R.I.P. Muhammad Ali

I was sad to hear about the passing of the Champ this past June 3, 2016.  Being a fighter myself, I can't begin to speak on how influential Ali was to me in my life, He was truly unique, there will never be another like him.  Below is a quick painterly sketch of the G.O.A.T. ( Greatest Of All Time ) you can read up on Ali in this wiki article, HERE.  May GOD rest his soul.  Thanks for stopping by , Enjoy !!!!!!

War In The Ring

So it has been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy as ever with art.  Here are a few paintings I created recently.  A war in the boxing ring followed by some natural born predators :)  You can purchase a print of the Snow kitty HERE.  Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy !!!!!

Balboa

Here is a caricature of actor Sylvester Stallone this time as a trainer in the movie CREED.  Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy !!!!

Art Dump

So I know the title of this blog is DARAF's Daily Doodles, but I don't post here daily, nor are the post always doodles.  I do however sketch, doodle and experiment with my art on a daily basis.  Here are a bunch of the sketches (not all of them) and experimental art studies that I do on a daily basis.  Some here are done in Mischief , some painted with my finger on my Samsung galaxy tablet (using the Sketchbook App) and others in ZBrush and rendered in Keyshot.  The tiger was painted in the latest version of Corel Painter.   There is also a Google Sketch up model that was blocked in quickly with the intention of drawing over the model.  Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy !!!!

Creed

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. Below is a caricature of Actor Michael B. Jordan in his role in The Rocky franchise spin off, "Creed", out today in theaters. The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed. I look forward to checking out the film. For now here is piece I did for fun. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!

The Sweet Science

Here is a painting I have been working on, on and off  throughout the year.  A boxer sneaking in a counter punch from an unorthodox angle can cause a variety of damage :) I am a huge boxing fan and I even had a successful amateur career as a young man, so as an artist it's a great subject matter for me to return to, and one I know all too well.  This one was finished right on time for the release of Creed starring Sylvester Stallone  and Michael B. Jordan.  I can't wait to see the film, being such a huge Rocky fan.  Some of the Photoshop brushes used here were purchased on artist Aaron Blaise's website.  I have several of his brush sets, these were his canvas textured brush set which can be purchased here.  There are several great tutorials and texture sets available there as well.
Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton

Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, billed as The Battle of East and West, was a boxing match for The Ring light welterweight championship. The bout was held between Manny Pacquiao of General Santos, Philippines and Ricky Hatton from Manchester, United Kingdom.

The fight was held on 2 May 2009 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas at Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Hatton was knocked down by Pacquiao twice during the first round, and again in the second round to lose by KO in the 2nd round. Pacquiao's win makes him one of only two (the other being Oscar De La Hoya) to win six world titles in six different weight divisions at that time (he won his seventh world title in seventh weight division on 14 November 2009 against Miguel Cotto). As of now Manny "Pac-Man) Pacquiao is the first and only eight-division world champion, in which he has won ten world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. According to Forbes, he was the 2nd highest paid athlete in the world as of 2015. The first highest paid is Floyd "Money" Mayweather who beat Pac-man in a unanimous decision in May of this year.

Below is a digital painting that  I completed recently, exploring a slightly different technique and style than my previous pieces.  Using Photoshop cs6 and Kyle's custom brushes, which you can purchase here.  Kyle has a lot of great brush sets that mimic all kinds of traditional media. Check them out and thanks for stopping by, enjoy!!! and stay inspired :)

Painterly Studies

My good friend and art Mentor, Carlos Huante has been working with me on a few art techniques to get my animal and human anatomy up to par. Mostly going back to basics and working traditionally as often as possible. He also put me on to a bunch of artist I had never heard of before and some that I knew of, but I am studying a lot closer lately. Carlos referred me to The New Masters Academy and in particular one of their instructors, an artist by the name of Steve Huston. Steve's work is just beautiful. He quickly became a favorite of mine. I love watching his painting and figure drawing lectures on The New Masters Academy site. Below are a couple of Paint studies based on some of Steve's work. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

Happy New Year 2014, R.I.P. DAD

2013 , was for me, a very trying year, with many ups and downs, but it was also a very productive year for me art wise. I was surprised to glance back at all of the art (both client work and personal) that I had done this year. I also managed to fill up pages and pages of sketches which is common practice for me, but still I did not realize I managed that much content, and that's not counting all of the tattoos I have done this year as well. Hopefully I can keep the motivation up throughout 2014 and continue to grow in the process. Here are a few screen captures of characters and environments that were started towards the end of this year, that I will be finishing up early in 2014. I hope you all like them so far :) ...and on a more somber note, the Year 2013 also ended in a bittersweet way, with the Passing of my Father, Rafael Rivera Sr. who passed away right on Christmas morning this year. He was a major influence in both my loves (Boxing,and Art). He was a huge fight fan ( which made me want to fight), and he used to work at his family's printing business, so I pretty much got tons of free paper to scribble on, not to mention all of the toys, comic books and magazines he got for me, definitely fuelled the passion for drawing at an early age. I'm gonna miss my weekly conversations with him about the fights, but I know his suffering is over and I will reunite with him eventually. Below are some pics of him and my family, who appreciate all he has done for us and miss him tremendously. Rest In Peace DAD. From left to right: My Dad, Me, and my son Miguel in Sarasota, Fl. Me and my dad in North Hampton Mass about 20 years ago: Me and Dad in Sarasota celebrating one of my birthdays: My dad and Daughter Ariel when she was a little one (North Hampton Mass) My dad and Ariel again: Two of the Great Grandbabies I wish he had more time to get to know, My daughter Mellisa's boyz, Jon-Jon and Jo-Jo :) Me giving my Grandson Jon-Jon some art lessons on his new easle :) DA KIDZ :) Melissa and Miguel :) From left to Right, My wife Vicky and her little girl, Melissa : And the latest member of the family, Rocky Da Pit. He is about 3 1/2 weeks old here, I got him for my wife as an anniversary present back in November. We also have 2 Main Coon cats that won't be in this post And last but not least, here's is me followed by wife, holding Rocky :) well I hope you enjoyed this short post and semi tribute to my Dad. I Pray for a Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2014 for all of you out there. Thanks for stopping by, GOD Bless, and as always, Enjoy!!!!! Don't forget to Be Awesome Daily :)