HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!!

I know I'm jumping the gun here, but I wanted to make sure I got something posted for New Years while I work on my original pic for the occasion (hint: it's totally fan-art, and I'm not ashamed to admit that)
and it was also a test to see how my computer and it's programs are holding up after my attempt at an overhaul… seems to be doing okay, still a bit of a lag even after shutting down PS… but it looks like I'm back in business to finally finish commissions! (yay!)

here's to leaving the husk of this last year behind and [hopefully] on to a much better year!!
stay safe tonight! and thanks for dropping by

CTNeXpo

I was given a chance to go to CTNexpo this year, and I'm so grateful I got to go! I did get around to some doodling, and set up some knew goals for myself, so those posts will be coming later today if I can get enough work done by this afternoon. :D

Inktober contribution for the 29th: Reaction to Transformers MTMTE #34 (GORE/BLOOD Trigger Warning)

#Inktober
Think I missed about a week's worth of contributions, but I did much better than previous years..where I didn't do any
weeeeeelllllll, I said I wouldn't do gore in my commissions blurb - and I normally don't. I mean it really does take a lot out of me emotionally… but I was so so overwhelmed with that last issue of Transformers More Than Meets The Eye (#34), SO upset, that I vented it out in a gory way, and afterwards I actually felt a lot better. When I talked to my professor about this, he likened it to "exorcizing the demons" …. so in a way, I guess I kinda did.
GAH! James Roberts!!! Why you gotta write so well that I care SO much for the story and it's characters that it physically hurts when bad things happen to these characters?!?!?! WHYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?
I used my ghost!me version… I don't think there's a need for much more explanation:

and I think it actually fits, posting it up here on Halloween anyway
speaking of, be safe and have fun out there! Happy Halloween!

#Inktober contributions 10-24: there's a lot...

I'm sooooo behind on #Inktober, so I'm afraid this is a bit of a spam.

The first three were a bit of an exercise my professor had us do where we look at a photo of an animal, and then we take 10 minutes to draw it as something else, while trying to keep the "expression"
the first was a turtle:

then…I honestly can't remember the animal's name, but I know it's nocturnal:

and last was a gerbil (I believe… I can't remember without the photo):

heh, this last one all I thought of was marshmallow, which made me think those puffy jackets mom always made you wear in the winter…and then I got this…


the next 11 are all original characters (except the cat with the mini-chicken-thing…that's my cat Indy)

and somehow Axel made it into the show…. party-crasher…

I'm still behind two, but this is fine for now. They helped me get through some major art-block issues while working on commissions…and as you can see there are anatomy issues- but whatever, this was to work those out of my system >_>

thanks for not giving up on me!

Inktober contributions #9: Mabel Pines

#Inktober day 9: Mabel Pines

because she's cute, kicks butt, and knits her own sweaters

still exhausted, but still got today's sketch done

#Inktober contributions #8: Princess Serenity

And the Moon hides her face..
I am feeling very wiped out right now, and was not feeling at all inspired for anything today until I started thinking about some pretty influential cartoons growing up. Sailor Moon was definitely one of them (both myself and my little sister - Dani, this is an early B-Day present for you <3 )

#Inktober numbah 8

and now it's time for rest… thanks for coming by!

NOW open for COMMISSIONS!!

Let me know if anything is hard to read, and I'll clear it up!

and just a couple more things about the Scene Projects:

• Payment will be through PayPal (unless otherwise agreed upon) with 1/2 paid at the beginning of the project and 1/2 when you've "okay'd" the Final rendering
• Final rendering for your "okay" will be sent with watermark at 72 dpi, with the Clean Final sent to you after the last payment is given
• you're allotted 2 changes to the project without penalty, anything after that is a $20 penalty each
• if you started out with a smaller project with just a character, but decided to update it to a Fully Rendered Scene, your project is now priced as the Fully Rendered Scene amount of $80 ask the allotted changes for the project apply as above
• if you've given me no definitive time that this project is due, then suddenly you need it by such-and-such date, there will be a Rush Fee of $40 to bump you up the list. (so if you need it for a birthday or anniversary or anything, please give me the date up front, it will save up both time and money :) )

Looking forward to working with you! :)

#Inktober contributions #7: the Headless Horseman

"Ghosts are bad, but the one that's cursed, is the Headless Horseman - he's the worst…"

this took longer than expected…I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do with that right arm.

I'm debating making an animated gif of this. We'll see what time allows.

And I haven't forgotten about posting my commissions info, I just got lost in #Inktober work >:)

thanks for dropping by, I know the Horseman's happy to see you...

Inktober contributions #6: Strawberry Girl

Weeeeelllll… didn't get this in the mail to grandma today, but that's okay!
Here's my rendition of Birdie Boyer from Lois Lenski's Strawberry Girl… I can't seem to just do a simple coloring, but I like how it turned out.

yay for #Inktober!

thanks for checking this out :)

Strawberry Girl WIP

Doesn't look like I'll be finishing this one up as my official 5th installment for #Inktober (so my 'Commissions' inking will have to do). But I hope to finish it up tonight, because it's going in the mail to my grandma tomorrow, she's suffered a stroke recently and hasn't been doing too well. It's my interpretation of the main character of, my great aunt, Lois Lenski's book Strawberry Girl:

having a bugger of a time with that side pocket  >:/
Hope she'll like it.

thanks for dropping by again :)

Commissions

I'll be posting more info later
…and unless I finish my other piece on time, I'm gonna call this my #Inktober contribution for today…sneaky sneaky

any takers (or signal boosters?)

Inktober contributions #4: Nosferatu

Kind of going along with the notes I posted earlier, I thought it would be kinda funny to draw an extremely near-sighted Nosferatu for my fourth installment for #Inktober …when I saw this part in the movie I laughed, not gonna lie.

woop woop for #Inktober!
thanks for dropping by!

Nosferatu mini-study

Never really had a chance to watch the whole movie before, and I keep missing it when it shows on TCM, so I figured now was as good a time as ever while it was still in my schools'a library.

There were a few scenes that really caught my attention, and I did jot down a few notes:

I was really going to attempt a serious study of it - story, cinematography, etc., but I failed miserably at that… I realize growing up on MST3K has warped my ability to be a serious movie viewer, because I was constantly riffing it in my head as I watched(as you can see by some of the notes)

I need to watch more scary movies...

Inktober contributions #3: Rung

drew him for #Inktober because he is officially my favorite Transformer now…yep…mild mannered psychoanalyst that collects   toys- er… I mean, model spaceships…mah new fav

anywho- was starting to see some fan arts popping up here and there where he's got a scarf… so I imagined him trying to politely explain that Transformers don't need them…

still deciding if I want to ink the "back pack" or not…but I am officially DONE, for tonight at least, before I mess up [anymore]

Inktober contributions #2: Ghost!me icon

boop! made a sketch for a ghost!me for an #Inktober icon after all

mostly for Fb and Tumblr though (I wanna keep my Grendle pug icon here)
And I chose not to draw my crooked teeth, though now that I look at it…I kinda wish I had.

I promise to get more creative with these as we go along! but I reeeeeeally wanted a new icon O3O
I hope I can keep this up!

Inktober contributions: #1 Ghost Me

well, this originally started off as a try to make a new icon for October, but it evolved

liking the second (bottom) one

need to work on inking darker areas better…

#inktober

Happy October!

gonna give Inktober a try

I keep meaning to do it every year, and always forget, but this year I'm gonna do it!

for more info here's a good link:
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober

I may not use the exact ink pens they recommend, but they will be some form of ink (especially since I found this fantastic Big Brush Faber-Castell brush pen at Hobby Lobby… I love it so much!)

And I'm going to be dipping my feet into comic making this month, so be looking for that.

Anyhoo, thanks for dropping by!
till later :)

drabble, doodles and practice

most of my friends know I'm a Transformers fan, and that I am currently following the IDW G1 comics More Than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise (mostly MTMTE, though) and to be honest, I don't think I've read a ongoing comic that has affected me so greatly.  I got into it [MTMTE] thinking, "oh good, this looks like it will be a fun adventures and mishaps in space!" I was thinking Red Dwarf or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy... you know? Oh how quickly that changed. But by the time it did, it was too late, I was invested in these characters and their stories. It's not a bad thing…it just HURTS… that's all... (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here…)
anyways, I drew a mini narrative of my reaction to the last issue (#32), and it's been a month so I don't have to worry about spoiling the story or anything now:

We'll see what heartache Roberts has for us fans in #33, when it comes out next week…

and been practicing expressions. here's one of my favorite pages so far (along with notes to cover up a not-so-good sketch):

woop woop … yep, there it is.  Hopefully I'll be back in the habit of posting more art soon.  Thanks for dropping by!

And there goes the Summer

been awhile since I posted, and while I didn't get all of my summer goals met, I did meet some.
One being to have a job that revolved around art, and I got to live it while working at the Laguna Beach Sawdust Art Festival.
I was a dunce, however, and didn't really take pics…just kinda got wrapped up in the whole thing. But, oh! I had the opportunity to take over what was called Kids Art Alley on Local's Nights, which involved having various artists come in for a couple of hours those nights to teach the kids some of their art skills, as well as having other side projects lined up to do those nights. It was really fun, exausting, but really fun. And I let my manager know that if they did this again next year, I'd be up to doing it again :)
Here are some art projects I was able to do along the way:


oooh the Nature Prints! this one was done during training, and was the first time I had used a press.

Wet Chalk Painting: this project easily became one of my favorites. All I kept thinking was: why was I never introduced to this as a kid!?

and more printing! This time etching the design on plexiglass and then using water-soluble crayons…Have I mentioned I'm a Transformers fan? I bet I have, but in case you didn't know, now you do *awkwardly laughs*

Watercolors! Not exactly the project I was hoping to do to fulfill my watercolor goal for the summer, but it will do, and it was fun doing something more abstract. Though, during the class, some folk kept getting frustrated, then I told them to think of what they were doing as painting space nebula, and then people started having fun :)

Mixed Media: haven't really done something like this is a loooooooong time…we did smaller ones too, which I have yet to find where I put mine (and I'll post that when I find it), but there were these pics of goldfish, and Curiosity pics/articles…and then this pic of James Cameron (please please please, forgive me by the way!!!) and my cartoon brain went and took over. And well, you see what happened…

Abstract Acrylic: abstract in watercolors is one thing. I'm use to that media letting it have it's own way as I paint. I'm much more inclined to be a control freak with oils or acrylics, so this was a good lesson in letting the media have its own way (the teacher was local artist Hugo Rivera who taught the class). I think this is the first time I was able to accomplish something truly abstract in acrylics…so there's another media goal tick :) however, my scanner is juuuuuust a little too small, so I'm afraid this will be blurry. I'll try and get a better scan on school campus.

And another Wet Chalk Painting: this one from the Kids Art Alley, while waiting for kiddos to show up (most of the schools had started by now). And this particular project was titled Imagine and headed up by artist Joni Cresci. The title is based off the Beatles song and the project was thought up for Beatles Day…and I just happen to have a favorite Transformer that has been referenced to John Lennon once or twice……I'm such a hopeless geek…

And that's about it.  Like I said, I kinda just got caught up with work (but it was fun work!), and I'm going to miss it. But there's always the Winter Fest, and next Summer!

thanks for stopping by :D

it's 7-11!

it’s 7-11

which also happens to be a name of a popular quick-mart/convenience store

so of all the days i choose to draw something for…it had to be today…done in the few minutes before heading off to work this morning, so please forgive anatomy issues

all hail the slurpee! but fear its cruel counterpart: the sugar-crash! XD

Better Late Than Never

Yep, I had actually started this last month, and only picked up again today to finish it. *facepalm*

Here I was attempting to keep the visuals at two panels, since there were only two sentences in this "scary story".  Not sure how well it comes across, but it was an experiment.  As I read it now, I should have changed the angle of one of the hands to how I originally planned, and it would have implied something a little more sinister… oh well.

used:
Col Erase crimson pencil
Watercolors
and Photoshop

hopefully I can get back on track for my art project goals for the summer now :)

thanks for dropping by!

Going to go watch Giant Robots battle

yep, I finally got my paychecks, so I'm celebrating by going to go watch Transformers 4… even though my expectations for the writing and characters are pretty low… and the movie is going to be about 3 hours… and I'll have to be in at work early tomorrow… I don't care, I'm catering to my inner child's need to watch giant robots…and giant DINOSAUR robots…'nuff said :P
didn't bring my camera to take any of my pre show drawing though… so those pics will have to wait till another day
if anybody's planning on coming down to the Aliso Viejo Edwards Stadium to see the movie look for the curly-haired girl with glasses who is probably too focused on either her book or sketchbook and that's more than likely me :)

<EDIT>
just some sketches while waiting for the movie.  here's some back story:
just some sketches while waiting (used photo booth to capture…and got plenty of weird looks from the Starbucks patrons here) Yvonne was a bit of a lonely kid till she discovered the TF cartoons, and latched on.  it gave her an outlet for her brimming imagination and taught her to take care of those that are weaker than her - which came in handy when some bullies at school were beating up a kid on the playground.  Taylor was forever grateful and the two of them became fast friends.  Once Taylor discovered that Yvonne liked Transformers too, he introduced her to the comic series.  They can often be found up in his treehouse (which they've dubbed the Ark) reading his extensive comic collection (which inspires Yvonne to start her own)

</EDIT>

Chicago Trip Sketches

I was at the airport 3 hours early and took the time to do some sketching:

tried working with my pen first, then I dropped that and went back to the pencil

I ended up sitting by the guy cleaning his glasses here

I couldn't believe how many people were on their phones…

certainly made ninja sketching easier

then there was a little bit of sketching on the plane, not much, but some:

 and then a little bit (and I mean a bit) when I met up with the family and we got to the hotel:

I just don't know why my camera did that to the color…I even changed the settings for little light/inside photos, oh well

More sketches from the wedding and some photos to follow :)

some Sketches, a Surprise Sale, and the Importance of Sunscreen

I haven't had a weekend off in about 8 months between work and school, so yesterday was a treat.  I decided to take advantage of this and headed down to the local beach to work on some watercolor sketching - I however got some severe sunburn age on my legs (I've never really had to use sunscreen on my legs except for the back! seriously, getting them to brown is like hammering a cube through a round hole) but I enjoyed being out non-the-less

forgive the quality, going up and down stairs is a little difficult with the sunburns (and my scanner is upstairs) so I had to use Photobooth for these:

the first pic was becoming tedious until I realized I wasn't letting myself just have fun with it, and it started coming out much better - though I got a little liberal with the foreground color and will have to fix the sea-spray and foam with some gouache

the second was the real reason I had come to the rock I was sitting on (and burning on).  I was really liking how the water was reacting with these boulders.  Of course as I was starting to finish it up was when I realized I was getting a little more red than I felt was comfortable. So I still have a bit to finish up here.  I also used watercolor pencils along with my travel watercolors for this one.

The next one I have no picture for, because my camera had died and I didn't have my laptop with me (no way I was lugging that around when I had no idea if I was going to be hiking over natural sea barriers) but I was just doing some life sketching at Starbucks (got myself a Carmel Frap because it was bloody hot and I needed a respite before the last half part of my trek back to the car) and was so excited about them that he asked for a picture from me.  For a moment I thought about quipping back with "only if you are willing to pay for it", but his absolute and honest enthusiasm convinced me otherwise.  I finished the pic and gave it to him (Merv was his name, and unfortunately I've forgotten his friend's name).  At which point he offered to pay, and as I was too flabbergasted at the fact that he was wanting and willing to pay for it, he offered me $20. This for a 5x7 angel sketch.  I was both taken aback and filled with gratitude.  It felt great knowing that someone felt my art had worth.

Today the sunburn is only hot-pink and stead of lobster-red, and I'm feeling much more inspired to work on some projects. So far, a really fun weekend :)

as always, thanks for stopping by!