Pig-Nosed Bat Monsters

SF Street Style Sketch 12/14/10

2010-12-20T23:21:00.000-05:00

A new street style sketch. This lady caught my eye because with her all black outfit and her bright green tights she looked like a chic version of the Wicked Witch of the West.

SF Street Style Sketch 12/08/10

2010-12-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

Every day when I walk to work I pass through a bustling area in downtown San Francisco. Everyone is always so put together and I regularly spot such interesting and fabulous outfits that I decided I needed to start recording them somehow. Street style blogs are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, but I'm not the kind of person that can just go up to someone and ask to take their picture out of the blue. But sketching is another matter! This person in particular caught my attention because of her clear/polka dot umbrella and her quilted fabric boots.

As seen at: Howard walking towards 2nd

Recorded: From memory once I got to work

Rosie

2010-11-08T19:14:00.000-05:00

Working on a new project - more to come!

Kitty Comic!

2010-09-28T13:46:00.001-04:00

It has been quite some time since I've last updated my blog. Things have been pretty busy around here and I haven't had a chance to do much artwork just for myself. But things are starting to settle into a good routine, and I'm hoping to start back up with my own illustration practice more regularly.

One of the things that happened since my last post is that I got a kitten! Now he and the older cat amuck together all over the apartment. This little comic represents just a fraction of the things they try to eat (I just stopped them from ripping apart our Robots! planning notebook!). More coming soon!

Goodbyes are always awkward - Issue 2 Page 3

2010-07-16T11:52:00.000-04:00

As Leonard prepares to see his son off to school, we've had a new kitty addition to the Robots! in 3D household. So as we work on planning out the next chunk of pages in our buffer we've got two fuzzy beings running pell-mell all over the apartment. It has been hectic (to say the least), but the comic must continue! So tune in next week to see Leo Jr. off and to witness the conclusion of that pigeon's dastardly plan.

Robots! in 3D concept art

2010-06-25T14:11:00.000-04:00

Robots! in 3D Issue #2 will begin next Friday, but until then enjoy some brand new concept art! This sketch features a character that will be introduced next issue and will become a major player in the Robots! in 3D universe. I am very much looking forward to drawing him into the storyline.

Cross-posted on the Robots! in 3D blog

Art update!

2010-06-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

Lots of exciting news over at Robots! in 3D! Adam and I just finished the first issue of the comic and we're cranking away at issue #2. You can read it through from the very beginning here. In my spare time I've also been working on some side painting projects/ commissions. Click through the jump to see some close-ups of the new finished pieces

These two smaller pieces were commissioned by a friend as a gift for her boyfriend. I liked working at a smaller scale with these two (8X10 and 5X7 respectively). The two are painted on cold press water color paper with my japanese ink set. I also used some acrylic paint in the top painting (with the submarine) to create the waves/sea foam. And as you can see by the image before the jump I've been making slow progress on the Wrinkle in Time illustration. I had to put it aside for a bit to think about where to take it next, but after having completed the two smaller paintings I feel like I'll be able to take another whack at finishing it soon (after I get some Robots! work done of course).

DIY Dress Form

2010-05-17T14:19:00.001-04:00

Things have been a bit silent here on the blog lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on any projects. I've been taking a little break from my picture book illustration project (a break but not abandoned!) to spend some time really focusing on building a page buffer for Robots! in 3D. We're now about a quarter of an issue ahead of what you see live online and I hope that we can gain even more ground in the next few weeks despite the fact that Adam and I will both be busier than we've been all year (wishful thinking, I know). If you haven't been keeping up with the comic, check out the newest page! We're very close to finishing Issue #1 and I'm very excited about the coming issues. Aside from Robots! there's one other project that's taken up the rest of my free time these past few months and I finally finished last week! Click through the jump to read more!

Back when I was working on my Wild Things costumes I went to the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse and bought a bunch of pieces of recycled foam. One of those pieces was a broken foam mannequin. She was made out of old molded foam and had a bar running down the center where she had been previously attached to some sort of stand. I though that I would just be able to cut her up and and turn her into Wild Thing feet but the top layer of the foam was really flaky and gross and ended up shedding all over the apartment. I ended up keeping her out on the balcony while I tried to figure out what to do with her. After a few months of her sitting outside exposed the elements (becoming crustier by the day) I decided that I would either have to do something with her soon or throw her out. I didn't want to let such a good find go to waste, so I got a coping saw and set out to turn her into a working dress form.

I didn't get any pictures of the process because it was very, very messy, but basically I had to saw away at all the top layers of foam (luckily the foam on the inside was in much better condition) to sculpt her down to fit my measurements. The original mannequin was a few sizes bigger than me so the sculpting process took a considerable amount of time. Once she was about the right shape I made a stand for her by epoxying a galvanized pipe fitting to the metal bar that was already running through her center. I then took one of my mask making armatures that already had a 3/4" pipe attached to it, added casters to the bottom, and screwed the dress form into a 1/2" to 3/4" reducer. Now I have a rolling armature that I can change out between my dress form and my masks and I can raise and lower the form just by changing out the length of pipes!

The final step was to cover her so that she wouldn't shed anymore. I got some rolls of white duct tape and covered the sculpted foam, trying to smooth out my rough cuts in the process. I'm quite happy with the final result! She's a little funky and a little bumpy, but I'm proud of her and she'll serve my purpose well. I stopped by the Depot again after I had finally finished and picked up a few vintage patterns (for $.75 each! Hooray!). I've been sewing little odd costumes and toys most of my life, but I've never really taken on the challenge of constructing my own clothing. I'm excited to get started! And of course, I'll post pictures here of any projects that I have in progress.

A Wrinkle in Time - WIP

2010-04-08T16:58:00.000-04:00

A Wrinkle in Time illustration: inked! I'm getting really excited about this one though I still need to do the text on the banner. Anyone have any lettering ideas?

A Wrinkle in Time- WIP

2010-04-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Starting to sketch out my next illustration. Since this one is going to be much more complex than the last two I opted to sketch it out in Photoshop first. Next I'll print out the sketch and use my lightbox to refine and enlarge it. I'm looking forward to this one - A Wrinkle in Time is one of those books that has always stuck with me ever since I first read it and this was always one of my favorite scenes. Hopefully I can do it justice!

Ozma and Tip Final!

2010-04-01T20:02:00.024-04:00

Growing up, my mom obtained a collection of almost all (if not completely all) of the sequels to the Wizard of Oz. For those not in the know, after The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum went on to write 13 novel sequels that introduced new characters and locations that expanded upon the Oz universe. After Baum, a number of other writers wrote sequels as well (but they really just were never as good). Over the course of a couple of years, my parents managed to read her entire collection to my sister and I as bedtime stories (click through the jump to read more).

I grew up thinking that every kid knew about the lovely Polychrome (the daughter of the rainbow), Billina - Dorothy's talking chicken, Tik-Tok (the mechanical man - not the song), the (oh-so-annoying) Patchwork Girl, Jack Pumpkinhead, and, the source of many nightmares, the dreaded Wheelers (I couldn't find a picture, but they are creepy!). I loved these books and read a number of them over and over again. The story of Princess Ozma (as told in the Marvelous Land of Oz) was especially interesting. It follows the adventures of a little boy named Tip as he escapes the grasp of the witch Mombi and makes all kind of friends on his journey through Oz. At the end of the story we find out that Tip is actually the Princess Ozma who was given to Mombi by the Wizard (from the first book) so that she could not usurp his rule! I found a really interesting article on a trans reading of the Ozma/Tip story here: http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2009/05/the-marvelous-land-of-oz-the-tipping-point/

But even more than the Oz stories I loved the illustrations. Oh, the illustrations!

John R. Neill, who illustrated all of the Oz books (except the first) is absolutely one of the most influential illustrators on my work today. I loved his art nouveau-inspired style, his re-styling of Dorothy once she returned to Oz, and the sense of humor and playfulness that permeated all his work (see the image below). His linework was so lovely and joyful that all of his characters, even the most gruesome were fascinating. I wasn't the kind of little girl that wanted to be a princess when I played pretend (mostly I played that I was a hamster), but Neill's drawings of Ozma spoke to me in a way that most similar characters didn't. I didn't want to be Ozma, but I wanted to embody Neill's drawings of her.

(Dorothy laughs at a statue of herself depicting her as she was drawn by the original illustrator W. W. Denslow)

So given all that, here's the final version of my Ozma and Tip painting! Of course it is nothing like Neill's work, but I had fun working with his characters in my style. I especially enjoyed drawing The Sawhorse (he was always one of my favorite characters). Again, you can read the book where these characters (or character I suppose) first appear here on Google Books (along with many of the other Oz sequels).

Next up in my series: Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace from A Wrinkle in Time!

Illustration Friday-Rescue

2010-03-30T13:03:00.000-04:00

Just a quick fun illustration for this week's Illustration Friday topic. I really like the creepy, smiling elephant. Papa Buns does not seem happy about his assistance.

WIP - Ozma & Tip

2010-03-23T15:47:00.001-04:00

Roughing in colors...

WIP - Ozma & Tip

2010-03-22T17:06:00.000-04:00

Next up in my series of book character illustrations - one of my favorite characters from the Oz books: Ozma (and her male form, Tip). Not familiar with her story? Read the whole book here: The Marvelous Land of Oz

Lyra Illustration - Final

2010-03-18T18:10:00.001-04:00

I wanted to start my illustration series with Lyra from the Golden Compass because it was such an important book for me growing up. I remember my bought me the book on a whim one day, and after I actually got around to reading it I couldn't stop. I blew through the first and the second in a weekend and then had to wait two painful years for the final book in the trilogy to be published (and during that waiting period I read the first two over and over again). This is one of those books that I encourage everyone I meet to read (much to their annoyance I'm sure). It's a story with an epic scope told from a fairly small perspective that lives within the realm of sci fi/ fantasy without being overtly so. All of the characters are enjoyable (and terrifying - I had a teacher named Mrs. Coulter who shared a remarkable number of traits with the villain of the same name from the book) and flawed, and it's great to read about a main girl character who's more nasty and mischievous than sweet and curious. This book is best read within the comfort of a warm room while a huge snowstorm goes on outside. I don't talk about the movie.

Lyra - WIP

2010-03-16T22:12:00.003-04:00

Roughing in the colors. Probably going to go a few more layers before I call it quits!

Lyra Belacqua - WIP

2010-03-15T19:11:00.005-04:00

Today I started a set of illustrations that I'm incredibly excited about. I'm going to be creating a series of illustrations featuring characters from books that I read (or had read to me) as a kid/teen that were in some way incredibly important to me. These will all be characters that hold a very special place in my heart - characters that are so good that they make me excited to go back and read their books even though I know exactly what's going to happen in the story. I'll go into more detail once I post the finished version of this piece, but I wanted to start with Lyra because of the profound impact that The Golden Compass (and the two sequels) had on both my childhood imagination and my creative process. She is just such a great heroic character and I've wanted to try and depict her for a long time.

Read more below the jump!

I'll talk more about Lyra as a character later, but for now I want to examine the process that I'm going through to actually create the illustration. For the most part, I've been happy with the watercolor illustrations I've produced so far, but I wasn't really pleased with the quality of line that I got from painting over pencil. I wanted something bolder that would really stand out in contrast to the vibrant paints that I want to use in these pieces. I also really wanted to try working with ink. But for the longest time the process of transferring my sketches to watercolor paper without getting a lot of extraneous pencil marks and indentations all over the page was mysterious to me. I thought maybe I needed to work really lightly with my pencil lines or maybe just erase really well. But I've recently started watching a number of comic artists go through their processes both on Ustream and on Twitter and I finally realized that many artists are using (essentially) carbon paper to transfer the lines lightly onto the final paper for inking(This Flickr set by Vera Brosgol was particularly enlightening)! This makes perfect sense and I totally don't know why I never figured it out before. But armed with this new knowledge I felt ready to jump into this project full force.

I started by sketching out my Lyra drawing first in my notebook. Once I found a pose that I was happy with, I redrew it larger on newsprint. Once I was pleased with that version, I made my own approximation of carbon paper by taking charcoal and smearing it all over another piece of newsprint. I then taped down my watercolor paper, placed the charcoal paper face down on top, and then placed the newsprint drawing on the very top. I then went through and traced over my original drawing. To my immense surprise the transfer actually worked! You can see the final result in the image below:

I ended up with a very faint, easy to erase, non-indented exact replica of my original drawing! I then went through and inked the piece with a bunch of my old semi-dried out faber castell pens. I definitely need to get some better pens and I really want to start working with a brush, but that is an experiment for another day.

Robots Page 7 is up!

2010-03-12T12:17:00.001-05:00

Page 7 of Robots! in 3D is now online! I'm excited that we've been able to keep our update schedule going at a steady page. This page was incredibly complex because I had to draw all of the overlapping cornstalks in their entirety. That's the one interesting thing about making a 3D comic - you can't fudge something in the scene by covering it up with something else. To complete the full 3D effect every object that is going to have some depth to it must be drawn completely. But really - it was worth it this time. If you have a pair of 3D glasses around (or you made your own) this is a page you should really check out. I'm looking forward to later points in the story where we'll be able to create some really extravagant 3D landscapes!

Sneak peek!

2010-03-11T13:19:00.004-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted new content in a little while! I was suddenly swamped with two large freelance jobs that have been taking most of my time and energy (but the projects are super cool and I'm excited to share the work I did for both once they are released). On top of that, I've been working away trying to keep up the Robots! buffer. I've also got some plans in the works for a new watercolor series that I am INCREDIBLY excited to start (more on that soon). But until then enjoy a sneak peak at the page I'm currently working on now for Robots! You can get a feel for my process (I sketch everything out digitally in blue first and then go back and ink once I get everything just right) and get a special peek at a new character!

Illustration Friday-Perspective

2010-03-03T13:25:00.003-05:00

This week's Illustration Friday topic was a particularly appropriate one for me given the work I've been doing over the past few months. In mid February Adam and I launched our once weekly webcomic Robots! in 3D.

The special thing about this comic however, is that is is presented to our readers in anaglyph 3D. After I draw each page in Photoshop Adam takes it through a special process (read more about his process here and here) that outputs the final anaglyph image. The whole process is unique to both of our working methods (you can't hide any poorly drawn object behind another object because it will be seen once it is in 3D) and it has really changed the way I approach creating the comic pages. 3D comics in general are kind a weird niche thing (we went and bought up pretty much all the ones we could find at our local comic shop which amounted a whopping total of three books!) but there's something very elegant about them that I really enjoy. In many of the ways that comics in general differ in their storytelling methods in relation to movies or tv, 3D comics really enhance that immersive experience. The reader controls the pace and flow of the story while reading a comic, but when the images you are seeing exist on different overlapping planes and move about your field of vision depending on how you move your head that completely alters the experience. The effect is even more impressive when you're turning the pages in a 3D printed book and the perspective changes as the page warps and folds!
The image that I chose to represent the topic is the first page (technically 2 pages as it's a double page spread) of book #1 of Robots! in 3D. It was a particularly challenging image to draw since landscapes are always something I have trouble creating convincingly. And if you don't have 3D glasses, do not fret! You can learn how to make you own here or check out the image in 2D here.
Anyone else have any favorite 3D comics? Adam says he remembers reading a Donald Duck or Uncle Scrooge one when he was a kid. As a diehard Ducks fan I would kill to find that issue!

Adam Explains Stereoscopy

2010-02-28T12:15:00.002-05:00

Are you curious about how we make our 3D webcomic? Check out the series of posts that Adam made over on his blog. You'll get a brief rundown of how anaglyph technology works and what we actually do to make our comic 3D. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday- Propagate

2010-02-22T15:40:00.002-05:00

I wanted to do something different for this week's Illustration Friday entry. I don't have a lot of free time this week, so I wanted something kind of quick and kind of messy. I was inspired by the patterns that illustrator Nicole Duquette has been making recently and I wanted to play around with repetition. Of course this pattern doesn't actually repeat, but I like the idea and want to experiment more. I have an affinity for this weird little monster guy. He first appeared when I was coming up with logo idea for a friend and quickly morphed into the different versions that you see here.

Robots! Update

2010-02-19T11:53:00.001-05:00

The newest page of Robots! in 3D is up! We're only on page 4 right now, but I'm up to page 10/11 in my buffer. I can't wait to show off those pages! I've had some pretty interesting technical challenges as the story starts to take off and I'm quite proud of my final efforts. Maybe I'll post some sneak peaks here soon...

Illustration Friday- Adrift

2010-02-17T16:35:00.002-05:00

Ever get that feeling when your mind is adrift and your ideas can just float about with ease? This painting was somewhat inspired by two pictures books, Sayonara, Mrs. Kackelman by Maria Kalman, and A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce. These were two of my favorite books as a kid and I loved, loved, loved the costumes that the characters wore in each. Again (ugh) my scanner just isn't accurately capturing the colors of this painting. I tried messing around with it in Photoshop after the fact, but it never really comes out right. I guess I'll have to keep trying!

Robots! in 3D!

2010-02-12T13:33:00.001-05:00

The day has finally arrived! The anaglyph 3D webcomic that Adam and I have been working on is finally up and running. We have three pages of Robots! in 3D online now and a buffer of pages ready to go for the next few weeks. We'll be updating the comic every Friday along with little blog posts during the week relating to 3D comics and other things that we find interesting.

You can follow along with Robots! in a number of different ways. I've been posting updates about the comic on Twitter (along with other tidbits about different projects that I'm working on). You can also become a fan of Robots! on Facebook. Or you can follow our production blog. We'll be posting information about our process, ideas to make your own 3D glasses (3Diy), goals, and little sneak peeks at storylines to come. I hope you enjoy the comic and I'd love to hear your feedback! You can leave a comment here or any of the aforementioned places, or you can send us an e-mail at robotsin3d(a)rewiredpictures.com

Illustration Friday-Muddy

2010-02-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

I finished my little pig painting for Illustration Friday. My scanner is working again but now I'm having trouble getting the scan to match the original artwork. Ah well, one step at a time!

Most pigs love playing in the mud, but not this guy. At least he has his boots.

WIP - Muddy

2010-02-08T17:26:00.006-05:00

I want to try and do my Illustration Friday entires for the next few weeks using traditional media. This week the theme is "muddy" so I came up with a sad little pig that hates walking in the rain (again sorry for the pictures - the scanner is still out of commission!):

I start by sketching out the drawing in my notebook. At this stage I do probably 20 or so quick doodles exploring the pose or feeling that I'm trying to create before I settle on one that I feel most accurately captures my original idea...

I then refine the doodle using my lightbox. I have two animation lightboxes, one portable and one built into a desk, but the portable on works the best in this instance. I got mine here before I started my Div III and it's lasted me a good few years now.
I trace the drawing once on plain printer paper (on the right) and again on watercolor paper (on the left). Each time I refine my shapes.
And then I start painting! I've got the first layer of flat colors down and drying. Check back in a few days for the final illustration!

Illustration Friday - Focused

2010-02-02T13:47:00.002-05:00

I finished my painting this weekend and if definitely fits within the Illustration Friday theme this week! Unfortunately my scanner is broken so I had to take a photo and the colors just aren't as vivid as they are in life. Hopefully I'll get that fixed soon!

Anyone who's seen my animated Div III will recognize the little girl character here as Margot. I've been thinking of starting an all-ages comic featuring Margot and her adventures (including a retelling of her encounter with the Goblin featured in the original film). This would be a long way off (I still have Robots! to get to first!) but I've been having a good time thinking of situations that she'd have to find her way out of. I imagine the comic as somewhat similar to Uncle Scrooge comics by Carl Barks and Don Rosa. Each issue would be a stand-alone story. We'll see what happens. But until then, look forward to more of my experiments in painting!

WIP - Roadblock

2010-01-29T14:33:00.002-05:00

One of my goals for this year is to really start experimenting with a watercolor painting style. I've never really done it before and I think it's a medium that works really well for picture book illustration. I don't actually have watercolor paints, but I remembered that I have these really nice calligraphy inks that my aunt gave me one year for my birthday (probably back in high school) that I never really used. They ended up working wonderfully!

I only have one sized paint brush that works with watercolors, so things are starting to get a little muddy, but I'm happy with the direction this is going - especially for a first attempt with the medium! I still have a little more work to do before I'll feel like it's really finished. Pictures coming soon!

Winter - Final

2010-01-28T14:52:00.002-05:00

Here's the final version of the second print in my seasons Glicee print series: Winter. The biggest change from my original sketches was to make the foggy breath curl into an ice crystal/icicle formation. I've been limiting myself to 6 colors in each design which gives me a nice design challenge to work with. I really loved the rough shading that I had in the original sketches, but to keep it visually similar to the first in the series, I went with a flatter coloring method. I'm going to wait to have this printed until I have the other two images in the series complete, but hopefully that will be pretty soon!

Winter WIP - Color blocking

2010-01-26T23:10:00.002-05:00

Trying to figure out some quick color blocking on my Winter illustration. I think I'm going to go with the middle option.

"Winter" print -WIP

2010-01-25T19:14:00.003-05:00

I've finally started to finish up the series of Mucha-inspired prints that I started with this illustration!

This is my initial rough sketch for "Winter." I wanted her to have a 1920's sort of style to offset the very nymph-y look of the original drawing (I also wanter her to feel very cold, while Autumn was very earthy). My inspiration for her outfit comes from all of the really creative street fashion blogs that I've been browsing lately. I'm still planning on doing a small run of Glicee prints for this illustration once I finish, and once I finish the entire series I'll do a collection of all of the four images together.

Viking Cat

2010-01-21T13:46:00.005-05:00

My kitty loves to chew on my legs. I can only imagine why....

Drawn as a warm-up exercise in Photoshop. I realized that I've actually drawn a number of Vikings in the past 6 months. Strange...

Robots! Preview - Possum edition

2010-01-11T19:30:00.004-05:00

I've been a busy little doodler this past week working on cranking out pages for the 3d web comic that Adam and I are preparing to launch in early February. I wanted to give a preview of the work I've been doing without showing off too much of the pages, so for now, enjoy this fine selection of possum drawings (taken from page 2 and 3 of the comic)!

I love drawing ugly little critters

Illustration Friday- Renewal

2010-01-05T13:47:00.005-05:00

This week's Illustration Friday theme is "Renewal." Because I was home last week for Christmas, I thought it would be fun to "renew" an illustration that I did when I was a kid. During pretty much all of my elementary school years I was obsessed with hamsters. I had them as pets, I played make-believe that I was one, and I would draw them all the time. Strangely enough, the hamsters that I would draw all had a few common features: they had giant heads, incredibly blood-shot eyes, and they all wore propellor beanies (I chalk this up to watching too many Looney Toons). I tried to find an example of an old hamster drawing, but the only one around the house appears sans beanie. The color scheme is a bit atypical as well since this particular hamster was drawn for an art class assignment where we had to use magic doodle markers, but you get the idea. So we have:

Creepy polka-dot hamster circa mid 90's

And my new, beanie bearing (and still incredibly creepy) hamster from January 5th, 2010

Illustration Friday - Undone

2009-12-24T11:16:00.003-05:00

A quick IF this week. This was drawn partially on the airplane going to St. Louis (during which there was a ton of turbulence), but I had a nice conversation with the lady sitting next to me about tablets.

My First Picture Book!!

2009-12-17T13:19:00.004-05:00

Well...sort of. I was commissioned via Etsy to turn a poem that a grandmother had written for her grandson into a set of two hard bound picture books. I did all the illustrations in Photoshop. I had never actually done any bookbinding before the project, but I was confident in my abilities to follow directions. I bought two "Bookbinding for Beginners" kits that I found online. Each kit comes with all the supplies you need (plus step-by-step illustrated instructions) to create a 5.5x4.25 book. The one difficultly that I ran into along the way was that the poem was pretty short. Even when I broke it up to basically one page per line, the book ended up having only 10 pages. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough pages to actually bind. I ended up getting the images printed on cardstock, and that added thickness did the trick! The books turned out great and the bookbinding kit was incredibly helpful. I'm now eager to make more and more books! I hope that the woman who commissioned them enjoys them as much as I did.

Illustration Friday - Hatch

2009-12-16T17:41:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to do a quasi-painterly, sci fi illustration for a while now and this week's IF topic, hatch, provided me with a good opportunity. I think of this as a Mysteries of Harris Burdick sort of piece - that it would have a caption to go along with like, "And then he opened the spaceship's hatch..." - but I included the egg in there at the end because I couldn't resist having the illustration include two different interpretations of the word.

3D Comics Are Pretty Great

2009-12-15T11:23:00.003-05:00

This page that I posted last week if finally done! Head on over to Adam's blog to see the final result in 3D! More info about the project is coming in the next few weeks.

Farmer and Son

2009-12-14T18:02:00.004-05:00

The two main characters of the first issue of the the comic that Adam and I are creating!

A sneak peak at things to come

2009-12-11T14:01:00.004-05:00

Remember this post? Well things are in motion and the comic project that Adam and I are working on is well on its way. This is one of the pages that has been finished on my end of things (art, inks, shading, etc), but it has one crucial step left to go. Check back soon - Adam should be posting the completely final version in the next week or so!

Illustration Friday - Crunchy

2009-12-09T18:15:00.002-05:00

This week's Illustration Friday theme is "crunchy" and this was the very first thing that popped into my mind when I thought about that word. I used to get these recurring dreams (or nightmares) where all of my teeth would fall out and I would feel them rolling around in my mouth. When I'd wake up I would be left with this very real feeling of my mouth being full of marbles. This is the only instance in which my dreams have left me with such a vivid waking impression and it was never a pleasant experience. It was a very gross feeling, but also very, very crunchy.

Cat Napping Poses

2009-12-04T13:47:00.007-05:00

Cats are very strange creatures. Their ability to make themselves comfortable under pretty much any circumstance constantly amazes me.

Sophisticate Bust

2009-12-03T16:52:00.004-05:00

Just a doodle. I've really been enjoying playing around with this graphic, flatter illustration style recently. Fashion blogs and fashion photography have been a big inspiration in that regard and I keep getting these sorts of images floating around in my head that I just have to draw. Also, it'd be pretty sweet if I could get my hair to do that.

Illustration Friday - Entangled

2009-12-02T13:36:00.003-05:00

No Illustration Friday entry last week because of Thanksgiving, but I'm back this week with my new illustration! The theme this week is entangled:
I chose to illustrate one of Aesop's Fables, The Fox and the Mosquitoes. The fable is as follows:

A Fox after crossing a river got its tail entangled in a bush, and could not move. A number of Mosquitoes seeing its plight settled upon it and enjoyed a good meal undisturbed by its tail. A hedgehog strolling by took pity upon the Fox and went up to him: "You are in a bad way, neighbour," said the hedgehog; "shall I relieve you by driving off those Mosquitoes who are sucking your blood?"

"Thank you, Master Hedgehog," said the Fox, "but I would rather not."

"Why, how is that?" asked the hedgehog.

"Well, you see," was the answer, "these Mosquitoes have had their fill; if you drive these away, others will come with fresh appetite and bleed me to death."

It's a strange little tale, but upon reading it I could completely envision the composition for the final piece. I wanted to play around with a flatter illustration style this time around (somewhat inspired by illuminated manuscripts).

More Wild Things Photos

2009-12-01T13:19:00.004-05:00

The CJM sent me some of their photos of the Wild Things from the Gala! These gorgeous photos are © weeksphotography

More to come!

Patch Together Design: Oscar

2009-11-19T14:05:00.001-05:00

My first design on Patch Together! It's a pretty interesting site - basically like Threadless for toy designers. Artists submit their designs and if they get enough votes the toy gets made. So if you like Oscar, vote for him! He just wants a little love.

Click here to vote for Oscar

Wild Things Gala photos!

2009-11-17T17:47:00.003-05:00

Last weekend my Wild Things made their debut at the Contemporary Jewish Museum's First Annual Family Gala! The event was fantastic - from the jungle ambiance to the little cups of chicken soup with rice. My boyfriend and I had a really great time watching the characters interact with the guests.

And I just want to reiterate again - if any of you live in the Bay Area, do go and check out the Sendak exhibition at the CJM! The work on display there is truly inspiring.

Illustration Friday - Unbalanced

2009-11-17T17:39:00.003-05:00

My first ever entry for Illustration Friday! I'm going to try and start doing this every week. This week's theme is "unbalanced." My kitty will go to great lengths to get to his toy mouse, so he is the inspiration for this illustration.

Art page update!

2009-11-11T14:20:00.004-05:00

Some new additions to the art page of my website. Click the thumbnail to view the whole image!

An illustration for custom party invitations. Request sent via etsy:

Disco Zombies

Sample illustrations for dating humor book:

"Sloth Boyfriend"

"Penguin Boyfriend"

More of your Wld Things photos!

2009-11-10T17:56:00.004-05:00

Hart just sent me some pictures of her finished Moishe costume (and Max costume too!) that she made using my tutorial. They turned out fabulously and it seems like she had a quite a wild rumpus of an evening as well:

Great job Hart!

Have some Wild Things you want to show off? E-mail me and I'll feature them here!

First look at the Wild Things!

2009-11-08T18:26:00.005-05:00

This photo was taken during the costume fitting this past Friday! I have a few alterations to make and this week and then the Gala is this coming Saturday. More pictures to come very soon!

Website Redesign and Reader Pictures!

2009-11-02T20:09:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a great and wild Halloween! I got to see the marionettes that I costumed in action and ate probably too much candy. I also updated my website with a new design, up-to-date artwork on the art page, and a commission information page for those interested in a mask or illustration of their own. Check it out!

Also, reader Patrick sent me pictures of the Carol (or Moishe) mask that he made using my tutorials. He used a hard hat as the base and cut a slit for an eye hole in the nose. It all turned out great! Thanks, Patrick, for sending the pictures!

If you have costume pictures you want me to feature, send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to show off your work!

Mask Previews and a call for pictures!

2009-10-29T13:41:00.005-04:00

I've been working hard to get these costumes finished. They're almost there, but I've got a lot of small things to be tweaked before I can take some really nice full body shots. But until then, here are some photos of the finished masks! I apologize for the quality - they were taken from my laptop's camera - but they're at least a good preview of things to come.

Also, judging from the e-mails I've received, I know that a number of you have been using my tutorials to make Wild Things of your own. If you have, I'd love to see pictures of the final project! Send me a picture and I'll feature it here. I'd love to see what everyone's come up with.

Making a Wild Thing Part 3: Excavation and Decoration

2009-10-15T19:48:00.007-04:00

Finally part three!

Once your mask is dry, you'll want to pull it off the armature and remove the inner newspaper core and the clay. The first part is pretty easy - just lift up from the underside of the mask, and the entire piece should come off the armature - clay and all. It will look a bit like this:

You should be able to grab hold of the newspaper ball and just pull it straight out. Once you've removed the paper, it is time to excavate the clay. Depending on how much clay you used, you might be able to pull back the tinfoil and remove entire sections of the sculpture at once. If not (if the clay is too thick/heavy) go back through with your sculpting tools and dig the clay out bit by bit until you can pull the rest away with the tin foil.

After this step, you're ready to decorate! You can use scissors and an exacto knife to clean up the finished mask (and to cut eye holes), and I usually sand the mask and then gesso the surface before I paint. But from here you can add anything you want - horns, hair, anything - you can even sew into (if you have a strong enough needle)!

As you can see - my masks still require a few finishing touches, but once they're complete I'll post pictures of the final products. Until then - have fun making your own!

Making a Wild Thing Part 2: Papier Mache

2009-10-05T17:47:00.011-04:00

On to part two:
Once you have a pretty good shape sculpted for your mask in clay, you’ll want to cover the clay in tinfoil. This allows you to smooth out the surface, refine details, and allows for easier excavation once it comes time to finish the mask. Slightly crumple a large sheet of tin foil and press it down covering the entire surface of your mask. Use your sculpting tools to smooth out the bumps in the foil and to add stronger details. If a few spots of clay show through the foil it won't be the end of the world - just remember that the more you cover the easier it will be to remove the papier mache when it is dry.

Next you need to prepare the papier mache. This step is twofold. First, you'll want to prepare the paper bags. You can also use newspaper, but when making masks I prefer to use brown paper bags because they are stronger, require fewer layers, and generally are faster to apply. To make the bags easier to work with, I crumple them significantly. The point here is to start to break down the fibers of the bags so that they absorb more of the papier mache mixture and to make the bags more flexible so that they are able to fold around the shape of your mask. The image to the right shows three paper bags crumpled to varying degrees. Ideally, you want your bags to look like the last one on the far right - like an old map or a worn piece of fabric.

Now you're going to mix the papier mache glue mixture. I use about two or three large scoops of wheat paste with a few cups of warm water and then add wood glue until the mixture becomes the consistency of runny snot. When your mixture is ready you can start to cover the mask. Make sure that you spray the foil covered surface with cooking spray before adding any of the papier mache - otherwise you will not be able to remove the mask. Allow each piece of bag to soak in the glue mixture for about 30 seconds to one minute and wring out the excess glue before putting it on the sculpted form. I try to use at least three layers of bags, sometimes a few more depending on the mask, before letting the mask dry. As the glue dries I like to refine the details even more (this is especially necessary if your mask has creases because the bags will pull away and flatten out as they dry - try and monitor the mask every few hours). The papier mache should take two to three days to dry completely though the outside should be dry overnight. However, even if the outside is completely dry, it does not mean that the inside will be too. I've had a few occasions when I've removed the mask too soon and it's shape will warp because the inside won't have anything to dry against. It is better to be safe here and wait a little longer.

Next up: Removing the mask and adding finishing touches

Making a Wild Thing Part 1a: Sculpting Video

2009-10-02T18:34:00.002-04:00

Here's the video I mentioned earlier. You can see the process of building the newspaper core pretty clearly.

Making a Wild Thing Part 1: Sculpting the Face

2009-10-02T14:49:00.023-04:00

The first thing I like to do on a large costume project is to make the mask or in this case, the face. Sculpting and covering the face is the most time consuming part of the process (so I start on it early to make sure I have enough time to fully devote to it) and I'm able to begin to develop the character of the entire costume as I work. I'm going to refer back to the mask making tutorial that I wrote last year since much of that information applies here. But this time I have pictures! Today we're following the process of creating Bernard

Materials Needed:
1 Box of Wheat Paste
1 Bottle of Wood Glue
Warm water
An armature/face-form
Lots of brown paper bags (thinner preferably – like liquor store bags)
Clay (each Wild Thing Mask took one 25lb bag)*
Tin Foil
Cooking Spray
Newspaper
Masking Tape

The armature that I use (pictured above) is a 3/4" piece of pipe, screwed into a floor flange, that is attached to a Lazy Susan. I like working on the Lazy Susan because it allows me to rotate my piece while I work to really make sure that I'm sculpting in three dimensions. But anything will work as long as it provides a good sturdy base for the armature.

Once you have an armature, you can take your newspaper and start building up an inner core for your mask (as shown right). This will enable you to make a large-scale mask without using tremendous amounts of clay (plus, if you use too much clay it will become too heavy and may fall off the armature). Crumple the newspaper, and with the masking tape, tape it tightly around the armature until you build up a ball just a little bit smaller than the size of your intended mask. You want to make sure to reinforce the newspaper the most at the top of the pipe because once you start adding clay, this is the point where your mask is most likely to break through. Because of this I like to add extra layers of newspaper or Styrofoam around the top of the pipe. If your mask is going to have appendages like a long nose or big ears (or this mask has a snout), you’ll want to reinforces these areas with Styrofoam or wooden dowels so that the weight of the clay does not cause them to break off once you start your mask. Wrap every layer tightly with masking tape! The end result will look like a mummy version of your mask. When you’ve finished creating the newspaper core, you’ll want to spray it lightly with a little water and stab it a number of times with a sharp clay tool so that they clay sticks better to the surface.

Next you get to start playing with clay! Treat this like any other sculpting project. Cover the general area of the mask in a layer of clay and then begin to build up the forms. Use whatever sculpting tools you have available to refine the shapes and add details. Here I used the Where The Wild Things Are book and my preliminary sketch as references. Just keep refining the form until you have the look that you want. Keep in mind that if you are creating something with lots of cracks and creases, you may want to make them more exaggerated since you will lose some definition when you add the papier mache.

Here's my finished clay base for Bernard. I started a video of this process as I was making Moishe, and as soon as that is finished I'll post it here as well. Up next: Covering the Mask!

*Note: If you live in the Bay Area and are looking for a place to buy clay, I recommend Claypeople in Richmond. They were very helpful and I was able to get 75 lbs of sale clay for $15! Hooray!

Wild Rumpus....Again!

2009-09-30T18:31:00.007-04:00

Some very exciting news! I've been asked to make a set of Wild Things costumes for the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. The costumes will be worn this November at their Wild Rumpus Family Gala in conjunction with their Sendak on Sendak exhibition that is up this fall through January. I haven't had a chance to check out the exhibition yet but everything I've read about it sounds great! I'm excited for my next trip into the city to check it out.

I've gotten a lot of e-mails over the past year asking about my costumes from last year and about the process I went through when I made them. So I'm going to document the process this time as best I can and hopefully it will help some people out on their own costume making ventures. Hopefully there will be a whole slew of Wild Things roaming around across the country come Halloween night this year :)

My first step this time was to draw up some costume designs (the paper I used was too big to scan easily, so please excuse the photos). My biggest issue with the costumes I made last year were the proportions. I wanted to try and make these costumes more cartoon like (with a larger head to body ratio), and I wanted to make them a little more comfortable to wear (in terms of being able to see out and having enough air flow). To solve these issues, I'm going to only use papier mache to make the very front part of the mask - just the face really - and then build up a structure underneath the fabric covering to create the rest of the bulk of the head. For the flatter faced Wild Things (Moishe and Tzippy) I'm going to place the eye holes inside the nose (last time they were underneath the eyes), and for Bernard, with his long snout, I'm going to place the eye holes right along the top ridge of his nose. You can get an idea of what I'm talking about below:

The masks are now underway and I'll have pictures here soon!

Tower 37 excerpt now online!

2009-08-30T22:23:00.007-04:00

Click the image to view the clip full-screen!

An excerpt from The Incident at Tower 37 (the CG short that I worked on most of the time while I was at Hampshire) is now online. The short is still making the rounds on the festival circuit so Chris (the director) can only put parts of it online, but it is still pretty exciting to see it being seen! Read more about the film at the website and at Chris' blog

Recent work

2009-08-10T15:27:00.003-04:00

Some of my newest work: A mask for a friend's nephew (a half skeleton half creepy circus ringmaster)
The final product:
And the finished marionette sweater

Mini Knits

2009-07-30T17:02:00.004-04:00

For work I'm in the process of making a teeny tiny cardigan for a little girl marionette. Because she is a marionette, the sweater has to be very flexible so she can move around, but her total height is only about 10 to 11." So I ended up getting the thinnest yarn I could find and then unwinding it into three strands. I've been knitting with just one of the strands. I'm using size 5, 6" double pointed needles, so the resulting knit is loose, and pliable. It is very time consuming though. So far I'm about half-way through the first sleeve, and that's after about 3 hours of work.

Below is the little girl minus her head, hands, and feet. Also, check out the tiny little Victorian-style booties that I made to fit over the top of her shoes!

It reminds me of that Chuck Jones cartoon (about Tom Thumb maybe?) where an old farmer and his wife wish for a baby and they end of with a tiny son - but I always remember the scene where the wife is pregnant and is knitting thousands of little baby booties...I wish I could remember the title....

Sketches

2009-07-29T18:56:00.002-04:00

Just some sketches for a project that Adam and I will be working on hopefully in the coming months...

Getting fresh with the Devil...

2009-07-22T21:14:00.004-04:00

At work today I had to fix up the lining between the arm and shoulder socket on a buff, life-sized, animatronic devil. Since he was already completely assembled, it was difficult to maneuver around to the underside of his arm. My boss suggested I prop his arm up somehow to get underneath, but the mechanical system within the arm was so heavy that all the props I found kept falling down. In the end there was only one solution that actually worked...

...it was an uncomfortable afternoon.

Wild Woods Design officially launched!

2009-07-22T20:32:00.003-04:00

My etsy store has finally launched! Hip hooray! Most regular readers will recognize the art prints currently for sale, but there are many more illustrations in the works. I'll be posting in-progress drawings and mask pictures here as usual, but the final products will now be for sale.

All the prints are done on high quality Epson textured fine art paper with Epson inks (very archival), but the best part is that they were printed by a local artist here in Oakland! You can view his work and get information about his printing services on his website. The prints turned out great and have a nice velvety look to them. Check it out!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
WildWoodsDesign.etsy.com

20 min doodles

2009-07-15T20:16:00.002-04:00

Doodling, doodling, doodling

Wrong Train

2009-07-07T19:37:00.002-04:00

And the submission...

If you like the design and think you'd like to wear it on a shirt, please vote for it!

Threadless Submission

2009-07-07T19:26:00.002-04:00

Now that I've got some free time while I'm searching for a job, I've started working on a new Threadless submission. Here's a hi-res version of the drawing itself. Once I have the design submitted I'll post a link to that here as well.

Guppet Update

2009-07-06T18:30:00.003-04:00

So I realized I forgot to post this even though it has been up now for a month or so. The trailer for Church Street is now online! If you want to see my guppets in action, check it out.

For more information on the guppets and on Church Street visit www.welcometochurchstreet.com

Things I've been working on....

2009-06-29T23:24:00.005-04:00

I'm in the midst of a cross-country vacation/relocation right now, so I haven't had too much time to draw recently, but I have managed to do some things artistic in the past few weeks. Here's a sand dragon (named Bill) that Adam and I made on the beach at Perdido Key in the past week. If the tide and the wind haven't killed him yet, he's still there keeping watch over a neighborhood of sand castles nearby:

And these are some mock-ups I made as part of a timed art test for an illustration job that I didn't end up getting. It was for a company that makes mobile MMOs and while it was definitely not within my usual style...it was an interesting challenge. I had to give them a title/logo for a GTA-style driving combat game , dual barettas (as a game element) for a Mafia-themed game, and specific character sketches for a fantasy/dragon fighting game. Yeah.....

.....At least the orc-viking guy was fun to draw (and I can't take full credit for the driving game title/pun - props go to Adam and Nate for that)!

I'll be updating again regularly once I get back to CA (for good this time I hope!)

An old one...

2009-06-01T15:43:00.002-04:00

I was going through my art folders today while updating my portfolio and I found this drawing. It isn't really portfolio worthy, but I still think it's fun. I drew this as part of a project proposal that my boyfriend and his friend were working on about a year ago. It was supposed to be a full body controlled theremin, so this is them in spandex suits playing music.

Pin-Up Doodle

2009-05-27T20:18:00.002-04:00

This isn't my favorite sketch that I've ever done, but it was an interesting experiment with a slightly more realistic drawing style. I'm too impatient to color it properly though...

Pig-Nosed Bat Monsters

2009-05-25T18:08:00.004-04:00

I realized my blog has been called "pig-nosed bat monsters" for over a year without any drawings of the aforementioned creatures. So, here they are ready for their grand debut:

I used the draw these guys all the time on my notes in high school. They weren't as cute then, and they had more teeth, but their hearts were in the same place

Tree Guy Final

2009-05-25T17:45:00.002-04:00

I just realized I never posted the finalized version of this painting:

I finished this quite some time ago. It was a collaboration between myself and my boyfriend (he worked a lot on the lighting/shading and the textures of the background). It was an experiment in coloring styles and although I'm not completely happy with the final outcome, I learned a lot from the process. I still like the story though.

The worst thing about the summer...

2009-05-24T10:54:00.003-04:00

...is getting a mosquito bite behind your knee.

Pablo and Nora

2009-05-23T21:11:00.001-04:00

We have a pregnant gerbil at my house...

Illustration Work

2009-05-23T18:44:00.003-04:00

Just an update with some artwork I did for a proposed children's book illustration job. I'm not sure if I got the position, but I was very happy with the drawings that I produced for the project. Here are some character sketches and a scene mock-up that I created:

Guppets take Northampton

2009-05-02T14:52:00.008-04:00

The Guppets were out on the town today promoting Church Street and celebrating Northampton Pride! The website for Church Street has officially launched and videos of the show will be coming soon. Check out www.welcometochurchstreet.com for more pictures, updates, and information about the guppets and the show.

Finished Crow Mask!

2009-04-19T13:36:00.004-04:00

Here's the final version of the crow mask! It was painted with a number of thin layers of black and blue acrylic paint, followed by layers of blue india ink. The feathers were take from a boa that was originally going to be cut up to make guppet hair. With the right attitude the mask can be quite intimidating :)

I have clay again!

2009-04-06T11:06:00.003-04:00

I haven't been very good about keeping this blog updated, but I've finally acquired a new bag of clay! This means that I'll be starting a number of new masks again. I'll post photos of them here as I work.

First up is a crow mask that I'm making for a friend for a circus act that will be performed this weekend. This is the clay base shape on my faceform. The next step is to cover it in tinfoil and then papier mache.

Guppets!

2009-02-28T16:11:00.003-05:00

So I haven't updated in awhile, but there's a good reason for that! Here's what I've been working on this past month:

Painting Preview

2008-11-17T17:20:00.001-05:00

I'm working on a very large (somewhat experimental) digital painting that I hope to finish next week. Here's a small portion of the painting that I have mostly finished:

Mask Making tutorial

2008-11-06T11:53:00.002-05:00

Bianca requested a mask-making tutorial, so here it is! I may update this at a later date with pictures once I start my next mask.

What you need:

1 Box of Wheat Paste
1 Bottle of Wood Glue
Water
An armature/face-form
Lots of brown paper bags (thinner preferably – like liquor store bags)
Clay (each Wild Thing Mask took one 25lb bag)
Tin Foil
Cooking Spray
Newspaper
Masking Tape

1. The first step you’ll need to take is to prepare your armature/face form. If you are making a large, full-face mask like my Wild Things, you’ll need to build up the foundation on an armature that you can reach from all sides. I used a pipe screwed onto an old lazy-Susan so that I can rotate my in-progress mask 360 degrees. If you are making a smaller more form-fitting mask, you can follow the instructions for making a face form here.

2. Once you have an armature, you should take your newspaper and start building up an inner core for your sculpted mask. This will enable you to make a large-scale mask without using tremendous amounts of clay. Crumple the newspaper and tape it tightly around the armature until you build up a ball just a little bit smaller than the size of your intended mask. You want to make sure to reinforce the newspaper the most at the top of the pipe because once you start adding clay, this is the point where your mask is most likely to break through. Because of this I like to add extra layers of newspaper or styrofoam around the top of the pipe. If your mask is going to have appendages like a long nose or big ears, you’ll want to reinforces these areas with styrofoam or wooden dowels so that the weight of the clay does not cause them to break off once you start your mask. When you’ve finished creating the newspaper core, you’ll want to spray it lightly with a little water so that they clay sticks better to the surface.

3. Now you add the clay. Treat this like any other sculpting project. Cover the general area of the mask in a layer of clay and then begin to build up the forms. Use whatever sculpting tools you have available to refine the shapes and add details.

4. Once you have a pretty good shape sculpted for your mask in clay, you’ll want to cover the clay in tinfoil. This allows you to smooth out the surface, refine details, and allows for easier excavation once it comes time to finish the mask. Slightly crumple a large sheet of tin foil a then press it down covering the entire surface of your mask. Use your sculpting tools to smooth out the bumps in the foil and to add stronger details.

5. Spray the tinfoil covered mask with a thin layer of cooking spray. This makes adding the first layer of papier mache a bit more difficult but again it makes for easier excavation once the mask is finished.

6. To make the papier mache mixture I use about two or three large scoops of wheat paste with a few cups of water and then add wood glue until the mixture becomes the consistency of snot. To prepare the brown paper bags, you’ll want to crumple each bag until the fibers break down to the point where each bag is as pliable as a piece of fabric. Allow each piece of bag to soak in the glue mixture for about 30 seconds to a minute and wring out the excess glue before putting it on the sculpted form. I try to use at least three layers of bags, sometimes a few more depending on the mask, before letting the mask dry. As the glue dries I like to refine the details even more.

7. Let the mask dry for at least 48 hours. If you remove the clay before the mask is completely dry on the inside it could warp. Once you’re sure your mask is dry, pull it off the armature and pull out the inner newspaper core. Now you should be able to reach between the clay/tin foil and the papier mache and pull out large chunks of the clay from the inside of the mask.

8. Once the clay is completely removed you’re pretty much done. You’ll now have a very solid, lightweight form that you can finish as you choose. You can cut eye holes/decorative elements easily with exacto knives and you can sand down the surface for a smoother texture. If you plan to paint the mask I like to gesso the surface first and then use acrylic paint, but I encourage you to experiment with different materials!

As promised...

2008-11-02T09:52:00.001-05:00

Group photos!

Halloween Photos!

2008-11-01T18:10:00.002-04:00

Here's the first round of photos from our night out as the Wild Things! No group picture yet, but I know some were taken

Costume Update!

2008-10-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

Here's me in the first of the four costumes (Two others are finished but I don't have pictures yet). Still missing here are the fangs, the claws, and the duck feet. I'll post more pictures as I have them!

Umm....Wow!!

2008-10-17T12:10:00.005-04:00

Neatorama

Makezine

Technorati

Daily DIY

Where the Wild Things Are - Masks!

2008-10-06T20:39:00.008-04:00

So I know I've been neglecting this blog recently. But there's a good reason for that. All of my spare time after work for the past month and a half has been spent working on these masks:

I'm so excited with the way that they've turned out. The only thing left to do is create teeth and horns for three of the four masks. Here are some individual pictures

Now to make the body suits.....

Where the Wild Things Are - Mask #1

2008-09-03T21:14:00.003-04:00

My housemates and I are going to go as the characters from Where the Wild Things are for Halloween and I'm starting making the costumes. This is the beginning of the first of the four masks. I made the base shape out of clay and covered it in tin foil to refine the shape. Next I will add papier mache and then the mask will be ready to paint. The pictures are not the best, especially with the tin foil, but you can see the beginnings of the face of the monster with the striped fur

Kitty Sketch

2008-08-13T16:40:00.000-04:00

Another doodle of one of the cats at work done while waiting on a render

Trying again

2008-08-08T18:25:00.002-04:00

Another Threadless submission

Even if it doesn't get printed, I really enjoyed doing the illustration. I had the idea for the drawing very exact in my head, and I think I was very successful in translating that image to the page (or well, computer screen in this case). I like the effect of coloring with gradients. I think it is an effect that I will continue to explore.

Peter and the Wolf

2008-08-05T18:30:00.003-04:00

The very end of Peter and the Wolf came on the radio a few days ago (though unfortunately not the one narrated by Boris Karloff) and I was inspired to do an illustration. Right now this is just a sketch, I may take it to a complete picture in the future

Animation-ish Doodle

2008-08-04T17:26:00.003-04:00

Just playing with the trial version of Animation-ish.

Kitty Doodles

2008-07-29T16:51:00.002-04:00

Doodling one of the cats at work during a break.

Little Gremlins and other things

2008-07-27T18:48:00.003-04:00

I've been having fun this weekend designing T-shirts for various contests online. I did two for This American Life's contest, and since it is a good way to get my work out there, I've been working a bit on some Threadless submissions. Check out my newest one here:

Festival Updates

2008-07-23T08:20:00.003-04:00

Hooray! Drawn Conclusion was selected to be shown at the Frame Damage Animation Festival in Colorado starting August 15th. I'll have more information about the day and time later, but if you happen to be in Denver on those dates you should definitely go check it out!

Lazy Day Doodles

2008-07-20T21:27:00.004-04:00

There's nothing quite like sitting in bed, watching trashy TV, and doodling.

Jupiter

2008-07-20T18:29:00.004-04:00

A few days ago we had a very sweet, but very sickly looking stray kitty hanging around our house. My boyfriend started calling her "Jupiter." We fed her and she kept returning to the back porch every afternoon. After a few days, we decided to take her to the vet (and on the way there she managed to pee all over the seat of my new car). As it turned out, she had some pretty major thyroid problems. The vet graciously offered to take her in. This is in tribute to Jupiter. Hopefully she is doing well in her new home.

Silly Face Doodles

2008-07-18T19:19:00.002-04:00

Just some experiments I was doing with different base face shapes for different types of people (with apologies for the dark picture, it was drawn in my sketchbook and photographed with my laptop's built-in camera).

Mask Doodles

2008-07-13T16:45:00.002-04:00

Working out some ideas for masks that I want to make in the future