15 Tangerines

Varick Edel: Malen Vier

2011-02-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Oh my god, I am dying in a mountain of work right now and I seriously need to de-stress a bit, so I felt that posting something pretty exciting would help.

well anyway, I'm excited for it! It's a 5 page short story that takes place in the FT:Rebirth universe, but it doesn't have anything to do with the main plot. Everything right now is up in the air until my teacher approves of it, but I really like the direction it's going in and I have faith that I can make it into something pretty cool.

Also I kind of really want to write it in German. haha I know the teach won't like THAT very much. XDD

Here are my first brainstorming ideas/sketches for it:

It took about 1-2 hours of brainstorming on the phone with my boyfriend before things finally 'clicked' like they should.

Malen Vier is a lot more light-hearted and different from anything I've done before. The story is simple and sort of classic, but done in a way that focuses more on the environment and characters. I want to get better with body language and pacing. (hence the hopefully German text)

Here's some sketches of Varick Edel, a somewhat disgruntled Evaiyan Prince, but really, he's just a normal bored preteen.

Here's his poor tutor, The Frau. It's a throwback to the nickname we gave our crazy little German teacher we had for 6 years, although, I'm pretty sure it's correctly Der Frau if male and Die Frau if female, but properly it should be Sie or Sind, really....but let's not get into that. Then again, she really didn't teach us very well. Unlike this strict Frau. XDD lol

By now I had been asked by quite a few vet FT readers if NB would be making a return in FT:Rebirth. My answer is...kinda? A non-elemental form of Nintalian Betela is what the kids here are playing, and on Evaiya it is called Malen Vier. I do not think NB, as the game as it was in old FT, will be as central an element as it was. I do know that I would like it to exist somewhere, probably with people playing it in the background or some minor story element at most. I still like the idea of a unique American sport comic, and I may do more with Malen Vier in the future.

ALSO EXCITING I have been working on an FT:WIKI. It is crazy-intensive and can tell you pretty much anything you'd ever want to know about the FT world. It will be a good reference if you ever want to read more about it or look something up. :) I am having fun writing everything down, and after I'm done I'm sure you'll be thanking me that I take GREAT pains to not include exposition in FT:Rebirth, if I can avoid it. XDD;; I'll try to debut it by next week. :)

Okay, have a good night everyone! I gotta get back to work! haha~!

Hourly Comics Day

2011-02-02T18:42:00.001-08:00

Hourly Comics Day! I actually participated this year, or at least I did it, and it was a lot of fun! Yesderday was a pretty eventful day so it made for pretty good material, so here you go. Hope you enjoy 'em! ^__^

Needless to say, you're gonna have to click to enlarge these. I apologize if some of this is hard to make out, but most was drawn on the train and I don't have time to ink/do better on these! lol Enjoy:

Okay, back to work! Gotta make up for lost time! :)

Edits for the Better

2011-01-06T11:23:00.001-08:00

I've been very busy and many exciting things are happening, most of which I can not tell you about I think...BLAH I want to scream it out loud, but I may get in trouble. :( Can I at least say I'm working on some things with Archie Comics now? 'cause that's pretty cool. nothing big, but still nice to be able to say! lol

SO I wanted to show these for a while, just some examples of the many panel edits in FT:Rebirth!

From the very beginning on Page 4, I re-did an entire panel. I was on a real time constraint with the first scene, but I knew it had to be done. I'm happy I did:

A Preview of the next page I just finished, I ended up re-drawing Lyra's face on many of the panels in this scene. I am still getting used to drawing her, but I did rush the inks a bit on this scene:

Another re-drawn Lyra, and some tweaking on Deneb. I wish I hadn't rushed so much when inking these, (tight deadlines blaahh) but it would have saved me some time on edits! lol:

I wanted to add more images, but for whatever reason Blogger is bugging out on me and not letting me add any more...come on. SO this is all for now I guess.

Read FT:Rebirth here, with an update every Tuesday!! :)

Long time no see

2010-10-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

H-Hey everyone, long time no post! I'm really sorry about that, my life has been so crazy lately!!

I have big news as to why exactly I have been so absent. You see, during NYComic-Con a few weeks back I got hired as a colorist for :01 (First Second Publishing)!!! Yep, so that happened and then I died.

Or rather, I am working 3 jobs and am a full-time student, in addition to the activities I do around the school like the club and magazine I run. So yep, I am very busy indeed!! It's a good busy though, I've never felt so alive! I am having fun, and this new job is very rewarding if not challenging. My boss is the nicest person ever and she has a Scottish accent that is ADORABLE. XD

Anyway, on to some art! 'cause that's what I do, right??

This is an assignment for Nick Bertozzi's Storytelling class, it's about how my Omi&Opi met! Not the clearest or best thing in the world but I did it very quickly sooo:

Something I doodled forever-and-a-half ago that will probably never go anywhere further:

Here's a PANEL from the next page of FT:Rebirth that I swear I will upload soon, I'm almost done blocking it out, anyway. Haha my boyfriend thought this was a double-spread...nope! That's just how crazy each panel is becoming because I am going mad:

Every now and then I'll oekaki at Skylands to let off some stress. Here's one of Cyg and Ly:

And one of Hiu I did recently:

I have a bajillion things to upload but they all require some intense scanning time so...we'll see when I get a chance to do that!! I need to, like, hire an intern or something. HAHA yeah right.

Back to coloring! fff I still can't believe I got a professional job while I'm still in school. It's just insane, I'm so thankful and blessed!! :)

Big Previews, Concepts

2010-07-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Before I forget, I did a major update to www.allisonstrejlau.com my portfolio website! haha maybe now I won't be so embarrassed to show it to people. XD;; Also, there is a never-before-scene page from FT:Rebirth in there. It actually happens to be the one I previewed from my last post. ^___^

This post actually has some concept sketch stuff in it for once! Because hey, FT continues past the first chapters/volume and I need to start fleshing out the rest of the chapters a bit more. XD;;

So I'll go from most recent to future events in the story! Okay THIS I just finished yesterday after working on it...well, all summer really. Normally I'd like, just post one panel as a preview, but goddamnit I worked way too hard on this page's lineart to do that. So here it is:

again, I really don't know how I was not ON something when I decided to incorporate these patterns like this. *I'll just keep saying it will pay off...* O___O;; It's not that it's hard, just pretty time-consuming. :p

Here's me trying to draw Lyra's next hairstyle and kinda failing? It turned out that someone at work wore their hair like this for pretty much a whole few weeks so it helped me a lot! what a happy coincidence! lol

Also at work there's someone who has a very interesting facial/body structure and I LOVE it, I think he's greek/italian? not sure. Even though Bizo is German, I thought it would work wonders with his design and I think I finally am happy with how he looks now: (also there is life stuff from a Scottish piper band my best friend's a part of) ^__^

Okay so I was afraid to show Sakai's redesign because he kinda has a cult following? But I really felt unhappy with how he looked before, and I think it was necessary. I hope you will like his new look though? Please don't kill me. I love you all! ^___^;;;

I haven't been sleeping, and usually I end up drawing Zila when I can't sleep. Apparently I can draw better at 4:30am than normal! I'm still unsure when she will show up in this form, but it is pretty fun to draw. I may finish this as an illustration at some point:

so THIS is a major spoiler, but I won't say how or anything 'cause...ya know. But yeah I really wanted to draw an Alphonse Mucha inspired piece so this is the next illustration I'm working on and I know it will probably take forever to complete. But my main drawing pencil got taken? at work so I'm waiting on the new one I ordered to come in before I can line it...blah.

aaaand that's about it! Sorry I haven't been posting or active much lately, but it is just because I am working on bigger pieces. I hope to get back to drawing a lot next week, so expect some illustrations to be popping up on dA and such~! ^__^

Mesut Özil, preview

2010-07-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ahh been so preoccupied with obsessing over the World Cup that I haven't been working much, but I did do this tribute to my favorite player, Mesut Özil on my favorite team, Germany! It saddens me that they came in 3rd, but the team is new and young so they will surely be unstoppable in the next one! :)

The Deviation is over HERE.

Here were some horrid sketches I did of him before:

Do you know Prince of Tennis? He reminds me of a real-life Kaidoh LOL:

Oh man I used to be OBSESSED with PoT. ahh memories.

I'll end it with a freshly colored panel from Page 9:

I am actually 'flatting' the newer pages and I am hoping it will result in cleaner colors, because I always struggle with that. ^___^;; I haven't colored this way in ages though! lol

Edit: OH I FORGOT there's a new page, page 2! hahaaaaa FT will update every Tuesday. ^__^

FT:Rebirth.com and more Previews!!

2010-06-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a lot of stuff, and I got so caught up I forgot to post a blog about it! Or rather, I forgot that I haven't posted about it yet? ^___^;;;
sooo.....

FT:REBIRTH.com IS OFFICIALLY UP AND RUNNING!! And I have been posting my Thesis comic, FAMILY, that is updating EVERY DAY until July 6th, which is the official beginning of FT:Rebirth!!! :D

Here's another preview of an upcoming panel, captioned OM NOM NOM:

Because I thought rendering the water/marsh currents like tribal patterns would be smart, this panel alone took about 3 hours to do...though I guess it doesn't look like it. XD;; One of the many reasons why these pages are taking me so long to ink...but I think it will pay off.

Also got really inspired by this manga Otoyomegatari that has absolutely stunning examples of pattern usage on every page. The story is...well, I kinda like it 'cause I love anything with history about it, but I guess it's not for everyone...but OMG the art is breathtaking, every page is just amazing. I've been using it as reference for the inner circle of Konaiya and currently have many pages of it strewn about my desk lol most notably like these:

Beautiful, huh? I am trying to use more patterns like this...it is very hard though, and is taking forever. Hopefully it will pay off though! It's no where near as beautiful as this manga, but here is a panel from a page in a Konaiya scene:

I guess you can say this picture I did of Lyra dressed in a more commoner appearance was inspired by it too, but actually I did this image before I found out about that manga. You can check out the Deviation here if you'd like. But yeah, was just a sketch that was taken a bit too far. I guess you can say I've taken a liking to more Arabic designs lately:

Speaking of Konaiya, I had been working out a map for the FT world for quite some time now. It is very challenging, but I think I came up with a sketch I'm finally satisfied with enough to move on to the fun part of actually making the map:

I LOVE cartography I don't know why but it's very calming to do...well, once you know where you're headed. Geography is very important to the story, so for a while making this map was one of my top priorities. I've also been watching Avatar:TLA NONSTOP (It's the only thing I can watch and pencil to at the same time simply because of the amount of times I've seen the episodes lol) so yeah that's making a big impact on how I think about the overall storytelling and world. :)

And the Konaiyan lands are made to resemble my cat's markings because I am a dork and I love my cat. XD;;

Anyway, I'm gonna go get back to work. Don't forget to bookmark FTREBIRTH.COM!! :D

OH RIGHT and the blog has gotten a facelift too. ^__^;;

Sketches of Jiiya users

2010-06-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

I have been working on Rebirth so I haven't been drawing much, but here are some sketches I've done at least!

A super-quick sketch of Lyra and Yana's costume in their first scene just so I had a basic idea:

A more refined sketch I did later after drawing them a bit in the comic:

Some more sketches. Yana is a Wind Jiiya (what an elemental user is called), but she uses a more physical approach to the element than most:

I had to sit through a 5-hr class so I can take my driving test (yes I still don't have my license, I HATE cars but my brother was holding CS5 hostage until I went through it lol) and someone lent me their paper and saved my life 'cause I don't know how I would have survived that otherwise! I wanted to focus on how the elements are handled by different users:

I wanted to do some inking practice so I lightboxed that doodle of Cygnus using the Earth element. You can see how different my sketches are from my inks here! haha I usually hate showing my pencils of anything 'cause they're so bad and rough! I much prefer to draw with ink and see direct results. I will probably turn it into a more finished illust later:

I am having fun inking the pages but it is taking longer than I'd like because I am working more now. Earning money is my top priority now though! :(

Also, Creative Suite 5 came FINALLY! The new PS brushes work excellent, they feel so natural. I am having so much fun using them! :D

Soul Searching

2010-06-09T15:05:00.001-07:00

ah...lots to say, not much to show. I suppose I just want to share what I've been trying to do this summer and where I am now.

So far this summer has not gone how I'd have liked it to go to say the least. It started off with my grandma breaking her other femur, and continued to get more stressful as the days went on and I had to take responsibility for my family and the house, and my art suddenly became unimportant to me. Well she's home now and recovering very well and this makes me happy, and I can sleep a little better than I have been.

However this break came at a time when I was so excited to do my art, and then suddenly I had time and then I had no desire to create anything, and I was constantly on edge with nightmares about my family and worried about failures.

Getting out of this slum is probably the hardest thing I had to do because I really felt defeated, but I am happy to say I think I am starting to want to create things again.

This is the first set of 'freestyle' sketches I tried to do to loosen up my hand a while back, and although there is only one sketch of these that is even mildly worth showing, I want to show it because...well, I'm really not that good at drawing and I kind of want people to know that.

Lately I have become almost obsessed with wanting to show imperfection because that is really what I was dealing with all this time, it's that I could never become the kind of perfect artist that I had in my mind. Let me be the first admit that I am really not good at many things from my head and I think some of these sketches show that. I realized that throught this year especially I had been too reliant on references, and in doing this, I nearly forgot what it was like to just...draw. And enjoy drawing it. This is probably the first set of sketches where I had begun to have fun again:

And so I tried to tackle FT again with the soul purpose to stop being so strict and hard on myself, not rely completely on being perfectly referenced, and overall to have fun and remember what art is all about. None of the pages are done being penciled, but I HAD to finish something so I just went in and drew in ink not caring if it was perfect. In my opinion, the result is a page where I don't think my inking, at least with the foliage, has ever been so good:

I don't like the colors as much but that's how it will be, I worked too long on them to re-do the page now. I tried my best, and I don't think it is still there but at least I know I am getting closer. I have a lot of work to do still, but I think I am finally ready to tackle this again. :)

Ah...a lot of this though I can say is due to a lot of me going back to my roots in a sort of soul searching kind of way. I re-watched and revisited all my inspirations of my childhood and elsewhere (Dragonball, Airbender, Fushigi Yuugi) and this helped me remember who I was and I am so happy I did it. I can highly recommend to artists who are in a block to trace back where your art came from and I can guarantee it will help you immensely. :D

More At'rik Peeps.

2010-05-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Haven't had time for much comic art lately, but I managed to scramble together some sketches for a post? XD;; Actually, there's a lot of redesigns for this post so yey~

The current Captain of Team Konaiya, Salayana Maneatro! (aka Yana) And her partner, Genáendi! (his name means 'Plata' in At'rik lol):

Anyway, as I was drawing Yana's partner I realized I hadn't even drawn her new design yet! haha I usually just picture everything in my mind so clearly I forget if I actually drew it sometimes. so here it is:

The lovely Will suggested I think of a relaxed design for Ka'ch as well and I agree, so I was trying to draw him with his neckpiece and his hair down but haha it looked better in my mind I guess, BLAH:

So I was doodling him with a headpiece and outfit type that I often came across on many pictures I was going through for reference, experimenting if it would look good with the other elements of his other outfit, and I think it does:

I inked it for fun, but as usual I had to end up doing something with it. This is probably going to be his first outfit he appears in I think since it looks more as if he just arrived at Konaiya after traveling a long distance. haha I like cartography, I should make up a map of Draxaiya and Limiak...AHH but that's another thing to come later lol:

Here's Vilvendi, or Vivi, Ka'chkka's Partner. (her name means 'Cheat' in At'rik lol) Another one I forgot I never drew because I knew pretty much exactly what she would look like:

So I put them together to practice more graphic-ey stuff, and I rather like it actually, but I hope I will get better eventually:

View the Deviation here!

Also test-driving that new logo you see there I made up for Rebirth...I like minimalism a lot, but it's so hard to pull off correctly! I greatly admire many graphic designers who have this ability because it is really not easy...I am trying to learn! I have a long way to go though. ^__^;;

New tribal Ka'chkka, process

2010-05-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

whoo I am on a roll with these posts! Anyway, I spent all day researching tribal costumes and thinking of how in the world I could design Ka'chkka in a way to make him more ethnic.

This is what he looked like before, a very pretty boy. but this is something I didn't want my characters to look like so I wasn't happy with it completely. However, this IS mainly still how he looks without all his accoutrement:

Okay, so I quickly realized this design would be vastly different. I can't just put a beaded necklace and tunic on someone and call him 'tribal' oh no! So here's the initial sketch (Cyg just happens to be there too) lol:

Here I drew in the legs in the comp and printed it out:

The cleaner pencils after I lightboxed the printout. I almost never do this, but I kinda had to in this case:

The inks! I like inking, but drawing him this way in the comic will be headache-inducing, but I think it's worth it:

Flats! The At'rik still have purple skin, though the more At'rik blood, the darker the skin would be. Ka'ch is one of the only full At'rik left, so this is as dark as it gets:

Aaand some shading to polish it off for online viewing:

Speaking of that, the Deviation is here!

All in all I'm glad I made the effort to do the research in order to make the cultural history of the FT world more diverse. ^__^

Smelly Headshots

2010-05-18T10:10:00.001-07:00

lalala...a new post already? hahaaaa yes. I just wanted to show my inking practice that I was doing yesterday:

Hah I didn't mean it, but they look like they just smelled something really bad! XD I colored them for fun, but actually I may just do a headshot like this for each character and use it as their profile page on the site:

Since I didn't want this post to look too barren, here's a preview from Page 4, probably my favorite panel composition-wise:

So as I'm drawing the pages I'm getting so intimidated by just HOW much reference I need to pull this comic off properly. Scary! Also, the characters I thought I didn't have to worry about finalizing their designs appear MUCH sooner than I thought, so I gotta get on that...but designing Ka'chkka's outfit is really challenging, I need to do more research for it. OH MAN I'm lucky that I actually LIKE doing research!!

Though I miss having such easy access to the NYC PictureLibrary...but I'm not gonna be able to get into the city this week to research, so I have to go on the internet for it?!? BLAH that's so counter-productive, it annoys me. I always end up doing time-wasting things like posting on my blog! lol I love going to that library and just being surrounded by so many bountiful images! It's like my crack. O__o;; ANYway, I'm gonna shut up and go get back to work...XD;;

Lots of stuff?

2010-05-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Sooo I just finished the 'thumbnails' but it's more like my method of script writing since towards the end of a session the pages start looking like small boxes with numbered bubbles...but yep, I may be ahead of schedule but that doesn't mean I can slack off! :p

I kinda forgot if I posted these or not?? I don't think I did. I have so many sketches on my computer right now! Anyway, have some sketches and stuff! First off, a really bad oekaki that I don't know why I'm posting lol:

Second, a really bad sketch that isn't really Lyra's correct profile or height at ALL that I don't know why I'm posting again but here it is:

Third, an oekaki from today's warm-ups, it's what I feel very strongly about! it's caption is "In that moment she realized that life is beautiful, but it was too late. Never forget the beauty all around you!" all oekaki I do is done on Skylands:

When did I do this?? I can't even remember but now I'm up to the Blackthorn Gym and everyone except Togetic's fully evolved, but I'm so scared to fight Claire, my team is still not strong enough I think:
Speaking of my Pokémon obsession, OMG GEN 5. OMG. EXCIIIIITED. Helloooo fully animated sprites? HELLZ YEAH. Sad that the 'following pokémon' feture isn't in it though, that was such an enjoyable element of HGSS!!! okay I'm not done geeking out but I'll spare you:

THEY ARE SO RIDICULOUSLY THUGGG HAHA I love it. The Deviation is here if you're into that kinda stuff! lol

Speaking of obsessions, do you remember the sketch of my Okami fanart I've been meaning to do since FOREVER?!? haha I don't expect you to, but lookie I did something with it! This is only still in the very rough stages but I'm so excited because I think this is the only time one of my drawings looked almost exactly like I wanted it to!!! I am excited to make it even more how I pictured this illustration to be:

More and more as the days of Summer are getting harder and harder with all that is going on in my family life I am realizing how much this image represents the struggles we go through. Run headfirst into the gloom and a trail of beauty will follow you, you have to stay positive and be assured that everything will be all right in the end. It is hard to keep this in mind, but I am trying my best, because this world is such a beautiful place to be in, I don't want to waste a second of it!

Oh, and my boyfriend graduated on friday and my brother graduated today! I feel so little. haha Congrats, guys! :D

Crazy stuff + Designs

2010-05-09T14:21:00.001-07:00

I've had a crazy few days, I tell you. Yesterday my Omi broke her OTHER femur (right after the other one had finally healed after 8 months), and now we have to go through the long recover process again I feel so bad for her, especially on Mother's Day! That was only one of the events...don't even want to go in to any others, it's as if my family just can never get a break! or.er, not break. no, bad word. O___o;; (esp. since on the same day I also managed to slam my wrist in a door at work...swelled up, but it wasn't my drawing hand so I was thankful...it's better now though, but still bruised...) oh dear! ^_^;;

Anyway, have a doodle of a frustrated Lyra:

Aaand finally a character sheet:

View The Deviation!
Regardless of these crazy events that are happening I am managing to get work done. I don't know what's going on in the next few days, but hopefully I can still keep to my schedule. >__>;;

but yes, Happy Mother's Day! Hopefully yours isn't in a hospital, 'cause now both of mine are! haha...it's kind of funny, actually. ya just gotta laugh at these things when they get this ridiculous. I think my freak-out tolerance is a bit too high nowadays. ^__^;;

Cityscape: The El-Rail.

2010-05-03T01:41:00.000-07:00

I...think I'm done? rather, it looks finished enough to not work on it anymore. plus it's 5am and I have to be on the train in 4 hrs...yep. So here it is, clickie to see it:

I'm gonna wait to post this other places 'till I've gotten Donato's critique and tweak it a bit more...oh man, that's so depressing, the last critique. I'm gonna miss his class so much...as ridiculously grueling as it was it was also one of my favorites. He really taught me so much more than how to make an image, but gave me the ambition to make a career. I just can't thank him enough. :')

Xan, Cityscape, Preview

2010-04-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff I guess, but really I just need a break from lining this cityscape...and I don't feel like starting my reports at all, so..post!

A little warm-up doodle: a fanart for my friend Kasey's webcomic, Winters in Lavelle! If you haven't yet, you should read it! Though I think I made Xan way too shoujo...but that's what happens when you drink as much coffee as I do. XD;;

Speaking of webcomics, this is like, the most uncrowded panel in page 2:

Lookin' forward to coloring that. yep.

So here's the sketch for my much-complained-about Cityscape:

I hated the way it was coming out while coloring it without doing lineart, and when I tried to ink it traditionally it wasn't coming out how I wanted it to either. Unfortunately the only way was to digitally ink it, though this takes me forever to do. However it is a bit easier with PSCS4's canvas rotation tool. :)

Some close-ups that will look better when I add...more stuff...@__@;;

hey look Donato, they're not all perfect little teenagers now. HAPPY!?!??!? T___T;; Though I admit it is fun to draw 'squishy' people. lol :p

If I get chided again for not doing this more 'realistically' and all 'painterly' I may go on a shooting rampage. I'm sorry that I don't want to be that kind of artist anymore. really. T_T

Anyway, I should get back to work...here I come! :(

FT:Rebirth - Page 1 finished!

2010-04-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Since I'm fine with just posting the first page, here it is hot off the press! First without text:

I'm still debating between two font types, but realizing a fatal flaw in ShonenPunk makes me lean more towards CartoonistSimple. This fatal flaw being that in the middle of the word, there are crossed I's, which is one of the biggest no-no's in lettering. Just so you can see the difference, here it is in that font:

Can you see how where the crossed I's are it is a bit harder to read? CartoonistSimple does not have this problem, and although it lacks the organic quality of the first, it is much easier to read:

So yes, it will probably be lettered with CartoonistSimple. Thank you for all the feedback I got both here and elsewhere, it helped me so much! I hope you like this first page of FT: Rebirth! :D

On a side note, the last two panels were colored after I got CS4 Design Premium yesterday, and was colored in half the time as a result! I am so excited for the free CS5 upgrade to come, I know it will only make this whole process even easier. ^___^ Plus because of this, now I have a working version of Dreamweaver so hopefully I can get back to updating my websites regularly after school is over in two weeks. :'D

FT:Rebirth - Page 1 previews!

2010-04-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm terrible with keeping things to myself which is good news for you, and I just can't wait to show you some previews of FT:Rebirth, sooo...here's the first page's lines:

I meant it when I said backgrounds will be the main focus. ^___^

But yes, here is a preview of the first panel's color as it stands now with no text:

One of the biggest conundrums of every new comic is what font should it be in?? I'm having a hard time deciding, and I figure what better way than to get some opinions. :)

1. ShonenPunkv2:

2. MangaSpeak:
3. IndieKomiksSketch:
4. CartoonistSimple:
5. OnomatoShark!:
I like most of them, but the main thing I'm looking for is clarity and a certain type of organic quality. In all honesty, I don't know if I'm 100% satisfied with any of these, and I'm way too stupid to make my own font well. Most of these don't have options for bold and italic letters. Is there a font out there I should try out?

Thanks guys, I hope you will like it! ^__^

Sketchies, MoCCA

2010-04-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

It feels like forever since I've posted, so much has happened!

Last weekend was the MoCCA festival, and it was the first time in a long time where I've actually had a genuinely fun time at a con. It was mostly due to the amazing help of the volunteers at the Cartoon Allies booth, and meeting so many amazing people!!

I got to meet...everyone...and see wonderful friends, old and new! It was wonderful to see my friends Kasey, Greliz, Ashley, Hanni, and so many others. And to meet new ones like the lovely Michelle, mostly known as HamletMachine who draws the beautiful comic Starfighter, who was so kind and even drew a sketch for me out of nowhere! haha, I still can't believe it. :'D She's probably the nicest person EVER. 8D

If the heart emoticon didn't screw up blogspot's code it would be EVERYWHERE. :'D

Also, this Wednesday was the reception of our Junior Thesis show, and it was a blast! The support everyone showed each other made me nearly cry, we did it!! :'D

I wanted to show much more stuff, but this will wait for another post next week...for now, have a bunch of sketches I never scanned! lol ^__^

Just a bunch of architecture, redesigns that probably won't go through, character developments, etc. I can't wait to show you guys the first page of Rebirth! but that's for another post. :D

Exciting, Color Studies HELP!

2010-04-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter, everyone! Spend time with your family and love them, and celebrate Zombie Jesus together~! :D

EXCITING I have officially started the first 6 pages of FT:Rebirth! (Disguised as a prequel for my latest and last class assignment lol) :D And the lovely Ellie is once again being a huge help in helping me with all my current web-related woes. This is so exciting, I can't wait!

Previews will come later, but for now I NEED YOUR HELP GUYS CAUSE I SUCK SO BAD.
I bought this amazing book on Color Combinations and it's helping me soooo much, but now I can't decide which one to use! Here's the Amazon linkage where it's much cheaper than where I bought it damn it:
What color scheme do you like the most??? I DUNNO.

This is the suckage I did by myself before buying my new color bible:
1.
And this is where the magic starts to happen:
2.

3.
4.
5.
Normal people I've asked say they like 5 best because the colors seem more normal, but I've fallen for 4, where the colors are more like a poster but I think I just like that gold color a lot, and 1 is growing on me more I look at it. What do you guys think??? I may end up just doing 2 versions...lol XD;;

Ellie told me about these amazing color community sites, Kuler and CLOURlovers but I still have a love for my resource books. I like books. :) They are very good sites though, especially Kuler. 8D
I also caved in to admitting I have to get to know my weak points better, and just bought this book:
It seems like the reviews say it's good but I'll see for myself when it comes. hopefully it will help me out a lot 'cause Typography is probably my greatest weakness, along with everything Graphic Design related. lol XD; but at least I'm trying to improve!! ^__^;;

HAHA NEVERMIND GUYS, I totally just finished it:

DEVIATION IS HERE
Tried to incorporate both that I liked into this one. Hopefully it's a good image. It will be on sale at MoCCA, at the SVA table. Stop by! :D

Revolution, 3 Years.

2010-03-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

A sketch I've been working on-and-off throughout Thesis, and now that I am FINISHED with my Thesis, I can go back to it. :D Still not done at all, but I'm glad to take it to more than sketch-level. :p

I don't usually use the blue-line thing but I wanted to ink traditionally and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately my ink bled a lot on the printed blue, and the lines when taken out are not what I'd like them to be. but that's all right, ya live and learn. :p

This is also probably the biggest preview of the direction FT:Rebirth is going in. :)

Also...today marks a very emotional day in my life. Three years ago on March 29, 2007 my father passed away. It is still very unreal for me and hard to realize that it is the truth, but it is. While all I ever wanted was for him to be proud of me and while I wish he could have gotten to see where I am now, I am happy for the good memories I do have of him. I guess what I want to say is never take those around you for granted because life is too wonderful to take for granted. Life is so beautiful, and I truly wish more people could see that. If my father could have seen that maybe he would still be with us. It just makes me remember why I do what I do, and I hope others can learn to see things in this way. Life is just too wonderful to go to waste, so enjoy it!

bye-bye, Spring Break.

2010-03-14T18:05:00.001-07:00

So....it's the end of my spring break, and I feel like I haven't accomplished much at all. I am steadily on my way to being closer to finished with my Thesis, but I have no new pages since the last 5 I am working on at about the same rate. It's frustrating not to be able to gauge how much I have left to do.

anyway, here have a quickie of a 'model-ish' Lyra I did as my warm-up today:
I've realized she really is my 'pepper project' if you're familiar with that. haha! :p

Here's this piece o' crap that I can't seem to save if my life depends on it:

I hate it so much, and this is much better than it used to be. It's just...everything about it is bad and done without skill, it's like it's beyond the point of no return and I don't care I'll just take whatever grade Donato'll give me 'cause I've wasted way too many hours on it already and have a 7-page report to do.

On a lighter note, here's its companion piece which is probably the best thing I've ever done! (Though technically it still needs some tweaking before it's officially done)

Not every thing you do will be a gem, but you just have to deal with it and move on! :p

Little Twins and a Traveller

2010-03-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

oh man, so many posts lately. I must be on a school break!

After Thesis there's a short project I'll be working on and it involves a younger Lyra and Deneb. This is me warming up today, trying to figure out how old I want them to be. Still don't know if this is too young or not, but aren't they the cutest little twins?

I didn't like how a picture I was working on a while back was coming out, so I wanted to see how I could save it. here are some thumbs I apparently did during my Irish Lit class where I was counting how many times my teacher said 'um' which ended up to be around 210 times, hence the doodling LOL:

And this is the changed image, do you recognize it? lol:

I still have a long ways to go, I don't know if I'm happy with the composition yet. but I do know that painting rock is extremely difficult...aahh! XD;;

Sketch Concepts, more developments

2010-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm on Spring Break right now! Not that it's much of a break since I have to try and finish my Thesis...but yeah. I wanna do stuff. Too much stuff than I have time for! >__<;;

Not some of my best sketches this post, but these were done a while ago to help me figure out designs and such. The only reason why I hesitated so long was 'cause I was deciding whether or not to keep some of the more spoiler-ish sketches in, but I just removed the text on them so it should be fine.

Zila and Lyra:

Cygnus and Lyra, a looot of spoiler text had to be removed lol:

Bizo/Kauz, again some spoiler-ish stuff was removed:

Deneb is getting a stockier build, I want to vary the body types more which means I have to do a lot more practice:

Drawn as a warm-up this morning, figuring out that I just wanted to draw Hiu's dreds loose since it's crazy fun to draw, and kinda finally deciding on a hair type for Bizo maybe:

I wanted to figure out a way to make Bizo look more At'rik and decided his design may benefit from having some shocks of silver patches in his hair along with making his skin hue more lavender-colored than it already was, probably more so than here I dunno:

Oh snap manly Hiu is manly?? lol kinda?? XD;; I need to study how I can draw his facial features better. :p

Emperor Ka'chkka

2010-03-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't drawn him in a while, but as I was plotting the outline and realizing the larger role the At'rik would play in Rebirth I redid his design along with many others, but I figure I'll show you his for now. I still don't know if I'm entirely happy with how human the At'rik look, or if I should give Bizo an even bigger makeover to match them more, but hopefully Ka'chkka looks alien enough.

haha drew these on the train on my commute home. making him this much of a 'pretty boy' is still hesitating for me, but it may work better for the overall story so I guess it's fine? gotta have a little fun with the characters lol

Also, you get a little snippet of a small part from the story of Rebirth, which really hasn't changed much from the original FT in regards to this aspect of him. Although, this time he's a bit more of a playboy, haha!

Also, these are in pretty much full color. The At'rik have purplish skin, silver hair, black eyes, and are born with dark markings covering their body. The black eyes are new...I think it suits them better as being a more untrustworthy people.

Uhh...I just wanted to draw a full body to figure out his markings, but it turned into something risque, haha! I really didn't intend on it, but it seems the more I draw him, the more he is demanding to have this attitude about him...again, this works better than the original's sweet little meek Emperor to someone who will abuse his power and allies when necessary. :p

I...I really like you!

2010-02-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

These are scenes DIRECTLY from FT: Rebirth!! I hope you are looking forward to it, kawaiiI~!!

"Oh, my Lily, you are as beautiful as the blazing of the sun!"

"...what? Stupid, are you from a shoujo or something now??"

...

....obviously, I am completely joking. but I HAVE been reading some shoujo recently for the first time in many years just for the lulz, and it surprised me to be quite the nostalgic feeling~! lol oh man, could you just imagine the intense amount of angst if FT was a shoujo?? HAHA!!

wow. I kinda can't believe I just drew these. okay, I'm gonna go study now. XD;;

Digi-Doodles!

2010-02-26T17:18:00.001-08:00

Some digi-doodles in between working on Thesis, which YES, I am actually working on for once!!

In an attempt to do more dynamic posing, Lyra turns into some weird type of Akira mix. I had just finished reading the first vol before I drew this...which would explain it lol...XD;;

Oh man, I've been wanting to do so many technical things after spending hours on Matt Laskowski's dev page, it's incredibly inspiring. but alas, I do not have the time to do the things he does...yet! so here's a simple sketch:

Again, very inspired by Matt's work, but really just sketching Lyra. I guess I wanted to draw windy hair?? Also been inspired by the simple yet amazing colors that Tomer Hanuka uses. If I was an illustration major, I would totally take him for portfolio. I want to see if I can beg Tom if I can take both major's portfolio classes...>__>;

anyway, I should get back to work! After tonight I should have only 5 pages left to go! :D

Deneb doodle, more concepts

2010-02-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

oh man, crazy postings abound! I must be procrastinating on something!

Anyway, here have a doodle of Deneb I did to practice some new brushes I found by looking through fox-orian's tutorials again. I rather like them, but I don't think they'll fully replace the ones I normally use:

Here are the 4 rough concept images for the Hansel and Gretel environments.

The bottom two were chosen to refine, which I find funny because both of them had crashed photoshop without me saving and largely had to be redone, especially the blue one. go figure!

FT: Rebirth Demo Page!

2010-02-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

Couldn't concentrate on thesis, so I decided to do a practice page of what FT:Rebirth might look like, done in 3 hours from start to finish:

While similar, this isn't the actual first page, but I'm liking this kind of style for it. Also I did this for next Friday, when my Photoshop and mini-comic tutorial day is for my club, Cartoon Allies. I figured it'd be a nice sample page to show a quick way of coloring a comic, while still having it look nice. ^__^

some doodles

2010-02-17T10:45:00.001-08:00

Some older doodles from my sketchbook.

Kauz riding Tiffy, just playing with his costume design:

Cygnus and Aurora resting, also how the first chapter begins before they enter the Sintu marshes. Colored 'cause I wanted to practice. Dunno yet if it'll look like this for the comic:

I have a ton of sketches I've been doing, mainly figuring out the new character designs and familiarizing myself with them. I've also finalized Zila's human form, which I'll be posting in the upcoming weeks. ^__^ <3

Hansel and Gretel Concept Progress!

2010-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

The amount of stages that this assignment is going through is crazy, and I just wanted to share some of it with you~!

Thumbs. Silhouette is most important:
A Pair of Rejected Sketches, but I personally like parts of Hansel better than final:
The Chosen Sketches:
More Rejected Hansel Progress:
Refining Sketches, where many mistakes were pointed out:
Gretel's Dagger:
Final Concepts:
Deviation is here!

Doing Concept Art is very challenging, but I am enjoying it. It's very different, and giving me many ideas on how to design the world in FT: Rebirth. :D

Livestream OFFLINE, Concept art!

2010-02-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

Because I really need to get work done, LIVESTREAMING: http://www.livestream.com/allisonstrejlau

see me do concept art woooo~~

Anyway, this is what I did. I'm not very good at doing this...I've tried many times in the past, but it's always very challenging for me to do.

I didn't want it to turn out like 'Hansel and Gretle...IN SPAAACE!' but yeah those are the shapes that happened so I went with them. I have to do 3 more, so we'll see what happens. :p

Thanks to Griffiths and Jen for coming by~! :D

Livestream OFFLINE, thanks!

2010-02-07T10:25:00.001-08:00

Today I have to finish the two character concept arts I've been working on and I got a lot to do, so tune in to watch me get insanely frustrated with them, yay! :D

LIVESTREAM: http://www.livestream.com/allisonstrejlau

OFFLINE, I managed to finish gretle for the most part, now on to hansel!

Livestream OFFLINE

2010-01-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/allisonstrejlau

ask me questions, see how I work!

Livestream Offline, watch the clip: http://www.livestream.com/allisonstrejlau/video?clipId=pla_36c51f66-0025-4fba-8f70-1640cb30e30f

Embed:

Watch live streaming video from allisonstrejlau at livestream.com

Livestream canceled + Oekaki

2010-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Live streaming event had to be canceled due to my job calling me in to work at a completely different time than I thought. Sorry guys, there's nothing I can do about it. How about having one Wednesday at 12 noon? :D

By the way, have you checked out this awesome artbook? All profits go to the wonderful cause of your choice!!

ART FTW CHARITY ARTBOOK

Please consider purchasing it!

oh and here have some silly oekaki doodles I did in the past few weeks:

My Oekaki board is Skylands oekaki, a wonderful board with many members being old friends of mine from the days that I had never even known how to do digital art. Join in on the fun! :D

Livestream tomorrow @ 8!

2010-01-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Internet,

I figured out how to Livestream! So tomorrow you can watch me work on a pic of mine and ask me questions and stuff. Until then, this is a doodle I did and you can watch the process of making it here http://www.livestream.com/allisonstrejlau ! :D

Let's see if this embedded video player works:

Watch live streaming video from allisonstrejlau at livestream.com

lol yay! so yeah join me tomorrow and we'll have fun. :p

Zila's new design

2010-01-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Unlike most artists, I think it's humbling to show just how much I suck at some things. Drawing animals, especially from my head, is one of those things among many.

I had realized I needed to drastically change Zila's design to be more unique and interesting to give FT a more unworldly feel to it, especially if she was going to be a more prominent figure in the story. SO I started sketching and, well, I can't believe I'm showing you these first ones 'cause they suck SOOO badly, but I think it's always interesting to see that no one is ever always good!

But anyway, it shows how I came to try and make her more 'real' and kept in mind that she is an animal of the snow. I just so happen to be watching Planet Earth during the snow leopard episode, and got inspired from that.

So here she is now, and I think I'm pretty happy with the result. I was most concerned with her movement to show power and elegance, while still being able to show her kind personality.

Deviation is here.
By the way, my number 1 resource for animal poses lies in this book:

Unfortunately, this book is now discontinued and incredibly rare. I saw it used for over 100 bucks on Amazon!! It is by far the most valuable book I own, and if you ever come across it for it's original or at least not-over-100 pricetag, BUY IT IMMEDIATELY! I rely on it for everything, and it's just like this series to discontinue their books that are the most helpful, go figure! lol

Ink Tests and More~

2010-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

Usually when I'm working I have a blank paper next to me that gets filled up with doodles and ink tests or thumbnails to prepare myself for drawing a page. These are mainly done in straight ink, so like...forgive the bad anatomy? lol ^__^;;

This is the latest one I filled up, which shows some process of developing Zila and the new look of Cygnus and Bizo. I've always grappled with giving Zi wings, but...I mean, I think it's better to make her more feline-ish in how she moves, as if she is running among the clouds! :D

Most all were done with my brush pen as doodles, but the larger cleaner Cygnus is when his design was pretty clear and I was testing how I may ink with my brush for the actual comic. Making his hair darker was a fluke from the bottom doodle that I liked enough to decide to make it permanent. yay for happy mistakes! :D lol

Cruddy doodle of Lyra XD;; not final design, the colors n hair aren't doin' it for me yet.

Some doodles of Zi's new human form, Deneb, and Lyra's second battle outfit hidden under all that kimono. lolz Deneb has sideburns now. and now his freckles show more. It makes me happy. :D

Aahaha oh man I was looking at Becky Cloonan's art after I drew Deneb, and I couldn't believe how much influence I had gotten from her work. Can't wait to take her class my senior year! :D

sooo...my thesis? I'm working on it, I swear!! >___>;;

FT: Rebirth : Big Previews!

2010-01-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

AHAHAHA I got hit with the FT bug, and now I can't stop. I'm just so excited! Luckily it is a type of productive procrastination, and now I'm pretty sure of how the storyline has changed and how it's gonna work, start, etc. Unlucklily, I still have no new pages of my thesis finished...umm...but I have been working on it...O__o;; uhh...

HERE IZ SKETCHIE:

Cygnus with Aurora, and Bizo (Kauz) with Tiffy. No more Ember, unfortunately. (trivia: she was created to die anyway!) ^__^;; Size of partners relates to a show of power more. Aurora is still not in her full size most of the time, as Cyg is laying low.

Cygnus and Aurora, with Lyra and Zila. Zila will be in her animal form much more, and in her human form acts as Lyra's attendant more than before.

Cygnus and Bizo, who actually start off the story. (Bizo will be disguised as Kauz with his black wig.) Cyg's design is a lot more 'rough' in appearance, 'arabian-ish,' darker, and Bizo has wavy hair with his purple-hued skin being more noticeable than before, as he is mostly At'rik. For some reason they have snarky expressions here...umm I dunno why, I was just doodling. >__>;

This version has A LOT more action in it, and I think it has benefited greatly. There is a lot more going on, while being simpler...if that makes sense. XD;; It's also a more 'simplistic' style, as more attention will be paid on backgrounds, atmosphere, culture...and oh yeah, it's gonna be in COLOR. :D

Anyway that's it for now, I need to get back to work on Thesis pages....>___>;;

Happy 2010!

2010-01-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010 everyone! This is the first image I finished this first day of the year of the tiger. :D

"Lyra's Glare" finished:

Without panel, to show kimono details...

I must say, it was an incredible joy to do something like this for myself...felt like the old times when I had the time to do it!! lol :p

Amazing new source of inspiration!

2009-12-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-24T11:37:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-19T21:03:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-02T12:45:00.002-08:00

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!

2009-11-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-10-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-09-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-09-05T22:00:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

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

ugh I'm getting a cold. :(

Sketches, WiPs, & Jazz

2009-08-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-17T18:51:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-13T13:31:00.001-07:00

'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]

2009-08-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

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

Exciting, huh? ^___^

More Doggies

2009-08-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

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;;

APW Gallery Show

2009-07-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

'ello, so an interesting thing has happened. I will be exhibiting my work at the APW Gallery in Long Island City as part of their "Small Works, Big Ideas" exhibit featuring artists from all over the world. I'm very excited about this, it will be my first gallery showing. I have to create paintings for it though, since I don't know if any of my works really fit the theme. I'm going to be painting 6 small 10X10 oil paintings by the end of August, hopefully surrounding a theme about conservation, since I feel very strongly about nature. I don't even drive, I ride my bike everywhere. I hate cars. So yeah, I'll be posting WIPs and such here for that. I'm very excited! ^___^

Random self-portrait doodle. 'cause I like wearing this outfit is all. XDD;;

I have man-legs!! rofl I used to never wear skirts/dresses 'cause I hated my legs so much, but nowadays I could care less. yay :p

The Eifuzu! He's so f*cking happy!!! :D

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying these commissions. They're SO weird!! The next one's like a sludge-monster thing...yay~! lol ^___^

New Intuos Tablet!

2009-07-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

So with some of the money I made from Otakon I bought myself a sexy Intuos 4 Medium tablet! my old one was getting stupidly unresponsive and so old they don't make the brand anymore, which is one of the reasons I haven't done digital art in so long. This thing is FANTASTIC like omg. I love it so much words can't describe. When I use it, it really feels like I'm drawing. it's really changed how I see digital art! ^____^

First in a series of Commissions from this one guy, there will be 140 creatures in all:

I usually don't take long-term commissions, but this sounded interesting. also good practice for me, a nice thing to do in between stuff.

A work in progress of a picture I'm doing currently as a gift for one of my old dA friends:

I'm really liking how this is coming out. I'm trying more atmospheric stuff and pushing my limits of what I would normally do. It's a ton of fun, and because of my amazing tablet it felt SO natural doing the lineart and sketch digitally, whereas before I couldn't. I can't wait to make more images with this amazing thing. ^____^ <3

oh crap, I gotta go to work...see ya! >___>;;

Commissions from Otakon

2009-07-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Doing these were so much fun, and it was so incredibly rewarding to see the person's smiling face when they saw what I had done. It reminded me why I do what I do, and that's just priceless. The artists around me were wondering how I could constantly keep going even at the end of Saturday, but my hands weren't even a tad tired from them because I enjoyed it so much. It was mainly my stamina that was drained! lol but enough talk, here they are!

These were all edited from photos I had taken of them, but I tried my best to edit them nicely and stay true to how they originally looked.

A D&D character of someone who was staying in our hotel room:
Another commission from someone who was staying in our hotel room who was also a nurse who got a first aid kit for me for my poor feet which was super nice of him to do. It's of an upcoming convention he's putting together, of a mascot he wanted for it:
Gambit, from the movie but without his silly hat:
Original character, a magician's apprentice sketch for $5:
AxelXRoxas, because at every con at least one person commishes me to draw yaoi. It was a gift for his friend, at $30 due to its complexity:
The actors from Chuck. this one was difficult for me, since it was the last one I did on friday and was exhausted by that point. this is the second one I did, started on Sat morning, since I wasn't satisfied with the initial sketch from Friday. I'm glad I did it over:
Chu from YuYuHakusho, he apparently gets stronger the drunker he is. I had SO much fun with this one, I just love the YYH characters, they're so wacky:
Original characters, don't have much to say lol:
Original characters. why does everyone want me to draw people with guns in suits? these are color commisshes, why not take advantage of that...oh well! lol:
A gift for Dina Situ for being so awesome, I did this when I had a little bit of a lull in between commishes. It felt good to draw her characters again, I haven't for so long. lol

Near from Death Note, as fanservice. I had moral issues with drawing him normally since he's around 10 yrs, so I made him older. I had fun doing this, since I've wanted to draw Near for FOREVER because I love drawing fluffy hair. I love the DN charries:
James from Pokémon fanservice. I just lol'ed at this all the while drawing it, it definitely wins the award this year for strangest commission rofl:
3 Original charries for $30, this was one of my favorites. Mainly 'cause I really got to know the commissioner, she was so nice. Apparently she got laughed at by other artists when describing them, and I think that's really wrong to do to someone's creations that they care so much for. They reminded me a lot of my FT charries, and it was so much fun to draw, I had a lot of freedom with it too. I'm happy it was the last one I did and I finished it just on time:

And also, remember that story about the girl who I drew Blades of Glory yaoi for last year and did a comic about it? Well, she actually came by my table and I got to show her the comic. I'm REALLY glad she wasn't offended, she kept on bringing all her friends by to show it to them. LOL that made me happy. XDD <3

All in all it was a really fun experience, but now I'm entirely out of ALL my skintone copics! At least I have the money I made from this to buy refills! lol ^___^ <3

Otakon Pics

2009-07-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

I didn't take many pictures 'cause I was busy drawing, but here are the 3 that were taken.

My booth!
It came out just how I pictured it, I'm so happy with it! :D

Casey as Spidey:
a marine stationed in baltimore, he was one of the people who was staying in the hotel with us. he reminded me a lot of my buddy, Triano. except less...Triano. lol everyone who was staying in our room was very nice, though. I was pleasantly surprised. ^__^

a Hisagi Shuuhei cosplayer:
The only random cosplay picture I took, because he actually looked and fitted the part well! I was impressed. He also bought a print of Kenpachi. rofl I found that really funny, I dunno why. XDD

I wish I took a picture of the Wolverine cosplayer who bought the original wolverine painting...I always forget to take pictures!! argh. >__<;;

I have all the pictures of the commissions I took edited, now I just have to convert them to jpegs and upload them. I'll do that in a separate entry though. ^___^ <3

Table L05

2009-07-15T21:04:00.001-07:00

Hey, leaving tomorrow and not bringing laptop 'cause I don't trust people so I'll post this here now. :D

I am at table L05, near the back, so please come by~! I'll be giving away free japanese candy! :D

I will have 5 framed originals up at the art auction, so keep your eyes on that too! :D

see ya later, hope I'm still alive on sunday! O___o;;

Wolverine, birthday

2009-07-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the oil painting I was working on of Wolverine! haha it was nice to get my ass together and just PAINT again for once! getting myself started is always the toughest, especially with oils since it's a very time-consuming process. but I did it, and I finished. I think. well...either way, it'll be auctioned off at Otakon. :D

Studio, rough WIP:
yaaay my studio space is filled with Hugh Jackman hotness for the time being~! haha he's the only celebrity I think is good-looking. no joke, the rest seem so fake! XDD <3

If I was my normal lazy self I'd leave the painting like this:
but there was still something off. he didn't look angry enough, and I was NOT gonna show another cruddy cop-out painting like last year!

Finished version:

I put a lot more work into it than I normally would have, and I think it paid off. I started out hating it, but in the end I guess it turned out all right for someone who sucks at painting. lol XDD;;; still think I could've done more, but as I said, I'm not very skilled with oil painting anymore. I need more practice!

also, it was my 20th birthday yesterday, and my amazing boyfriend sent me this beautiful bouquet of my favorite flower, lilies! <3

so I had to do the obligatory artistic photo:
They're SO pretty, thank you honey~!! I love you so much! :D <3

Champloo

2009-07-04T15:53:00.001-07:00

finished the Samurai Champloo fanart! :D Here are its stages:

Sketch:

Lineart: (pencils)
Color: (Watercolor, and some color pencils and copic multiliner)DeviantArt Link Here!

I guess it turned out all right. I enjoyed doing this! :D haaaa I wanna watch Champloo again sooo bad, but alas, must continue with the Otakon preperations... :p

Sketchinz

2009-07-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

lalala...just rough sketches this time 'round. I can't really sketch cleanly...this is just to show just HOW messy I get. XD;; lol

I have a hard time sleeping lately, so I've been doodling more to try and help get to sleep. this was done at around 3 or 4 am. >__<;;

Rough ideas for Demeter, a character that's part of my idea for the Thesis project this year. She will also be the only human main character, so it makes her design all the more important. I always have such a hard time coming up with characters nowadays! The most 'finished' looking one on the bottom is what I ended up with, but it'll probably go through many more changes still.

YAY Samurai Champloo! <3 I LOVE this anime, it's probably my favorite. I haven't drawn a fanart of it yet though, because I was always scared too. Motion is so important! XD;; It was tough. I'm probably gonna finish traditional watercolors/copics with this one so that I can auction it off at Otakon. :p

UGH can Otakon...like...not exist plz? >___<;; I'm so behind it's stupid. I just don't want to go...next year I don't think I will. It's not worth this aggravation!! >__<

Russia

2009-06-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

some WIPS and the final of my Russia piece for the Otakon Auction.

Lineart:
Copic colors:
Watercolors:
I screwed up big time on the watercolor part since I was working with cardstock, which is horrible with watercolors. I just wanted to make a minor correction to the face, when all hell broke loose and now there's like...this fold on his cheek because it got too wet and got dark and I tried to correct it with my white ink yet still keep it looking fine and blended...and well, if you don't look at it from an angle it looks fine I guess. :(

Normally it would be no problem 'cause I can always fix it like I did here, but this is supposed to go up in the Auction, and now it probably won't go for as much as it would have. bummer.

dA Linkage to the pic.

wips and revelations

2009-06-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

starting to get out of my "I hate drawing" mood a bit, which is good 'cause it's starting to be crunchtime for Otakon! >___<;; ugh I really don't want to go, but it's a necessary evil. anyway, here's a WIP of an image of Russia I'm doing traditionally so I can put it up in the Art Auction. :p

Doing it in my more 'Anime' style, because...well, these are Hetalia fans we're talking about. 'nuff said.

although I myself like Hetalia, I'd much rather see it like this. obviously other's would rather not, since this image has been pretty much ignored. I expected it, but hopefully it'll do better as a print at Otakon, instead of with the idiots of dA.

I sound very bitter...that sucks. but it's so true, I've just felt bad about art in general lately so it's no surprise. :(

A doodle while waiting for the train because MTA is notoriously horribly late ALL THE TIME. It's of a future Ember.

A revelation occured when I was drawing this. I realized that the decline of my love for art started when I stopped working on FT. it makes perfect sense, it was my greatest muse. so from now on I'll try to do more FT art, and work on it more. maybe I'll even do a side comic or two, and think about starting up an actual site. hopefully that will make me feel better.

listening to MJ's music and watching Pitchmen all the while doing this stuff doesn't help much...loved those guys. <3 :(

Sketchy Bizo

2009-06-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Was looking at Sean Gordon Murphy's Hellblazer art a bit earlier for some inspiration. Consequently, it is also my awesome friend Sam's birthday tomorrow, so I drew her fave charrie from my comic for her like I usually do....haha, but with a little different flair. I hope she likes it! XD;; <3

lolz he's sketchy in the literal sense now! XD;;

color, and lilies

2009-06-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

colored the sketches a bit, and I finished a painting I was working on for my Tante Inge's 80th birthday tomorrow.

This has gone through numerous phases of one mistake after another, but in the end I think it turned out allright.

and just quickly colored these guys, nothing special.

lalala...I got nothing much else to say. I need to start working on new prints and paintings to sell at Otakon. gah! crunchtime is comin' up.

Forced Out

2009-06-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't drawn and inked something since school ended, nor have I had any desire to for a long time to come. It's probably been my biggest art block to date, and I knew it was time to force myself out. So I just made myself draw without thinking or worrying, and these came out of that.

Somehow, when I don't think about what I'm drawing, it always turns into Zila.

again, not really thinking, but I guess this shows just how much I want a puppy! lol (it's a mini Australian Shepherd, though in reality it'll most likely be a Corgi lol) <3

This definitely made me feel a little bit better about...drawing. I'm gonna try to color these...maybe I'll also CG the last one, who knows. I probably won't have that kind of ambition though! ^___^;;; lol

All-American

2009-06-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

The All-American Girl. (done while listening to today's pop music LOLZ yay) XD;;

Another Oekaki, done at Cimetery. I like drawing weird figures. I got nothin' else to show, I haven't really been drawing at all. :(

I hate to say it, but I think I need to find a new oekaki board. Cimetery was where I first did digital work and learned most of the skills I have now. However, ever since it's been revived, none of the old artists have come back and no one comments. It's very banal. I miss it, but I think it may be time to find another home. I just don't know where...all my other boards are now non-existent, Cimetery is all I know that's still around! :(

digitize it

2009-06-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

I've been doing more oekakis and digital sketches recently, really just trying to get my hand drawing again even if it's just a little bit. I've been in quite the artistic rut recently.

so let's start it off with one of my guilty pleasures lol! XD;;

can't wait to follow his career, it's gonna be awesome. :D <3

another guilty pleasure of mine! An un-moe Germany, from Hetalia. (the style of the series makes me sad, but I like the idea of it enough.) :p

I may be biased since it's my nationality, but Germany is awesome. haha

A big reason why I haven't done anything is that my computer was running at a snail's pace. I bought another gig of ram, and now it's like a whole new machine!! <3 I just wanted to test out Photoshop's improved performance, so I doodled Lyra. ^___^

lol I dunno, maybe she caught Cygnus peeping on her bathing. XD;; <3

none of these took more than an hour...I don't really have a high attention span in the summer. I want to do paintings and illustrations, but I just can't bring myself to do more than silly sketches of dogs and fanart. ugh, not good when Otakon is right around the corner! o___O;;

doggies

2009-05-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm new to drawing dogs, but they're easily becoming one of my favorite subjects. They're a huge challenge for me to get right, but that's what makes it so much fun. Dogs are beautiful and unique, and I just can't get enough of 'em!

I love my new sketchbook. It takes watercolor washes beautifully, and what better way to break in a new sketchbook than go to the local dog run and do some sketches? <3

Drawing them from life was proving to be difficult, so I took pictures and did most of these that way, still referencing the running guys all the while. These were the practice sketches I did for my Corgi comic. I had never seriously drawn a dog prior to this, save maybe once or so.

My dog books just came today, it's filled with so much information and beautiful pictures! I'm happy I purchased them. My favorite hobby is studying the different dog breeds, and now I have two great resources at my disposal to learn even more! <3

An oekaki I did just now over at Cimetery:

I love the Saluki, they're always so beautiful and elegant!

ah, how I want a dog so bad...oh well, that won't be for a few years! Until then, I'm content with studying them and learning much about these awesome animals. :D

TOUCH sketches

2009-05-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

The sketches for my Touch allegory project.

First one, I tried to do a literal translation. I quickly realized that wasn't gonna work for me.

...so I went nuts. still, there was something off. (I may turn this sketch into a digital piece, I still kinda like it.)

and here's the winning sketch:

Tom made me change the whale, or rather said to make more 'sense' out of it. so I made him a pterodactyl. I still like the sketch better than the final, though.

the final:
In the end, it's okay. I made a TON of mistakes along the way, but I'll take it for what it is. I wish I had taken progress shots of it, because the ink b&w was WAY better. it had a cool drybrush thing goin' on. but what's done is done, and this project was a HUGE learning experience.

the dA link, with the original allegorical text.

...so my class with the feared Tom Woodruff is at an end. It was one of the most challenging experiences I've had, but I learned so much about myself and my art, and about appreciating other art forms. The chair of our department is feared by most in the cartooning department, but it's really unjustified. Tom's class was the most fun I've had working so hard in a really long time. I'd love to take it again if I had the chance, I'm gonna miss having a class with him so much. <3

Unapproving Jazz

2009-05-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

FAIL.

but...umm...anyway, I've been posting some of my art from Tom Woodruff's Drawing class on my dA, so you can check that out if you want. <3

firecloud.deviantart.com

prep work

2009-05-11T22:34:00.001-07:00

I would like to upload stuff here more often. I have tons of pages from my sketchbooks to scan in, I just haven't gotten to it yet.

I like to draw on regular printer paper a lot more now. gives more freedom to just do whatever without having to worry about people seeing it. usually comes out better if I have that mindset.

so here's some prep work of an Okami fanart illustration I'm working on. I start off with warm-up doodles of whatever (in this case cygnus, lyra, and an aussie shep puppy <3 ), then go on to little thumbs, bigger thumbs, gesture study, etc, etc...

lolz doggie butt. <3 I'm debating whether the final should have that or not. XDD

summertime means job hunting, but the market's so dry it's proving to be incredibly difficult for me. here's hoping I can at least make a buck this summer! ^__^;;

Houndoom WIP

2009-05-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Finally done with my schoolwork, so I continued a picture I've wanted to do for SO long now!

here's a work-in-progress:

Houndoom, use Fire Fang!

still got a long way to go on it, but just thought I'd show the rough. wanted to do an actual painting...a charchoal + acrylic, but I think I'll save it for another time. :p

aaand here's another WIP:

pretty much finished with the main Houndoom, but for the BG I'm planning on making a whole pack of 'em among a rockface and grass, as if you encountered them in the wild. haha, I'd hate to be camping and bump into a pack of these guys. XD;;

hahaaaa....Dobermans = LOVE. they're so...sleek and badass. <3 I've really been on a dog kick lately. XD

wheeee here's the finish:

lalala....the deviation link is here: http://firecloud.deviantart.com/art/Houndoom-Fire-Fang-121359026

this was fun to do. I'm glad I have time to do things I want to now! ^___^ <3

sequence

2009-04-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

bumping down the other post with a sequence that I like from Kakapo.

Only one page left and I'm done with it! ^____^

I'm not worried about getting it done in time, just about printing it. Everyone's freaking out with printing their comics, and I don't know how the quality will be tomorrow due to overuse. Here's hoping they'll come out okay!

real pokemans

2009-04-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

bored in class LOL these are so horrible. I could do a better job, but I'm in one of those moods where I just don't want to do anything. XD;;;

kept the watermarks on, no need to lie as to where they came from. lol I dun care...and sooper-husky = love. LOLZ

awesome, class is over...perfect timing! XD;; <3

Corgi Comic B&W

2009-04-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

My professor said I didn't know perspective and I got mad at him, so I did this on my own incentive to show him I damn well could.

I want a Corgi soooo bad!!! <3

For only two days' work, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Actually, I think it's my favorite comic I've ever done! :D I'm gonna put some sepia tones on it and upload it to dA. ^__^

Prints will be available at cons. <3

Colored: http://firecloud.deviantart.com/art/WHEN-CORGIS-ATTACK-119852974

cover lineart: ISOIS

2009-04-18T15:24:00.001-07:00

The lineart for the cover of "In Sunshine or in Shadow." I am debating on wheather I should color it digitally or in copics like I originally thought...hmm.

While I am not happy with how the 21 page comic came out, it would be nice to get SOMETHING out of all the hard work I put into it, so I will be selling copies at Otakon, along with Kakapo. Oh, and Fresh Meat and MOCCA and SPX too, and whatever other cons I attend if there are copies left, or depending on how it sells. I would like more of a highlight put on Kakapo, though. :p

Colored: http://firecloud.deviantart.com/art/ISOS-Cover-119862140

Techniques

2009-04-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

I need to start posting stuff on here more...^^; After school's done with I'll probably have more time for it, I've just been so swamped.

Anyway, here's a project from my inking class using 4 different methods of shading: Zippitone, coquille board, scratchboard, and duo-shade. it's not really done yet I dun think, but when it is I'll post it on dA or something. I dunno.

Trivia: this is the only school project I've done that features my FT characters. :p

old water studies

2009-04-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not updating a lot, don't have much to show...but here are some old watercolor studies I've done. None of the newer ones have been much good...^^;;

The first two are my favorite, I'm thinking about submitting them to dA, but I'm not so sure. meh. I'm gonna go post the first 3 pages of Kakapo to dA, I think. ^__^;;

Kakapo preview

2009-03-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

eep, once again I've vanished off the face of the internet, but for good reasons!

a glimpse at the first page of one of my comic projects, Kakapo, will give you an idea why. :p lol

and this is one of the easier comics I have to work on! well not exactly easier, but it is a lot of fun for me since it involves all my favorite things to draw. <3 I decided to change her colors a bit to relate her more to the macaws and make her stand out more against the background. ^__^

these are only the flats, but the shading won't be much since the linework is detailed enough. x__x;; I am having so much fun with this comic, I think it really shows. I don't want to work on the other one anymore, but I have to...I'm so apprehensive about it! there's no pleasing that teacher, and I freak out so much...but oh well, I'll do it. I'll show him I can, damn it!! >___<;;

There were other things I wanted to say...but I forgot. O__o;;

Kakapo

2009-02-21T11:15:00.001-08:00

I freakin' love Kakapos. They're such doofy parrots! They're the only parrot unable to fly, the largest species of parrot in the world, they're the oldest known parrot species, they look like an owl with their sensory beard, they're nocturnal, they only mate once every two years and only when their favorite fruit tree is in bloom, their squack sounds like a deamon hound and a sonic boom, they have a strange mating system, they freeze when threatened to camoflauge themselves but they have a strong scent so it's useless, they're extremely friendly towards humans, they need to have whole islands free of predators so they don't get eaten, and all this is why there are only 90 of them left in the world. I would love to have one as a pet, they're so freakin' awesome they don't even sound like a real animal. <3

So my next comic project is based off of them:

It's kinda like my version of Tarzan, only with a crazy parrot chick instead of crazy monkey dude. She was burned and got amnesia, so now because of her strange facial markings she thinks she is a parrot. However, she is sad because she can't fly! Then she meets the Kakapo, who also can't fly, and they become the best of friends! :D lol

Here are some of my original thumbnails for the first 3 pages, although they will be changed from this I felt inclined to show them as a preview:

I just re-watched Tarzan, and I can't believe I almost forgot how much I LOVE this movie. I realized how much it inspires my work now, and I am really looking forward to this project. I have the special edition with all the beautiful concept art of it, and I really want to do some concept paintings for Kakapo. I will make this comic as lush and beautiful as I can! :D

prev pg 6, etc

2009-01-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

more comic goodness. I actually finished pencilling the 6 pages earlier than expected. I'm especially proud of the fact that I did this work that took the class months to do in only two weeks for me. booya. now after I ink these and pencil 3 more pages for next week I'll finally be caught up! :D

I'm pretty nervous about what my new teacher will say about them, since I have no idea what's coming to me. Klaus Janson is a real tough cookie, but I hope he sees all the hard work I put into this. *crosses fingers*

anyway, here's page 5 'cause I kinda like it, despite all the difficulties I had with it. it's pretty much the first intro of the two main characters, and I dunno...I like how that stupid hovercraft I complained about sooo much came out all right. I actually kinda enjoyed drawing it! lol XDD;; <3

lol darn them silly hallucinations! haha oh man I <3 mountains and nature. They're my favorite things to draw by far. :D <3 I doodle a lot on the margins of my paper when I do comics, and I decided to use this one of Julian as inking practice to see how the comic will look when inked. I'm still trying to figure out how to ink dark skin. I wanted Julian to look like he was Arabic...I'll ask Klaus tomorrow, I guess.

because I am very excited about the new awesome Senellier watercolors I bought, I was eager to watercolor whatever I had on me. I printed this out on watercolor paper, and played around a bit with 'em.

The print sucked and it scanned horribly, but in real life the colors are SO vibrant and pretty. they're a bit harder to control, but I'll get used to them with a bit more practice. :D <3

OH and do you guys get my replies?? how do I reply to comments??? I've tried to just comment regularly as my responses but I don't know if you get notified of it or not. GAH stupid blogger. XD;

comic previews

2009-01-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

baaah I've been working a lot lately. But I think it will be worth it. Here are some previews that I've been promising.

My desk in the heat of comic making looks like something out of the movie "Twister" lol:

references make the world go 'round! :D

So yeah here's some scans of it so far...the paper's big and my scanner's small and I didn't feel like scanning anymore, so this is all I'm showing. XD;;

some panels I'm quite proud of, but some I need to redo...blaaah.

not everyone's happy about me working all the time...

Jazz is not amused. XD;; <3

RIP Wyeth, Comic preps

2009-01-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

RIP Andrew Wyeth, your watercolors will always be my greatest inspiration.

I am currently working on a 21-page comic for one of the classes I switched into. I pretty much just finished the basic prep work, and am finally ready to pencil. Here are some of what I do to practice getting to know my new characters.

The 25 Essential Expressions:

I now cannot do a long comic without first doing this exercise. I have so many problems with consistency, it is extremely helpful to do.

Clothing designs:

Since I am pressed for time with this assignment, I just did the base figures for Lucy and Julian, and I photocopied them and drew on top of the photocopies. Perfection doesn't really matter as long as I know what the jiist of it all is. lol

First longish Watercolor pose of the year, the only colors used were red and green:

This model kinda looked like a white Obama from behind. rofl XD <3

tattooed beauty lines

2009-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

I have just recently developed a great appreciation for the beauty of tattoos. They are the ultimate form of expression, and if done right, can be meaningful, elegant, and illustrative.

this is an image I am working on:I am about to watercolor it, but I wanted to ensure I had a copy of the linework in case things went awry. watercolor is a very unforgivable medium like that. ^__^;;

here's the watercolor-in-progress:

I kinda like it just how it is now, but I'm gonna work into the tattoos more...I originally had a random background idea, but I think I kinda just like keeping it white...hmm...

For a few years now, I've been wanting this certain tattoo. I am nearing a time where I am finally planning to actually get it, so I did this mock-up of what it would look like and where, etc.

it is the cover to Anne McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern series, Dragonflight, but mainly it is incredibly meaningful to me. It is in honor of my father who passed away around a year and a half ago, it was our favorite series and is a constant source of inspiration. Every time I saw him, he would ask, "so when are you gonna draw me my golden dragon?" and I never got a chance to before he passed. on the day of his funeral, I drew it for him, and it now rests with him in heaven. I've drawn one for him every year, and for this second year I want to get this. It is such a beautiful painting, and the composition is perfect. I think it is a fitting tribute. <3

kauz

2009-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

quick CG doodle of Kauz (Bizo). Painter IX.

I haven't drawn Bizo in forever, let alone as Kauz. I've been drawing the FT charries a lot lately...I've been thinking about ways to improve the story when I eventually restart it. At this point, it seems like it's gonna be a complete renovation. @____@;;;

warm-ups

2009-01-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

just some quick sketches I've done to warm up my hand before I work, and to practice expressions. and what'dya know? they're all FT charries, mainly Deneb and Lyra. nowadays I draw the ft crew as practice, since I know them so well. ^__^

quickest of doodles, I was trying some different redesigns for Deneb.

Lyra is mainly very expressionless and subtle, so it was harder to do this with her.

Deneb is so much fun to draw, since he's mainly the comic relief and such. these were just some doodles I mainly did at work on my breaks.

emo

2008-12-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

just a little doodle of my Marowak, Emo, and I. <3

ah man, this is the last thing I should be doing right about now...XD;;

cartographer

2008-12-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

My Omi made the first Christmas cookies of the season today. It made me very happy. <3

Anyway, here are the lines for the back cover of the next issue of our school's Cartooning magazine, Inkstains.

I had a lot of fun with this. I used The Atlas of Pern as my main ref...that cartographer has such a beautiful way of illustrating things. All the names refer to teachers/well-known figures in the Cartooning department and also incorporates a few names of dorms in SVA. <3

more Pokémans

2008-12-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

AAHHH I have become so nonexistent on my sites lately...I feel really bad about it. I'll try to post more here from now on. <3

It's mainly due to the complete illegibility of my sketches, if I even sketch at all nowadays, I'm so busy. these are some of the more legible ones. funny how most of them are pokémon related...XD;; <3

I plan on starting a comic-a-day journal soon, so I will be posting those here. therefore, there will be more updates to be had. yay!

badass

2008-11-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

because I couldn't help it, I just HAD to geek out and get this out of my system.

PH33R mah Pokémans of DOOM!!!!!

I love my team right now, they're the best! they have the weirdest moves. for an example, Emo knows blizzard! who is Emo? ...can you not guess? rofl. XDD;;; <3>___<;; ...I really want to cg this...uggg...procrastination hasn't happened to me in a while, but...eh heh...this was way too much fun to do...>___>;;;

I FEEEENIIIISSSHHHHEEEDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!

Link to Deviation!

academia III

2008-10-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

I just got out of my Watercolor class. It's turning out to be amazing, and it's all due to my teacher, David Soman. He is a master, and has somehow taught me how to start to use this medium that I am normally HORRIBLE at. He has taught me how to love this medium and really given me a new respect for it. He is completely unbiased and always gives such amazing advice, and is overall just the best teacher I have ever had. I really want to take him again next year for his advanced class.

I haven't posted some of my works from the previous classes yet because it looks like a 10-year-old did them, but now I think I am finally getting the hang of it and am a bit more comfortable showing you guys something.

first gestures of the day

little longer pose

final pose

I'm pretty happy with this last one...when I compare now to the beginning, I just can't believe how much I've learned about value, color, form, design...everything.

Looking back, I'm just so happy that the Gouache class didn't fit into my schedule!! lol

monkey love

2008-09-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

A Comic page I did for class. Assignment was to draw your first crush/romance/kiss, so I choose the first kiss, only.....well, see for yourself.

click on thumbnail to fullview:

still needs to be inked, but I think we're doing that in class since some people still don't know how to. O___o;;;

haha sad part is, it really does resemble my boyfriend. XDDD when he saw this, he was all "omigod I still can't believe I actually said that...>__<;;" rofl <3

Tomorrow we're going to go see Blue Man Group!!! I'm so excited~!!! haha, I finished all my h/w for the week so I could have that night off...school is insane, but it's manageable. ^____^

academia II

2008-09-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

hai guyz. I busy. but I shall post a quickie.

progress shot you probably can't make out of a comic I'm working on about PETA and a chicken.

a self portrait I did for my first assignment in drawing. the teacher mistook me for an illustration major, and coming from someone like him, it was a huge compliment. especially since I've never seriously used charcoals before and had no idea what the hell I was doing. lol

bada-boom, motha trucka!

academia

2008-09-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

school started...this year is insane. from a class the teacher calls 'Torture Therapy' to other hardcore studies, this year promises to be one of my biggest challenges yet. It's very exciting. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from my amazing teachers.

some studies:

it felt good to do some quick life sketches again.