Struggling with Color Comps and more doodles

Apparently I forgot how in ChristOatley Academy's Centrifuge message boards, you can only upload pictures that are in the internet, so that means I have to upload stuff here or somewhere else (I guess that's one thing I can give deviantart kudos for. You can do that in journal entries).
But for now, here's a more recent revision of my first color comp.

 I'm still frustrated, so I decided that doing a new comp would help. Except that brought up a question, about the steps taken in the tutorial video. After putting in the atmospheric ground color, Chris selected the overall figure and blocked it in with this gradient color. Here was the first few steps of the first comp.

 And the new one, but with a more bright, pinkish atmospheric lighting. Except, I don't know if I'm supposed to put in the darkest value and then the light source. spills on the left side. Should I go darker for the darkest areas? Or should I add some more darkness to the atmospheric ground color?

Anyway, some sketches that I've forgotten to show.
This was the interior of an Arby's that I walked in. It was really nice, too bad I didn't get a picture with it.

 These sketches and doodles are thumbnails for a drawing I want to do before New Year's starts.

 And as well as a quick comic for "Beeswax", which sums up this year.

 I am considering a plan to make a story portfolio and a character design portfolio. I decided to work out some basic character designs, to explore some possibilities.

Anyway, since not many people bother checking this blog, and are only glued to my tumblr and my deviantart, I don't think I'll be too concerned with theft. I check my blog, and I see no comments whatsoever. Heck, I wonder if putting spoiler content for my stories would even matter ...nevermind, that's a horrible idea.

Merry Christmas and stuff I'm working on for next year

First off, a little something for Christmas and the holidays. Plus, I was long overdue for a little piece for Eruti. Sadly, most of the stuff I make is in sketches.

 As for the lack of activity, well it was the Christmas Rush, and it was insane these 2 weeks before Christmas at the UPS.
But yes, I have been thinking of what I plan on doing for next year, and now. I'll probably start working on strips for "Beeswax", a comic about my life after college and my first year of school. Except everyone in that world is a bee.
I've been working on some sketches for Creon and Hinder as well.

 And yes, I have a pretty generaldirection of where I want to go with Eruti, though I'm still writing bits out (again). These are thumbnails for the first chapter.

 I couldn't focus on finishing thumbnails and ended up making doodles about Creon in general (hint: She likes to play secret Santa).

Well I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Peace everyone.

First Comp Homework and more doodles

At long last, I have finished 1 comp for the "Fancy Animals" project.
But I do intend to make 1 or more comps, because I'm not happy with this one, and hopefully I'll get good feedback on doing better.

 And for some doodles that I did during my free time at work. When it's super slow, I just get a piece of paper and doodle, or read. In this case, I did some stuff for Creon. Mainly outfits that she wears, especially during different parts of the story, which I still have to flesh out.

 The next two below are ideas for business cards for myself. I want to have a card ready so I can give people something, which gives a more professional look. I don't like to say "eh, I just do things as a hobby, here's my email, that's it." My deviantart is definitely not professional.

 Some more doodles for Creon and Hinder. I wanted a feel for these two practicing their powers. I didn't want Hinder to come off as a heartless, emo wanderer. I had to simply tone down and just get the ideas out, rather than getting a perfect drawing.

And now, a watercolor tribute to the nutcracker and "Cats Don't Dance."

I'm going to tone down the amount of fanart here, and put that stuff on my tumblr instead,

Chris Oatley Academy and Girls' Retreat weekend sketches

A few days ago, I had started drawing some motorcycles (with reference), especially since I was interested in drawing a vehicle for Creon. I actually wanted to make a one-wheel motorbike for her, but I might end up making it a regular motorcycle, especially if she wants to be able to deliver stuff.

 As the title indicates, yes I have joined Chris Oatley's Magic Box academy. The frogs are studies I made for the first assignment. Everything else is some thumbnails for some future artwork I want to make.

 Hehe, drawing that desert rain frog is fun and cute. The thumbnails on the side were sudden ideas I had. I know I want to make some sort of Chibi rendition of the Dark Tower Ka-tet. Of course, I had to give those spiky muffin balls some extra level of cuteness. Because that world is quite trippy.

 And yep, guess what me and my brother saw last Friday. I have to say, I was already interested in "Big Hero 6" when I saw the concept art and the teasers. I'm really REALLY happy with the movie, and it's a definite comeback for Disney after "Frozen". This movie was full of so much feels that I ended up crying. I highly recommend it. You can obviously tell how much I love Baymax. Here are my original characters all snuggled up with baymax.

 I don't know why, but I've been getting into drawing more of Creon and Hinder.

 More Creon, a little bit more of Hinder here. But I have a feeling I'm going to need more development, especially with the story.

Well, that's it. I literally did 3 pages of sketches while I was away with some girls from my bible study group. Had a lot of fun up in them mountains. I guess that's what happens when you have no access to internet or computer. But it was good. Heck I even feel like writing an outline for Creon's story.

Book of Life, nothing for Halloween, and more story doodles

First off, I know I should have posted it sooner, but I don't like making posts with only 1 piece of work. So yes, I watched "The Book of Life" on premiere day, and I absolutely love it! It's visually beautiful, the story may sound cliche', but they do it in a way that is done truthfully and with love and care. I love the characters and their designs, I love the Sanchez's family. And it's a movie that pays special tribute and homage to Mexican culture and the Day of the Dead. For all of you who want to see something new and fresh, I urge you to watch it. You will be smiling at the end. So here's the page of fan doodles I did 2-3 weeks ago.

 I definitely promise to do a full piece soon. There's one scene that literally moved me to tears (no I didn't weep, but it did bring out a few tears), and I want to do that scene justice.

In the meanwhile, due to my new job at UPS retail, I have to spend some time with the online "Learning Center" modules, which has really put a stop on me working on Sugar Dominion or anything else. However, I was able to squeeze in some doodles during the slow moments. This is actually another story I want to tell after Eruti. Don't have a title, but it revolves around 2 protagonists, Creon and Hinder. This is mostly about Creon. It's frustrating how she started off as a fancharacter, then an OC. Now it seems that I'm understanding her more when I put her in a pre-existing fandom and building her from there. I'm hoping to pull away from that though. These were all done with ballpoint pen. That rabbit, a result of mutation and genetic experiments gone wrong.

 The guy in the cloak is Hinder. Yeah, I'm still trying to build him. But he's come a long way from his original design. I actually got some tips from my brother about giving him the ability to conjure dark matter to help with his meditation rituals. His upper torso can be unstable due to his emotions or his conflicted thoughts. Some internal mumbo jumbo goes on if he doesn't keep himself stable or at ease. Him and Creon are supposed to be opposites, in a way. Which is actually good, because they were sounding really cliche' at the beginning.

 More for Creon. I blame Ragnarok. I named my gunslinger Creon Gilead, and then that brought up more about her likes and her history. Since I'm currently reading Stephen King's "Dark tower" series, I figured that one of her favorite books is the "Dark tower" series. Yep, my futuristic guns suck. I do need to work on them. In fact, there's a whole list of stuff i need to work on if I ever want to tackle this story.

 Her first faithful companion is a coyote she named Oy, based on Oy the Billy Bumbler. Oy underwent some mutations, so he has an opposable thumbs, and a higher intelligence (no not ninja turtle smart smart). Don't know why coyote. I guess it's because I got into rewatching Loonatics Unleashed. *Sigh* I really should get into watching anime more. I really am liking Oy, but I still love the idea of a mutant bunny named Teeth.

2 Saiyan hedgehogs and other sketches.

Had to laugh at team four star for their "2 Saiyans play" segments.
When they were playing 'Sonic Fighters", Nappa made a comment of being "Nappa the hedgehog"...
I had to draw it XD

 And now some more sketches from last week and starting this week. First up is some Hatoful boyfriend sketches that I failed to finish. Strangely, that game was not as silly as I thought it would be. I genuinely found myself sympathizing and feeling for a bunch of birds. Watching Dodger "presshearttocontinue" play had me hooked. That ending...insanely good.

 I'm still frustrated with trying to find my "style", though I'm wondering why I bother to perfect, when the thing that needs perfecting is the story itself.

Some more Eruti sketches. Except, here I tried to attempt getting the layout for the beginning where it will take place in Sofia's home. I even gave Sofia some little fungus minions.I think I'll call them "fungus faye". Unless there already is a name for mushroom-like faye.

Anyhooo, with a part-time job, I'm going to try and be more disciplined with my time. Easier said than done though. I still, STILL have to tone Sugar Dominion pages, AND make a title/cover page...I honestly want to be done with that project. I want to work on other projects so sooon.

Sept-Octo week sketches

So yeah, once again I have no idea what I'm doing at this point. I know I've got to finish Sugar Dominion before Halloween. Or at least have some pages drawn to show in my portfolio to get a table at Momocon next year.
As a matter of fact, I'm happy to say that I've finished inking all the pages!

Now just have to clean, letter, and tone...

After that...well, I know I have to get Eruti, but lately I've been thinking of doing other small projects. Who knows. Well for now, here are all the sketches I've done this week.

On the plus side, here's a sneak peek of a new piece that I do plan on featuring at Momocon (If I'm accepted). Try to guess which fandoms have crossed over ^^.

Well here are the other sketches and doodles I've done this week. Though I don't know what order they're in.

This one I definitely finished from start to finish today. Did this on the back of a word-search. I found myself having fun with different body and head shapes. It's more fun. I'm still not going to abandon my manga/anime style. But maybe I'll find the right balance for Eruti. And maybe future comics.

But I'd love some feedback. Please please leave constructive comments on this blog, tumblr, or deviantart (if you have the time).

Crogan, Sketches ,and some watercolor

First of all, Yesterday when I went to pick up my book (finally after a month reserving on waiting list), I caved and went on a book binge, borrowing books and manga. I also gave a chance to "Crogan's Loyalty" and "Crogan's March", which I surprisingly liked. Chris Schweizer's art is simple, but fun to look at. I love how people draw their characters with interesting shapes, yet give more energy and life to them. What also pulled me in was the story-telling. If you like historical fiction that offers a question of 2 or more sides of historical events, then you'll find yourself asking for more adventures of the Crogan legacy.
Which is why I did a bunch of doodles practicing or trying to dissect the style in Crogan. I plan to make a proper fanart tribute to Chris Schweizer's Crogan.

When really I should have been looking at photos of buildings and environments to practice drawing them. Which I did yesterday. While waiting for my brother to finish class, I went outside, found a spot and a subject, and draw. And here is the fruit of labor...

...not one of my best drawings. Actually it's pretty bad. But that won't stop me!
Sunday, I actually had some fun with watercolors, making a short watercolor doodle. At first I wanted to experiment with these old color markers I found, but after testing them, I went with watercolor. I really need to give a proper fanart tribute to the Wakfu anime also. I didn't understand a single thing in that show, but I loved it. (haven't touched the game in a while though.)

That short comic Candy/Sugar Dominion....still working on page 28, still gotta draw and ink 2 more pages, and the cover...and tone...and letter...I'm getting there. But honestly, it makes me wonder...am I cut out for comics? I'm suitable for illustrations or animation? Or some other niche? I read this post on "How to become a Mangaka", and it brought up some good points about becoming a mangaka. And here I quote:

Let’s say, your story writing skills are top notch but your drawing skills really suck. Do you really want to stick with manga? Because there is a lot of other stuff you can write for. The same goes for drawing, If you are good at drawing manga art it doesn’t mean you are meant to be a mangaka. Maybe you can be a great character designer for videogames or illustrate for a company’s.Maybe you should just stick with fanart?

But if manga is something you are absolutely sure of then consider this; If you have the passion for writing but suck at drawing, then you can either learn how to draw or work with someone who is more talented in drawing. The same goes the other way around. If you suck in writing story, learn how to do it or let someone else do it. This is very important, know your sunlight and kryptonite, your pro’s and cons, your virtus and glitches!    

 (source http://howtobam.com/prep-yourself/)

So yeah, that did make me wonder, would I be better as a concept artist? Storyboard artist? Illustrator? And that brought up another artist identity crisis, which I'm trying to ignore by working on this short comic.

New profile pic for future facebook page, and test comic for Beeswax

First off, I finished this yesterday. This is the id or icon I want to use for my more professional work. I plan on making a facebook page for my art. Because let's face it, my deviantart isn't the most professional site to look at. I'm a little ashamed at the lack of original art, and the huge dumps of fanart. Now, all this stuff surrounding me, my own characters (except Jesus), and I do want to make comics of them.The snake is my eastern zodiac animal, that's all, and I love cookies.

And this little comic here, is me testing out the drawing of "Beeswax", a small web-comic I plan on making. Eruti might be on the back-burner even longer.

And today, I watched the premiere of FOX's new show "The Red Band Society", and oh my goodness I'm hooked instantly. It's so endearing and definitely "a breath of fresh air." This is not an official tribute, but here's some sketchy fanart.

Oooh! Almost forgot, finished the poster entry. You can vote via facebook, or look at other entries and vote for them. Link