Monday, November 28, 2011

Cat blogging!

There are four cats in this house and all are adorable!

(OK, fine, I'm just testing a new blogging ap on the new iPhone.)

Monday, November 21, 2011

Everyone suspects the bufferfly


Here are some sketches from my latest commission: Tiff as Chaotic Butterfly!

Sinister? Innocent? Happy? Flying towards her doom? Antenna danglies on or off? We'll see which one is chosen.

Dear lord, what have I done?

Sunday, November 20, 2011

New Copper Road! - 11/20/11

I hope you enjoy this revealing installment of Copper Road, because it's the last one you get for the month. I'm taking next week off from CR due to my vacation. It's kinda hard to update when you don't have a scanner with you. (Don't worry about Precocious. I have a good buffer there.) I'm not sure how my trip will affect my blogging. I will have a camera with me, and I can always blog via iPhone if needed - the question is, however, will I be able to fit some work into my busy schedule?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Watercolors for you!



The photos aren't that great, but the finals of these commissions are super awesome! Enjoy. The pieces will ship out Monday.


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Commission inks

Here are the inks for the three watercolor commissions I have going at the moment. I must say, after testing out the new paper I'm worried about the coloring process. It doesn't seem very watercolor friendly, but it's all I have. I just have to be extra careful.

I messed up a bit on the couch for the Autumn commission, but I think I can correct it in coloring.



And now, more Derpy!

Here's the final sketch for the Derpy/Bud muffin-lovin' commission. I have never drawn a pony this well before, so I'm gonna trace the heck out of it for the final piece.

You'll note tracing is my theme today. Usually I redraw commissions on the watercolor paper, but this time I'm tracing all three. (The third is the Autumn sleeping on the couch sketch, which was conveniently sketched at the correct size.) I think this is a consequence for me going back and making a finer-quality sketch for each project. Usually I do a rough, get approval and then upgrade the sketch right on the final paper.

On an art geek note, since all three of today's projects have scale issues, I'm doing them on Reeves BFK white instead of the watercolor pad I've been using. This paper is new to me, so I'm not sure how it handles watercolors. (I thought I was buying the same brand I've been using, but it seems that was Arches, not Reeves.)

More Tiffmas

Here's a cleaned-up sketch for the Tiffany commission. The only changes I made from the selected pose was switching the side the tinsel lands on and putting an ornament on the tail. If I get an OK from the client, I will next trace this design onto my watercolor paper and do my inking.

Yes, I said I was going to aim to have my inks done yesterday, but I decided to color comics for NINE HOURS STRAIGHT instead. By the time I finished, I was in no mood to do anything else artistic. Today is commission day instead!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Tiffmas time is here

Here's the early sketch work on another commission: A Christmas-themed work with Tiffany! The original idea was to depict Tiffany atop a tree, but size issues derailed that. Thinking about how Tiffany celebrates the holiday (I have a partially-scripted Christmas arc that might never run) she loves original takes on the traditional tree. Why not make HER the tree this year?

These sketches are me fleshing out how to make this idea work. Ears up or down? How to wrap the tinsel around her? Butterfly ornament or Candy cane in the hand? Regular dress or tree-imitating wide? Arms out or more compact? Looking up or looking at the viewer? Which star is best?

If the client likes the idea (I'm being bad by not providing options this time), it's time to choose the final pose/features and move on to inking. With a little luck, I'll have all three outstanding watercolor commissions inked tomorrow. I'm pushing myself as hard as I can, because my Thanksgiving trip can start as early as Saturday. Still got comics to make in addition to this, so no guarantees.

Copper Road Update! 11/14/11

It's double fun with Copper Road today. First, a new comic was posted on TWC. Vote to see it! Second, I update the Copper Road archive, so you can catch up if you missed any. I didn't realize I had passed 50 strips until just now. Kinda wish I hadn't wasted that milestone on a throwaway strip... since soda chugging for 50 would have been much more prestigious!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Gingerfox

In response to Ms. Monster appearing in the background of the latest Ginger's Bread, I'm one-upping things and throwing a Ginger lookalike (if she was a fox) into my strip. Not bad for a 30-second sketch of her, if I can say so. Maybe my drawing mojo is returning.

Edit: If you're wondering why her dress is so out of character, that's because it's more of me copping a design to fill an already-scripted role than making a true Ginger cameo. (Hence why I said "lookalike.")

New commission sketches

Forgive me for the relative quiet on the blog. I've had a baaaaaad drawing week. Combine that with me focusing so much on buffer building, and you get a barrage of Precocious news posts instead of zesty content!

Buuuuut, I have two new commissions to work on now, so let's TRY to get this pencil working. Usually I offer many sketches for new projects, but today I only offer one and a half for you, because that's all that was remotely showable. Clients, feel free to send me back to the drawing board and/or offer up some more suggestions.



Edit: Here's a second Autumn possibility, by request!



The first commission is to show Autumn asleep, dreaming of blackmail. I chose to show her napping against an Ottoman, clutching her beloved binder.

And here we have a fun one: Bud and Ditzy Doo (or Derpy, if you please) enjoying muffins together! Despite liking ponies, I do not draw ponies unless prompted - so getting a good Ditzy was really hard. Forgive me for the quickly-sketched Bud. He's mostly there to show how the composition will look. (I drew too close to the page's edge and couldn't fit a proper-sized Bud in anyway.)

Friday, November 11, 2011

It's Copper Road time again! 11/11/11



Vote to see it! Let us all brace ourselves now for the silliness that will come on the date 11/11/11. I'm sure the Twitter trending topics are going to be original and interesting!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

$25 Commissions are still available!

Update, 12/12/11: Commissions are currently closed. I'll open up again sometime in January.

The old commissionathon page may be gone, but that doesn't mean the fun is over! I'm still taking $25 watercolor commissions. What you get is a one-character watercolor (be it Precocious or your own character) and either a prop or simple background. The size is 8"x5".



As a bonus, I will also be including an extra limited-edition Precocious gocco print. Get 'em while they're still around!

For more watercolor samples, look over the sketch blog. I also have some more-talented artist friends who are looking for commission work, so if you have a big project in mind, use the feedback link to drop me a note about it and I'll pass it on!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

New Copper Road! - 11/6/11


Vote on TWC to see it! In this installment, Kaitlyn takes on the wrath of the changing seasons. Stupid seasons.

Edit: Hey, look! Another week, another Precocious cameo in another comic. Check out Lucy's twitter feed in the most recent Badly Drawn Kitties!

In other news, since it was only up on the site one day before the switch made it go away, here's a second plug for the new Also, Bagels book!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

A Precocious commission!

Look at what appeared in my email today! Here's another shout out to Tiff of The Cyantian Chronicles because she finished my commission today. Isn't it totally adorable?

All I told her was that I wanted all four main kids in there, and I left the rest up to her. I had no idea what the final would be until she sent it to me and I loved every minute of anticipation. The end result is something far more impressive than I could ever have dreamed up! Everything about it is great! You guys should totally go commission her too!

(click the image for a larger version)

Friday, November 4, 2011

Darius in Precociousland

Here are some sketches I made of a Precocized version of Darius, from The Cyantian Chronicles. I needed a cameo, and it was his turn. He was actually offered to me for the Bright Kids, Big City arc, but I ended up using Celina and Sheana from that comic instead. Thus, he was due to be victimized by the kids!

About section upgrade

I've added many of the old about section pages back to the new site. You can check them out by clicking the (surprise!) "about" link in the top navigation. The cast page overhaul isn't quite finished yet, but I wanted to get it out there. The rest, in theory, are good. There may be some outdated info on them, so if you spot any please let me know!

We're still figuring out what's missing and what's not working. (The donation button will return soon!) As always, use the feedback link in the menu to send me any requests for site features, improvements and spotted errors.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Deleted Scene Time!

Here's a quick sketch of a comic that got cut for time. I thought this script was the weakest of the eight I wrote for the week, so it went away. In hindsight, I wonder if using this comic and combining #968 and #969 (making this comic the new 969) would have been better for pacing. Oh well, too late! (click the image for a larger version.)


The slickest of kats

As promised in the last post, here is the final of the Slick Kat commission! I cheated on this one a bit an used pen for the black markings... but they kinda look awesome so I think I can get forgiveness.

Another watercolor done!



Here's the Quincy in summer piece! Slick Kat is up next. I've been holding off on him because I'm scared of his precise markings. Today it will happen, though!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Cameo in Ginger's Bread

Go check out the current Ginger's Bread to see that a familiar Precocious face is back for revenge!

In non-cameo news, how's the new site working for ya? We're still discovering strange glitches here and there, so bear with us as we try to get things fixed. If you see anything weird, please use the feedback link to send me a note about it. We can't fix an error if we don't know it exists!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The best incentive!

October is over, and the daily incentives are gone. Aww. BUT WAIT! That means COPPER ROAD IS NOW BACK! Vote to see it!

Since the site transition caused some troubles, I'd like to share the last of the incentives, and by far my favorite one, again. People need to see it! (Click the image for the full version.)



Much love an thanks go to the artists who helped out: Cookie, Darc Sowers, Pea, Brookes Eggleston and Heidi Black!