Today's (warped and glue-infested) portrait!

Sniffing glue all day messes with your head!

So, today I was helping out with our fundraiser and did some pop up cards. This inevitably meant I had to use a lot of glue.

In an unventilated studio.

Which is very small.


...

In the end, I just did some other xmas cards that I don't really think will sell :D
:D :D

I'm 24. I promise.

Today's portrait and some panel progress.

Been very tired today. Spent most of the morning and early afternoon just cleaning.




Aaaaand here's a proof of progress on three panels.

Today's spontaneous portrait.

This took about 5 min of painting and then in total about 15 min to dry.
About.. three layers maximum with no guide sketch.

I normally NEVER work without a guide sketch underneath. Hm. Might try doing this more 'seriously' with some other picture.

My studio space at Uni!

Here's the current look of my studio space!
Pictures on the walls change frequently. Put up photocopies of references and inspiration mixed with my own current work.

BnM: Page5 tester and a splash page tester.

Will need to make the vignettes smaller I think.. They are spilling out of the page.





... Hmm. It's scary how much more saturated the colours appear on the new Mac screens at Uni, compared to here at home. Confuses me.

Today's (quick) portrait!

Playing the Battlestar Galactica Boardgame.

Today's portrait.

Been in Bath today, and also had a personal tutorial at Uni.

Brain is very mushy mush. I'll try to be more creative tomorrow.

Today's portrait.

BnM. Another panel progress.

Here's another version being painted of the first panel of page5. It's so difficult to paint entire scenes with buildings and people.

But fun!

Aaand a sharp learning curve.



Let's see what happens as I continue adding layers.

EDIT:



EDIT2:

BnM. Rugrat panel.

Sneak peak of one panel. :P




EDIT:

More progress.

BnM. Vignettes.

Been working on page 4 and 5 today. I wasn't happy with the original design of page 4 (the perspective was completely fuggled) and page 5 felt like a mess, paint-wise.

Here's the three little vignettes being worked on for page 5. My tutor taught me the trick of 'working back into the paper' with watercolour. Basically means that you apply colour to an area which you intend to have light/white, then you wet it and rub it with a brush to get the white back... If that makes sense.

It makes it a bit rougher. And I liiike rough.



(very enlarged. These are going to be quite tiny on the actual page)

OMG. I've been stealth-sketched!

I was just casually browsing some blogs when I came across this post by Sarah McIntyre: Click me!

Second picture from the top... Look at the person on the far right with the pony tail and the headband and the hoodie. It's ME. I was gasped loudly IRL when I saw it :D

It's from the comics conference in Cambridge.

Oh how win!

Today's portrait.

Working with lighting.

BnM. Experimentation continues.

Remember my failed self portrait? --> This one.

It was when I learned my ink pen doesn't stay permanent but instead will bleeeeed when watercolour is applied on top.

So. With this image..



...I decided to run with it a bit.

I don't think that this particular version will be used on the page in the graphic novel, but it's helping me figure out how to tackle the colouring in the future.

fun times!

BnM. experimenting a bit.

Having lightboxed the original sketch, I decided to have fun and experiment a bit. It's still in progress, but we'll see what happens.

Today's portrait!

Looopy!

Anybody read chinese?

I happen to have a few things I bought in London China Town and intend to use them in my work, but... I haven't got the foggiest as to what they MEAN.

... Soo!
If anyone is able to read this, I'd really appreciate the help in translating it..





EDIT:

Because I am getting responses, I will post two more...! Thank you all for the help!

BnM. You look like I feel, girl.

One particular scene in the first chapter involves our main character feeling quite a lot of pain.

How suitable that I'm having period pains. It's actually useful for inspiration. That's a bloody first.



Now to lightbox and then attempt a paaainnttt!

Oooh the paaaaiiintt!

BnM: Another attempt..!

Trying to draw children is very very hard.

Save me Raptor Jesus! I cannot draw children!

Haha :D I am trying to learn how to draw children for a part of the graphic novel. My first attempts are here.

I didn't want to scan this at first, but what the heck. Have a large pile of fail.

Today's portrait.

Grumble.
Period pain day.

I don't need to say more than that.

Today's portrait!

Reflecting my reaction to my newly arrived Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie.

Oh. Yum. :D



Otherwise, today has just been dissertation day...

Today's ... Hrrrm.. Errr.. Um.. Portrait!

Yes. I completely forgot about the portrait! I was doing some sculpting and got lost in it.

Today's portrait...!

Decided to try pencil with this one. No painting for once.

I'm still wearing my dressing gown... And it's 7pm here. Hm. Productive day!

Fundraising fanziiiine continued.

Aaaand another 'advice' based image. :P

Illustration Fundraising zine brief.

Making a fanzine to sell on the subject of 'Advice'.

Here's one of my images:

Today's (slightly rubbish) portrait.

I never really woke up today.
My brain has been a gooey mushy mess...

Just decided to try out my new Rotring ArtPen (ink cartridge that you can fill with your own ink). Found out it doesn't blend well with watercolour.

Art fail, but I'll post it anyway :D

BnM. Chapter 1 Cover (later progress)

Woop! My cover was accepted by the higher-ups in the company!
Apparently I'm the first artist to do my own book cover, so am feeling very chuffed.

Here's some progress on it. I'm scanning it several times between painting, just to be sure to have a copy if I mess it up.




Also. Slightly strange feeling today as me and my buddy walked along on the street and were recognized as 'the people who're into comics' by a stranger who handed us indy-comic leaflets. We are apparently known faces at forbidden planet.

Should I be happy or scared? XD

Today's portrait.

Didn't have as much time today as the other days.

Reflecting my views on clothes shopping.

BnM: Potential-Cover progress.

Portrait 2.

First full day at Uni after being sick for so long.

Thinking about attempting a 1 year portrait challenge.

... A bit like this fellow from Concept art did: Click me!

One self portrait a day, for a year.

Tried making my first one just now...

BnM. Pondering cover-like images.

Early painting. This is done straight from a sketch, so no lightboxing involved. If I want to take it further, I will lightbox it.

For now, it remains a doodle.

BACK IN ACTION.

Woo!
Here's a little post to say that I'm able to draw again :D

Currently catching up on rough layouts for chapter one of Butterflies and moths.
It's all very sketchy.





Bits of sketch.

Wham! Struck again!

Just as I got well from flu, I was hit by food poisoning on Tuesday afternoon and have been 'out' basically ever since. Hence the lack of sketches.

I'm incredibly frustrated with being ill, but hopefully it will get better soon. :/

Went to wrong lecture, but decided to stay and draw anyway.

Here's two doodles done during a short lecture.




(subconsciously inspired by Joe Kubert's graphic novel 'Yossel')

Oxford Museum TEA-Rex.

I'd be surprised if I was even allowed to enter this as it doesn't show Oxford at all... So it could be ANYWHERE :D

Last picture being worked on for the brief.

At this point, I'm just doing a bit of a piss-take. :D

Oxford Museum.
Based on this image:


It's still in pencil, so it's quite hard to make out.

Should be working, but had to doodle something.

Arelith alt character.



Dissertation tutorial tomorrow. Will I be fed to the wolves or given a pat on the back? I haven't got a clue.