Sketches in the Works

I have started a challenge for myself. I am going to do a sketch or drawing a day for a week, scan them into the computer at the end of the week and you will see how many times I can get something done. I need to work on my comic, "Contact Seperation" Perhaps I will do some of those pages and post them here as a teaser. I am doing it for an old school Elfquest group called, "Ocean's Edge". They are a really fun group. They are all excited about the comic still. I promised them this comic. In my head, I thought it would only take 3 or 4 issues... but I worked out the story on paper and it is going to take me 10 issues to finish it... I am on the 4th issue right now. I never sent them issue 3... so, it is going to be odd... but, I am getting to the part in the story I like the best, so if I can just focus, I can get it finished in no time! :D

I know this post was short, but I will talk to you next week and you will hopefully see 7 sketches. :D

Shade and Sweet Water! :D

Long over due

This entry is going to be a bit long, sorry for that. Last month, I went to L.A. to visit friends and when I got back, I planned on posting an entry in a few days. I was doing ok for the first day, that night, I went into work and got a fever and got super sick over the next few days. I felt a bit better 2 days later, went back to work and when I woke up the next afternoon, I called my doctor, an advice nurse told me to go to the Emergency Room as it sounded like things were not getting better. I went and I spent about 12 hours in there. I found out, I have a sinus infection, an ear infection and bronchidas. They gave me antibiotics for my infections and pain killers. I spent the next week, sleeping and going in for work. I was exsausted. The next week, I have been spending catching up on all the things I put aside and the last week, I just found another excuse to not post here in this blog. I am so very sorry.

On a posative note, I am gonna post the interview with Lydia. She is a great artist. She is creator of a comic series called, "Search for the Truth". It is based on the BBC show called, "Doctor Who". I am a huge fan of both. :D



1) Name - Lydia Butz

2) Age - 19 years, 2 months and 25 days.

3) Favorite color?
Reds. Warm colours. Generally.

4) First memory of inspiration?
When I was about six or seven, I made my own album. All the tracks were made up on the spot and included such hits as 'Do the Strawberry' and 'Pineapple on My Head'. Apparently when grasping for ideas I immediately go for fruit. Anyway, my mum got in on it and we made an album cover and everything in Photoshop, which was a big deal in 1996. I really loved it and it was the first time I felt that creative and inspired.

5) How close are you to your family?
Very. On my mum's side anyway. I get on a little too well with my mum, and her two sisters and their families. I get on swimmingly with my older brother Ben too. It's my dad's side that I never see or talk to, as they live on the other side of the country and I don't exactly get on with my father. Despite our SEVERE differences though, I would still consider myself to be close with my dad. Sort of. I guess. Does that make sense?

6) What inspires you?
Um... Good stories.

7) I know you have a comic, "Search for the Truth", do you have other projects?
Yes I do! I like working on my Space Whale story and my Octogod pantheon. My brother and I also come up with comics related to movies and in-jokes, but I never get around to making them, much to his frustration.

8) If you could make money doing anything in the world, what would you do?
Be David Tennant's PA. It's the perfect job! I love paperwork, sorting things, David Tennant, fetching coffee... you name it! Well, actually David would be the one naming things. As he would be my boss.

9) Do you like music?
I ADORE music. Don't get me started, please. We'd be here all week.
(Velvet Underground FTW)

10) What kind of television shows do you like?
British television! TV is sort of my hobby, so it'd be hard to list all the shows I like. I love Comedies, like Black Books, Peep Show, Vicar of Dibley, Spaced and the IT Crowd, and fun Sci-Fi stuff like Doctor Who, Being Human, Supernatural, Firefly and Buffy. Oh, and panel shows. I love panel shows.

11) What kind of movies do you like?
Clever, lovely comedies and clever, lovely dramas. My two favourite movies are Withnail & I and American Beauty, if that gives you an idea.

12) I am aware of you liking Doctor Who, what other British tv shows do you like?
Well, I think I named them all above... WAIT! LIFE ON MARS. I forgot Life on Mars.

13) To clarrify this question for the readers, 'Your Doctor' is defined as the doctor you started watching the series, 'Doctor Who', with. Who is your Doctor?
Christopher Eccleston. I still miss him sometimes... *sigh*

14) Does your favorite Doctor differ from 'Your Doctor'?
Yep. Eccleston comes in second behind a tied Tennant and Tom Baker. Trailing in tied third are Pertwee and Troughton.

15) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Cardiff, Wales. I could hang around the Plass as much as I wanted and take the train to London to see a play every once and a while. I'd love that. Plus, there'd be the opportunity to work for the BBC.

16) If you could go visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Right now I'd love to go to Scotland, or Ireland. Or Slovakia, where half my family's from and I really should visit just for educational and genealogical purposes.

17) Is there anyone special in your life?
Nope. If by special you mean boyfriend. I hardly think I'm mature enough, but it'd be nice.

18) Tennant or Eccleston?
Bwah... Um, Tennant. They're equally as charming but I think Tennant's bum is the tie breaker.

19) Who got you started watching Doctor Who? Who do we have to thank for your fandom?
Er, no one actually! I caught 'Rose' on TV one day by pure and random chance and I was absolutely hooked. I knew nothing of Doctor Who for the whole first season. I'd honestly never even heard of the show. Ever. My mind was severely blown when Eccleston regenerated. I never saw that coming for a second.
But then the CBC were stupid and showed The Christmas Invasion at a WEIRD time and I never even knew it existed until I was well finished the second series. It really cleared things up a lot. Thanks CBC. o_o

20) (I need links to three of your favorite pieces) What three (3) pieces are your favorite?
UM. TOUGH ONE. I'm just going to pick the ones that I'm the most proud of.
~*~ ~*~

My Family Portrait

When I was strapped for cash, my friend, Rachel, commissioned me. She asked that I draw my family through my eyes. I drew us as Pixie, Bluejake and my daughter, Grim. We have elf ears because of our love for fantasy, the art we do and everything we are into. I love this piece. I had to draw us seperately and I put us together in Photoshop. I did the colors with Prisma color and the line work was done with Sharpie pens, the new sharpie pens are amazing. They don't bleed at all and they won't fade as I erase the pencil work that I did and when I have to go over the lines after coloring something, it dries fast.

So, here is the beautiful picture. :D

Mid Week Post

I started this week with my comic all planned out. I am very proud of myself as I rarely get to this point. I am gonna work a little slower as I need to get my fairy logo finished and I have a gargoyles RP that I am heading. I have 3 people who help me but it is my main character at the head of the game. I am excited about it but I really only have the 3 other people who are playing the game with me and I love them all but we are all playing multiple characters to fill out the clan. I am not saying I don't have any fun. I think I am asking for some players who might be interested in a turn-based role play game that is based on the old Disney cartoon called 'Gargoyles'. I can give you the information if you leave a comment but I don't want to leave the information just laying around. Sorry.

I am happy because it is raining out here today. It makes the day darker and easier to sleep during the day. I had a busy night last night at work, because of the rain. We get lots of power outages and troubles and so we get to know all about them and wake people up to tell them. Anyways, I think Sunday night I will do this month's interview and I will be posting more art as I finish it. Also, once I get the site URL for the fairy logo I will post it every time I make a post here.

Avatar and Elfquest

Ok. I saw James Cameron's Elfquest, I mean Avatar, this last weekend and was blown away by the shear scale and depth of the culture of the aliens, their belief's, the way they walk, the culture, the way the people interacted. It was a familiar story, I have seen it before, but I love it and I think what made this stand out as a excellent movie is the detail you put into this picture. I love that everything was thought of, the way they eat, how they kill, how they talk to each other even. It is what I wish the Elfquest movie was going to be like. The sad thing is, I don't think they will. WETA is the company that did the special effects and the art direction and the people who took the time to go into the detail of the culture.

Hell, the movie could've been great as a trilogy... and maybe Elfquest could push for that... make the first 2 books in the first movie, the third book a second movie, pull a bad guys are winning ending like in Empire Strike's Back and then book 4 in the final movie. I also think that we as the fans shouldn't know anything AT ALL about the movie. Just know it is going on. I will be happy with everything we get. Just to see the movie poster and see it on the big screen will be amazing and I will cry from joy, I know it.

This week

I realized I could have my cake and eat it too when it comes to having multiple web comics... I just need to draw a years worth of each, so 52 comics, but I also want to celebrate the holidays so when a comic lands on or near a holiday, I need to have those bonus comics or drawings done too... so I will have more than a years worth of comics. I am starting with my comic, Goddess Behind the Counter and then I will move onto a new comic called, The Drunken Bunny Inn, then I might do some comics for Pixie's World. The last comic is about my life through my eyes, but nothing ever seems to translate to the page, so I might not get many done or where I like it enough. But, I have other projects as well, like commissions... and a logo for a festival in June, it is local. When it gets closer to time, I will let you all know all the time about this place.

I have all week without my roommate... it is gonna be hard because I work the Graveyard shift, I have to stay up until 3pm and then sleep until 9pm and then go to work... it will be hard, but I think I am up to it... I am a mother now and I need to do this for my daughter. This is what I signed up for. hehehe.

I think I need to write a list and just go in order of all the things I need to do and check them off and say "no" to myself if the list gets too long. I do that to myself sometimes, I get a great idea and then before I know it, I am buried in things I want to do. I will post the list here to keep myself motivated to keep it reasonable. I will write it this week and try to make a post on Wedensday with the list.

OH! I met my new neice, Dana Alice Williams. She was born a few weeks ago and she is soooooo small. I was proud of my daughter for only regressing to an infant for a little while. I have heard that they can do that because of jealousy and what not, but after a minute or two of being held while I was holding little Dana, she decided it wasn't fun anymore and pushed herself down and played with whatever she wanted to. I was proud that she is smart enough to know if she goes back to that, she doesn't do the fun things like climbing on the couch, playing with her rocking horse or even trying to take off with our cell phones. I love that we are able to lock our phones.

Wow... it looks like I did a bit of the rambling thing I always end up doing. Well, I don't think I did a lot this week but work on my comic and I plan to do more and stay focused until it is finished.

Well, talk to you all this Wedensday! :D

Interviewing Emiko

I have been doing well, I got a few commissions to get me through to this next paycheck, I am happy to say, I made it and I will be getting the art up here when I get it all finished.

At the beginning of the year, I said I would try to interview one artist a month... well, this is that time again. So, I am interviewing my very close friend, Emiko Cothran, tonight. She lives in Southern California and I have known her since I was in high school, she was a few years behind me and was in Jr. High. She has come a long way in her skills, she has always been talented, but she has done nothing but improve her art over and over again.

1) How old are you?

29

2) What do you do to pay the bills?

I work as an activities coordinator at an adult day health care center. I lead the seniors in activities designed to promote their health and mental facilities. Such as leading them in an exercise class or doing arts and crafts or brain and memory enhancing games.

3) What did you want to be when you grew up?

First, a child psychologist when I was a kid. Later, when I was a teen and young adult, I wanted to be an early elementary school teacher or a preschool teacher.

4) What medium(s) do you use?

I sculpt in fimo classic, I also paint in acrylics and draw in prisma colored pencils and inks. Sometimes I color in photoshop but I prefer to work on paper.

5) What is your first memory of your art?

I remember being in kindergarten and my mom and I were making a poster about what to do when there is a fire and her and I drew it together. She taught me that even men have eyelashes and I made my dad's eyelashes *HUGE*! It was hilarious! I used to make cartoons out of playdoh, my grandma used to save them in her borough. I must have drawn before that but I have no solid, clear memories of it. In playdoh I make snakes and eggs but that hardly counts.

6) What inspires you today?

I am most inspired by my characters, friends, family and experiences. I used to be inspired a lot by tv and books but haven't been obsessed with a tv show or book since Harry Potter. Which is too bad because I love the sort of high I get from it.

7) Do you have a close family?

Yes, I have a loving family. I mean we have our problems like everyone else, but I have never doubted that I was loved growing up.

8) How close are you all?

(see above)

9) Do you have any projects going on?

Yes, I am currently reborning dolls. I am also refurbishing old toys including one that is over 50 years old for a client at work.

10) If you had all the money in the world, what you would you do with your life?

I would buy a house (with a pool), I may quit my job to devote myself to raising a family. I would send my children to an expensive private school system called "Waldorf" which emphasises creativity and the five senses. I would travel and have adventures with my friends and family (like and Alaskan Cruise, a trip to the hot springs int he snow, go snorkeling in Hawaii, etc.) mostly I would not worry about money. I don't think I would change my like too much. I would not live in a mansion or drive a Lexus or wear fancy clothes. Mostly, I'd just like the life I have with more adventures and less stress.

below are a couple links to Emi's work. Thanks for reading. :D

Taden at the Castle

Three Generations

Demmy Passes Out (Animation)

After The Superbowl

I had fun watching the Superbowl, the commercials are always my favorite part, they didn't disappoint for the most part. I love how creative they all are. Budweiser were always the best, Doritos are the best this year. Budweiser's best two commercials were about a human bridge and a house made of Budweiser cans, not that immpressive. Dorito's had a commercial about how cruel it is to put an electric anti barking collar onto a dog... it comes upon a guy eating Dorito's notices the collar, and tells him to speak or he won't get any chips. The dog runs off, takes off his collar and puts it on the guy, he cries out and gets zapped and passes out while the dog eats all the chips, it was so funny. Then, there was the ad about the Dorito's Samarai... I love it! Then the Dorito's House Rules! A guy is dating a woman and her kid smacks the guy after he eats a Dorito and the kid says, "Keep your hands of my Momma! Keep your hands off my Dorito's!" that was TOO cute!

Later in the day, I went to finish a drawing for a friend and realized I didn't know where it was, I looked EVERYWHERE and couldn't find it. She needs it by this coming weekend. I have it ready to put into flash and finish it. It is a logo for her Festival and as soon as I get the logo together and the site gets up, I will pimp the hell out of it. It is going to be in Sacramento, CA in June... it is called The Midsummer Faerie Festival. I am so excited! :D

I am glad to be onto a new week and today after the break-in, I am getting a security system ASAP. So, I will post either Wedensday or Thursday. :D

Shade and Sweet Water.

Please help me and my Family

I am having some major bad luck. I was having my backyard cleaned about 5 days ago and a rock was kicked up and broke one of my windows, then our pipes were messed while during repairs to some leaky pipes. We had to have a plumber come in on the weekend to replace the damaged pipes. But nothing prepared me for what happened next...

Yesterday between 3 and 4 pm we were robed. They went in through our laundry room and riffled through our computer room. They stole a top of the line computer monitor, they threw over my purse and stole my Nintendo DS and took the cash from my wallet, which was my entire paycheck... over $800 dollars. I am scared, mad and I feel I need to earn that money and I need to do it fast. I need to eat and get food and such for my baby.

I am hoping someone can help me, I am willing to do $5 commissions, I don't have a paypal account, but I do have an address that you can send money orders to, or gift cards (walmart would be helpful, that is where we shop). The picture would be a bust, here are some examples of my work. You can either do a character or yourself or a family member. I am going to charge $5 per character/person in the picture. Please please please help us. I am desperate and I am willing to draw for money. Please send me an email or reply in this thread if you are interested.

Thanks for everything! :D

Work on the House

We have been having work done on the house and it has been chaos but it is coming to an end soon the work will be done. Life will return to normal and we will have WiFi. I am excited and giddy with the changes and repairs to the house that have been needed since we moved in. The repairs were done on some plumbing and some other things that are needed to move my brother-in-law in. John, my husband, is going to school to become a Chef. I am proud of him and try to support him the best I can.

Speaking of work on the house, I have been working on my art and I feel as though I am getting better but I am sticking to a trend of busts only. But, that won't last forever. I think I am taking a break from regular full body pieces. I will get more practice on the comic, Contact Seperation. Below are the few pieces that I have submitted to my Deviant Art Gallery, visit it if you want. :D

This is Meristide, she is the daughter of a chif of a gargoyle clan and an elf. She is the star of her own Role play game called "Stand Against The Stars", send me a comment or email if you are interested in playing. :D

This is Utah, Meristide's Mate.

This is Copper, she is the character of a friend. This was drawn as a birthday present for her. She is a character based on the Elfquest world. :D

I will post again on Thursday, I think posting twice a week will be better. I will talk about more things as I think of them... I plan to talk about everything that happens in the week, but I always forget a few things. *laughs*

I hope you see my post then! :D

Sick Baby and Gargoyles RPG

I love to Role-play or RP. It is a lot of fun. I used to run two rpgs (role-play games) and play in abour 2 or 3 others at the same time. I stopped joining games for a while when I was working on getting pregnant and dealing with life. I thought, I could do one or two while I was pregnant but I was so tired I never got around to it. I figured while I was taking care of Gabby, my daughter, I would join one and play but I never really had time. I have a character in an rp currently but she hasn't been played since a little after Gabby was 3 months old, when we got through the worst part of the first three months. It is very difficult to have a baby while in its first three months without help. Anyways, I don't know if I can play her anymore. I don't know if the person trusts me to play anymore. I have been focusing a lot of energy into my own Gargoyles rpg. I have a character named Meristide, she is the red gargoyle from the last post, she is the leader of a clan from New York... the idea is she takes half of Goliath's clan as he keeps getting more and more gargoyles showing up asking to be part of his family. So, she takes them to The West Coast as I live out here and I know the layout of towns out here. She takes them to San Francisco to be precise. I think it is a great idea dn I am trying to set it up right now. To make the first post though, I need to get the history typed out and I had time this last weekend, but as the title says, I have a sick baby.

I only had last night to sleep and do all the work on the house before we had someone come out to do some work on the house. Gabby has been sick for a week now. Last Monday night I took off from work to take care of my crying sick baby. She has a cold that seemed to get worse Saturday night when she got a fever. I was so sad, a srapped knee I can be calm and do something, she cuts herself, I can handle it. If she gets sick like this, there is nothing I can do but hold her and let her cry or pass out or throw up on me from crying to much or because her stomach hurts. I always want to take it out and destroy the cold virus. All I can do is wait it out. I feel helpless. Well, that is the reason I am late with this entry. I hope that next week she is gonna be better and I can show you all the pictures I have been working on for the rp and I hope to report when I start the rp.

I will talk to you all soon. :D

Shade and Sweet Water!

My Main Characters

I draw my insperation from different places, the wind at the beach, the laughter of my 1 year old daughter, the light hitting my face as I look out the window and even media. I have many different stories but I tend to nurture three characters in particular. The first was based on the Disney television cartoon, Gargoyles. Her name is Meristide - she is a red Gargoyle/elf. I thought it would make things interesting to make her look like she was a demon when she would be one of the gentler gargoyles anyone would ever meet. I took a whole year off from doing all other art and stories (which is an extremely difficult thing to do) to draw/write everything Meristide so I would know her in and out. I do. She is a healer, a mother, a warrior when she is pushed and her blue eyes are always sad, she is an old soul and just wants to rest.

I wanted to show the weight of her burden and how tired she really is.

This was just practice.

She may be tired, but she is strong and I wanted to show that strength she has... it is quiet but there when she needs it.

I like Meristide and her mate Utah and I hadn't drawn him for a while but whenever I draw him, I have to draw her too... it never feels right.

I know I started this entry saying I have three main characters and here there are 5? Well, that is easy enough to explain. lol. I started to draw my main three and my character Pixie, the one in the red hair, she creeped in, as she is based on me the closest and then I had to add another to even the top part of the page out. I put in Lexa, she is my character from a comic called Goddess Behind the Counter


The second is Dreamweaver, she is based off the Elfquest world. I love her so much. I only have one other blonde character, I thought it was unique when people around me and me included, were making characters with brown hair and dark eyes. I also thought that healing was a power that is too easy a power to have but she was too gentle to have anything else. She has a power that has to do with healing mentally, she cannot heal physically. I thought it was a neat restriction... it makes her have to learn how to do many things by hand traditionally.

Here are a few of Dreamweaver's pictures -

This one was done in my abstract style. I will showcase this style next week, but it is a great way to use shapes to make a picture than traditional lines. :D

This was a quick drawing of Dreamweaver, I had some fun drawing this one. I like that she is playing with one of her braids... I like to do that. I think showing characters doing quirky things like everyone else does makes them look natural.

This was to show key peices in her life. There are more, but not that would fit.

This is Dreamweaver laying in the grass. I like the day dream look in her eyes.

Finally there is Meristide Sadique. She was created hastily as a role playing character years ago that evolved into something more than I could control. She was just an elf version of the gargoyle Meristide and she had a maiden name, Mourningstar. She was just something I threw together that made me want to write about her more and more. She had a family who hated her and tried to kill her. She accused them of the deed and they were thrown into prison and after that she left home and took the family money to try to escape the memory. She settled down and learned magic and fell in love. The guy she fell in love with gave her wings as it was her dream to fly. She found out after getting pregnant with his baby, he wasn't what he said and left him. She discovered later she would have twins. She married hastily and stumbled into her soul mate. They were happy for many years, he raised the twins as if they were his, but her husband comitted suicide in their bath house. She ran her own tavern with him for years and she went a little crazy for a bit but got herself back to normal and works herself hard so she doesn't have to try to think about her late husband or worry about getting too close to someone ever again. I am in the process of writing a webcomic with her as the main character, it is going to be called "The Drunken Bunny Inn"

Here are some pictures of Meristide Sadique -

This was just after her husband died.

This is her looking into a well. Yup, that is what she is leaning on and yes, I know it looks wrong, I probably won't fix it, but I know how to next time I draw something like this.

This is an attempt at a teaser picture for the comic. I love how it came out, it made me really want to make a comic with her and I am... yay! :D


So, now this week's entry ends. I have more things I wanna tell you about but I am ready for bed so it will have to wait until later. Take care and talk to you soon!

Shade and Sweet Water!

Hello again! I am proud of myself. I have been announcing everywhere that I will be updating this blog every week, so far, I am a day early, but I think the usual day I will be updating is Sunday. Please visit here often incase I update a second or third time in the week. I also have a mobile blog that I will update sometimes if I am on my phone and something really cool happens! :D - That blog is - My Mobile Blog

So, one thing I want to do is once a month feature an artist that I love or someone I think has made great improvement. I think this is as good a time as any to post the first artist. Her screen name is Kitt Mouri, from what I understand, she is called that every site she goes to so as not to confuse people. I asked her some questions. This is the first one I have done so the questions might improve as time goes by. Without further ado Kitt! :D


What's your age?: + 18 ;p

Place of Birth: New York

Male/Female?: Female

What is your first memory of art?: Drawing and painting in a large Academie sketchpad that my father used to buy for me when I was younger.

What is your favorite thing to draw? Beautiful things.

What is your earliest piece that you keep? Very old drawings of the characters in my series, "Eyes in the Dark".

What is the biggest influence to draw? Inspiration is the biggest influence on my art. Forces that have influenced me throughout the years include, Disney, Wendy Pini, and some anime.

Is your family a big part of your life? My family is my life.

3 Random facts about yourself: I don't like spiders, I get really cold, really easily, I the water, both drinking and in landscaping.

At least 3 pieces that you are most proud of: Umm...lemme see:

Introduction

Hello, to those who read this. My name is Caroline Jean Meier... most of everyone call me CJ. I have been drawing since I was a little kid and I am going to use this space to talk about my life as an artist. I love movies, books, comic books, and spending time with my family. My family includes my friends as well as my husband and my daughter and the people I was born to and was raised with.

I was born 31 years ago (1978) and I was born with bright red hair that faded into auburn hair and now I have brown that I like to color red... one day I shall achieve TRUE red. I was born to my parents in Plattsburg, NY. My older sister was just a year old, after that, a year and a half later my little sister was born and 2 years later, my little brother was born, those two were born in California. I think my first memory (besides abstract feelings and shapes) was the first time I saw my older sister drawing, the first thing I thought. "Wow... she can draw? I wanna draw just like her," because I idolized her. She was so amazing to me. I slept at the foot of her bed and did everything she did. She inspired me to draw and as I grew older I found comics. I loved them all, all the pictures and stories... people were able to draw the stories, that was amazing to me. The first comic I read more than one of was Elfquest. It was amazing, bold and though it was in black and white, my Auntie Helen owned several of the graphic novels and I lost myself so many weekends to those books. I was determined to write a comic one day, Wendy Pini drew and wrote her own comic... why not me?

I would like to think I could draw a comic now, but there are so many things to learn. I read an article from an artist once who made the conscious decision to make each panel different from the rest each of his comics, I thought that maybe I could do that. I tried that out and it helps the story immensely. It makes me think of different shapes and how I want the story to progress. I am constantly inspired by the world around me, the books, comics, television shows and movies that are coming out all around me every day.

I am going to write about everything that inspires me, the challenges that life throws at me, and I will show you all my art as I do this.

I am calling myself the Midnight Artist because I work on the graveyard shift and I tend to do most of my creating there. I hope you all will join me on this trip, I plan to update this blog every week, maybe twice a week if I can.