Resolutions for 2012

Morning guys! I can't believe it's New Year's Eve already. The year 2012 is just on the horizon. Cool, eh?

I don't usually make resolutions for the new year, but I figured this time I'd give it a try. Not too many, just a few things to strive for and help keep me on track. And, since saying something in public makes you accountable and therefore, more likely to follow through, I figured I'd share them with you all.

So here's my goals for the next year...

1) Improve my health and waistline:
I started working on improving my health this summer and was doing good for a while. But, then I got sick, got sick again, and eventually kind of fell off the fitness wagon. I'm not happy with that. So, it's time to get back on board.

I'm not concerned with weight so much as I'd like to feel better physically, reduce stress, and trim my waist a bit. Embarrassing info here... I'm currently at a 38 inch waist. I was down to a 35.5 within just a month of steady daily walking. So, loosing a few inches won't be a problem. My goal, though, is 30 inches at the waist.

I also need to get back on the vitamin routine. It wasn't much, just a multivitamin, a fish oil, and a Magnesium Citrate called Calm that I add to water once a day. It really helped improve my mood.

I also need to get Matt and myself back onto healthy eating habits. More salads, soups, leaner meats, stuff like that. Thanks to Kerri, we now have a wonderful crock-pot set as well as some awesome cookbooks. Which, takes us into resolution number two...


2) Learn how to cook:
My mom was a little resistant to having me mess up her kitchen when I was a teen and I lived in dorm housing throughout college. So, I never learned. I can do stuff if there's a recipe to follow, and I'm good at rice and noddles, but it's nothing spectacular. So, I'd like to start figuring this whole cooking thing out. One thing I'd like to do is share my attempts here on the blog. Remember, cooking is an art, after all. I'm thinking of posting the recipe, the estimated price of the meal, how easy or difficult I found the process, and possibly some photos. What it comes down to is cooking is a skill that I've been deficient in for too long. So, it's time to fix that.

Matt and I are also more likely to eat healthier if I'm in control of the kitchen. I don't enjoy sweets as much as he does.


3) Find my fabulosity:
I really don't know how else to put it. Saying I want to pamper myself can come across as wrong, but that's basically it. I want to take time to do my nails and hair, find a style that I feel suits me, update my wardrobe bit by bit, and start to feel pretty again. I miss feeling pretty.

This doesn't mean frilly skirts and silky things, no. I'm more of a denim, white shirt, chunky silver jewelry kind of gal. The goal is comfortable and durable, while still looking pretty.


4) Look into getting contact lenses:
I've been wearing glasses since sixth grade. As you can guess, I'm a little fed up with them. I've always been curious, but a bit uncertain, about contact lenses. Well, maybe it's time to talk with the optometrist and see if they'll work for me. I'm due for an appointment anyway.


5) Continue to learn to draw:
This is pretty much an ongoing thing. I've been really happy with the process so far. It's been frustrating at times, but I think there's at least a small bit of improvement starting to pop up. So, the goal is to keep going as I am and try out new media and learning aids. That will be exciting!


6) Increase my presence in the furry fandom:
With CN:H basically going back to a hobby comic, I can now focus on other things. Things such as commissions, live draws, and chats. I've been pretty quiet in the furry fandom these last few years. I'd gotten the impression a while back that many furries really aren't that interested in comics. And it's hard to find things to share on Fur Affinity when most of your work is sketches and comic pages in progress. But, now I can try new things. Cool! I'd also like to hit a few more cons, but time and money may make that a little difficult.

And, I think that's it. They sound a little vague because my mind is a little vague at times. Also, a little wiggle room may make keeping these resolutions easier. That's the goal anyway.

I'm looking forward to the new year. It's a new slate, a good time for change and possibilities. So come on, 2012! Bring it!


"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
-- Benjamin Franklin

Sketchbook - Horses

Just some sketches of horses. Usually I'm a bit better with these critters. Not tonight, unfortunately. I've got a bad headache. Still, they're horses! It's always a good day when you get to draw horses.





There are now black smudges on my keyboard from the sketchbook cover rubbing against it. That cover's been leaving skid-marks everywhere. I've a few books with black smudges inside them now thanks to the sketchbook. Odd.


"You know horses are smarter than people. You never heard of a horse going broke betting on people."
-- Will Rogers

Sketchbook - More fun with random figures

Morning. Just some random figure scratchings to share from the sketchbook. I wasn't too certain about sketching with the Rapido Sketch pen at first, but now I love it!

I've a 0/.35 size, which I guess is the medium point. I was never very good at understanding the various point sizes. There are two others available which I may want to pick up eventually. The nice thing is, each pen comes with its own bottle of ink. Considering the pens seem to use very little ink - I finally had to fill this one up last week before our trip - I have ink for quite a while.

References were from the Figure and Gesture Drawing Tool at Pixelovely.Com. What can I say, I love that tool.







There is one small problem with these new ink and brush pens... I'm a little worried that they're more likely to smear when I lay Copic markers on top of them. Commissions are coming up and all. So, I may have to do a light pass with the thin Copic Multiliner first, then do details and touch-ups with the brush and ink pens once the marker work is finished. I've done a similar thing before with a commission a few years back. I didn't lay the inks down at all until the marker-work was complete and dry. It was one of the first things I'd done using Copics and I hadn't discovered the Copic Multiliners just yet.

So yes, a pass with the thinnest Multiliner will help stop any marker bleeding. Detailed inks can be added in last. Course, the new pens may not smear from the Copics. I should test that out.

And for anyone thinking, "just wait until the ink dries, duh," I do. These markers have a base that breaks down some inks. I've had very few instances of dried ink suddenly smearing while using Sakura and Prismacolor brand pens with Prismacolor markers. Yet, those same two brands tend to smear with Copics. I've yet to have a Multiliner smear on me. One thing you learn over time is that some supplies don't play well with others.

Turns out there is a Multiliner set that's refillable - the Multiliner SP. On top of that, you can replace the tips if they get damaged. Ooo, mama want!

But... not right now. For now, I should really do some work in the other sketchbooks. Others? Yep! I've decided to split my sketches into different books. Turns out you can get the nice 8.5x11 hardbound, 108 page sketchbooks at Dick Blick for about $7.00! Cool, eh? Beats paying $17.00 for the same thing by Canson at Michaels. With that in mind I figured, it couldn't hurt.

The one I've been using and showing so far is the first Practice one. The Practice ones will get the most use since they're for trial and error work. There's also one set aside just for CN:H so I can sketch character designs and plot ideas, one for Commission Roughs where I can store the preliminary ideas for people's commissions, and one for Watercolors which, I need to get to playing with. I'll admit, I'm a little nervous about trying watercolor again. It's been so long.

It's weird. I'm nervous about learning new things and slowly breaking / changing my style and yet, I'm starting to enjoy drawing again. Maybe I should have done this years ago. *laughs*


"Hours of preparation for something that is excecuted, with extreme precision, in a few minutes. Just as with a judo throw."
-- Yves Klein

Sketchbook - Wing and breast studies

Morning! I said there would be sketchbook scratchings, and here they are! Just some attempts to study wings and the female chest.

Why wings? Because with commissions opening in a week or so, I'm sure to get at least one job involving a character with wings. And, I've never drawn them much. With that in mind, I figured some practice and study couldn't hurt.

Why boobs? Why not? Actually, it's because I'm still not familiar with how the chest reacts to the various movements of the arms. It's something I'd like to get a better handle on considering that comic characters tend to move about a lot. Not to mention, life's too short for badly drawn boobs. It's a fact. Science proved it.

This first set - the wing studies - was done using Dreamscapes: Creating Magical Angel, Faery & Mermaid Worlds In Watercolor by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law for reference. Its section on angels was very helpful in figuring out how the underlying bone structure of a wing works.








The second half of this post may not be safe for work, depending on how uptight your job is. While I've posted sketchy female nudes before, this time I'm focusing specifically on the chest.

References for these three studies were from ragingtofu's 'How to Draw Boobs' tutorial on deviantART, 'The Bizarre Breasts Tutorial: How to Draw Breasts' by L.K. Malnassy, 'The Breast Drawing Advice: How To Draw Boobs Without Being A Boob' by Deanna and Ovens, Google Image Search (for 'female torso'), and the Figure and Gesture Drawing Tool at Pixelovely.Com.







As always, there's still a lot of learning to do. I could fill hundreds of sketchbooks and still never run out of things to learn. That's the nature of art. It's such a tease.


If you were in my movie
You could be the gangster
Double-breasted pinstriped man with the cigarette
Go running down the alley
With a double-crossing blond
Explaining to the jury
That you hadn't done anything... yet
-- Suzanne Vega - (If You Were) In My Movie

We're back! And we've brought guest art!

Hey guys! I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Matt and I spent the weekend down in Jersey with his folks, which was cool. Holly's still pretty doped, though. How do you get a manic corgi to stay calm on a seven hour car trip? You give her a mild tranquilizer, that's how. She'll perk up in a bit.

We had fun but now, it's time to get back to work. We've about a week before the new site goes live, the new schedule starts, and commissions open up. Busy, busy, busy! Which, ironically, is how both Matt and I seem to like it.

I do have sketches to share, but I need to scan them in first. So no sketchbook scratchings at the moment. Instead, I have new guest art to share. Cool, eh?

First off, we have an adorable drawing of Merrybell by Ally Rom Colthoff. She's so cute here! Ally also creates the comic Chirault which you should check out. Seriously, give it a look!




This next one cracks me up. Doodle has a plan and she's very adamant about it. You have to watch out for those angry chipmunks. This made me smile when it showed up in our email. A big thank you to John Cuellar and Roman Wunderlich!



Thanks so much, guys! If you'd like to share your CN:H art with us, please send it along and we'll post it on the blog and in the gallery. Nothing above a PG-13 rating, please.

As for myself, Matt and I have some errands to run and work about the house to accomplish. So, I should get my butt in gear. Later and thanks for reading!


"I usually lump organized religion, organized labor, and organized crime together. The Mafia gets points for having the best restaurants."
-- Dave Beard

From the morgue - 'Secrets of Body Language'

I caught this documentary on body language a year or so ago and finally found it again. Hey, what can I say, it took a while for me to remember the title. While our comic characters aren't moving on the page, it's still important for us to understand that the majority of our day to day communications are actually non-verbal. By observing how people speak without speaking and incorporating those observations into our work, we can help make our characters appear more lifelike and realistic.

While most people may not consciously pick up on these cues, they'll notice on a subconscious level. Which can help them empathize, and maybe even identify, with the characters. It's also a way of helping us achieve that 'show, don't tell' advice that we keep hearing as comic creators.

Meanwhile, for those of us who are trying to attract attention on the con circuit, understanding body language can actually help us make a sale. Don't believe me? Then pay attention to the car salesman segment which starts about thirty minutes in. How you carry yourself effects how others see you. And in business, that's a biggie. It's one of the reasons why Matt and I have mentioned to people before about not looking depressed when behind your table at a con. Who wants to talk with a creator who doesn't seem excited about their work? Or, for that matter, a creator who doesn't seem excited to see you?

No one, that's who.



All in all, it's an interesting and entertaining documentary. You can watch it in full on YouTube or download a copy of your own via iTunes for a few bucks.

If you're interested in more information about body language, I'd recommend
The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara and Allan Pease as well as What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins. I've found them both excellent. Especially The Definitive Book of Body Language which had an interesting section on 'Courtship Displays and Attraction Signals' which was very eye opening.

Alright, I admit it, I read odd things for fun. It keeps me out of trouble. *grin*


"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sketchbook - The male figure STILL eludes me

Hey guys! I sketched these up this morning but hadn't gotten around to posting them until just now. I also learned earlier today that Rapido Sketch pens spurt ink if you bang your hand against a book while holding them. Ink everywhere. At least the ink comes off easily with water.

My first ink explosion. It's a special thing.

Anyway, here's the latest sketchbook scratchings. Just me trying to figure out how to handle the male torso. Yeah, I know, I still haven't got it. This stuff takes time, not to mention a good heap of stubbornness. It keeps you trying when those feelings of 'you're just not getting it and want to quit' pop up. Which, I'm finding out, happens a lot.











As for the next section of the correspondence course, it's about exaggeration and creating your own character. Wait, didn't I already do something like that? I must be missing something here.


"In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest."
-- Henry Miller

Sketchbook - K.I.S.S. and hair

For some reason I'm really tired all of the sudden, so I'm going to keep this short. I've just a few quick sketches to share. The first is the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple... Sunshine) exercise from Terry Moore's How to Draw Expressions book. The expressions were from Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories. The other three sketch pages were me attempting to practice drawing hair. I still can't get the damned faces right.









Okay, that's enough for me tonight. Tomorrow I need to start the second lesson of the correspondence course. For now, good night.


"One cannot have everything the way he would like it. A man has no business to be depressed by a disappointment, anyway; he ought to make up his mind to get even."
-- Mark Twain

Sometimes I wish I'd studied music instead of visual art

Every now and then I wish I could compose music. I'd love to have something for CN:H - a theme song or something reflecting one of the characters. That would be so awesome. Course, I've no idea what I'd want. So, that added to a lack of ability to read, compose, or even understand how music is brought to life makes the whole idea an impossibility.

Poo.

What brought this line of thought about was a beautiful piece I ran across on YouTube earlier by Jeffthestrider that was done as fan music for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.



I'd also recommend checking out Want It Need It by him as well.

Dang. I knew I should have stuck with playing the violin. *grin*


"Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music never leaves the memory."
-- Sir Thomas Beecham

From the morgue - 'Draw Magazine' #21

I mentioned Sketch magazine last month. Today, I wanted to share an article from the recent issue of Draw!. Draw! is produced by TwoMorrows Publishing, one of my favorite independent publishers. I love their Modern Masters series.

Like Sketch, this magazine is filled with interviews and tips. But, it also has a section where new comers can get their work critiqued as well as my favorite part... Comic Art Bootcamp.

Comic Art Bootcamp is a series of articles showcasing how to tackle various drawing issues that comic creators tend to run across. Think of it as a crash course in art and anatomy.

Mike Manley and Bret Blevins have an easy going, approachable writing style which makes each segment an enjoyable read. Previous topics have included drawing more dynamic figures by emphasizing the curves, working with photos as reference, and finding rhythm in your figures.

This issue's Bootcamp was about how to draw hair, something I know I need to work on myself. I never quite know how to make the hair look natural. The pages on helpful reminders are especially useful, to the point where I should probably keep a copy of them on the pegboard over my desk. It's amazing how easy it is to forget that hair also has weight and is affected by gravity. Course, that could just be me forgetting that at times. Maybe everyone else remembers. *laughs*























Neat? You bet! If you'd like to read more Draw!, stop by the TwoMorrows website. They have physical back copies as well as a digital download option for most issues. It's well worth the look.


"Be willing to get out of your comfortable creative box, explore, and be willing to fail. Smile."
-- Gwen Fox

Assignment one

Well, assignment number one is done. Course, now I realize that his head is too large while hers is too small. Oh well, nothing to be done now. The pencil's a little too dark to erase at this point.

Hopefully it's not too off. I purposely chose poses that I know I have problems with so I can get useful red lines. Still, I'm a little nervous about the critique.

The off color in the middle is from the scanner. The paper is a little too big, so I had to do it in two parts.



I'll mail it off in a bit and should hear back from them in a few weeks to a month. Scary!


"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't."
-- Anatole France

Guest art? Yes, guest art!

I've been sitting on these for a bit now. My apologies to the wonderful folks who've sent them along. I've been a little scattered lately. So let's fix that now, shall we?

First off, we have Ruby as Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element. Jim Groat came up with this idea at Anthrocon and once he mentioned it, it just had to be done. *laughs*




Next is an awesome image of Max and Ruby walking through a foggy alley by LionkingCMSL. I love the atmosphere here.




This last one is by the wonderful HollyAnn. A Ruby con badge! Why a Ruby badge? You'll find out in the next few months. Bwahahaha!




I love them! Thanks so much, guys, and sorry about taking so long to share them on here! If you'd like to share your CN:H art with us, please send it along and we'll post it on the blog and in the gallery. Nothing above a PG-13 rating, please. Thanks!


"If you want to be happy, be."
-- Leo Tolstoy

'Go Freelance!' - the board-game?

Yep, that's right! I found this while browsing the Comics Alliance site this morning. And, since it made me smile, I figured I'd share it with you all. Todd Klein and Shawn McManus have teamed up to create a board-game based on the life of a comic artist.



You can read about the creation of 'Go Freelance!' on Mr. Klein's blog. I don't know about you, but I love seeing work in production and hearing what went into making it come to life. So cool!


"Let's work hard, but take the pressure off ourselves and have some fun with the process. Otherwise, what is the point?"
-- Gaye Adams

Sketchbook - Harley Quinn

Hey guys. I'm not feeling terribly talkative right now, so I apologize for this quick post and run. Just some sketches of Harley Quinn (and a few of the Joker) from Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories. Studying how they use the face and body to show a character's expressions.









Poor Harl... she doesn't deserve the crap she gets from Mista J.


Harley Quinn: "My fault... I didn't get the joke..."
Batman: Mad Love

Sketchbook - Cabs and city streets

One last post for the night, this time of cabs as well as a street and alley in Chicago. More practice for 'Cabdaver' and the first assignment.





I think I'm ready to draw up the assignment this weekend. Thank goodness. It won't be great, but it likely won't be horrendous either.

Matt and I were talking about the correspondence course yesterday, why I seem to be disappointed with it. I think we hit on the reason. There's nothing wrong with the course itself. It just seems designed for people already familiar with the foundations of illustration (anatomy, perspective, and such) who want a course on how to create comics. Meanwhile, I know about comics, but not anatomy, perspective, and such.

It's pretty much reinforcing things I'm already familiar with, and not addressing what I need to know. Which, is why I've been doing so much practice work before starting the assignment. I needed to get enough basics down to not make a complete mess out of things. *laughs* I think I've finally got it. Not everything, of course, but enough to knock this out and get on to the next lesson. Yay!


I had so much on my mind
I thought, maybe I'd unwind
Try out, that new roller coaster ride
And the guide
Said not to stand
But that's a demand
That I couldn't meet
I got on my feet
And stood up instead
And knocked off my head, you see
-- Weird Al Yankovic - A Complicated Song

Sketchbook - Horned critters? I got em!

My attempt to study horns for 'Cabdaver' turned into me having fun sketching various horned and hoofed critters. I loved doing these four pages so much. I just enjoy drawing animals more than humans, I guess. References were from Google Image Search - 'animal horns'.









I want to keep drawing these critters, but I need to move on to taxi cabs now. Oh well, I'll get to draw more hoofed animals another time.


"The cow is of the bovine ilk: One end is moo, the other, milk."
-- Ogden Nash

Sketchbook - The return of fuzzy-haired man

More sketchbook scratchings for the evening. It was only after I started the timed draw that I realized I meant to study horns for the 'Cabdaver' male. Oh well, I'll do that tomorrow. It's getting late.

I just had to try drawing fuzzy-haired man again. There needs to be more pictures of him on Pixelovely.






These two pages were thirty second poses. Still just trying to get basic figures down. It's bound to click eventually.






I liked one of the poses, so decided I'd try to draw it a bit bigger. Then, I thought I'd try Ruby in that pose. Neither was exactly successful. As for the pose of the woman reclining, I liked how the breasts fell. I need to study the placement and weight of breasts more. You'd think they'd be easy to draw, considering I have a pair. But no, one always ends up looking off.




More random poses, this time just trying to get the rhythm of the figure down. I ran across an article in The Best of Draw! - Volume 1 earlier about drawing figures with rhythm and wanted to give it a try. I need to go back and reread the article for clarity. I don't think I'm quite doing it right. But, it was fun, quick, and relaxing.




"There is always a flowing rhythm of shape that links the head and shoulders together."
-- Sally Pullen