You know the stripes on a tiger are hard to change

LOVE this song right now:

And I like the music video! The lead singer's style, the silhouette dancing, and the part where he drives off the car are all cool elements.

Still inking (le sigh!). It's been so long since I used nibs! April at least. Very strange, after inking with them for...oh wow, 6 years? I was worried I would lose that skill if I took a break and learned to brush ink, but it seems to have come right back. :)

Buttons now available in my store!!! Check 'em out! :)

So...Miyazaki is coming to Comic-Con. And this is all that I will be talking about for the next month. *A* I wonder if there will be any way to give him presents...probably not, huh? Meh, I'll be happy if I see him with my own eyes. :)

Can't Stop the Serenity was last night, and I had a blast with my friends Mary and Christina! We got to The Gypsy too late for most of the festivities, but it looked like it was a good time. The trivia questions were HARD, though! They asked things like "What quadrant is Miranda in?" O___o;
The movie was awesome. It was my first time watching it, so maybe not the best idea to go to a showing where people are encouraged to yell at the screen and say "look out!" before everybody dies, but still, I really really enjoyed it! I couldn't even tell who was going to die, because all I could hear around me was "AHHHHHHHHHHH" right before it happened, and there were so many camera cuts leading up to it that I just knew death was coming to someone. :P They asked who was watching it for the first time before it started, and I was one of like 2 people, so once in a while someone would shout things like, "Who didn't see that coming?" and someone else would reply, "The girl in the middle!!!" xD; Definitely going next year and making preemptive jokes with everyone else. I liked the speakers and the message from Joss Whedon before the film--I love his characters and his portrayal of women, and it was cool to see an entire event inspired by that. Very cool indeed.

Can't forget we only get what we give

Finished my pencils for Oni Press's talent search yesterday. They are asking for photocopies of the penciled pages, which made me WAY more precise than I normally am on pencils. I think it's a really good thing, too--I often have to wing details when I ink, which leads to anatomical and general physics errors. xD; But with these tight pencils, inking will be less risky! :) I'm also pleased at how much faster I am than I was a year ago. While gathering reference and practicing new objects still takes time, actually laying out/blocking the page is getting very quick! Yippee!

Today I'm seeing my friend Mary for the first time in months--she's been on a journey of epic proportions in Europe and the middle east this year and I am excited to hear some of her stories! We are also going to Portland's Can't Stop the Serenity tonight. I'm really excited to finally see the movie, and I like the cause (raising money for Equality Now).

Went to Voicebox again yesterday...that place is truly crackalicious. After a fun work day at Periscope, Cat, Ron, and Emi humored me and gave it a try. We had a ball! My favorite songs were I Will Always Love You, Don't Stop Believing, Country Road (oh and you KNOW we know that song in Japanese!! xD).

Time to dye my hair again. Maybe plain brown this time. Red just does not last, especially in the summer when I'm out in the sun and swimming.

Sketch dump!

From the end of spring term, trying to capture the craze of the final week of school.Whether I believe it or not, it's already time to start work on my senior thesis. I've been cleared to make a comic for the bulk of the project, cutting the paper down to 20 pages, but now I have to pick a script to draw for the next 10 months. Bit of a big decision.

Random sketches:

We made love with each other's eyes

The Toaster People (remember them?) originals are now for sale in my Etsy shop!

I have a super good reason you should give me your hard-earned money, too: I'm going to San Diego Comic Con this year!!!!!!!!!! AH, it sounds so weird to say; I've waited YEARS to go, but it's finally happening! 8D

Plane flights ain't cheap, though, and I have about $400 left to make if I want to stay out of my savings account. Do a gal a favor and buy her artwork! <3 I'll have other art and merchandise for sale over the next month, and all sales will help me get to SDCC!

We fight we break up we kiss we make love

I've been trying to draw children this week. And since I don't draw many children, I don't understand their anatomy. And since I don't understand their anatomy, I searched for reference on Google with really sketchy phrases like "4 year old girls". x__x

So why am I being such a pedo? It's because the next heroine I'm drawing is 4 years old!

I'm excited for this story. :) But I am also probably now on the FBI watch list. :(

You see me crawling up the walls for you

This fountain piece is still marching slowly on...That's the last of the people, but next comes the cascading water in the fountains. Very intimidating. Should I dry brush...? Try to copy the photo identically...? I like it too much to mess it up now!

Yesterday, Periscope intern comrade Emi Lenox invited me to join the sketch group she keeps with Angie Wang. It was so cool! We went to a swanky Pearl District cafe and talked for a couple of hours, with a little drawing in there, too. :P I'm still new to this 'other people draw comics' thing, so I appreciate meeting more people who do, especially in Portland. Both gals are funny, talented, and just the kind of people you feel lucky to know. :D And check out their sites! Holy skills, Batman!

Still listening to Evident Utensil by Chairlift on repeat. I can't get over that song!

We can be happy underground

Superstars Jeff Parker (The Interman, Mysterius: The Unfathomable, Agents of Atlas), Steve Lieber (Whiteout, Whiteout: Melt, Detective Comics), and Ron Chan (Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic, Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper, Series Two) are teaming up with a new series from Image this fall, Underground!

"UNDERGROUND is a five issue color series beginning in September from IMAGE COMICS. Written by Jeff Parker, drawn by Steve Lieber, and colored by Ron Chan, the story follows Park Ranger Wesley Fischer as she tries to save Stillwater Cave-- and then has to save herself."

This is one you're going to want to read! :) All 3 creators are extremely talented individually, but the fact that they work in the same studio space is going to make for a great, seamless final product.

They're not sure just what we have in store

I keep forgetting to blog this, but it's beyond cool:
The radio has been giving shout-outs to my little brother Nick's late band, Moses Smell the Roses, and it never gets old! His friend Mike Byrne, their drummer, is Smashing Pumpkin's new drummer at age 19!!! Fuck yes, kid! Way to be! Whenever 94.7 Portland plays a Pumpkins song, they mention the band. :) It makes my big sis heart jump. <3

I made pretzels tonight from this recipe. It was fun, but it took about 4 times longer than I thought it would just to roll out the dough into shapes. It really wanted to go back to an amorphous blob. :P Other than that, it was fun and they turned out deliciously!

Nothing's ever built to last

Still no new art, sorry! It's coming but I'm under pressure to finish the room first. x__x Oh living with your parents.

Today is books. I have every book I own stacked into one of the following piles:
-Fiction
-Poetry
-Educational
-Art instruction
-Western comics
-Manga
-Bibles (Oh yes. It's a pile.)

I have two copies of Great Expectations. I know I should give one to Goodwill, but I like both copies for different reasons. Hopeless!

I made great progress on another domestic project: hanging artwork! I'm horrible at decorating my walls--they're almost always bare or have mismatched, riffraffy photos and clippings--but today, I mounted posters, cards, artwork, and photos onto matching mats and super-glued sawtooth hangers onto each of their backs. They should be dry by tomorrow, and I can hammer nails and hang them up! It will look oh so nice, and they will be easy to take down, rearrange, and move to school in the fall :)

Attention Must Be Paid

Yang Young-Soon is hilarious.

Still throwing stuff out to make everything fit in my room. Ah, I will miss this shirt. It doesn't fit and I never wear it, but it's from Japan and it reads:

"THE LIFE OF
ONE EN EXIT
SS-NICE
OF-BLACK

It's over fall long days ago
I finded a girl long for
You are pitiful & tender & cool
You Are Transparency girl
Its over fall long all after days
I finded transparency long for again"

sagasu no wo yameta toki mitsukaru koto mo yoku aru hanashi de

Who could this fellow be...?

Great news: I got A's on both my Japanese lit and finance finals, and A's in the classes! I was expecting that Japanese grade, but NOT the finance one!! It was a wonderful surprise. :) All that's left to find out is my disabilities class grade, and I'm going to put my money on B+.

I came home from school earlier than planned (missing every post-finals party...) to spend time with my little brother Nick, who is taking a rafting job down in Grants Pass on Saturday and won't be home again until September. :,( Worth it!

I spent all of yesterday packing, moving, and starting to unpack here at home. It's ridiculous...I have enough stuff now to fill 2 rooms, but I have to fit in 1. I've been chucking things left and right. It's bad. My house next year is sooo small, though, it's better to do this now. Okay, literally, my house next year is the size of the living room and kitchen in my parents' house. I will barely have space for a twin bed in my room, and even my drafting table is too big to take! ;__; Still haven't figured out how I'll swing making art space...

Yume no Naka e is such a good soooong...(lyrics and translation)

Butter me up, I'm on a roll!

The toaster people are ready~~ 8D

When/in what form they'll be available TBD. And since I know you're all curious what I would look like as one:

Just a little bit of danger

I'm getting a haircut tomorrow morning, so I'm scrambling to find a style I want to ask for. In the process, I found a picture of Lily Allen that made me pause---who does this remind me of???



Finally got it! She has the same eyes as Anna Tsuchiya from Sakuran!



Guhh, such a good movie. I watched it for extra credit in Japanese literature class this term, and was so glad that I did! The main character is priceless, and the story is so interesting--what goes on behind the stage of courtesan life in the Meiji period. It was very artsy (read: tripping on acid colors, heavy on the metaphors, and high fashion), but I loved it for all of its indulgence. It was also very intimate; it felt like a real person's diary, which I appreciated.



While I'm getting off topic: Oo hoo hoo, how cute are these??
Shirt 1, Shirt 2, Jacket, Skirt
Love me some high-waisted skirt with a tank top or button-up blouse.

The most evident utensil is none other than a pencil

Got a lot further on those chibis last night--now they are all inked and waiting for watercolor:


I hope that adding color adds to rather than subtracts from them. I kind of like them as is, but I'm going to color them anyway. Onward! Manifest color destiny!

I am also working on character designs for a very exciting project I'll announce soon. It's challenging, but I do enjoy a good challenge. :P

Aachgh, Evident Utensil by Chairlift is SO GOOD!! Don't get the music video at all, but the song has been on repeat on my laptop for about a week 8D;

Housing for next year drama continues; school is also wringing out the last stress it can from me in these final days before moving home. Emily is throwing a party tonight in our apartment, and I would be a horrible person to skip it, but I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic in my evasive/stressed-out state. I'll try not to think about the library as I'm playing Pass The Pigs, haha.

Why would I be happier out there than I am in here

I finally got my copy of This Is A Souvenir today!!

It is gorgeous, with glossy, colorful interior pages and a nice design throughout. Great job, Image. :) I am looking forward to giving each story a leisurely read before bed tonight. As a reminder, this is the anthology that contains Julie Christie!, a story by Jamie S. Rich and me.

Had my first final today (Japanese lit, not bad if we're counting my chickens early) and rewarded myself with some mindless self indulgence, a.k.a. drawing my toaster people:


I needed grid lines to get them symmetrical...when they're half an inch tall, it's easy to make them cute, but these are more like 8 inches, and they can get kind of lopsided. :P

Whoo! 6 followers! Thanks, guys. :) The number 6 reminds me of an early episode of Natalie's Misadventures with Men...*doodly doo doodly doo doodly doo*
It was the fall of my 12th year, and I had a crush on Tyler G. We sat next to each other in class, and I thought that surely this would be the year we would start going out. He was talking with a friend about Yahtzee during a break in lesson one day, and I excitedly piped in, "I love Yahtzee! My lucky number is 6." He turned to me with a concerned expression and said, "That's the Devil's number." It never worked out between us.

Fashion Chibis

Fashion Chibis
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

I got bored in class xD; (Last day of it, btw! Whoo!)

I want to turn these chibis into little paintings/prints/buttons. These kinds of drawings don't take much skill, but they're so fun to do!

Hallelujah!

I'm posting from lecture. :P Bad Tally.

Apparently Pixar's latest short, Partly Cloudy, which runs before UP in theaters, is now available on iTunes! Check it out!! It was hilarious--one of their best. (Except the way they animate kittens...not even close to cute enough...)

Wordpress worked this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 isolated attempts, almost 9 hours of work, 4 calls to customer support, and hundreds of help threads...I hope this tool is the frickin bomb. Most of the issues were server-specific; having 1and1, it's not a one-click install but a long, treacherous road through notepad edits and creating new alteration files within the wordpress directory.

GRRRRRRRRR

Oh. My god. Setting up a Wordpress page is so much harder than it should be. 4 hours and counting...and this is my third attempt in the last year.

*smashes lamp*