The dance is done

So here's what happened with the Deirdre commission. I decided to get playful with the dress on a whim. Hope it panned out.

With this, my venture into watercolor midriffs ends.

The final dancer

Here's a test image for the final belly dancer piece. Deirdre is, understandably, less confident (and more covered) than the others.

I took a different approach here. Since my source image had such nice contrast in the fabric, I played with and increased the black placement dramatically.  I'm not sure how much will make it into the final - it will probably end up far lighter, just because that's the watercolor way - but it was fun to experiment.  Besides, it wouldn't fit in with the others if I went overboard on the ink. I chose a red for the cloth to offset Deirdre's cool grays, but that could change upon request. In fact, through the magic of Photoshop, I can show some other options!

Open for Commissions

(Note: The above artwork is higher-priced commission than I'm offering below. I'm using it because I don't have a new example piece ready, and I want to show off recent work.)

Update for clarity: If you're interested, send me an email. You can use the feedback link on the home page.

In preparation for my upcoming appearance at Anthrocon (I'll be at a RCSI table), I am taking a bunch of quick 8.5x11" commissions. The goal is to build up skill, increase my speed and boost my portfolio. I'd love it if you guys could help me with this. Commissions will be done in grayscale markers ($15) or colored pencil ($20). (Additional characters are $5 more.) I'm also taking suggestions for exercises and studies, if you're unable to support me financially at this time but still want to be a part of this. You can find out more on the FurAffinity account I'm trying to get off the ground. I'd love to sneak some Precocious work into my con prep!

I don't know how much response this will generate, but you should probably know this is going to be your last chance to get a commission out of me for some time. Once my May promotion and any remaining outstanding commissions are done, I won't be drawing any more custom art outside of conventions (Anthrocon in June and Midwest Furfest in November) and artist editions of the book.

Dance for me!

While I don't have much time for commissions these days, I do still have a few obligations in my inbox. I want to be the best, so let's work on some today!

This project has a few of my ladies cast as belly dancers. I seem to recall the three being Bette, Mitzy and Deirdre... maybe I should have checked my email to confirm them before sketching? Eh, doesn't matter. I can swap some heads around if needed.


To start things out, I did searches for good belly dancing poses. The dresses can be finalized afterward. In this sketch of Mitzy, the dress from the photo would be practically impossible to convert to watercolor - but the pose was nice! By the way, forgive any shading discrepancies. They were not the priority during the sketching and, frankly, I haven't thought of how most of my cast would look with skimpy clothes on.

There's some dissonance going on in my head with my cartoony characters matched up with human poses and dimensions. I tried to "correct" the anatomy from correct human to way-off Precocious, but I definitely need to figure out how I will melt these two elements better.


I didn't think the pose would work out with cartoon anatomy, but it kinda does. I'd like to keep working with this idea.


Deirdre seems like a weird match for this hobby, so I wanted to make her pose a bit more unsure and less dynamic. I found a dress that was more conservative for her.

I've got a lot of work on this project if I want it come out looking grand. Getting the anatomy to look right with my undisciplined method of drawing is hard, and getting the dresses and veils to flow properly is a task as well. I hope to find some time during the next few weeks to keep sketching for this project, as well as the others in the queue.

Linkletter Love

Here's the first coloring of the wedding card! Sorry about the crappy photo. The colors are nice and light, which means they die to both a flash and my insensitive scanner. Hopefully enough came out that you can get a sense of what things looks like.

Working around the fold

It's time to get serious about this wedding card. Behold: Bonus flowers! Now there's something cute for the back of the card! Also, the train has been shortened so the fold of the card no longer violates the rules of composition. My college professors will be so proud.

Now comes the task of picking out colors. The difficulty is that the Linkletters are a bit, um, off in fashion sense - but the card still has to look nice! It's time to mess around with coloring! I can't tell you what I'm planning, as I have no plan yet. Just assume it shall be awesome.

Get aboard the train!

Here's an updated version of the wedding card idea, featuring a new dress for Deirdre! (The original design is below for comparison.) Gone is the lace around the neck, as no wedding dresses on a Google search had them. I stuck a necklace on her instead. The big addition is a larger train on the dress, which makes it more wedding-y. The bow is something I am ambivalent about, as evidenced by me forgetting to draw the ribbons in the new drawing. It's something Deirdre *would* probably wear - neither Linkletter has much fashion sense - but it may be conflicting with the new dress.

The downside of the new dress is that the train makes it no longer fit on the card front. That's either a design flaw or a feature, depending on what I do with the back of the card. I had sorta planned on nothing for the back, as this was to be a smaller project.

There's not much change for Harvey. I added his signature bow tie back in, as all tuxedos I Googled had one. Otherwise his clothing remains a bit off - but deliberately so. Tuxes are really boring from the side, so I had to make it wrong to make it look right in a cartoony drawing.

Here's the original wedding drawing, for reference:

Love: In Color!

As the prophets foretold: The next step was indeed colored pencil tracing!

Here we have the happy color in color - quickly hashed out color, but color nonetheless. I tried a few things in drawing this one, namely tracing using the color of what I was tracing instead of black. Mixed success. The downside to black is that once it smears, it's there forever (see Harvey's foot); the upside is that comics work well with a strong black outline.

Best results might be in attempting to do the outline last instead of first, limiting the smear. That would be rather difficult, but nothing about this project is that easy. Another solution is to simply go with a pen and ink outline. The only downside to this is that ink shows through the card stock, so the card will have to be one-sided or the stock will have to be card-ier. This is why we do mock-ups, people! Things are learned!

Twue Wuv

It's the new skill-building exercise that's sweeping the nation: TRACING! Seriously, I've got to get good at that if I'm going to make these cards look right. I can have lots of guide marks on the DRAFTS and TEMPLATES, but finals need to be done right the first time, with no extra lines! I must learn to trace like a GOD! (Also, drawing a perfect heart is impossible, so let it go already!)

This wuv incarnation attempts to swap the Linkletters' attire to something more wedding-appropriate. It should be obvious I did not use a reference for either the tux or wedding gown, but that's fine for now.

I may go back and try coloring this, to make it look snappier, but this is where I am at the moment. For my next trick: Tracing with colored pencils to see what I can do!

Wuv

More potential card ideas! This one goes out to the romantics out there. Of course I'd have to bring in the lovey-dovey Linkletters for this one.

What I'm saying with my card of love... I dunno. Haven't thought that far ahead. We are solidly in the doodle stage and nothing more.

Back, with a loving family!

Hey, y'all, the blog's back up and running! To commemorate my return, I present to you the *almost* final version of "A Loving Family."

The camera needs to painted, and a few places on Harvey needs a second coat, but I'm about one night's work away from having this done. I had thought of going pink with the background, but I have no pink paint. Since I wanted it to be uniform, I went with pistachio. It might not look it, but it's really hard to "draw" characters in paint, so I'm looking forward to going back to painting my modernist pieces.

Let's see if I can keep this daily blog going again. Also, let's see if that hiatus left any readers...

The mark of the illustrator

Here are the two paintings I worked on today. My versatility owns you all!

Hey, my modernist fetish won't be paying the bills any time soon. It's those cute cartoon animals the offer my best route to salvation.

What we have here is the latest update of my "A Loving Family" commission. I've laid down the first layer of color (mostly) and things are starting to come into focus. Jacob's blanket and the background color are still up in the air. Once I figure those out, it'll be finishing the colors and then one last black and white pass to crisp things up! The end is near!

On the other side, we have what I do for FUN! I quite like how this bite-sized painting came out. While the colors are all on the lighter side, they pop nicely in the composition. All I have left to do here is add a pale olive border. A work of mine with NO BLACK? Blasphemy!

It's important that I keep my skills up with all my art styles! I have a strong fine-art portfolio, both in printmaking and painting, but that will only get me so far. If I want to do illustration in grad school, I need to prove I have the chops for some commercial art. The PJ Harvey illustration was fun, and I really do need to draw more celebs. But that's for home and I'm in sleepy DC land. Painting is the key!

Cootchi cootchi coo!

I believe I worked on/started about a dozen projects today, most of which was not blogable - be it OFFICIAL BUSINESS or just too boring to share. What I can share with you from my frenetic day is the updated linework on the Loving Family commission. Next up: Color! Oooh.

A loving family, part 2

Work has started on my first commissioned Precocious painting!

What we have here is a detail of the paint sketch feautring a young Harvey and Deirdre Linkletter adoring a newborn Jacob. If it's too rough to be clear, Deirdre is doing the coochie-coo thing and baby Jacob is giggling. Harvey, like any doting father, is armed with a camera.

The next step is shoring up the figures and solidifying the lines. I'm not content with Harvey's rendering yet, but I assume it'll work out in the end. The giggling Jacob came from an errant brush stroke, but I think it really adds to the piece! (He was originally supposed to be asleep.) Yay happy accidents!

A loving family

What, did you think that was an ironic title?

I'm working on some sketches for an upcoming commission. (My first commission!) This is my first drawing of the Linkletter family in their younger days, as they welcome young Jacob to the world. Next step: Use photo references for motherly poses!

New year of life; new sketchbook!

Ahh, synchronicity. This day of transition brings with it a new beginning. No, my life is still crap. It's simply time for a new sketchbook! As is tradition, let's look at some sketches that never made it to the blog; the not ready for prime time players, if you will.

This one took *so* long to finish, which is a wonderful thing! I've been working too hard to waste time doodling! I will take that trade-off any day!



A birthday sketch! Man, I wish I had this many presents. Then again, I have no room for any new things. All I really require is goodwill and acts of benevolence! That or cash.



Since this sketchbook happened during the parents arc, adults were on center stage. We've seen the kids drawn grown up, random adult characters (not "adult" characters - don't think that!) and lots of parents showing off their glorious flaws.

I gotta admit, that is one cute drawing of Sydney Oven. Normally she's more sarcastic and weary, but a playfully sly cat is fine too. Deirdre Linkletter is more in-character, if not a completed drawing. I had another of her, which was a loose sketch and made her look a bit Bohemian, but it didn't fit the style with the rest. The panther in the back is an attempt to draw Dionne's mom. I can't remember if I shared the sketch or not, so into the background she went!



And here I wander into strange new territory. On a whim, I tried to draw those scary *other* animals. Precocious is purely doggie and kitty territory, as the animal forms are supposed to "human, but cuter!" and not "furry comic" outright. The bunny and raccoon chicks... not so great. Oh well, I have no use for them anyway.

Hetero-Normative Behavior!

I'm am such a wholesome idealist. Well, in one subject at least. Since the foundation of Precocious is my idyllic childhood, that means the environment around my kids is extremely awesome! Gemstone Estates has just about everything a kid could ever want! Outside the houses we have lots of stimulation. Inside the houses... LOVING FAMILIES!

The Precocious parents are a fun bunch. They have happy, healthy marriages, do their best to motivate and encourage their children and they are delightfully insane!

I'm almost done drawing the Max's birthday storyline, so now the question is what to do next? I have a silly little brawl over dessert, or I can go back and do that much-hyped parents storyline. Ideally, I'll do both! If I built up a large enough comic buffer, then I have time to create the parents arc and just insert it into the archives. That's the dedication I have to you people! (I make no promises that will happen.)

Either way, it's time to practice my parent-drawing skills. I want to get the parents introduction into the archives soon, as they do tend to pop up in the strip. While I do my best to get their personalities across in their appearances, I want the chance to expand upon them. Once they are established, their lines in earlier strips take on new interpretations!

The only worry I have is that I naturally write more adult jokes for the adults. One couple met due to judgment impaired by alcohol and fatigue. Another punchline involves nudity, paint and the dining room. (I'll let you contemplate that one.) I love it, but such risky gags could hurt any syndication chances.

The humor is appropriate contextually, though. Insane geniuses don't just pop up out of the blue. I believe in nature over nurture. The environment may do some finishing in shaping personalities, but lots of my kids nuttiness is inherited. Each kid is the natural consequence of their parents spawning.

That is... if I don't blow the strips with a bad script. Before I draw anything, I've got to tighten up the story and connect the dots.

I did something! REWARD PLEASE.

Our long national nightmare may soon be in order. The final strips of the first arc have been scripted. Drawing can no commence! If I somehow gain superhuman strength, I can have the strip ready to officially launch for the new year! FOUR MONTHS LATE! WOOHOO! The arc will end up 62 strips long, which is frighteningly close to my original goal of 60. If I hadn't added strips 11 and 32 to the script I would have been dead on. (Both are clunky attempts to introduce more aspects of the Precocious world, but I figure it's best to get the clunkers out early when I can get rookie forgiveness.)

Like a jerky boyfriend who just had sex, after this minor triumph, all I want to do is roll over and fall asleep content - totally oblivious that doing someone properly involves satisfying both sides. I can be proud of finally finishing the writing, but without the drawings to go with it the relationship remains unfulfilled.

Tossing that creepy analogy aside like an abused girlfriend's self-esteem, we turn to the sketch! I've been on a roll with sketching this week and I have lots of well-done-if-generic sketches of various characters. Problem is, I'd have to stretch to find a coherent theme needed to justify a post.

Since this post was more of a happy declaration than a sketch analysis, all I wanted to find was a nice companion sketch. At first, I was going with a cheerful and adorable Autumn sketch, but then I found this one of Deirdre. What is often said when someone completes a task? "Good job! You get a cookie." Well, there you go!

This sketch was part of a failed attempt to draw Precocious parents at a dinner party thing. The only one that came out well was a bored Sydney Oven holding a glass of wine. My Sky Et sketches had eye issues and I still can't draw danged Harvey Linkletter right. Deirdre here was also a reject because I felt bad for her. Not only did she get an unflattering outfit (it's her style, but still...) but the sketch was an experiment in drawing her body type. Deidre is more curvy than the rest of the moms, but that's hard to capture at this point. She either ends up with the generic adult share, or I go overboard and chunk her up to Soren levels. Thanks to the miracle of Photoshop, I was able to digitally thin her down at bit. I'm not saying this is her correct size, as it's more of a Lisa Simpson's fish stick thing after Photoshop, but it's good enough. (I don't need to clarify that, do I? Burned on the outside and raw on the inside = balance through extremes.)

Articulate Friday

Rant post has been put off again due to good things. Yay!

So, with my DVD player dying... I feared I might have had to brave the frightening outside world on this soul-destroying shopping day. Then I remembered Amazon.com! I found the DVD player I wanted on sale *and* it'll be shipped to my doorstep for no additional charge. Yay internet!

This bonus holiday strip is the result of my joy. The poor parents must brave the brutal shopping environment... except for Sydney, who is rewarded for her laziness!

HOLY SHIT, MAN WALKS ON FUCKNG MOON!

Brace yourselves...after a funk spanning many months, I ACTUALLY FINISHED ANOTHER FUCKING STRIP!



You may recall from a previous post that I dubbed this "the strip that broke my brain." It's DONE! Monkey = off back. Have the floodgates finally been opened?

Well, no. Tonight I got lucky with things remaining unbroken just long enough for me to get something done. I doubt I'll be able to repeat this, which any further progress at least a week away - just long enough for my brain to break again. Fuuuuck.

After getting emotional while reading the biography of Charles Schulz, I realized I was cracking up and needed to do something. Of course, after reading about the amazing impact the strip had on the world, I wanted to cartoon. But I can't cartoon, since my lighting situation is a mess. The light I moved about the drafting table is dying and has been providing inadequate light for drafting. With nothing else to do, I gave the light a shot. IT WORKED! It's been about two weeks since the thing fully lit up. The light ain't great, but it's enough! I was not going to waste this chance, so I pushed forward with the strip. Stuff started coming together and I kept at it until the thing was done.

It's still not the best strip, but it would have to be expanded to Sunday-style for the timing to work. Since I am operating on tradition syndicated comic rules, I can't go down the path. I have to compromise and, guess what, I DON'T CARE! It's done and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

I could comment more on the comic itself, but it's 2am and I'm spent.