in the mind of a sikomaniac...

2009-12-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

Anyone else excited for Avatar?

Looking Back

2009-12-08T00:57:00.000-08:00

Today exactly four years ago, my motorcycle had been stolen out of my gated subterranean garage at the apartment I was living in. My car had been beaten into a piece of scrap metal in a parking lot... aaaand my computer crashed... all in the midst of final presentations.

Looking back, I realize that I always found a way to push pass the depression and get on with finding a solution, or just accepting my fate. Tears and self pity don't solve problems. Actions do. Sometimes it makes it seem like I have no emotions, but that's just adaption in effect. Things are always in constant motion. But as I got good at skipping out on sadness, I also began to overlook joy and satisfaction of my successes. I was overlooking the things that made my personal art worth doing. I was addicted to improving, upgrading, and to a degree, I still am. My art, my house, my car. Things could always be better. Perfection may be impossible, but I will settle for the perception of perfection.

I now realize few things have changed as I write this post into my birthday. It's not time to slow down just yet.

Skull Cave

2009-11-08T22:21:00.001-08:00

2009-01-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

2008-08-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

some Ruo Li studies

2008-07-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Just some quick value sketches inspired by some recent movies I've watched. Can you guess which ones?

Individually Me

2008-07-08T12:35:00.001-07:00

New job. New place. New lifestyle. New responsibilities. Getting used to it all is taking some time, but things are becoming more routine and regular. I've been spending most of my time the past few months performing heavy maintenance on my vehicles, organizing my finances, buying furniture, and just organizing the new place. i love it.

2008-03-06T16:49:00.001-08:00

New Things

2008-02-29T16:16:00.000-08:00

Life has kept me on my toes for the last few months, which is the reason for my lack of posts. Since then I have been involved in a startup company, tried my hand at selling photography, moved, continued to freelance, educate myself about finances, entrepreneurship, politics, and improve my social life.

I am happy to report all aspects are moving forward.

I have finally found myself a full time position with benefits. As things begin to settle I hope to posts more regularly.

quick city

2007-08-12T00:08:00.001-07:00

long week at work. decided to paint tonight rather than go out. a quick dip in the pool does wonders for the mind and body.

Rock Shelter

2007-08-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

the job hunt continues! after making a few calls and shooting out more emails, i decided to give my wacom tablet some long due attention. i suppose this is what retirement feels like, sans the seldom financial panic attacks.

Paul Bunyan rocks!

2007-07-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Paul Bunyan rocks! 30 mins and a box of licorice.

speedy bike sketch

2007-07-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

quick speedy 1hr. i'm hoping to get back up on two wheels soon!

film noir - the scavengers

2006-11-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

these are some quick compositional and lighting studies from a Film Noir film called the Scavengers. Film Noir is so cool! i'm think i'll spend my christmas break catching up on the oldies. wanna join?

approx 5-10 mins each frame.

haunted alley

2006-11-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

happy halloween!

summer work 4

2006-10-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

summer work 3

2006-10-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

summer work 2

2006-10-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

summer work 1

2006-10-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

i will be posting some older work from this past summer. these will also be on the website (in progress).

Color Palette Practice

2006-10-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

i took one of Steve Huston's color palettes and tried to apply it to a piece of photo ref. a little over one hour.

Week5 - 1 hr speedpaints

2006-10-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

these were some 1 hr speedpaints done in digital landscape. one is a saturated palette and the second is desaturated. the first has compositional issues. i wish we could do some on location tropical paintings! the second felt more familiar... don't ask why. please, feel free to comment!

Week 4

2006-10-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Week 3

2006-10-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

tri-value

2006-09-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

the first was a speedy complete with man and spear. the second is a three value test. please comment.

landscape sprints

2006-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

i'm really enjoying digital landscape. its too bad my batteries weigh more than my laptop, cost twice than its power per minute, and are bigger than some waffle makers. the pursuit to achieve my self actualization has grown more desperate than ever. sometime i can smell the stench of burning gears coming from my head. remind me to not forget the sunscreen.

OT

2006-07-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

with goerner's class done, work has gotten us to do some much needed OT for the game. all extra time is going to be me collected past work and posting for now. don't worry the site is coming soon!

here are some Vis Comm 5 hotties from this spring.

new balance

2006-05-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

with school out for break the next two weeks, work has increased my hours. mo money fo me! which is good, since i just sent my car in for almost $3k worth of cosmetic repair. time for a new life!

clean car, J-O-B, cooking my own meals (Good Eats!), running my 3 mile, and doing research (playing games!). so busy, geez!

its a sprint to the finish (ahem... i.e. two years)~!

hot daym! john and pearl's wedding was sat. haven't partied like that in a while... *sigh. it was goooooood times hahaha! you throw one rockin wedding, John Pearl Izzy!

state of mind

2006-03-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

i've been interning at a video game company for over a month now. it has really brightened my perspective on how i operate in a working environment, although the working conditions are a bit unique. my current mood is extremely motivated, frustrated, and full-heartedly passion-ated. the school has stopped providing the necessary exercises to make me a better artist and designer, so i have realized that it is purely up to me how to develop my technical skills. however it's expectations have grown expotentially. i have never been so upset at the school. the only thing driving me still is the future satisfaction of being successful in chagrin of their "you suck" philosophy. at some point that kind of talk becomes child's play and gets you no where. i want to play with the big dogs, and i will become a rogue student if i have to. Sargent, Da Vinci, and my hot shot classmates have become my instructors. rely on people and you will owe them favors in return. rely on yourself and owe yourself the favor instead.

...thinking cap is ON!

Total Mispelling

2006-03-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

there is a little blurp about me in the March 2006 issue of Total 911 magazine. Funny how they mispelled my name Ko as "Coe." my sketch is the tiny one at the end of the article.

still haven't really read the article, but that paragraph did make it sound like I actually KNEW what i was doing haha! i just did a sketch of what i thought a current Porsche could look like. and this was over a year ago.

knock knock

2006-02-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

been having some pretty crazy dreams lately... who the heck dreams about a Canon L-Series 70-200mm f/2.8 camera lens?? only serious photographers i suppose. never settle for anything higher than f/2.8, i say! sometimes i'm a spy running, sometimes i'm a wartime photojournalist, sometimes i'm a stalker (oh yeah...). i am a leaf in the wind...

work opportunity has been knocking at the door a lot these past few days; i can barely keep up! i feel very fortunate to have so many options. let see if i can flourish under pressure like i used to, haha!

bring it on...

Purple Porsche

2006-01-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Next Gen Porsche Rear 3/4

2006-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

Next Gen Porsche Front 3/4

2006-01-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

Batmobile

2006-01-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

Flashmob Tower

2006-01-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

Level 1

2006-01-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

Wizard of Oz: Tinman

2006-01-15T22:26:00.000-08:00

Wizard of Oz: Flying Monkey

2006-01-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

Wizard of Oz: Dorothy

2006-01-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

Altered Beast: Grave Demon

2006-01-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

Altered Beast: Unicorn Men

2006-01-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

Altered Beast: Weretiger

2006-01-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

King Kong

2005-12-18T02:29:00.000-08:00

this was the first time in a long while i've left the movie theater completely and utterly satisfied. i could not think of a better way to shoot this film! the matte paintings were amazing and Kong himself was a digital masterpiece. Naomi Watts was absolutely made for this role. Her classic beauty totally sold me and made a quick connection with Kong and the audience. and what about that dinosaur fight! holy crap! what a crazy and well choreographed scene! nonstop action and the score drove most of the pacing. this thing was refined in the mind of Peter Jackson for years and it shows. cool storyboarding too...

..makes me want to keep on drawing.

now that school is officially over with, i've been scrambling to schedule my parties and work. get that website going, man. www.simonko.net coming soon!

downhill from here

2005-12-17T03:52:00.000-08:00

woooo-HOOO! one more class to go! this week has been to traumatic i can't even feel the relief yet. maybe a "24" marathon along with Gun and Call of Duty to might cure me. it is King Kong tomorrow and perhaps a sushi dinner? i'm planning to do nothing but gorge myself with delightful pleasures this break. wow, partying hard is almost as hard as work.

what happens when i get angry

2005-12-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

this is what happens when i get angry... you don't want to see me when i get angry. (tip: don't leave your keyboard too close to a halogen lamp!)

one of the worst weeks ever...

2005-12-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

this is one of the worst weeks ever. grand motorcycle theft, car dents in the parking lot, computer crashes. i've been a pin cushion for bad luck! normally luck favors the prepared, but lately i've begin to question my methods of layered security, data loss prevention, and parking situations. sometimes you jst can't win. i'm buying lotto tickets on my birthday (tomorrow), cuz when this tide changes, that would be the one thing i want to happen. something just HAS to go right this week.

everything happens for a reason...

2005-12-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Given: Everything happens for a reason.

happy turkey day

2005-11-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

happy thanksgiving! wish i could be with the fam, but had lunch with the phamvans instead. awesome food as always. it's great i have the apt all to myself, but my motivation to do work is about as high as my willingness to eat garbage. let's play poker!

me again...

2005-11-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

man, i am really really having a hard time getting to work. five hour classes take their toll towards the end of term and seem pointless when the arduous tasks have already been handed out for finals. hmm what things would i rather be doing, you ask? sleeping for one. yes, it's not as bad as it used to be. i am getting my 5-6 hours a day, but am still tired all the time. the only motivation is the fear of falling behind. don't get me wrong, it is fun as hell and i'd rather be doing this than anything else, but as with all things, the fun seems to end when you are doing your work at gunpoint. finish or... BLAM!

there are many games i'd like to play. God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, and GUN seem to be pretty popular. and i can't forget about Half-Life 2 Deathmatch! Burnout: Revenge and Call of Duty 2! oh, boy! what a nerd am i!

and many movies to catch up on over break...

finally saw King Tut at LACMA over the weekend. pretty crazy artifacts. he only ruled for ten years, died when he was 19, and managed to become immortalized for millenia... i mean how do you top that?! i wonder how much action he got...

just testing...

2005-11-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

yeah, as you can see i am totally procrastinating. posting images is very simple with the whole Picasa and E Blogger integration. prepare to see some more of my crappy schoolwork! i know we don't talk much, but maybe now you'll be able to see at least what i'm up to all the time.

back on track...

2005-11-21T21:06:00.001-08:00

so i had this dream i fell into the toilet...