Me Now

Well, here's the "After" or I should call it "Me -- Now" sketch that accompanies the previous "Teen -- Me" post. :)

The Dreadful Teen Years

Happened to read about the "Teen Meme" off of a couple of artist's blogs I regularly read last week, and had thought about doing one of my own...so I started mentally sketching something. And then today read over on Lines and Colors that there was actually a starting point and a collection of links. Very cool.

My own teen years were not a favorite time period. I confess that I tried to forget about it as much as possible. But I remembered enough to do the above quick sketch and some commentary.

Think that I'll do my "Imaginary Inner Teen-Self" for my next sketch, heh. Quite a bit different.

Illustration Friday: Wide

Possibly not the most comfortable way to travel far and wide, but certainly would be one of the most interesting -- held securely in the massive claws of a flying dragon. Above is the color concept, and just below is the final pencil.

The initial sketch is posted at the bottom. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how the right wing should be properly drawn when I started sketching, so I did a smaller thumbnail to help me. In any case, I think what I ended up with works fine. If (or when) I do a more finished version, though, I think I'll do a quick sculpey of the dragon first so I can see how the wings should be positioned. All in all about four hours total of creative fun!

More Progress

Here's a coloring progress of a previous sketch. I'm kind of liking the sepia-tone look of it. Has almost a watercolour wash feel with it, too; although it's all Photoshop.

And here is a sketch in progress as inspired by a recent EOW for a Woodland House Mouse...how could I resist drawing a story for a mouse. :)

For Illustration Friday: Electricity

My initial sketch (below) and the color version for the Illustration Friday project, "Electricity".

My Wild Hunt

A progress shot of one my mini-projects whilst I continue my own Wild Hunt for full-time creative employment. A 4-hour detailed sketch at this point as posted in the above sketch. In the meantime, in addition to that pursuit -- I'm doing some freelancing and, as always...still updating the online portfolio.

Undersea

A progress shot of the line-art for "Buried Treasure". I did a very light sketch of the overall character first going right to left (can see the light sketch in the face area of this particular image), and then reworked and fine-tuned with darker line-work and shading going from left to right. I'm also building elements separately for the scene because I have additional plans for bits and pieces along with the final illustration that I'm currently painting.

I'll post some more progress shots later...

In other news... Had a phone interview today and am doing an art test for another company...curious to see how that goes this time; different role, different product. :)

Rejected!

Thank you for the interest you have expressed in our art position. We were very fortunate to review your recent application. However, at this time, we are pursuing other candidates based on the best match with the requirements of the job. Please check back to our website www."_____".com. We are frequently adding positions that may be of relevance to you and your background. Once again, we appreciate your interest in "_____". We wish you continued success in your search and the development of your career.

Sincerely, "_____" Recruiting

Yay! I finally received my first official rejection email/letter after sending out 19 resume and sample art submissions to various companies for a new full-time creative position -- that I've been applying to since the first week of April. Breaking into a new industry isn't easy, that's for sure. Some of the companies I applied to would likely be excellent experiences in understanding the development pipeline, but may not prove to have long-term creative interest for me (...for various reasons) and therefore great for short-term contract opportunities. A few job openings (less than 5) were actually referred to me by people that either currently work at the companies that I applied to, or know people who do so that's hopefully a plus. Only about 30 more submissions to go and then maybe a decent nibble like in this example. :)

Meanwhile, I'm updating my website with new art including an unofficial re-launch at the end of this month (always takes longer than I plan to debug and update while I multi-task on other items: job-hunting, networking, developing projects, etc.) with additional section updates throughout the month of May. At this time, the main art sections I'm creating include:
- Concept Art
- Illustration
- Sequential Art
- Sketches

with a quad of information sections:
- Homepage/brief introduction
- Resume
- About Me
- Resource Links

I've also been contacting people that I've worked with in the past to let them know that I'm available for freelance or local in-house contract work developing concept art and/or children's book illustration.

However, I'm avoiding web design and development like the plague -- it literally makes me ill. Hmm...maybe that's why it's taking so long to get my website updated...ha. And maybe that's why these two snippets in the Eric Canette interview from the Character Design blog, had me in complete agreement:

"...From Peter Chung I learned to not work on projects that don’t inspire me; projects that don’t do anything to make me want to jump out of bed, drive an hour into work, jockey a drafting table, day in and day out. It does nothing for the soul."

and

"...Also, always, ALWAYS think long term. For example, sure you could probably do a job that will pay ridiculously well financially, but if all is causes you is stress loss of sleep, then I don’t know how much that will do for you when all it just takes away from your mental health you know? Those are the things you need to consider before taking on projects. But the reality is, when you’re first starting out, you may not have that luxury, but once you’re e in there, once you have some notches on your belt, I believe it’s worth considering the points that I’ve just mentioned."

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Some rough preliminary sketches of an illustration that I'm working on, called "Buried Treasure". Final image size should be about 14" x 20".

Thumbnails.

Initial layout rough.

Orphan Works and related Hoopla

Hoopla: Noun, informal.

1. 1. Boisterous, jovial commotion or excitement.
   2. Extravagant publicity: The new sedan was introduced to the public with much hoopla.
2. Talk intended to mislead or confuse.

I've been reading plenty of postings and commentary in the last couple of days about the potential Orphan Works legislation that first caught my attention back in March '08. Mark Simon's article over on AWN was definitely a "wake-up call", although maybe a bit shriller than most. I'm still not entirely sure what all is going on and what it could mean as regards to commercial and/or private copyrights for my artwork, or even how it could affect the way I post my artwork (and other images) on the internet; particularly since most of the legalize documentation is not something I read over and study on a daily basis (ha -- hardly). Is there a new bill regarding this up before the 2008 Congress? I've read both "yes" and "no". Most recently: hearings, definitely.

Whatever the case, I'm glad that it's finally on my radar, considering that the initial bill hearing occured back in 2005 and I'd never heard a peep about it till March of 2008.

If you're interested in checking out some of the additional resources that I've been reading in the last few days, here are some of the links (other links are also in my previous post):

1. Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists (IPA)
2. Six Misconceptions About Orphaned Works
3. Orphan Works blog
4. Bill Could Worsen Problem of Orphan Works
5. Status of 2008 Orphan Works legislation
6. Public Knowledge: Orphan Works articles
7. Flickr Strips Copyright Metadata
8. Countering the FUD about the "Orphan Works" copyright bill
9. Orphan Works Legislation: Round Two
10.Creative Commons sued for deception

Orphan Works: Artists' Copyrights Issue

I'm actually almost afraid to post any more artwork online...and that includes launching my new website and portfolio after reading various articles and discussions about this bill that may soon be law here in the United States.

What is it? It's called the Orphan Works bill.

I initially found out about this new legislation that is going before Congress over on CGTalk, in this thread here. After doing some research of my own, I was concerned enough that I posted the same information over on ConceptArt as well, in order to, hopefully, get some of the professional artists on that board to post their comments and discuss how they thought it might affect our work practices.

Didn't get all of the discussion that I'd hoped for, but on April 10, Mark Simon posted an article called, "Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art" on AWN (Animation World Network) about the Orphan Law legislation that I thought was an excellent simplification of some of the issues and certainly made it rather clear how this could affect anyone that was posting any images on the internet, not just the creatives who develop art and earn a living from it.

Here are some of my favorite points:
1. "...If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we've created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won't successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free."

2. "...However, an Orphan Works bill is also in the works in Europe. I was speaking recently with Roger Dean, the famed artist of the Yes album covers, and he is greatly concerned with what will happen if Orphan Works bills become law. "This will devastate the livelihood of artists, photographers and designers in a number of ways," Dean says. "That at the behest of a few hugely rich corporations who got rich by selling art that they played no part in the making of, the U.S. and U.K. governments are changing the copyright laws to protect the infringer instead of the creator. This is unjust, culturally destructive and commercial lunacy. This will not just hurt millions of artists around the world..."

3. "...Photos on the internet could be orphaned. With tens of millions of photos shared online with services like Flickr, Shutterfly and Snapfish, there is a huge opportunity for unauthorized use of your photos... legally. You could see photos you take of your family and kids, or of a family vacation, used in a magazine or newspaper without your permission or payment to you. You would have to pay to register your photos, all of them, in every new registry in order to protect them. Say the average person takes 300 photos per year (I take a lot more than that). If a registry only charges $5 per image, that is a whopping $1,500 to protect your photos that are protected automatically under the current laws. If there are three registries, protecting your images could cost an amazing $4,500. Not to mention the time it would take to register every photo you take. Plus, you will also have to place your copyright sign on every photo.

That's not including all your art, sketches, paintings, 3D models, animations, etc. Do you really have all that extra time and money? Plus, even if you do register, the people stealing your work can still claim it was orphaned and, unless you fight them, they win. Even if you win, you may not make back your legal fees.

It gets even better. Anyone can submit images, including your images. They would then be excused from any liability for infringement (also known as THEFT) unless the legitimate rights owner (you) responds within a certain period of time to grant or deny permission to use your work...."

4. There are many, many other problems with the Orphan Works legislation. As a creator, YOU MUST understand what is going on. For additional information on Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists.

This is not something that is going to go away easily. We need to be vocal NOW!

This legislation has been beaten or delayed for the past two years and they will keep trying until it passes. This is no time to be quiet and see what happens. What will happen depends on you. Send e-mails and call your congressmen. Ownership of your own creations depends on it.

Roger Dean sums this up well. "Where are the colleges and universities in all this? Has the whole world gone to sleep?"

Edit (some additional links with info):
1. From ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers)
2. Creative Commons Sued for Deception
3. OrphanWorks blog
4. Bill Could Worsen Problem of Orphan Works
5. March 13, 2008 Judiciary Hearing: "Hearing on Promoting the Use of Orphan Works: Balancing the Interests of Copyright Owners and Users" (video)
6. PDF of outline for above hearing

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.

------------------------------

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: