Sketch Blog

CANADA's Birthday Baby!

2009-07-01T23:10:59Z

HAPPY CANADA DAY all you Canadians! If you're not Canadian, than sorry mate, but you're missing out.

Also, I was kidnapped by some Romanians and a fellow from Isreal at the park today, and wasn't allowed to leave their picnic untill I had finished all the wine / meat they kept serving me. They didn't speak much English and wanted to celebrate Canada day with a real Canadian I think. Also, they were actually holding on to me.

going, going, Gone.

2009-06-30T01:39:17Z

Come 4 am ~~tomorrow~~ today morning, I'm heading off to my new job in Toronto.

I'll be without my laptop for a bit and most probably without a scanner and photoshop for sometime longer.

Don't worry, I'm working ahead on the webcomic, so come September, updates should be seemless.

If I get any good photos + internet time + am not running around exploring the city, I'll post 'em up

Edit: I've arrived and adore with the place I'm staying at. It's beautiful. Perfect. So far I love it here. I aspire to live somewhere in a home like this one day.

Dancing Lights and Fire Dragons

2009-06-26T07:34:17Z

[They Mostly Breath Fire Y'know]

... As opposed to the other type of dragons.

I've been meaning to go down to the parks and see some of my mates and their fire dancing.

The idea behind the activity seemed to be:

Grab something flammable
Set fire to it
Spin all fancy like
Repeat

I had my camera with me so I snapped some shots. I've got lots that I love, and even more that were just horrible and needed to be deleted on the spot. Please don't ask me the settings I used to achieve some of the effects... it was dark and I operated more by touch than by anything else. Also I 'm just lucky my camera didn't catch fire; i was doing some pretty stupid stuff with it...

Here's one of my favorite shots from the night.

I love this girl's expression. It's so carefree and contented.
Unfortunately I never got her name. So if anyone knows the Wolesly area on Thursday nights, and knows this chick, please let me know.
And yes, she's essentially got a flaming hula hoop.

I've got lots of neat pictures from this night, and I'll be uploading the rest of the best in another journal entry. I'd like to know if people think certain of these pictures are more spectacularly worse than the others. I'm still learning with this whole photography scene and could use some constructive criticism. But if you really insist on showering me with complements, I couldn't possibly turn you away.

Don't Go That Way:

Don't worry, the city lights can keep me company when you're gone.

Look out, the cut is pretty image heavy. But follow along for some more 'artsy' photos.

Fire Dragons:

Two fire dangers here. Probably just me again, but I can't help but think this one looks like 4 little fire snakes. (Yeah, i've got a soft spot for reptiles, can you tell?) The one farthest right, totally looks like a dragon. I can't help but imagine this scene with these kids doing some sort of nifty ceremonial dance with these tamed fiery snakes twining around their hands and ankles. It's a cool image at least -- more so on the verbal side I think, but to each their own.

Chandelier:

This one's fun. Chandeliers and party beads. Also sentence fragments. Also the most colour depth I've got for you today, I think.

Stained Glass at night:

I'm pretty sure the girl doing the spinning here is my friend Mel. Again with the church images. I dunno, it's probably just me, but I get some serious stained glass vibes from this one.

Light Weave / Wound up Light:

Sit still long enough, and the lights won't be afraid to weave themselves into your hair.
...
(Provided you don't have short short pixie hair like me)

Lights through the smoke:

I don't know what my deal is, but these two pictures give me some awfully church-y vibes. The reason I like this picture is because for some reason the scene came out blue-ish and I can't unsee a dove in the fiery path in the middle. Because my first thought was "lights through smoke" when I saw this picture, and then saw the 'dove', I was reminded of those scenes in abandoned churches, where the birds all flock up for dramatic effect. And then there's a lingering scene of just dust motes through the sunlight and some cooing from the nondescript birds.

Careful not to sit on the pews... you don't know how long the birds have been there.

Smooth:

I just love that long graceful sweep at the top. It's more silk than fire.
I would wear that on the red carpet ... if i wasn't afraid that the colours would clash with the carpet ... and provided I'm immune to first degree burns...

The last one for the night is a good party:

And you're invited. BYOB though.

I think of all my pictures, this one catches the feeling of "dancing" the best.

Quick, It's a Liger, Get In The Car!

2009-06-25T07:50:37Z

[Art/ Sibling Tardlings]

So like any girl with a sister sibling, I get into a few scuffles with her now and then. Unfortunately I'm the passive sister.
Long story short, we got into another little tiff about something stupid (her fault btw) and it ended up, with me drawing all over her.

It should go without saying that I'm pretty bad at focusing on arguments as stupid as the ones we have sometimes. But she's a good sport... or something.

I dunno, after I doodled all that crap on her arm, she was all: "Draw me Iron Man!! Draw me Iron Man! Oh oh oh! Draw me a Liger!"

So I did. Here is my Liger. The first I've ever drawn in my life, I must add. ( I don't even know if I did it right, but my sister was pretty happy so I guess it's all cool. [ Except that I later realized, that if she's happy at the end of a fight... it means I've lost ... again]

Liger "Resting":

Liger "Standing":

With his Crown :

The Best MuthaLovin' Tree I've EVER Drawn in my Life:

Is that not the best tree you've ever seen in your life? Don't lie, I know it is.

And after the tree and Liger, my sister made all sorts of demands for more random junk. Here's some pictures of about half the stuff she ended up with all over her arms and legs. I gotta admit, some of it was sadly my idea too.

On the left you can see some weird stuff ( I've got no idea either mate.)

While my sister tried to guess what some of these cave painting caliber pictograms represented, she decided she liked the little scene on the right.

Her version:

"It's a rain cloud with an antenna on top, so the meteorologists know where it is. And It's raining on a sad little dog. That's a very good dog by the way."

Me:

"It's supposed to be a spaceship beaming up a cow."

Her:

"No. It's a good dog. You're wrong. But you did draw a very nice sad puppy."

She's cute but really stubborn, just like me... except I'm not that cute and not that stubborn.

Next up,
a Little Dude in a Space Ship and an Angry Hippo Chasing Down some Frightened Villagers (they're going to die):

A Whale:

Some Giraffes:

That last giraffe is a very daring modernist depiction. As you can see, it is a stick animal feasting on a stick tree (hahahah almost a pun - I'm so witty) and its spots are floating around on various different planes of space. This represents how racism is bad, and how who we are, is all a matter of how we perceive ourselves ... or something. Yeah, that or it's a messed up giraffe.

What were supposed to be Railroad Tracks on her foot:

The spirals represent stinkyness. I decided that after the fact.

The words on her leg accompanied an upside-down hammerhead shark. They are his sound effects.

An Elephant with Sealand Eyebrows:

Some things not pictured include: A stick man war, Robin hood, more fish, a shark, stupid limericks, a dinosaur wizard, some pumpkins and pineapples, a unicorn porcupine and NO IRON MAN -- proving that I actually won this round.

Premierment un merci

2009-06-25T06:47:35Z

[Un Grand Merci]

First I need to thank my darling cosmopolitan French friend Claire-Aline for the packet I just got in the mail. ♥♥♥

Donc, je veux te remercier pour le paquet et aussi toutes nos correspondances. Ne quitte jamais d'être si merveilleux !
C'est grâce à toi, que je continue d'étudier pour améliorer mon niveau de la langue. Quand on nous parle je suis toujours mis envie de penser en français (malgré le fait que j'imagine que c'est tous de traviole)

She's been spending time in Finland/ Sweden / Russia this year and sent me some more local candies from the area. And is that Salmiaki I spy? Why yes I think it is! I can only imagine teeny tiny little Hanatamagos, Swedens and Finlands running around when I look at the stuff. I didn't think I'd ever have the opportunity to try the stuff, it being so foreign (to my landlocked little Canadian town).

That being said I tried one of the little orange candies (mini salted licorices) and they taste... exactly like you would imagine salted licorice to taste. The flavor wasn't bad... it'll just take a little getting used too. She did warn me the candies might be a little strange and now I'm terrified of opening the Salmiaki box (though I really really want to).

We've been corresponding for a few years now and we always exchange the cutest stuff. I sent her some assorted thing and some Canadian candies. If you don't know the nestle brand (Candies I'm talking about not their coffee), then you don't know what you're missing out on. I was however a poor example of a Canadian, as I didn't send her anything maple. I gotta remember for next time hahaha.

Heading off for a Grand Adventure!

2009-06-13T20:50:09Z

[The Great News]

Went to the casino last night. That was hilarious. I got them to give my mates and I free drinks and supper.

But in other news:

I'm moving to Toronto for the next couple of months to work for one of Canada's largest art supply distributors! It's been around since 1978. I'll be working in their business area, and with the actual president & founder of the company. The man is also an artist himself, with lots of exhibitions under his belt.

I AM SO EXCITED OH MY GOSH.

Check out where I'll be working:

Does the place not look like it'll be fantastic fun? I rather think it does!

The place I'm going to be living is going to be pretty phenomenal too! I'm going to essentially have my own apartment. In downtown Toronto. Can one ask for more? I don't think so.

I'm a little nervous though, I gotta admit. What if I'm asked to show off my own 'art works'. I don't know if I can. I just suddenly feel like I haven't put enough effort into any of my work, and none of it has any depth. I mean, I haven't really had any time to seriously work on any 'real' art for ages. Sure, I've been starting up fun little projects here and there, but none of it has any deeper meaning (or is geared to a professional audience). Whatever, I'll slap myself out of this train of thought, and cross that bridge when I come to it.

Provided I don't have a terrible accident while traveling or something, this is really a great opportunity for me. After work I plan on checking out the local universities and colleges too.

[The WIPs]

Like I said before, I've been practicing various little fun art ventures. I've also been doing a little bit of amateur photography. I'll throw some photos up at a later date. But here are some little things I've been working at of late.

This is Alice and those drippy roses of hers. I', really just practicing my Copics on this thing. I know it would be much nicer if I did it digitally, but I wanted to finally break in my markers. I'm not sure what I think of this yet. Oh well, we'll have to see.

Plus I'm making a wee little plush polar bear.

He is the softest thing ever. I think I'm making this as a gift for someone. I only ever make little plush figurines as gifts. I made a little Ivan (baby snake-bird dragon wannabe thing) that I gave away in a fit of gift giving. I really miss the little guy, since I didn't have any way of taking pictures of him. Oh well, it's not the first time I've given away projects and regretted it. I just worry I'm going to have a hard time letting go of this little fella. Well, at least I'm pretty sure that the polar bear will get a little more affection, than my last critter.

You live, you learn, and you make more little baby dragon wannabes. That is the lesson I'll firmly believe I've learned here.

Have some more Kuma' photos. (teehee that's the bear's name. I'm terrible and uncreative,I know.)

And the wind just blew into my room,smelling so heavily of lilacs. That's it, I'm out of here. I'm not spending another minute in front of the computer, when the weather is so perfectly gorgeous outside. There are clearly adventures to be had today.

I apparantly Fail at 4 komas

2009-06-12T17:08:27Z

I mostly just fail at the counting I think.

Anyway, I'm back, but no one needs to celebrate with too much fanfare. You're allowed to cheer just a little though of course, if you really want to, in your heart.

So these last few weeks have been sort of crazy for me. Instead of blogging about my life in a boring old way, I decided to make, what I had hoped were going to be some 4 komas.
This didn't work out well, but here, have the first batch of my unglamorous mini comics.

These boring little guys helped me cheer up when I was feeling kind of down with my stuff.
There's nothing like ridiculing your situation via stick men and talking figments of your imagination.

Don't judge me, I do what i need to do, to stay chipper.

For the record, I'm not actually guilty of doing anything wrong.
Comic removed for a bit.

Yeah, I don't know what happened to the 'don't talk to strangers' rule either. I'm sort of glad that little girl didn't pay it any heed though.
I dunno, what she said at the time sure made me feel a whole lot less gloomy.
Could just be me, but it was really cute.
Also, I wasn't loitering around the edges of comic panels, I was in a grocery store buying grapes and oranges.

Double also:
I love my short short hair to pieces, but little kids (and more traditional people) seem to sometimes have beef with it.
I'm not a vegetarian so I'm cool with this beef, because usually it's hilarious.
This little girl's the first Caucasian kid i think though, that made the mistake of calling me a boy.

I don't think I'll be taking any of these jobs, because I think I'm going to work in Toronto.

And my fish by the way, is sort of aggressive toward tank ornaments, be it plants, castles or sudden!telephones.

I like my little Cheerleading Optimist Fairy ^tm,
she makes it easy to be happy.
Her name could be Bitet and
I also think she's sort of dumb.
She's got a 'friendenemy' who's my much cheaper and much more efficient Rational Cynical Fairy^tm .
I like him a little less.

The Saga continues in a later journal post.
Because I like my cruddy comic formats.

Freebies

2009-05-28T17:33:19Z

[Freebies]

Cross posted from my Deviant Art page:

So I was pursuing my gallery as an artist on an ego(-killing) trip is wont to do, when I realized something. OH MY GOSH, MY STUFF IS SORT OF SUPER DUPER SHODDY YOU GUYS!
Oh noes.

SOOOOooo I'm going to be revamping most of my pictures. (~~because they suck~~ could do with a face lift) Don't be alarmed if most of the pictures in my gallery up and disappear. It's only temporary. Unless I'm in a terrible disaster, and can't re-upload anything because I've lost both my arms.

Ok, and now to the good part that should make you all look like this:

because I am such a totally awesome person.

_{That's right, I'm fantastic.}

That being said, I'm offering 4 Free Sketch requests. to prep. up my ~~sub par~~ TOTALLY AMAZING ARTZ SKILLZ before undertaking my summer commissions.

I'm warning you though, the quality of these super-duper-free-and-awesome sketches is all random, so it's gonna be a caliber gamble.
You might get something extra awesome (don't count on it ~~because I suck~~ ROCK) or you might not.

I'll accept any request so long as it wouldn't need a mature filter on DA, and doesn't involve more than one character. You can still request more than one character actually, but your chances of getting a more detailed picture decreases significantly. Don't want a character? Have a deep yearning for a pastoral scene or maybe two cacti duking it out? I'm down with anything. Visual examples increase your chance of a more detailed picture FYI.

If you wanna make this an art trade I would love that, but it's not mandatory.

First 4 deviants to comment get in.

Also check out: [link] Make a little dude or dudette and fight me. It's fun!

Oh hey. The emotes stay too. Cool.

On the bright side, me realizing what's wrong with my images means I'm improving right? RIGHT? DON'T TELL ME IT'S BECAUSE I'M A LOST CAUSE OF AN ARTIST! MY WEAK HEART COULDN'T TAKE IT!

[Art]

Here are some examples of the last time I did a free sketch giveaway. Don't judge me ok! These are from 2006, which was ages ago.

The next post will have new pictures I promise.

3D stuff too! Oh, I'm so excited.

No Need to Paint these Roses Red

2009-05-26T12:41:14Z

[News]
It rained today and that was lovely.
I also might need to join a support group for hopeless dreamers. I just wish my passions were a little more practical and a little less "artsy fartsy". Maybe if I had a 12 hour personal cheer leading service I'd feel better. They wouldn't even have to be cute cheerleaders. If you're peppy and optimistic I want you on my team. I'm accepting applications.

In other news I've had a good/ bad idea. I'm thinking about starting a battery recycling program for my old high school. This might be a dangerous idea, what with all the chemicals etc, but maybe it's better than the alternative (all those chemicals seeping into the soil in landfills)? And if it goes well I could try to bring it to other schools and then my university. I don't know if it will catch on, but I figure I should go back into my 'environmental savior' mode. I do wish people could be less wasteful and more environmentally conscious though. The terrible thing is, it isn't due to lack of knowledge but more people being lazy and/or greed-heads. I mean "I recycle my newspapers" will only get you so far. My mistake. Will only get everyone else so far, the 'Mr./Mrs. You' here simply doesn't care. So instead of sounding preachy or whining about the state of humanity, maybe I can discreetly do good and initiate some positive change? I really need to think of more projects like this.
Alas I'm but a poor university student and I can only do so much with my (severely) limited budget. I would feel less disheartened if only I could think of a superhero that maintains a positive outlook while being less than financially blessed. (Moral absolutist Rorschach doesn't count because he eats cold beans and is insane. Mostly because he's insane.) It'd also be cool if the superhero wasn't a hooker, and even better if they were between 20 - 45 years old. I figure I'll do environmental aid until I get the means to do more humanitarian work.

Another thing I need to do is figure out some way to go take photos downtown (or anywhere) with out being mugged/knifed/propositioned for a threesome. Once again I think those cheerleaders could come in handy. I mean would you want to mug a girl surrounded by a loud bright pom-pom waving crowd? I ~~hope~~ think not.

[The Roses]

Here is the line art for the Dripping Alice picture I've been working on. From DA:

I'm working on this little lady right now. She's one of the chicks I've mentioned around here, who'll be in my webcomic Sleep Pending.
[I figured I should maybe draw out my characters at least once before throwing them on my pages officially. I really should have thought of this earlier... with all my characters... before starting the comic...]
Please don't extrapolate the metaphors here ok. There aren't any. And please don't use this without my permission either.
I'm going to colour this as soon as I figure out what colour the roses should be. I probably shouldn't have put roses in the hair of someone with red hair
This is in traditional art by the way, because the line work was all inked by hand IRL. If you think the lines are weak, you're right, I totally botched on the inking.
And if anyone's interested I could do a tutorial on how I did this little baby. It would be titled "How you should never ever do art like this".
This isn't mature content is it? Nothing naughty is showing.

I'd probably have a little more confidence in this picture if my dad didn't keep reminding me how much disdain he has for the thing. I'll probably like this a whole lot more once I add some colours.
And that bit about not drawing out my characters in advance is true. I'm hoping to get time to sketch all the main characters from Sleep Pending at least once. I only have a vague idea of what my cast should look like in my head and I'm not even sure if I can draw them out properly ~~ignoring the fact, of course, that I really can't draw anything properly haha~~. I just need to muster up a little courage to get back to my comic, stop taking it so seriously and remember it's just for practice.

Cheerleading fairies, I supplicate your aide !! Come unto me! [insert foreign summoning spell here.]

Lazriel's Carnival - silly little blub

2009-05-21T05:18:34Z

[ME NEWS]

My twitter identity crisis went as follows:

I procured myself a twitter account some time ago because I am a sheep.

I felt like such a tool for a few hours after that.
I then realized the brand identity was actually quite adorable. Also, I love the word "twitter" all by itself.
When typing up my first entry, I couldn't help but imagine Orxieal** bouncing along a keyboard trying* to type messages.
This image was so cute, it eradicated all tool feelings.
I then later realized that twitter is an awesome service to quickly make notes to myself to not forget things.
I'm so excited at the idea of abusing this and maybe not suffering from my short term memory haha.

In other news, I've prepped Anthony (my laptop) up and he's all ready to be sent off to Acer. Thank goodness I bought that extended warranty.
I'll probably be even less present online, while he's gone. Well I'll still be working on practicing art stuff.

*trying is the key word here
**Orxieal is a Chickadee Angel

[ARTS]
Remember this fun little picture from here? Well while rooting around for something to post up on Deviant Art, I dredged up this guys. Maybe since today seems to be on the topic of memories, I found myself remembering what I had originally thought this picture was about.
It's a little silly I know, but I have free reign to be as silly as I want with these guys.

Anyway, this is how I think Lazriel sees the carnival at night. Specifically the reflection of the carnival's lights in the water under the piers. Lazriel is an odd sort of lad who sees things differently than other people do. Nobody's ever really certain what he's picturing in that head of his (not even me).

Bonus on Laz':

Due to a speech impediment his adopted kid (who is a robot - sort of) calls him "ass wheel" also, the bloke is sort of crazy spoiled.

Ümlauti etc [+ still hating LJ formating]

2009-05-16T06:43:20Z

[Me News]

University is finally over for the year and that means a breath of fresh air, and me hopefully, finally having some time to myself. Life's been her usually 'exciting' self with me. I'd share, but whining online isn't really my scene; It's totally soooo un-fetch. And by "un-fetch" I mean juvenile. I'd rant about kids using the internet for virtual pity posses, but ranting isn't really my dig either. There have been some very nice moments in my recent history of course, and that's all fair game for the internet. 3.5 GPA by the way. I'm a little disappointed but I've only got myself to blame so no whining about that either. 3.5 isn't that bad anyway I guess.

It's spring up here in Canada, and everyday it's smelt different and delicious outside. Today smelled like oranges, yesterday smelled of hickory smoke, day before was roses (which is strange since no roses are up yet) and the day before that was cut grass or something. That last day may not be right, but whatever it was, it did make me think of fresh cut grass...even though our grass is just turning green now. Tonight smells like hyacinths. Same story with not many flowers being up yet and this being impossible (though hyacinths come up early early spring anyway). Maybe it's all in my head or I've just been (un?)lucky enough to walk into huge clouds of perfume every time I step out side. This is all dandy though, since it's been a nice spring experience. Also, songbirds waking you ever morning is beyond fantastic. I missed them n the winter and I'll miss them if this isn't a phenomenon when/if I move.

Did I mention we're having an unnaturally chilly May? How chilly? Snowing chilly. It's snowing. Right. Now. I'm worried that if I blink, I'll have missed spring and we'll have jumped right into summer. That's the thing I love about Canada land though, the weather is always so unpredictable. I do get all four seasons at least. Sure the seasons aren't in equal servings, but every four years or so, they even out. And baring death by freezing, Canadian weather isn't too dangerous either. Don't get me started on Canadian wildlife though. Friendly woodland critters snuggling up to your tuque, don't seem so friendly when they can easily kick your face in.

The little fleurettes of green in all the trees are quite darling to look at. Forgive my french, but the word is much too appropriate. It's like the trees are already blossoming, and I guess they are in one sense of the word. Still, I can't wait till more flowers actually come up. I fully intend to practice my paltry photography skills. Also, back with the image of les fleurettes, I keep thinking of Ezra Poud's imagist poem:

IN A STATION OF THE METRO

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Quite a charming image isn't it? Even if different readings of the poem can lend to a more sinister air, both are relevant and rather appropriate. I don't think I'll get into poetry analysis today (or maybe ever in this blog), but if the 'haiku' tickles your fancy, I'd wouldn't hesitate to recommend looking up further analysis of the thing. Pound isn't my favoirte American modernist poets but he's not bad. And who knows, maybe this summer is a good couple of months for poetry immersion. I might even link some more in later posts.
A long overdue haircut finally happened to me too. More on the silly events of that later. For the record, I think it's shorter than it's ever been. Short short pixie cut.

[Sketches / Art bit]

I haven't forgotten my webcomic but I'm currently so horrified with the paltry quality of my art that I just can't force myself to post the more recent pages. Note that there are more recent pages. Give my fragile ego a little bit to get over myself, and we'll be good to go. Concurrently, while I try to garner a little more time for myself, I'm also trying to get back into the groove of drawing/painting/ and just art in general. Maybe when I get back into the swing of thing, my comic won't look so stiff. No promises though. It still might take me some time to get used to the comic medium.

Any-hoo, here's some sketches I did trying to get some late night drawing practice in.

I would call this lady an 'alien' but that's hardly polite behavior, now is it? She's a relatively unimportant minor character from A Paper Flower Carnival. I Just felt like doodling her, because being an extraterrestrial [more like Extra Special amirite? -- no discrimination on my part] means that I can make up her culture and mode of dress and all that. Lots of liberties to me. Don't you just love not being wrong?

Her name is Ümlautie. It was a hard choice on which vowel to put the umlaut, and it's really still up in the air. I'd like to point out by the way, that she's got ever vowel except Y in her name (a Y would have looked stupid... bit now that I think bout it, might look sort of cool with an umlaut). Since her colour scheme is white and old lady pinks, I was always calling her 'Roza' in my head. Digression but, I had a hardy Italian naighbour named Roza - (married to Tony and with two kids named Camilla and Carmen respectively -- loved the names of everyone in that family!) - who would call me "Anna". I would have stuck with Roza too, if it wasn't the same amount of syllables as Tisha (and both end with an 'A'-- not a pretty lexicality). Tisha is a (huge joke of a) character, and he's a whole bunch blue. Their babies would be purple or something.

Anyway, the red sketch was done last night and the black one on the lined paper, was done maybe 5 months ago in an English course. Both sketches were done using those fabulous 4 coloured Bic pens from France.

Points on Ümlautie's design:

Those weird swirly patterns on both sketches are supposed to remind me to get some visual research on those coral fish. Shame on the artist that doesn't collect proper visual research!

She doesn't have large / elf / animal ears. The bigger shapes behind her head are essentially bits of her nun's wimple.

She has a heavy circular pattern going on, dots in her eyes, and even has an umlaut-esque headress sort of thing (I pretend they're antennae for catching radio frequencies when her life as a nun gets too boring - it isn't - and her nun life is boring).

That isn't a mask, its more like a fleshy cartilage like tissue extending from her face; the same sort of biological tissue from her lower half. I drew it too red and too far separated I've decided. (more a note for me than anything else) .

No that isn't a piercing and yes she's overdressed for a nun (in my canon).

No she isn't a 'priestess', she's a nun. That's different. Nun = boring repetitive devout life , Priestess = running around barely dressed fighting ogres and being sacrificed to volcano gods.

She's from a place called Tebit Lamdala. Yeah. Don't even get me started.

Shut up, I can't draw symmetrically, leave me alone.

And because this post lacks hot topless babe, here's a sketch I'm working on right now of Alice. I know her colour scheme, I know how I want to clour this and in what traditional media... I just don't know what to colour the roses. BRB, praying to the colour wheel god.

Don't get too excited about this sketch though, I completely slaughtered a copy when inking it. I'm really really rusty at this whole art gig. I'd making drawings in the most uneconomical fashion imaginable. ... Maybe I should make tutorials on how not to go about your art business.

Oh my goodness, I am not fond of LJ html formatting at all! It makes me put text here, and heavens knows what these posts look like on a different sized monitor. All my posts are formatted so they show up nicely in wordpress. It takes me an extra 10 minutes to fix when LJ screws around with them.

Ewww, (and not just at LJ's forced html set up)

2009-05-16T05:58:13Z

Ewwww, my LJ is getting musty and dusty and goodness, is that mold in the corner!!
I've been using my real blog over at wisterium.wordpress.com, sorry for the lack of updates.
I'll probably cross post everything from there, here now. Maybe. If I posses the attention span to follow through.

Here's one of the more 'recent' posts from over the bridge and across the way:

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Everyone likes journal polls right? I mean I sure do. So because I love all of the following terms, I thought I'd incorporate one of them in a drawing. I'd do all of them but I don't have the time. So dear reader please pick one of the following words, and I'll sketch a character with whatever design element you choose. This should be fun.

View Poll: Artsy design terms, except not.

Time to learn some new words. All the following are design related words and are pretty good to know for internet searches if you like this sort of imagery. There are some great images out there, and I find browsing through them pretty inspiring sometimes.

The first is: 'Damask'.

Shameless copy pasta from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damask

Damask (Arabic: دمسق‎) is a figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Made with one warp and one weft in which, generally, warp-satin and weft sateen weaves interchange. Twill or other binding weaves may sometimes be introduced^{[citation needed]}. The term originally referred to ornamental silk fabrics, which were elaborately woven in colours, sometimes with the addition of gold and other metallic threads. Damask weaves are commonly produced today in silk, linen or linen-type fabrics which feature woven patterns featuring flowers, fruit, forms of animal life, and other types of ornament.

Damask was first produced in China, India, Persia, and Syria, then the Byzantine Empire followed. In the West, it was first known as diaspron or diaper, the term used in Constantinople. In the 12th century however, the city of Damascus, famous for its textiles, so far outstripped all other places for beauty of design that it gave the cloth its modern name.

I never knew the word for this type of pattern, but think it's great to know. Resource wise, I now have a key word to search for when I want to incorporate damask patterns in the fabric I'm drawing. I also think this stuff would make for great textures. The thing about damask is that it is often so pretty. It makes for more visually interesting fabric which I quite like in a room.

The next word is much more common knowledge, but is : 'filigree'

Another dish of copy pasta from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filigree

Filigree (formerly written filigrann or filigrane; also known as telkari, the name given in Anatolia, meaning "wire work", and cift-isi, pronounced chift-ishi, meaning "tweezers work") is a jewel work of a delicate kind made with twisted threads usually of gold and silver or stitching of the same curvy motif. It often suggests lace, and is most popular in French fashion decoration from 1660 to the present. It is now exceedingly common for ajoure jewellery work to be mislabelled as filigree. While both have many open areas, filigree involves threads being soldered together to form an object and ajoure involves holes being punched, drilled, or cut through an existing piece of metal.

The word, which is usually derived from the Latin filum, thread, and granum, grain, is not found in Ducange, and is indeed of modern origin. According to Prof. Skeat it is derived from the Spanish filigrana, from "filar", to spin, and grano, the grain or principal fibre of the material.

While the word is derived from the metal work, it is very commonly used when referencing those gorgeous, spirally, ornate organic curves you often see used in graphic design nowadays. I'm a big fan of the stuff.

Next word: Cloisonné

Again from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloisonn%C3%A9

Cloisonné, an ancient metalworking technique, is a multi-step enamel process used to produce jewelry, vases, and other decorative items. (The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné.)

Cloisonné first developed in the Near East. It spread to the Byzantine Empire and from there along the Silk Road to China. Chinese cloisonné is arguably the most well known of all the varieties of cloisonne and enamel making. Russian cloisonné from the Tsarist era is also highly prized by collectors. Chinese cloisonné is sometimes confused with Canton enamel, a similar type of enamel work that is painted on freehand and does not utilize partitions to hold
the colors separate.

Ever since I was a little girl my Dad's been teaching me about antiques. Cloisonné was probably the first decorative metal term I remember learning. Whenever I hear this word I think of my old man and the little trinkets he would get me.

Forth word is Paisley.

Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisley_(design)

Resembling a large comma or twisted teardrop, the kidney-shaped paisley is Indian and Persian in origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland.^{[citation needed]}

Some design scholars call the distinct shape boteh and believe it is the convergence of a stylized floral spray and a cypress tree: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity.^{[citation needed]} A floral motif called buta, which originated in the Safavid Dynasty of Persia (from 1501 to 1736), was a major textile pattern in Iran also during the Qajar Dynasty. In these periods, the pattern was used to decorate royal regalia, crowns, and court garments, as well as textiles used by the general population.

The pattern is still popular in Iran and South and Central Asian countries. It is woven using gold or silver threads on silk or other high quality textiles for gifts, for weddings and special occasions. In Iran and Uzbekistan its use goes beyond clothing - paintings, jewelry, frescoes, curtains, tablecloths, quilts, carpets, garden landscaping, and pottery also sport the buta design. In Uzbekistan the most frequent item that can be found featuring the design is the traditional headdress doppi.^{[citation needed]}

The modern French words for paisley are boteh and palme, the latter being a reference to the palm tree, which, along with the pine and the cypress, is one of the traditional botanical motifs thought to have influenced the shape of the paisley element as we now know it.^[4]^{[not in citation given]}

In Pakistan, pais

ley designs are widely termed the carrey design. Carrey in Urdu means mango seed.^{[citation needed]}

One last theory on the shape consistent with the time frame of its origin is that the design is a representation of the leech (Hirudinea): the Paisley design often incorporates pregnant Glossiphoniidae leeches, and a body cavity containing baby Glossiphoniidae leeches.

You see these guys on lots of bandannas and men's ties. I was actually quite late to learn this word. I had always thought it was some sort of vegetable, but now i think i was mixing it up with parsley. I figured out what a paisley was when I was first doing research on henna designs.

The last word is another textile word: Brocade

Encyclopædia Britannica says : http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Brocade

Brocade, the name usually given to a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and with or without gold and silver threads. Ornamental features in brocade are emphasized and wrought

as additions to the main fabric, sometimes stiffening it, though more frequently producing on its face the effect of low relief. These additions present a distinctive appearance on the back of the stuff where the weft or floating threads of the brocaded or broached parts hang in loose groups or are clipped away.

This word sounds rather pretty I think and I've always liked it... not that that stopped me from thinking it meant something else entirely. A few years ago I had thought the word meant a type of jewelery I think. A broach maybe, I can't remember, it was so long ago.

Also check out this GORGEOUS Kyo-Satsuma Ceramic Tea Bowl (Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum) from: http://www.khulsey.com/travel/japan_cloisonne.html. It's just so beautiful! I want to own it so badly hahaha.

Note: I pretty much hate how LJ does forced formatting of my html coding. This is one of the many reasons I prefer wordpress.

New Comic and art dump

2009-03-23T03:18:21Z

Or click here

and

Link take you to wisterium.wordpress.com

Sleep Pending Webcomic new page

2009-03-09T03:32:29Z

Or click HERE.

Sleep Pending Webcomic 4 pages

2009-02-27T03:27:57Z

It's here! And it's being updated regularly !

or you can just click here : http://wisterium.wordpress.com/

There's a funny face here

2009-02-14T18:31:55Z

My webcomic comes out Today. I'm excited! This is my day before art dump. There's a funny face in there.

Give me a second, and I'll post links to my comic a little later.

_wist_ @ 2008-12-09T04:54:00

2008-12-09T10:57:14Z

Newest art dumps

2008-11-28T21:32:48Z