30 down, 1 to go!

Hey everyone!

I'm still feeling a bit ill from sinus issues but I managed to finish penciling and inking page 30 of Kale tonight. That leaves ONE MORE PAGE. Holy crap guys. I cant' believe its' almost done. I remember getting home from Nekocon last November, my head spinning with ideas and ambition, and here I am today, almost full circle.

I'd like to take a moment and thank all of my friends, and strangers on the interwebs, who have given me support, kind words, and constructive critiques for Kale over the last year. Without you guys I would have been in the dark and unable to reach my full potential. While this is my first comic issue, and is not perfect, I'm really proud of it and I'm looking forward to sharing it with everyone. Not to mention completing the entire story. At first I planned it as one bigger volume, but due to time it had to be cut in half. Now that I've rewritten a lot of it and am getting used to the pacing, I think it may become three issues in total. Here's hoping other people enjoy it as much as I have :)

Here is a sneak peek at the newest completed page:



Also me after finishing it.



Kale to do list:
+FINISH THE LAST PAGE YO!
+Kale logo/tweak and complete cover
+Scan pages
+Add text to pages
+Format pages
+Format and add 'Extra Content'
The 'extra content' is going to be drawings, doodles and concept art, the 5 page 'Snow of the Wilds' mini comic, some Kale Fanart, and character designs.

I also found out my Alencia wig arrived safely at my parent's house, so I get to play with that this weekend. I also need to finish my costume, and try to make her tunic/dress as canon as possible. I've been having trouble with the sleeves, hopefully I can get some fabric off of the 'skirt' to use for them. Otherwise she won't be 100% accurate but hopefully close enough for one con. I'm looking forward to my good friend Michelle cosplaying as Kale. I will be sure to spam this blog with photos from Nekocon when I get back from it. We're hoping to get some photo shoots done <3 I am excite.

I will return later with the last page and many words of excitement before I get back to work putting this baby together.
PEACE!

Logo to go...

Worked on cover for an hour after inking tonight. Gotta do the title logo, see how it all works together and then worry about text placement. Not to the mention the back of the book too...



What text is on there now is mainly as place holders.
Still feeling good about all this C:

Inking like a madwoman results in... pages!

LOOK GUYS I'VE BEEN DOING WORK ASIDE FROM SCHOOL WORK I SWEAR!



TWO MOAR PAGES TO PENCIL/INK! CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT? 8D
See, giving myself deadlines does work.

Nekocon is 39 days away WUT?

Kale progress

Hey everyone!

School is full swing and keeping me quite busy, but I had a few hours of extra time today due to a class being canceled, so I've been working on Kale. I have two more pages to pencil, 5 or 6 to ink, then I just need to finish the cover and I can put it all together. Almost done with issue #1!

I also did this 100% digital doodle as a warm up for homework tonight. My Werewolf Apocalypse Kin Folk character Luanna, aka 'Lou.' I'm still a bit shaky using the tablet for inking but it was fun to draw <3


Done in Photoshop CS2.
Needless to say she is the busty-est of my characters. I also need to stop covering up her tattoos :/

More to come!

Dr. Sketchy's feat. Parker Galore

We had our first male model for Dr. Sketchy's, along with our first Saturday session. Looks like it will be the second Saturday of the month from now on.


2 minute warm up sketches. I decided to try to focus on shapes of color instead of line work so much.


5 minute poses with the 'Ringmaster' costume.


I believe this was a 15 minute pose. The gladiator costume was pretty awesome. The red 'armor' was covered in sequens and black fur, while the loincloth was a pair a short with a mass of feathers around it.


I believe this was also a 15 minute pose. I love the feather fans Deanna put behind him, but my ink wasn't drying fast enough to prevent marker smudging :/


Parker Galore's third costume was a Satyr. I was pleasantly surprised and excited to draw it. The costume made me think of something a druid might make for a ceremony or festival (not that I know anything about druids, its' just what it made me think of). We had to draw him with a mythical creature. I chose a mentally challenged unicorn (you'll see why in the next drawing.)


Parker had a unicorn toy with him as a prop. When he sat down he looked like he was watching tv so I drew the scene as so. I also added in some popcorn and a remote control. I decided since the prize for this contest was tickets to a "Burlesque, B-Movies, and Booze" showing of 'The Warriors' then I should draw him watching it. I won the tickets.

My friend Erin was there too. You can see her sketches at her blog.

I've also done some more comic work this weekend. I'll be doing more to finish the last few pages of Kale, and the cover. Then formatting and lettering. Still juggling classwork but determined to make it work!

Show and Tell

Before I set down to do some work today (school and comic related) I thought I would post some things that I've found lately that I find very inspiring and enjoyable. I'd like to start with 'Set to Sea' by Drew Weing.

I cant' remember how I found this web page but I'm very glad I did. The story is about a large muscular poet who is having some trouble with his writing. He is not doing too great at life and gets 'drafted' onto a ship to work as a sailor. At first glance the style the illustrations are drawn in didn't appeal to me but I was sucked into the story and the beautiful ink work. Each page is one illustration which I found interesting and while you can read the full story online, the whole book is published by Fantagraphics Books as a hard cover edition. I will definitely be adding this gem to my collection.

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When I work on comics I like to listen to podcasts as I draw or ink. One of my good friends turned me on to a podcast series starring the minds at Penny Arcade and a few guests as they play D&D. I was completely sucked up into the series and was quite sad when the campaign ended at series 3. I am even re-listening to it. You can find it here. Another thing I like about it is that each 'episode' comes with illustrations and captions showing what happened in that game.

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Manly Men doing Manly Things. Very entertaining comic featuring gags about very manly characters from various media (and pokemon) doing manly things. Updates on Mondays.


Now I go draw comics.
Enjoy <3

Neko Prep

Some photos of how things are going as far as Nekocon prep.


Progress photos of the Kale cover.


Progress photos of the bookmarks that are now done. I forgot to take a photo of it but each book mark has my contact info and website addresses on the back of them.


I also just ordered my Alencia wig :3 I'm stupidly excited.

To do for Nekocon:
Kale:
-Finish pages
-scan pages
-make sure pages fit printing template, and label them correctly!
-letter pages

OMN
-re-letter pages
-make sure pages fit printing template, and label them correctly!
-new cover? D:

Prints/Merch
-color 'Judith'

Table
-get colorful table cloth
-make price signs
-make fliers for 'Kale' to pass out

Cosplay
-finish tunic
-make up test
-sword?

New Kale cover part 2

Three more hours of work on the cover tonight and here's where I'm at.



I've got to color Alencia, figure out the background (may just keep it solid) and then I'm going to hand draw a new logo title using some knot-work. I got some books out from the library on viking sculpture and illuminated letters for inspiration. More work to do but I think its' really coming along! :D

More to do for Nekocon:
Kale:
-Finish pages
-scan pages
-make sure pages fit printing template, and label them correctly!
-letter pages

OMN
-re-letter pages
-make sure pages fit printing template, and label them correctly!
-new cover? D:

Prints/Merch
-color 'Judith'
-touch up book marks

Table
-get colorful table cloth
-make price signs
-make fliers for 'Kale' to pass out

Cosplay
-buy wig + wig acessories
-finish tunic
-make up test
-sword?

Inking vigorously = Hand cramps D:

Inked and started coloring the cover to Kale issue #1 today.



My eyes hurt so I'm taking a break.

I had a bit of a scare earlier. I had been checking to see if Nekocon had billed me for the table but they hadn't yet. I looked through my spam folder and it turned out my email to them was returned to me. You have to reply within a week to confirm the table. If I had checked it later I would have lost my table. I quickly wrote them back and got an automatic reply email so I know they got it this time. PHEW! I nearly had a heart attack at the thought of loosing the table.


current music: "Farewell"- Adorned Brood/ "Vargaskall"- Falconer