Organising and Collating and Tigers - oh my!

I have so much on my plate right now. I have 3 commissions - all in the creative phase, one short story on final edits, three independant ideas, two short stories I am hoping to finish in this month, up to four next month, as well as two scrolls for my re-enactment group. Time for some slowing down and organising what needs to be done by when...

Now an hour later and I have a list of competitions and magazine 'call' deadlines that I would like to complete. There are twelve in all. Eek! They vary from one thousand to five thousand words in preferred length. As I mentioned yesterday, I have three story ideas already on the boil. Two are independent of the above list. The real challenge is to come up with something fresh and new for each individual story. Though I really love the open themes, I like the challenge in creating a story to a set theme. This could actually prove useful with the number of stories I wish to attempt over the past few months. 

Though not as gut-wrenching as the book culling process or the story editing process, I have had to make some decisions today. Gone (for now) is a story I have been looking forward to. It will not fit any of the soon -to-be-due themes and I will definately need longer than the allotted word limit for the others. However, the idea will continue to bubble in the background so all is not at a loss for it. One competition I would like to enter, may not happen. It is one of the longer ones (at up to five thousand words) but is due at the end of the month. I have an idea for it but if I cannot get it finished, edited and polished in time, I will not enter it. As this is an annual competition,  I can always work on it for next year. 

After a hiatus, I can also finally get cracking at two original design scrolls. I have mentioned these in a previous blog, in April, but had to wait until some details were finalised. Now that they have been, I can continue. However, I will need to find a light table that I can borrow, or use the 'old tape on the window on a sunny day' trick. Look for future posts on guache, calligraphy and ink work in the near future. I have three weeks to complete this project. The design work is done so it is just a matter of applying it. 

The tigers?

They could appear in one of the short stories I have planned... but that would be telling... 

It is New T-shirt Time!

After a few days of sad news and irritating allergies, I needed some art therapy. I needed to design a new t-shirt! Designing and drawing helps me concentrate on the beauty of things and is cathartic. Creating things soothes my soul. 

As I have been concentrating on some award scrolls recently, I have been on a historical bent. This one was based on celtic designs of knotted animals, that can be found on Celtic crosses and in illuminations,. It was used for an old fanzine/ apazine contribution called 'Off the Artboard' of which I have blogged before. This version was mimicking a carved stone with pastel colours that can be seen in various illuminations, including The Book of Kells.

some examples can be at: 

• http://guriguriblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/kellsdecoratedinitial.jpg 
• http://www.art-imagery.com/cat.php?id=m&b=kells. specifically
  http://www.art-imagery.com/images/kells_f191v1_M.jpg
  (Book of Kells, VII Century, Page (Folio): 191v , initial letter M with animal heads)
• http://www.art-imagery.com/images/kells_121v_D_bird.jpg
• http://www.art-imagery.com/images/kells_247v1_lions_V_Q_D.jpg

I wanted to choose colours that were similar to those used, but also of a different colour palette to my previous t-shirt designs - for those of you who want something different. 

You can find the design at Redbubble: Off the Artboard 2: Celtic.

Which colour t-shirt do you prefer this design on?

Creating (or Surviving) in a Digital World.

And this, dear readers, is why I still prefer to draw with nib pen and ink, or a pen... It took me 30 minutes to sketch my ancient dragon, about an hour to ink him. Coloured him in GIMP in about 2 hours... took the REST of the day to work out the filters I had used on the writing... (now written down... a second time). Life was much less frustrating when I was avoiding any computer enhancements to my drawings! I keep getting told it will be useful, in the end... and that honestly,  I will end up preferring it. I do agree, it is much easier to change colours and compare them; I don't have to redraw the whole thing! Digital methods do save a lot of trees and I am always up for that. This is probably one of the main reasons I am still struggling with the computer for my drawing. But, I reserve the right to judge at a later stage...
For now, I am just so relieved that I have worked out the sequence for the 'Ancient Dragon' writing for the Roleplayer Series.. phew. #5 Ancient Dragon at Red Bubble.

What I do like the computer for, is writing. I can get things written faster (and much neater). I can change my mind, rewrite and save old versions... just in case. However, when I really get stuck and find it hard to put words to the screen, I still reach for my pen and recycled paper (I use the back of already used paper) and start writing. Sometimes it is hard to decipher what I have written, if I leave it too long to rewrite it, especially if it was written at 3 o'clock in the morning (which does happen!) I had a notepad by the bed and in my handbag. I have other notebooks in my 'office'.  I then re-type up these scribblings and often do re-write #1, at this stage.

When I was in high school, we used to get a week or two to write our assignments, short stories or essays. On the few occasions, that I followed the plan that we were set, I got the worst marks for essay writing. My most successful essays were being finalised on the morning they were due. I cringe when I think of it now but it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

I did have a method, not just the one suggested by the teacher. I would start by mulling over the topic, in my head. Sometimes a few paragraphs would spill out immediately. They were written down and put in a foolscap folder or notebook. I then used to let the words swim around in my brain, sometimes almost for the full time allotted. Two nights before, I would sit down and just write - whatever came into my head - usually a paragraph at a time.

Back before we all had computers, back before we all had scanners, back before writing software, I did it all by hand. I would number each handwritten paragraphs, then physically cut them out and rearrange them in an order that made sense. I would then write any bridging paragraphs that were required to make the essay  flow more coherently. The final stage, was rewriting the whole essay into a whole, ready to hand in. I would sometimes be sitting at the classroom door, writing up the final paragraphs. But it always got me an 19 or 20/20!

Not much has changed in my writing, really; the process is still essentially the same. If I try to write something too far ahead, it does not click and is often rewritten several times. Inspirational paragraphs or sentences can get laid down early but I need to let the prose rewrite itself in my mind, at least a few times before I commit it to paper, or screen. It is much quicker and easier to rearrange paragraphs or sentences with a programme. I often will give myself a deadline to work to, so that I have a timeline to aim for.

For this bit of prose, it was a morning start on the topic which changed twice as the words formed in my creative conscience, finally settling on wrestling with digital techniques. I wrote several paragraphs on drawing, with the emphasis shifting towards writing. I edited a several sentences, rearranged a few more, shuffled a couple of paragraphs and finally wrote another paragraph to complete the segue.

This morning, was a final read-through and some more editing. Hopefully, it will satisfy.

Suffering

Did you ever have one of those days where you feel like you are enveloped in thick atmosphere, like walking through cotton wool? It dulls the senses, makes movements slow and difficult, restricts the breathing and makes it difficult to hear. It begins with vertigo; its nauseating waves washing over, the head floating off to one side with my body following, soon after. Could someone please stop the world from spinning?

The skull is pounding, while at the same time sharp, piercing hot pokers are being pushed slowly, but deliberately, though the temples so that the ends just touch the brain. Irritating beyond belief. I want to scream but can't make a sound. The eyelids are heavy, the eyes stinging - both dry and tearing at the same time. Nothing makes sense, the world is muffled and it is hard to think clearly.  Making it even worse, is the clogged sinuses and itchy eyes from a dust allergy. The throat feels tight and glands swollen... but the bookshelves are now ordered in alphabetical fashion. 

Yesterday was one of those days. I am reminded of a classic line from an old Science Fiction favourite of mine (BBC's Blake's 7, circa early 1980s). "Have you considered amputation?". Well, in this case - yes, I have! Maximum amounts of aspirin and antihistamines were no joy. Copious amounts of caffeine gave no relief. There was no energy left for even a flicker of a smile when confronted with what would normally illicit a belly laugh.

Doodling helped. Maybe a ferocious monster to embody my pain? Well, no.. I couldn't even manage that! A toothless, ancient and eccentric Uncle looking dragon was the best i could manage. Is pretty how much I have felt all weekend, actually. Not big on this suffering for art caper.

What shall I do with the little fella???

Any ideas?

Inspirations this week

It has been a funny week. I have been battling an 'almost migraine' all week... but through the sickening pain, I have had some out-of-the-blue ideas for some artwork and writing. I have a germ of an idea for a steampunk story/novel set a bit earlier than is the 'traditional' Victoriana setting. Currently, I am doing some fact checking for some historical references; I have written down some ideas and will see if this grows into something more.

While doodling, I did a quick pencil sketch with quite pleasing curves so I decided to ink it up. I am reasonably happy with this one which seemed to flow from the pen, so easily...

My inspiration was actually Marie Antionette with the tall, white wigs and the beauty spot (the Octopus has a mirrored beauty spot too). I was reminded of the outrageous wigs that were reported: with actual bird's nests and model ships. I even read about one that had a model ship that had working cannons! So adding an octopus, in place of a wig, did not actually seem that outrageous.  Maybe it would also help to keep the all-pervasive lice numbers down (that were common in that era); yet again the octopus is a helpful friend to those in need!

Colours? The wigs were often powdered, pale whites, pinks etc. So I was thinking pale whites with pinks and maybe a touch of red for the 'octo-wig'. Back to GIMP and learning how to add highlights, this time. I would really love a Wacom Cintiq to do this but really can't afford that right now so am researching my options. My wrist is not happy with using a mouse to 'draw' on the computer.

Opinions sort: I did the first with pale pink to mimic the wigs, but it was too pale. The second is blue which I think contrasts better with the face. It is obviously a girly pic, so I wanted to keep it pale. What do you think?

In the end, I decided to use the blue one, as there was more contrast with the face. I think the pink was just too pale, especially if it was on a white t-shirt. You can find #5 in Octopus/Kraken series: Marie Octonette at Redbubble.

In the Shade of Octopus

Is that a ambiguous enough title for you? Nothing too complicated, I assure you. I was tempted to say something along the lines of Eight Shades of Octopus, to get your attention, but that was a bit silly really. Some of you will guess that I have been working on a new t-shirt, for my Octopus/Kraken series. If not, read my post Wibbly, Wobbly, Octopussy t-shirty stuff. #1 was a chestbuster Kraken, #2 was Deep Sea Ballooning. But what for #3?

Ideas sometimes flow easily, sometimes not. So, I put my thinking cap on. What shapes can octopi form and for what functions can they be of service? This series has a steampunk/ Victorian feel, so nothing too modern but something that is practical. What else but a Victorian woman having a picnic? She would not want to damage her delicate skin, so would need her parasol. Yep, the shade refers to that of an umbrella or parasol...

#1 had browns and orange/yellow/ #2 had red/yellow/brown;I wanted different colours, this time around. Blue/purple/greys? I had seen some pictures of live octopi with gorgeous, almost luminescent rings. That was something I wanted to create. The original drawing was pencilled and then inked with my nib. After scanning, I added colours via GIMP.

I decided to use this as an experiment on trying to learn to make layers of colours, on the computer. Firstly I coloured the woman, then coloured the octopus in shades of blue. I then created a second layer and coloured just the octopus, this time in purples. Once I worked out how to add the two layers together, I lined them up with the blue layer underneath the main picture. I used the eraser, to 'draw' circles on the octopus for a multi-coloured effect.

Voila! In the Shade of Octopus- protection for the skin and ready to carry all essentials! Available on Redbubble.

I am planning some more artwork, along the Victorian/steampunk styling, so am off to do some more doodling.

What sort of steampunk images are people interested in? People, mechanicals? Let me know what sort of things you are interested in.

Wibbly Wobbly Octopussy t-shirty stuff

I must admit, I am a fan of octopi, especially when associated with steampunk or Victoriana. I love the freeform curves created by the undulating limbs and the wildness of it all.. Heck, I just think they look cool! (I also love the combination of Italian structured gardens with the wildness of cottage gardens and the curvey/ freeform styles of 1500's calligraphy over the rigid, squared off Gothic forms. More insight into my pyche - maybe they are all in someway related) This possibly also goes back to fantastic and adventurous Captain Nemo and kraken stories! I have been planning ideas, for Steampunk costumes and t shirts for a while now.   I  have a steampunk scout Mistress costume that has a badge in Kraken Catching. (amongst other things)

Well, that is my excuse...

In the past, I have searched for steampunk t shirts for women and got very frustrated. Most are in men's t-shirt styles. Let's just say that a babydoll/women's cut t-shirt is much more flattering than a men's T, on most women. When I do find one, it is not in my size. There have been more appearing, in the past couple of months... but one can never have enough Steampunk! 

I now have a series of octopussy t shirts planned.... this is my first one:

This week, I stopped the planning (ie. procrastinating) and started the execution: This Octopus image - an alien-chest busting octopus!  I did some research on Victorian-style diving suits and masks, and what the 'underneath' of an octopus looked like.. and started the layout sketch. I changed the octopus limb and diver's hand positions a few times, then inked up the image. 

and the final image: Octopus/Kraken Series #1: Kraken Chestbuster!: 

because, In the Deep, No one can hear you Gurgle

Fanzines, Apazines, Off the Artboard & Past Inks

The origin of Off the Artboard

About 20 years ago, Furry Fandom (anthropomorphic stylisations of animals) was relatively new. It seems to have taken off recently, in association with anime and fantasy costuming. Apazines were also popular in fandom (no, not the Apple thing. I noticed that they have snafooed the word for their own devices...) Definition: Apazine: an amateur press association - group of people who produce individual pages that are sent to a 'central mailer' for collation and distrubution to all the members of the group. (WIKI) There is usually a member limit and you had to help pay for postage. Otherwise it was non-profit. Depending on the apazine, there could be a waiting list. If you missed contributing, for a set number of editions, then you lost your membership. 

Remember, this was pre-everyone-owning a computer, pre-home-scanning (we photocopied the contribution x number of editions/members to be sent out to, then posted the copies) and pre internet. We did this all the old fashioned way, folks! (thank goodness, my Gestetner days were over!)  I suppose it was a very slow, and paper-filled form of internet? Draw something, post it off (snail mail), eventually get the apazine back in the post... took a couple of months. 

I was a member of a few of these, some were SF fiction fanzine/apazines - fiction or art. I drew covers for the Australian Doctor Who fanclub magazines in the 90s. One of the apazines was Furzine (totally kid friendly) - I posted all the way to Canada and got my apazine posted back from there. In the next issue, people would comment on the work. It was a great way of practicing one's crafts and sharing with like minded people without costing a mint. It was also a useful way of trying out a new genre or style of drawing/ writing and getting back constructive (and polite) critism on work. It was encouraging and possibly quaint - but I like quaint... and manners. Unfortunately so much on the internet is negative these days. People just type and don't think... sigh.. Now I am sounding old!!! ... digressing...

My contibution bit was called Off the Artboard.  I also used this back in the 80's and 90's for naming my drawing books.. I would do a couple of ink drawings, usually with a theme, and often featuring my Devon Rex cat. There was even a comic strip. (which I am still trying to find!) I also inked a cover page. All up it was usually 3-4 pages each edition. One was historical, one fairytales, one movies, etc. I always loved that title, so here is back again... 18 years later!!!

Just some examples: The cover page and one of the drawings from the Historical theme. The Mother and daughter is based on a Da Vinci painting (Lady and the Ermine) and is available to purchase on Redbubble.


Below is the coverpage for a fantasy theme, an ink from the fairytales edition and one from a 'cat feature'.  The fantasy cover page  is now available as a t-shirt, on Redbubble. 

Fun memories from my School days - Avcon Ink #2-

Back in the 1970s, I had a green fibreglass Golden Breed 'slalom' skateboard - the long thin ones that went faster and raced around the cones. I saved up 30 weeks (at $1/week pocket money) to get that skateboard. When I think about my high school days, I remember that skateboard. They were all the rage. There were movies (like surfer movies) and there was the clothing (yeah, I had a Golden Breed  tshirt as well.) We used to go boarding in the shopping centre car park, on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. (The shops weren't open on weekends, after midday on Saturday, back then.) We used to dodge the learner drivers who also used the car park. I still have the scars to prove it! (Still haven't told my mum that one).

Books: They were another thing that I enjoyed at school and they dominated my high school life (and still do).  My high school librarian went out of her way to find new books that the students would enjoy, often introducing us to new genres. She was that kind of person; she had a passion for books and longed for the students to experience that for themselves. She handed me a copy of The Dark is Rising and then more fantasy and SF followed. My lifetime addiction to Lord of the Rings and Agatha Christie are her fault. Thank you! Life would be so dreary without books...

Why the reminiscing?

I had originally planned to do try to design two entries for the Avcon t-shirt/hoodie compeition that closed on Sunday. The first was a cheerleader design, with books. I had wanted a second design with more movement than my first design - my school days were dominated by skateboards and books, so that was my next focus. I forced the perspective for emphasis and to provide the perfect platform for the logo. 

A rough sketch was made to get the bones of the composition. Switch on his skateboard (the shapes have changed since my school days) and Ayvee, the more serious character, reading her book. 

I inked the main drawing but could not make up my mind on how to finally position Ayvee. While I was waiting for the ink to dry on the first part of the image, I draw this separately and used GIMP to marry the images.

 

+  = 

For the first entry design, I spent an hour hand tracing around the image. Since then, I have discovered that GIMP can do this, so I gave in (and the ink took much longer to dry than I had hoped and the deadline was looming)... This was the final image:

Two entried planned. Two entries finished and arrived before the deadline. Had some fun. Got some pratice in a slightly different style. So whatever happens, I am satisfied.

... Next!....

Nightmare Muses

As a child I had two recurring nightmares. Both we were set in a dark space with nothing visible but the object of the dream. Both were strange and probably say something about my pyche; in some convoluted way they could be twisted for either good or malice, I am sure. I have had not had them for decades, so whatever caused them must be long gone... but the memory remains. They more curious than frightening now.

In the first one, I was sitting at an old-fashioned styled bedroom dresser with a large, ornate mirror. As a child, we lived on goat dairy. (you will see why I mentioned this, soon). I had hair so long that I could sit on it. This meant that I had to spend a significant amount of time brushing it. My mum used to threatened to chop it all off, if I did not look after it. (maybe that had something to do with it). So, there I was sitting, in front of the mirror, brushing my long hair.. and then a goat would come up behind me and ate my hair.

The second was set in the same dark space, with oversized toy robots watching me ominously. (In more recent years, I re-watched The Toy Maker episode of Doctor Who - there was my dream setting! but... if that was all, it would have been boring. In my dream, there was this old fashioned television set with arms.The tv stand was replaced with very fast moving legs. Its 'rabbit ears' antennae wiggled furiously like large insect antennae. (ewww) The face of the television had large angry eyes and big gnashing teeth. It would chase me all night long.


So...
I was doodling and all out of ideas, this week. Before I knew it, I doodled my nightmare televsion. My daughter happened to walk past and glanced over my shoulder. "That is cool! You should make it into a tshirt." she said.  Why not? So I did.

I redraw a larger version, inked it up and added colour. I did think of making one in purple but decided to stick with orange and blue. I did not want my favourite colour forever associated with one of my nightmares. (and then RB ended up putting it on a purple tshirt anyway) oh well...

So here is the inked drawing and the final tshirt, now on Redbubble.

Latest Ink: Avcon 2013

Avcon is an Anime and Video convention held annually in Adelaide. Each year they have a tshirt/hoodie design competition with the chance of having the winning entries for their convention tshirts. Avcon provide the theme. The characters are their 'mascots' Ayvee and Switch. This year, I decided to try my hand at  an anime-ish design and this gave me something to aim for. 

Theme: School Days.  Competition closes this weekend.

The process:

1. Research: Many of my works start with researching either the theme, the style or the commission brief. In this case, anime 'school days'. Reference pics for the characters outfits and the year's logo are supplied.
2. rough out a composition.
3. flesh out the detail in the sketch 
4. 
5. procrastinate... but just enough to let the whole project cogitate to see if I am happy-ish with it and so there is not too much stress in timing to finish and polish it. (in this case I was not happy with his arm  or leg position)
6. Ink the sketch. I prefer to use  Windsor and Newton waterproof ink and a nib pen. I have a range of nibs for calligraphy but prefer the Postman's nib for drawing. (then I erase the pencil work) I really should get a light box....
7. 
8. Recently, I have been learning to use GIMP... or trying to. I am not a huge fan of computery drawing. :/ For this image, I  scanned the original at 600 dpi, ten used GIMP to clean it up, added the logo , traced around the edge with the 'pencil' and used bucket fill to fill the outer with black. I have found this saves on time and ink for large blocks, rather doing them by hand.
9. The final entry can be seen at the AvConAdelaide page on Deviant art.
10.