You make the whole world wanna dance

Random sketch from last month:


From a derailed attempt to make a new self-portrait for various websites:


And more sketches from Sydney Starts a Riot:

Why do they congregate in groups of four?

I give my thesis prospectus presentation today in class, so last night was a scanning frenzy as I tried to get all of my sketches and thumbnails into my PowerPoint file. I thought I would share what I have so far for my thesis comic here as well:

The early stuff:





The male lead, Victor, went through SO MANY CHANGES. I tried looking for inspiration in actors from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, but I can't draw those slicked back hairstyles!! Now he looks like pop star Shaggy, but at least I can draw him consistently.





A side character. He's quite fun to draw.


And more...




This is random, but I like it.

Won't you pay attention please?

Here's a preview of the inked version of these pencils I posted last month:



AAAAH. More work to do!!

Without compassion, there can be no end to hate

On vacation, with my family, thinking about all of the things I'm thankful for. Right now, I'm really thankful that I'm not going to school tomorrow morning. :P

Freelance project editing and flatting all weekend, a little Between Gears tomorrow, and a Catwoman commission this weekend! So excited! And I made 2 Christmas gifts this week~ I love the plotting and planning of Christmas, haha. Being sneaky in order to put something nice together for your friends is fun. <3

I give my thesis prospectus presentation on Monday. The paper ended up being 23 pages, so I'm not sure how many people will read it beforehand! 0___0 Wish me luck! I have a PowerPoint presentation with maybe 20 words and 50 images. It should keep people awake? xD;

You just keep me hanging on

Wish me luck on inking and coloring these pages! For only then can there be Between Gears pages...

With your feet on the air and your head on the ground

Reading Peggy Orenstein's 2006 article What's Wrong With Cinderella?:

"On the other hand, there is evidence that young women who hold the most conventionally feminine beliefs — who avoid conflict and think they should be perpetually nice and pretty — are more likely to be depressed than others and less likely to use contraception."

HAHAHA. No, no, it's serious...I just like the way that it's phrased xD;

"I recall a headline-grabbing 2005 British study that revealed that girls enjoy torturing, decapitating and microwaving their Barbies nearly as much as they like to dress them up for dates."

Rofl. I'm going to keep updating this as I find quotes that I like.

"If nothing else, pink and Princess have resuscitated the fantasy of romance that that era of feminism threatened, the privileges that traditional femininity conferred on women despite its costs — doors magically opened, dinner checks picked up, Manolo Blahniks. Frippery. Fun. Why should we give up the perks of our sex until we’re sure of what we’ll get in exchange?"

Sad. I'm still conflicted over whether or not to let a guy pick up the tab. It's a nice gesture and I don't want to belittle it, but I think it sends the wrong message to accept that more often than you offer it.

You know how I respond to blond over blue

Really????? I thought for sure that 2008 image was from 2007 at least, but no. I looked up the first occurrence of Delilah in a Word document, and it was spring of 2008. I'm drawing in a pretty different style than I was a year ago, and I attribute it largely to working with brushes.

You must be swift as the coursing rain

My family was coming down to Eugene this weekend for the Duck game, but UO doesn't actually announce game times until the week before the game, and this one turned out to be too late for them to drive home afterward. Now there are 4 very expensive tickets under my name waiting at will call, and it's looking like I'm taking 3 friends with me to my first Duck football game ever. Exciting?

It should be. But there are reasons I haven't gone to a Duck football game in 4 years of college. I like football only marginally more than baseball, I hate the mob mentality at sporting events, and loud noises irritate me. Drinking, standing up for hours, and shouting in a mob of people does not appeal to me. But jeez, what kind of grouch would I be if I never gave it a chance? I'm dreading it right now a ridiculous amount for what it is. xD; Watch me have the best time ever and wish I'd been doing it all 4 years. xDDD;

Hana ya ki ya kotori no kotoba o anata ni mo oshiete agetai

Sketch duuuuuuuump.

Watercolors from the thesis comic:

Aaaaaand we have achieved male lead!!!!

He has an egg head.

Other sketches from the past couple of months:

Do you want them to go on and on and on?

A couple more pieces up on Deviant Art this week, both illustrations for children's book class:


Sydney Illustration 2 by ~Tallychyck on deviantART


Sydney Illustration 1 by ~Tallychyck on deviantART

You and me are the same

Some watercolor impressions of my own:



Ava watercolor by ~Tallychyck on deviantART
New character for thesis script. We'll see how it develops.


Character watercolor by ~Tallychyck on deviantART
Trying to decide whether I like ink or pencil better for this type of art. Sadly, I think I have ruled out watercoloring the thesis comic...it is too many new elements in an already short time period.

I won't deny it, I'm not trying to hide it

I stayed in again to read and write for my thesis. It's still vague, but taking shape every day. I have this sinking feeling that the only way I will be able to free my mind and make some new images for the story, though, is by finishing my other art projects first.

Tonight, I read The Art of Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind: Watercolor Impressions, which is deceptively named, as it contains ink work, preliminary sketches, quick art given as gifts, and a lot of valuable interview material from Miyazaki in addition to a host of watercolors. It would be really nice to own this book.
I felt a great sense of relief reading about Miyazaki's 3 year incubation period, where he read the work of others and created a library of motifs and sketches that would later become 4 of his films. He had so many changes of direction with Nausicaa, and times when it looked like it wouldn't turn out well, it was actually inspirational to see that he had doubts, too, and yet it turned out so well for him.


Though Miyazaki was humble throughout the book, he seemed genuinely upset by some of the covers he produced on Nausicaa. He particularly hated images of Nausicaa looking at the camera and smiling, since he thought those were so contrary to her character, that is, disconnected and hard to approach.

He also hated anything that screamed 'I AM A COVER!' :P


These were two of his favorite cover images:

"You're out living it up today, I've got dues to pay"

Middleman, rag doll, Keyboard Cat, and Bad Robot


With 'off the res' Emi

I had a FAB Halloween weekend in Portland, Medicine Fridaying myself back to health, sketching it up with sketchgroup, cheering on the Ducks to glorious victory, and, cough, blacking out at Halloween on Hawthorne. Now I'm back at school, and things just keep getting gradually busier!

Still working on most of the same art projects, with Wonder Woman and Monsters & Dames squared away, a new commission for next month, and that children's book project for school. Between Gears needs to kick into gear and catch up, but since it comes after my paid work, that's just got to wait a little longer. Still, there were 5 new pages yesterday if you missed it.

It's also time to write the story that I want to turn into a comic for my senior thesis. I present my prospectus on November 30, so time is short to research, write, and practice. I have 10 books checked out, with 10 more waiting for me at the library. Since 'research' is reading Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and The Art of Howl's Moving Castle, I don't mind at all. :P

I'm still applying for JET, little by little, and allllmost have all of my outside forms gathered, which is the most stressful part.

I'm stressed out by all of these moving parts (oh yeah, and there's CLASS, too), but each area is fun in its own right. Got to keep a tight schedule and make sure that everything happens on time and WELL!