Amazing new source of inspiration!

Started another pic...was just a random no-ref doodle (the painted part) and then...I went a bit far and decided to work it as the last image of the triptych I'm working on.


Referenced mainly from this woodblock by Eishi Choki, The Courtesan Takigawa of Ohgi-ya.


OMG did I mention how much I love my boyfriend? He got me the PERFECT textbook-sized collection of Japanese woodblocks for Christmas, many of which I've never seen and it's exciting as all hell! For example, I couldn't find an image of this anywhere on the web...hence the silly photobooth snapshot lol. oh man I'm such a nerd but seriously, it's AMAZING. much love!! I stare at this book for forever...it would be sad if it wasn't in benefit of my career lolz. (probably still is though.) XD;;

Speaking of awesome-tastic-gasmic Christmas presents, here's a snapshot of my current desktop from my new baby, Behemoth. :D


LOL YAY I missed working on a million things at once...ya know, that isn't all entirely school-related, but FT-related. YAY! :D

Merry Christmas and stuff!

Just...umm...I forgot what I was gonna post? OH Merry Christmas!! :D yaaay eat stuff and get lots of nice family time. ^___^

umm...well here's a WIP of something I'm working on:

Okay so this is part one of a triptych that I plan on doing this break in addition to nearly finishing my thesis...fun times! XDD but yeah, it is, I enjoy having time to do artwork for myself now. YAY! :D

Also, can someone PLEASE tell me how to get Blogger to open the image larger in a new tab like it used to?!? I have NO idea what the problem is, it seems to work fine for everyone else! AUGH. PLEASE HELP this is an annoyance...XD

Welcome Home, Behemoth. <3

First off, I did this painting. It's probably finished...could do more, but I think I've done enough. It's my last piece with Donato Giancola...I'm REALLY going to miss this class and I know there's SO much more I could learn from him. so much so that I'm thinking of retaking it or sitting in next year. lol

I would like to welcome into the world of my desk, my wonderful Behemoth.

Behemoth is the new 27'' iMac, and I have no idea how I convinced my family to get him for me for Christmas. (granted, I'm chipping in nearly half but it's worth it!) I am constantly overwhelmed by his sheer power. As the comparison picture shows, my PowerBookG4 doesn't stand a chance in comparison. This will take some time getting used to, it's such a huge difference for me! lol XD

Edit: umm...I don't know what's up with blogger but it's not letting me click on the pictures to open larger in a new tab? Their help wasn't very clear about it...what's going on?!? ugh.

water nymph or somethinglikethat.

Just a procrastination sketch. blah I should be painting...or writing my essay! >__>;;


Sometimes I miss drawing and CGing like this. sometimes. I wonder what my art would be like if I continued in the more anime direction? ah, it would be so generic...blah! :p lol but it's still fun to sketch like this. I wonder what style FT: Rebirth will be in? ^__^;; I really want to start it up, but school is intense...ah well, it'll happen sometime soon I hope!

Thesis previews of a sort.

So...some comics for once, perhaps? That IS what I do, after all. lolz. XD;;

First assignment of the class, we had to do 2 1-page comics on a myth, literal and modern. I did the myth of Dionysus, with imagery based upon a Grecian bowl replica someone lent me for inspiration:


The modern one. This was obviously done in a rush, as I had just come home from a lousy night of work and had to do this stupid comic. Honestly I forget what I was thinking, but it helped me feel better? XD
Finally, onto the actual thesis. This is the lineart of Page 9:
Colored version, dunno if I'm happy with it but eh it's done:
First page of my thesis. I am quite happy with this one...I hope I don't screw it up in the colors. Should be interesting.
I have more I could show, but I guess that's good enough for now.

So I am doing the abduction of Persephone, but literally translating it into a modern satire, intending to show just how morally wrong these myths are when you think about them. The designs are from Asian art; the Chokkoman and Dotaku patterns. Later I am also incorporating the Japanese folktale clouds in later scenes in gold paint overlay, which literally mean 'this is not real, it is a story,' which is meant to contrast the 'realistic' style of the comic.

okay back to work! I'm supposed to have 5 pages done by tomorrow and I don't even have 2, ahhh~! XD

I'm hungry again!

Not much to say, but here's another WIP. I have to figure out a way to breathe more life and color into it, but I think we have a few more weeks to work on it or something...


ummm and yeah, I love how every time I'm excited to start my thesis pages, whenever it gets down to it I end up putting it off more and more. UGH NEED TO WORK. >___>;;

I'm so hungry omg.

lalala...just some wips of stuff and whatnot.

Concept Sketch Progress for Persephone. I wanted to get a feel for the style I want, and considering this took only a min or less to color, people need to stop freaking out about me watercoloring my thesis. LOL I love you all but you worry too much. XD;;
A WIP of the charchoal sketch for The Last Human illustration. I say sketch merely 'cause I still have to make changes to it after it got crit'ed. blah.


I pulled an all-nighter for this one, and I'm glad I did. Nearly everyone else in my class didn't even have a complete line drawing fleshed out...which confused me, but it made it seem like I did more work than I actually did. LOL awesome.

Random, but: OMG I WANT THE NEW 27'' iMAC SOOO BADLY!!! It looks positively kickass, and I just so happen to be in the market for a new computer, since mine is so pathetically old that new software that comes out now isn't even compatible with it. Christmas is coming, and I usually never want anything but now...one can only wish! :D

www.allisonstrejlau.com and like...other stuff.

hmm...so within a month's time my older brother has not only purchased an awesome Prius, but has moved out of our house with his awesome girlfriend. Needless to say, I jumped the gun with claiming his room as my new studio. Also, my Omi is home and is recovering just great! :D

So my new Lukas Oils came today and this is the most logical thing that occurred for me to do with them after I opened the 20lb box. It makes me so happy. 23 tubes of 200ml oil paints at a great deal. I will never have to buy oils ever again! XD


hey, it's a lot better than the mish-mosh that is still my 21 bottles of 250ml Lukas Acrylics I bought a few months ago. Again, at an awesome price. I love them but they always look so sad. It's because they just got a bunch of new older stepbrothers who are much more experienced then they and like to pick on them for being so quick to pansy up and dry. :(


umm...so here's a technique sample swatch of an illustration I did for Donato's sci-fi class last week. I'll scan in the actual one when like...all the large-format scanners in my school are not being used until eternity.


This is a reference I took of my Opi I'm using for Donato's next illustration. I rather love this photo.


I started a new sketchbook. It will be an odd sketchbook.


OH did I mention my portfolio website is up?? www.allisonstrejlau.com is now a fact! Gotta find time to put more works up, but hey at least it exists now. :D

Gallery, Shoes, and Sketchz.

A recent sketch I did, just to start off this post. Deviation is Here.
AH School has started, and so that means I am probably gonna disappear off the face of the internetz for a while.

...or not? I have started a blog for our cartooning club, which can be found at http://cartoonistalliance.blogspot.com/. I will be updating there regularly with news and interesting things. ^__^

but anyway, on to my own blog business...

My gallery show was this week, the opening was last Friday. Now if you've read my previous post you'll know the trauma that took place so I'll skip that, but yeah here are just some pics from it.

I got a nice spot right in the beginning:

ew, a horrid picture, but we were still shaken from what happened to omi, so I had to put on my best face:
The Finished Paintings. The Deviation is Here. :D
some cool paintings from the show:
The hospital sign....now you KNOW a maintenance guy did this on purpose. regardless, it brightened our moods a bit.
My Pokémon High Heels! Deviation is here but also this:
My Princess Mononoke Vans! Unfortunately, they gave me blisters...ugh. The Deviation is Here!
Work was slow last night, so I doodled on a receipt paper. I don't know what to do for my latest assignment...:/
And lastly, this is how amazing my boyfriend is and I wanted to share it:
It was as delicious as it looks! :D <3

Ach, jest sketchinz.

I've been playing Arkham Asylum a bit too much...combine it with FT, and we got one crazed cyggie. UGH I need to like...remember how to draw before school starts next week. @___@;;


a random business chap:


UM so my gallery opening didn't go so smoothly...my omi broke her femur on an unmarked step at the entrance to the building, and we were in the ER all night. She had her surgery and she'll be fine, she's a tough as nails german woman. However, this will greatly effect how this school year goes for me...hopefully I will be able to achieve the goals I have, but now I'm not so sure. I'm just glad she'll be okay though...it could have been a lot worse. I'm grateful for that...I love her more than anyone, I don't know what would happen to our family if it was worse. It's so scary when something happens to the one who raised you...I just love her so much. Hopefully she can come home soon. <3

Marsyas Sketch

sketchysketchysketchyzzzz. Should I finish? I dunno. >___>;;


ugh I'm getting a cold. :(

Sketches, WiPs, & Jazz

Got quite a few things to show today so I'll cut the chit-chat short and just post the pics. :D

Couldn't sleep again after closing at work, so a 4am doodle of a BGal Lyra? O__o


Some concept sketches for my thesis I did while at a party for work...'cause I didn't want to dance. lol Oh, and Lyra snuck her way in there too. ^__^


I think I'm taking a liking to the story of Marsyas. I can turn him into a jazz sax player which will be good for my musical side, an added plus is I own a sax for reference. I miss performing. :(


Wanted to practice photography, and who better a target than my lovely Jazz? I wanted to show a play on Light/Dark:


OH MAN my new Acrylic paints just came in!!! *excited* More on that later, I'm gonna go play with my new toys now! :D

Captain: Lineart

So...this is probably the last thing I should be doing right now, but I was really starting to go crazy without hand inking something in so long, so I kinda had to? O___o;;

Also, I was itching to test out my media idea for my thesis. I want to do my pages on HardPress Watercolor paper instead of bristol, so I could watercolor the pages nicely. However, I have no idea how this technique would work and how the ink would flow on it. So I drew up Lyra real quick, which turned out to be a longer drawing, and inked it with my beloved W&N 2 kolinsky brush. I love that thing, and it was so nice to ink with it again. Damn I'm such an art supply geek. XD;;

Consequently, I also wanted to draw a sexy woman. hey, it's fun, but I always seem to have a hard time with it lol. :D Soo here's the somewhat sexy Captain Lyra:


Now to test how my Sennelier Watercolors will look on it! I've never really watercolored on HP paper yet so it should be a fun experiment. The biggest thing I'm worried about is weather or not the ink will bleed...here's crossing my fingers! >___<;; If not, then at least I can save this particular image and just digital color it. :p

I have some sketches to show to...that I forgot to scan and now don't feel like it...haha, what else is new. XD;;

WIPS Tigers

'cause I said I'd post some WIPs.

My studio area always looks like a tornado whenever I'm working on big projects like this. lol but it's actually pretty organized this time 'round. I'm kinda proud. XD


The most finished one so far, but the others are all sketched out n' such. I still need to touch up this guy still. there's just so much to do! XD


OH CRUD it's time for me to go to work, I haven't even realized...fun times. see ya later! :D

Announcing: FT [Rebirth]

This is my goal, let's hope I can reach it!


Exciting, huh? ^___^

More Doggies

These are just some more of my doggie sketches.

Salukis are hard to draw. O___o;;


I really want an Australian Shepherd or a Doberman. I love them!

Seriously, no one would ever mug me if I was walking a Dobie on the streets of NY late at night, even in the sketchier parts of the city. It's....for protection.....yeeah....so I can has? :D lol ^___^;;

003, and Oekakis

lalala...I did stuffs.

Here's the next commission in that series, I'm calling him the Grimace from hell rofl:


And I found a new home in Skylands Oekaki. apparently, it's where everyone from my old oekaki home moved to after it crashed. but me, being the genius I am, took many years to find it. I'm glad to have finally found it, it feels like the good ol' times drawing there. ^___^

First doodle:


Second doodle, practicing drawing tigers for my paintings:


I love Golden Tabbys. <3

Improvement

I just doodled up a digital painting of Lyra 'cause I couldn't sleep, and when I was done I searched for an old painting I did of her, and I was pretty surprised.

It's not as if the old one is bad or the new one is good, but it shows a significant change in how I do things and how my art has progressed. Interesting.

The Old, done in Sept 2006, took many painstaking hours and many refs I remember lol:
The New, took maybe 2 hrs at most with no reference at all:
again, I actually dislike both of these a lot. but the change is there...OH crud I forgot that Ly's hair changed color in the new one...oops. I also want to fix her nose and pinky when i get the chance...haha that's what I get for painting at 5am. XD;;; UGH I swear I have insomnia. O___o;;