Painting in Progress 2

Hello!
Things are still busy, we are still packing. I worked a little on the painting from yesterday. I started to add more details to it, I worked on the face a little (just adding colors, adjusting the temperature etc), and on the t-shirt and jacket.
I'll keep working on it in between the packing, I want to try to finish it up by tomorrow.
See ya!

Digital Painting in progress

Hello everyone! Today was a really busy day. I spent most of the time today packing stuff, my wife and I will be moving soon. I didn't have time to paint much today so I decided to post the painting in progress. Today's post shows the way I start painting digitally. I usually work with two layers; one for the drawing and another one for the colors. I start pretty loose with the colors, blocking everything and covering all the white areas. Then I add another layer for the drawing, and from there I keep adjusting and redrawing back and forth until it's done. Towards the end of the painting I delete the additional drawing layer, I just use it as a guideline, to check proportions and stuff. Tomorrow I'll show the finished version.
Thanks for your patience.
See you tomorrow.

Not a very good day

Hello everyone!
This was supposed to be a quick painting of a friend of mine, Mikael, but I screwed it up (sorry about that Mikael). You know... good days and bad days. Although I lost his likeness I still like the way this one turned out. I spent about 40 minutes on this one.
Thanks for stopping by.

Painting of Henry

Hello everyone!
I painted this one this morning using Photoshop. It's from a picture I took when we were in Boston, almost 2 years ago. Hope you guys enjoy it (especially you Henry, I painted this one to cheer you up, man. Thanks for holding that pose for me).
Thanks for stopping by. See ya tomorrow.

Quick painting of Mika

I decided to paint a friend of mine who went back to Japan a couple of months ago.
I painted from a photograph, I took the photo a while ago and I used a fish-eye lens. I clicked while she was still speaking (sorry about that Mika).
I painted it digitally using Photoshop.
Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by.