Finished Raphael and some kissy scribbles.

Raphael belongs to Yuki, who can be found at http://lustredesquelettes.blogspot.com/ .  I love Raphael to itty bitty bits, but I have a hell of a time drawing him.  For a full color mixed media piece, I don't feel like this took too much time, but I might be underestimating it. When I start working on something, whether it's artwork or a task of some sort, I have the tendency to become very focused and can work at it for long periods of time.  Fortuitously, my order from Jetpens came in with my new pilot choose pens ( gold and white ) and some various other supplies, so I went a little wild with them! I'll probably do a materials post tomorrow once my holbein ink comes in, or maybe I'll do an entire post on inks. Part of the joy in creating artwork for me is learning new ways to use tools and exploring new mediums, so I think the things I learn might be nice to share.

I wasn't really planning this picture, really. I was using this page in my sketchbook as a blotting page to clean my texture stamps, and I got a little bored and started fiddling with a paintbrush. I decided I liked the background and sketched a bit onto it, and the sketch developed into Raphael. I've been listening to a lot of ambient electronic music lately by an artist called Burial, and I think I blame Archangel for how this picture came out. Anyway, I was trying to keep the end result a little unfinished looking, but I think I got a little too meticulous in blending and sort of destroyed that tentative balance. It's alright though, because I kind of like the result.

What can I say, cuddly dudes make me happy. Yuki pointed out that I make Lucifer more muscular every time I draw him, and she's totally right. Canta still looks like a chick, but he always looks like a chick. He's gender neutral so it's awwwwright. You might be able to see some of the thumbnails on the back of the page for a holiday fluff story I'm working on, but I haven't even started to draw it yet. I'm sort of waiting for a program I scored off of ebay to come in before I get on with it.

On that note, I am going to finish my grapefruit and start on some ATCs.

A shot from my drafting table.

Fuck, it's been a rough week. I've been such a wreck lately, but I'm trying to get back on the horse and push through. I don't have a lot of terribly interesting things to show for, partially because I've been writing and thumbnailing for some rather smutty comics in between episodes of distress.

I will probably only finish the portrait of Gabriel. As my oldest and most critical muse, he demands a special kind of attention. I finally managed to get a quality white ink! Kinokuniya is carrying Deleter 1 and 2 White inks now, which are probably better than the Holbein stuff I was using forever and ever. A single pot of the Holbein ink saw me through probably two and a half years of heavy use, so I do still stand by it, but I am enjoying my Deleter White #2. Do not waste money on Higgins white ink, for it is thin and not very versatile, in my experience.

I think I might do a separate post with all my projects in progress, but that depends solely upon whether or not my rather scatterbrained sense of direction will allow for it. I have to work my ass off for all the conventions I'll be at next year, so I am trying to make a more varied and interesting body of work.

Sometimes I feel like I spend a lot of time talking to myself.