Figure Study
Drawing and sculpting the human body is central to all of my work because it connects science and biology to gesture, narrative and emotion. There is a function and form to the body from the heartbeat to the skeleton. There is also an abstract and narrative quality to the body beyond its physical shape. The body lives in the world, but it also lives in stories and poems, sculpture and scripture as an idea.
Live Expressive Figure Drawing
The drawings below are drawn with pencil or charcoal in front of a live model 2008-2015.
An inky drawing from 2009 when I was taking a drawing class with Jacqueline Wazir - costume designer for Desperate Housewives. I was experimenting with printer toner mixed with acrylic medium directly on paper.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24". This is from a live figure drawing session in Santa Monica filled with eccentric characters. This is a 10 minute gesture drawing, trying to capture the feeling, motion, hints of shadow and light.
A drawing from 2009. This is drawn with mechanical pencil - pretty unconventional.
2012, Pencil, 11”x17”. A morning sketch. Coincidentally, the way she positioned her arms looks like a painting I sketched called “Cypripedia” elsewhere on this page.
2014, Pencil on Post-It-Note, 4”x4”. Sketches of my Grandmother, who teaches a traditional Indian dance form called Carnatic dance.
2014, Pencil on Post-It-Note, 4”x4”. This is a sketch of two dancers. I like this moment because the movement of the dancer's legs – her right leg is moving down and left leg is sweeping upwards. Together their bodies make a beautiful composition.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24".
2015, Pencil on Paper, 18"x24". This is from an informal live figure drawing drawing session in Los Feliz I attended in 2015. The model was larger and had some great poses. I remember one of the artists there was painting in oil live - using a palette spatula to make these amazing geometric shapes.
2012, Pencil, 11”x17” I drew this in the morning. There was a nice sliding glass door with a tree swaying like sea grass visible from the bed.
2015, Colored Pencil, 11"x15". One of the artists in this session made oil paintings that appeared on TV shows like “Breaking Bad” as set pieces.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24". 15 minute gesture drawing.
2015, Pencil on Paper, 18"x24".
2009, Colored Pencil, 8.5"x11".
2014, Colored Pencil, Sketch paper, 11"x17". This is a 1 minute gesture drawing, trying to capture the feeling, motion.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo, 25.5 lb, 18"x24". This is a 15 minute gesture drawing.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24"
A drawing from 2009 done with mechanical pencil.
18"x24" A drawing from a live session in 2009.
8.5"x11"
From a live figure drawing session in Berkeley 2001 (age 18). I had these large graphite pencils at the time.
18"x24" This is a 10 minute gesture drawing.
18"x24" gesture drawing.
18"x24" Pastel Drawing
18"x24" drawing from 2009. I was experimenting with printer toner mixed with acrylic medium directly on paper.
An inky drawing from 2009 when I was taking a drawing class with Jacqueline Wazir - costume designer for Desperate Housewives. I was experimenting with printer toner mixed with acrylic medium directly on paper.
2015, Pencil on Paper, 18"x24". This is from an informal live figure drawing drawing session in Los Feliz I attended in 2015. The model was larger and had some great poses. I remember one of the artists there was painting in oil live - using a palette spatula to make these amazing geometric shapes.
2012, Pencil, 11”x17”. A morning sketch. Coincidentally, the way she positioned her arms looks like a painting I sketched called “Cypripedia” elsewhere on this page.
2014, Colored Pencil Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24". This is from a live figure drawing session in Santa Monica filled with eccentric characters. This is a 10 minute gesture drawing, trying to capture the feeling, motion, hints of shadow and light.
2014, Pencil on Post-It-Note, 4”x4”. Sketches of my Grandmother, who teaches a traditional Indian dance form called Carnatic dance.
2014, Pencil on Post-It-Note, 4”x4”. This is a sketch of two dancers. I like this moment because the movement of the dancer's legs – her right leg is moving down and left leg is sweeping upwards. Together their bodies make a beautiful composition.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24".
2012, Pencil, 11”x17” I drew this in the morning. There was a nice sliding glass door with a tree swaying like sea grass visible from the bed.
A drawing from 2009 when I was taking a drawing class with Jacqueline Wazir. This is drawn with mechanical pencil - pretty unconventional.
2015, Colored Pencil, 11"x15". This is from a figure drawing session in Santa Monica filled with eccentric characters. All of them were extremely talented, and one of them made oil paintings that appeared on TV shows like “Breaking Bad” as set pieces.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24". This is a 15 minute gesture drawing, trying to capture the feeling, motion, hints of shadow and light.
2015, Pencil on Paper, 18"x24".
2009, Colored Pencil, 8.5"x11". A drawing from a live session in 2009.
2014, Colored Pencil, Sketch paper, 11"x17". This is a 1 minute gesture drawing, trying to capture the motion.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo, 25.5 lb, 18"x24". This is from a live figure drawing session in Santa Monica. This is a 15 minute gesture drawing.
2014, Colored Pencil, Charcoal Fusain|Carboncillo 25.5 lb, 18"x24"
A drawing from 2009 when I was taking a drawing class with Jacqueline Wazir. This is drawn with mechanical pencil.
A drawing from a live session in 2009, when I was taking a drawing class with Jacqueline Wazir - a talented costume designer. I appreciate that she built up a great community of performers who would pose for her classes.
From a live figure drawing session in Berkeley 2001 (age 18). I had these large graphite pencils at the time.
10 minute gesture
A 10 minute gesture drawing, trying to capture the feeling, motion, hints of shadow and light.
18"x24": Pastels from 2009
18"x24" 10 minute drawing from 2009. I was experimenting with printer toner mixed with acrylic medium directly on paper.
3D Figure Modeling & Animation
The images and videos below represent 3D models I created from scratch in the computer software Zbrush and Maya. I will create and position each vertex with a digital pen on screen. I start with a simple shape (very few vertices), then keep adding edges until I get to a fairly detailed shape. In some cases my goal is to create a model suitable for animation, so I’ll bake the highest resolution geometry as a displacement map for a simpler “proxy” geometry.
I made this asset from scratch in ZBrush for a 3D game called Darkgame with giant rolling heads that serve as "Sensory Traders." Each Trader grants a specific sensory attribute like vision, hearing, touch in exchange for another sense. This is the "Ear Trader"
Asset for a 3D game project Darkgame with giant rolling heads that serve as "sensory traders." Each trader grants a specific sensory attribute like vision, hearing, touch in exchange for another sense.
The "Eye Trader"
The "Skin Trader"
"Eye Trader"
"Heart Trader"
Animating the Darkgame heads to yawn, smile, etc.
This is my process of making figurative sculpture in ZBrush
Live ‘Analytical’ Figure Drawing
I made the drawings below from live models. I used a system of proportions and an imaginary armature called "the mannequin" taught by Kevin Chen in LA. The system is based on the unit of the head: the body is 7 and 1/2 heads tall, the distance from chin to the bottom of the pelvis is 3 heads, from the top of the femur to your heel again 4 heads. The bottom of the rib cage falls 1/2 way between the chin and the bottom of the pelvis, etc... rules all the way down to the facial features and digits. Over time you can memorize and internalize these proportions and use them to express your own ideas.
Sculpture
Below you can see my study of anatomy in figure sculpture. My earliest memories are sculpting, even before speaking or drawing, so I have a dear place in my heart for it. It’s a form of meditation. I made every single bone you see here from scratch with clay, and I add the muscles one by one in order.
Expressive Figure Drawing
I draw the human body to express emotions, ideas, and feelings that cannot be expressed with words. Below you can see drawings from live sessions (drawings done in front of a living model who will hold a pose for a few minutes), drawings I made of sculptures at the Getty, and other drawings from my imagination.
"A wig." Another illustration I made for The Book of Kane and Margaret by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi. In this story the main character Margaret relives a heartbreaking moment with her lover Kane by asking another man to impersonate him with a wig. Margaret asks the impersonator to recite lines from their last night together where Kane contemplates an escape from the camp and Margaret pleads with him to stay.
This is from a series of drawings about a group of brothers who were following a horse that would define the boundaries of their kingdom based on its uninterrupted roam. From my memory this story is based on an actual ancient tradition, but this may be apocryphal. The painting is ink on paper, the composition flows out organically from the watery ink.
"a suitcase." In this illustration for The Book Of Kane And Margaret by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi, Kane prepares to pack a single suitcase for the trip to the Gila relocation center - it's all he's allowed to bring. Among other things he considers packing fragments of iridescent abalone shells used to decorate and illuminate a walkway for his mother, lungfuls of mist from the coast exhaled into paper bags, wild strawberries.
At the time I drew this I was really interested in kinetic lines and movement as a way of making marks. This figure was a very animated depiction of Kronos attacking his father Ouranos - exacting revenge for killing his siblings. I still have some fascination with the way that raw powerful gesture associated with an important action in a story can ripple through the images that tell the story, creating a self-propagating phenomenon.
A study of "Cypripedia" by William Sergeant Kendall at the DeYoung museum in San Francisco. I suppose this is a cliche representation of the female form - trying to protect herself but exposed, defenseless.. The name Cypripedia refers to a flower that somewhat resembles this pose, but the romanticisation of a reluctant beauty feels like dominant (and tired) visual theme.
This is a study of a painting by Rembrandt showing Venus and Mars on the battlefield, I think trying to demonstrate a contrast between soft affection of Venus and Mars' armor. They're surrounded by an apocalyptic landscape, and I think what I liked was that Venus' affection is contextually much braver, more radical in the face of war, danger than Mars' armored violence.
A study of one of Rembrandt’s sketches
This is a sketch of a Nayika generalized from Indian paintings and sculptures of female heroine characters. Apparently the word Nayika comes from something called the "Natya Shashtra" - an ancient text about heroines in history.
A putti playing a trumpet - sketched from a sculpture at the Getty. He was on the handle of a vase.
A ragged Alice drawn with sharpies.
This sketch is part of a graphic novel that I worked on about Durga Mahishasura Mardini, Durga the buffalo demon slayer. I'm trying to draw a moment where the form of the goddess is emerging from the elements and manifestations of divinity. This specific sketch is something I made inspired by Jiri Kilian's black and white ballet. This is a depction of a God tracing some aspect of Durga from the air.
At the time I drew this I was really interested in kinetic lines and movement as a way of making marks. This figure was a very animated depiction of Kronos attacking his father Ouranos - exacting revenge for killing his siblings. I still have some fascination with the way that raw powerful gesture associated with an important action in a story can ripple through the images that tell the story, creating a self-propagating phenomenon.
This is very loosely inspired by the movie Midnight Cowboy: it's a very sad movie but heartwarming. And all about finding love in my mind. This drawing on the other hand is I guess about how annoying people can be to each other and yet still co-dependent.
This is part of a series of drawings about the Ganges river, starting with a figure descending to Earth into Siva's matted locks of hair. The form started as a woman with an arched back drawn with kinetic circles, but then dissolved into a abstract gesture.
This is part of a series of drawings about the Ganges river, starting with a figure descending to Earth into Siva's matted locks of hair. The form started as a woman with an arched back drawn with kinetic circles, but then dissolved into a abstract gesture.
This is a whimsical sketch about the feeling of color flowing through your body into the earth when you look at natural beauty. Sometimes it feels like we were built to experience wonder at nature, take pleasure in observation.
A sketch from 10 years ago. My interpretation of the Hindu god Varaha, the boar-headed incarnation of Visnu who swam to the bottom of the ocean and rescued the Earth in its tusks. These two sketches are drawn on either side of a single sheet of paper, so when you turn the paper it's kind of like a paper puppet. I was inspired by Utamaro's double-sided prints from 1792 (Takashima Ohisa, etc).
This is a caricature of someone I once knew - I'm reminded of him occasionally.
This is an abstracted sketch about an ex who would retreat a million miles away when she closed her eyes.
Kannaki/Kannagi from the Tale of the Anklet (Cilipattacaram) tearing off her left breast. At the time I was thinking about how gesture is closely related to mythological narrative, especially oral tradition. This moment reminded me of the myth of Cronus castrating his father.
"a suitcase." In this illustration for The Book Of Kane And Margaret by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi, Kane prepares to pack a single suitcase for the trip to the Gila relocation center - it's all he's allowed to bring. Among other things he considers packing fragments of iridescent abalone shells used to decorate and illuminate a walkway for his mother, lungfuls of mist from the coast exhaled into paper bags, wild strawberries.
This is a drawing from my series about the the myth of Mahisha. It is a complex, multifaceted narrative with its origins in ancient India. I started working on these drawings because of a desire to investigate the evolution of some key decorative patterns in Indian sculpture and painting. I wasn't sure what form my investigation would take - something between a graphic novel and animation. I think I was drawn to the story of Mahisha because of the number of incarnations it has enjoyed over the centuries. This particular character is named "King Sagar."
This is from a series of drawings about a group of brothers who were following a horse that would define the boundaries of their kingdom based on its uninterrupted roam. From my memory this story is based on an actual ancient tradition, but this may be apocryphal. The painting is ink on paper, the composition flows out organically from the watery ink.
At the time I drew this I was really interested in kinetic lines and movement as a way of making marks. This figure was a very animated depiction of Kronos attacking his father Ouranos - exacting revenge for killing his siblings. I still have some fascination with the way that raw powerful gesture associated with an important action in a story can ripple through the images that tell the story, creating a self-propagating phenomenon.
A study of "Cypripedia" by William Sergeant Kendall at the DeYoung museum in San Francisco. I suppose this is a cliche representation of the female form - trying to protect herself but exposed, defenseless.. The name Cypripedia refers to a flower that somewhat resembles this pose, but the romanticisation of a reluctant beauty feels like dominant (and tired) visual theme.
"A wig." Another illustration I made for The Book of Kane and Margaret by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi. In this story the main character Margaret relives a heartbreaking moment with her lover Kane by asking another man to impersonate him with a wig. Margaret asks the impersonator to recite lines from their last night together where Kane contemplates an escape from the camp and Margaret pleads with him to stay.
This is a study of a painting by Rembrandt showing Venus and Mars on the battlefield, I think trying to demonstrate a contrast between soft affection of Venus and Mars' armor. They're surrounded by an apocalyptic landscape, and I think what I liked was that Venus' affection is contextually much braver, more radical in the face of war, danger than Mars' armored violence.
A study of one of Rembrandt’s sketches
This is a sketch of a Nayika generalized from Indian paintings and sculptures of female heroine characters. Apparently the word Nayika comes from something called the "Natya Shashtra" - an ancient text about heroines in history.
A putti playing a trumpet - sketched from a sculpture at the Getty. He was on the handle of a vase.
A ragged Alice drawn with sharpies.
This sketch is part of a graphic novel that I worked on about Durga Mahishasura Mardini, Durga the buffalo demon slayer. I'm trying to draw a moment where the form of the goddess is emerging from the elements and manifestations of divinity. This specific sketch is something I made inspired by Jiri Kilian's black and white ballet. This is a depction of a God tracing some aspect of Durga from the air.
At the time I drew this I was really interested in kinetic lines and movement as a way of making marks. This figure was a very animated depiction of Kronos attacking his father Ouranos - exacting revenge for killing his siblings. I still have some fascination with the way that raw powerful gesture associated with an important action in a story can ripple through the images that tell the story, creating a self-propagating phenomenon.
This is very loosely inspired by the movie Midnight Cowboy: it's a very sad movie but heartwarming. And all about finding love in my mind. This drawing on the other hand is I guess about how annoying people can be to each other and yet still co-dependent.
This is part of a series of drawings about the Ganges river, starting with a figure descending to Earth into Siva's matted locks of hair. The form started as a woman with an arched back drawn with kinetic circles, but then dissolved into a abstract gesture.
This is part of a series of drawings about the Ganges river, starting with a figure descending to Earth into Siva's matted locks of hair. The form started as a woman with an arched back drawn with kinetic circles, but then dissolved into a abstract gesture.
This is a whimsical sketch about the feeling of color flowing through your body into the earth when you look at natural beauty. Sometimes it feels like we were built to experience wonder at nature, take pleasure in observation.
A sketch from 10 years ago. My interpretation of the Hindu god Varaha, the boar-headed incarnation of Visnu who swam to the bottom of the ocean and rescued the Earth in its tusks. These two sketches are drawn on either side of a single sheet of paper, so when you turn the paper it's kind of like a paper puppet. I was inspired by Utamaro's double-sided prints from 1792 (Takashima Ohisa, etc).
This is a caricature of someone I once knew - I'm reminded of him occasionally.
This is an abstracted sketch about an ex who would retreat a million miles away when she closed her eyes.
Kannaki/Kannagi from the Tale of the Anklet (Cilipattacaram) tearing off her left breast. At the time I was thinking about how gesture is closely related to mythological narrative, especially oral tradition. This moment reminded me of the myth of Cronus castrating his father.