Second and Third Drawings

Here are the next two pieces I'm also working on for tomorrow. I've finally gotten all the linework out of the way, and now I just have to do color comps/color finishes for each piece. Exciting!

Already getting kind of tired, and I wish I could go outside today, but at least I'm working on something I really like, and I'm very proud of my drawings so far. I know to many of my friends and teachers it seems I don't do many thumbnails or sketches, but I've honestly done more than a hundred just for this series alone. I think it's paying off. :)


(Oh, and the octopus's name is Maurice. He's usually very grumpy. He's an outer spacetopus.)

First Piece drawing... The Glorper

This is the final drawing for my first piece in a series of 8 that I'm working on for the show next month. Here is number one! And I mean it this time! I'm really proud of the drawing so far, and I've been really feeling the process now, instead of feeling rushed. Now I just have to color it all fancy-like!

Speaking of rushed, I'm planning on finishing this piece and 2 others by tomorrow night. The other two are as follows: one is drawn, ready for final lines. The other ones is still only a concept with a bunch of crappy roughs, so I'm either going to have to refine it real quick or move on to a different piece that feels more flowy.

I've really fought with myself on whether or not these should be painted or done digitally, and digital won. There's physically no time to paint them, and I don't know if I can emotionally put up pieces for sale at a show that I've only just completed. They're my babies. But I need to pay the bills, so digital prints it is. I'm also trying to build up my digital work, so this will be an excellent addition to my portfolio.


My computer is still virus-ridden (though I'm using it), but my roommate is letting me borrow her pretty, shiny 20" iMac all day tomorrow to color my pieces with. <333 Thank you Sarah!

And a special thanks to Jared for loving me on my cranky days this past week. All work and no play make Allison a grumpy no-funner. Blackberry Brandy iced tea is in our future. <3


Thanks for looking! Please full view!


Also! Staying at Veronica's Thursday night to help with show stuff! Extra yay!

Oh no! Virussssss

Hello,

I have a horrible virus that's destroying my computer. Thus, I'm going to have to reinstall Windows and get all my programs back in the next few days. So I won't be able to update for a little while. FEAR NOT! I am working and have a lot of great stuff to show you when I get back.

Seeya!

PSYCH!

Okay, I changed my mind. That other piece isn't going to be my first piece in the show after all. I'll consider it a color comp, instead.

See, sometimes, I get ahead of myself and feel like I need to get things DONE! which leads to lots of rushed, crappy work. However, when I take the time to make a lighting comp and a color comp, especially for pieces with backgrounds, I find that the outcome of the final piece is WORLDS better than it would have been.

Also, I saw a lot of things wrong with the other piece, such as:
-The main character was much too small for it to be a pin-up. She should be the most important!
-The anatomy was really off, and it looked pretty wonky.
-So much empty space in the background! Needs more stars and rockets and stuff. :D
-Pretty "meh" pose.

My most favorite part was the logo, so I'll be keeping that.

So here's my revised sketch! Hooray!

AND!!!! My computer has 3 seperate viruses that have slowed it to a crawl. It took half an hour to make this post. Somebody come fix it. I have work to do. :(((((((

First Space 242 piece

(Me and my roommate Sarah at graduation!)

Hello, I'm alive! And all graduated! I had the best weekend of my life, and I am amped to start my life as a professional.

I've been trying to keep in the habit of drawings, though I admit all the excitement of school ending/my family coming up from New York/my grad party/boyfriend meeting my family have been quite distracting. But some distractions are wonderful. <3

So here's my first piece for the show. I stayed up basically all night doing it, and there are plenty of things I'm not happy with, but it's a good practice for the other pieces. This one is the most unstimulating, composition-wise, but at least now I can take the good from this one and apply it to the next 7 pieces. Similarly, I'll know what I don't want to do in the rest of the series. (I may actually redo this one if I find I have a better feel with the rest of the pieces.)

Also, just for the heck of it, an ad I made for Andy Fish's Harker/Dracula comic strip that runs EVERY DAY. Go check it out! It's too good to miss!

Skull-A-Day

With help from the lovely Suzanne Barnes, I've been featured on the Skull-A-Day blog today!

She bought this little polymer clay skeleton from my at the reviews this past semester, and I'm happy he's found a good home.

Thanks again to Suzanne and Skull-A-Day for the feature!

I graduate tomorrow.

(Me, freshman year)

Tomorrow is graduation day, where I'll receive my degree in Communication Design: Illustration and get my swift kick in the ass into the real world.

I'm (slowly) continuing to work on my 8 pieces for the Space 242 show next month. After graduation is over, I'm planning on spending a lot of time pumping out great-looking pieces.

I also went to the Surtex Trade Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City this past Monday. The event was really packed, with lots of energy. I saw a lot of the competition out there, mostly for stationary and holiday-themed artwork, which there is definitely a market for. I'm considering doing a holiday series to keep myself well-rounded and applicable to current markets. It may not be as fun as painting clowns and ice cream, but maybe it'll open up some different doors.

I'm also currently trying to teach myself 3D studio max in order to design toys and character models that will hopefully help me in applying to places like toy companies and video game companies.


So, tomorrow, at age 20, I'll walk up and receive my degree. I've never been so confused about what I want to do with my life than now.

Work update

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't been around. I took a couple days after classes ended to recuperate.

But I've been drawing quite a lot either way! I've put at least 25 pages worth of sketches into this idea so far, and I'm hoping to fill the book as quickly as I can. There's less than a month before I have to get all of my pieces printed! Blah!

So here are my first 6 thumbnails, along with a couple of character sketches. Let me know what you think!

Ideas

Space 242 show: I don't want to use my clown series. I've decided instead to come up with something new.

I'm doing SPACE GIRL IN SPACE. She'll be lovable and have cute/weird creatures following her and she battles crazy giant alien clowns and robots and things, all while staying adorable. She may have a heart-shaped jetpack. I'm still battling between paint and digital coloring with this one. Limited color, like a silkscreen print. I'm excited about this! Yay!

No pictures yet. Will post thumbnails later.

Pheonix cover!

I won a cover contest in Bob Maloney's Experimental Illustration class a few weeks ago, and my leaflet cover is out now for the Boston Pheonix's Bicycle Bible 2009. Go pick up a free copy today!

I was asked to use mixed media for this assignment, something I'm still trying to wrap my head around (you use more than paint! wtf), so I'm happy that Bob and Kevin Banks, the art director for the Pheonix, thought my piece was developed enough and of a caliber worthy of print. So thanks a lot to both! I appreciate it!


NEXT UPON THE MENU:

I'm a jerk who never posts. That will certainly change now that I'm about to graduate and will have a lot more time to focus on my art and getting other people to see my art. I have the Space 242 show coming up in June, and I'm considering starting a whole new series of pieces/paintings instead of building upon my old one. Maybe all digital. It could be fun. <3 More on that later.

Until I know what I'm officially doing for the rest of my life, this is my plan:

Step 1: Get a better job that pays more that will allow me to live without terror of not being able to afford bills/rent/loans.
Step 2: Do freelance work and find teaching work that will allow for supplimental income.
Step 3: ?
Step 4: Profit. Become famous artist and do all sorts of cool stuff like toy design, apparel design, poster design, and international gallery shows. I want my own art book, too.

I'm just looking for my niche, a style of art I can stay happy with. Hopefully, I'm getting closer to finding out what that is. OK ENOUGH

Done.

I've finished my last assignment at art school. 4 years, and I'm done with homework.

These are finished concepts for a children's video game. The theme was a Test Your Strength booth at a monster carnival. Enjoy.

I've been at school for 15 hours. I'm going to go pass out now.

Pectasaurus Rex: plays bass, chills at the Test Your Strength booth

His collection of sweet basses.

The Booth
A selection of different hammers


DONE.