comic

I am currently working on a webcomic. I have a few pages done and I have the whole story outlined. I feel like I am almost ready to start posting. But I still don't know how or where I want to post. I would love to be able to post the pages in order, rather than having the most recent post always show up first. That way, people who are new to the comic know where to start. I'd also like to have something that looks nice.
The comic style is in my traditional, sketchy style. It's edited digitally, but it still looks like pencil drawings. So it's not super refined. I think a nice simple layout would look best with it, but I still want something that's easy to navigate and looks coherent.

I wish I knew more about this stuff...

Notes to myself about the proper way to art

1. Start with a good sketch. If it's not good, start again.

2. Don't rush progress. Take your time and let the drawing happen at it's own pace.

3. If you're stuck on a drawing, start a new one. You can come back to it later. Or not!

4. Remember, it's okay if not every drawing is a masterpiece.

5. Don't worry too much about what other people will think of your drawing. You don't even have to show it to anyone if you don't want to. Draw what you feel like drawing.

6. Don't try to define yourself as an artist. And don't compare your art to others'.

7. Try new things. But stick with what works for you.

8. Try to sketch every day. Even if it doesn't result in a completed drawing.

9. Remember to change your pen nibs and clean your tablet!

10. Don't get yourself down about not being productive. If you force yourself to work more than you really want to, it won't be fun anymore.

Well I'm writing a comic

I have sort of been thinking about writing something for a while now. And things finally started falling into place recently. My random ideas began to come together to form something coherent and I actually have a workable story. It may not be the best story every, but I think it's interesting. I'm a little nervous about my ability to pull off the visuals. But if I take my time, I think I'll at least get by. And having the story totally worked out before I start will help a lot.
Right now I'm doing some sketches, experimenting with format, and working out the plot details and dialogue. I've never attempted anything this big before, so I honestly don't know how far I'll get before it falls apart. But I'm going for it! My plan is to keep it simple and go with my gut.

feeling the pressure

I have gotten some extra exposure recently with my monster girl drawings and I've gained a bunch of new followers. I am so happy that people are enjoying my art and I have been having so much fun. But now I am feeling a little anxious about making people happy and keeping up the pace I have been with the monster challenge. I really want to keep drawing things that people like but I'm a little worried that after I complete the challenge I'll be wiped out. I have to find some way to keep up the momentum at least a little bit.

Challenge

So I recently decided to do this monster girl challenge hosted by a group on tumblr. I didn't think much of it and honestly wasn't sure if I would even be able to complete them all. I just wanted to practice and I like monster girls so it seemed like a good thing to try. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it and how inspired I would become. I feel like my skills have improved drastically over just a couple weeks. The designs are coming to me more easily now and I can finish a drawing much faster than I ever could before. Just drawing daily has done so much for me. On top of that, I am drawing things I really enjoy and had kind of gotten away from. I feel like I am finally doing what I want in the way I want. And I'm not as worried about what other people will think of it. I'm not doing it to impress anyone in particular, just trying to have fun.

Once the challenge is complete, I am really going to try to continue to draw every day.

the desire to create

I have been toying with the idea of developing a back story for one of my designs. I sort of have an idea of her personality which I portray through the drawings of her. I feel this is somewhat necessary to create an emotive piece.
But some people take it further than that and really come up with a narrative for their characters. This isn't something I have ever had interested in. Until now. I have a character that I really like. Her design, I think, is rather unique and I enjoy drawing her. If I so desired, I could create a story for her, with other characters, in a unique setting and start a comic. However, this would take a lot of time and planning. And some ability to tell a story through art. I'm not sure if I have any of these things.
So I likely will do nothing. But I'll keep drawing her, even if I'm the only one who knows what she's thinking.

confusing struggle

I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember and it has always been an important feature in my life. I never wanted to make it my career, but it's something that I still take pretty seriously.

But after all this time, I still don't feel comfortable with my art. I don't feel confident in my skills. And I'm unsure about why I even want to draw.  I don't really do it to make a statement, I don't really have any creative ideas, and I'm not trying to achieve realism or anything. The closest thing I can think of to explain my motivation is that...I just want to make pretty things. I just want to draw things that are nice to look at.

But if that's the case, why do I take it so seriously? I wish I could just have more fun with it, and not worry so much about how it's going to turn out, what people are going to think of it, or whether it conveys my "style" properly.

I feel like I would enjoy art more and be more inspired if I wasn't so concerned with these trivial things.

Acceptance

I realized that I had found a technique that worked for me. And things were looking up, art-wise. I was regaining confidence and thought I should "experiment" with more dramatic subject matter.


But then I realized that...  I am not dynamic. Everything I do is soft, and pretty, and totally static.
But I think that's okay! Maybe that's just what my art will be and people will enjoy it for that reason. My most recent finished drawing went really well. I finished it quicker than I thought I would. And I didn't over-work it. I didn't even color it. I thought I still might, but I don't really feel like it. And I think it's still good.

I do have plans to color my latest in-progress drawing. But if it doesn't turn out how I want it, I may just stick with the black and white. We'll see how it goes. But I am feeling mostly optimistic about it.

BLOCKED

I am suffering from some art block right now. A lot of things in my life are changing a bit, and it has been busy and a little stressful. And so I have had little time for art. I have been doing regular updates for my pony tumblr, AskNettle, with some success. But personal art has been placed on the back burner for the most part.

I did complete this drawing recently:

I liked my original sketch, but I lost interest in the drawing about halfway through. I struggled to complete it and the end result was that it was technically finished, but not something I'm extremely proud of.

I think sometimes drawings are like that, where they just happen without any real impact on your life. I will just move on to the next thing, and hopefully that one will feel more like an accomplishment.

method progress

So since I have been doing everything with a black and white underdrawing, I feel my overall look has improved A LOT. I think I am now drawing the way I draw naturally, on paper.

I still need to do my sketching with pencil and paper, but the coloring goes much much faster now and maintains the look of the original sketch almost perfectly every time. (provided I had a good sketch to begin with). The other thing that's great about this method is that I have a choice halfway through to either be done, and be satisfied with a black and white drawing, or I can continue with overlaying the colors and having a finished colored piece.

Here's a WIP shot of something I started today (about 2 hours ago)

Also trying to do more exciting subjects and composition. Here's SEG (Space Explorer Girl) in action, shooting some tentacles or some nonsense. So this piece will hopefully feature an interesting comp, using a different perspective and some cropping, more dynamic lighting with higher contrast, and maybe some nice colors, if I decide to color it. (I probably will).

The amount of background detail I include will depend on my patience and how the figure and beast turn out. It may or may not need a lot of detail.

Patience is another thing I have to work on.  It is usually limited and I tend to be "done" with drawings before I am actually satisfied them. Then I feel crappy and go "bleehhh, I'm a bad artist, boohoo..." So I need to stop doing that.

I think I have to shorten that arm....

Cteno II -Actual Progress!

After kicking my work rooms ass , and turning it into a much more organized and productive space, I was able to sit down and spend a couple hours on my Cteno sculpture.

Here's how it's looking now!

Obviously there are still some wires sticking out, as her tail is not fully formed yet. But the main components are there.  I am trying sculpted eyelashes for this one, we'll see how it turns out.

I am pretty happy with my progress. The first sculpture was about to stand alone, but this one is going to need a base. Haven't quite figured out what I'm going to be using, but I have a couple ideas.

I'm excited to finish it, and I'm already considering doing another sculpture in a larger size. I'm really tempted to do another Cteno, but honestly, I'm starting to creep myself out...

She's just so fun to sculpt! so gooey.

creative outlets

So, I have decided to take a cue from some other artists online, and have created a tumblr account. I don't know how well I will be able to juggle all these blogs and accounts, but each one serves a different purpose. This blog will remain a place for me to spew my thoughts and processes, works in progress, sketches, etc.  The tumblr is more for random stuff, short comics, photos, and whatever else.  It also allows people to ask me questions which I will try to answer with a drawing or comic. The idea is that it will improve my speed and creative thinking. And give me something else to do when I'm art blocked, or just bored.  And unlike the blog here, it's more social, so I might have the opportunity to interact with other artists.

In other news, I did a complete overhaul on my work room! I DID get a couple things from IKEA, mostly for organizing.  I have a couple more things to do, but when I'm finished I may post some "before" and "after" photos.  It's a pretty serious difference, and I'm hoping it will be a pretty serious improvement in my productivity.

a good workspace is important!

So, since my last 'work in progress' shot of my sculpture that I posted.....nothing has progressed. I blame my workspace!

First of all, I share it with the cats' litter box, and we keep it clean, so that's not a problem, it's just really distracting when they come in and use it. Very noisy and awkward.

Then, there is the clutter issue. The room also doubles as a storage closet, so alongside my work table there is also,

a vacuum cleaner
unused aquarium supplies
chests of toys/action figures
the display boxes for the toys and action figures
an old wooden easel
a rarely used exercise machine
our old dining room table and chairs

aaaaand various other small collections of stuff we never use, but don't feel the need to throw out.

 The plan is to condense some of the clutter and store it away somewhere I can't see it, then move the furniture around to give me the most productive workspace. Hopefully if it all works out, I will be able to work in there for more than 25 minutes at a time.  Then I can actually get things done, and maybe even start taking sculpture commissions!

This calls for a trip to IKEA.