Long Post Is Long (Crafts, Illustration Work, Book News)

Oh where to begin? With all the social networks out there it's easy to forget about blogging. At least for me. Honestly the best way to keep up with what I'm working on is to follow me on facebook, deviantART, or Behance or just periodically looking at my web site. I should probably look more into this tumblr thing the kids are into these days.

Anyway besides illustration work I've been doing a lot of craft projects around the apartment, ranging from humongous to small wall doohickeys. I might make some "how to" blog posts if anyone is particularly interested.

Here's some shots of the bottle lamps I've been working on:



Kraken rum bottle makes a nice accent in my dining room. I need to look into some LED bulbs, as this guy heats up. Regular string lights strung up into it, after drilling the hole and an extension cord. The Fish Eye one isn’t finished yet, as I need to get a shade for it, and I have plans on stenciling some jellyfish on it. Lamp bits kit, drilled bottle with the lamp cord threaded up into it and filled with different marble things to make the base heavy enough to support the lamp part but also ‘cause it looks cool. Thinking about trying to sell some wine bottles filled with lights, but as Etsy never really picked up for me I’m not too keen on posting variants of these guys up there.



Annnnd here is the monster that took up the dining room (the biggest area I had room to work on it in) for months, as it took me awhile to gather supplies and work on it in shifts. I tend to do craft projects on impulse, and I bought this dresser at the salvation army completely spur of the moment (stare at it, I want it, grab the ticket so no one else can) and then called my sister for assistance with moving it as she has a mom van. I wanted it to be blue, and after looking on the internets for ideas on painting and tips I decided it was to be crackle paint. So a large jug of Elmer’s, giant can of Behr paint, a small can of Minwax polyurethane, one replacement knob I had to modify to fit the massive screws, and lots of blow drying and now I have a very eye-catching dresser to help contain my massive amount of t-shirts.

Since I have a good amount of that paint left over I’ve been using it on random ideas, like wall hooks for jewelry and picture frames. I still have so much.

And how about some illustrations? Here’s a card I did for Hanukkah, a Venice jester based on a photo by Robert Anthony. (Here’s the link for the ref photo and a close up of her face and also a somewhat macabre scene my brain visualized while listening to some Florence + the Machine, the "Seven Devils" song in a particular. The girl with the jellyfish is what I'm currently working on.

And oh yeah! My book was published. Yay. So I was able to post some of the work I did. You can see more of them here. And you can see the book’s site here, with my work all over it.

There’s been more stuff I’ve worked on but I’m not going to make this post any longer. And if anyone wants to hire me to doodle all day and make crafty things that would be great, as my graphic design job just laid off 40 people and I’m not exactly thrilled about my job security.

Harpies, Horns, and Graphic Design Wat.

I've fallen behind on vectoring but have continued sketching quite a lot (guaranteeing that I'll never get around to vectoring them all I guess). The deadline for this is fast approaching so I'm trying not to get sidetracked and complete it. They need monsters and I'm hoping I can get a good print of my Medusa and this gal to submit. Continuing with mythology monsters, Harpies are fun to draw, I'll have to do more...put that on the long list of arty things I want to do. Horrible photo, meant to get a better scan but then started vectoring anyway.



If anyone else in Lancaster wants to contribute to this charity event here's the info:


They are not expecting your most awesome work ever because of the deadline and the target consumer, and it doesn't have to be framed or anything.

I've recently become a graphic designer. I know, what??, right? But considering I get 40 hours a week and much better pay then my previous job it wasn't that hard of a sell. Currently working two actual jobs while working on my art...I'm going to be very busy.

In other arty related news/stuff one of my favorite watercolorists at deviantART, tir-ri, is selling prints of some of her art and the money will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross. I had to buy one, as her Wendy pieces are my favorite, and the least I could do was donate something to their relief fund. Go here, she's awesome.

See? Awesome:



And continuing the arty-things-I-spent-money-on over at miss monster's site I bought ram horn barrettes and they are fan-frickin'-tastic. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear them non-stop.



So that's it for now, should have the finished Harpy up soon, and then I'll work on the Barbie vector/pet commissions/super heroines/Goat girls. Yeah. One of those.

LEGO Earrings, No New Vectors Yet

Argh. Been working nonstop it feels like. Which isn't true, it's only been two weeks with only two days off but they feel longer because of various interviews and stress of getting call backs after said interviews. Still waiting on my third and final call from one job. If I have to work retail for another 5 years I may end up taking my taser to work and pzzzt-ing people who I deem deserve it.

So hopefully I get that call soon and it's good news.

Been working on the Barbie vector, and have lots of sketches of stuff to after that. With inventory going on at work I haven't been working on her as much as I should be. After that I'm going to re-do an old watercolor piece of mine. I figure that's a good way to keep me working on projects, redoing old school projects in vectors.

Also been crafting with jewelry which is fun. I don't think I've ever posted my LEGO earrings here, so I may as well now. I haven't had much luck with selling them online, but sold a few to people I know and given them as gifts. I like quirky earrings and since I work at a toy store they fit.






Yay Stormtroopers.




The aliens were the stars of the first Toy Story in my opinion.




Newest pair, I enjoy saying "Scuba" over and over. Thinking of making second pairs and putting them on Etsy again, to see if I have any success.

Hopefully I'll have a finished vector when I post next. Or more earrings, whichevs.

Pink, Goats, Sketches.

As I have been dealing with some sort of flu for several weeks followed by a sinus infection (which I always thought sounded so harmless but it is a major pain) which I am still in the midst off I haven't done too much art lately. I have sketched some however, and completed one vector. Which is impressive to me at least, since my ears have been ringing on and off and my head plants a bomb behind my eye periodically that is motion triggered.

Here's the vector. For a bit I thought it would be fine without any sort of background but then stars saved me again. Stars are a convenient life saver for me when it comes to bgs. Had a lot of fun with the color pink. Think this will be my new promotional postcard.



Also here's some sketches, including the doodle that started this vector. "Sheep go to Heaven, goats go to Hell" is a lyric from Cake that's been stuck in my head and thus prompted the sheep/goat people sketches.



The first sketch page there is a Harry Potter fanart of one of my favorite characters. I still have to work on the Modern gods series, and then maybe I'll get to vector Luna. Hopefully I'll be getting better soon...either that or my head is going explode as I still have no antibiotics. Let's hope for the getting better thing.

Pocketful, Pokemon, and Unimaginable Horror.

Finished the submission for Pocketful, yay. Have like three different versions but I think I'm happy with this one, and it's due today so I should send it in.



Yes, that is a girl whose name might be Penny, with some sort of hot drink and a goat. Also, playing a ukulele. Because. Goats are cool. A bit freaky in the eyes, yes, but I have fond memories of my aunt's goats...mostly me just feeding them anything I happened to rip off a plant or had in my hand. They loved me. There's also a memory of finding the birth sack, that was a bit gross but the baby goat was one of the most adorable things I had ever seen up to that point so it was worth it. Ukuleles are also cool. I think I might be able to learn how to play one if I tired. They don't look as intimidating as a guitar. This logic follows right?

It's Pokemon Facebook Profile pic month or something again. I'm featuring the same picture I did last year for it, because 1.) I don't want to do another Pokemon fanart, and 2.) Jigglypuff is bitchin'.




Text was inspired by this Mr. Crazy Pants here. Unfortunately I know people like this guy. I may be so lucky to have them comment on my Illustration facebook because of this too. Sweet.

I haven't been getting much sleep the last couple nights, and I blame our neighbors. Not for being loud or shouting their domestic disputes to all creation at 4 AM (which they are prone to do) but for doing some renovations or moving or whatever it is the house that's one house down from us has been doing. I'm pretty sure there's some health violations going on over there because this street's pest problem has seemed to increase. So I hear what I think are mice in the walls. And while this shouldn't be enough to keep me awake combining that with having once read Lovecraft's The Rats in the Walls it's lead to some insomnia.

So if I never post again it's not entirely impossible that I've been dragged down to some monstrous ruins and have been eaten by gibbering de-evolved people. Just saying.

Bring it on Christmas! I'm Ready.

Oh yeah. I can take you.

This mood is mostly fueled by hormones and an unhealthy dose of coffeenog (coffee with sugar and Silk soy nog) but I feel I can take on the holidays. I almost finished two of the paintings I'm giving as gifts, and still managed to work on the vector for Pocketful.

Vector so far:



One finished present of my adorable sister when she was a babything:



Retail and the pressure to paint things my relatives will actually want are not getting me down, thus the triumphant mood. I can do this guys. Totally. I even don't feel worried about the illustration series my mind decided it would think up at the busiest time of the year. Even if I don't proceed with the series at least I have one cool idea sketched and ready to start vectoring after Christmas. More on that idea later.

I have pretty full shifts of work for the next couple days so hopefully my next day off will be this productive and if this mood wanes it will return. The holidays almost always get me down, but this year will be different, I'll spend little to no time at home, but still be able to see relatives and hang with my sister and the whole time I'll have my significant other with me which is the best way to keep my mood up (when I'm hyper I tend towards run-on sentences, sorry).

So, in conclusion, bring it holiday mood disorder, retail craziness, family gift pressure, I'm ready.

Crocodiles, Retail, and Justin Bieber.

Halloween is awesome. Thus the whole month of October is mostly (more on the mostly later) awesome. I totally meant to do some spooky drawings. But somehow, my Spooktacular (how great would it be if spellcheck thought "Spooktacular" was a real word?) ideas did not happen on paper. All I have for the month of October, besides Wonder Woman, is this pitiful sketch of a dead croc, done in/out of poor taste and boredom. I am not happy about this, but here we are. I may vector it, without the plane, because I kinda like the P.O.'d/confused crocodile. In my disappointment in myself I have a tiny bit of pride in my ability to draw a crocodile on command.



Let's blame some of the responsibility of my lack of arting on my real world job. It sucks the life and thus the creativity out of me. Not all the time, but seasonal has started and that means the crazies are crazier and the assholes are more...assholy. Yes. I don't know if you've ever experienced working in a toy store when people are shopping for the holidays. I do not suggest it. At the very least it will lower your love of humanity seriously, and possibly turn you into a horrible bitter shell of a person, like moi. I've never enjoyed Christmas and now just have further reasons to fear it's approachment (this is totally a word and spellcheck is just going to have to let this go). People are scum and there is no joy in the world for retail workers come October-December. You think on that the next time you're out shopping.

And on a totally random note, I dare anyone to find a girly-er pic of Justin Bieber. The v-neck and what is obviously a glittery necklace is not helping your "I am not a small girl but really a pubescent boy" image, Justin (this random blurb about Bieber is part of the "blabbings" part of this blog, like my review of Twilight, and I wouldn't feel the need to poke fun at a child if I wasn't forced to listen to his music on a daily basis).



So yeah. I might get my Halloweeny ideas on paper or jump right to having to paint people's presents. Because omg it's November already. I need to get back on some kind of art schedule. Hopefully I'll have more art to show for November. At the very least I'll have a finished vector for Pocketful again, since that is due December 1st...