Family Matters

Hi everyone!
I thought I'd drop in and post a WIP sketch of a digital painting I'm starting as a personal reference of Alencia's family. This will be of a painting that is hanging in Alencia's family home. I want the painting to point out how Alencia looks nothing like her family as well as input symbolism and possible foreshadowing for each family member.

This image has been in my head for at least a year or two so I'm pretty stoked to even get this far in getting out and on 'paper.' Aside from this and a sketches I've also done some world building for Alencia's stories so I'm feeling really good about it. I have some ideas for the elves of her world and different 'human' races, as well as Alencia's origins and family history.

Day 8

Following the continuation of the monster girls challenge, this entry is 'ghost girl' so I decided to do a design for the ghost that will be appearing in the next Alencia story I'll be starting after 'Tomb of the Unspoken' wraps up. This is the ghost of an elf woman who is haunting a house and causing distress to a woman that Alencia is helping. She is caught in one of her magic chalk circles (this one causes the spirit to be confined to a space and forces it to physically manifest so they can see her). I want her clothing to be influenced by eastern European folk clothing but it will probably differ in the final comic.

Be sure to check out day 8 of El Goro's "31 Days of Halloween" horror movie review podcast!

Day 4

Hey Everyone! And welcome to Day 4 of my "Doodle a Day October" project, where I draw a doodly drawing every day to celebrate Halloween!
Today Alencia is back trying to find her way through some dark, ancient tomb. But something else has found her instead...

I decided to use a different brush option and got a bit looser with the drawing, which was really fun and I think gave it some more 'life.' I'll be experimenting with making my drawings more loose an 'doodly' this month. It'll also help cut my time down working on them, since my hands have been bothering me a bit...

Be sure to check to check out El Goro's "31 Days of Halloween" Podcast reviews where he reviews a horror movie every day for October. You can find him and more of his work at the Talk Without Rhythm Podcast blog.

I also noticed we're on the cusp of 13,000 hits to the blog! Thank you for all your continued support! :D
Stay tuned for more!

Day 3

Hey Everyone!

Chugging along with Day 3 of "Doodle a Day October." Today Alencia joins in the fun and writes in her journal after a successful ghost-busting in a graveyard.
I may revisit this later but for now I'm off to an impromptu dentist appointment!

Don't forget to check out El Goro's "31 Days of Halloween" podcast where he reviews a horror movie every day for the month of October! Today's review is 1932's "Vampyr."

Sick Day. Gotta Work on Comics.

Had a sick day today. Managed to get some work on Alencia: Tomb of the Unspoken pages done when I wasn't sleeping or moaning in misery. I missed working on her adventures so much!

This girl.

Is getting into lots of trouble.


Stay tuned for more!

Cville Art Blog reviews Alencia

Hello everyone!

While I've been working overtime at my new day job a new mile stone has happened for me! A local art-scene blog, C-ville Art Blog, has written up a review of my comic "Alencia: A Noble Deed." This is the first time anyone has taken the time to review and critique my comic work, and I'm very happy for the experience. They purchased the comic at Telegraph Gallery, which if you find yourself in Charlottesville you really should go visit. It's one of my favorite places in town!




Check out the review here!

"She leads the viewer through each moment of the story effortlessly. Rowan shows us around each scene using shifting aspects to build suspense as the undead creep from their graves. The drawings and panel compositions direct the viewers to each important moment as it happens, without relying on narration or predictably consistent jumps in time."

This makes me even more excited for the work I've been doing for the next story! As for that it's all inked, I'm just working on toning (when I can between work and moving, it's at a standstill right now) but I'm hoping to get moving on that soon. I've also been looking into getting an small press table at RVACon in late September. If I can get a space there then I'm aiming to have the comic ready in time for it. More news as it comes!

Propmaking: Summoning Token

Hey everyone! I thought I'd pop in and share what I was able to make tonight while chatting with friends on Google hangout (first time using it, it was pretty fun).

I decided to make a rather fast prop by sculpting a 'summoning token' from my latest Alencia story "Tomb of the Unspoken." Summoning tokens are coins that demons and various dimensional beings give to people as a quick way to contact or summon them. They can only be used once and must be given by the creature of their own free will. There are ways around that but I won't go into them here. Alencia herself will be able to explain all that in the journal/companion book I'm making to go along with her comics. Lots of information about her world, in her own words. A very exciting project indeed!

Now on to the token itself:

When I am able to start mold making I plan on making another of these, creating a mold of it, and then casting it in resin. I've been told it should be fairly easy.

Well goodnight all! I have lots of work to do tomorrow to prepare for moving. I'll post more art as soon as I can!

My creation! IT LIVES!

As an artist I love to create things. Most of the things I create, like my characters, are stuck in the 2-D plane of view. But lately my desire to learn to sculpt has overwhelmed me so much that after gathering more supplies I have started trying to bring my characters to life; on a 3-D plane. I love action figures and statues (especially anime ones) so while using some that I own as inspiration (and some great reference) I've started sculpting a stand alone Alencia mini statue. Here are some photos from the last few days of working on it.


The wire armature covered in tin foil. This actually started as another character but I then decided to make it Alencia instead, so as I went on the pose was adjusted. You can also see my sketchbook (one of many) with notes and diagrams of how I originally wanted it to look. Now I'm more loosely basing it on my notes.


With sculpey on her. I put on a basic layer of clay to cover the whole form up (save for the hands, I plan on doing those near the end) and then added more volume where she needed it based on her body and her clothes. I then added details of the shapes of her clothes, trying to make it look somewhat separate from her body but as a part of the overall statue.


Detail close up. Here you can also see the bit of balsa wood I have lodged in her hand. That will be making room for the sword she will be holding. I'm very excited to make a miniature of her blessed sword. I hope once my prop making gets on to bigger projects that I'll be able to create a full sized replica of it. *Dreamy sigh* Her other hand will be holding a lantern. I'm not look forward to making that as much as the sword. When she's fully done and painted I plan on having her sit on my convention tables. I'd also love to make more of my characters and have already been drawing up possible design ideas for future figures.

I've also been having some computer trouble lately so while my iMac (and all its programs) are at the apple doctor I'm on my laptop, with almost no programs on it so even photo editing is a no-go right now. Also still trying to get the laptop to talk to the scanner, so until those two kiss and make-up there's not going to be much for me to share :/ But hopefully the iMac will be sorted out soon and then I'll have loads of art to share!

I've got Art Books on the Brain

Hello everyone! I’ve been working a lot lately (at both day jobs and on art projects) so here’s a little update:

+Alencia webcomic- I’ve decided that launching Alencia as a webcomic isn’t the best route for right now. As I’ve already proven to myself with ‘Or Maybe Not’ I find updating a webcomic to be mostly stress and guilt inducing (stressful trying to update on time and guilt ridden when I don’t or the comic quality suffers due to time crunches).

Alencia is my main comic project and I never want to feel tired of drawing her stories so making it as least stressful as possible is important to me. Instead I will continue to self publish each story as its own mini comic. In the mean time I’ll be sharing teaser photos, sketches, concept art and posting preview comics so you can get a taste for the story before possibly buying a completed book. I'm also looking into releasing downloadable PDF versions of my comics too.

Later when I have more stories completed I will hopefully pitch the book (or books) to a publisher. It would likely have some never before published stories in it when I do. But that is still on the distant horizon.

+Art book- I’m currently working on an Elder Scrolls/Skyrim/Oblivion themed artbook collecting illustrations and comics of my game characters along their adventures as well as photos of props from the game I have/will make. I plan on sending some to Bethesda as a thank you for making such awesome games; especially now since work is wrapping up on Skyrim. I’m not sure yet how/if I will handle selling copies of the artbook but if there is interest then I will think of something. I’m really enjoying working on this so far and I’m really excited to finish a physical book of it all. I’m in a strong book making mood lately :D


A look at just some of the notes and thumbnail images I've done recently. This is how I figure out ideas and concepts for illustrations and comics before I start working on them.
+Other comics- Ryan and I are currently working on about three anthro comic projects right now. A mermaid love story called ‘Oceanborn,’ a maid café slice of life-drama “Unintentionally Alice,” and a horror themed collection of short stories called “Fur-raising Tales.” As concept work on these stories gets done I will be sharing those too (I’m also planning a preview booklet for “Unintentionally Alice” showing concept work, illustrations, and preview pages. I’m also working on a mini print/post card set!) We will be self-publishing these stories.

I’m also starting early concept work and writing for tales about my Gravedigger, Lor. I’m hoping to do comics about her in the future too but as you can see my plate is quite full of personal projects already :P I think its also safe to say that reworking Kale’s story has been on the back burner too. I’ve done more writing and figuring things out for her story but it’s not in my immediate to do list right now. Still, fear not her story will be told! One reason I like to work on many projects at once is so when I’m burnt out on one I can rotate to another one. Kale is still on my list, just a little further down for the moment.

+Prop making- Currently I’ve done five out of nine Amulets of the Divine. I’ve picked up supplies and will start sculpting the new ones soon. I’m also hoping to try my hand at replica prop/display weapons after the amulets. I’m thinking of the Blade of Woe from the Dark Brotherhood quest line first. Being a dagger it’ll be smaller so I’m hoping a good introduction.

Also as my comics go on I will be looking into creating props based on items and weapons from my own stories. I’d like to try some mold making so I can cast multiples of an object after I sculpt it. I love the idea of being able to create an object from concept to fabrication; being able to bring something from my own comics into reality and sharing it with others.

As you can see I’ve got a lot of fun projects going on right now. Lots of hard work that is (happily) eating up my time out side of my day jobs. So stay tuned and be sure to follow the art tumblr for sketches and rough updates as well as my facebook page for updates, polls, and general interaction. I love hearing from folks so if you have a question or comment feel free to let me know!

WIP Shots

Hey everyone!

Today I bring you some WIP photos of the current Alencia: Tomb of the Unspoken comic pages I'm working on. I made my goal of inking two pages before work today so here are some teasers of the raw inks:





I'm very happy with the pages so far. I think switching to using a brush for inking was one of the best decisions I've ever made :P

Alencia Webcomic Plans

Aside from all the Skyrim inspired fun I'm currently working on (and thank you to everyone for putting up with all my Skyrim shenanigans lately) I'm also working on getting a buffer of Alencia comic pages inked and ready for lettering/toning. I've got about 7 more pages to go until this next story is all inked. (You may remember some of the comic pages I started back in October, well this is that story continued!)Then when I'm done with the pages I will officially launch Alencia as a webcomic!

The Alencia mini-comic I printed at the end of last year will not be posted online but will remain a printed exclusive. I'm thinking of doing a giveaway soon to celebrate the launch. I don't have a date for it yet as I'm currently getting ready for a vacation and nailing down a second job soon after, but when I have the details ironed out I will share them! Aside from the pages I've also still got to come up with a banner and logo for the project. Progress on those will be posted too!

In the mean time, here's a sneak peek!

Series 7 Practice

Hello everyone!

Got inspired by some WIP shots of comic art from my favorite artists and decided to break out the brush and do some inking practice. These were all done with a Windsor and Newton series 7 #2 brush and ink.


Alencia and Theolyn enjoying some down time at an inn.



A portrait of She-Ra. I found a bunch of notes and sketches for a college project I did of a fake cover for Cereal Geek magazine and inspired by my old She-Ra sketches decided to draw her again.



I had a copy of "Museum Replicas Limited" catalog lying around so I decided to flip through it and draw random items from it. I'd like to another piece like this, just bigger and maybe with different items for different eras/time periods or even fashion styles. Gosh I love drawing clothes and props :D


Little WIP ink of my main Skyrim character 'Merion the Lioness' in her ebony armor. She just reached Lv. 41 and is very fun to play. The little guy drawn in pencil in the back is her follower Onmund the wizard wearing one of the dragon priest masks. She usually wears one too but I wanted to actually see her face in this drawing. This one was done with my Pentel pocket brush pen.

Christmas Eve Doodles

I got to see Rise of the Guardians today. I highly suggest it. Great movie! For the rest of the evening I did some more dip pen practice.

We've got Theolyn trying to get a mistletoe smooch from Alencia, Spork Bunny drying off, and an annoyed Seraphim (member of the super hero team Spork Bunny is a part of).

I'm really loving the dip pen. I think I may have to start using it for comic pages...

Dip Pen Revival

Hey Everyone! I've been really busy with work lately but I had a chance to sit down tonight and do some practice inking with my dip pens. It was really good to use them again and I think I'm falling back in love with them :P Here's the result of tonight's practice.

Just a little scene with Alencia, Theolyn, and the this guy. Looking at it now I think I should have bent his wing forward a bit to better show that he's making a 'wall' between them and Theolyn. I also should have made the letters on 'HEY' thicker. I know I have a name for the demon guy but I have to find where I wrote it down... He becomes important to her story later~

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday season, whatever you celebrate! <3

His Bloodied Hands

More Manga Studio practice this morning! Figured out the dip pen feature a bit more. The brush pen tool looks more like a dry brush effect so it's not as smooth as the dip pen (or a phsyical ink/brush combo) so I'll be using the pen more often.

I drew out part of a scene from a story I was/am working on with El Goro. Alencia was adapted to be in this story too, and she's meeting Hugo for the first time. Her clairvoyance allows her to see fresh blood on his hands meaning that he's killed someone. However I haven't added the blood yet (I did but it looked lame) so I'll be working on that later.

And now I'm off work!

TotU pg 5

Hey folks! Managed to get another page drawn, but won't have time to add tones for a while so here is the inked page in a more raw stage. I did get some work done while I was gone, especially for this comic, but showing it would spoil too much of it so for now we have this raw page. I'll post more when I can. I start training for my new second job bright and early tomorrow ;3;

I hope you've been keeping up with El Goro at Talk Without Rhythm Podcast for "31 Days of Halloween." He's been able to keep updating every day this month, much better than I have, so go reward his hard work by telling him how awesome he is. There's a facebook for the podcast too.

See you folks later~

Day 22/ Page 4 TotU

Hey all! Day 22 and comic page number 4 of "Tomb of the Unspoken".

Just to let everyone know the next update will probably be Sunday. I'll be posting what ever I can get done over the next three days and then that will be it for "31 Day of Horror Art." I'm starting a new second job on Monday and that whole week will be 12-13 hour shifts all day and night (8am through 10pm) and I will not have time to draw any updates. It pains me but it'll just be for that week. My hours after training will be much more manageable. I'll keep updating the comic afterwards so that will still keep going. I'm excited to be doing it. I hope you enjoy the comic so far, and I'll see you in a few days!

TotU page 3

Hey everyone! Got my errands (read: finding pieces for a Mabel of Gravity Falls Halloween costume) done this morning so page 3 of 'Alencia: Tomb of the Unspoken' got done early today. Enjoy, more is on the way!

Be sure to check out El Goro's review for "31 Days of Halloween" with today's review of "Dread."

Tomb of the Unspoken- pg.2

Hey everyone! Things are getting pretty cray cray around here. Between work, family/home obligations, and this project I'm getting a bit stretched thin over here. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day. But I'm gonna keep going with these as best I can. On Thursday I'll be out all day, and spending Friday and Saturday with my beloved (celebrating Halloween with a huge movie marathon. I need this.) So I'll be working on pages while I'm out and uploading them in a bigger upload when I get back (looking at some time Sunday). Then Monday I start my new second job and things will get even more crazy 8D

So here is page 2:

Don't forget to check out what El Goro is up to with the "31 Days of Halloween" podcast.

[EDIT]- Added the text to the page :P

Back in Black and White

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the Clockwork Queen mini comic because now I'm back on "31 Days of Horror" but this time I'm mixing it up with a new comic! I'll be posting a page (or more!) every day following a new Alencia adventure, "Tomb of the Unspoken." The way it's going right now this might last past October, so if that happens I'll just keep updating until it's done! :D

Here's page 1

Make sure you're checking out El Goro's "31 Days of Halloween" podcasts! Today he reviewed the french horror film "Sheitan."