Tally Art

2012 CONVENTION SKETCHES

2012-05-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have had some early questions and requests for convention sketches (always appreciated - thank you!), and wanted to post here so you know what the program is if you are interested in getting one.

I will be exhibiting at Emerald City Comic-Con, the Stumptown Comics Fest, and the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this spring (SO EXCITED).

Prices:
-$80 for watercolor
-$40 for ink
-FREE sketch of my choice with purchase of $10 or more OR if you are a small child

I really, REALLY appreciate requests for commissions by e-mail before shows. These give me time to properly reference the commission and they almost always turn out better. Plus, your commission is ready to pick up any time, and there's no risk of me running out of commission slots. Feel free to get in contact with me any time between now and the show you are attending to arrange for a commission.

Coming through the trees

2012-01-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

My Etsy shop is off of vacation mode! I've listed all of the minicomics I have in stock, as well as a Between Gears original page:

That's the sound of the beast

2012-01-30T00:13:00.000-08:00

Fan art for Attack of the Block, one of my favorite movies of 2011 (along with Super 8, Hanna, and Bridesmaids). Moses! Moses! Moses! Moses!

E-mail me to buy the original ($75 + shipping). 9"x12" on nice Bristol.

Here is a list of everything currently for sale.

Astrid Get Your Gun

2012-01-23T00:10:00.000-08:00

New fan art for Fringe, inspired by an interview with Jasika Nicole in which she expressed her #1 wish for season 4: Astrid having and firing a gun! (I can't find the video now, but this interview expresses a similar wish.)
I want this, too! Make it so! It's been nagging at me since season 2 that we almost never see Astrid out of the lab, let alone in action-action.
In any case, the description for the Astrid-centric episode, Making Angels (Feb 3), sounds really promising. Can't wait!

E-mail me to buy the original ($75 + shipping). 9"x12" on nice Bristol.

Here is a list of everything currently for sale.

Currently for Sale

2012-01-21T00:30:00.000-08:00

All pieces are $75 + shipping. Shipping costs depends on where you live and how you would like the piece shipped. Please feel free to e-mail me for further information.

Original artwork currently for sale:

Attack of the Block
Astrid Get Your Gun
The Hunger Games
Toph
Azula
Aang

Check out my Etsy shop for other items.

Face au destin qui nous désarme

2012-01-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

Update: photo ninja Erika Moen snapped this pic of the cards in progress!

Here are 3 card designs I made for friends this Christmas:

Paper crafts are just NOT my forte, but I had a lot of fun with these, and these friends are so dear that I knew they wouldn't mock me ;)

I'll stick around and learn from all that came from it

2012-01-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! It's time for my annual year-in-review post! (2010) (2009)

(Drawing in the Stumptown Comics Fest Comic Art Battle! A goal and fear of mine for years, CONQUERED in 2011!)

Goals I set for 2011 and how I fared:

1) Stay financially independent -- Yes!
2) Stay ahead of my deadlines on my big projects -- Ehh...I did my best. I blew several deadlines while I was still drawing the children's books and Between Gears, but I finished my Oni book early and believe I can catch up on my other book and hit our original Final Deadline.
3) Have great shows at ECCC and Stumptown -- Yes.
4) Study French with Mom -- Oui.
5) Stay healthy -- Up and down. I need to renew this vow.
6) Pitch *** and *** (and hooooopefully get one approved!) -- Pitched one, and it was approved!
7) Finish Between Gears... (-- Yes) ....and 1-2 more chapters of Over the Surface -- No.

2011 was a good year. I joined Periscope Studio. I celebrated making it through Year One of my freelance/financially-independent lifestyle. I got a taste of storyboarding and lucrative freelance work. I had lots of fun at ECCC and Stumptown, although it was a lean year for comic conventions. I read my comics out loud at Comics Underground. I finished 2 graphic novels for big comic publishers, and 4 children's books with my dad. I worked really, really hard, and I should see a lot of the payoff from that work in 2012. By my count, I drew 292+ comic pages (82 Between Gears, 70 WUIY, 140 ABAAG).

2012 goals:

1) Be more proactive about getting work. Go after what I want, versus sifting through what comes my way. (To help quantify that: check job listings at ***** and ***** every week and send a pitch or letter of introduction to ***** ******.)
2) Also, be good about saying NO. It's been hard to learn this, because the freelance lifestyle and money stress/uncertainty can make artists job hoarders, but a lot of jobs aren't worth my time, and I can afford to be picky. I need to prioritize the things I really want to do.
3) Keep up karate and French. Get my green belt and plan my 2013 France trip.
4) Draw Over the Surface 1 start to finish! :D Script book 2.
5) Get Adobe Flash and a Lynda.com subscription, and make 3 minutes' worth of practice animations by the end of the year.
6) Be active and creative about marketing Between Gears and my other two books when the time comes.

I plan for the worst and hope for the best. This year could be really lean for me. It could be a breakthrough year. I'll just do my best and see.

Get back get back up

2011-12-15T12:22:00.000-08:00

I was too tired/happy to post anything at the time, but I finished my Oni book last week!!!!

I really wanted to finish before the holidays. Now I have a bit more capacity to handle the holiday+birthday+other time constraints and stress that are coming up.

I made this progress chart in November to help motivate me to finish:

(24 penciled/inked/toned pages in a month, what's up)

The 9 check-offable boxes after 'Celebrate' were a joke, but looking at it later I decided that I should create 9 distinct rewards for myself -- turn it into a kind of ritual and commemorate the end of a big book project. It was fun coming up with a list of things that I'd been wanting to do (rather than buy, it being the holidays anyway and material rewards requiring less creativity/more money):

Spend a day drawing fan art
Climb the *****'s fire escape onto the roof
Hike somewhere nice and watch the sun rise on New Years morning for good luck
Go to the Sky High trampoline gym (can you tell that I like heights??)
Christmas movie marathon (The Snowman, Just Friends, Love Actually, Die Hard, Tokyo Godfathers, Elf, Rudolph)
Get dressed up and spend a day going into EVERY boutique on 23rd (more to satisfy my curiosity than to actually shop...how are there so many nice boutiques on one street?!)
Go into Counter Media (The porn scares me off every time I think I'm going to go in! xD But I've heard there are good comics in there...!)
Spend a long, lazy weekend morning at the gym (work out, hot tub, sauna, shower and get dressed nicely, eat lunch at one of the nice restaurants upstairs)
Draw a cover for my Ghibli sketchbook and give it to the next person to draw in

I've done 2 of these already, and am looking forward to the rest. :)

So take it easy I'll make it so easy

2011-12-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for the absence here; I went out of town for a few days for Thanksgiving, got pretty sick right afterward, fell behind on work, etc. I've been having a lot of fun, though, too--going out more than usual and saying 'yes' to more invitations.

Emi and I did an interview on Wednesday with the Pedal Powered Talk Show that was SUPER fun. We talked about Emitown V2 and Between Gears, which are coming out at the same time next year. We also had an impromptu, on-show challenge with some high stakes! It will air in January, and I'll be sure to post when it does. Here's the set, Emi, the back of host Boaz Frankel, and 2" of my forehead:

December is characteristically jam-packed with stress and joy. One of my books wraps up next week, my family is going on vacation again and I need to decide whether or not I can join, my birthday is the week after that, I still have pretty much all of my presents to make/buy, and then there's a slew of holiday parties, the actual holidays, and back to encroaching (or blown!) deadlines...

I used to get really sick every Christmas; it was too much excitement and my body invariably succumbed to some awful thing. I'm going to try to get healthy quickly and stay healthy this year, take one thing at a time and not be dumb about biting off more than I can chew.

Okay okay okay, but how about some art??

I'm inking the LAST CHAPTER OMG of my book with Jamie! And I'm trying to find a panel I can post as a preview...but I'm pretty sure that every single one is in some way a spoiler. Sorry! There will be new art soon. Whole books full of it!

This is what I've been obsessively listening to lately.

You've journeyed far

2011-11-16T16:32:00.000-08:00

Oh boy oh boy! Image Comics's February solicitations just went up on CBR, and Between Gears is among them!

"BETWEEN GEARS TP
story / art / cover NATALIE NOURIGAT
FEBRUARY 22
304 PAGES BW T+
$19.99
This honest, autobiographical account of a college senior’s life will transport you to the land of Jell-O shots, term papers, job interviews, road trips, and sanguine optimism in the face of uncertainty and change. Trade paperback collects the comic in its entirety, with 30 pages of new material!"

Here's a preview of the cover artwork:

I am incredibly excited; this is my first book and I am honored to see it get the Image treatment!

I'll post more in the next few months with more book previews and any new ordering info. Please help me spread the word between now and February 22! :)

He rights the outlaw wrongs on Mars

2011-11-14T01:45:00.000-08:00

My studiomate Dustin Weaver introduced me to The Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast last week. It is "a staged production in the style of old-time radio" and it is absolutely hilarious. There are a lot of great segments on the show, but Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars is by far my favorite. I overcame my podcast ineptitude to download and listen to everything currently available. Naturally, here is some fan art:

There are several hours' worth of material available on iTunes. Go! Listen! And people have made some pretty awesome art for the show that you should check out.

Ey ey ey

2011-11-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

We named the kitty Ella and she is staying. :) Her full name is Cinderumbrelleanor Roosevelt.

You've just gotta do it your way

2011-11-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

We tried something new at life drawing last night: rather than pay a nude model, we asked attendees to bring any props or interesting outfits they had and model for the group if they were willing to. It was free, it was great drapery practice, and it got really fun when we brought out the handguns.

At the time, I really hated my brushpen sketches, but in hindsight they are my favorites. I need to not even bring a pencil next time and force myself to focus on light without worrying about proportions.

Dare to be one of us girl

2011-11-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some sneak peaks at my project with Jamie Rich:

I only have 24 pages left to draw! It's racing by. I am thumbnailing the last pages for my other graphic novel this week as well. I've only been working on these books for 10 months, but it's going to feel like the end of an era when I wrap them up.

My roommates and I are watching THE CUTEST cat this week. We are considering adopting her, but she tested positive for Feline Leukemia Virus and we need to learn more about that and whether or not we'd be able to give her a good home.

At least for now, though, KITTY!!

I really hope that it works out. We have been talking about getting a cat since we moved in last year, but we need a cat that is grown, well-behaved, can be alone during the day, and is alright being an indoor cat. Until now, we hadn't found one. Toushe is a tiny, grown, female cat whose needs I think match ours. She's quiet as a mouse, loves people, and has a calm demeanor I just LOVE. Having claws and long hair were not on my list of ideal traits, but the more time I spend with her, the less I care.

Today's the day

2011-10-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Woah, hey! What's this? 5 new books from me available overnight? That's right!! My dad just launched his series of children's books! I spent the last year illustrating them, and even got to work with Cat Farris (cool colorist) and Emi Lenox (incredible inker) on books 2-5. Check them out on Amazon!

I'm stepping out

2011-10-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Doodles from this month's life drawing session (NSFW!!!!):

I'm a lady got my mind made up

2011-09-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Comics Underground last night was AMAZING! Thank you to everyone who came out! I had a great time and I know the other presenters did, too.

I put my comics from the event online; click on either title image to go to the comic:

Now I see the world as an ancient place as a smiling face

2011-09-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Baby you could sit and hope that providence will fray the rope

2011-08-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

Two Wonder Womans! One for Women of Wonder Day...

...and one will be auctioned along with some other Periscopers' artwork for Dylan Williams of Sparkplug (you can also catch the end of Floating World's fundraiser for him today).

You oughta see you

2011-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Here's the first of my 2 contributions to Women of Wonder Day: Buffy!

Love love love Buffy. Talk about an empowering character. I'm kind of glad I saw the show for the first time at 22. Adults need strong characters to emulate, too!

Try not to panic

2011-08-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's been an unusually long absence for me here--3 weeks! I have been guh-rinding on my can't-show-you projects, with the exception of yesterday when I took the whole day off, got a massage, walked around in the sun, and went to dinner. The graphic novels are coming along (I'm nearly at the halfway point with them both), and the children's books are in their final edits. Soon, soon there will be things to show!

Oh! And Eric Stephenson mentioned this in an interview last week: Between Gears will be published by Image in early 2012!!!! So there's been some necessary prep for that, even though the comic is done, to design the book and extras and such.

For now, please accept these early pencils for two side projects:

It's Monsters & Dames submission time again! I'll post all of the process sketches for this eventually; it went through a lot of different versions before I drew this. I still want to change several things...

Pencils for Women of Wonder Day, previously Wonder Woman Day. You can draw any empowering female character this year, but someone's gotta represent WW ;) As always, I encourage all artists to submit artwork for this! It will be accepted, it will get exposure, and it will raise money for an awesome cause.

My love Isobel living by herself

2011-08-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

I went a little bit fan art crazy this week. Periscope's doing Avatar the Last Airbender for this week's sketch challenge and I just read the first Hunger Games book. :D

I do declare I'm in a state

2011-07-27T23:57:00.001-07:00

Periscope went to the zoo today to draw the animals from life!

I like drawing adults holding children to practice weight.

The top right drawing is an example of what happens when someone knows I'm drawing them. My high school art teacher taught me that once someone makes eye contact with you 3 times, it's time to drop it and move on.

The polar bear was probably my favorite animal to draw today. That arched nose and the multiple head bumps are really interesting, and the way their massive weight shifts when they walk, swim, and stand up is really striking. I can't believe how long their necks appear when they stretch their heads up!

That's 'knows'. (-__-)

Colobus monkeys are awesomely fun to draw. I can draw nothing if I can't draw long, trailing hair.

Here is where my blood sugar dipped dangerously low.

Bleh.

I'll be standing in line dressed like a wizard

2011-07-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Don't you want me to be the captain of your submarine up periscope

2011-07-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Deconstructing Comics Episode #285 part 1 takes a look at comic studio set-ups. I talk about Periscope Studio around 19:40. I have to research my Periscope history...!

Portland Comics posted an article on Periscope today as well.

7 new Between Gears pages up today if you haven't read them!

My body's a temple but nothing is simple

2011-07-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have NOT been having migraines, knock on wood, but I was thinking about this:

Life is very stressful right now. I am doing my best and failing.

There are moments in the night

2011-07-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

Vacation comics!

I'm falling upstairs to meet you

2011-07-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

More life drawing sketches! Heed me: this is NSFW.

I am SO GLAD we are organizing monthly life drawing sessions. I have a woman's body, right? But drawing a woman's body last night made me realize several things that are going to help me draw women more accurately from now on. I have realizations like that every time I draw people from life.
If you are an artist, but you can't take a figure drawing class for whatever reason, search around your city for drop-in sessions you can join. In Portland we have Hipbone, The Canvas, and countless bars and cafes that do regular life drawing nights.

ON TO THE NUDES

Right around here, Ben Dewey recommended I focus on contour shading with my extra time. I said "Yes, Sensei," and broke out some blue lead so I could get my messy sketch of the model down first, then go in with pencil for neat lines and add shadow onto a cleaner drawing:

There ain't nothing gonna stop me now

2011-06-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

New: fan art for The Princess and the Frog!

Also, 9 new Between Gears pages this week!

I was hoping for a chance to meet

2011-06-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a new comic:

And 36 new photos on my Flickr stream!

What on earth are we supposed to do but scream bloody murder

2011-06-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

EDIT: I really appreciate the response to this comic. Everyone has been respectful and sympathetic, and many people have offered their own experiences of this kind of thing. Check out these response posts by Kaebel Hashitani and Breanne Boland.

New comic:

I complain very little because it's better than it was

2011-06-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

4 new Between Gears pages today! And I drew 2 more as a warm-up today. :D I think I'll do the same thing I did last summer: draw as many as I can during the week and update every Monday morning. 68 leeeeeeeeft.

I feel like a machine lately. Not only have I been churning out page after page, day after day, but I'm managing to fit in tons of fun/social things as well. Please let me keep this up!

And please make my neighbors shut up, because this machine runs partially on sleep. >:-/ They have been bad lately. Partying late, and being loud early. Today I woke up at 5:30 to what sounded like hammering (but couldn't possibly have been--who is that dumb?!). I make lemonade when I have to...so today I was at the studio by 7...but I would like to be able to sleep regular hours. X(

Momentum, for the sake of momentum

2011-06-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

I went to a life drawing session tonight! It's so good for me--I'm going to try and go monthly. Eventually, I will be able to draw men!
Check out Joëlle Jones' sketches from the same session! Dzamn!

^The upper right sketch is my favorite :)

TSMI: The Rock

2011-05-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

Why this movie:
The Rock was on my list of unseen movies suggested by friends. My two younger brothers started watching it and filled me in when I came home 15 minutes later.

What I knew going in:
Alcatraz? Actiony-suspense?

Things that surprised me:
Hahaha.

My take-away:
Oh boy. I was on my laptop, casually glancing up now and then, within 10 minutes of joining this movie. It was doomed for failure as soon as I realized 2 of my least favorite actors (Cage, Connery) were main characters, but the film did nothing to redeem itself.

Best part:
Sean Connery's quarter trick in the interrogation room. "Womack! Why am I not surprised, you piece of shit." :P

TSMI: Sherlock Holmes

2011-05-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

(***Spoilers!***)

(I was totally there!!! In the second row! 8D)

Why this movie:
I've wanted to see this movie since the first trailer. I saw Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, and several crew members speak at Comic-Con 2009 about the film and fully intended to go home and watch it, but somehow never got around to it until now. I enjoy Robert Downey Jr., quirky genius main characters, the 19th century England aesthetic, and all of the action promised by the trailers. We were on a family vacation and democracy chose Sherlock Holmes for the family movie one night.

What I knew going in:
I had seen the trailers, 10 minutes from the film, and a Q+A with the cast/crew. It looked heartily enjoyable; budget, script, cast, and editing all coming together to form what looked like my kind of movie.

Things that surprised me:
How little I know about Sherlock Holmes. I feel like I have read a Sherlock Holmes story, but I can't remember if that's even true. I suspect that I saw The Great Mouse Detective many times as a child and later in life convinced myself that I had read some Sherlock Holmes. I felt like a lot of inside jokes were flying over my head.
**EDIT: HOLD UP. I TOTALLY read The Hound of the Baskervilles. Mystery solved!

My take-away:
This movie was a slam-dunk for me. I was fully entertained and satisfied throughout. I am excited about the prospect of a sequel this December. I really liked Rachel McAdams' character, and am glad to see her name near the top of the new movie's cast list.

Best part:
Holmes/Watson HOMOSEXCELLENCE. I feel like the actors were well aware of this and had fun with it. Holmosaucesome~!

TSMI: Aliens

2011-05-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

(***Spoilers! Obvi!)

Why this movie:
On my Summer Movie Initiative list, the Alien movies were high priority for me. I like the Predator and AVP movies, and Alien is one of the most obvious gaps in my popular movie repertoire. I did not understand all of the talk about Sigourney Weaver when Avatar came out, or some of the mythology/science of the aliens in the other movies they appear in. I picked this movie to watch with my brothers on the drive from Portland to Sunriver because they both had an interest in it as well.

What I knew going in:
It's a sci-fi thriller (or horror...? maybe...?) about people vs icky aliens that lay eggs in yo mouth and burst from your tummy later. Survival rates not high.
Big guns and strong women. I think Sigourney kicks some ass.

Things that surprised me:
Aliens is the second movie in the series. WHOOPS.
It's more sci-fi/action than horror. It had a fairly happy ending!
It's set in the future and there are badass MECHA!
SO MANY JOKES from Starship came from this movie! XD

My take-away:
I really liked this movie! Fantastic action, great characters, and squirmy/icky/tense/scary parts without overdoing it. I can see why it is a classic, and I think it would be more fun on a second viewing (less time wasted shaking behind splayed hands). I wish I had watched Alien first, but I'm no less excited to see it now. I can't believe the main, surrogate daughter, and love interest characters survived. N'awww. And no twist ending for goddamn once!

Best part:
See illustration. Also, Vasquez's enormous black gun near the beginning. Insanely cool, that.

So many dimensions and unanswered questions

2011-05-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Announcing Tally's Summer Movie Initiative!!!

There are a lot of famous and/or beloved movies that for some reason or other I have never seen. In a moment of frustration after yet another 80s action movie reference went over my head here in the studio, I set about making a list of movies I want to watch to fill in some of my pop culture blind spots. Here's the list! I'll continue to add to it as I remember movies from "why the hell haven't you seen that movie" rants. Feel free to make suggestions as well. :)

Goodfellas
The Goonies
Godfather (1 and 2)
Scarface (Youtube it)
Donnie Brasco
Steel Magnolias
Jason and the Argonauts
Bladerunner
Alien, Aliens
Die Hard (though I'm told I have to wait until Christmas to watch it)
Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Shining (Youtube it)
Spinal Tap
A Mighty Wind
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
The Man Who Would Be King
Pulp Fiction
Inglorious Basterds
Clockwork Orange
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Rock
Shawshank Redemption
Cool Hand Luke
The Sting
7 Samurai
Idiocracy
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Maltese Falcoln
Big Sleep
True Lies
Starship Troopers
Man on Wire
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Death Becomes Her
Can't Buy Me Love
The Wizard
Clerks 1 and 2
Dark City
Surf Ninjas
Blues Brothers

I will watch as many of these as possible over the summer. I reserve the right to go in any order I like and to turn things off if they're just not doing it for me. I will report back on my findings!

Things suggested to me that I actually have seen already:
The Indiana Jones, Jaws, Predator, AVP, Tremors, and Terminator movies
16 Candles
Breakfast Club
The Usual Suspects
A League of Their Own
Back to the Future

I love to kick it up a notch

2011-05-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

GUYS. WATCH STARSHIP RIGHT NOW.

**New: Mega-Girl!

I've decided that Mega-Girl is my favorite character in Starship. She's cool and hilarious and part of the best song.

Junior, you evil, awesome SOB. <3 You have the best 60 seconds of the entire play.

(Spoilers, as this is from the end of the play:)

The same black line that was drawn on you was drawn on me

2011-05-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Fan art for Estado de Meerkats from The Soup. :) Molly and I are Rapture Roadtrippin' it to Lincoln City tomorrow to see Joel McHale's stand-up!!! Awkward attempts at contact will be made, I am sure.

Even when you were here you were already gone

2011-05-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Emi and I had the best time yesterday: I just borrowed a Nikon FM2 from Charlie Chu, and she has been photographing with her dad's old camera for a while, so we went out together on a 3-hour walk around Portland and she showed me a few things about taking a good photo.

The weather was GORGEOUS. I sunburned my shoulders! It was the first warm, sunny day in a long time and everything looked good.

We explored a couple of piers at the waterfront and saw geese, boats, dragon boats, and a great blue heron. Let's do it again!!!

I'm an animal you're an animal too

2011-05-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

All photos in this post courtesy Erik Scultz

On Saturday, I got to participate in Dove Lewis's Superheroes Celebration at the Lucky Lab. The event honored dogs who donate life-saving blood to Dove Lewis, which is a nonprofit emergency care center for animals. Owners brought their donor dogs out for canine cupcakes, award ceremonies, raffles, and portraits provided by yours truly, Terri Nelson, Joëlle Jones, and Cat Farris. It was so much fun! Cute dogs everywhere!!!

Check out this write-up and short video by local news team KGW.

And tons of lovely photos from the event by Erik Scultz on Dove Lewis's Facebook page.

So far she hasn't run, though I swear she's had her moments

2011-04-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Karate Comics, for funsies:

I am a dash and you are a dot

2011-04-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Some Stumptown silliness:

I left Molly alone for a while and instructed her to pretend to be me and draw in my sketchbook. When she asked what she should draw, I said a portrait of me. :P The Russian woman's pants were to illustrate a story Molly was telling about a woman at work whose butt does incomprehensible things shape-wise. And then of course we have my appreciation for these things.

A man complimented me on my cute style. I retorted that I was a gritty realist, sir, and set about drawing gritty-real-Batman to prove it. Later, someone said "Sailor Jesus" and I had to draw it. I used the empty space in the top right, but Molly pointed out that this made it look like Sailor Jesus was Batman's 'good angel'. We came up with Tinkerbell-Voldemort for the evil side. And then put Batman on a therapist's couch because he is clearly troubled.

Stumptown Comic Fest 2011 Wrap-Up

2011-04-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

(I'll update this post with photos when more are available online. Check back!)

Con sketch of Wonder Woman

Another Stumptown Comics Fest has come and gone. This was my third time tabling (I already turned in my registration for next year!), and there's a reason I keep coming back. It was a big year for me. I'd say the overriding theme was 'trying new things'...

DDLL: West. Photo by Erika Moen

Drink & Draw like a Lady West
Cat Farris, Elisabeth Forsythe, and I co-organized DDLLW this year. I went last year and had a wonderful time, and when Cat and I heard that no one had time to organize the west coast event this year, we nervously volunteered to try and keep it alive. I had never organized anything bigger than a birthday party before, and I was very afraid of failure. However, I really want to be a contributor to comics culture and foster an environment that's friendly to newcomers, and DDLL seemed like the perfect opportunity to try.
People were really supportive. We got info and advice from the people who organized and attended the event last year. Cory at Oni Press gave us 2 hours of his time (even in the pre-ECCC scramble!) to teach us how to plan a comic event, and Oni sponsored a good chunk of our costs. Ron Chan connected Cat and me with Elisabeth after hearing that she wanted to start a female-focused comic event, and she was a godsend! She secured the Hollywood TFAW for us as well as a food budget, and she used her event planning and cooking savvy to make everything easier and the party worlds better. If Cat and Elisabeth are in to organize the event again next year, I will certainly throw my hat in again. That's some great professional company.

Here is a comic to teach you how to make the chocolate haystack cookies I brought to DDLL and the convention!

Comic Art Battle
Although it would have been an honor to be asked, I was really relieved to not be in the Comic Art Battle Saturday night at the Jupiter after-party. I was asked last year, but drawing (mostly dicks) competitively in front of a crowd is really not my thing and I declined the offer. Joëlle Jones, Emi Lenox, Cat, and Ron were all in it this year, though, and I was excited to watch.
Well, a few people didn't make it to the battle, and they needed a replacement at the last second. All of my girl 'friends' called me out from the crowd to come up and do it!! I felt my heart hit the floor, but I went up. Joelle was kind enough to share her wine, which I threw back to try and counter my shaking knees. Maybe it was better to have it sprung upon me; I would have spent the whole day dreading it, but this way I was blissfully ignorant until 5 minutes before it started.
I got very drunk very quickly, drew some hippos and vikings and dead unicorns, and then it was over. The girls' team won 504-0 over the boys. :P So yeah, one of my worst nightmares vanquished! And it was fun!!

Autobio Comics: How Much is TMI? Panel
I was on a panel Sunday called Autobio Comics: How Much is TMI? with Emi, Erika Moen, Jeffrey Brown, and Katie Shanahan. I found out about this by checking the Stumptown schedule; several of the panelists were never contacted about doing the panel, haha. Katie didn't make it, and I suspect that it was not her fault but the con's. Erika was a great impromptu moderator. We spent the hour chatting about our influences, plans for our autobio comics, and the ethics of autobiography.
This was another case of trying new things; I hadn't been on a panel in over 6 years, and was nervous to try again. It was great! I hope to do more in the future. :)

Convention Highlights:

Molly not only coming to support me, but staying for almost the entire convention and helping out behind my table. She's one of my best friends and the most entertaining people I know. I loved seeing her connect with my comic friends and some comic editors (which I openly hope she decides to choose as a career. In Portland. For my comics. She's one of three people I showed my first finished script of The Second Witch of Wilheim to for feedback).
Geeking out about Fringe with Mindy from Tiny Heroes. On Sunday, she brought me a mixtape of songs she thought would be on the Peter from Boston mix-CD from Northwest Passage!!!!!!!! (I'm listening to it while I write this and it's aaaaawesoooooome)
Angela Melick gave me a copy of We are the Engineers with a sketch of me inside!! Squee! Also, just hanging out with her over the weekend. She's one of the good ones.
Joelle gave me back my Miyazaki sketchbook with a kick-ass drawing of the Radish Spirit from Spirited Away!!! Ha! It looks awesome but it's also hilarious and not at all what I expected xD
Nate Simpson gave me a signed copy of Nonplayer #1 with a sweet note! :) This comic is insanely good; pre-order a copy of the second print run now!
Swinging by Jen Wang and Vera Brosgol's table and picking up Koko Be Good, What Were You Raised by Wolves?, and a couple of Emily Carroll buttons
Meeting Corey Lewis and getting his signature on my copy of Sharknife
Meeting Sarah Glidden and getting to tell her how much I like her work
Meeting Maré Odomo and getting to tell him how hard I laughed at Letters to an Abssent Father. Also, he gave me a copy of the mini so now I can have a hard copy forever and make people read it when they visit! XD He also gave me March Fourth, which Molly and I read immediately and spent the next 10 minutes giggling about.
Bardot Charming swung by to say 'hi' and delivered THE CUTEST LETTER from Jessica, explaining how she lost her Tom button and needed another one.
The saga of Michael, AKA Tally embarrasses herself twice in the same day with the same person

What I learned this year:

Having a friend to help at your booth is infinitely helpful
I am ready to upgrade to more table space at Stumptown and ECCC next year
"Free postcard?" with one outstretched to passers-by is extremely effective (thanks, Erika!)
Ron Swanson is by FAR the best thing on my table for roping people in xD
Never wear anything you can't store business cards in
Stand up if traffic is slow! It helps.
Forget heels. Just forget them.
It's time to invest in a nice display/tablecloth/banner with my name on it
Take the time to pack nice con lunches before Friday night. It's the first thing I axe when time is short, but con food is expensive and gross.
I need to replace my lost camera! :( No con photos for me except those that friends were kind enough to e-mail to me.
For prints, I think I'll package them all in plastic sleeves and put them in a holder on the table next year so that people can leaf through them. This would solve the problems of people wanting to see their real size and print quality, knowing how many are left, and would save me the time it takes to package them on demand.

Wandering over the hills unseen

2011-04-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

I drew some fan art for Watership Down this week. It's my absolute favorite book. **spoilers ahead**

I watched the 1978 animated film when I was little (my mom wasn't ignorant of the content--I was just persistent in asking to be allowed to see it). In 5th grade, I was surprised to see a book by the same title on the shelf of our neighborhood library. It was so fun rediscovering the story; some scenes were familiar but I was still surprised by each twist in the journey. I bought the book and read it every summer until my paperback copy fell apart. Even when it was in 3 pieces and the pages fell off one by one when you turned them, I kept it. I can't find it now, though...I must have finally given it up when I moved out of my parents' house last fall. I need to find a good hardback copy...
In 7th grade, I was reading Watership Down on the sidelines of soccer practice during one of my frequent sprained ankle recoveries. A friend's mom came up and commented on the book. We started talking about the movie, and in my teenage eagerness to distance myself from anything emotional, I made a joke about how terrible the musical sequence in the middle was. My friend's mom mused, "That's my favorite part, actually," and explained why. I was suddenly ashamed, wishing I had the confidence to admit that it was mine, too. She passed away a few years ago. I didn't know her well, but this is something I will always remember.

So this fan art is for that scene from the movie, where Fiver's vision leads him to Hazel. It's so beautiful--the feverish imagery and the Art Garfunkel song and the symphonic suite in the middle of it. I love poor Fiver, set upon by his gift/curse, thought to be mad by just about everyone, and how he saves the lot of them time and again. I especially love the sun/moon bleeding into the field (and the music that accompanies it), and how this is a metaphor for where Fiver finds Hazel, bleeding out in a storm drain--something that hit me while rewatching the movie this week.

Fiver's ears should probably be down to tag him, but I liked the composition much better with them up.

She loved that man who died here yesterday

2011-04-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Sketch dump!

The man in black from LOST. I love this actor's face.

I loved Tangled and the character Rapunzel, but her design kind of terrifies me in some shots. It's like, her eyes are so big I feel claustrophobic when there's a close-up.

I really want to do a pin-up along these lines of Buffy with the BAMF axe. The truth is, Jo Chen already nailed it (below), but it's too fun to not attempt myself.

Anastasia~

Random OCs.

I like this silhouette for spring--blouse tucked into floofy skirt.

We'll be playing and having fun

2011-04-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight: Drink and Draw like a Lady West!

Elisabeth, Cat, and I spent last night baking, frosting, slicing, etc. in preparation. It's going to be awesome; hope you can make it! Remember to bring business cards and/or minis if you come!

Saturday and Sunday: Stumptown Comics Fest!

Come to booth B-22 to see Emi Lenox and me!

Love hides in a smokey light

2011-04-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

"Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them."

I struggled with a huge art-block last week and the week before. There were several days I went to Periscope for 8 hours and didn't go home with a single usable drawing. I tried all of my usual tricks to inspire myself: exercise, reading, trying a new medium, watching a Ghibli movie...but to no avail. As much as I love that Dr. J quote, and believe it applies most of the time, once in a while you have to forgive yourself for not being able to do it. :-/

I appear to be out of my funk now, but with a heavy load of catch-up work to do. Yesterday went well. I guess I'm taking it one day at a time. I'm pretty optimistic. The excitement of Stumptown should keep the creative quadrants of my brain fueled for a while.

Have some silly comics from the last week:

(Inked by family friend Cole, an 8 year-old aspiring comic artist!)

Stumptown Con Sketches

2011-04-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

The Stumptown Comics Fest is next weekend!! :D

I recently closed commissions due to time restraints, but you can still get a con sketch from me at Stumptown next weekend. I will be doing black and white drawings on 9"x12" bristol. (The Kiki drawing above is one that I did at Emerald City last month).

To guarantee a spot (I will only take 5 requests), pre-order your con sketch now! That way, I have all week to reference and draw your con sketch, and it's ready to pick up as early as the beginning of the convention. You can also sign-up for a con sketch at the show, but once I have 5 requests, that's it. I don't know how quickly they will go, but I recommend that you come by early on Saturday if you don't pre-order.

To pre-order, e-mail me and tell me:
a) Your name
b) What character you want me to draw (can be anyone, even real people or original characters if you send me reference, but only 1 character please)
c) Any notes about what pose/outfit/setting/mood/etc. you would like
d) Whether or not you would like grayscale Copic marker shading on your drawing

The price is $40 and you can pay when you pick up your drawing. :)

Fighting in the darkness for the light

2011-04-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

I drew this comic for Bradley Angle, a domestic violence shelter here in Portland, to use for their spring appeal. I love the idea they came up with for people to honor their female mentors by sending in pieces of her wisdom for the shelter inhabitants to read. Bradley Angle approached me to see if I could put their message into a comic instead of the normal text letter that they use. Very cool! This is the organization that Wonder Woman Day benefits as well; they are down with Portland's comics community <3

If you would like to receive this comic in the mail with information on how you can 'honor her', e-mail marts@bradleyangle.org and ask to sign up for their newsletter. Check out Bradley Angle here.

Then I see our friends and everybody's so excited!

2011-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Stumptown Comics Fest just posted its convention schedule!

Friday your only option is to PARTY, so do that. :P Cat Farris, Elisabeth Forsythe, and I are hosting Drink and Draw like a Lady: West at Things From Another World (Hollywood location). I am very excited for DDLL. This is the first time I have helped organize a big event! (Check out that fly poster by Emi Lenox!)

I've never been able to attend panels while tabling before, but I'm going to try to make it to Jacq Cohen's 'Publicizing your Comic' panel on Saturday at 3.

The Stumptown after party has been at Cosmic Monkey for the last 3 years, and that's always been great, but I am excited to see what the move to the Jupiter Hotel will bring. Like the move of the convention itself to a bigger venue, change can be good.

On Sunday, I am speaking on the Autobio Comics: How Much is TMI? panel at noon. (Trivia time: the only panel I've ever spoken on was an 'Upstart Artists' panel at Kumoricon at age 17!)

If you are from out of town, I highly recommend that you go on the SCF 2011 Art Gallery Guided Tours! I think it sounds so nice to be driven around and shown the comic highlights of Portland in just 2 hours! So easy! Is there any other convention that has something like that? My Periscope comic will be up at PCPA this month with lots of art by other Periscopers, so check that out if you can. :)

The way you are now you're never gonna make it

2011-04-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

New fan art for Sweet Tooth:

Who am I to disagree?

2011-04-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here's the mp3 file for the interview with 89.9 FM Portland, All Classical about Comic Artist Night at the Opera. Patrick posted on my Facebook page last night that it may have been cut from the program. I was not around a radio yesterday so I can neither confirm nor deny that it aired.

Sweet dreams are made of this

2011-03-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

Allow me to share some lady-centric media I am excited about:

(NSFW:)

Garfunkel and Oats - a pair of hysterical, musical ladies. Flippant and vulgar in a similar vein to Sarah Silverman (but funnier IMHO). I guess they've been around for a while, but I just heard about them so I figure there's a chance some of you haven't yet.

I saw a commercial for this for the first time yesterday, and I want to know HOW and WHY I was not informed about this movie sooner. This looks so fuckin' badass, I can't explain how excited I am. Cate Blanchett ftw! Kickass girl assassin, eeee!!

Because ladies deserve dumb Judd Apatow movies, too. Judd's hit and far-miss with me, but I'm excited for this. Check out the trailers on the movie's site!

20% on Rotten Tomatoes, warnings from friends...the hate falls on deaf ears! I know what this movie is and I cannot wait to finally see it. My one quibble with the trailer is that even the darkest girl's fantasy would involve at least one frickin' pony.

I feel unlike I've ever felt

2011-03-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

The Portland Opera put on another Comic Artist Night at the Opera event on Monday night, and I was lucky enough to be invited! :D Here are some illustrations I made, inspired by L'Heure Espagnole and L'Enfant et les Sortileges. These 2 plays were my favorite from the entire 2010/2011 season, so if you live in Portland, do yourself a favor and buy tickets to one of the performances this week! I'm going again on Tuesday night, they were so good.

(L'Enfant et les Sortileges was about a bratty kid having a guilt nightmare. I loved the lament of the various animals he tormented at play! There was a really cool effect in the scene where actors pressed their faces and hands through fabric trees that I tried illustrating here.)

(L'Heure Espagnole was a bedroom comedy about a woman trying to have an affair and being endlessly frustrated by her male companionship options. I laughed so hard at the poet and muledriver suitors!)

Comic artists were treated to pizza, beer, and wine before the performances. I indulged, and my notes from the opera were, accordingly, remarkably unhelpful:

Thank you SO MUCH to Julia Sheridan and everyone at the Portland Opera for the opportunity to see all of the amazing operas this year! I've had an amazing time and plan to attend the opera next year as well! :)

Sometimes it can seem so cold do what you gotta do to cope

2011-03-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

My contribution to Periscope's art auction to benefit victims of the tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan:

Original:

Your colleauges are in prison and your enemy's in rage

2011-03-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

I've been quiet here lately, but it's because I've been active at my drafting table. The 3 big projects continue, and a bunch of side projects are hitchhiking on my deadline train as well. I'm very happy to be helping out on a few cool causes, but I look forward to several of my responsibilities ending next month. ;)

I've decided that 2 is the optimum number of projects for me to do at once.

Emerald City Comicon Sketches

2011-03-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

ECCC 2011 Wrap-Up

2011-03-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

ECCC was wonderful this year! I had a great time last year and knew that I would repeat the show, but 2011 totally blew 2010 out of the water.

For starters, the show was expanded to 3 days. That was nice for us out-of-towners who spent half a day on either side of the show traveling. I liked having a little more con for my trouble. As an exhibitor, it meant more time to talk, draw, walk around myself, and sell, which was awesome. I couldn't believe how affordable my space was for how much I got out of the show this year. From talking to attendees, it seemed like the extra day allowed people to relax a bit more on the show floor and see more than just the things on their must-see lists.

ECCC is an extremely well-run con. People seemed happy, lines were manageable and placed well on the floor, volunteers were everywhere, and the con exclusives were gorgeous. I had full faith in Jim Demonakos and his crew to put on a good show, and they did not disappoint. It's just the right size for me, too; big publishers/media guests/top-notch artists are there, but it isn't the crazy, frustrating mess that SDCC and, to a lesser extend, NYCC are. The show is still a manageable size and price for start-ups like me.

I would also like to say that I really, really like downtown Seattle. I got up early on Friday to walk around for a few hours, get breakfast in a cafe, see some touristy things, etc. It was so nice having that 2:00 Friday start time to allow for some pre-con personal time. When we went out at night, we could find quiet restaurants and bars or packed parties depending on what we wanted. And the Sheraton was so dang close to the convention center! Best commute ever! I bought cheap food for breakfasts and lunches at Walgreens right down Pike St, and apparently there is a Utrecht within walking distance for con emergencies.

I was pretty frugal this trip (thank you to the companies that paid for my food and drinks! You are amazing!), but I splurged on a Claire Wendling book that I've had my eye on for a long time at Stuart Ng Books. Stuart's brother Steven commissioned this piece from me, and it was my favorite con sketch of the show.

My favorite moment of the show actually came in the last 5 minutes before I took a taxi to the train station. I had been trying all weekend to see Jasika Nicole and John Noble, but was foiled time and again. Jamie, who does not watch Fringe, saw them TWICE without trying! But when we left the convention center and rounded the corner to hail a taxi, there they were getting into a towncar!

I knew what I had to do.

I walked up with my hand outstretched and introduced myself, pulled out the print I had made of John and Jasika's characters, and apologetically fangirled at them a bit. I hope that I didn't bother them too much--they were SO gracious and kind, and just made my day shaking my hand and talking to me (Jasika even hugged me and asked if I was Erika's friend! EEEEEE)--but I can't imagine how worn out they must have been after an entire weekend of fan interactions. In any case, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world! Emi, Cat, and Ron laughed at me when they occasionally looked over at me in the taxi and I had this vacant grin on my face. :) :) :)

2011 Con Merchandise

2011-03-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

I am going to Emerald City ComiCon and The Stumptown Comics Fest this year. Here is what I will be offering:

COMMISSIONS

9"x12" Ink - $40
9"x12" Ink and watercolor - $80
*Please e-mail me before the show if you would like a commission. This way I can spend more time on it, reference it properly, and have it ready to pick up as early as the beginning of the con. It's less stressful for me and results in a better drawing and earlier pick-up for you!*

MINICOMICS

2010 Sketchbook (32 pages)

Over the Surface 1 - $5

Over the Surface 2 - $5

PRINTS

9"x12"

9"x13.5"

11"x14"

4"x6"

If I knew then what's so obvious now, you'd still be here

2011-02-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

I made a blog where you can read chapters 1 and 2 of Over the Surface online. I have been considering doing this for a while. Although I love making and distributing the minicomics, many people who might enjoy the comic simply would never be exposed to it that way. I want as many people as possible to read the comic, and this will make it much easier to try out the comic, pass it on to friends, etc.

Compared to some I've been around, but I really tried so hard

2011-02-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

New illustration: fan art for The Golden Compass!

I was made to believe there's something wrong with me

2011-02-22T13:16:00.000-08:00

My contribution to Periscope's sketch challenge for this week:

I think that Cold War is my favorite of her songs. So wonderful.

I heard, I heard, what you gonna do?

2011-02-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

God, I love Parks and Rec. I rewatched one of my favorite exchanges today, a deleted scene from the episode 'Kaboom':

Marlene: "You cut through the red tape? Honey, don't you know why red tape was invented? To cover your ass. Red tape is our pants."
Leslie: "Mom, I went rogue. I went cowboy. Now I have to find a way to go reverse-cowboy."
Marlene: "Leslie, please. You don't even know what that means. What are you trying to say?"

Leslie: "I built a playground in a day. A day. It was like your stories of cocaine."
Marlene: "Leslie, those were different times. Everyone in government was doing cocaine. It was like Snapple."

Today I find myself strangely free of artistic duties, so I think I will draw me some Between Gears. :)

Sure of where her strength comes from

2011-02-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

Fan art for Faith Erin Hicks' comic The Adventures of Superhero Girl:

I am not one for preaching, but really, I worry about your soul if you are not reading this comic.

I wanted to post the line art for this piece as well and invite you to color it yourself--Superhero Girl does not have a set color scheme yet, so you can do whatever you want! :D Post a link to your version in the comments (either here or on DA).

You know what you believe to be right

2011-02-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Brian Warmoth posted a nice article on my fan art over at Comics Alliance today!:D

(Speaking of...) New art for Periscope's weekly sketch challenge: Joan and Roger from Mad Men!

You can buy the original from the Periscope Etsy store. :)

Pushing atoms around

2011-02-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

Sketch time with Whiskers, the family's 17-year-old cat:

It's alright it's just a matter of time 'till I find my feet

2011-01-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for a while now has been to learn how to storyboard. I've been feeling a bit discouraged--like the resources I need to learn this skill are inaccessible to me--so I decided to jump in and learn by doing. I plan to storyboard short scenes from a variety of my favorite movies. I need to learn the basics, and for now I think that this will provide me with plenty to work on. (If anyone has experience storyboarding and feels like giving me a critique either in a comment or an e-mail, I would appreciate it. I have no ego about this--just trying to learn.)

Here's my first attempt:

It's from the beginning of this clip from Kill Bill Vol. 1:

All the joy life sends family and friends

2011-01-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

New art:

We'll sing a happy song and you can sing along

2011-01-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

Folks, we are just 5 weeks away from Emerald City ComiCon!

I will be sitting with Periscope Studio at space 122 (see the floor plan here). And did you hear the news? I've officially joined Periscope!!! I put my name on an overnight drawer yesterday! :D

Something in my mind just got away

2011-01-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

More Fringe fan art! I have so much love for that show and for Olivia! <3 <3 <3

The sun has left and forgotten me

2011-01-17T10:34:00.000-08:00

Had a night reminiscent of my last-minute research paper nights in college. I got my priorities a bit backwards this week, and left myself with a hefty number of pages to pencil in 4 days. So what do you do when you find yourself in that position? Without hurting yourself (taking breaks, never working through pain, and remembering that the world will not end if you miss the deadline), you pencil every waking hour, drink a good amount of coffee, and make yourself a pump-up playlist.

You know what makes for the best pump-up playlists? Disney songs. Fo sho.

We can't rewind we've gone too far

2011-01-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

I got last-minute tickets to the Hood to Coast premiere last night at the Keller Auditorium here in Portland. I took my roommate Hannah and we concur: that movie is fantastic. If you live in the northwest, you've got to see it. Portland/Oregon looks soooo beautiful in this film, and the people they interview are just awesome. I had a huge grin plastered on my face for the entire thing (minus the parts where I was crying...the good kind of crying, I promise). The Thunder and Laikaning team was my favorite part - Hannah and I burst into laughter during pretty much every scene they were in.
People at the premier dressed up but wore running shoes--adorable! Wish we had gotten the memo in time to join in.

Tell me what you want from me

2011-01-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hey! I'm going to be on the radio tomorrow! :D

94.7 fm is a Portland radio station. They play a different listener's 5-song 'Perfect Playlist' every weekday at 5pm. Mine will play tomorrow, and I will be in the station to talk with DJ Gustav between songs. I am very, very excited! If you want to listen but are outside of broadcasting range, you can listen online here! :)

If you are curious about what I've been up to in these seemingly quiet months, you'll want to tune in! Or, you know, if you are just curious what my 5-song perfect playlist is. :P (Hint: IT'S ALL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SONGS. ALL OF IT.)

Edit: Here's my playlist :)

Garbage “Tell Me Where It Hurts”
Fastball “Drifting Away”
Jet “She’s A Genius”
Cake “Let Me Go”
Ben Folds “Video Killed The Radio Star”

Made me see there was something missing

2011-01-08T20:27:00.001-08:00

Two new pieces of fan art this week, both for Ron Swanson from NBC's Parks and Recreation! I'm rewatching season 2 and doing fan art for my favorite quotes as I find the time. You can see the fan art I did for the show last spring in this gallery. Stay tuned for more! Donna's up next~!! 8-D

If you aren't watching this show, there might be something wrong with you. Make sure to tune in to NBC on January 20 at 9:30 for the season 3 premiere!

Can't think of anything I need

2011-01-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I get to do this during the workday.

I'm penciling three projects right now and it's driving me a bit batty trying to keep the 3 styles and character designs straight. Very VERY excited to tell you more about them as I am able to.

No way this year anyone's gonna die and it's gonna be totally awesome!

2011-01-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

EDIT: I forgot that the year of the rabbit is coming, too! 8D It's my Chinese Zodiac sign and I am very excited. (/NERRRRRD)

2010 was a GREAT year. I wrapped up school, survived the thesis process, dated a wonderful man, road tripped with my mom, went to 4 fun and productive comic conventions, went to the east coast for the first time, worked at the Oregon Zoo (which I've wanted to do since grade school!), was approved by JET (a goal I've had since age 14), moved out of my parents' house, moved into downtown Portland with friends, signed my first contract for a graphic novel, and started life as an independent freelancer. 2011, that may look like a lot to live up to, but I am excited for whatever you have in store! I think there are some great things ahead.

In the interest of closure, let's look back at my 2010 goals:

1) Make a GREAT thesis
Check! Passed with the HC's highest distinction

2) Graduate
Check!

3) Have fun and sell stuff at ECCC and Stumptown
Checkity check!

4) Finish Between Gears
Aaaah...

5) Start my next big comic
Check!

6) Get a JOB!
Check!

7) Move out of my parents' house
Check!

8) Move into a super awesome bachelorette pad
Sure...

9) Maintain my friendships
I think so!

10) Boyfriend???
Yes and then no

....And set some 2011 goals:

1) Stay financially independent (learn how to do taxes, secure enough freelance work to pay for my lifestyle, get a day job if I have to, but try not to!)

2) Stay ahead of my deadlines on my big projects

3) Have great shows at ECCC and Stumptown; save enough money to do a third show next year (and I'm gonna TRYYYYY to save enough to go to SPX in September so I can visit my friend Mary in DC...!)

4) Study French with Mom (this is a long-term goal...we want to go to Angoulême in 2013 and speak French when we do!)
There's definitely a theme of 勉強し直そう in 2011 for me. I'm returning to French and karate--things that I studied in the past but didn't see through properly in my eyes. I want to go back and relearn them right this time. It reminds me of that verse from 明日があるさ...

5) Stay healthy (exercise regularly, sleep and eat well, regular check-ups, and stick to karate class!)

6) Pitch *** and *** (and hooooopefully get one approved!)

7) Finish Between Gears, 1-2 more chapters of Over the Surface

I hear him every night on every street the scales that do slither

2010-12-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

EDIT: Here are the final image and line art:

Warm-up drawing: Olivia!

The dark side of the moon

2010-12-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

We are having a Moonpocalypse viewing party. We broke out this new game, Pit, which is a suuuuper fun all-ages party game:

Pit
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

Turning traffic away

2010-12-20T09:04:00.001-08:00

More vacation comics~

Poor Neil. You can't choose your family xD;
[Nothing that Nick and I joke around about should be taken seriously...! (Obviously...??)]

Everyone who sees us greets us as we fly

2010-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

I. Love. This movie. We watch it every December!

My favorite part (besides the song, OF COURSE) is when they ride the motorcycle through the trees. <3 So cool.

Don't let me down

2010-12-18T22:59:00.001-08:00

Fun times on family vacation: cute cousins galore!

It seems so long ago I would see your writing

2010-12-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

Yaaaay! The 2011 Monsters & Dames book has been announced on Emerald City Comicon's website. My piece and several of my friends' pieces made the book! :D

Oh I'm hoping you'll understand

2010-12-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

Reese Witherspoon sketches:

She has a difficult face to draw ;__;

Give me some rope tie me to the dream

2010-12-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

Check out my fan art on Briar Hollow this week!

Dude, best commission ever: Catbus + koala + panda for David Harper. So ridiculously much fun.

as;dlkfjalskdmf;laskdfj I have so much love for Fringe.
SO.
MUCH.
LOVE.
My latest obsession is this full-length, piano version of the theme song:

If I find sheet music I like, I'd love to try learning this song on my keyboard! I also reeeeeeally want to do fan art, but that is just something that will have to wait. ;__; It will be so sweet when I finally find the time. <3

Holiday cards!

2010-12-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

***EDIT: If this wasn't clear, you do not have to pay to get a card! It's just something I'm doing for fun! :)***

A lot of artists I follow have made it a tradition to send out postcards to friends and fans around the holidays. I think it's lovely as a fan to receive them, and they look like a lot of fun to send as well. I'm reeeeeally excited to say that this year I'll be mailing my own for the first time!

If you'd like one, just email me (Tally at farbeyond dot com) with your street address before December 10. Anyone who would like to receive one is more than welcome, so don't be shy! :D Yaaaaaay, I am super excited for this!

The problem is all inside your head she said to me

2010-12-07T13:41:00.001-08:00

I remembered this October post today, and went back to look at the now-complete second and third installments. It's interesting to read the reactions of women from so many different levels of familiarity with comics, ages, and occupations. I love that they selected their comics based on the covers, haha!
I would love to see this as a regular installment on a major comics journalism website like CBR, and not just for women, but the biggest variety of people possible.

I touch the fire and it freezes me

2010-12-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

I squeezed in a fun character design job this weekend for Robert B. Fortney, and he's been nice enough to let me post those designs here! Keep an eye out for his graphic novel series, Arclight~! :D

You can't step in the same river twice

2010-12-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

Photo dump from my morning walk:

The NW hills have all of these awesome shortcut stairwells. I keep finding new ones and being very excited.

There are so many dead-end streets...this one lead into this steep, forested hillside. There's a lot of undeveloped land in this area, and it's fun when you run into it unexpectedly.

I like dis house.

You make me complete

2010-12-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

I've just put 9 new originals up for sale at my Comic Art Fans account. You've seen them over the last few months like this:

The stories would excite me

2010-11-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I have been waiting so long to watch these episodes again.

Ego side story: when you search Google Images for "Tom Haverford", "Ron Swanson", or "April Ludgate", you get my fan art. <3 This pleases me. You can bet there will be new fan art after rewatching season 2. I remember there was a Tammy drawing for "I'd rather be Cleopatra" that I never finished...

It'll all get better in time

2010-11-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

I drew my holiday card design last night, and thought I'd post the process for those interested:

I came up with a couple of ideas that I thought would work for the card, but as soon as I drew the girl with her reindeer, I didn't want to draw anything else.

I searched Google Image for reference. I liked this site a lot, and I found my reindeer's pose here.

I posed for a reference shot to use for the girl. Necks, shoulders, and arms are the most difficult for me to draw correctly from imagination. Even a somewhat similar reference pose is a big help. I used things like my hood and wrinkles around my elbows in the final drawing as well. I used this expression, but tried to change the face shape.

I penciled with non-photo blue lead. Pros: don't have to erase after inking, so ink scans nice and dark, paper doesn't degrade from erasing, and I save time and energy. Cons: can't erase, so pretty much have to get it right the first time, and the original will have lots of visible blue lines.
At this point, I generally know what the setting will be, but I get my characters in place first and leave drawing the background for later, since it should complement their pose and composition.

I inked the foreground first, and went left to right whenever possible.

I inked her hair without clear pencil lines, and ended up with the braid being out of perspective. I have to remember it's worth the time to put down my brush and tighten up my pencils when I run into these areas...

I started to stray from my pencils in the background. I realized that the hay/wall division was too high for the perspective I was using.

I used a photo of the image and messed around with it in Photoshop to test out a new background composition.

I added a spot black in the background to help frame the important part of the composition (reindeer face, girl face, hands). That left hand looked ungrounded, so I increased the shadow that it cast.

I scanned the image into Photoshop, cropped, adjusted the levels to get rid of any visible pencil lines and make the ink dark, converted to bitmap, and saved as a Photoshop file. I closed and reopened it, edited the line art, and converted to grayscale.

I converted the image mode to CMYK, added a layer set to 'multiply' called 'flats', and began flatting the image. My black and white line art stayed untouched on the background layer.

I colored the reindeer on a new layer so I could push color around with the brush tool and not ruin the flats around it. Then I selected the areas around the reindeer on the flats layer, moved back to the reindeer layer, and deleted where I went outside of the lines. I merged the reindeer layer down onto the flats.

I made some adjustments to the flats like differentiating the foreground and background wood and changing the levels and saturation of different areas to complement the girl and reindeer.

I added some highlights and color to the flat layer (blue reflection in sleighbells, pink flush on her cheek, white highlights on reindeer and her hair). On a new layer called 'shadow' set to multiply, I add shadows in a reddish gray.

I made a final layer called 'effect' set to multiply and added a radial gradient in the same tone that I used for shadows. This is a little cheat to pull the eye to the center of the image.

I love you more than words could say

2010-11-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

Practiced drawing my Over the Surface characters during my wonderful, lazy Thanksgiving holiday:

Give me something to sing about

2010-11-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

Buffy: Season 6 highlights! Again, spoilers, so beware. Spoiler notes below!

Okay, so apparently, "Shut up, Dawn!" is what people shouted at the sing-a-long screenings of OMWF at that part. xD I had no idea before I drew that; that's just exactly what I was thinking when it happened.
Dawn got a lot better this season. Losing Buffy made her grow up a lot and shake a bit of the self-centeredness that drove me crazy last season. She even staked and kicked! And when she finally hoisted a sword and lopped a demon's head off, she joined the club IMO. Plus, the speech that Buffy gave her in Grave was so touching! If she's the key to Buffy wanting to live, she's okay by me.

I'm your basic average girl and I'm here to save the world

2010-11-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

New fan art:

You'll never see me coming

2010-11-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

Finished Buffy: Season 5 this weekend. Gah, it's getting so good! The end of season 4 and beginning of season 5 had some of the best episodes yet IMO.

So don't click on this if you don't want (minor) spoilers, but here are my favorite things about season 5!:

I despise Dawn, but yeah, that line made me laugh for days.

And some sketches from this weekend as well:

Been there done that messed around

2010-11-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Another old line art, new colors illustration:

I think that this is the last one in my 'to color' pile. :> Somebody is discovering brushes and lighting layers~! Very uncertain about both, but have seen them done well and would like to learn. @___@

Let me go and I will want you more

2010-11-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

September piece I kept meaning to color:
Flat colors:

And with a flat green layer set to 'pin light':

I get the feeling that this is a beginner effect, but I like it. So bah.

Messing with your head again

2010-11-14T11:53:00.001-08:00

New illustration:

Actually, I drew this in August, but only now finished/colored it.

It's cold outside but I don't mind I'm not lonely

2010-11-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

Omigoodness. I've been hearing what an amazing manga artist Urasawa is for the better part of a year, and I can finally attest that it is all true. I read 7 volumes of Pluto this week in a mad rush to the end, and was sooooo impressed. I haven't read a comic that drew me in so completely since Death Note! Urasawa's storytelling is so great...even at the natural breaks in the story, I couldn't put it down because I HAD TO KNOW____ OR ____.

My sketchbook after 24 hours of reading Pluto:

Next up: Monster!