Hearing Colors

Hey Everyone!

Just to let you know I've started a new blog called "Hearing Colors and Painting Music." It's about Synesthesia and my experiences with having it. For those who don't know Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon where some of your senses will cross together. Synesthesiacs can hear colors, or taste words, and experience all sorts of sensory phenomena that result from it. In my case I can see colors and abstract shapes when listening to music, sounds, and even voices. I also have color correspondences to letters and numbers. I did some paintings today, and will continue to, of some songs and what I see when I listen to them. By doing them I'm learning what is easier and harder to 'see' and how some sounds will look similar (such as high pitched or sharp sounds being yellow or white).

Here's a sneak peek at one. Can you guess what song it is? I'll be revealing that soon! So check it out at http://synesfran.blogspot.com/!

Etsy Store is LIVE!

Just another quick update, the Etsy store is up and live! More comics, crafts, and artwork to come, but for now issue #1 of 'Kale: Lost & Found' is up for sale!

Check it out!

Commission Unveiling!

Hello everyone!

It is time to unveil the commission I've been working on for the past few weeks.

Done entirely on Photoshop this piece features Suine Hallock as a pony surrounded by a collection of toys and action figures. It was a really fun project to work on and it let me brush up on my digital coloring and drawing skills. Suine was great to work with and I enjoy his videos so be sure to watch them! You can see more of his videos at the Pop Culture Network.

Alencia: A Noble Deed Preview

Hey everyone!

Good news! I landed a second job! But because of that I'll be very busy. So to tide you over I finished my Alencia comic preview. I ended up replacing the font on the whole comic so that took me a bit of time but I'm much happier with it. For those interested the font is 'Anime Ace 2.0' and can be found here.

So for this comic Alencia has been hired to clear out a noble family's ancestral tomb of some undead that are believed to be running around down there. The whole comic is 17 pages and when I print the book I will include some sketches and production notes. I'll be selling the books at VA Comicon this September, so be sure to come check it out!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PREVIEW ON DEVIANT ART!

I hope you enjoyed that sneak peak, and feel free to let me know what you think of it so far!

One of my favorite things about Indy and European comics was the fan art they'd post in the back of the books from other artists at the publishing house, or that their artist friends would contribute. So if anyone would like to contribute some fan art for the book I will print it in the back of the book along with your name, website, and a little blurb if you'd like to write one about the piece. I will also award a free copy of the comic to those who choose to contribute fan art. However it cannot be in color as the comic will be printed in grey-scale. I will go ahead and set the due date for fan art to be August 4th . That will give me a few weeks to have the printers print the comics (giving them plenty of time keeps it affordable for me). I look forward to seeing what you guys cook up :)

Also: for anyone who wants more information on miss Alencia, you can find some info here and a general front reference here.

Clouds Parting

Hello everyone!

The last month and a half have been rough. Between the sickness and death of a close family member, dim job prospects, printing disasters, and loosing some self esteem I've managed to start picking things up again and moving on with projects. I now have portfolios printed for new prospective art jobs, I've got a really good commission going, an Illustration contest entry to work on, some possible job opportunities opening up, and a small press table for VA Comicon this September to look forward to. Things are finally looking up and moving along.

As such I have finally finished a 3 page update for Or Maybe Not that I've been fretting over for the last month. So enjoy! There will be more to come. I'm not sure if I'll stick to Friday updates or move to Monday but we'll see. I'll spread the word when I make a decision.

As always I'll be posting sketches and drawings at my art tumblr and my Nabyn page. I might slide things over to my Deviantart too but I don't use it as much. I'm trying to be a little more active on it lately but tumblr and Nabyn are good for me so far. I also keep my portfolio site updated with all my best work and previews of comics. Speaking of which, I will be posting a few pages from my newest Alencia story "Noble Deed" soon as I prepare to print the story as a mini comic for VA Comicon this September. Keep an eye out for it!

Offering

Hello all!

I have returned from my emergency trip to my Uncle's funeral and started back at work. I've been busy with that, trying to get portfolios printed for job applications and things are feeling stressful and at times overwhelming. To combat this I treated myself by picking up a copy of Skyrim that was on sale (Don't worry, I will be limiting my playing time). So as an offering of being absent and artless while I sort things out, here is a portrait of my character, Ciel DreadHawk.

Done with non-photo blue pencil, Pocket pentel brush pen, and PhotoShop CS5.5

News

Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately. I've had a lot going on and I'm still finding my bearings.

News!

+Kale: Lost & Found issue #1 is now available at Mad Arts in Madison, VA! A lovely establishment that has recently opened its doors to me. If you ever find yourself in the area, or even in C-ville, I highly suggest taking a drive down to check out this cute little house brimming full of handmade art, jewelry, discounted books (like really good art books and books from local artists), workshops, classes, and baked goods!

+OMN has been on a temporary hiatus but I'm currently working through the update. Hoping to have it ready by the end of the week, permitting no more unexpected hurdles get in the way (story of my month).

+I'm also currently finishing up my current Alencia mini comic. All that's left is the cover to finish. I've also been contacting local printers to get prices for printing books, so look out for more news soon! I'll be posting the books to my Etsy when they are printed.

In the mean time, here are some recent warm up/cool down sketches.

Alencia pouring over some research while being bothered by a strangely concerned looking demon. (I still haven't named him, it's the same guy from his post.)

Graphite portrait of my Steampunk character Layla Von Gedge. I invented the dress design and decided to put more effort into a detailed background. I plan on coloring the sketch later. The scan ate up the line work and values so much I think it needs color to save it :/ Or to at least give it some of its lost softness back.

I'll be back as soon as possible with comics and artwork! Stay tuned!