Art of the Week

Thanks to Youmacon, I have been artistically inspired!

There are a few pieces that are still works in progress, but here is one for Mystery Skulls.

mystery skulls work in progress sketch

And I got to paint some of this:

painting work in progress

I’ve also been getting back into making warm-up sketches, where I sketch something before my day starts to warm up my creative juices.

warm up sketch of cranky hipster

warm up sketch yay flight
Yay flight!

And I just finished this:

shadow demon charcoal warm up sketch

More sketches will happen soon!

Thanks for stopping in, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Sketches With New Prismacolor Pens

Here’s hoping this gets posted properly, because for some strange reason my internet connection has become spotty in the last 24 hours.

Anyway, I wanted to share some sketches I did this week!

This is one I did to a) practice drawing chubby girls, and b) practice pencil sketching nature and showing depth.

2014-10-20 00.14.14

These are sketches I made to practice drawing masks and African/Native American-inspired nature spirits (they were also for visual development of aspects of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, a comic project I’m making). I also used my brand new Prismacolor pens on them and oh my god they are as smooth as butter to use!

2014-10-20 00.14.02

 

These ones I drew to use my Prismacolor pens again. But also I drew them to develop a style I want to use in The Swan Prince (working title, formerly “Rosetta and the White Swan.” I talk about the story and Jamie Roberts in this previous post).

I drew a lot of influence from the Ottoman Empire and Russian textiles. I love the patterns, the costumes, the characters…

I think I know what I’m going to write for National Novel Writing Month next month.

2014-10-21 22.40.37

The young lady is Rosetta and the young man is Ahmad.

And this one is a peek into a page of my new webcomic, Charlie & Clow, in progress! Have I mentioned I love my Prismacolor Pens? This sketch uses the brush pen and it is the most beautiful tool I have ever used!

charlie and clow web comic in progress

Just look at that line quality! It’s the kind of quality I have dreamed of having for the past two years!

Seriously, I have fallen in love with the Prismacolor pen set. I splurged and got a 7 pen set, and these things are going to permanently replace my crappy Pigma Sakura pens.

prismacolor pen marker drawing set

In other news, Charlie & Clow will be coming online October 29th! Next Wednesday! At www.charlieandclow.com! I’m polishing up the site now but soon you shall see the new webcomic I’ve been working on for one and a half years!

And also! There will be a KickStarter coming in November! I’ll be writing about that one soon.

So what do you think? Excited for Charlie & Clow? Or The Swan Prince? Or maybe giving the Prismacolor pens a try? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

The Superhero Ladies Illustration Series (In Progress)

So a while ago, I saw the “debate” that happened when Marvel let loose the famous variant cover of SpiderWoman.

And a part of me was like, “You know, it would be great to see superhero ladies in clothes that are actually great for combat and/or aren’t form-fitting.”

Because I am aware that not every superhero lady is in charge of her sexuality or is entirely comfortable with a skin-tight outfit. Have you read the new Ms. Marvel? They talk about that in the first two issues!

Anyway, I decided to make an illustration series showing superhero ladies in outfits that weren’t sexually revealing and/or were best suited for lots of physical activity.

Right now it’s still a work in progress, but it’s been fun to create new heroes and create costumes and superpowers!

Here are some sketches of the ladies I’ve drawn so far:

Number 1 in the series.
Number 1 in the series. Sojourner the Mage. She has powers over wind. (Click to enlarge.)
Name unknown. Has superstrength, flight, and super speed. Click to enlarge.
Name unknown. Has superstrength, flight, and super speed. (Click to enlarge.)
PowerPat. Age 10. Super strength. (Click to enlarge).
PowerPat. Age 10. Super strength. (Click to enlarge).
Agent Sinclaire. Magic user that can manipulate the environment and trap opponents. (Click to enlarge).
Agent Sinclaire. Magic user that can manipulate the environment and trap opponents. (Click to enlarge).

I have enough projects on my plate to keep me busy, so right now this is on hold (just like my other illustration series, The Women Warriors Project).

I might include redesigns of Marvel/DC/etc superheroes, but I want to do more original characters in this series. If you have any ideas or suggestions, though, please leave them in comments!

Thanks and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

The Comics Train Keeps Chugging

So I forgot to update this blog sooner. I’m very sorry! Things have been pretty manic in my studio.

I’ve been finishing up work on a new series of comic strips K. Ferrin asked me to make. Here’s a peek at one of them.

K Ferrin Comics
Click to enlarge.

Of course, Johnson & Sir and Validation are still updating regularly. I love the conversations my readers are having and the comments they’re leaving! Seriously, I read the comments. All of them. And I love you (but not in a creeper way).

Charlie & Clow will be up online soon! The goal is to have it online October 29! Here’s a peek at the cover:

charlie and clow cover for webcomic
Click to enlarge.

It’ll be available to read at www.charlieandclow.com (don’t try to go there yet. I’ll be building the site over the next week).

I’ve also been working on a short story penned by the fabulous Kristen Kellner. Here’s a peek at one of the panels in progress:

short story sneak peek for comics anthology
Click to enlarge.

I’m on my last few pages of this short story, and hopefully you can read it all online soon!

Also! There’s another new comic in the works. I’ve been keeping it relatively hush-hush because the writer is still writing it, but they want me to provide the art for it. We’ll be doing a KickStarter for the project in November. (Like, three-weeks-from-now November. Holy banana pants!) Here’s a color and style test I did for it…

color and style test for new comic
Click to enlarge.

And here’s a look at one of the possible designs of the logo (it’s still a work in progress)…

seeing him webcomic logo work in progress
Click to enlarge.

Like I said, the writer and I will be doing a KickStarter to fund this upcoming webcomic in November. I’ll hopefully post more art for it as I make it!

So…yeah. I’ve been making comics like a madwoman. Gotta’ remember to take a day off.

Be on the lookout for Charlie & Clow launching on October 29th! I talk more about the details of the story in this post.

Thank you so much for reading and putting up with my tardiness. I’ll see you on Friday when I talk about the Superhero Ladies series.

Art, Art, and More Art: An Update

I had nothing planned to be written for today, so instead I’m going to share some of the sketches I’ve made and finished within the last few weeks. (Please click to enlarge them.)

Agents Sinclair and Galileya
Agents Sinclair and Galileya
Acrudon the Demon Lord
Acrudon the Demon Lord
Johnson & Sir extras have a chat.
Johnson & Sir extras have a chat.
Gestures and character concepts for new projects.
Gestures and character concepts for new projects.
Sketches I made at work in my spare time. Yes, they are drawn on the back of a coupon.
Sketches I made at work in my spare time. Yes, they are drawn on the back of a coupon.
Character designs I drew for a developing story.
Character designs I drew today for a developing story.

Plus, I’ve included some snapshots of current works in progress.

The comics are inked. Now for the color!
The comics are inked. Now for the color!

Oh! And I forgot to mention an illustration series I have on hold, called “Superhero Ladies.” I have at least this one finished, but the rest are sketches.

Number 1 in the series.
Number 1 in the series.

I’ll talk more about the series next week.

Also! I took the time to update the Commissioned Work if you would like to see some comics and other art I made for really swell folks recently.

What do you think? Plus, what do you like to sketch? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.