First illustration Friday post! Frzen

FROZEN with Fear, the elephant shivered & Shrieked!

Just wanted to do a loose, open sketch.

Nevr posted to IF yet so thought I would.

Thumb nails so far

Before I go any further with Ouwangalaymah, I'm putting everything that I've done so far, down in thumb nail form. I don't know why I have such a hard time doing thumbs, but after all the help I've received through the podcasts I listen to, (Big Illustration Party Time, Chris Oatley's Artcast, Ninja Mountain, Art & Story, Escape from Illustration Island, and the process Diary. all of which you can subscribe to for free through Itunes) I realize the importance of it.

Seeing it this way helps me see just how much work I've done so far. I can get a feel for the visual flow and rhythm as well. I hope this is good for a working stiff with a full time grunt job a Home Improvement Center. The more I get done, the more encouraged I become. I got started on this version of the story right after Comic Con. So what you see represents about two and a half months part time work.

It's meant getting up at 5:30 AM on my days off (That's sleeping in! I'm up by 4:30 usually to go to work at 6:00) and plugging away at it. I can get quite a bit of work done before the family gets up. And then getting as much done as I can when I get home from work. That is as long as I'm not totally wasted from the day job. I am so grateful to my family for being so understanding and supportive during this initial transition stage in what I do. One day, I hope to be with them all day as I continue to develop my intellectual properties at home, free from the shackles of the day job. I guess that's a testament to finding what one really loves to do and sticking with it no matter what. I am sharing all this in the hopes that it will encourage someone else like myself to stick with it! With what ever you do. With what ever it is that gets you out of bed in the morning. Keep plugging away at it and in doing so, trust that you will succeed.

Working in layers and the life of Trees

I wonder if anyone other than our fellow artists realize the time spent on bringing what we do to life. In an effort to save some of the time I need to devote to other things I've begun braving the pencilless sketch. Well not completely. My first Initial work up is with the pencil tool in painter with a medium grey tone that I then go over with the scratch board tool in black. Bypassing the pencil to paper, then scanning it in saves a lot of time.

My inking can take a few hours to a few days worth of noodling on it. I probably Spent a total of 12 hours inking this tree for OUWANGALAYMAH! My goal is to develop a few deeply detailed views of the tree to use in bits & pieces throughout the different scenes in which it is involved.

I then lift the layer to a watercolor layer and play with shadows using the oil pastel tool with a med grey. this is just to get an idea of what I want to do with form. Just a quick rough in really.

Then a quick test of color. Since the first scene in which the tree really makes an appearance is

at twilight, I've given my self quite a challenge, so again this is just to get an idea of what it will look like, not a finished piece by no means, but just a color test. I'm finding that the more I save each stage of development, I can make adjustments much more easily. But because of this, I sense an external hard drive in my very near future. Any way, More reasons to love digital media. It saves so much time over the struggles I have with physical media.

More Later! Thanks again for having a look!

found a new source of inspiration!

Just to show the benefit of Twittering, from a tweet by the great Bobby Chiu I found chris Oatley's site. what a great source of information and experience! I like to listen to something as I'm scribbling along, and so when I come across these podcasts by artists in the biz I like to glean what I can from what they've shared. So just passing along a like to Chris's site and hoping you find his podcasts as helpful as I am!

http://www.chrisoatley.com/CHRISOATLEY.COM/podcast/podcast.html

Be sure to check out all he's got available there on his site. great links as well to others with the same sharing outlook.

What the world needs.

Ouwangalaymah! the "Tail" of the Name of the Tree

Some times it's a kick in the pants. Sometimes it's an act of kindness, so seldom seen.

And Sometimes, an act of kindness is what it takes to get a needed kick in your pants.

Thanks to my fellow Blogerian Cynthia Narsisi.

For almost a year now, Cynthia has been a tireless Cheerleader, urging me on to accomplish my dreams of telling stories to everyone who'll listen. She blew me away today with an out of the blue blog post about yours truly! I can't believe! Wow! and then I figure she must have been at a loss for something to post about. :o)

But truthfully, I am so stunned and Honored! And so from this kind deed, I was Spurred to spruce up the ole Web site, and share Ouwangalaymah! The Graphic Novel (So far) with the world. Just when you start thinking, nobody is listening a ray of sunshine enters the window.

And along with this most unexpected boost to the morale I have to thank Aja Wells who is also assisting me with her perspective on the stories. How does anybody do this in the dark?

I can't imagine trying to forge ahead without the support of my friends in our Lil critique group. Thank all of you for being who you are!

Continuing the New look of Ouwangalaymah!

I hope to be able to work faster as I refine my process, but I'm encouraged by what I'm getting so far. I've had a very rough week on the day job. I believe FIRMLY on sticking it out, don't quit it until you can safely break free, especially if you have a family. But some times the stress can be so great that your health my be in danger. Be wise, get a check up, and if it gets too bad get a new day job. Or go part time if you can. At any rate, work smart! I'll be posting an interview with David Petersen soon so be sure to check back later this week!

WOW a Scribbler! thanks penny!

Penny Webber just gave me a scribbler! thanks Penny.http://pennyweber.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure what this means, but It's nice to be thought of. Thanks again Penny! your awesome!

Here's the rules for the award- Each Superior Scribbler must, in turn, pass the Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy buds.Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, andlink to this post, which explains The Award.Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the

Mr. Linky Listat the Scholastic-Scribe's blog. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives this prestigious honor!Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.