You're the one anomaly

I updated my Etsy shop with 3 new original pages from Between Gears. Allow me to plug my minicomics while I'm at it; all of my minicomics are now OUT OF PRINT, meaning that I will not be making any more of them and once these sell out they are GONE.

It is very likely that I will sell out of several titles at conventions this spring. If you want them, I strongly recommend that you buy them from me soon.

To clarify: I do hope to make minicomics again, but I will not reprint any of my existing minicomics. If I make minicomics in the next few years, they'll be new stories. (If I could pull off a Becky Cloonan-style short story, high-quality production, that would be really rad. That is my dream right now.)

I'm moving past the feeling

Between Gears came out last week!! Release week was tons of fun. Read Christian Lipski's article on the release party here.


(photo by the Deborah Lipski)

With my Oni and Lerner books done and Between Gears released, it's time to focus on Over the Surface! I updated that project's blog yesterday.

Here is a preview of upcoming fan art for Arrietty:



I LOVED that movie. Do yourself a favor and go see it in theaters, then buy every song Cecile Corbel made for the movie. They are GORGEOUS. I have been listening to a mix of them all week as a writing soundtrack. My favorite right now is 'My First Borrowing' (Disney seems to be pretty on top of blocking uploads at the moment, or I would link it).

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

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.

I love you more than words could say

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

Why is it that the season makes me want to quit breathing

Warm-up drawing of Victor from Over the Surface:

It's not for you to know or for you to even wonder

I've been a-hankering to do some Utena fan art. Today was finally the day, as I finished freelance stuff early! :D

Some other chicken-scratch pose ideas:


Hnnn, I can't wait to get back to Over the Surface...! Chapter 3 has been thumbnailed for almost a month, but I can't start pencils until Between Gears is done (for my own sanity).


Oh, the things I draw before sleep. So weird.

Tell me would it make you happy baby

Brenda Hickey's Ava
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

Dude, my friends. They are really the best. Check out these awesome pieces of Over the Surface fan art from Brenda Hickey and Terry Blas!!

Terry Blas's Ava
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

You think that you should rule the world; I think books are a thrill!

Over the Surface 1 minicomics and the 1+2 bundle are back in stock! :D

This print run of chapter 1 features 4 pieces of beautiful fan art in place of the bonus art in the last print run. Previews! <3


Nicolas Hitori de



Emi Lenox


Angie Wang


Joëlle Jones

We can do this right here and now

Over the Surface 2 minicomics now available on Etsy!



If you want a bundle deal on OtS 1 +2, wait until later in the week and I should have time to list one. I have tons of chapter 2 minis; I do not foresee them running out before then. :P I only have 4 copies of OtS 1 left, but I am working on a second print run right now. I am aiming to make that next batch available around June 10, and it will include some awesome fan art in place of the bonus art in the first print run of chapter 1.

This is show time this is show time this is show time

Aw dang! Over the Surface 2 minicomics are printed and assembled!!!!


I will distribute them to my thesis committee tomorrow along with the final draft of my paper. Next Wednesday, I'll present my thesis and be DONE! :DDD
With the thesis behind me, I will turn my thoughts to other art projects, including making the minis available in my Etsy store. So close, you guys. So. Close. Then that anthology story, those illustrations for people, new Between Gears pages...

Here's that cover image for you:

Surrounded by subconsciousnesses

Here's a little Over the Surface 2 preview for you. I am toning page 17 now, and I should be done well ahead of my Wednesday deadline.

Backing up obsessively! :P

What if I say I will never surrender?

3 pages yesterday! If this thesis is a war, I won yesterday's battle >:D

That puts me at 19/24 pages for chapter 2 (though 6 still need to be toned), and 35/40 overall. I still need to make the chapter 2 cover as well. The deadline is Wednesday, May 5. 6 days.

The written portion of the thesis is not going so hot. It needs major revisions, and my primary thesis adviser wants to edit one more draft before I turn in my final on Wednesday. 0__o So, writing tonight and all day tomorrow.

And I am not afraid to try it on my own

I'm calling it a night; I have an early train tomorrow to Portland! Woohoo, Stumptown Comics Fest weekend!!!! Before I turn it off, here's a preview from Over the Surface 2:

(I have 15/24 pages done on this chapter, 31/40 total, and 11 days remaining)

I realize I must have gone a million miles away

I will be at the Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend in Portland at table 114 with Emi Lenox and Angie Wang! Come on by! I will have the same things I had at ECCC (4 new minicomics, 2 prints, buttons, con sketches) PLUS a print of my Monsters and Dames illustration!

I haven't posted in a while, but you haven't missed anything. It's just thesis, thesis, THESIS at my house, punctuated only by a couple of commissions. I gave a first draft of my essay to my primary and secondary advisers at the beginning of the week, and I am drawing page 13 of the comic today (29 out of 40 total). I have to turn in all of the finished art and the final version of the paper on May 5...14 days from now. Dear God back to work.

I will try to make Over the Surface chapter 2 available as a minicomic in my Etsy store in late May.

I'll be there as soon as I can

Here's another preview from Over the Surface 2:
(7 out of 24 pages done!!! Drew 6 of them in 5 days!! WHOOO!)


I don't want to give away so much in these previews that it ruins the comic, but enough that you don't have to go without new art for the next month.

My mom is coming to my thesis defense next month. :) D'aww. <3 As stressed as I am scrambling to finish the art and the paper this month, I am really pretty stoked about my thesis. I have awesome professors on my panel, I was allowed to do exactly what I love in lieu of a very long research paper, and having to do so much work has made me a better artist.

EDIT: from the second page I drew today:


It is a day for drawing my horrified characters, I guess :P

There's so many ways to act

Drawing page 5 of Over the Surface 2 today! I have this great energy going--I want to read what happens next but can't until I've drawn it. I'm getting caught up in the tension of something I wrote, haha.

Overall, I have drawn 20 out of 40 pages for my thesis! Yow, halfway!

This is the world that we live in

Here's a preview of Over the Surface chapter 2, page 3!


Oh man, I have had such a hard time with the planes. Even if I had experience with drawing machines, brush pens are not ideal for straight or controlled lines. Lets just say that those planes in panel 1 did not start out as black silhouettes. :P

Still, I am really excited because I see a big improvement in my ability to draw cities and landscapes. When I think about how challenging panel 2 would have been for me a year or two ago, it's a good feeling. You've gotta dive into subjects you're bad at...it may be painful for a while, but it's the fastest way to learn.

Awkward pause, ooh fatal flaws

There's a party tonight, but I HAVE TO finish this page before I go:



Motivation ftw! T - 5 hours!

UPDATE (5:30PM):


ALMOOOOOOST

And Windy has stormy eyes

Working away on my thesis! Chapter 2 thumbnails are done:


Chapter 2 is one and a half times as long as chapter 1, so I am very nervous about meeting my deadline (and leaving time for the PAPER part of the thesis). I have to turn in my thesis May 5, and present May 12, so the next 5 weeks will be all about drawing these pages and writing a very important paper.

Let it come true right now

I added Over the Surface, Between Gears, and The Legend of Larsha to my Etsy store, which means that all 4 new 2010 minis are now available online! :D