orbital harvest

well it's finally out! imaginefx 76!

2011-11-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

been out a week or 2 now. thought i'd post some pics here of the article and workshop of a piece i did for imaginefx 76. if ya haven't already grab your copy and let me know what you think! should be out at many book stores and magazine racks now.

imaginefx 76!

2011-10-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

ads for the upcoming imaginefx 76 are now showing up online! the mag is now out in europe, and will be here in the states next month. but if you're really chomping at the bit, you can download via the itunes store now! i did a mech workshop, so check it out! see the ad here: imaginefx site

i heart nycc 2011 ::: october 13 - 16

2011-10-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

ya never know how much you really love something till it's gone... i do love nyc! lots of excitement for the 2nd largest show in north america, seeing all the great friends again, but there's still a tinge of sadness... this will be the last con of the season. if you're gonna be in the city, and want to be where the best time is being had... stop by javits and say hi! i'll be at Artist Alley R2! but of course, as we're having a great time, we won't realize how much we loved it, and how much we're gonna miss it all...

add me to your nycc experience here

john giang

orbital harvest

artist alley: R2

fanexpo 2011!

2011-08-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

my second year back to toronto! so truth be told, there's some shows that i make every excuse just to go... toronto is def one of those cities! it's like nyc, but they really really like hockey. hope to see ya there!

john giang

orbital harvest

artist alley: a119

the big hot mess

2011-07-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

well...it's comin' around again. the big show, the grand daddy, the big oozing masses are about to converge on the picturesque town of san diego yet again! and yet again, i continue my love/hate affair with the biggest comic and entertainment show ever. hope to see everyone there! i'll be at my regular spot: exhibitor booth H4. stop by and have a chat! let's laugh and cry together!

calgary expo!

2011-06-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

always one of my favorite shows! like i always say, canadians are nice, but wow! the calgarians/albertaians are truly the best people on earth! oh, and i know i get alot of fans from the edmonton and bc area, so much love too! :) stop by and say hi!

anyhow, booth 413 this year. see y'all there!

wondercon 2011 - moscone center // sf // april 1-3

2011-03-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

love it when the big show comes back to the hometown. if you're in sf this weekend, swing on by my booth in the artist alley. booth AA85 and bring your rango and iron man 2 artbooks!

2011-03-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

here's a few piece of concept art that i did, which also made it into the 'ballad of rango' artbook. if ya haven't heard me mention, us at ilm are super proud of the work done for the movie. kinda off the beaten track, but also very pioneering in pushing the digital animation medium! enjoy!

*btw, i didn't do the cover, but what a cool final ilm render!

i already miss you emerald city!

2011-03-10T00:57:00.001-08:00

well, like i mentioned it had been about 2 years since i exhibited at seattle's emerald city comic con. coming back this year... wow! what a reception it was! i just have to say thanks so much to everyone who ran the show, and most of all the amazing fans of seattle who made this my best show to date. as i'm sure it was for everyone who took part. so thank you, thank you all. it was also great to see old friends since our last shows. though the weather was a bit cold for me, everyone (friends, family, and fans) made it all so warm and cozy! and most of all thank you for starting off the con season with such a bang!

here's to another season...

2011-03-01T11:25:00.001-08:00

after a bit of time off, the con and show season is starting back up. first up is the emerald city comic con, coming up this march 4-6. i had to miss last year's show, so i'm eager to head back. i'll be exhibiting at booth: 112

also if you happen to go, be sure to pick up a monsters and dames art book. it'll sport an awesome cover, by adam hughes. i'll also have a piece in it, which was shown on my blog a few post ago.

hope to see you there!

hound commission

2011-01-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

going back to the g1 roots with this commission i got done a few months ago. at least the line art for now. paint soon to come! thanks for the request walter!

monsters and dames 2011

2010-12-08T00:34:00.000-08:00

hey all, long time, no post. here's my entry into the monsters and dames 2011 artbook. for those of you not familiar, the monsters and dame artbook is published for the emerald city comic con in seattle every year. all proceeds from the sale of the artbook, and auctioning of actual artwork goes to charities such as the seattle children's hospital. i'm humbled to be a part of the cause, and included with the likes of such amazing talent from jo chen, mike allred, to frank cho. enjoy!

new york comic con 2010

2010-10-14T02:29:00.001-07:00

so just got back from my last show of the con circuit for this year at the nycc. yeah yeah, i know i say it for just about every city i get to visit, but obviously nyc is truly an exception! it is an amazing place! i've visited many times, but never really thought about showing my artwork at a con. this was also my first show on the east coast, and man did it rock! at first i was kinda like wtf, i gotta supply my own table. the show is split up into multiple halls... i was spittin' much venom. but the upside was it was in nyc, which i love. then all the new friends i met were so damn cool! that made it one of my favorite shows to date! so, thanks so much to all of you i met over the weekend! i will definitely be back every year. like i said to many of my new fans, any reason to get out to nyc is more than enough reason for me to head to the big city!

what's old is new - fan expo booth a112

2010-08-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

growing up in michigan, occasionally some of us would make our way up to toronto. good partying for those under-aged in the states... well it's been almost 15 years, and it'll be good to head back to that amazing city up north! this time i'll be going up to attend the fan expo. canada's largest entertainment and pop culture convention. this will be my first time at this show, so i'm eager to meet many new friends and get a chance to show my work to a new region. if ya happen to be there august 27-29, and you're in toronto, feel free to stop by the booth. i'll be at booth a112 right by the marvel, hasbro, and tron legacy booths. oh canada!

a post for the post comic con blues

2010-07-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

hey all, back to the grind of 'real' life. it's quite a shift in gears from the week marathon that comic con is. still it was an amazing time. loved meeting all the new friends, and good to see familiar faces again! anyhow, pushing away the withdrawl pains, and already lookin' forward to 2011! thanks so much for everything y'all!

céva

2010-07-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

haven't done one of my own characters in awhile. here's céva. obviously the swordsman. i'll have him for comic con tomorrow too! wow... here we go again!

snake eyes

2010-07-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

continuing my series of busts. this time snake eyes to keep storm shadow warm at night. this print will be available for the first time at comic con 2010. which is like this week... ugh, i gotta get going!

comic con 2010

2010-07-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

it's that time again. that time of the year for all of us, who love all things popular culture and media to make our annual pilgrimage. down to the sunny land of san diego for comic con 2010! of course, i'll be at my usual spot on the floor. booth H04 under orbital harvest. here's a quick map to find me. hope to see ya there!

finally...

2010-05-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

it's here! my copy of the art of iron man 2 book has arrived! yes, even though we worked on the movie, most of us have to go out an purchase a copy ourselves. but it was cool. i'm happy to pick one up. so, i pre-ordered from amazon, but didn't do the rush shipping. it only came recently. lemme tell ya this an amazing art book! front to back it's just chalk full of really great illustrations, artwork, and ideas that did and didn't go into the final cut of the movie. fellow ilm artists such as aaron mcbride, alex jeager, devon cutler, micah siebert, bruce holcomb, ron woodall, rene garcia, and myself contributed many pieces of artwork to the movie. in addition to those at ilm, other artists also had a creative hand as well. it was a great honor to be listed with ryan mienerding, adi granov, george hull, bryan hitch, and many many others. here's some of the pages that feature some of the artwork i contributed to the movie. i had a ton of fun designing many of the visual effects as well as other assets. one of the designs that i thought was pretty cool is the whiplash mark II suit at the end of the movie. check out some photos of the whiplash design, as well as some war machine damage concepts taken from the book! enjoy!

optimus prime / convoy photoshop tutorial

2010-05-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

when i do shows like comic con, wondercon, and the calgary expo, i get asked how i create some of my illustrations. whether i use 3d apps and whatnot. here's a quick tutorial of how i did my recent optimus prime illustration. almost all of my own illustrations are done as drawings that are rendered in photoshop. this is my general process, but of course, there's always exceptions with every need and desired outcome. basically, whatever it takes is my moto. similarly, at work at the ilm art department, we utilize everything from 3d tools such as modo, sketchup, zbrush, and many traditional methods like good ol' drawing and painting to achieve our artwork. cool enjoy everyone!

the awesomeness of canada

2010-04-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

thank you to everyone who came out to see me at the calgary expo this past weekend! it was, once again, an amazing show! this is my best show every year. the love and support from everyone in calgary and the surrounding areas is incredible! like i mentioned, i wasn't able to make it the year before, so it was great to see familiar friends from 08 and prior. all the new friends i met were totally cool too! lastly, i want to apologize for all those that came to the ironman 2 panel, and found i wasn't in attendance. i was told at the last minute that i probably should not discuss the work i contributed to the film. maybe this time next year, and once the movie has been released, ilm will give me clearance. but in any case, thanks again to all the fine folks up north for hosting another amazing calgary expo! above are 2 of several pieces i debuted at the show. they are starting a series of busts that i'll start producing. hope ya dig'em!

CA to CA ::: Calgary Expo 2010 booth F11

2010-04-19T01:24:00.001-07:00

after taking last year off, i'll be back up north this april 24-25th for the calgary expo! i've missed everyone up there, and can't wait to be back. here's my piece for this years artbook. continuing my ongoing motif of using classic western movies as inspiration. The Blind is based on the blind gunman from a few films of the day. this time around it's the blind gun (wo)man. hope ya dig it, and hope to see ya there at the show!

check out the calgary expo site here:

optimus prime / convoy v1.0

2010-04-09T00:24:00.001-07:00

wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out to wondercon 2010! it was great seeing good friends and awesome meeting new ones! also, thanks for all those who dug my optimus prime, and even those who challenged (well the one of you) me by saying "he's too pointy..." guess that would make it MY rendition... ;) next up will be the calgary expo on april 24th and 25th. hope to see you there!

wondercon 2010 ::: booth 1319

2010-04-02T08:58:00.001-07:00

well, it's that time again! time for one of my favorite cons in (of course) one of my favorite cities. if ya find yourself out in san francisco this weekend (april 2-4), come see me at booth 1319. bring easter candy!

megatron

2009-08-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

for those who don't really know me, i'm a mech/mecha/robot/tech/hardsurface junkie... how well i can design tech stuff myself... you decide. (but don't tell me if it's in the least bit negative, i don't wanna hear it... ;) as i was saying, i will watch a truly horrible anime if only for the one saving grace that there'll be a crazy fuckin' cool big ass, variable mode, five combining into one, burst missiles launchin', overly long (trying to compensate) cannon wielding, and just for safe measure, beam sword stroking robot in it. even if the story is soooooo bad, that the mere thought of it will leave yet another hole in your creative soul! so, enjoy! i'm finally posting my version of lord megatron

the point is

2009-08-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

aight, so it's been a while since my last post. i kinda made stupid promises to myself that i'd be more on top this blog thing, but... here comes the excuses. well, i'd like to think mine isn't really an excuse (i mean legitimate reason...). the name of the reason why i've been not posting regularly (aside from not posting regularly...) goes by the name of niko lee giang! yay! see my time is really scarce, and so to compound that, my wife and i decide to start our family! but what's actually turned out happening is that it's helped me be more disciplined, and hopefully smarter about how i utilize those valuable minutes (kinda). so anyhow, here's my general thought on the whole thing: i'm a huge believer in the 'cummulative effect'. basically, i feel that all of our experiences, feelings, and daily outcomes (good or bad), gradually steer us down the paths of our lives. to something that we hopefully at the end can say we're proud of and can pass on. occasionally though, we hit these definitive turning points or monumental leaps in our paths. so i've hit my recent major points (in my growed up life) - getting married, working at a dream gig, and now having niko has changed me (us). he is our fulcrum that is unfolding and growing right before us. i guess this goes back to me (not)posting on my blog. if you happen to think you might be wasting your time by occasionally stopping by my blog, and knowing there won't be any new posts, don't fret... there may be total inactivity for long stints, but every so often there'll be shifts. today i feel is one of those. or hey, maybe i'm just jibjabberin' to myself (as usual..) heh heh! nah just playing. shift along baby, shift along!

going green... every year!

2009-04-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

just got back from the emerald city con last weekend, and lemme tell ya... it was awesome! many thanks to jim demonakos and his fab crew! they treated me, and everyone at the show from guests, exhibitors, and fans as good as any organizer can! always cool seeing old friends too. i'd totally go on a name droppin' trip right now, but i'll spare everyone... all in all, this year blew 08 outta da puget sound. i'm totally lookin' forward to next year! oh, above is a lil ditty to show my green envy.

take me down to the emerald city!

2009-04-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

early spring sees many things being fresh and green again! us here in the bay area are actually kinda bored of it... (snooty bay area commentary there...) for me things are gonna get even greener. heading off to the emerald city con in seattle, WA! last year was my first taste of how rabid the seattle fans can be. i'm sure this next trip will not disappoint. if you're one of those awesome fans, see if i see ya!

here's the link to the official site:
http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/

tell me what'cha see

2009-03-06T03:38:00.000-08:00

... watchmen tomorrow night. read the graphic novel waaaaay back in early highschool. much like reading (name drop on the way) the stranger, it kinda soared over my head. anyhow, had a bit of a major nerding tonight. had abdc on while i worked on optimus, and was about to hit the sack, then got the itch to do a quick rorschach, of course from watchmen. always thought he was kinda creepy, and an incredibly visceral and visual concept. blah blah, tired... enjoy!

any wonder a year has passed

2009-03-03T02:23:00.000-08:00

...well almost another year since my first post... ugh... i knew this would happen. anyhow, i'm gonna keep on these posts and be more consistent... uh, yeah i guess i'll swear on that. anyhow, moving on.

wondercon! just decompressing from another great show in one of the greatest cities on earth! i really do love where i live and i esp love you, the fans of popular culture from the bay. much like everything else here, you are as varied and as diverse as anything else. and of course always totally into what ya love. even in our tough times right now, there was solid support all around, and i really appreciated everyone who came back out to see me again this year. as always it was great to meet new people who love what i love!

in addition to many of the fans, it was awesome seeing all the familiar faces of friends that attend the cons as exhibitors. still it was a reminder of how things are, as many of those friends still weren't able to make it out. this post started out on such a high note... anyhow, i'll just say again, thanks to everyone for all your support of my work. as i made this joke totally redundant this weekend, it was great to have group therapy with all my fellow nerds at the institution of wondercon!

johng

here's to not stayin' virginal anymore...

2008-07-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

hey everyone, so, i've resisted starting my blog for quite a long time. not really sure why, but yeah... i did. i don't know maybe the right subject matter was what i was having a tough time deciding on. didn't really want an 'art' blog, since it's what i do for a living, but i don't think i can avoid it. so inevitably, this will probably just be a random smattering of things, ranging from stupid shallow rants to mostly my artwork... of course... well, that's it. there's my oh-so witty and very overly wrought intro (i swear i spent like 2 hours thinkin' about just the right things to... i mean to 'write' about...).

ok, moving on. with sdcc (san diego comic con (for you acronymly-challenged)) right around the corner, i'll start by posting a piece i did recently. this will be featured in the 20th anniversary street fighter book, that udon studios is putting together. jim z and udon were kind enough to ask me to work on a piece for the book, and i was honored. it was tons of fun to produce. (warning shameless plugs are a coming) prints will be on sale at my booth at the show. udon will also have sdcc exclusive copies of the book at their booth (i really should know these location numbers or something). so wrappin' it up, i'll be doing a signing at the udon booth on sunday (07.27.08) between 1-2 pm. so, hope ya enjoy the work, and really hope to see you at the show!