How hard must I try for you?

It's the first Wednesday of the term, and I am going to try to fulfill one of my goals: to leave Wednesdays as completely sacred, free days for working on my thesis. I did all of my homework for Thursday last night before bed, so today is wide open for the thesis (with breaks throughout the day for a work-out and meals). As a reward, I'm going to have a second cup of coffee at Starbucks and work there until I need to come home. Let's see how it goes!

Here are some things I did this morning:

Urban landscapes kill me, but this comic is a challenge on purpose! I can't draw planes well yet, either, but this script will force me to learn.


Here's a set of thumbnails. I stay very loose at this stage, just trying to figure out the page layout, the size and shape of the panels, and basic blocking of characters and setting. I usually write notes in the margins instead of correcting things at this size (2.5"x3.5" makes for tedious drawing).

Dreams do come true in New Orleans!

Here's a test page for my thesis comic. It's that time! I plan to finish thumbnails for the first 2 chapters by Wednesday, and it'll be a pretty busy schedule to get the final art done by May. The first chapter will be done and printed in minis by ECCC, so if you're going, you can read it there!



I think it's time to ink with a brush, even if it's still messy. I plan to work at bigger dimensions to minimize problems with things like the face in panel 2. Flat grayscale because I've grown to like that this year, and it prints oh so much more nicely than dithered dots. P.S., I have no idea what's going on in this page. I just wanted to draw a variety of character placements and backgrounds!

Love is our resistance

Emily Rose's The Girl Who Lost Her Voice
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

AAAAH check out this comic from my cousin Emily!! LOVE IT. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Man, it's shocking good to me that she knows to use an establishing shot at her age!!

It's one of the presents I mentioned in this Between Gears.

I'm alive! I'm alive!

Last Unicorn and Molly Grue by ~Tallychyck on deviantART

We got much further than I thought we'd get tonight

For my friend Emily:

Twilight fanart for Emily by ~Tallychyck on deviantART

Now as the summer fades I let you slip away, you say I'm not your type but I can make you sway

TLDR; Happy New Year!

Things I did in 2009 that I am happy about or proud of:

-Was published (for the first time!) in Image's This Is A Souvenir
-Grew the ovaries to drop the business major to a minor and explain why to my dad
-Moved out of my sorority and into a wonderful living space with 2 friends
-Went to my first convention as an exhibitor and LOVED IT
-Went to my first Comic-Con and LOVED IT
-Saw and listened to Miyazaki not only in person, but from 20 feet away
-Made awesome new friends that light up my life
-Learned how to ink with a brush pen and with a brush
-Gave watercolor a second chance and grew to love it
-House-searched for the first time
-Started Between Gears

Things I want to do in 2010:

-Have a great time at my first ECCC and second Stumptown Comics Fest
-Finish my thesis (WELL)
-Graduate
-Finish Between Gears in style
-Get a Job
-Move out of my parents' house
-Move into a super awesome bachelorette pad
-Get my next big comic started and show it to publishers
-Maintain my friendships
-Boyfriend???

Walk, walk, fashion baby

Damn! How did I get such awesome friends?! I have gotten so much amazing art as gifts this year, I set up a new Flickr set just for it. Here is the newest stuff:

From Joelle Jones:

SO AMAZING. I love how Joelle can make such expressive characters even with rigid, sharp lines. I feel so special having original Joelle Jones art!!!

From Terry Blas:

I can't stop looking at this!!! XD Possibly my favorite take on Delilah yet. It makes me want to go back to her story and draw it RIGHT NOW. Doesn't this make you want to know more about the characters??!

And from Matt Grigsby:

FANTASTIC. Besides being an Avatar nerd, Appa and Aang's friendship was one of my favorite elements of the show. Matt colors so well, too!! Look at how right that blue shading looks on Appa! I would never try that, but it's so right.