tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16997103505624321862024-03-05T03:50:56.436-08:00The Artropod!The art blog of an internet cartoonist. It features her forays into traditional art, digital design, and sculpture. Jam packed with art tips and much strangeness!Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-91501378647020024142011-02-08T13:27:00.000-08:002011-02-08T13:27:32.202-08:00Doodles<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I've been a bit busy lately with a number of projects: hence the lack of posts. In a few days I want to do an article on redline vs blueline vs ordinary pencil and how they impact inking. I just don't have time at the moment.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Which is not to say that I haven't been sketching. I'm still trying to work on anatomy. It's an ongoing battle...but I keep returning to photo references. They really are the best way to go to get a handle on muscle interaction and foreshortening. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AnVW41BjRDGvn0m_Sg_GZGg7YJ4GKtz5uZAvxikP2rUDZxQZuGRzRN6zwcN_3iopHsdnVwLAJOPyk2D_Te_IuZiWu76T_aG04GZmZOEft3hghEl-dxL3o1MX40D0vTb5UXU7DJeTW-c/s1600/DoodleRap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AnVW41BjRDGvn0m_Sg_GZGg7YJ4GKtz5uZAvxikP2rUDZxQZuGRzRN6zwcN_3iopHsdnVwLAJOPyk2D_Te_IuZiWu76T_aG04GZmZOEft3hghEl-dxL3o1MX40D0vTb5UXU7DJeTW-c/s320/DoodleRap.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_E9HN6jMBv4kWhh84p5hV-A9FZa-Ow8Jdz_S5HJuGkQMWCzV_nFwyWi2c6NhKoBZO-Az5RCKO4AlfteSKa0eSFbv8cZPay06EXUvSvD6a_rXiwEfvaLT5M25b2JZ7ZCiH0SiXwrkH8X0/s1600/InNomineDoodle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_E9HN6jMBv4kWhh84p5hV-A9FZa-Ow8Jdz_S5HJuGkQMWCzV_nFwyWi2c6NhKoBZO-Az5RCKO4AlfteSKa0eSFbv8cZPay06EXUvSvD6a_rXiwEfvaLT5M25b2JZ7ZCiH0SiXwrkH8X0/s320/InNomineDoodle.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The portrait I've posted was done with a photo reference, specifically from the book People and Poses. She's a roleplaying character, but I'm pretty happy with how she turned out. The other drawing was done without a photo reference and there are some pretty glaring errors. It's funny how much a photo improves even a simple sketch.</span></span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-11083572974221782292011-02-05T14:11:00.000-08:002011-02-05T14:11:26.997-08:00Sketch Cards!<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Just finished a few more sketch cards which are for sale <a href="http://shop.ebay.com/kaylithin/m.html">here</a>. More in the Steampunk Alice in Wonderland theme, as well as one of the Egyptian goddess Isis, and a couple of fantasy themed ones.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_rvsLb_oE3JH-m22eRf-QZIKownI4QH5qaO9HJ6pB4MLYrchRpE-l2eXCyB-l-480U984IbN7M-AM-K-zoDcPeBHtp3N9bqS1ZRAapf8mCXIv0OISMqKCQfPa3UoybKqUKMfB0jGzhE/s1600/IsisCard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_rvsLb_oE3JH-m22eRf-QZIKownI4QH5qaO9HJ6pB4MLYrchRpE-l2eXCyB-l-480U984IbN7M-AM-K-zoDcPeBHtp3N9bqS1ZRAapf8mCXIv0OISMqKCQfPa3UoybKqUKMfB0jGzhE/s320/IsisCard.jpg" width="281" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoxP39MhUs7jtWFskO-sPTLrYHaCySG_sSI7XQDfCqYnm90PyZdBUARNe80wr0PvJf4TnZHiSQApRwBDL0bMZC9vpqYmxRsjDZ6dJgriBe5zFl1u8VYm8E2A8J488simAhT3z-v8Tosg/s1600/owlcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoxP39MhUs7jtWFskO-sPTLrYHaCySG_sSI7XQDfCqYnm90PyZdBUARNe80wr0PvJf4TnZHiSQApRwBDL0bMZC9vpqYmxRsjDZ6dJgriBe5zFl1u8VYm8E2A8J488simAhT3z-v8Tosg/s320/owlcard.jpg" width="305" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1DpOgdhdNMhsMDjGkbp_BfIhAyynkzbyvrB6Fy9mX1T8aHIbpNlhltcDlo-P4424DV2IWf1pBf-RYZvMEuxloTls_S80fqUiIG3A0jrafmmBuXpLq_gUe58W9ZGrsDz1Qn4fttFl2TA/s1600/steamcheshcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1DpOgdhdNMhsMDjGkbp_BfIhAyynkzbyvrB6Fy9mX1T8aHIbpNlhltcDlo-P4424DV2IWf1pBf-RYZvMEuxloTls_S80fqUiIG3A0jrafmmBuXpLq_gUe58W9ZGrsDz1Qn4fttFl2TA/s320/steamcheshcard.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThyGhOHeoC01pDhZSb-5aO4Dtx7eHumf3A-ZqCO7JCSuQXO0pZXbmuYxaku_lIBoA6R-KuHcsabxsarofPOLg1ZujA9iGwbU0j0D9d8EHpw7cEJ7em_U8LMCmt2YwyYs_FSk34vZ8F1c/s1600/SeaDragCard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThyGhOHeoC01pDhZSb-5aO4Dtx7eHumf3A-ZqCO7JCSuQXO0pZXbmuYxaku_lIBoA6R-KuHcsabxsarofPOLg1ZujA9iGwbU0j0D9d8EHpw7cEJ7em_U8LMCmt2YwyYs_FSk34vZ8F1c/s320/SeaDragCard.jpg" width="297" /></a>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-88294212674666005272011-02-04T15:27:00.000-08:002011-02-04T15:27:15.281-08:00It's coming!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikd-PEHLIl1CIaQJV2hh6SHCyWvbrNmuVxiSCkPcDPpHf8rzB_GDigtDhCvEUn4tQ0GM9O5nUc3TBOhGn6JXg_xzFSyFzFDihBR5pXj6yjFQO_D8FsoaV1k4S0HSzvH9tMG22T2rlHRIs/s1600/cbookphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikd-PEHLIl1CIaQJV2hh6SHCyWvbrNmuVxiSCkPcDPpHf8rzB_GDigtDhCvEUn4tQ0GM9O5nUc3TBOhGn6JXg_xzFSyFzFDihBR5pXj6yjFQO_D8FsoaV1k4S0HSzvH9tMG22T2rlHRIs/s320/cbookphoto.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The first Real Life Fiction comic book is almost here! I just got my final version today and it looks good. All I need to do is figure out how to get it listed on ComixPress.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> I'm thinking of having a contest of some kind, with the prize being the first RLF book ever printed, with custom art drawn on the back. Hmmm...</span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-36326504400041874532011-01-30T13:46:00.000-08:002011-01-30T13:49:04.855-08:00New Comics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKslddRrs85Y0hga2UUhF7-7gMkqFfMfqfrRkoh9cbTx7Y1rSBSyQ9UgEk7YzdLVDP7o6MjykUeTQckBXL6WRAJDRLpTAjNc1rstblTlr-bAK7R2zCekeVwu0XjUqDtXx1BWn2FJIfNig/s1600/Byzantium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKslddRrs85Y0hga2UUhF7-7gMkqFfMfqfrRkoh9cbTx7Y1rSBSyQ9UgEk7YzdLVDP7o6MjykUeTQckBXL6WRAJDRLpTAjNc1rstblTlr-bAK7R2zCekeVwu0XjUqDtXx1BWn2FJIfNig/s320/Byzantium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I've been doing a bit of sorting and have decided to move <a href="http://rlfcomic.com/oddewulf.php">Oddewulf</a>, my 12th century werewolf comic, over to the main RLF site. It used to be on Smackjeeves, but that version long ago fell into disrepair. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> As an added bonus, I've also but my new side comic, <a href="http://rlfcomic.com/jenny.php">Jenny Normal</a> up on the RLF site, as well. It's a fun little superhero parody. I have four pages done so far...eventually I intend to publish it as a mini-comic.</span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-46819361238670183372011-01-11T17:59:00.000-08:002011-01-11T18:00:43.763-08:00Pernicious Penography<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Much has been made about what pens you should use to ink a comic. Finding just the right pen is an epic quest, albeit one that rewards you with an empty wallet rather than experience points. I suspect that this Perfect Pen is different for each person. Why, I myself prefer the pen to be wrought from yew with core of finest phoenix feather….all the better to roast that little Potter twerp with! Mwahahahhaw!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Er, where was I? Oh yes. Pens. Even though the appeal of one pen over another largely comes down to personal preference, I find that different types yield wildly different results. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQNiY9nNNnyLBB504l-kxTvnmVyJEkaTzz8phU6kBrRhZPFb6sAUpMmUXPk-csjONEz2z0uDvGklwImHz2wkP8Aa1wjd3Zfa5o9X6rmi2iFQlIA4goopksHgYH0jIy9RToiCbAnlMgFo/s1600/pensketches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQNiY9nNNnyLBB504l-kxTvnmVyJEkaTzz8phU6kBrRhZPFb6sAUpMmUXPk-csjONEz2z0uDvGklwImHz2wkP8Aa1wjd3Zfa5o9X6rmi2iFQlIA4goopksHgYH0jIy9RToiCbAnlMgFo/s1600/pensketches.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> To the left are three hastily done drawings. I actually did not want to do the best I could with these because you can often times tell the qualities of a pen by what mistakes you make rather than how well it preforms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Microns</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The top portrait I did with Micron pens. Microns are disposable technical pens with small, felt tips. They come in different nib sizes and usually go for 2-3 dollars each. Other companies make similar pens- Zig and Faber Castell, for starters, although I have yet to find a Faber Castell that can get as fine a line as a Zig or Micron.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I have used these pens for years. In fact, I drew most of my first webcomic with them. Their ink is archival quality, which means that it will not fade easily and will not yellow or burn the page over time. You can also get a pretty steady line with them. The downside is that they are rather unpredictable. The felt nibs tend to split or break easily, so suddenly the pen that once gave you a nice hair-tin line is acting like one several nib sizes larger. You can see this in my drawing. The nib I used was supposed to be small, but the lines it gives are awkward and thick. Also, I got really tired of throwing away pens whenever they dried up. It seemed like a damn waste and having to shell out the money to replace them all the time really adds up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rapidographs</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Rapidographs are gods among pens. And they are price accordingly, retailing for around $30. Each. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Rapidographs are what architects and engineers used to use to make technical drawings back before they switched to computer. These pens are refillable and give you the best line you could ask for. Seriously, I have one that can draw a line .13 millimeters wide. They are frickin’ sweet. I have a mixed opinion on how they do with shading. The one I used for the middle sketch is clearly not ideal for crosshatching, but you’ll get a better result with some of those super-fine tipped rapidographs such as the .13 mm.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The downside, besides the cost, is that they do clog easily. Not surprising giving how small the tip is. You have to clean them fairly regularly. In the meantime, though, they do wonderfully. As a side note, be sure you use India ink meant only for a rapidiograph as regular India ink will clog it more readily.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dip Pens</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Talk about old fashioned, right? But a lot of artists still use them, especially for special effects. They’re cost effective and they last for ages. Plus most India ink these days is lightfast and nonacidic. Dip pens are the best if you want to play around with line variation, as you can see in the third sketch, and the lines they leave are usually very crisp and bold. Also, the smallest nibs are excellent for shading.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The downside of dip pens is two fold. First, it’s easy to blotch your page. I’ve had more trouble in this area using the larger nibs than I have the small ones, but the danger of it is ever present. Fortunately, this can usually be fixed with either white India ink or a healthy dose of Photoshop. The second problem with dip pens is more troubling. See, they can only really do certain strokes- vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines are fine, but only so long as you are pulling the pen towards you. If you want to push the pen away from you, it tends to skip and move all over the place. This becomes a big problem if you’re drawing anything circular. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I’m sure the limitations of many of these pens are easily overcome with sufficient skill, of course, but until that point these are things you will have to deal with. These days I find I prefer doing most of my work with a rapdograph. If I need a particularly bold line I might pick up a Micron and if I need shading or line variation, I’ll use a dip pen. Hey, no one said you have to pick just one, right? But the rapidograph is definitely my default.</span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-1036548174390659262011-01-04T12:21:00.000-08:002011-01-04T12:28:11.805-08:00RLF Wallpapers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPojuavO9l7mizQzDwiAvgvU6OohyGpTrRz14LjTU-rc7_apc4P7AJD2kkAftuPbgUIFibql5t9e0fqshfSFbzG96WTiqVqW62xabF1LsMtT5B1zC5T6_7ReZm4AJbNzt6M3rv_IV0xo/s1600/WallpaperManicornA1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPojuavO9l7mizQzDwiAvgvU6OohyGpTrRz14LjTU-rc7_apc4P7AJD2kkAftuPbgUIFibql5t9e0fqshfSFbzG96WTiqVqW62xabF1LsMtT5B1zC5T6_7ReZm4AJbNzt6M3rv_IV0xo/s320/WallpaperManicornA1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I've done up a couple of wallpapers for the comic. And by a couple I mean literally two. You can find them <a href="http://namingway.deviantart.com/gallery/27971602">here</a> or by clicking on the images provided. More may come later, however. I was afraid that individual panels would not be large enough to turn into a wallpaper, especially considering the screen resolution of most modern monitors, but the advantage of working at a high dpi is that it gives you a lot of leeway for things like that. I'm just glad that I have a computer that can easily process extremely large psds.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsog13DytoDrGiauYrar57WWyKPfsZMgLCM1zH0rz_k3AWE_gnu78fL_EZJtikSZo8waVGd6XZdtqWWyHml3t7MMqE91NKDeoxfyB-E1Wl-3qS7-4tzjSVqRaTGSdUco4a85ptEkrPRmM/s1600/WallpaperManicornB1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsog13DytoDrGiauYrar57WWyKPfsZMgLCM1zH0rz_k3AWE_gnu78fL_EZJtikSZo8waVGd6XZdtqWWyHml3t7MMqE91NKDeoxfyB-E1Wl-3qS7-4tzjSVqRaTGSdUco4a85ptEkrPRmM/s320/WallpaperManicornB1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I took a poll on twitter as to what T shirt I should do next, Communist Manifest-Os or Freud Loops. The vast majority of responses so far are for the first option. The shirt, of course, will </span><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">have </i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to be red.</span></span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-85594998321016143452011-01-01T13:37:00.000-08:002011-01-01T13:39:33.417-08:00Promoting Your Webcomic<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Numerous articles have been written on this topic, some of which are quite good. However, most of them fail to adequately live up to my experiences. Let’s be honest here: The internet is a soul-sucking netherworld of ennui. When you offer up your art on a silver platter to faceless strangers, you can’t but help feeling that the resounding silence that is the usual reply reflects, somehow, on you personally.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The problem is that you’re promotions compete directly with hundreds of others cartoonists that are in the exact same boat. Together, the collective yammering forms a white noise that’s easy for readers to ignore. Standing out against this backdrop is very difficult and is, itself, a balancing act. The flip side is that you don’t want to stand out too much. Ads that do generally annoy the hell out of potential readers. Remember yanking your headphones off as banner ads that blast your ears with an add for Viagra? Or those seizure-inducing flash ads of the early 2000’s? Yeah. Don’t be like them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The trick to good advertising is two-fold. First, advertise off the beaten path. Do not tread the same weary road as everyone else. Certainly you should use web resources available for webcomic promotion, but you should also reach beyond the sphere of webcomics to reach audiences in other niches that might fall within your target audience. For example, if you run a gaming comic you shouldn’t just advertise on webcomic collectives- try advertising on gaming sites and stores. You’ll be reaching your audience without going head to head with other webcomics. Plus, the people who usually visit collectives are already interested in comics or make them themselves, whereas other websites offer fresh blood.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Second, know how to read your web analytics. I cannot emphasize this enough. Promoting your comic without monitoring the results is much akin to a monkey flinging poo- sometimes it sticks, but often not. Web analytics will tell you what works for you and what does not. This will likely be a little different for each comic, as it is largely dependant on the temperament of your audience. But you need to look at more than what sites refer you and how many people they refer. You need to also look at things such as the bounce rate that Google Analytics offers. The bounce rate gives you a rough estimation of how many of those new visitors are sticking around. Also have a look at the ad placement on referring sites. If your add is a tiny 100 px banner in a dusty corner and is still pulling in a lot of visitors, than you have nailed your target market. If you take out a ledger sized banner and you only get one or two visits, chances are you’re missing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I suggest trying out a micro-bid system before you invest in any significant advertising. Sites such as <a href="http://www.projectwonderful.com/">Project Wonderful</a> are excellent for this. They allow you to experiment with advertising on different sites for a couple of cents at a time. If you advertise on a broad range of sites you will get a better idea of just who your target audience is and what kind of sites you should advertise on in the future.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Also join forums related to your comic. But whatever you do, do not simply join to pimp your comic. This is an extreme netiquette faux pas and will incur the wrath of the admin mallet. You need to become an active member of the community and participate in discussions. Do not post asking for reviews of your comic, and do not try to turn the discussion topic to that of your comic at every juncture. A simple link to your comic in your signature is advertising enough. And don’t bother posting in ‘self promotion’ forums. The only people who read those are the ones who go there to promote their stuff…like you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Social media such as Facebook and Twitter are surprisingly limited as marketing tools. Sure, they’re great if you can get something to go viral, but the chances of that are very slim. They are mostly useful for keeping already fans in touch with your work. Therefore, you already need to have some degree of popularity for them to be of any use. However, sites such as StumbleUpon can give you a small, steady stream of visitors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Fanart art and guest comics are a great way to promote your work, since the host comic usually links back to your site. But take care- be sure to make something heartfelt, with quality in mind. If you do some slap-dash sketch, no one will be inclined to look at your comic. In short, it should not just be a cheap marketing ploy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I do not claim to be some paragon of the webcomic world. My word is not law and my comic is no Penny Arcade. But these are things that have worked for me and might work for you. The long and short of it is that any promotion done without consideration for the viewer will fail, flat out. Concentrate on a few quality promotion campaigns at a time. </span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-70236319351305233162010-12-31T22:45:00.000-08:002011-01-01T13:39:57.615-08:00New Years Resolutions<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I resolve to make T shirts for Real Life Fiction! <a href="http://rlfcomic.spreadshirt.com/">Oh wait, I just did that!</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Honestly, it's hard for me to come up with a resolution that I know I can keep. Instead, perhaps I should break it down into something bite-size that may, inadvertently, become an ongoing thing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> This may sound like a recipe for failure, but I actually find that it works. I basically trick myself into maintaining good habits such as regular exercise. I tell myself I'll exercise for twenty minutes and then, at the twenty minute mark, decide to go for forty. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the same vein, I hereby resolve to update RLF weekly, without fail, for one whole month. And at the end of that month? Well...we'll see. Hopefully I can trick myself into maintaining the trend!</span></span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-30180028365347336112010-12-29T20:56:00.000-08:002011-01-01T13:41:19.749-08:00Nostalgia<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpY4zVJyENbX70FN0txOuak6UG3DQm_7Z6pTxdkjMvx2ioFSz2rQgFiXogtEOdXkNx-qbrIwSx1ZORtt8Lo0l_Drz59su37iO54bzvtNmJr6IGDBkD9h0u2RgOLUi29uqxXbok0DrWB8w/s1600/ACEO8Tamit+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpY4zVJyENbX70FN0txOuak6UG3DQm_7Z6pTxdkjMvx2ioFSz2rQgFiXogtEOdXkNx-qbrIwSx1ZORtt8Lo0l_Drz59su37iO54bzvtNmJr6IGDBkD9h0u2RgOLUi29uqxXbok0DrWB8w/s320/ACEO8Tamit+copy.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tamit, Revisited</span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you've probably read on one of my other sites, I tried drawing one of my old characters from my Mixed Myth days. Much to my surprise, I really nailed the style. Having done the comic for four years must have hardwired it into my hands.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6GcORHyqJ3A88poqVmtcOXeFypsBoYzWDQVNZ251UL5NRnVBHYC4gVOni7nadLxtOxpn8NDY2OfElwsG8D48ZyDKg6mQry_I0f6WhmQ4nmr59qrleIh_i8Z6faPcLPZgsBs_A3w6kEQ/s1600/ACEO9RedQueen+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6GcORHyqJ3A88poqVmtcOXeFypsBoYzWDQVNZ251UL5NRnVBHYC4gVOni7nadLxtOxpn8NDY2OfElwsG8D48ZyDKg6mQry_I0f6WhmQ4nmr59qrleIh_i8Z6faPcLPZgsBs_A3w6kEQ/s320/ACEO9RedQueen+copy.jpg" width="228" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Steampunk Red Queen</span></b> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> I do want to do some more stories related to Mixed Myth at some point. But doing so is awefully intimidating. I do not wish to repeat the mistakes of, for example, George Lucas and completely ruin the world for readers. Then again, Pixar has proved with its Toy Story series that you can come back to material years later and do a proper job of following up on it. So maybe there is hope. Whatever the answer is, it likely will not be anytime soon as I have my hands full with masks and RLF. But maybe I'll do more of these sketches.</span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiKBLUXIuXmUcFO5xm8rgG_GAtLBfc7nyOW8P3Pp5hDbOImp56DF-fkMKFE6SGpPF-octzzGpujFGTOb7f_d40Q5tPZ9KKZFwA8pJjZQOqyTKdTp8VN8vX1XsXc4OBx5x5mNNJt8OdFg/s1600/ACE11VoleDemort+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiKBLUXIuXmUcFO5xm8rgG_GAtLBfc7nyOW8P3Pp5hDbOImp56DF-fkMKFE6SGpPF-octzzGpujFGTOb7f_d40Q5tPZ9KKZFwA8pJjZQOqyTKdTp8VN8vX1XsXc4OBx5x5mNNJt8OdFg/s320/ACE11VoleDemort+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Vole-Demort the Parseltongue</b></span></td></tr>
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The sketch in question is of Tamit. I drew her for one of those sketch cards (ACEOs) that I've been fixated on. There's three in the newest batch, including a Harry Potter parody and a Steampunk version of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. As usual, you can find them <a href="http://shop.ebay.com/kaylithin/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686">listed here.</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-21066115999440216592010-12-20T19:15:00.000-08:002011-01-01T13:41:35.475-08:00Auctions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE0-UnUEOEZZ1-mJM0q3Ju65x5janIb6QKcoVyjAYW0A-McXTJffoFD5c-ZOFuwUDlFCPB5xJmaJTYQFczP6qTQhKrPYoRNR0a0VBZZJ5kbvfmqqlugsFnuZeEpUN-tWbYKNJHojNG2Y/s1600/ACEO6Star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE0-UnUEOEZZ1-mJM0q3Ju65x5janIb6QKcoVyjAYW0A-McXTJffoFD5c-ZOFuwUDlFCPB5xJmaJTYQFczP6qTQhKrPYoRNR0a0VBZZJ5kbvfmqqlugsFnuZeEpUN-tWbYKNJHojNG2Y/s320/ACEO6Star.jpg" width="223" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Think I've got this ACEO thing down! Caran D'ache was the answer. The funny thing is that I've had a set of Caran D'ache sitting here for literally twenty years....and yet when I go to use them, they work just fine! Now that is a quality art supply. The only sign of their age was a bit of wax bloom on the tips that didn't interfere at all.</span><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I retouched Alice's card and I"m much happier with the result. I also did an art nouveauish piece. Alice, the dapper Cthulhu, and the Queen of Stars are all <a href="http://shop.ebay.com/kaylithin/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686">up for auction.</a></span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-41439597187748090072010-12-19T20:14:00.000-08:002011-01-01T13:42:05.376-08:00ACEOs<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> I took the plunge and got a copy of Cash for Cartoonists. It's an ebook by DJ Coffman...well, more like an epamphlet. It's an interesting read. He takes a look at ways he's used to make money as an artist. Currently I do not have a job, so most of my income comes from doing masks and writing articles for the internet. Anyway, there's clearly a lot of experience in these digital pages. I think some of the numbers are a bit inflated, though. Which is not to say they're inaccurate...but a number of them are based on how big of a following you have. The results you get by trying different things are very much dependent on that.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> That said, there were a few options that I hadn't heard of before. ACEOs, for one. They're artist trading cards, basically, each one 2.5" by 3.5". They're miniature works of art, either entirely original or a limited, numbered print run. I like the idea of it as I've always had a fondness for things miniature so I decided to try my hand at it. I'm not too thrilled with the results so far, but I think the idea warrants more experimentation.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_I0muZlarMCR4DfVoWJXYJxynPQWl7J-dd18dpy8Qk3sH5i9CvNBpFg7D_6XoP1UfXF6OvLCktrLM_Fo2pWMAIDrnrb3qsjbB8HLL765NAGbDJC3tuQmj7aobWlK-VU02MOIlebWsVU/s1600/ACEO2alice+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_I0muZlarMCR4DfVoWJXYJxynPQWl7J-dd18dpy8Qk3sH5i9CvNBpFg7D_6XoP1UfXF6OvLCktrLM_Fo2pWMAIDrnrb3qsjbB8HLL765NAGbDJC3tuQmj7aobWlK-VU02MOIlebWsVU/s320/ACEO2alice+copy.jpg" width="228" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> This one started with a great idea: Steampunk Alice in Wonderland. And you know, I still might come back to that. I'm sure people have done it before, but I think it has a lot of potential even so. I tried using archival pens on this one and then adding a wash of paint over it...but my wash skills are not the greatest, as early Metrophor strips can attest to. Definitely not my preferred coloring method, though I like the ink work.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFxzyu-XlIfzU1tPBrAF0wZLSdXQikv034njfnIMuWlqUHQTRpICi0Gv4BElYpTMl5qlZBOnHqhA67PqrlwcvlO_UBiIZCnpm0JDiNVdaPrwP88PBc0B2y4WE_Okc0gMKptV_tWI-En8/s1600/ACEO3Dcth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFxzyu-XlIfzU1tPBrAF0wZLSdXQikv034njfnIMuWlqUHQTRpICi0Gv4BElYpTMl5qlZBOnHqhA67PqrlwcvlO_UBiIZCnpm0JDiNVdaPrwP88PBc0B2y4WE_Okc0gMKptV_tWI-En8/s320/ACEO3Dcth.jpg" width="228" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ah yes, dapper Cthulhu! He even has a monocle! I did him entirely in acrylic paints. Kind of like the result, but it's very time consuming. Probably too time consuming to be worth while. Plus I'm still learning to get color schemes right with paints...I mix a lot of my own colors, and that alone takes a lot of time. It might be different if I had a wide range of colors to begin with, but the expense puts a damper on things.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnujMBfgCmDVVMlvdWXXtkwRD9a4bh5Mag9RYOOPWGS0MbllKAzEvkoB2tWbSepfOiJa9TPIE6-VHXtRTVTqR4F0R4Ucdd5b2c-lXrZ35A0Dofg2g27-6NIEdco3Yatg2tZjIQccS1fk/s1600/ACEO4elf+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnujMBfgCmDVVMlvdWXXtkwRD9a4bh5Mag9RYOOPWGS0MbllKAzEvkoB2tWbSepfOiJa9TPIE6-VHXtRTVTqR4F0R4Ucdd5b2c-lXrZ35A0Dofg2g27-6NIEdco3Yatg2tZjIQccS1fk/s320/ACEO4elf+copy.jpg" width="228" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> This one is my favorite of the bunch. I didn't know where I was going with it when I began, but that ended up being a good thing. The design came from a number of Japanese prints that I admire, and the face from Kabuki and Noh masks. Okay, she is an elf and that's a little anachronistic, but that doesn't seem to have stopped anime! I'm leaning towards something more in this style, perhaps with Oddewulf-style shading.</span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-54937880053548290052010-12-19T14:25:00.000-08:002011-01-01T13:43:20.088-08:00Goggles and Jabberwocks!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I'm a wee bit behind in posting some of my new mask pieces, but here you go!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy752PdRCBAq9QdlA5ZzVc58UQ8YNkhwwzJkuTqpdblX1aO8zbUXFcLF3ZwVet-FrO_z6kCTvBemnA7afK6dh6kG0ykipq7eqdDpvX3RhSz6Ceh7MGFu46tjb_DB-bMnrHEpkeKoQj2tY/s1600/catgog4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy752PdRCBAq9QdlA5ZzVc58UQ8YNkhwwzJkuTqpdblX1aO8zbUXFcLF3ZwVet-FrO_z6kCTvBemnA7afK6dh6kG0ykipq7eqdDpvX3RhSz6Ceh7MGFu46tjb_DB-bMnrHEpkeKoQj2tY/s320/catgog4.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I made this pair based on a rough comic I did a while back called Sophie the Steampunk Ninja Catgirl. I actually have a sketch of a poster that stars her that I really want to do at some point.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8T0EEzl2Ewl_SHDjUhuvzuDAlgHWenLIJZAEzS7clBaFo0sUIgu5f8UcvlOOAwICD8jom5yOA9BRoC2od7nkXRYyy5ksX7cDxr15WtoQxZILy9CaRTYluJv62AMznD2_RVoWTwaOCbg/s1600/jabbermasksm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8T0EEzl2Ewl_SHDjUhuvzuDAlgHWenLIJZAEzS7clBaFo0sUIgu5f8UcvlOOAwICD8jom5yOA9BRoC2od7nkXRYyy5ksX7cDxr15WtoQxZILy9CaRTYluJv62AMznD2_RVoWTwaOCbg/s320/jabbermasksm.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I've also been in an Alice in Wonderland mood. Or at least, a Jabberwocky mood. I tried to base this mask off of some of the old illustrations, which is not easy to do in a half mask. And since the originals were black and white I sort of had to guess on the coloring.</span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-77233141287941815082010-12-11T00:33:00.000-08:002010-12-11T00:37:54.582-08:00Making Masks<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And then if you <i>still</i> don’t succeed, take a break and go play some Robot Unicorn Attack. <i>Then</i> try again. At least, that’s my approach to art.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Take my mask making. The first few masks I ever did were back in college. I used some of those cheap plastic masks from Hobby Lobby and painted them up. Hell, I did all the ornaments for them out of Sculpey and glued them onto each face. Not very chic, I have to say.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I let the mask thing slide for a few years until I found myself in a bind for a Mardi Gras costume for a party. Suddenly I found myself doing all kinds of research into what sort of materials I could sculpt it from, how to construct it, etc. When I was done I had an iridescent green mask with a complete mane of peacock feathers. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Only to find out that the party had been canceled. All dressed up and nowhere to go, as they say. But that one project had put a bug in me. I just couldn’t stop making masks. Over time, my materials and methods have changed considerably. There were some failures. I keep them in the Drawer of Shame where they will never see the light of day to offend me with their monstrosity. But without them, I would not have improved.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> This is my workspace today:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSqyy9EHikD8aeKCtRX1s_ZHoboYcFduMEcs-71nxa0YEYZHvllNedEvzC3zujk_719IBk9XzQp8hzf8uLaVV_FuGluRlObbmygTF6StSoKyMm3utnWc3KbM1Bv1xUj-N0nFcO9o7lB4/s1600/desk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSqyy9EHikD8aeKCtRX1s_ZHoboYcFduMEcs-71nxa0YEYZHvllNedEvzC3zujk_719IBk9XzQp8hzf8uLaVV_FuGluRlObbmygTF6StSoKyMm3utnWc3KbM1Bv1xUj-N0nFcO9o7lB4/s640/desk1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Yes, it resembles a war zone. A war zone <b>of art</b>. Those paints gave their lives gladly for the cause, oozing their colorful liquids onto the uncaring tabletop. Even my poor tools are so coated with resin that I occasionally have to chisel them apart. But the process of evolution goes on. With each mask I learn what is and is not possible, thereby improving my technique.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpSmL26q03euqGGSuDzFFz0G_8IMvl5jgySH7mFrws56DYYbrQvQ3kE1Ve5_wHZFP85qT5W4awwpuDI5Dy3lj08O17lBT9d4vNOdmDdiETKBZ6klWGyDBef5kTIeb5PdwHW3D-ojd1zw/s1600/desk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpSmL26q03euqGGSuDzFFz0G_8IMvl5jgySH7mFrws56DYYbrQvQ3kE1Ve5_wHZFP85qT5W4awwpuDI5Dy3lj08O17lBT9d4vNOdmDdiETKBZ6klWGyDBef5kTIeb5PdwHW3D-ojd1zw/s320/desk2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As it stands now, I sculpt each mask on a model, with a covering between them to keep the resin from irrevocably bonding to the model beneath. Then I leave it to harden overnight.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUtiYXJQtMSRT1niZpXJ9jKoF_zizMdbXos3RcWSl2GTvUk0Bdoxi_pMYtE0tIf9FqvWdjMYfOApwMd_LkduJDUSbqs-Jkfnw0lod6C3FnT9mYvIdVv_qaH3ax6Z19t2GLX6T-HPASAE/s1600/desk3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUtiYXJQtMSRT1niZpXJ9jKoF_zizMdbXos3RcWSl2GTvUk0Bdoxi_pMYtE0tIf9FqvWdjMYfOApwMd_LkduJDUSbqs-Jkfnw0lod6C3FnT9mYvIdVv_qaH3ax6Z19t2GLX6T-HPASAE/s320/desk3.jpg" width="320" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next I pry the mask off, shredding the covering to pieces in the process. This is somewhat tricky as the mask may not be fully cured and is therefore delicate. I let it sit a little longer, then go around the edges of the mask to trim off excess resin.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOCcHO_vC5CPIHVza7adwHI-ggWl_BmWttjODPrRSM11HsJR3ujGnkJywtNdnS-H6ZEWj0zZQ-sKujRMoQ_ncJOculK8sh3hpgUt7ywFCB4j_8jbpb01jkFXuMspD0zdz2dqLIVNRTzE/s1600/desk4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOCcHO_vC5CPIHVza7adwHI-ggWl_BmWttjODPrRSM11HsJR3ujGnkJywtNdnS-H6ZEWj0zZQ-sKujRMoQ_ncJOculK8sh3hpgUt7ywFCB4j_8jbpb01jkFXuMspD0zdz2dqLIVNRTzE/s320/desk4.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I then apply a basecoat. I usually choose black, as it provides the most contrast for the mask as a whole. Once that is dry, I begin to paint in earnest. I use several different techniques. I’m a big fan of drybrushing, which helps to leave some shadows in the mask, but sometimes I have to paint those in by hand. Once the painting is done an the iridescence has been applied, I seal the entire mask to keep the paint from flaking under stress. And this is the result:</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjftkuisAxP3FdeDGfkPLYG4H4KsIDY0xRz1KrZPGSA3fbOmM4muz7d6Kwmw_qD9k6Ua_Hvt0L5v4NFCJi5mPYhr6oi3JDm38brHraedKvVQm1-Ab2x0ahjrPxNPvvF-N-VWVXQIKTxZK4/s1600/reddrag2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjftkuisAxP3FdeDGfkPLYG4H4KsIDY0xRz1KrZPGSA3fbOmM4muz7d6Kwmw_qD9k6Ua_Hvt0L5v4NFCJi5mPYhr6oi3JDm38brHraedKvVQm1-Ab2x0ahjrPxNPvvF-N-VWVXQIKTxZK4/s320/reddrag2.jpg" width="275" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And honestly? If you want to make a mask, I wouldn’t put too much stock in my process. Mess around. Find your own way. My method is geared towards my strength: sculpting. Find one that suits yours. The beginning results might be modest and take a long time, but so long as you keep tweaking your process you’ll keep getting better at it and cut down on the time it takes.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-34929922813670118072010-12-07T14:29:00.000-08:002010-12-07T14:29:40.515-08:00Ghost of Christmas Present<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8qVC85n3ceC7I5arItITGh579TXfQhn2k6vBbHl-qRRVrpDJptrYHxlPYkds9Y5jBz334XRXhQ_b0td7CfjQopLX5A2Bx6m9-wbJTUpVOLudSE39MbcH3vd1rTH1QGIF7vSQd71024g/s1600/christmasmask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8qVC85n3ceC7I5arItITGh579TXfQhn2k6vBbHl-qRRVrpDJptrYHxlPYkds9Y5jBz334XRXhQ_b0td7CfjQopLX5A2Bx6m9-wbJTUpVOLudSE39MbcH3vd1rTH1QGIF7vSQd71024g/s320/christmasmask.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I've been getting into a bit of a holiday mood lately. Add to this the fact that my mask making supplies finally arrived and you get trouble. Behold! The Ghost of Christmas Present! He's one happenin' guy!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The trickiest part was actually painting the face. I wanted it to be entirely gold, but I still needed the star and the beard to stand out. The trick was to use different tones of gold- a yellow-gold for the teeth, an antique gold for the skin, a copper gold for the beard, and a super-metallic gold for the star. I even managed to make his cheeks a bit rosy!</span>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-69897836765893496742010-12-03T12:58:00.000-08:002010-12-03T12:58:02.171-08:00Shading<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxnQUQiA13uyKBmJ5vYtbPgKymNsF8pa_qeH5vjP_HdGQzaixRQT7WXo7IfXQ86A5gfdZ72u4YIMwOi7RlVOWZlI0kRmLozC1P4cqdAe4UIATwCcBxmUVJi-MhCf6Y_yvHd7kgdEcWjk/s1600/DemonCom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxnQUQiA13uyKBmJ5vYtbPgKymNsF8pa_qeH5vjP_HdGQzaixRQT7WXo7IfXQ86A5gfdZ72u4YIMwOi7RlVOWZlI0kRmLozC1P4cqdAe4UIATwCcBxmUVJi-MhCf6Y_yvHd7kgdEcWjk/s320/DemonCom.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of my current style</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I admire Mike Mignola. And not just because of his incredible ability to juggle humor and horror at the same time, although that is certainly enviable. I admire him because he’s developed a comic art style that is fast. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Because let me tell you, coloring takes for freaking ever. No, let me amend that. <i>Shading</i> takes for freaking ever. The beauty of Mignola’s Hellboy style is that the heavy use of black replaces shading so that all he has to do is fill in matte colors. The trick is to make the page look complicated and dynamic when, in reality, all you have to do is fill a few spots with color. Brilliant.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Because of my tendonitis, I have had to develop my own simplified style, which I now use for RLF. I draw the inks by hand, scan them in, convert them to vector to clean up the edges of the lines, and then bring them into Photoshop. At that point it’s a simple matter of filling the linework with color. Sure, there may be a lot of detail, but many of the lines in that detail do not actually connect with each other. They only look like they do. The only time lines join up is when they form a ‘barrier’ for the color to keep it from bleeding into a part of the picture where I don’t want it. Simple!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, that’s how it started out, anyway. Unfortunately, I keep getting more and more elaborate when it comes to shading. I’ve tried to simplify this process by using the pen tool, but the fact is that shading is just going to take forever if you want it to do it well. That is, unless you use a heavy black style like Hellboy has. I’ve experimented with that for Oddewulf and like some of the results. However, that style only really works for dark, gothic stories…it is not well suited for a lighter comic like RLF. </span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-19177912151866680472010-11-30T18:21:00.000-08:002010-11-30T18:21:13.185-08:00Winter Cleaning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH_yBogvMlvTBExGdTyoKSh6a5KQhIgMTyfBnMjsCCPCrQ8ddpOq2rz1qRL1kR1NlNKaOcBgTdmewljJRkJ9GwVqvkpqUYcl6Q3nlll2t_rt1JjhqwNibMCer-mW6RPjj-wTfh05pewY/s1600/cobwebfairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH_yBogvMlvTBExGdTyoKSh6a5KQhIgMTyfBnMjsCCPCrQ8ddpOq2rz1qRL1kR1NlNKaOcBgTdmewljJRkJ9GwVqvkpqUYcl6Q3nlll2t_rt1JjhqwNibMCer-mW6RPjj-wTfh05pewY/s320/cobwebfairy.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Looking through my Deviant Art gallery I realized that much of what I had there was extremely old. Although I realize that people often enjoy going through a gallery to see how an artist has progressed, I think I need to do a bit of cleaning. This means moving quite a few pieces over to the Scraps section of my gallery</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The upside is that I’d also like to fill my gallery with newer works that are more representative of my current skill level. Therefore, I’ll be pushing hard to submit frequent updates.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The drawing to the right is the first of these new pieces. She’s a cobweb fairy, drawn in ink. She’s fairly representative of the kind of piece I would do as a character commission.</span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-41442834218681767042010-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:002010-11-29T18:24:46.439-08:00RLF Issue 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEvM3AIIyAm7m4IDfkzZKal5-74B2MH78EZAYF8EtVludbfB6V73C85J2vumqFHuvFz2B_Sn6rH2gOyRskYA72zPNPUlfenosJhKKaAlmZodDx6GWs2LIgJez7pPfbrzqVLVKZRqJ57Y/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEvM3AIIyAm7m4IDfkzZKal5-74B2MH78EZAYF8EtVludbfB6V73C85J2vumqFHuvFz2B_Sn6rH2gOyRskYA72zPNPUlfenosJhKKaAlmZodDx6GWs2LIgJez7pPfbrzqVLVKZRqJ57Y/s320/cover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> That's right! </span>RLF as a comic book! And it's coming soon! All the files are prepared. I just need to finish a few dingbats and the credits page and then it'll be off to print! Of course, printing may be its own adventure, but I hope it'll go smoothly. I plan on using Comixpress. I thought about using Lulu, but they charge people far too much. Five or six dollars for a comic book? No thanks! Their interface also isn't quite as user friendly.Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-51551151490628323192010-11-26T23:33:00.000-08:002010-11-26T23:44:18.573-08:00Muscles<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjzOCgwWb9kZWqtaaT8ac64jKzgvs67DuaCcx9xVLFfLoHeUCXPy37BsRFknvdhxQtlW8WXs9ISZC7mU9akxy5u8_VgZ9Q9qyxTOXaxt9c_o6pbeFbubNVBoi-P8nUCBTgVfbZUb8QBY/s1600/artdemon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjzOCgwWb9kZWqtaaT8ac64jKzgvs67DuaCcx9xVLFfLoHeUCXPy37BsRFknvdhxQtlW8WXs9ISZC7mU9akxy5u8_VgZ9Q9qyxTOXaxt9c_o6pbeFbubNVBoi-P8nUCBTgVfbZUb8QBY/s400/artdemon.jpg" width="271" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">I just baptized a new sketch book. Lately I’ve really been trying to work on my anatomy skills. Musculature is tricky business. It helps to think of human muscles as strands woven in a basket, or braided hair. The major muscles wrap about each other, slipping over and under in mischievous ways that are, at times, counter intuitive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Drawing muscles can be as simple or complex as you choose to make it. Getting extraordinarily detailed renditions such as d’Vinci requires a lot of study of individual muscles. For this, I recommend “</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Anatomy</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Drawing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">School</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">” by Andras Szunyoghy, which you can pick up at Borders in the bargain bin section for $10. It’s actually a reprint of an earlier book that I got long ago. Be forewarned, however, this book is deadly. It’s so hefty you could use it to beat undead with in a zombie apocalypse.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Otherwise, Christopher Hart has an very useful book called “Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy” for drawing simplified-yet-graceful muscles. The real boon of this book is that it looks at how muscles act in different positions- raised arms versus lowered ones, tilted heads, etc. It’s also a wee bit lighter. I suggest that you only use this book as a study for bodies, though, and not heads. For some reason the faces in it are very awkward.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Actually, I didn’t use any reference for this drawing, and it shows. But I did this exercise to test my memory of human musculature, not how well I could draw them. In that respect I think I am improving. What I truly need to work on is how they act in different poses.</span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-3340087102929602282010-11-25T18:48:00.000-08:002010-11-26T23:39:59.739-08:00Manicorn<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLUY4Y-5nZHdyEL4HxSHV4TSiahuJdTDAmHSmNfT6TSqX-36bBHgrXXdSpsq-_5qiVry3TXCwixXH0njzmPEt4Ww63AbxYE1ftXzOLx0z6sd5Ri9HPxCOtjxbz2jjxSe4U8yCBpiTflM/s1600/artminiman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLUY4Y-5nZHdyEL4HxSHV4TSiahuJdTDAmHSmNfT6TSqX-36bBHgrXXdSpsq-_5qiVry3TXCwixXH0njzmPEt4Ww63AbxYE1ftXzOLx0z6sd5Ri9HPxCOtjxbz2jjxSe4U8yCBpiTflM/s1600/artminiman.jpg" /></a> One of the most common questions I get about Real Life Fiction is whether <a href="http://rlfcomic.com/?comic=20101125">Manicorn</a> is gay or bi. There isn’t a simple answer to this, I’m afraid.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The source of all Manicorn’s comedy lies, of course, in gender paradox. Part of him comes from the toys that I so loved when I was six. Hot pink things with so many hearts and rainbows they’d give Thomas Kinkaid a toothache. The other part of him arises from the hyper-masculine heroes that are oh-so common in comic books and action movies. In short, he is preposterous. And the fact that he is preposterous illustrates how preposterous gender is. For instance, adolescent girls are told they should like ‘pretty’ or ‘girlish’ boys. See: Justin Bieber. And yet boys are told to act like ‘real’ men, to man up, to take it like a man…and they often pick on any boy they deem girly. If that isn’t preposterous, I don’t know what is.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> However, gender and sexual orientation are two separate, though interconnected, elements of a person’s nature. Whether you like pink, blue, both, or neither does not necessarily determine whether you love boys or girls. So I do not plan on ever explicitly stating what Manicorn’s sexual orientation is. If I did, whether or not he was gay would become the subject of the joke.</div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-90131587988612866642010-11-22T18:51:00.000-08:002010-11-22T18:51:26.834-08:00Back to Basics Part 1: Misshapen Things<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Have a look at the pictures below. Can you tell the difference between them?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigozJRo2Qz8KmUQEHtTdg5tWpySLtRQ5FcgNexDCgt6-Mn4ShHmFZc_OI9c2_JPq6BeQ_N-Hfnx1t6NtXFZ2rxDnRN7p-BW9Y9gyK5JYvzLMItGrfvckOKwJE5KWnJf1vvbdU9laxe2g8/s1600/artro2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigozJRo2Qz8KmUQEHtTdg5tWpySLtRQ5FcgNexDCgt6-Mn4ShHmFZc_OI9c2_JPq6BeQ_N-Hfnx1t6NtXFZ2rxDnRN7p-BW9Y9gyK5JYvzLMItGrfvckOKwJE5KWnJf1vvbdU9laxe2g8/s1600/artro2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One is clearly better than the other, yet I drew them both. The difference is laziness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Remember back in grade school when men were boys and most of them ate paste? You were probably told that everything you draw is made up of basic shapes- circles, squares, and the like. Then the art teacher probably had you draw an egg-shaped face with creepy, serial-killer eyes and no nose. Well, your art teacher was right. Everything you draw is made up of a couple of basic shapes joined together. If you lightly sketch these shapes first they will help you with the proportions for your drawing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The thing is that artists are lazy. At least, I know I am. Drawing these basic blueprints is boring and lame. We’d rather skip right to the juicy bits- chins and fingers and eyelashes and things! But when we do this, our quality suffers. The first of the two drawings is what happens when I work without those ever-helpful guiding shapes. Sure, all the individual bits are there, but they don’t go together. One eye seems to be making a break for the ear, and the hair, I’m pretty sure, is really a toupee. She also has a broken neck.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">What your art teacher probably didn’t tell you is that drawing using basic shapes doesn’t just give you a sense of proportion, but also its perspective. A case in point: our mutant girl in the first drawing has her eyes at a more frontal angle than her face allows for. That’s why one eye looks like it’s in the wrong place. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Her better looking sister, on the other hand, benefited from a blueprint of basic shapes. As I drew her I realized that the head was actually tilted down slightly and that all her facial accessories should follow suit. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Most artists I know get lazy at some point and skip this most basic of steps. We really shouldn’t be surprised at the monsters we create as a result. Perhaps we should unleash them on Tokyo… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-61266379234750203492010-11-21T22:27:00.000-08:002010-11-21T22:34:43.896-08:00An Artist’s Guide to Tendonitis<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> For three years now I have battled tendinitis in both my arms. At its worst, I could barely lift a pencil and couldn’t drive. And just when it was getting better, I relapsed. I put off seeing anyone about it for a long time because I, like so many in the US, have terrible health insurance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> It’s funny…if you break a bone a bone or crack a rib, you heal in six weeks. But tendinitis can take years to heal. But although I still wrestle with it, it has gotten better. Every month there’s some amount of improvement. So for anyone out there who’s fighting this same beast, let me tell you that the pain you feel now will go away. Don’t give up. Even if you never completely heal, as some do not, you will still improve dramatically. The trick is to face it head on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> What I mean by this is that you need to be proactive in finding treatment. I don’t just mean going to the doctor, although certainly you need to do that. You may even consider cortisone shots if your doctor suggests it. But you need to seek a range of treatments. Often there is no one magical fix, but rather a host of options.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> What has worked best for me is a three pronged approach which is as follows:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Physical Therapy</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">A good physical therapist will give you exercises to slowly but surely regain strength, flexibility, and toughen up those tendons and muscles. They will be able to better pinpoint the exact muscles that are affected by your tendonitis. I recommend going to a physical therapist that runs their own practice, as they have seen a variety of injuries from all walks of life. They are the seasoned veterans. So many clinics these days just focus on sports injuries and the like.</span></div></li>
</ul><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Stretching</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I cannot emphasize this enough, but you need to do stretches. I recommend picking up a book on myofascial stretching. Although your problem may not have to do with fascia at all, I have found that the stretches in these books target specific muscle groups and do wonders for tendonitis. The trick is to perform each stretch for a long period of time- 90 to 120 seconds, 3 times each.</span></div></li>
<li> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Massage Therapy</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">A lot of people think of massages as a luxury. For those of us with a soft tissue injury, however, they are a critical weapon to have on the road to recovery. You see, when your tissues are injured your muscles tighten up and spasm. In later stages of tendonitis, this is usually what perpetuates the cycle of pain. A good massage therapist will be able to work on those tight muscles and loosen them over time. This allows your muscles to relax and breaks the cycle.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Just be sure to go to a reputable massage therapist. Avoid anyone who claims to do crystal healing and opt instead for therapists who do deep tissue massage. A word of forewarning, though: you will hurt the day after a massage...but it's a good kind of pain.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Bare in mind that I am not a doctor, but rather a fellow sufferer. My suggestions are not a replacement for proper medical advice, simply a litany of things that I have found to be useful.</b></span></div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1699710350562432186.post-47014755275221919572010-11-21T13:58:00.000-08:002010-11-21T13:58:44.309-08:00The Mighty Crustacean<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Artropod! A blog of class! Art and crustaceans together at last! For the first time, for the last time, forever and always! Well… no, not really. Actually this is a blog about my art- all of it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXt6Pdo0ST0QwxAVtAj6VDw5RHMCsRxsIy8TW8OVheplmekiKc174pdeV8f1o76RkdcJSCKDt7_04qqyJFbsRcB0ZjB4qFQ2K6t9E7Ax2pmuSROxQriN-vr2VNTDH63siAo_PEwTeDl0/s1600/artro1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXt6Pdo0ST0QwxAVtAj6VDw5RHMCsRxsIy8TW8OVheplmekiKc174pdeV8f1o76RkdcJSCKDt7_04qqyJFbsRcB0ZjB4qFQ2K6t9E7Ax2pmuSROxQriN-vr2VNTDH63siAo_PEwTeDl0/s320/artro1.jpg" width="320" /></a>Lobsters aside, people keep telling me I should start this thing. I’ve been a little intimidated, though. After all, there are already a lot of good art blogs out there. But in reality my trepidation comes down to horror vacui. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In baroque art horror vacui refers to the fear of empty space. That is, when the artist felt that they couldn’t possibly leave a single bare space in their work for the eye to rest and instead filled every nook and cranny with little curlicues and cherubs farting rainbows.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In my case, horror vacui really refers to the empty screen I have in front of me that I’m supposed to fill with…well, with what, exactly? That, you see, is the horrible question. Should I just post my very best work? The pieces I’d put in a portfolio? If I did that, I’d post only once every few months. I’d worry so much about what I was going to do that I’d never actually do it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">So, no, this must be something else. This will be a blog about the process of my art. My comics, my masks, my forays into crafts unknown. Be it an elaborate painting or a little doodle I did in the margin of my shopping list, I will post it. I will talk about it. And maybe I’ll improve by doing so.</div>Imaginary Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008308635807215416noreply@blogger.com2