Sunday, April 01, 2012

Whimsical Tribal Fusion/ Tribaret Unicorn Theme Costume Artwork



Whimsical Tribal Fusion/ Tribaret Unicorn Theme Costume Artwork


I finally finished coloring this! :D



Just a Unicorn Costume design I made up.

The sleeves are 2 unicorns, 1 black, and 1 white, with feathers as the main, reminds me of a popular design of sweaters my friends wore in the 80s & 90s, or figure skating.

I've seen theme costumes in bellydance often with the bellydance Super Stars, like Jillina, Sherri Wheatley, and also World Dance New York has produced several shows with bellydancers in fantasy theme costumes.

Ironically, the THEME for Tribal Fest this year (2012) is "The Year of The Unicorn".


FULL SCREEN HIGH RESOLUTION VERSION & PRINTS HERE:



Whimsical Unicron Tribaret Fusion 01 by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Whimsical Unicron Tribaret Fusion 01 CU by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Whimsical Unicorn Tribal CS 01 by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART 

Artwork by
"Black UniGryphon" 烏獨角獸
Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman-Wang 任思麒

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Windstone Editions Paint Your Own Figurines

Hand Painted By Black UniGryphon
(Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman-Wang)乌独角兽(烏獨角獸)任思麒





Windstone Editions is a company that produces limited amounts of sculptures made by master sculptor M. Peña. The sculptures are used to make molds, then those are used to make copies from the original. These sculptures are hand painted by a team of artists, usually with airbrushing. They are also very distinct by their glass eyes, and their fantasy, mythological, and whimsical themes, as well as the fact that they are all animal sculptures.



The figurines are very valuable, and often go up in value.

After a while, many artists began to crave blank sculptures, so they could paint their own, so the company began producing several lines of sculptures specifically JUST for artists to paint their own.

These Paint-Your-Owns (PYOs) were pretty expensive. So, I'd been wanting some for a LONG time.

I'd 1st heard about these PYOs from my online friend, Swandog, whom also got a rare limited edition version prototype of the "Kirin" (Japanese Dragonlike Deer-ish Unicorn) 烏獨角麒麟 which has an antler alicorn, instead of a regular horn alicorn.


So, for Christmas, I ended up getting 3 of them!




The 1 I wanted THE MOST was the Kirin (Japanese Unicorn). So, my spouse got it for me, for Christmas.


I also wanted a Unicorn (Western European) but THEY SOLD OUT LITERALLY the day, to the minuet, my friend was about to purchase it for me. So, he got me the Griffin instead.









You will noticed that I painted all of my figurines dark on a black base. Well I am Black UniGryphon. I also went with some Purplish colors as well, and painted my Kirin to be similar to a mother of pearl, but I hand painted it to appear that way, since I couldn't get the dark iridescent mother of pearl. I did, however, purchase REAL nacre which is REAL mother of pearl, made from real shells and pearls.I has some of that on the white parts.

Also, to note on the Kirin (unicorn) are the hooves.
When I was younger, my grandfather had a horse (named King) and his hooves were black. So, when I grew up drawing horses & unicorns, I always drew all horses and (white) unicorns with BLACK hooves (or since it was the 1980s, it was the popular Metallic GOLD).

But, when I was a teenager in High school, I found some artists which painted, or illustrated, unicorns that they would paint with ivory white hooves. So, when BLACK Unicorns became briefly popular in the mid 1990s, I ESPECIALLY liked the look of the WHITE alicorn (horn) with white hooves on the Black Unicorns. So, ever since, I do ALL unicorns with ivory white hooves (and alicorn/horn). It's kinda my signature.

When it came to doing the hooves on the Kirin, I actually redid them several times, so as to be PERFECT, since I was SO PICKY! I had to scrape them a number of times, to get the old paint off, then repaint several times.









Then, I got a Winged Wolf.

I was VERY tempted to paint my Wolf white-ish, but when I was lacquering my Griffin & my Kirin, I was so pleased with my results that, I painted the wolf dark also.

I painted the wings (on the wolf) to be inspired by a type of Song Bird called a "Starling" in North America. A favorite of mine. Unfortunately, the colors don't show on the camera like the human eye can see. (Plus, it's winter, and I live in the North, so, not enough sunlight at the time I shot the photos.) So, I might try to photograph these again, outside, in the summer.


NOTE:

Now, there's a special note to tell about my paint job. I wanted something totally unique, and close to my inner vision (within my creative mind) so, I began looking up lacquers, and I found a special lacquer from JAPAN by Tamiya Color, that shines purple and Green in different angles. I'd never done this before, and had never heard of anyone else doing this.

The lacquer was actually specially formulated for plastic hand modeled, remote control, hobby racing cars' body paint finish.

It was a REALLY good move on my part. I would also like to paint some 2nd versions of the same figurines, in white base colors in the future (if I can ever eventually get to afford doing that).


What's interesting about getting a Windstone Editions' PYO is the company's website, which allows you to upload photos of your painted figurine, for FREE.


Windstone Editions PYO Gallery

I got my own FREE gallery also: Black UniGryphon's PYO Windstone Editions Gallery

What I also like about the website is that they often allow & encourage their staff artists to paint their own rare sculptures, and sell them on the site frequently.


It's a very lovely company.
If you're thinking about investing in the Windstone Editions PYOs, I would say it's definitely worth it. But, due to the high cost, I would recommend practicing on other figures 1st.

I actually practiced the entire Autumn on Dragons, to be confident enough, and sure enough, to paint my Windstone Editions PYO.

Here are some which I practiced on 1st:


















Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Yet to be finished Tribal Fusion Bellydancer Sketches

Yet to be finished Tribal Fusion Bellydancer Sketches

I was actually surprised at how much response I got over these, from the belly dance communities.

Altho', I DO have a gripe about 1/2 of the responses, since number of Bellydancers expect to be paid to dance, and make money doing so. However, those SAME dancers expected to just be able to USE my artwork FREE OF CHARGE or DEMAND me to:

A.) Do more for them FOR FREE, JUST BECAUSE THE LIKED IT.

B.) DO WHOLE ANIMATIONS FOR THEM FOR FREE, JUST BECAUSE THEY LIKED IT.

Drawing is NOT the SAME as dancing, let alone animation, FYI. It takes, practice, skills, and talent, especially if you like mine, that that would refer to MINE of the aforementioned.

Funny how YOU want to be paid, but REFUSE to pay for ME.

Since I was also depressed, I couldn't make myself finish them yet. But, also, because I am afraid of people stealing my artwork, AND MAKING MONEY OFF OF IT!

So, yes, I have mixed feelings, especially when the bellydance communities are usually very Hippy-ish, peace, love, community, helping each other out, looking out for the lil' guy, etc.

So, for this reason, I am forever more STICKING with my watermarks, logos, and GIANT CHINESE NAME STAMPS.

I understand that the whole concept of Chinese name stamps is a hard one to understand, even for me, because it's not based in Western logic, It's Chinese/Taoist stuff. They often use use HUGE stamps, often several, and it might not make any sense to a Westerner, in fact they don;t even need to fit with the layout of the picture. I've asked SOOOOOO many Chinese art Teachers, and Masters in China, and no one can explain it, they just say, it's a Chinese way, or it;s just Chinese stuff.





This was a popular Tribal Fusion costuming style a few years ago:



S Tribal Fusion Belly Dance 01 by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART

By 2011 the long hair, like Cabaret belly dance started to become popular, and bled through into the costuming fashion, where as before it was usually up-doos.


Sketch Belly Dance Floorwork R by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


As Cabaret styles began seeping into Tribal Fusion Bellydance, things became very whimsical, and fantasy-like. So, I came up with this/these:



Whimsical Unicorn Tribal CS 01 by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Whimsical Unicorn Tribal CS 02 by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


I have seen SO many creative costumes ever since.

If you like this blog post, please check the rest of my blog for similar artwork.

Thank you.

Exotic Dancer Themed Artwork

Exotic Dancer Themed Artwork



I have ALWAYS liked the Oriental, and exotic themed artwork, everything from Star Trek, to Gogo dancers, to night club & Ravers, or Gypsies, and fairies.

If you were to flip through my sketchbook from middle school, you would see the same theme. I just feel that women are beautiful.

A large influence for this was American Comic books, especially Marvel Comics, Disney, vintage Hollywood films, Science Fiction films & TV shows, most especially Star Wars & Star Trek (ALL OF THEM), but I also LOVED to watch Xena; Warrior Princess, and Hercules.

I also liked strange Hong Kong films, and even some Japanese cartoons. And, MTV too.

Here are just a few simple sketches I did a few years ago:



The Entertainer by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Angellic Danceress of the Sun by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
The Nike of Personal Passion by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Maiden in The Apollo Sun by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Apollo Maiden in Green by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Here's an old one (1996):


Reflections by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Lively Flying thorugh The Clou by ~BlackUniGryphon on deviantART

Belly Dancer & Exotic Oriental Themed Artwork

 Belly Dancer & Exotic Oriental Themed Artwork

I haven't published my art here for quite a while, so I will share some tonight.

I've done MANY MANY belly dancer, oriental, exotic themed artwork over the past few years. I also VERY MUCH LOVE bellydance.



Exotic Beauty by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Exotic Beauty CU by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Turkish Bellydancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Turkish Belly Dancer Close Up by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Gypsy Skirt Belly Dancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
G Skirt Belly Dancer Close Up by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Tribal Dancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


My Muse's Belly Dancer 01 by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Muses Belly Dancer 1 close up by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Glorious Belly Dancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Glorious Belly Dancer Close Up by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Festival Stage Belly Dancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Festival Stage Belly dancer CU by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART


Night Club Belly Dancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART
Night Club Belly Dancer CU by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Veil Dancer by *BlackUniGryphon on deviantART