putting the pain in painting

Artcrush, or, Hang On To Your Knickers

2009-03-04T14:09:24Z

Have been insanely busy, and have to go to school (nine hours earlier than required!) to set up a crapload of work for a scholarship show. While waiting for necessary things to print out, I am going to babble a bit about my latest artcrush, James Jean.

It's been a while since I've had an artcrush, and even then, the last one wasn't on a person but rather a stylistic period (although Art Nouveau and I had a passionate affair, we've passed the honeymoon stage and are settling into quiet domesticity. The beauty of artcrushes is that they are delightfully polygamous).

For the uninitiated, an artcrush is very similar to your average, garden-variety crush: constantly thinking about and a swooping feeling in the pit of one's stomach at the sight of your object of ~~obsession~~ affection, unreasonable attempts to incorporate said object into unrelated aspects of your life, and doodling all over everything (which can become a blessing and a curse with an artcrush). The only real difference is that the artcrush is intellect-driven, while general crushes are usually hormone-driven. An artcrush stimulates the mind and creative faculties, and a general crush stimulates...Well. You get the idea.

I have never had an artcrush on an American-style comic illustrator before, so at first I felt rather like I was betraying my vast collection of Asian artcrushes by crossing over to the, er, home side of the tracks. But as you'll soon see from James Jean's work, he's got just enough of the Asian mixed with the American, particularly in his covers from the Fables series, that I feel quite at home (and abroad!) looking at his art. Comic illustrations aside, he's a damn fine painter, too. I haven't got time to post a comprehensive set of pictures, but for starters:

His blog and online store

and

His online portfolio

and

Mostly his comic-related stuff.

I burn, I pine, I perish. I just spent over $150 on artbooks and art supplies as a sacrifice to the gods of illustration.

O HAI. ART!

2009-02-18T21:26:58Z

A school project, done with the pen tool in illustrator, and a girly doodle that got out of control, done in photoshop. Enjoy!

THE DAY I THOUGHT WOULD NEVER COME.

2009-02-07T15:13:11Z

Kids, I desperately want to convey to you all what a BIG. FRIGGIN. DEAL today is, and yet I hardly know how, BUT.

I HAVE FINISHED ALL 160 PAGES OF ROUGH DRAFTS FOR THE GRAPHIC NOVEL.

THE THING HAS BEEN PLANNED OUT, TO THE LAST PAGE, FINALLY.

I...I don't know quite what to do with myself. I demand cake. SOMEONE MAKE ME A CAKE. ~~OR A FLAILY ICON~~ THIS IS MORE CELEBRATION-WORTHY THAN MY BIRTHDAY.

Bits and pieces [art...sort of]

2008-10-17T02:15:09Z

OKAY SO.

First, the art, which I am too lazy to upload to imageshack, so y'all get the deviantart link:

Don't get excited, it's just a figure study from class.

Now, more importantly.

HAS ANYONE OUT THERE READ NEIL GAIMAN'S THE GRAVEYARD BOOK \(*A* )/ \( *A*)/ ????

It's just come out in the states, and is supposed to be released in the UK on Halloween (though I hear that you can probably find it if you know where to look), and so of course the ONLY fanworshipfulthings I've found thus far are a sparse handful of submissions on deviantart and I DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO TALK TO ABOUT THE BOOK. EDEN IS A SAD CHALUPA.

Really, even if you can't afford to buy the book right now, you can just hop on over to Neil Gaiman's blog and watch/listen to him read the entire book for free.

Needless to say, there will be fanart forthcoming. Ohohoooo yes.

NOT DEAD!

2008-10-04T23:24:30Z

Damn, my last post was ACTUALLY in July??! D:

Well, I AM alive, and I'm in school and busy as hell, but here's a self portrait I had to do for a class assignment, in which we were asked to express 'attitude.' I don't really like self-portraits, but I thought this one came out all right.

30"x40" in acrylic on canvas.

[original art] watercolor 1

2008-07-02T09:25:31Z

LOLOLOL. OK, so this is proof that, left to my own devices, I will expend about FIVE TIMES more effort than is really necessary getting a piece of work 'just so.' My class ended on June 19th, by which time this and three other paintings were to be finished. My prof deemed it 'finished enough' for our final review, and encouraged me to continue working on it at home after the course was over.

I finally decided it was truly done about an hour ago.

I think I'm probably sort of sick in the head.

Preview:

I haven't really given this a title, but in my head I refer to it as 'machine mama.' Actual size about 18"x24"

Detail shots:

Ugh. Okay. Time to go pass out @_@

COMMISSIONS L( o)~

2008-06-26T22:48:00Z

OKAY, FOLKS. Here's the deal. Between school, personal projects, and my general inability to stay organized over lengthy periods of time, I don't always have tons of wiggle room to accept/complete commissions. HOWEVER, since I am a poor art student and need both the money and the practice, I have decided to start accepting commissions, at least for the summer.

Basic Stuff
-For now, I am going to be doing digital paintings ONLY. ~~If you really want some black-and-white, toned comic art, you'll have to beg and plead and bat your pretty eyelashes, 'cause that stuff actually takes me longer. I will also charge you more XP~~

-I will do fanart. I'm thinking mostly anime fandoms here, because I like comic-style illustration, but I could probably be persuaded to do some Real Person fandoms as well (I know some of you on the flist have your little asian boyband fetishes XP). If you're thinking of requesting a Real Person fanart, please specify if you want them to be 'manga-fied' or if you want them to be realistically rendered. I swing both ways ;)

-I accept payment through Paypal only.

-No trades. I'm an art student, people. Art student = POOR.

-When requesting a commission, feel free to provide me with reference pictures (especially if you're requesting fanart), and also give me a few keywords to work with. Example: Lelouch, roses, my cat

-Every commission will come standard with a basic background. That is, I'm not going to leave you hanging with just a random character on a white BG, because I don't think that's very nice design, unless you happen to be requesting something like "Kanda on a bed wrapped in white silk sheets." And even then, there's going to be SOME sort of little BG details in there...

-No pr0ns. I don't mind drawing slash or het, but nothing explicit, plz. ~~Unless I rilly, rilly like you. XP~~

-I can draw things other than anime characters and people! No, really! In the off chance that someone out there wants me to do something other than their fandom squeebies, I'm just putting that out there.

Price Guide (USD only)

Headshot/Halfshot (waist-up): $20.00
Per additional character: $10.00

Full-body illus: $30.00
Per additional character: $12.00

Non-character/non-human illus: $15.00

Special Requests*:
-complicated background: add $10-$15.00
-intricate clothing detail: add $5.00-$8.00
* = these prices are set on a case-by-case basis

Other Stuff

-I'll be accepting commissions throughout the summer, but only 10 at a time
-please email pencilsmudged-at-hotmail-dot-com with all commission requests
-maximum of two requests per person
-you don't have to pay in full until your commission is ready, but please only make a request if you're serious
-commissions are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis

Commission Openings

01. bistrot
02. epyonavenger
03. krhainos
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
10.

NNAUGH. And things.

2008-06-22T23:06:36Z

OK, guys, I've got about a BILLION things to update on, including the Tokyopop situation and responding to comments, ~~but before I get to ANY of that I need to go finish a commission because AHAHAHAI'MSOPOOR.~~ AM STILL POOR, BUT THIS IS DONE, ANYWAY.

List of things to be dealt with in the next (couple of) update(s):

-respond to backlogged comments (thanks SO MUCH to everyone who gave me book and artist suggestions!)
-watercolor artpost
~~-post giving details on commissions~~ PLZ GIVE ME MONEY T_T
~~-inquiry about Paypal~~ WOO! I WIN.
-Amazon bullying publishers
~~-updates over on lifeblog~~
-Comic-Con
-Ares fanart

よし！~~Now I have to go draw some doggies X3 And maybe watercolor some more.~~

Tokyopop update and question for the flist

2008-06-11T05:25:03Z

So, by now, I'm sure some of you out there have seen the whole upscut with Tokyopop's reorganizing and whatnot, so I'm not going to get into it too much here, BUT. For the moment, it seems that I can tentatively keep working on my book. I did have to say goodbye to my EXCELLENT editor, though, which upset me even more than the prospect of having the project shelved. I spoke with him on the phone a few hours ago, and only felt even more strongly how much of a boon it was to have him on the creative team. He's just had an interview with another publisher, and I really hope he finds an even BETTER position than the one he held at TP. He more than deserves it. Considering the horror stories I've heard from others in The Business, I've been incredibly lucky in my experiences so far, and he was a huge part of that.

However, on the somewhat bright side of things, he'll be at Comic Con in July, so hopefully I will be able to meet up with him and some of the other creators he's worked with :)

Lately I've been wanting to explore new avenues with regards to art and writing. I got into the whole Graphic Novel Thing because of my introduction to manga and anime some years ago in high school. However, as I work more and more on developing my skills, I'm finding that having a wide range of sources from which to draw inspiration can only be a GOOD thing. So!

Flist, if your favorite story could be illustrated by your favorite artist, who would that dream team be?

I'm not just talking manga here, either. It could be Terry Pratchett as done by Range Murata or Stephen King ala Vincent van Gogh. Even if you have ONLY writers or ONLY artists to recommend, I would be much obliged! Recommendations re: Western comic artists/graphic novelists would also be v. much appreciated~♥. I'm currently fangirling Neil Gaiman, btw.

Calorie-free internet cookies for any that can help me with regards to this query!

[WIP] some watercolors and commissions

2008-06-07T01:18:12Z

So I'm currently taking an intro to watercolor class to get some elective credits out of the way. It'll be another two weeks before I'm finished, and some of the paintings are fairly large, so it'll be some time before I can get them scanned in. I've never used watercolors before, but I'm finding that I REALLY enjoy the medium. Here's a crappy snapshot I took with my cellphone of the two large ones I'm working on right now:

After I finish this class, I'm also thinking about opening up for art commissions for the summer, both digital and 'real' media. If anyone out there would be interested in commissions or even just purchasing prints of my work from my deviantART account, please do drop me a comment and let me know. Once my class ends, expect to see a more detailed post RE: commissions/prints.

/unabashed self-pimping

Also, expect to see a fanart post veeeeeery soon...

[original art] O HAY! A GIRL! Also, non-fanart! ('o')

2008-03-26T17:32:07Z

I do draw them every once in a while *shock*

This is the end result of an art demo I had to throw together for a seminar at school. I may post WIP screenshots later to show how I mess about in photoshop, but for now I am sleep-deprived and lazy and just giving y'all the final product. There is also a manga-fied version of this done in B&W and screentone, but I sort of hate it, so I might not post it...

Preview:

[fanart] 12 Kingdoms pt 2

2008-03-20T03:33:49Z

Okay, so you can't have a Taiki without also having a Gyousou :3 He wasn't as cooperative as Taiki, and I don't know if I'm as happy with the results, but. At least our wittle unicorn picture won't be lonely now ~~(shameless GyouTai luv, wut)~~.

Preview:

[fanart] 12 Kingdoms

2008-03-15T04:33:34Z

I LOVE this series. Love it. Have loved it forever, but have never been able to come up with a fanart that I thought did it justice. If you haven't seen it, either go snag the anime from somewhere or pick up the novels (Tokyopop is translating).

Anyhoos, it's difficult to pick a favorite character, but if I HAD to, it would probably be Taiki.

Preview:

Disappointment

2008-03-04T06:49:43Z

Let this be a lesson to any aspiring artist out there, but most especially a lesson to myself:

Failing yourself is the same as failing those important to you. Be it a best friend who believes in you, a writer who is kind enough to share the creation of a story with you, or an editor who is looking out for you, when you not only fail to live up to your own standards, but fail to even TRY for them, it's hard to look any of those important people in the eye.

I would say I'm lucky that none of you can see me right now, only I don't think there's anything to celebrate here.

To those important people, please, forgive me. Your patience and faith in me is more than I deserve, more than I would ever have for someone in my position. I don't know what it is you see when you see me, but I'll take it as a kindness that you can't see everything.

I will redeem myself.

kusuriuri part eleventybillion~!

2008-02-22T10:05:18Z

SO HEY! I actually got some work done today! Celebration in the form of yet MORE Kusuriuri d(>w<)b Much happier with the painting on this one, which was quite fun to do!

Preview:

[fanart] kusuriuri part four (o_o);

2008-02-20T06:41:36Z

Um. I'm just procrastinating, really. I'm not even 100% happy with this picture, but I haven't got the motivation to do more with it, so I'm tossing it up here before I crawl into bed.

*slaps self* TOMORROW. NO MORE PROCASTINATION, DAMMIT >F

Preview:

[fanart] and EVEN MORE kusuriuri...

2008-02-04T07:19:05Z

Ahahaha, SO. This one's totally yaoikitten's fault, 'cause she wanted to see Kusuriuri from the back.

I suppose if I'm going to procrastinate, this is better than playing minesweeper...XD;

Preview:

[fanart] Mononoke pt 2!

2008-02-02T10:36:47Z

I feel like I should make some kind of actual entry rather than just tossing up a picture, but it's 5:30 in the morning and thinking is sort of painful right now :D

So, here's more Kusuriuri!

Preview:

90% of any battle...

2008-01-11T19:02:04Z

...is getting your head in the right place.

Like, y'know, out of your ass, for starters.

I don't know if there are any aspiring artists reading this journal right now, but as one comrade-in-arms to the rest of you, I think the search for inspiration, that elusive legendary substance, is what prompts all the hellish self-flagellation, frustration, procrastination, apathy, panic, and binge-eating that I seem to cycle through on a monthly basis. It's either that or hormones, but 'the search for inspiration' sounds more elegant.

I've spent the past two and a half weeks essentially dicking around with my time and quite thoroughly screwing myself over with deadlines. When I signed my contract, some naive part of me secretly believed that it was a magic document containing invisible fairy dust that would somehow cure me of a lifetime's worth of mental hangups, hyper-perfectionism, a tendency to freeze like a deer in headlights when overwhelmed, and an abnormal capacity for creative procrastination. Sadly, my contract is little more than ink on paper and a legal agreement, with no sparklies or magic contained therein. I know this because now, months after signing the thing, I STILL slip into periods of tweedling panic where my brain shuts down and pretends that I have no work to do, because I can't think of a single damned idea to put on the page.

What I always seem to forget is that inspiration rarely comes BEFORE I start scratching away on paper, that I usually get in 'the zone' AFTER I've had my nose in a sketch pad for a couple hours, and that to get started in my continuous quest for self-improvement, all I have to do is pick up a pencil and draw.

People have often told me I'm unusually bright, but I think that must go hand-in-hand with also being remarkably stupid.

[FANART] Mononoke

2008-01-04T05:45:28Z

Spur-of-the-moment fanart of Kusuriuri-san from the anime Mononoke. Despite my girlification of his looks, he really is quite pants-wettingly hot :D!

Preview:

Other art can be found at the devART page.

OMG, YOU GUYS. FIRST ART POST ON THIS JOURNAL, WUT!!!! 6(^w^)9!

In preparation for the New Year...

2007-12-29T17:10:28Z

Well, 2007 is in its final days, and so I've been making little attempts here and there at organizing my house so as to start off 2008 not drowned in trash and the trappings of the past ~~several~~ years.

*Koff* Right.

In any case, while going through the piles of stuff heaped on my table, I ran across an article in the local newspaper talking about the sudden surge of interest in the college world in comics and cartooning as an acceptable form of art, and how a number of colleges have already implemented formalized classes. As of this writing, my University is (sadly) not one of these schools, but it certainly gives one a feeling of optimism. At the very least, it prompted me to make an entry here.

I'm notoriously bad at record-keeping. I'm one of those people who never takes photos on vacations, rarely buys little kitschy souvenirs, and is consistently at a loss when it comes to greeting cards (do I really have to keep them indefinitely?). As an artist, I seem to commit one of the ultimate taboos of never keeping proper sketchbooks AND I also have a tendency to throw away old work (ah, I can see my professors cringing now) because AUGH, why would I want to hang on to the embarrassingly bad art of days gone by? However, I've been informed that artists should keep detailed records of their progress and 'creative process' so for the new year I am going to make a concerted effort to keep one sketchbook, or at least put dates on everything. You'll notice I'm beginning this endeavor BEFORE 2008 and I am intentionally NOT calling it my New Year's Resolution because, as we all know, New Year's Resolutions are generally EPIC FAIL.

Other thingies of interest:

-Between this and the previous entry I received my FIRST PAYCHECK for my work on the graphic novel. Happily, it arrived on the 24th, and so I pronounced it my Christmas miracle.

-Oh ho ho, this entry is not a total blargh of rambly good times! I'm 2 for 2 so far!

Y HALO THAR!

2007-12-04T07:48:10Z

So I guess my intention in creating this blog is to (mostly) document my experiences as a newbie professional illustrator. I will most likely end up posting things that have nothing to do with illustrating or being professional, but I'll try to keep myself under control. We'll see how it goes.

As a point of interest, I am going to attempt running an identical journal over on insanejournal (same username and everything) for a while, until I decide whether or not I want to stick with one site or the other.