Milestones

This past week I celebrated another birthday...whee. Yeah, it's that time of life when you're always turning 29...and will do so "ad infinitum". :)

My work friends were very sweet: from making a very delicious, very rich, home-made chocolate cake for me to share (although I did take a small second slice home with me, heh); treating me to lunch (yay, sushi!); to creating a poster birthday card for everyone to sign of my "mightiness". Ha. I was quite flattered. Even the Texas weather celebrated with a lovely Spring day filled with sunshine and near eighty degree temp. Especially nice since the following days have been much cooler and cloudy with some rain here and there.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping busy with my homework: from organizing my art files and setting goals and deadlines for my home illustration work (including the art mentioned previously being developed specifically for my new portfolio); to setting a sterner handle on my budget (I think everyone is doing some tightening there); to getting my taxes done (should have that finished after next weekend - bleh); to having a hella lotta fun doing my creative writing. :)

The DFW Writer's conference that I attended a last month provided a good bit of info to soak up, but no agent pitching from me just yet. If ever. :) I came back with several pages of notes, a better appreciation of the DFW writing community, and some homework. Part of that homework includes doing some recommended reading to help me build stronger, more interesting characters; to help me with developing dialogue for my characters (an area I feel a need to work on); and motivate me to "get my ass in gear" so that I finally finish my first novel manuscript and (possibly) send it out to the appropriate literary agent. Most of what I learned could also apply to my picture book stories and my other Tween or YA story, which is the graphic novel I've been developing. I also attended Sarah M.'s presentation on Graphic Novel development which pretty much affirmed some decisions I'd already made about the one I've been working on, but I also noted some additional points to consider for future projects.

Like anthologies. :)

But first, I need to finish what I've started as well as keep in mind some of the creative priorities that are key to my illustration and vis dev artist career: like finally updating my online portfolio, darn it!

I also have been getting a few newsletters from Holly Lisle that I signed up for about a month ago. Can't think at the moment how I found out about her postings; likely another writing blog that I was checking out from my notes. I like most of her books -- they're usually a fun read; and I'm looking forward to checking out a YA series that she's mentioned (saw the cover artwork in development on another artist's site which originally peaked my interest). I definitely appreciate that she takes the time to share some of her writing experiences and provide some good insights to her writing process, although not all of it is applicable to my stuff.

In any case, my novel is progressing quite nicely by this point. It's been seriously fun (and surprisingly addictive) to finally take my rough notes and outlines and bits of story, characters, world-building, conversation and narrative that I have been writing by hand in my spiral notebooks for the past several years (totally for my own amusement -- some of these notebooks have traveled with me quite a bit, too) and type them into a tighter format on my computer a few nights each week. It's actually somehow turning itself into a 60-90,000 word novel (not quite there yet, I'm only at about 6 delightful chapters typed in at the moment...hmm...about 30,000 words).

Even better, this one I'm writing up is really one out of several notebook stories or potential novels, in fact.

Still occasionally trying to decide if this particular novel is better presented as an eventual pair of books or if I should shoot for a trilogy...(eh, what's that about not counting ones chickens...). However, I'm only focusing on the one novel at the moment (I'm not counting my graphic novel, or the picture books as part of the notebook stories; they are quite a separate development). My sister has kindly accepted being my first reader and I expect she will be quite blunt about what she likes and doesn't like about it (or that needs improvement) -- she's my sister after all; it's lucky for me that we both enjoy some of the same genre reading. :)

My thought is to also include a few BW illustrations scattered throughout the book. They'll be some finished versions of the various thumbnails and sketches that I've done of specific elements, scenes and characters (and am still doing) as I've been writing my story. It's entirely possible, of course, that the only people that will ever see the finished product are my friends and family (or even just my sister and myself), but since this story was/is really written for my own enjoyment, I'm quite happy with that.

If, however, I do decide to take the next step once it's done and submit it to an agent for consideration and then, ideally, eventual publication...I'll let you all know. ;)

Fever Dreams and Rambles

Don't have a cold or fever any more (not for the past month actually) and the cough is nearly gone at last - yay! At this point, it's probably a touch of allergies anyway... However, some of those fever dreams did linger with me and kept inspiring me, so above is another quick sketch from that. The final color version is in progress...

"..."

It can be somewhat disheartening to hear of the recent successes of some of the concept artists over on CA when it seems like you're sending your art out again and again, and hearing little if anything back. Is it bad to have a variety of different creative experiences? Is it because you don't have specific experience in game development or animation or whatever field you're trying to get your foot into? Is it because you don't personally know someone who works in the industry? Is it because you're not uber passionate about playing video games every free hour of the day but would rather focus on practicing your art or writing, or watch a movie or read a book, and just play games the odd hour or two once or twice a week?

Could be any of that, could be that they don't have an opening at the moment, could even be that the various styles of art that you've done for other jobs or what they saw from what you sent in your portfolio submission just don't fit with their current needs...ah, well. Try, try again.

I've been thinking that with all the rapid concept art I develop for the day job (some days more than others) and for my own little projects, it may help explain my almost reluctance (with a dash of procrastination, if I'm really honest about it) to work on the Fairy Tale illustrations I have on my list of "things to do". While I can and do get immediate satisfaction from the rough sketches and quick coloring of the personal concept artwork I do some evenings and weekends after the day job, it takes so much longer when I'm doing a tight illustration piece to finally reach the same level of satisfaction and see some real progress. A piece of concept art or spot art I can finish in an hour or two, at most four; I basically have to schedule a month or two to simply get one 11x17 illustration completed (that meets my standards)...for what would take a week or less if I was focused and working on it at the full-time day job...if I want the final finished illustration artwork for my new portfolio to solicate freelance work among other opportunities.

But, if I'm serious about my creative goals, that's what I simply will have to do.

After discovering another rather excellent site that posted info on upcoming books in the sci-fi fantasy and paranormal romance genres, along with a few astute comments about some cover designs that I also thought were rather sadly illustrated and unfortunately art directed, I decided to include some alternative concepts and a couple of cover illustration redos much like a couple of assignments I had back at university when I was studying illustration. Plus, once again, these will be some nice pieces that will fit well in my updated portfolio with the "Myths, Fairy Tales, and Legends" theme.

These past few weeks have also included some good progress on my first dummy picture book where I'm both the author and illustrator. I'll finally be submitting to various publishers in late spring. And then likely several months of waiting. Argh. The other picture book I'll continue developing once I've sent off the first, although I'll probably switch to focusing on the GN for the change of pace. The YA graphic novel remains another "work-in-progress" at this point as does my fantasy novel although I do write a page or two on that one almost every night. Some thumbnail sketches, too, as I mentioned previously, to help me visualise where this story is taking me.

Happy Birthday, Little Sister!

A quick coloring job in PS (about an hour) of a sketch that I originally pencilled in the card I sent my sister for her birthday. The sketch was inspired by a photo of her wearing one of her favorite costumes: my sister does the RenFair thing and this particular costume is based on the ballgown from the movie, Labyrinth, a gift a couple of years ago from her loving hubby (who also sewed it).

I posted the coloring progress in Photoshop, since this blog of mine is my "work in progress" after all. :)

Fey Fragments

Bits and pieces of sketches in addition to those I'll be working on over the next couple of months as I continue to whip my portfolio into shape. Some fever dreams I had this past week have been definite inspiration, heh.

I always forget how the flu keeps me exhausted for days, even weeks after I "feel better". Still have a bit of a cough and congestion.

Did squeeze in some writing over the weekend, but I'm not yet back on regular schedule for that. Disappointing. I'm surprised about how much I think about some of my characters every day, though; and keep up with the world building. On the plus side, it helps that I can sketch out and visualize specific areas and scenarios in my notebooks for the various bits I have ongoing. Kind of a bit of storyboarding with a slight nod to graphic novel pacing. Not only does it help me stay on track, but it makes me curious enough to keep exploring. Can't wait to finally read it all when I'm finally done. :)

My Black Hat

Still recuperating from the flu/cold thing, but no fever so I went back to work today. Staying home and sleeping all day when I wasn't coughing my head off was getting a bit boring anyways. But tonight after work...I knew it -- I'm starting to feel congested, dammit.

Shadow Sick

Evidently whatever strains of flu were in the flu vaccination that I got this past fall were no match for the variant that one of my co-workers brought back from China after Christmas. I have the flu. I feel like my body went through a meat tenderizer. I can't concentrate and I keep forgetting what I was about to do. I'm coughing so much that my voice is all hoarse and squeaky and I can't sing with my favorite songs. :( At least I'm not congested or all stuffed up. Maybe that's simply a later punishment just when I think I'm getting better...

I hate being sick.

Didn't feel up to coloring my hair today even though the pink is so faded only a few strands show on my bangs...so I did it with a quick sketch and Photoshop instead.

More Gabriella

I keep thinking of Gabriella sitting in her late father's study, writing in her journal of the horrors she sees of the Black Death all around her. So, that's where I went with this quick sketch. I also made her a bit younger than the previous sketch.

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While I was doing some research this afternoon, I ran across a bit of creative writing via the EOS Books blog to Wired that had me coming up with my own little six word stories, like this one:

Comforted, she slept. Hungry, he ate.

For some reason, I keep thinking of Goldilocks...as dinner.

Gabriella as The Italian Plague Doctor

Interesting topic over on this week's CHOW: The Plague Doctor. To give the character more emotional context, the brief has the following account from a fictional character who was supposed to have lived during the time:

“My name is Gabriella. My father was a doctor, and I learned from him how to treat various maladies and to set bones and which herbs and mixtures and such would treat this illness or that.

“My father, he died two months ago from the Black Death. I did not know what to do, so I donned his mask, gown, his boots and stick and gloves, and try to care for those I can.

“I try to help. But they die anyway. So many. I bring the flowers and perfumes, the hot drinks, the blessed artifacts, leeches – I even smoke like a man now to ward the Death away from me! The laxatives do not seem to work, and I hate covering the poor souls in mercury and placing them in ovens to burn the disease out. They scream so….

“May god have mercy on our souls, for I do not believe anyone shall survive…”

Another nice little twist in the brief, while the account is supposed to be from Italy in the mid to late 1300's (or 14th century), the image the art director posted in the brief for the Plague Doctor is actually from the 17th century. Which sort of means the artists can be a bit creative with how they interpret the costume design.

The above is my initial quick rough sketch. I'll post some more explorations over the rest of the weekend. Since the due date for this exercise is tomorrow, it will have to be a quick series of studies and one color version picked for the final round. Although I may choose to do a tighter illustration later like for the Herald when I have more time to spend on it. We'll see.

Whatever...

Well, I joined the Women in Toys non-profit organization today. I was a bit surprised (okay, disappointed) to note how long it's been since some areas were updated. My membership is for a year, so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully, I'll get to meet some of the ladies at the Toy Fair next month.

Posted another quick random evening sketch, no relation to vacation...just my mood.

Small Steps

Decided to enter the upcoming Spectrum 15 contest so I've been digging through last year's bits and pieces to see what 2-3 options I should send. Trying to think positive...like: Hey, you won the local middle school student competition with your sci-fi poster entry for "Reading - It's out of this World!" back in 1978...

Bah.

Meanwhile, I'm doing the internet rounds (I'm such a research whore) to seek out and find upcoming creative workshops for myself (preferably local) to improve on my art (tolerable) and writing skills (needs improvement). Unfortunately, it appears that everyone is picking the same weekend in February to hold their event which means I'm probably limited to one option. Although I'm already trying to figure out ways to attend at least two of them: the DFW Writer's Conference and the ConDFW (Peter S. Beagle!!! and Donato Giancola!!!). The North Texas chapter of SCBWI will be holding a critique for writers and illustrators that weekend as well; but it's something they do just about every other month so I can hold off on that one. I've attended several times before in prior years for some input and encouragement when I was still doing alot of internet and design consulting and trying to get back into children's illustration (educational or otherwise). Plus, there's the NYC Toy Fair which my Art Director mentioned he'd like me to attend this year...it would be my first visit (this after almost 4 years of developing product designs for toys and such) so I'm curious to see what it's all about.

I missed the Austin/Dallas Sketchgroup meet-up in Austin this past Saturday. But, I'm hoping to attend the next one which is supposed to be in the Dallas area. Hopefully, this time I can drag along some of the guys I work with as well to bring some additional flavor to the mix. :) In the meantime, it looks like there will be some, (maybe alot) of people getting together to be part of the 17th Worldwide Sketchcrawl on Saturday, January 19th. I think I may observe it quietly at home...whilst at work on my FTM&L portfolio projects. I have entirely too many sketches and fewer final pieces as it is. And most of my in-house art (that I like) I cannot post as of yet.

Posted some random sketches...which includes a couple of doodles from vacation:

Possibilities

Happy New Year!

I had a rather fantastic Christmas family vacation up in the Canadian Rockies at a nice little place called Chateau Lake Louise. If you ever have the chance to go (at least in winter), I highly recommend it! It's been rather a long time since I've been around that much snow at Christmas time (don't get that kind of stuff in Texas), I'd never been to Canada (another cool factor)...and I've never been skiing either, so it was great to finally do so. Snowed a bit every night and some nice little flurries now and again during the day, but we also had some nice clear days, too. The weather was pretty fantabulous, I think. A lovely international crowd from guests to staff, too. Plus so many fun things to do without having to leave for nearby Banff or Calgary: snowshoeing, ice skating, sleigh rides, singing Christmas Carols, attending an outdoor Nativity pageant (I stayed inside where it was warm and watched from the windows, heh), catching snowflakes on my tongue, breathing in that fresh mountain air, ice hockey, spending quality time with the family, spa massages, checking out the breakfast/dinner buffets and eating at excellent restaurants, checking out the cute Aussie and Canadian men (ha), walks along the frozen lake to see the glacier (before it all melts due to global warming)...plus alot of other activities that were available that I simply had no time for -- hey, this was a vacation after all! Took entirely too many photos but got a few good ones for my photo album as well as reference for potential Christmas design projects. The above photo is me sitting on one of the lakeside benches facing Lake Louise -- it just happens to be rather buried by about 3 feet of snow. As I understand, last year they finished the season with about 16 feet. D'oh! So here are few of my photos:

However, my time away on vacation (before, after and during) rather limited my computer work (like, not at all other than "the job"), so I chose not to stress about developing the CA Queen Medusa challenge in time for today's deadline. It looks like there are some interesting submissions coming in from all skill levels, too! Did manage to do a wee bit of sketching (see below) when it first started, but I don't want to rush the project, particularly since it's now for my own satisfaction and not for a client (i.e. no money). On a positive note, since it fits in well with my art theme of "Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends" for my portfolio update, I'll still work on it and finish it. And post my the progress here and in my CA sketchbook for instructive feedback, of course.

This next one is most likely the layout I'll develop -- the Young Queen transforming into the Medusa (Crete and Minoan costume influences) and stepping into her new reign as Character Concept Artist Muse with her Gorgon sisters guarding her back:

In other randomness, my poor tv finally died this past December....I knew it was about to go since it had been limping along earlier this summer with some odd color squiggles and occasional green screen oddities -- I bought it brand new in 1997 (?) after my college b/w tv croaked (yes, I didn't realize that Scully had red hair back then), so it's given me a pretty good long life I suppose. Funny, it just happened to die at a pivotal "fires from hell" scene while I was watching the 2nd Hellboy animation DVD, "Blood and Iron".... Hmm. Anyways, I've been shopping around for a new tv both online and in stores to see what I like, will most likely be getting an LCD that will somehow both fit in my tight budget (which has already had a shock when I saw how much the flat panels cost just for a screen size close to my old tv) and on my current tv stand/entertainment center. Interestingly enough, I've found that without the tv and not watching various shows as part of my daily or weekend schedule I seem to have more time in a day to do other things (reading, drawing, etc)...and that time isn't moving quite so rapidly somehow...or I'm getting stuff accomplished more quickly. Which is making my tv shopping drag on, too, since I'm not rushing to get a new one. Except that I'm wanting to desperately watch LOST when that starts up again, so I think that's probably my new tv purchase deadline, heh.

I'm also taking time this weekend to finalize my New Year's Resolutions list -- doing so seems to help me focus my efforts and work on key strategies (in other words, what is my method of attack to achieve my goal) when I actually write them down as opposed to just thinking about The Goals (creative and otherwise) in general. Yup, didn't meet my goals for 2007. In any case, here's an idea of what I'll be working on in the next year...in no particular order...er, the much more detailed adn final goals and strategies list (ForMyEyesOnly) will be posted on my home studio bulletin board.... :)

• writing
• submit story proposals
• maintain the sketchbook(s)
• update the portfolio(s)
• tighten storyboard roughs
• new freelance submissions
• attend workshops (to learn, practice, network, and challenge myself, not teach)
• maintain a regular exercise routine
• practice the piano and flute
• volunteer with the local humane society
• consider possibilities (creative and otherwise -- ha)
  

Well, we'll see how it all goes this year!

"Happy New Year...Time for a new start, time to chase the monsters back with sound and fury."
- Marjorie M. Liu, Holidays Are Hell

My Queen's Herald: the Work-In-Progress

So, this is the final version that I submitted. A fun little project that I enjoyed participating in even so it was mostly last minute crunching (I was sick most of Saturday, bleh, so no artwork), especially since it stretched my skills a bit and forced me to make painting decisions rather quickly in order to meet the Sunday midnight deadline last night. While I wasn't able to include everything that I wanted to, I'm pretty happy with what I ended up with; and the best part, I can continue working on it so that it's a bit closer to the vision in my head, and finish the bits I had to leave out. Yay!

I really enjoyed the research for this particular project, too -- from learning about heraldry and all the rules (I ran out of time to fully include the design idea in my banner), to learning about various types of armour and associated weaponry....to finding reference photos online of what I think is an attractive man (part of the extra criteria I mentioned before, heh). Yup, that part was particularly difficult....so many interesting choices. :)

Anyways, here are some of the progress shots from the initial revised thumbnail layout I mentioned previously to the final color that I posted in the CHOW 99 thread.

Thumbnail of my revised layout:

Progress 01: Working on the detailed pencil
(hot press illustration board, 2H pencil)

Progress 02: Working on the detailed pencil
(hot press illustration board, 2H pencil)
I initially was planning on doing two illustration boards with the Herald on one board and the background scene of the Queen and her entourage and the gateway (the black frame -- gateway art wasn't completed to meet the deadline), but time was running out so I ended up doing less detailing for the underdrawing and planned on painting it all instead...depending, of course, on how much time I had left at the end. The Herald, though, being the main subject of the piece needed to be detailed and finished even if I couldn't get to the background.

Progress 03: Final detailed pencil
Scanned in sections and composited in Photoshop at 240dpi, approx. 10"x14". The final detailed underdrawing took about 4 hours time and included pulling references (armour, etc.).

Progress 04: Color decisions and blocking in elements
(elements are on various layers):
I wanted the Herald to pop from the background and I was already planning on him being warm red with layers of color over that so that's what I blocked first. I also wanted the background to be green (think forest) with cool blue undertones to provide some nice secondary lighting as well as be a nice compliment to the Herald...and with the right mix of colors the overall color choices would help maintain the fantasy look that I was going for.

Progress 05: Focusing on painting Herald
(the handsome face - most important!):
I wanted a rather detailed face for my herald, since I was trying to create an interesting and attractive character (at least, to me). So that was my initial focus. Once that was finished I planned on working broader rather than one small area at a time.

Progress 06: Still focusing on painting Herald
(close-up of the almost finished face and his little fierce dragon announcer):

Progress 07: Still focusing on painting Herald
(close to final paint of Herald):
At this point, I was seriously running out of time so I stopped creating progress JPGs and simply focused on finishing the concept. So, for my final post, here are a couple of detail shots of the submitted piece.

Next up: CHOW 100 - Medusa the Queen!
Whee!!!

Oh, that Herald

Did a couple more quick sketches of my Herald after doing some thinking of the layout. I didn't feel that the pose as it was in the initial sketch was very dynamic. He's just kind of standing there, isn't he? Anyways, there's also the point that the Queen (maybe that's who it is in the back, maybe not) is rather far away from her bodyguard (remembering the brief). However, my original thought was that this particular Herald of mine was one of several in attendance to the Queen at this particular function. But, without me telling the story (and since I'm planning on leaving alot of the detail out of the background to focus on the Herald), how will the viewer know?

So I'm rethinking the layout, too. Not sure I'll have time tomorrow to sketch some more (don't have time at work, that's for sure...too busy) so Saturday will have to be crunch time since I want to get this concept finalized. And that means a bit of color, and definitely tighter lineart.

Oh, and I finally got my hair cut. I was getting tired of trying to see through my bangs - felt like an English sheepdog. But, there's still a nice bit of pink along with the blonde. Whee!

The Queen's Herald: rough sketch

Over on the CA forum, one of the weekly concept challenges is designing The Queen's Herald (although for this particular one, 2 weeks dev time has been given, although I'm only just starting today with the due date on Dec. 9th).

So...what is a herald? The internet has quite a variety of definitions, of course. Anything from the medieval horn-blowing announcer or a tourney score-keeper to a diplomat; a knight in shining armour or a commander of armies to a police constable.

However.

Per this particular character's artist brief, the Herald is "...a powerful member of the Queens' court, announcing her arrival and departure, and acts as her body guard and protector. A knight of unrivaled power, The Herald is the one who champions the Queen and all her ventures. This character must be powerful. Watch your anatomy - we need a heroic, but believable character. This character needs to look the part - poised, strong, in control even in adverse situation. The character needs to be executed in a more realistic manner - no cartoons or comic styles will be accepted."

I need a temporary break from my own stuff. This will do most nicely. I particularly am also enjoying the added spice of the, er, creative suggestions from the "private" section of the CA forum, heh.

That Neo-noir film

Went to see Blade Runner "Final Cut" last night at the Dallas Inwood. Great film to see on the big screen. Had some fun discussion with my friends both before and after the film. We got there a bit early to have some chat time in the bar before the movie. It was all good. :)

Brought back to mind of another Halloween costume I threw together several years ago (my how time flies...): I dressed up as Pris. That was fun. Stuffed my long hair up under the short platinum wig, got a studded dog collar to wear around my neck, and painted my face and hands white, and finally did that black streak across the eyes. I still remember dancing in the window over at one of the clubs in West End...heh.

Yup, that would be the inspiration for the above quick sketch. Eh, still need to fix that arm...it's not right and is bugging me. Later, maybe.