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)