sketch dump

Looking through one of my sketchbooks I came across a few drawings I never scanned. Unfortunately, I didn't date any of these after I drew them, but I know they were drawn within the last 2-3 years.

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3. 4.

1. Part of a sequential I drew with my character Neera. Over summer, she works at her father's company, and it gets boring a lot of the time. So, she's playing Tetris when a dear friend pays her a surprise visit.
2. I modeled this after my little sister. It's basically a stylized portrait I guess. She doesn't really have slippers like that, though, or that shirt, for that matter. However, the body type is accurate.
3. I was trying to come up with a character to be my Artgyrl comic character's female confidante. I wanted her to be really feminine and stylish, and I named her Mae.
4. Some character styles of my character Tara, and one of Miranda.

Symon & Rose

I started this drawing a few weeks ago, but I didn't like where it was going, so I put it away. I had scanned the initial sketch though. Last night, looking through files, I came across the sketch, and decided it wasn't that bad after all. While chatting with Frank (they're his characters), I finished the drawing.*



I've drawn Rose many times before, but never Symon. For that reason, the drawing was definitely a challenge for me, as I wanted to portray him appropriately. Also, I need more experience drawing males. I think that may have been one of the reasons I considered scrapping the drawing in the first place. But I'm glad I finished. Plus, Frank seemed to like it.

For more info on these characters, check out Arson Entertainment.

*After posing for this pic, Symon and Rose got into a fight, because Rose totally knew he was making bunny ears behind her head. After several minutes of combat, Rose came out victorious. ^_^

my desktop

I took pics for a thread at Penciljack, so I thought I'd share.



Funny thing is, these pics are after I cleaned up a bit.

more: 001 . 003 . 004

"you're an allstar, get your game on"

I was just invited to join the ranks of Sketch Book Allstars. So, I must rep it here. I've been visiting the blog for a little while, and I'm really impressed with the quality of work from the artists that post there. I was really psyched to be invited to join them.

I went to visit with my friend Cici today at the Chinese food restaurant where she works. She was making Cheese Wonton, and it was cool to watch her as we talked. Well, I thought it was cool, she probably saw it as another tedious task. But she did it so artfully. . .

not exactly Southern, but I do say y'all

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

20% Dixie

15% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

You are a Brainy Girl!

Whether you're an official student or a casual learner, you enjoy hitting the books. You know a little bit about everything, and you're always dying to know more. For a guy to win your heart, he's got to share some of your intellectual interests. An awesome book collection of his own doesn't hurt either!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

I need to sleep before this gets out of hand. . .

ethnic portrait series

I just found this sketch I did over a year ago. Over the past 2 years, approximately, I've been doing portraits of people of different ethnicities. The idea was to do the drawings in a relatively short period of time (15-20 minutes) in order to exercise my life drawing skills.

Josh, 23, Mexican-American


Sanaa, 21, Moroccan


Ariana, 15, Venezuelan-American


Jarad, 21, half Italian-American


Braxton, 20, African-American


All these drawings are pretty random and controlled by the people's willingness to sit still long enough for me to get a good likeness. Not everyone who wants their portrait drawn is a good model. However it has been good practice having to capture the likeness of a person even though they're not completely stationary. Josh, for example, would not sit still for more than a few seconds. I think he has undiagnosed ADD or something, seriously. It kinds of came out in his portrait, which is kind of cool, I think. Ariana, on the other hand, sat very still, so I was able to get a lot more fine detail in her features and hair line.

While in New York this past May, I did a portrait of my friend Vieneesa as a graduation gift, in the manner of the portrait of Sanaa (on gray paper), but I don't have a copy of it because I didn't have a scanner, and it was my last night in town. Some way I need to get a copy of it, because it turned out really well.

I have a candidate for my next portrait. I don't know when it'll get done, though. Stay tuned. :)

running: ellis, movie search, film drop-off

Today I went to work at Ellis Products again. I'm happy that Mr. Ellis was pleased enough (and continues to be) with my work that he's keeping me on as kind of their in-house Graphic Designer. Yay me. My next project is to design some display posters for an upcoming trade show.



After I left there, I went and dropped off a roll of b&w film at Calagaz Photo Supply. I also ordered a negative scan, and the total going to be around $16. Not cheap at all. I just checked out their web site, and with all the money that place is making . . .it's certainly not evident in the quality of their site design.



Then I went across town to Wal-Mart to get my roll of color film processed. I also ordered a picture CD with that. Before I went to Wal-Mart, I stopped at movie gallery in order to rent She's the Man, but they were all out. I went to another movie gallery a few miles down the road, and they were rented out as well. The reason I was eager to rent the movie was for the pure fact of a up-and-coming actor by the name of Channing Tatum. After a bit of deliberation, I settled on purchasing Something New.

Also, I've recommitted to trying to grow my hair long. So, I took a pic for documentation purposes.



No drawing today, but I want to try to take a picture of at least one thing everyday.

Swimming at Carondolet

Today I went swimming at my sister's apartment complex. I haven't been swimming in a very long time, so it was nice to get into the water. Plus, it's been 90+ degrees almost everyday for a while, so the weather was ideal for a mid-day dip.



I also brought along my 35mm SLR camera (Olympus OM-1), and took some shots with it. I'm trying to get more experience using color film. I bought a four-pack of Fuji 400 speed two days ago, and now I can't find it, which, figures, ya know. Hopefully, I left it in my sister's car, because I used up the my first roll at the pool. I actually figured out how to use the self-timer on my camera, so that's one good thing.

I'm really interested to get the film developed to see how I did with my color photography.

sexy female draw-off WIP

I decided to enter a draw-off at Penciljack. Artists are asked to draw their version of a sexy female. I was chatting with someone while drawing, and I scanned my progress in order to get critques. I'm pretty sure my idea of "sexy" is a lot different than the guys at PJ. As far as I know I'm the only female entering.



As you can see, I draw kind of backwards. I always start with the figure. Even when I intend do draw a back ground, I draw the figure first. However, in most cases, if you're placing a figure in an environment, it's best to draw the environment, and then place the figure in it, especially if said figure is interacting with the surrounding (i.e. sitting on a bed).

4x6

I forgot to mention that I applied and was accepted as a member of 4x6. It's a online community of photographers, and they submit work based on certain themes. My timing for applying was excellent, because right after I got in they stopped accepting new members indefinitely.

Anyway, check them out.



_the work I submitted with my application

recent work: 07.18.2006

I've been somewhat productive as of late. I'm still working on the commission for Arson. I've started a few sketches, and I'm about to enter my first draw-off at Penciljack. Drawing my interpretation of a sexy female should be easy, right?

Anyway, I thought I'd share what I've been doing, since I haven't posted in a while.

the inks on the "Gimmick" commission"


a graphic design. photo: me; model: kevin


sketch i did @ macaroni grill



preview of gift art for Frank

the Adventures of Devilman

Definitely one of the most entertaining journals I've read in a while.



Enjoy.

Jeb better watch his back

Tonight I accompanied my sister Crystal to this new restaurant called Cooper T's. I could go into a story about how the place has the workd corporate identity ever, but that's a story for another time. All I will say is that these guy's took the airport theme and ran with it, to unheard of extremes. Pictures can only do it justice, which I was remiss in taking.

Anyway, I was interested to go to see what this place was all about. My sister's coworker Nathan's band Vox Box, was playing there, and she was going to show her support. We make our way to the bar, all the way in the back of the place, and meet Nathan, who's taking a break from a set. After the introductions, Crystal and I take a seat at the bar, which is decorated to look like a runway.

Our, waiter/bartender name is Jacob. Crystal orders some white wine, and I settle for sweet tea, then ask for a menu, realizing I'm quite famished. After looking over the menu, and a few suggestions from Jacob, I order an Angus steak burger with a side of Grits with Cheedar (cheese grits, in Southern speak). I guess they had to make it sound like something high class for the out-of-towners.

Jacob comes back while I'm waiting for my meal, and he informs me that they're fresh out of grits. Out of grits. Ok, first of all, grits are like, a staple of the Southern diet. One does not "run out of" grits. They could have walked down the street to Walgreens and picked up a pack of grits and gotten me my Grits with Cheddar. Sigh. So, I order the black beans and rice to replace the grits. Fortunately, when I got my food, the burger tasted AMAZING, as well as the black beans and rice.

Crystal and I enjoy ourselves making jokes about her getting drunk, she only had 2 glasses of whine, and speculating about the sexuality of the guy hosting the show on the Fine Living channel. Nathan's ban plays a few covers, and they were actually pretty good. Crystal talked me into taking some pictures. I didn't want to, but she pulled the whole "you're the photography minor" card. So, I finally acquiesce, and proceed to exploit Nathan's vanity.

When Jacob goes to give my drink a refill, he comes back and tells me that they're out of iced tea, so he asked what else I'd like. I opt for a Sprite. When we get the check, Crystal's meal, consisting of one and a half glasses of white wine and a glass of water ($11), is more them my hamburger ($7.95 plus tax), with cheese (which costs extra $.99, and a side item (also extra), plus my iced tea, and replacement sprite. She was a bit pissed off by this. I just thought it was funny. She had been joking about how Jacob wanted to date me or whatever, with how much he was paying attention to me. I just thought he was working for his tip. But after getting the ticket, I'm not so sure.