Whoop! You can now purchase Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi #1 from House of Secrets Comic Shop in Burbank located on 1930 W Olive Ave!
WonderCon 2014
Do you like comics, movies, anime and sci-fi? If you do, you should come to WonderCon Anaheim this weekend, April 18-20! I’ll be at Artist Alley table AA-243 along with my booth mate and friend, Ria Art! My brand new comic, Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi (shown above) will debut and be available for sale there!
Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi is about a small corgi with a big secret: she’s a superhero that is trying to save the world! The comic is a full color, 12 page book that will be available for purchase for $5. These are a special first print run, so there are only 50 of them! They are each numbered individually on the inside front cover, so you’ll know which in the series you got! And, starting April 21st, the book will be for sale in my online store.
In addition, I’ll have quite a few prints, posters, pins, and travel coffee mugs for sale! I’ll also be offering con sketches as usual– limited to 10 slots only! If you’re wanting one, make sure to find me on Friday or early Saturday before they’re all gone. And yes– I’ll do your ponysona if you want!
My boothmate and buddy Ria Art (Alexandria Gold) will have her artwork prints, cards, pins and tote bags for sale. In addition, she’ll have her adorable miniature crocheted critter magnets, earrings, and larger crocheted stufties for sale. You can buy them individually, or in sets such as Aquatic Critters, Veggie Critters, or Safari Critters! Her stuff is heart-melting; seriously make sure you check it out!
Again, we’ll be at booth AA-243 in the Artist Alley! Saturday-only passes are sold out, but Weekend, Friday, and Sunday passes are still available. For only like $15, it’s a fun thing to do with your family this Easter weekend! Hope to see you there!
"Atlantis" Process
in Illustration, Animals, Process
Who doesn’t like dolphins? As a kid, I was obsessed with Ecco the Dolphin. I played all three Genesis games in the series, the Dreamcast version, and even got into a fierce bidding war on Ebay for the original soundtrack. I once spent about five hours randomly punching letters into the passcode level select stage so that I could get past really difficult levels. Would you believe that over a year, I actually managed to hit enough combinations that I got every level in the game? I mean I finished the game the normal way as well… but yeah. I was obsesssed.
Dolphin guards don't play around
Many a dolphin drawing and Ecco fanfic came out of my overly excited, young self. My favorite book was A Circle in the Sea by Steve Senn, which is fins-down the best dolphin fiction I’ve ever read. I even wanted to be a dolphin when I grew up– the major hang up was that I’m not a very good swimmer, so there went that dream. Whoops.
Initial sketch ideas
So now that I’m a “grown-up” (sorta) I thought I’d use the 23 years of practice I have on my 6 year old self to make a cool dolphin environmental painting. One day on my lunch hour I started doing thumbnails and concept sketches to decide what I wanted to do. I decided I wanted to tell my head-canon version of the Lost City of Atlantis– a city that was built by undersea creatures as a refuge from humans. The idea is that humans were never involved in Atlantis and certainly aren’t welcome there. We, the viewer, have discovered it… but a dolphin guard isn’t happy that we’re here.
Rough drawing
I wanted to design what a dolphin sentinel that protected the city would look like. If a dolphin wore armor, how would it work? Obviously it would need to be articulated to move properly with the way that dolphins swim. It would need to function as both armor and a weapon, without encumbering the animal too much. I decided that lightweight armor would serve a dolphin best, as they would likely be a type of soldier/guard that relied on speed and agility.
Color exploration
The sort of armor I came up with is relatively minimalist. It protects the animals back, head, and blowhole. The front is bent upward so that the dolphin’s echolocation is uninhibited. It has razor edges, so that the dolphin could sail by an enemy and cause damage without having to manipulate anything. The big weapon though, is the narwhal-inspired horn in the front. It’s a magical element, so not only is it useful for stabbing, but it magically makes the armor lighter overall.
Detail of this pissed dude
The city itself has a lot of round shapes. If you’ve read the aforementioned A Circle in the Sea, you’ll know that in Senn’s world, everything is circular to a dolphin. The sun and moon run on a circular path, the tides and currents are circular, a pod is called a “Circle”, and… well, y’know, the Circle of Life. So I wanted a lot of circles and curves in my Atlantis because that book made such a HUGE impact on my young mind.
Shiny, shiny lights
The painting itself took six months from inception to finish. Why? Not because it actually took me that long to plan and paint. I’d say that only took maybe 15 hours or so. It’s because I did all the concept art and planning and then straight up forgot about it! Err… oops. That’s ok though, because I just finished up an Environmental Painting class over at Studio Arts taught by super cool dude Alex Ruiz, and the stuff I learned in that class really helped me bring this painting to the level I wanted it to be!
a super sweet animated GIF I made of the painting’s progress. Watch it and say, “Ooooooo, technology!”
Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi
Just a little comic I’ve been working on recently! Heavenly Kibble Guardian Corgi: What would you do if you woke up one day and your dog told you they were a magical soldier sent to defend the Earth from untold evil? Shenanigans to follow in this 10 page, full color comic coming soon. I’m really excited about this, and I hope you will be, too!
Merry Christmas!
in Illustration
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! I’m hoping to set a productive tone with this first post of 2014: a slew of Christmas commissions that I had to hang onto. I hope you enjoy them!
Castle By the Sea
in Illustration
I did an ink drawing of a seaside castle on a cliff during my lunch hour last Friday. It was one of those drawings where I just started making shapes to see what would happen. After it was finished, I decided that it would be fun to slap some values on it, and then couldn’t resist adding color… which then turned into a partial painting before I decided to call it quits. It was a lot of fun just letting the artwork decide for itself what it wanted to be!
Foxfire
in Illustration, Animals
Celtic knots are difficult to draw. Digital, 11x17 ~6 hours. This is one of my first truly personal pieces of artwork in a very long time.
Foxfire
I Graduated!
Well it’s official! I just got back from San Francisco where I graduated from the Academy of Art University with a Masters in Fine Art! Congratulations to all of my classmates who graduated with me. Three long years of grueling work have paid off, and it’s time to start a new chapter of our careers as masters.
When I started this journey three years ago, I never really imagined what the end would feel like, and now that it has finally arrived I still really can’t. It’s not the end; it’s the beginning! While a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders, I’m endlessly thankful to have learned so much and met so many wonderfully talented individuals. My artwork has improved incredibly, and I now know so many people from all over the world that I never would have had a chance to know before.
Taking a risk, moving across the country, and leaving everything behind has forced me to grow in ways I would have never imagined. I’ve learned how to better set boundaries, do things for myself, manage my time, move forward towards goals, and conduct myself like a professional. I’m more independent and strong for having done it. I’ve broadened my horizons, and have become a more well-rounded individual. I figured out what it takes to make art a career and not a hobby. And although I learned a lot about art itself (history, technique, business), I think the life lesson it taught me was ultimately more important: take risks. Do Something. It might seem like a huge task, but Do It. A lot of things can be accomplished by just beginning. That’s always the hardest part.
Despite all the loans, sweat, blood, and tears, I’m glad I did it. The learning, growth, friendships, skill, and happiness far outweigh the negatives. I will never regret it, and I can’t wait to see where life takes me next!