The draft so far...

This is super rough, and there is a lot to fix, but I wanted to post what I am working on so far in case anyone had suggestions... It's also cut-off a bit...

I am actually on I-Chat with my twin as I post this asking her for feedback.

Josh told me about another site where you can link all your portfolios, blogs, websites, etc. for illustrators.  It is Illustration Mundo.  Click on the title of this blog to peruse...

I STILL intend to link more people on my blog, but just haven't really gotten around to it... I think it should be much more interesting once I have a bit more going on with this blog.  I believe there's also a way to get my blog streaming on my website, but I still haven't quite figured that out.  I'm sure there will be a day when I can sit down and re-vamp what I have so it is a bit more fun and everything is properly linked.

Anyway, tomorrow is Friday and Christine is visiting, so I will be waiting on that painting... which is probably good... I need that time to "sleep on it" so that I don't rush anything... Not to mention how good ideas always seem to hit me in my sleep!

Man, I'm delirious... but nothing compared to Josh.  He almost fell over today while we were getting dinner from working 48 hours straight- zero sleep.  I think "all nighters" are a lot harder to pull.  Poor man.  But he has some new pieces up on threadless now!  If you click on his name under my links it should have all sorts of fun stuff that he's been doing...

Well, good night world.  Sleep well.  "Dream of large women."

(If you don't know where that quote is from, I am sorry).

Some ideas

I will at some point, link all the amazing artists whose blogs I follow, as well as those I found on Flickr, because I feel like it's just too selfish to keep them all to myself.

I also plan on getting my new painting drafted... I started it yesterday night and am sooo excited to paint it! However, my friend from CA is coming up tomorrow night so I have to put it off for a bit. It's inspired by my most recent find Mr. John Shelley (who is linked to the title of this blog). I was perusing JacketFlap and saw his portfolio and was pretty much blown away. I read that he lived in Tokyo for 20 years. My mom is Japanese and actually in Japan right now (I miss her!!!) and so I thought how much I wanted to illustrate something that includes my own heritage. It's a Japanese street scene with some children on rooftops and doing some other mischevious things... but still in the making.

I will have to post more later!

For those of you that enjoyed Star Trek... Click on this Title!

My classmate from college is one of the costume designers for some big movies out this year!
Please check out his blogspot and his website to view his work.
:)
It's awesome to see his name in the credits!
I have not seen Terminator yet, but I loved the other two- especially Star Trek.
Congratulations Phil! (and Brian)!

Another rad artist that works on Costumes that I know from school is Oksana- I have a link to her blogspot here as well. (Her work includes the Narnia movies).

Sigh... such great talented people- and wonderful human beings as well!!
Isn't that always nice! :)

Revised

I ended up messing around with this image on Photoshop because I was a little unhappy with the colors I painted it... I think this version is much better...

??

I need to get better sleep... too much going on in my head regarding finances, my dog, and just general jitters-in-the=night!

I don't like using Photoshop, but when I want to mess with the colors without messing up a painting, I admit, it is useful.

Painting by hand is so much more rewarding, though.  I doubt that red would've picked up much enough to get a nice greenish-yellow that I wanted to test for the bushes.

Oh well.  I hope my twin, Mei, likes this one.

A Mouse Fellowship

I keep thinking this reminds me of the Lord of the Rings (?? probably because mice are small and this scene makes me thinks of Frodo and Sam) thus the title.

I think it came out a lot more saturated than I intended, but I still like it.

Hope you do, too!

On Pause

So I know I posted a WHILE ago that I would have a new painting up, and yet, it still sits on my desk...
The reason for this is that first, Josh, my fiance, was having horrible tooth aches from an exposed nerve and he has no insurance to use. We had to take an entire day to sit at one of those walk-in clinics that are run by OHSU (or student dentists/professors).
He may need a root canal... but the price was a lot better than if we had gone to a regular dentist. I think it's hard for freelancers to acquire insurance in general, but it really made me feel lucky for having my day job. Once we are married, this should be fixed. I still want to be a full-time freelancer at some point, but I guess there is a plus to having my day job.

Then, about a day later, one of my pug dogs became ill. He was having problems urinating because of crystal build-up in his bladder. I guess it's a little more common in pugs, although still rare, and caused by an inability to break down certain food. We had to have him go through an emergency surgery. We were waiting anxiously this morning to find out if he has recovered but we finally got the word that he's going to be fine. We are to pick him up this afternoon.

So good news that he's ok, but it's been a hellish week!!
So I am grateful to have Monday off so I might catch up on this painting and spend some time with my pug! (and my fiance-it's his Birthday- what a present! He can keep his best friend!).

Thank you to those who helped and cared!
K.I.T.

Out from Hiding...

I have my next painting all mapped out on paper now and am excited for the weekend to paint it!! Of course, Portland is getting a warm, sunny weekend to tempt me to go outside, but I have my desk right by the window, so hopefully, I will still get some of the sun.

My best friend from California is visiting (almost 99% certain!) the weekend before Josh's family is visiting! I am so excited!  Of course, this also means the apartment needs to be cleaned.

I actually enjoy cleaning (to an extent) so this won't be so bad as long as CK and Dozer decide they like their toys more than our stuff!

On a different note, it's been fun figuring out Twitter and trying to get more involved with that site... as well as Flickr.  I think that trying to get in touch and make some friends in the field help so much! Plus it's always fun to read their blogs and feel happy that you aren't alone in the artworld.  I think actually when I graduated college that was the thing I missed the most-group critiques and hanging out after class working on art together.  We were a hardcore bunch of students at the time... although I always think, "I could've worked harder!"  This is why I love reading and commenting other artists and seeing all of these amazing artists' work!

In the meanwhile, I also hope to land a bit of freelance work as well... I just quoted a possible client and have yet to know whether it is in the bag.  I think the story would be rad to illustrate, but the details must remain confidential.

I also just recently sent my latest publisher my dedications, so I am hoping I will soon see more interiors (if I see them) before they go to print.  I am really excited to see this book when it comes out... I really love the characters in the story.

Anyway! 

This weekend: repair vacuum, clean, and paint!!!! Onward and upward!

The lonely cyber world...

I just realized that I had not yet subscribed to some blogs that I had links to on my blog... so now that this is rectified, I can now follow some of my old college friends! :)
I am hoping that when I have the time, I can find them all on Twitter and build up more of a network there... it's a little lonely on Twitter when you first start out... but I think if I were able to keep up to date with my classmates, as well as new friends, it would be pretty fun.

Hope everyone is doing well!

If Only

I truly sometimes wish that I could draw something and have it become real... because I want this little girl's jacket!  Although I'm sure somewhere, someone has made and is selling a bunny jacket... I couldn't help but think to myself, "I want her shoes, too!"

This is the first thing my sister said to me when I showed her the painting.

The title is Alley Cats because those are her friends.

I have another idea brewing involving pigeons.  Let's see where that takes me.

My Next Project

I have drawn out for the most part the next painting I will be working on over the weekend.  I'm not sure if I will be keeping the cats or the tree... 

The inspiration came from a new blog I am following that discusses different Disney animated movie backgrounds.  I am a fan of looking at these and feel that some have the most inspiring color palettes and design.

Twitter, Flickr, Blogger...

I have been looking at blog postings (I have a couple that I read all the time) and also looking on Twitter... and finding that I visit these so often that there are not a lot of updates compared to the amount of time I visit the sites. I think that's a definite que that I need to spend more time working on art and visit these more like twice a week instead of several times a day!! It is addictive though...
I am especially addicted to reading Neil Gaiman's Tweets... he is so funny and always, always, doing something exciting! (I must send my sister a copy of The Graveyard Book, buy Coraline when its released, and also get his latest children's book, the Blueberry Girl when I have the money).
I sincerely can't wait until I have enough money saved up to send out promotional material/submissions. :)
Hope to have artwork posted soon.

Stumptown Photo

Really quick, here is a picture from the Stumptown Comics Fest that my co-worker sent to me.

:)

Happy Friday!

Ink..?

Well, I am going to post my embarassing attempt at ink.  I really need to work on this.

I don't think I really did what I wanted to do with the ink, and I think it has a lot to do with what I decided to paint.  It's funny because I really only like the washes!  This would be similar to what?  Hmmm, watercolor maybe?  I do like the koala-guy.

I think that I may just have to paint this instead or move on.  There are plenty of paintings in my head that should be out on paper at least once.

On a totally different note, I heard from my twin that they have adopted a kitten.  My other sister works at a Vet Clinic and I guess someone dropped off a little white kitten with happy blue eyes all because he was deaf.  So they took him in and now my nephew has been completely enthralled.  His name is Oliver (after "Oliver and Company" the Disney movie).

This makes me wish I could go meet him in person although I did get to see him through I-Chat.

I have been in a slump... but I think I am going to come out now.  I think that messing up this picture as long as I was working on some sort of artwork, has now energized me since the convention.  By the way, Josh has posted some photos from the event on his Flickr account under set titled Stumptown 2009.  I will make the title of this blog posting a link to his Flickr account.  

Comics Galore

I finally have a free moment here to post really quickly that the Stumptown Comic Fest was loads of fun! We were way in the back, but still managed to sell some mini's and some books.
(click on this blog title for a link to the Big Illustration Party Time Blogspot shownotes on the Comic Fest- the podcast is free download, by the way, and loads of fun.)

I have recooperated from all the sitting and standing and talking and loading and unloading... and laundry... that tonight, I pray I will be able to work some on that drawing I posted a while ago!

Meanwhile, please check out the lovely blogs I have been following (you can see them when you click on my profile). I just love these blogs!! Most are children book illustrators, but some are useful blogs related to the publishing industry. I really admire these creators and they provide me with loads of inspiration.

Ok, back to my day job.

When drawing...

The last comment on my drawing made me feel like posting a little blog in response.
Kevin Morrison (the author of the third book I just did illustrations for, I Can Speak Bully, due out in Fall) wrote:
"I like your pictures for the stories they can tell. I enjoy the depth of your characters beyond the lines and colors on the page. Do you have stories in your mind when you create them?"

I think that it's true for me that I get pretty attached to the characters in my work. In fact, if you ask Josh, he'll tell you I will talk to them while I'm painting... Sounds a little creepy, but it's more like this, "Well aren't you a nice, little frog? I bet you'd like to be green with a red stripe down your back! Then you'll have lots of things to do..." In fact, the pages for Kevin's book I worked on, there were a few where I got carried away and started crying for this little boy... Pretty cheesey of me to admit, but I think that it's just the way I am...

Now as weird as that may sound to some people, when you paint or draw, you invest a lot of your time with the work.. you sort of "get to know" the painting. I think for me, it starts with "I'd love to paint something with wide open space... yes... a desert! I haven't done a desert with a lot of funky-shaped rock formations yet... that makes me think of Dragon Ball! Oh, an adventurous little girl with a friend. Her friend should be like a koala... and they both ride her dirt bike together..." (and on and on and on...).

I think I can recall a time in class when I was in college with my absolute favorite Professor (at the time, he's now the "Head Honcho" of the Illustration Department at CSULB) David Hadlock (so unbelievably talented and genius!). It was one of the first classes I had ever taken at the college. Some background before I go further... my twin sister, Mei, and I used to draw side-by-side since I can remember... We would talk ideas out and make up cartoons and stories... so I was used to verbalizing my ideas out and just brainstorming as I went along when it came to coming up with ideas to draw.
So in class, Hadlock would go around the room and stop at different student's desks and try to see how they were coming along... whenever he would come by my desk, he would say something that would set off something in my head where I suddenly had a jolt of inspiration and could see so many possibilities in a single painting/drawing. And I loved that about him. I also noticed that he did the same thing when he was critiquing other work... he seemed to have endless love for imagination.
He's also the reason I wanted to do children's books and not manga/comics. He used children's books to show examples of something like "perspective." It made me realize how much I identified and loved children's books.

So in a very long story... the answer is that yes, I think out almost everything about a character when I paint it... or at least by the end of the painting, I have a pretty good idea of who that little person is and what they would be doing. Most of the time, I think of something I'd like to see or paint and the story follows as I go along.

Sorry if this post has horrible grammar by the way.. another reason I am not the best of authors/writers. I am also pretty wiped out because Josh and I just spent a couple hours getting ready for the Stumptown Comic Fest. We get to go early tomorrow and set up before Saturday. I might print out the comic pages that I do have, too, so I am still tired.
(Actually the pugs are asleep on the bed because they know how crazy their parents are when it comes to staying up too late).

Thank you for the comments everyone! :)
I have links to people on my blog as well if anyone would like to see other blog pages.

Possible Ink...

Well, I am going to post the drawing I'm working on so far...

From what Mei has told me, and I agree, there are some fixes still, but I like to post the "in progress" stuff.

I'll have to ground the bike some more, change the height of the rock formations so it has more variation, and pay more attention to the clouds....

But it's off to a nice start. I have to fight the urge to paint it... I am going to attempt to ink this one... I do have the image scanned so if it ends up I want to paint it, too, I can still get the image and transfer it to watercolor paper.

Hope people like it so far...

It's taking too long for the weekend to come, but then I have to remember that this weekend will be Stumptown Comic Fest. Josh suggested I take my comic pages (reprints) to show to Darkhorse because they are scouting for someone to do an online comic for them.

I hope I have time to follow up on this.

A Moody Painting...

I have posted a new painting up... one that I wanted to have more of a "something's about to happen!" mood. I hope that it's achieved that kind of an edge.
I finished it a lot earlier than I thought I would so I may just keep the creativity stirring and start plans for the next piece... now to decide whether I want to start attempts at inking again or if I would rather paint another painting! I already have ideas for another painting but it does sound fun to pick up the pen and ink again.
Let's see which urge wins!

Stumptown Comic Fest!

I will be at the Stumptown Comic Fest with my fiance, Joshua Kemble, and friend (co-host for Big Illustration Party Time Podcast) Kevin Cross! Click on the title of this blog for a link to the Stumptown Comic Fest site.
Thanks for visiting and hope to see you there!

Location: Portland, OR
April 18th & 19th from 10:00 am to 6 p.m.: The Stumptown Comics Fest 2009 will again be hosted by the Lloyd Center Doubletree hotel. The Doubletree is just a couple blocks away from the Lloyd Center Shopping Mall and movie theaters, dozens of restaurants and hotels, and is conveniently located next to a Portland Tri-Met MAX Line stop for accesibility. The Exhibition Hall is over 14,000 square feet, and parking is available for attendees at $3 a day in the adjacent parking garage.

Doubletree Hotel
1000 NE Multnomah
Portland, OR 97232

Drawing on I-Chat

I suppose it's a funny situation that I have at home because my family lives in California and I live in Portland.
My twin sister and I both drew together throughout our lives and therefore, I cannot get used to drawing without her feedback. Luckily, we both have a Mac and I-chat and are able to meet on there, scanning our roughs and paintings/comics back and forth to critique.
I find this invaluble because she's able to see what is wrong with my work immediately, as I am with hers, and because we are so used to each other, we are able to verbally (and sometimes not so verbally- we ARE twins) steer the other in the right direction.
Last night we went back and forth on how I might paint this next piece I have planned out on my watercolor paper. It's more complicated than some of my other paintings, which is good, but it also, if I do it right, should convey a "mood." I've been wanting to really build that in my paintings.

I have also decided, after being inspired by several comic books, to once again, do some black and white/ink work.
So it's nice to be back at the drawing board.

It's Painted :)

I have finished painting my newest work and posted it on my website.
I hope that everyone likes it...

Anyway, it is now Friday! This means I have two whole days following tonight to work more on my Portfolio- ahh, the never-ending challenge!

I am excited because I may be getting a bit of money from some work that may afford me a spot on childrenillustrator.com... which in turn, hopefully, will get me more work, and possibly, more people visiting my website.

In any case, I am excited, too, because I have been seeing so many inspiring pieces on Flickr and JacketFlap. I really appreciate the Art Community... these websites are so helpful... I wonder how illustration worked before the computer?? I'm sure it was much more challenging and daunting for artists wanting to get their foot in the door.

Well, cheers!

More rain this weekend, too, which is more incentive to stay home and paint!